Chapter 69: The World Has Started To Look Different (1)
There was still a pile of mana stones in front of Han-Yeol, and he immediately grabbed and absorbed them one by one. When he absorbed the fifth mana stone, a message suddenly popped up.
Ding!
[You have obtained enough mana from external sources.]
[Your MAG stat has risen by 1.]
‘Huh?’?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in confusion when he read the message that appeared in front of him. He absorbed the mana stones because he wanted to increase his Mana Absorption skill level, but he never expected his MAG stat to increase as well. ‘So this is how it works?’?
Han-Yeol’s passive skill, Body Strengthening, increased his STR, AGI, and VIT stats whenever he trained his physical body. This meant that he could increase his MAG stat whenever he absorbed mana from external sources.
‘Jackpot...’?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. He wondered if this was how the researcher who developed Viagra had felt when he had accidentally stumbled upon it while trying to develop a drug for heart diseases. His heart beat faster as the ecstasy of his newfound jackpot only pumped his adrenaline further.
Then, after absorbing five more mana stones...
Ding! Ding!?
[You have obtained enough mana from external sources.]
[Your MAG stat has risen by 1.]
[The rank of ‘Mana Absorption’ has increased from (F) to (E).]
Han-Yeol’s MAG stat increased by one and his Mana Absorption skill level ranked up after he absorbed the tenth mana stone.
‘Status window,’?Han-Yeol called up his status window.
Name: Lee Han-Yeol
Level: 64
Points: 0
STR: 122
VIT: 123
AGI: 105
MAG: 170+2
LCK: 10
Invoke: 60
Skills: Dismember (D), [Sword Mastery (M) : Flash Strike (F)], Walking (B), Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (B), Power Strike (A), Sixth Sense (B), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (B), Fire Attribute (C), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E), Force Shield (F), Cat Walk (F), Mana Absorption (E).
‘Huh? The absorbed mana shows as a + instead?’?Han-Yeol thought after observing his status screen. He noticed that his Mana Absorption was now E Rank. Then, he wondered, ‘Hmm... Should I increase it to C or at least D in one go?’?
***
Han-Yeol loved the strange sensation he felt when he used Mana Absorption, and he loved the fact that his MAG stat increased when he absorbed a mana stone.
He continued to absorb the mana stones’ mana like he was in a trance, and he soon finished absorbing all of the sixty-four stones that he had brought with him.
The result was astonishing.
Name: Lee Han-Yeol
Level: 64
Points: 0
STR: 122
VIT: 123
AGI: 105
MAG: 170+12
LCK: 10
Invoke: 60
Skills: Dismember (D), [Sword Mastery (M) : Flash Strike (F)], Walking (B), Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (B), Power Strike (A), Sixth Sense (B), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (B), Fire Attribute (C), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E), Force Shield (F), Cat Walk (F), Mana Absorption (E).
His MAG stat increased by an astonishing +12, but Han-Yeol was still not satisfied. His Mana Absorption skill did not level up further from E Rank.
Han-Yeol went back to the truck where the two Porters were after absorbing all of the mana stones, and there he found the two soundly sleeping.
Snore... Snore... Snore... Snore...!?
‘Was I a bit too harsh on them...?’?Han-Yeol wondered.
He was well aware that his hunting pace was a bit too fast for normal Porters to keep up with, since he had once been a Porter as well, and that was the reason why he was willing to compensate them with a higher wage.
He initially thought that it was fine to up the pace since the Porters did not have to dismember anything, but it seemed that he had been mistaken about it and he had gone a bit overboard this time.
‘Was I being insensitive...?’?Han-Yeol thought.
He realized that even though he had been aware that the Porters couldn’t keep up with his pace, he had decided to turn a blind eye to it since he wanted to hunt more and more golems. Further reflecting on his actions, he thought, ‘Well, it’s not that important to cater to the needs of others in this day and age where most people are self-centered, but I guess I should compromise a little bit in the future.’
Han-Yeol reflected on his own actions so much because he had been a Porter once, and he knew very well how difficult and tiring the job was.
‘Hmm... Then should I hire four Porters instead in the future...?’?he pondered.
Money was not an issue for Han-Yeol when it came to hiring Porters, because hiring two or four did not really make a huge difference to him, but he realized that he could further increase the pace if he brought four Porters next time. By doing that, he could make them work in shifts, thus increasing his hunting efficiency.
Of course, he could also hunt in a party, but he was more comfortable working alone since he did not have to be conscious of others. There was also the added advantage of not having to discuss things with others before making a decision and not having to share the profits from the hunt.
Besides, there was no reason why he could not hunt alone when ‘soloism’ was a trend these days, where people ate alone and drank alone at restaurants and bars.
“Hmm...” Han-Yeol muttered for a moment as he pondered what to do.
Han-Yeol decided to wake the Porters up. As much as he wanted to let them rest, it was not appropriate to sleep in this place. Then, he told them that they were free to go home and that he would personally return the truck to the Hunters’ Association. He also transferred five million won to each of their accounts, as their wages for today.
“I-Is it alright for you to p-pay us so much...?” the two Porters asked in surprise when they saw their wages come in. They had initially expected Han-Yeol to pay them two million won each.
Hunters usually earned quite a lot, but they were often stingy when it came to paying Porters. That was the reason why the two Porters had assumed that Han-Yeol was going to be no different from the others. In fact, there was nothing they could do but to receive whatever amount Han-Yeol chose to pay them. There was no way for them to lodge a formal complaint as long as he paid them the minimum wage stipulated by the rules of the Hunters’ Association.
However, Han-Yeol paid them a whopping five million won, more than double the amount that they had expected him to pay, for a single day’s work.
“Of course, the two of you worked really hard today. I think that you have done more than enough to deserve getting paid this much,” Han-Yeol replied.
“T-Thank you very much!” the two Porters exclaimed at the same time as they bowed toward Han-Yeol.
The Porters were very grateful for Han-Yeol’s generosity; five million won was a sum that they could only earn after going on three hunts. In turn, this meant that they were able to rest for three hunts without any hitch on their finances.
The Porters, who were now very touched by Han-Yeol’s generosity, offered to return the trucks to the Hunters’ Association, and Han-Yeol gave them the other emptied truck and sent them on their way.
Han-Yeol had more urgent matters to attend to now that the Porters were gone. Cutting the back of his hand now that he was alone, he muttered, “Summon Demon.”
[Kihihihi! Amazing! I never thought that you would call me so quickly,] Dellchant said as he appeared with his eerie laughter.
“Here is the hundred kilos of gold that you have requested. Well, it is technically more than a hundred kilos, but I will not ask you for the change,” Han-Yeol said respectfully, with just a hint of arrogance.
[What an arrogant human! Kihihi! However, I love arrogant humans like you. The customer is always king as long as you don’t run off with my payment!] Dellchant replied as he floated in mid-air. He went to the truck where the gold was, and after weighing the gold, he exclaimed, [It is a hundred kilos, like you said! Excellent!]
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