Chapter 23: Orc Burrow (4)
“Huff... Huff... Huff...!”?
Han-Yeol exercised and trained his body on the days he did not go out to hunt.
Ding!
[Your continuous training has produced results.]
[The rank of ‘Body Strengthening’ has risen from (F) to (E).]
[Your STR has increased by 2.]
[Your VIT has increased by 3.]
[Your AGI has increased by 1.]
‘Alright!’?he cheered.
Han-Yeol had been stuck in a dilemma after investing all of his bonus stat points into MAG and losing after physically clashing with the Orcs, but the buff he had just received to his stats could alleviate some of his concerns.
‘This means I can grow stronger by training myself, and investing stat points isn’t the only way to grow,’?he thought.
“Hooo...”?He exhaled after finishing the first part of his physical training. As he was catching his breath from the workout, however...
“As I thought... Han-Yeol, you’ve awakened as a Hunter, haven’t you?” the owner of OKGYM suddenly asked.
“Ah, you noticed?” Han-Yeol asked in response.
He had not really planned to keep it a secret from people, but neither had he planned to go around bragging that he had become a Hunter. That was why he did not bother hiding it from the people who had noticed or recognized it.
“Of course. You might have come by from time to time, but I’ve seen you ever since you were a kid. There could be no logical explanation for your sudden explosive growth.... other than the explanation that you’ve awakened as a Hunter, that is,” the owner said.
“As expected, no one can beat you when it comes to anything related to physical ability,” Han-Yeol said with a laugh.
“Of course!” the owner exclaimed.
“Oh, right, how is Ji-Sook doing?” Han-Yeol asked.
Ji-Sook was the gym owner’s only daughter. She had always been picked on for her tacky old-fashioned name, and she had cried quite a lot with snot all over her face because of it. Han-Yeol had suddenly asked about her because he suddenly remembered that it had been ages since he last saw her.
“They say a person has to have a bit of abundance in their life. Who knew that you of all people would ask about Ji-Sook? Well, she’s doing fine, as always... Although she still hasn’t given up on her ambition to change her name...” the owner said.
“You can say that again. Everyone needs to have a bit of abundance in their life to relax...” Han-Yeol responded. He picked up a pair of boxing gloves lying on the floor, putting them on and climbing up into the ring.
Bam! Bam!
He bumped his fists together twice and asked, “Uncle, can you hold the mitts for me?”
“A-Alright...” the owner replied with a hint of awkwardness in his voice when he heard Han-Yeol call him ‘uncle’ after a long time. Nevertheless, he brought the mitts and joined Han-Yeol in the ring.
“Here I come,” Han-Yeol said.
“Alright, come!” the owner responded.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
It had been ages since the two of them last did some mitt work together, but they synchronized quite well even though a lot of time had passed since their previous session.
The gym owner had actually seen some potential for Han-Yeol to pursue a professional boxing career, which was why he had allowed Han-Yeol to use the gym for free under the condition that he would clean it. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol had trained just to get fit and showed no interest in pursuing a career as a boxer. In the end, the man had to give up on any plans to turn him into a boxer.
‘As expected... Such a waste of talent,’?the man had thought.
Of course, Han-Yeol had now awakened and become a Hunter, but his punches were still as accurate as those of a boxing professional.
Bam! Bam!
“Huff... Huff...?Have you met with father, by any chance?” Han-Yeol asked.
Exchanging conversations during mitt work was something both of them had done ever since Han-Yeol was young.
“One! Two! Jab! Of course. He did lose a lot of weight, but he’s still as lively as ever,” the man replied.
“That’s a relief... I thought he was acting healthy in front of me just to avoid making me worry,” Han-Yeol said.
In truth, Han-Yeol had still been worried about his father’s health the entire time. He knew that his father was a proud, stubborn man who would rather die than show his weak side to his son. Of course, his father was not stupid enough to just sit back and ignore the signs his body sent him, but Han-Yeol was still worried nevertheless, because his father had already suffered an incident of severe illness.
Bam! Bam!
“Take good care of your father. He’s lived his entire life just for you,” the man said.
“Yes, I am very well aware of that,” Han-Yeol replied.
Han-Yeol had realized a lot of things in the previous four years. There was a time in his younger days when he had not known how to be grateful for the things his father gave him, and he had blamed his father for being too poor to give him the things others usually got.
However, he was very aware of those things now that he had gotten older. He was aware that the only reason he had not starved and could still socialize with other people on equal footing was the fact that his father had sacrificed so much for him.
‘It’s now my turn to make sure father lives a comfortable life!’?Han-Yeol thought as he gritted his teeth.
Baaam!
“Kuheok!”?The gym’s owner let out a pained groan.
Han-Yeol had failed to control his strength as his emotions started to well up from inside at the thought of his father, and had thrown a powerful straight punch. Thankfully, the thick mitt had absorbed most of the impact, but even that could not stop the sharp pain that traveled all the way to the man’s wrist.
Han-Yeol immediately approached the gym owner and checked up on him, asking, “Uncle, are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah... You Hunters pack quite the punch, eh?” the man replied while holding onto his wrist.
“I am sorry...” Han-Yeol muttered with a guilty look.
His sparring session ended prematurely because of the injury he had given his uncle. He cleaned the gym just as he always did to pay for working out, then took a shower before leaving for the agreed-on meeting place.
Cring...! Cring...!
The Starcafe was a popular coffee shop in the city, and the mecca of all meeting places for youngsters to meet in.
Han-Yeol stood at the entrance and looked around, thinking, ‘Hmm... Oh, there they are.’
He spotted a man and a woman nervously sitting at a table while sipping on iced Americanos. He reminisced, ‘I was also like them in the past.’
It was a tremendous opportunity for a Porter to be hired directly by a Hunter or a party. That way, they received more pay and had a stable source of income, as opposed to when they had to look for parties to join each time. Additionally, some Porters would steal a mana stone or two whenever the chance presented itself from time to time.
‘I’ve really grown a lot. Who knew I would be hiring two personal Porters of my own?’ Han-Yeol thought.
Until just recently, Han-Yeol had been meticulously weighing every single one of his decisions just to earn a little bit more. But now, he had the luxury and abundance needed to put money second and focus on leveling up to cure his father’s illness.
He walked toward the table where the two Porters were waiting for him.
“Ah!”
Drrrd...
The two Porters immediately stood up once they saw Han-Yeol walking toward them.
The male Porter was the first one to introduce himself, bowing deeply from the waist. “Hello, sir! My name is Choi Sung-Beom!”
“Hello, my name is Lee Ah-Ri,” the female Porter said, following suit with a slight nod.
‘Heh. I used to be just like that,’?Han-Yeol reminisced. Memories from his past had flooded in when he saw the Porter bowing deeply. He had been hired as a personal Porter twice during his career as a Porter, and he remembered bowing from the waist just to appeal to the Hunter. ‘I realized sooner or later that I just looked stupid, though.’
Hunters did not usually need to hire their own personal Porters, but the main reason they would go out of their way to hire one was that they liked something about the Porter. It could be because they liked the Porter’s skills or appearance, or because they felt romantically inclined toward the Porter. In most cases, the second and third reasons were the main factors.
‘I was just a pushover both of those times, though.’?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue when he remembered how he had been used both times.
He had actually been hired by Hunters to educate and train the other Porter they had hired both times, and was fired once the other Porter was fully trained. He had belatedly realized the Hunters’ modus operandi after the second time, so he had begun refusing all offers and gone back to working as a daily Porter.
“It’s nice to meet both of you. My name is Lee Han-Yeol. Let’s try to get along from now on,” Han-Yeol said with a smile.
“Yes! I will work hard until my body breaks!” Choi Sung-Beom said enthusiastically.
The female Porter nodded awkwardly in response, but she did not seem to be the type of person Han-Yeol would have to be worried about. Her eyes glistened when she shook his hand, and he knew very well that people who had eyes like hers were not weak types who would easily give up. Besides, he had picked them in the first place because of their stellar records as Porters.
“Please, take a seat,” Han-Yeol said.
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