Day 9.
Reached 100 Agility and 19 Stamina.
But he couldn't go hunting.
Belated muscle aches hit him, and he lay in bed all day.
Day 10.
Reached 29 Stamina.
Caught 8 Rune Rabbits.
Also sold the Rune of Agility.
Rune sale proceeds: 280,000 won
Settlement: 196,000 won.
Day 11.
Reached 39 Stamina.
Caught 10 Rune Rabbits.
Settlement: 245,000 won.
Day 12.
Reached 49 Stamina.
“And body aches.”
Was it because he'd gone hunting two days in a row?
He'd been fine yesterday, but the muscle aches came on today.
“From now on, I should go hunting every other day, resting in between.”
If he had a party, it might be different.
But hunting alone was putting a lot of strain on him in many ways.
“Still, I'm glad it's not as bad as a few days ago.”
The day after his first hunt.
Back then, he truly couldn't move a muscle.
Except for going to the bathroom or eating, he had literally lain in bed all day.
“That was a real waste of time.”
His body was used to working every single day.
Even while suffering from terrible body aches, he couldn't shake the thought that he was wasting time.
“I can't spend today like that too. Let's do something.”
Exercise required using his body, so that was out.
Studying theory? He already knew a lot, so there was nothing more to study.
“Ah, maybe I'll do that.”
Hyun-jun sat down in front of his low floor table.
His hunting was gradually getting on track.
It was about time to make a plan for becoming E-Grade.
“There are three requirements for becoming E-Grade.”
Hyun-jun wrote the requirements down in a notebook with a pen.
1. Reach an E-Grade Soul Circuit.
2. Complete the beginner course at the Hunter Academy.
3. Clear an F-Grade closed-type Gate once.
First, raising the Grade of the Soul Circuit.
To raise the Circuit's Grade, he had to raise the Five Major Runes, in other words, all stats, to 100.
“That's 500 Runes in total.”
In cash, it was an amount over 100 million won.
It wasn't an unreachable level even for ordinary Hunters, but it wasn't an easy number either.
“For me, it was money I couldn't even dream of.”
That had been the case in the past.
But now, time would solve it.
“Agility 100. Stamina 49. The other stats are 10. I need 321 more Runes.”
The stats that awkwardly ended in 9 could be filled with original Runes.
‘32 more days.’
If he didn't waste the Duplicate Skill on anything else, his Soul Circuit would become E-Grade on day 32.
“Number 1's settled. Next, number two.”
Passing the promotion exam held by the Hunter Academy.
The Hunter Academy was a government-certified educational facility that provided various lessons related to Hunters.
It had been established to provide basic education on Awakened and Anomalous Spaces, and it was a kind of preventive measure to stop the reckless deaths of Hunters.
‘That's why, to become a Hunter, you basically have to take the basic classes and pass an exam.’
Since it was online, hardly anyone actually listened properly, though.
Anyway, he had to pass the Hunter Academy's promotion exam.
The official name was the E-Grade Hunter Qualification Exam.
It was literally an exam that tested whether one was qualified to become an E-Grade Hunter.
“They say it's not that hard.”
It was absolute grading, not relative grading.
As long as one passed the set threshold, one could pass the exam and become an E-Grade Hunter.
“And it's free, too.”
It seemed he didn't need to worry much about the second one.
The problem was the third.
“Clear an F-Grade closed-type Gate once.”
It was a closed-type Gate he absolutely didn't want to enter, but if he wanted to raise his Grade, it was unavoidable.
“Still, I'm glad I only have to go once.”
Hyun-jun felt worried, but at the same time, he felt a strange excitement.
It was an emotion similar to what he had felt when he first dreamed of becoming a Hunter.
‘Unpredictable experiences you can have in an unknown space.’
Being dangerous was another way of saying it was full of thrills.
Back when he was a naive boy, Hyun-jun had wished to become a Hunter, dreaming of those thrills.
He had only given up that feeling when the unforeseen accident happened and he gained people to protect.
“The situation's still the same now, but...... wouldn't it be okay to take on a bit of a challenge?”
Hyun-jun had gained quite a bit of confidence from his hunting over the past few days.
No matter how unpredictable things got in a dungeon, it seemed he could handle an F-Grade one well enough.
“Of course, not right away.”
Right now, only his Agility was high.
He needed to grow a little more.
“At the very least, I need an E-Grade Soul Circuit.”
It would be worth trying once just Strength, Agility, and Stamina reached 100.
But Hyun-jun wanted a more certain, safer method.
“It's a place where I could die with one wrong move.......”
Death.
Just imagining it made him shudder.
It wasn't simply that he was afraid of dying; there was something more frightening than that.
The pressure the world would put on the sister he left behind.
That, at least, he never wanted to pass down to her.
“So, as safely as possible.”
Hyun-jun wrote something new under the third item.
3-1. Goals for safety.
3-1.1 Reach an E-Grade Soul Circuit.
3-1.2 Gain experience.
‘I still lack experience as a Hunter.’
He had gone into dungeons of higher Grades than F a few times, but strictly as a porter.
Even then, he'd thought it was dangerous, so he hadn't done it many times.
‘And the only monsters I've caught since becoming a Hunter are Rune Rabbits.’
There was no telling what monsters would appear inside a dungeon.
He needed to encounter as many types of monsters as possible and build up direct combat experience.
‘I know the theory inside and out, but actually facing them is a different story.’
Hyun-jun added another new line below that.
-Once Stamina and Strength hit 100, try hunting in fields other than the grassland field.
It was a neatly summarized plan for the future.
“Ah, once my Soul Circuit is E-Grade, I should try party hunting once, too.”
Entering a dungeon alone was impossible.
It wasn't a System restriction, but a legal restriction to prevent the reckless deaths of Hunters.
It seemed like a good idea to get used to hunting with other people in advance, to prepare for that time.
“Good. That's enough planning.”
Just as Hyun-jun put a period in his notebook.
Bzzzz.
His smartphone, which had rarely rung since he quit his job, rang.
The name Sister appeared on the screen.
“What's this about?”
His sister usually contacted him through a messenger app and almost never called.
And besides, right now she should be in the middle of school.
“It's not vacation season yet.”
Feeling puzzled, Hyun-jun answered the call.
“Hey, Hyun-ah.”
-Big brother, can you talk right now? You didn't step out of work, did you?
He hadn't yet told his sister that he was working as a Hunter.
It was obvious she would worry if he told her, so he was waiting for the right opportunity.
“I can, so I answered. But what's with the call?”
-They told me to move out of the dorm.
“What? Why?”
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Suddenly being told to move out of the dorm?
-They're renovating the whole dorm.
“......Hey, you should've said that first. I thought you were getting kicked out.”
-Hehehe. I was hoping for that reaction.
“When are you coming? Today?”
-No. They said it starts a few days after break begins, so I'll probably come home in a little over two weeks.
Hyun-jun glanced around the house.
It was roomy enough for two people to lie down, but not big enough for them to live together.
“Will you be okay? It's a semi-basement, so it'll be tough.”
-Of course I'll be okay. It's not like it's a garbage dump.
“I'm saying it because you might not be able to study.”
-I can just go out and study. It's fine.
“Outside?”
The neighborhood he currently lived in had a lot of hills.
And the semi-basement was at the top of the highest of those hills.
Transportation was so poor that to take the subway, he had to walk 10 minutes to the village bus stop and take a bus down.
“You didn't forget where the house is, did you?”
-Of course not! That's a distance I can walk as exercise, so don't worry.
“Hmm.......”
-Ah, big brother, I've got to go. Class is about to start.
“Okay. See you in a week.”
Hyun-jun hung up.
After staring at the blinking screen for a while, he opened his banking app and checked his balance.
The balance itself was plentiful enough to rent a two-room place with money to spare.
But all of it was money that had somewhere to go.
“Considering the income I've had since starting as a Hunter, it seems like I could fill it back up quickly, though.”
His deliberation deepened.
Until now, his sister had always stayed at the dorm even during vacations.
Since her life as an exam candidate would begin in earnest next year, he wanted her to stay comfortably at home this winter break.
“Right. I'll just push myself a bit.”
After much deliberation, Hyun-jun made his decision.
He would leave the semi-basement he'd lived in for several years and move to a new home.
***
From decision to execution took no time at all.
Hyun-jun went straight to a real estate agency.
When he roughly described his conditions, the agency owner introduced a place.
“This one matches exactly the conditions you mentioned.”
Two rooms. Good heating, windows, plenty of sunlight, and on top of that, it even came furnished with a refrigerator, washing machine, bed, and more.
“I'll take this one.”
Hyun-jun quickly signed the contract and moved out of the semi-basement.
When Hyun-jun told the semi-basement's owner he was leaving, the owner congratulated him, saying he was finally moving out.
“I guess people usually don't live there as long as I did.”
According to the landlord, before Hyun-jun moved in, the tenant had changed every few months.
That meant it was a hard place to live.
“I thought it was livable enough.”
Hyun-jun prepared to move.
Packing his things took exactly 30 minutes.
Even though he'd lived there for years, all his belongings fit into a single box.
“Once I threw out what needed to be thrown out, there's nothing left.”
The only bulky items were the low floor table and the mattress, but he had picked both up off the street, so he stuck disposal stickers on them and threw them out.
The blanket was so worn out that he just threw it out too.
“Goodbye. My dear old semi-basement.”
Hyun-jun moved to his new home.
Since his belongings fit in one box, it finished so quickly that it hardly felt right to call it a move.
“Now this is a home.”
Wallpaper so clean it looked like it had just been put up.
It was a view on a completely different level from the semi-basement, where mold was visible wherever he looked.
“The lights are even LED.”
In the semi-basement, he'd used an incandescent bulb he didn't even know how long had been there.
So on the very rare occasions he turned on the light, the whole room was tinted yellow.
“So this is why people spend money.”
Hyun-jun flopped down on the bed that came with the place.
A softness on a completely different level from the mattress he'd picked up off the street.
It felt like his eyes would close at any moment.
“No, no. I have to get everything done today.”
Since the body aches had given him some free time, Hyun-jun intended to fill the place with the daily necessities and furniture he was missing.
“I'll buy what I need to buy, and get what I can on Carrot Market.”
Hyun-jun busily went back and forth between the house and outside.
Thanks to moving nonstop, the empty house became fairly well equipped.
A TV, an office PC and monitor, a microwave, a chest of drawers, and so on.
“Whew.”
Hyun-jun wiped the sweat beading on his forehead, even though it was winter.
“Now it feels like I'm finally living like a human being.”
Hyun-jun washed himself with warm water for the first time in a long while and sat down in the living room.
Wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts in the middle of winter felt rather awkward.
“I always layered a padded jacket and pants to save on heating bills.”
While he was at it, Hyun-jun even ordered fried chicken and sat in front of the TV.
It was a gift to himself for finishing the move in a single day, and a farewell to the self who had rejoiced and despaired over every single won.
“I'm happy.”
A life where he ate chicken while watching TV.
Honestly, he'd thought a day like this would never come again.
But his life had turned around like a miracle.
“There really is no rule that says you just have to die.”
Of course, nothing had realistically changed in a big way yet.
His mother was still lying in the hospital, and the debt remained as it was.
Even so, it meant a lot that his hope now had something to stand on.
A hope that had been precarious because it had nothing to stand on had now gained real strength.