Chapter 9

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 8 (9/176)

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 8

"Are you okay? You were unconscious for two whole days!"

The person who entered the hospital room was none other than Assistant Lim.

He checked on Seohu, who was sitting on the bed, and the moment their eyes met,

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry for running away by myself!"

He immediately apologized.

In fact, there was nothing an E-rank Hunter could do alone in that situation.

E-rank Hunters have physical abilities not much different from ordinary people, so they weren't considered combatants in dungeons.

The first thing Assistant Lim learned when he awakened as an E-rank Hunter was to run away with all his might if he saw a monster.

However, Seohu, who was just an ordinary person at the time, was extremely heroic.

'To save people in such a dangerous place until he fainted!'

Thanks to Seohu's heroic actions, which were in stark contrast to his own, Assistant Lim felt more embarrassed and flustered than ever before.

But Seohu, who received his apology, was composed.

"It's fine. There's no need for you to feel sorry."

"No, even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn't have anything to say."

As he repeatedly apologized, Assistant Lim took out a steaming bowl of porridge from the shopping bag and set it in front of Seohu.

"Come on, are you hungry? Eat the porridge first since you're on an empty stomach. Here, the spoon."

"Wow, such a good sense of timing?"

Rumble!

As soon as he saw it, Seohu's stomach growled loudly.

The smell of sesame oil wafted, and the beef porridge looked and tasted great.

Seohu immediately picked up the spoon and started eating the porridge.

After two days, the porridge tasted like honey.

"Want me to peel an apple for you after you finish?"

For some reason, there were apples in the refrigerator.

It turned out that Assistant Lim had been visiting Seohu, who was unconscious, every day.

'Who would have thought I'd end up taking care of a department assistant? I don't even have any injuries after leveling up.'

While thinking about being discharged today, Assistant Lim handed him an apple and asked,

"By the way, the people who left the room earlier were Association staff, right? What did they say?"

"They were measuring my mana."

"Huh? They measured it? You really did awaken?"

Assistant Lim's eyes widened.

"How much mana do you have? They said this dungeon was D-rank, so if you survived, you should be at least..."

"E-rank."

"Huh? Really?"

Assistant Lim's eyes grew wide.

Seohu showed him the mana result sheet left by the Association staff.

"Hey, what's this? You're really E-rank? With a mana value of 46, that's on the low side for E-rank."

"What, why are you disappointed? What did you expect? Wow, goosebumps. Did you think I'd awaken as an amazing Hunter and try to get in line? No wonder you were so nice."

"No, man! If you were an amazing Hunter, would you have fainted in such a dangerous place? I thought you'd be at most D-rank."

"See? You did think that."

Assistant Lim jumped up, claiming he was really wronged.

Then, he put down Seohu's result sheet and comforted him.

"Hey, it's actually better this way. E-rank is good, man. Don't you know that E-rank is more stable than a mediocre D-rank?"

"I don't know."

"Heh. Of course you wouldn't know. You just awakened."

Assistant Lim patted Seohu's shoulder with a condescending air.

"From now on, just follow me. I'll lead you into the world of E-rank Hunters as a seasoned E-rank Hunter."

* * *

Dungeon raids are carried out through strict division of labor.

First, the attack team that raids the dungeon.

The collection team that follows behind to gather the remains of monsters.

The excavation team that mines resources from the back.

Among these, the roles E-rank Hunters take on are all except the attack team.

"In other words, there are the most jobs for E-rank Hunters."

Assistant Lim's statement that E-rank was more stable than a mediocre D-rank was true.

D-rank Hunters are the weakest among the Hunters who can join the attack team.

In a way, they are the most exposed to danger.

On the other hand, E-rank Hunters are excluded from combat forces, so they can earn their daily wages by working in safe places, which is very good.

"Of course, some E-rank Hunters volunteer for the attack team to earn quick money, but it's rare. The hospital bills are higher. Unless you have a close Healer, that is."

After being discharged from the hospital the next day,

Seohu arrived at the Korean University Art Museum, listening to Assistant Lim's explanation.

'...I never thought I'd come back here again.'

Seohu looked up at the art museum, which had been half-destroyed 'because of Ber,' and reminisced.

The purpose of coming here today was to become an excavator.

Since this was his first real dungeon, he decided to accept Assistant Lim's offer to help.

"By the way, the school has switched all classes to online until the dungeon is completely cleared. Since you're a Hunter now, you'll naturally take a leave of absence, right?"

"That's the plan. The exhibition is probably over anyway, and this semester is almost done."

"Okay. I'll go to the assistant office and apply for your Hunter leave of absence. Shall we start now?"

Assistant Lim looked at Seohu with enthusiasm, his eyes shining.

His gaze exuded the aura of a seasoned senior.

"Heh. Today, I'll thoroughly guide you in the wise life of an E-rank Hunter! First, an excavator is!"

"Whoa?!"

At that moment, Ber suddenly popped out of Seohu's shadow.

Assistant Lim was startled and fell on his butt.

"M-monster?!"

Ber looked down at Assistant Lim with a disdainful gaze and muttered.

Then, he flew in front of Seohu, spreading his short arms wide and shouting grandly.

Seohu's hand grabbed the glowing Ber like a baseball.

"Why did you come out suddenly?"

Squish!

As he said this, Ber's body stretched and slipped out of Seohu's hand.

Then, the mini Ber perched on Seohu's shoulder, his eyes fiercely guarding the surroundings.

But Seohu wasn't fooled anymore.

'You'll probably just sit on the sidelines and talk when it's time to fight.'

At that moment, Assistant Lim, who had just regained his composure, pointed at Ber and asked cautiously.

"Seohu, is this a summon?"

Seohu didn't answer, and Ber firmly replied.

Strictly speaking, Ber wasn't Seohu's summon but his father's.

"If it's not a summon, then what...?"

Assistant Lim, who had already lost the first round, inadvertently used formal language.

Ber's eyes flashed intensely.

"...Nanny?"

Assistant Lim tilted his head.

"...?"

What was this kid talking about?

Ber, muttering incomprehensible words, gazed wistfully at Seohu's face.

Ignoring Ber, Assistant Lim asked Seohu directly.

"Did you awaken as a Summoner Hunter?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Hmm. That's interesting. I've never seen an E-rank Summoner before."

Assistant Lim didn't elaborate.

There was no need to mention how bad Summoner Hunters were.

Especially the combination of an E-rank Hunter and a summoning skill.

'A minor of minors, perhaps.'

Assistant Lim stared intently at Ber, who was perched on Seohu's shoulder.

He was just startled by Ber's sudden appearance, but now, seeing Ber's cute appearance directly...

'He's probably useless for anything, right?'

"..."

Assistant Lim narrowed his eyes.

Still, it seemed like a summon that could do well in observation.

Moreover, it could communicate, so it might be useful after all?

"Hem. Still, among E-rank Hunters, there are many who don't have any skills, so you're lucky. By the way, I have a running skill."

"Ah, that's why you ran so well."

"..."

Seohu's innocent comment hurt Assistant Lim.

It hurt even more because it was true.

* * *

Thus, Seohu became an excavator on Assistant Lim's recommendation.

"Alright! Let's work hard today!"

The excavation team, composed of E-rank Hunters, had a construction site vibe.

"Hey, newbie! Come get your pickaxe."

Thud.

The dungeon pickaxe was placed in Seohu's hand.

The uncle who distributed the pickaxes smiled warmly and said,

"If it breaks while you're working, come back to me. But the cost will be deducted from your pay, so be careful. Still, it's impressive for a young guy. You're a student at this school, right?"

"Hey, is this the guy?"

Surprisingly, most of the excavators recognized Seohu and greeted him warmly.

'It's because of that news.'

Seohu smiled bitterly, recalling the news that had been posted online recently.

The title was something like 'Korean University's Hero Becomes an E-rank Hunter.'

It was an ambiguous news piece, neither praise nor ridicule.

If he had been a regular citizen and a hero at the art museum, he might have received a bravery award. But because he awakened, it just seemed like a Hunter doing a Hunter's job.

However, his Hunter rank was the lowest, making the situation awkward from others' perspectives.

But even this awkward situation seemed to endear him to these uncles.

"Heh. What a shame. If you had awakened to a higher rank, your life would have changed dramatically."

"Still, don't be too disappointed about the low rank~ We're doing pretty well, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's a bit tough on the body, but it's great because you don't need any special skills, just good pickaxe work."

Everyone was eager to give Seohu some advice, welcoming a promising new recruit.

And Ber hated this warm atmosphere.

"Ooh! This is a summon?"

"Whoa. I've never seen one like this before."

"He's cute to carry around."

"He's too small to be useful for excavation, though?"

The excavators gathered around, intrigued by Ber's sudden appearance.

Ber fiercely guarded against them, emitting a killing aura.

"..."

Seohu looked at Ber expressionlessly.

Was this overprotection or just showing off?

"Hehe. Your summon is reliable."

"Alright, let's get to work."

The excavators, laughing at Ber's antics, shouldered their pickaxes and dispersed.

Seeing this, Seohu had a good idea.

"Ber."

"...Don't touch me."

"Bring out the goblin corpses from the Shadow Dungeon."