First Hunt's Rewards

After the first battle, there had been nine more skirmishes in total. In that time, Taejeong had reached level 5, and the truck bed was nearly piled with the corpses of over twenty wolves.

He'd actually taken down even more, but the massive ones were too big to haul alone—he'd had to leave those behind. It was a bit regrettable, but this haul was still an impressive yield for the time invested.

"No new gear or skills?"

Taejeong muttered as he checked his status window during a break. He'd been secretly hoping for something with every level up—after all, level 2 had given him one.

But he wasn't disappointed. This was only level 5, after all. And just hunting monsters like this was an endless rush of thrill and awe for him.

From tailing hunters every day as a mere porter, doing their dirty work... now he was the one hunting. What could feel more exhilarating?

"Man, this class is straight-up broken. Range might be shorter than magic, but while they fire one shot, I can unload at least five."

Taejeong had observed plenty of hunters during his porter days. He'd seen countless ranged spells from mages—flashy, sure, but with clear drawbacks. The cooldown after each cast was killer, making solo play suicidal and party hunts a must.

But his Mechanic class had no such worries. With infinite mana and quick trigger fingers, he could fire endlessly.

Of course, it wasn't perfect. Magic often hit areas, so you could spray and pray. Guns? One bullet, one target—and misses happened if accuracy sucked.

But accuracy came with practice, and with guns unlocked, who knew? Maybe grenades or bigger firepower next.

"Missiles would be insane, but yeah, probably too OP."

Daydreaming happily, Taejeong set off again. Amid slaughtering wolf after wolf, a welcome chime rang in his ears.

"Oh yeah."

Grinning, he dove straight into his inventory.

The new gear was a pistol, slightly better than his Beretta56.

Next, he checked his skills.

"Dual summon, rapid fire, and 50% recoil reduction. Not bad at all."

Summoning two weapons at once was a huge edge in tight spots. Less recoil meant less fatigue and better accuracy. Rapid fire needed more mana investment before it shone as a main tool.

"Eh, it'll get there."

With solid gains, Taejeong decided to wrap up. Sunset was still a ways off, but processing the bodies meant heading back now.

He loaded the last kills and drove out of the village, arriving at the outer barrier.

Only licensed hunters could bring corpses inside, so all processing happened here. With practiced hands, he butchered the truckload.

Hours later, all thirty pelts were done.

"Whew. Been a while since I went this hard."

Wiping sweat like rain, he beamed at his haul. Thirty intact hides—some bullet holes, but far better than most hunters managed.

"Oh, heading out already?"

"Yeah. Tough going solo."

"Damn, how many wolves is this? What's your class? No porters, and this clean a job... you must be pretty good..."

The guard shook his head, peering into the truck. Taejeong just gave a quick "thanks for the hard work" and peeled out.

Better keep it under wraps for now.

Rare classes drew eyes—good and bad. Exploitation was rampant, and low levels were especially vulnerable. No need to tempt fate.

Back in Seoul, he headed to one of the two massive markets hunters loved for selling his hides: Hana Market.

This mega-mart dealt in all monster materials and gear nationwide, spanning four 20-story buildings. The glittering luxury hit him like a wave.

Always just dropping stuff off... never dreamed I'd be selling here.

Not his first visit—porters always ended shifts hauling here. Parking at the unload bay, appraisers swarmed.

One flashed two fingers: 100,000 won each. Thumbs meant 50,000. Wait for the highest bidder.

Three hesitated at two fingers. One added a thumb: 250,000. Another bowed out. The last guy eyed the hides, then boldly showed three fingers.

The thumb guy shrugged and left. Final bid: 300,000 won per hide—insanely lucky. Wolf pelts rarely topped 250,000, even prime.

"Thirty, so 9 million?"

"Yep. Best condition I've seen lately. Where's your porter crew?"

"No porters. I'll haul it myself."

Handing over the hides, Taejeong gawked at the 9 million won in his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠account.

His porter daily was 300,000 on average—life-risking grind. Huge by normal standards, but the uncertainty sucked. Porters were temp gigs for quick cash.

Nearly a year without missing a day? He wasn't ordinary.

"9 mil a day... a month? No wonder hunters blow cash like water. Easy money."

He shook his head, knowing wolf hides were bottom-tier loot. This was just a taste.

Grinning ear-to-ear, he left the market, washed his car, and headed home to scrub off the grime.

"Wait... did I eat today?"

Realizing he'd skipped meals, yet no hunger—just fullness from dreams of tomorrow.

"Hell yeah. Life's good now, Yoo Taejeong. You're set."

Next morning, a light breakfast down, he hit Anseong again. Needed level 20 minimum for better grounds, so wolves it was for now.

Experience smoothed things—accuracy way up, rarely wasting shots on targets. Recoil cut made a world of difference.

Around lunch, he finally paused.

"Hmm. Stats random? No clue how they scale."

Attack power measured per shot: rifles around 200, pistols 150-ish. Defense probably auto-detected gear. Other stats? Mystery.

"Not a big deal right now."

Back to hunting. The longer he went, the bolder he got—confidence in his skills swelling. But the truck felt cramped.

Time to step out soon?

Great cover from enemies, but it boxed him in. Safe, but slow. Dual pistols outside? Growth would skyrocket.

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Not yet, though. Day 2 rookie and all.

Deep into the hunt, another joyful chime.

"Huh? Exoskeleton... Robot Summon?"