Chapter 5
“Squeeeak!”
“That makes six.”
Hyeon-jun finished off the unconscious Rune Rabbit and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Finally caught it.”
Sweat dripped down through his hair.
His legs felt as though heavy weights had been attached to them.
“I don’t think I can catch any more.”
At first, he had been able to catch Rune Rabbits simply by running after them.
Then he had started barely missing them.
Eventually, each one became harder and harder to catch.
“Well, I expected this.”
His Agility had nearly reached 100.
His Vitality, however, was still only ten.
He was like a gun with powerful shots but very little ammunition.
Catching six Rune Rabbits was already impressive.
“If I want to keep hunting Rune Rabbits, I need to increase Vitality.”
Should he raise Vitality and continue targeting Rune Rabbits?
Or raise Strength and begin hunting other monsters?
Those were his two choices.
“Hmm.”
Hyeon-jun thought about it.
The answer came quickly.
“Either way, I’ll need Vitality eventually.”
High Strength or Agility alone wasn’t enough to hunt large numbers of monsters.
Increasing Vitality was the immediate priority.
“I’ll focus on Vitality for now and keep hunting Rune Rabbits.”
After catching six today, he had grown somewhat accustomed to hunting them.
There had been a few differences between theory and reality, which had caused some difficulty, but he was steadily improving.
From now on, hunting them should only become easier.
It would likely be more efficient than fighting other monsters.
“Then I’ll stop here for today.”
Hyeon-jun processed the Rune Rabbit he had just caught and collected the spoils.
The hides made his bag fairly heavy.
“I hunted for around an hour and a half, right?”
Including his breaks, that sounded about right.
The number was far lower than his earlier estimate.
Still, considering this was his first hunt, the result wasn’t bad.
I originally thought I might not even catch one.
Yet he had caught six.
Calling that merely “not bad” was unfair.
It was a tremendous success.
“And I’ll only catch more in the future.”
Hyeon-jun chuckled as he headed toward the hunting ground exit.
...
...
After leaving, Hyeon-jun didn’t return home.
He headed straight for an Exchange to sell his spoils.
The nearest one was the Gwanak Branch, where he worked part-time.
However, Hyeon-jun deliberately went somewhere farther away.
If I sell them there, they’ll think it’s strange.
Employees who didn’t know his situation wouldn’t care.
But the branch manager knew everything.
If he suddenly appeared with several Rune Rabbits’ worth of loot, she would definitely ask questions.
Instead of wasting time making excuses, it’s better to go somewhere else even if it’s farther.
The place Hyeon-jun eventually reached was the Seoul Southern Exchange.
If ordinary Exchange branches were franchise stores, this place was more like a directly operated flagship branch.
It was much larger and busier than an ordinary branch.
Hyeon-jun took a number ticket and sat down to wait.
First, I’ll sell the hides and Mana Stones.
His biggest dilemma was the Rune Fragments.
Should he sell them?
Or collect four more and craft a Rune?
Hyeon-jun took out his smartphone, opened the Exchange app, and checked the exact market price.
16,000 won. That’s a thousand higher than I estimated.
He considered the situation based on ten Rune Fragments.
If he sold them, he would be guaranteed 160,000 won.
But if he crafted them into a Rune?
The cheapest F-rank Rune is...
He filtered the listings to F-rank Runes and sorted by lowest price.
[F-rank Defense Rune: 45,000 won]
Defense Runes were mainly used by people with Traits suited for tanking.
Absorbing one created a new Defense Stat.
However, since Soul Circuits had a limit to the number of Runes that could be engraved, it wasn’t a particularly popular option.
Even so, isn’t 45,000 won way too cheap?
This time, he sorted by highest price.
The Five Major Stat Runes appeared one after another.
The most expensive was the Strength Rune.
Its current lowest Exchange price was 310,000 won.
Minimum 45,000. Maximum 310,000. Sell the fragments and I’m guaranteed 160,000.
Suppose he assumed the worst outcome.
That made the decision easier.
45,000 won or 160,000 won.
A difference of over 100,000 won.
He would basically be gambling that much money.
If his luck was incredible, he could get something worth 310,000.
If it was terrible, he could end up with something worth 45,000.
I’m a Hunter now. Am I really going to be scared over a difference of a hundred thousand won?
Hyeon-jun confidently nodded to himself.
Of course I am.
One hundred thousand won.
That was a lot of money to gamble.
It was almost an entire day’s wages.
How could I just throw that away?
Becoming a Hunter hadn’t weakened the frugal habits that had been carved deep into his bones over the last several years.
I’m not exactly wealthy yet either.
Soon, Hyeon-jun’s number was called.
“Welcome. Please give me your Hunter ID and place your items in this basket.”
The employee at the purchasing counter placed a metal basket on the desk.
Hyeon-jun set his ID to one side and put his spoils into the basket.
Six F-rank Rune Fragments.
Six Rune Rabbit hides.
Six F-rank Mana Stones.
“You’re selling the Rune Fragments directly instead of crafting them into a Rune?”
Hyeon-jun paused at the employee’s question.
Hearing it aloud made his greed return.
Human nature was strange.
The moment gambling became an option, he suddenly felt certain that he would get something valuable.
Ugh. No. Resist the temptation!
Hyeon-jun pinched his thigh and barely suppressed the urge.
“That’s fine. I’ll sell them.”
“Understood. We’ll proceed with the purchase process.”
The Exchange purchasing procedure was simple.
Once the items were submitted, appraisal employees examined them and determined their value.
“Please wait a moment.”
The employee took the basket away.
After a short wait, they returned with an appraisal sheet.
“Please check the appraisal and purchase amount.”
Hyeon-jun reviewed it.
The results were almost exactly what he had predicted with his four years of experience.
As expected, the hides received good grades.
Most of them had been rated high quality.
A few that he thought he had damaged during processing had indeed been marked down.
“I’ve checked it.”
“Please sign at the bottom and write the account number where you’d like to receive the payment. You only need to register the account once. From next time onward, the money will automatically be transferred there.”
Hyeon-jun completed the paperwork and left.
Not long after walking out of the Exchange, he received a message.
It contained confirmation of the deposit and a receipt.
“149,800 won...”
Hyeon-jun smiled brightly at the screen.
It wasn’t simply because money had entered his account.
To him, that 150,000 won was more than money.
It represented hope that he could finally break free from the miserable chains around him.
It was also proof that he had truly become a Hunter.
“Now it finally feels real.”
Hyeon-jun’s steps felt so light that it was almost like walking on clouds.
But the happiness lasted only a moment.
One line on the receipt caught his attention.
[Fee (30%): 64,200 won]
“...Ah, right. The fee.”
When selling goods through the Exchange, a fee was deducted.
Since the Exchange itself was a government institution, it was basically a kind of tax.
“No wonder the amount seemed low.”
Hyeon-jun sighed.
64,200 won.
That was worth more than six Rune Rabbit hides.
It could cover half a month of food expenses.
The thought of losing that much money made his stomach hurt.
“They really take a ridiculous amount. Rank really is everything.”
In ordinary society, lower-income citizens generally paid less tax.
In the Hunter world, lower-ranked Hunters paid higher fees.
F-rank: 30%.
