“It’s real.”
Hans requested it be done, but he truly didn’t expect Sungmin to succeed. He ordered a 14 year old boy to capture 5 orcs. Moreover, the boy wasn’t someone who had mastered martial arts, nor was he a person who had mastery in magic. He was a fourteen year old No Class.
Such a kid brought 10 orc eyeballs.
“I was about to die.”
Lee Sungmin looked terrible. He had become a dirty mess after the ambush. He was sweating and his face was smeared with dirt, permeating the air with the stench of blood and sweat.
“You didn’t just collect these from the ground, right?”
“How can I get orc eyeballs from the ground that easily.”
“You could have come across a corpse.”
“You just don’t want to give me what we promised, right?”
Lee Sungmin asked.
Hans laughed at that. After a bout of laughter, Hans shook his head.
“No, it’s a promise, so I’ll give it to you.”
Hans muttered as he pulled out the interdimensional pocket.
“Now, here’s the interdimensional pocket worth 600,000 Erie.”
Lee Sungmin grabbed the pocket from him with the speed of lightning. He smiled and shoved it into his pocket.
“Thank you!”
“Finally, you seem like a child when smiling.”
Hans laughed.
“What do you mean ‘seems like a child’? I am one.”
“What. It’s been about 2 weeks since I’ve gotten to know you… I’ve never seen a child like you. How do you have such a mature mentality?”
It was an accurate inference. Lee Sungmin puckered his lips and muttered.
“I think it’s normal.”
“Hahahaha!”
Hans laughed while holding onto his stomach. It was hard acting like a genuine kid. Sungmin thought that as he pulled out 5 axes.
“Buy these for me, please.”
“Hey, you shameless brat. Why would I buy this? The edge is chipped, and the weapon as a whole is about to break, too.”
“You can just retrieve the steel from it and buy that.”
“What kind of an idiot would buy steel that isn’t even clean?”
“But… I brought this heavy thing for you…”
“That’s your problem. I’m not buying this.”
Hans seemed to have some kindness in him so Sungmin had a go at attempting to sell the axes off, but it seemed like he didn’t have that much goodwill to buy trash. His shoulders drooped.
“Don’t do that.”
Hans grumbled.
“Would you consider becoming a mercenary?”
Hans suddenly asked.
“A mercenary?”
“Yeah.”
Mercenary. Lee Sungmin knew about them. In his past life, he belonged to a mercenary guild.
It was one of the easiest jobs that a No Class could get. There were many merits in becoming one. The guild would take commissions, but it would be easier to trade items through mercenary guilds, and it would be easier to arrive in most cities with a mercenary ID.
It was easy to get ‘jobs’, too. There was usually at least one in every city. The jobs assigned to mercenaries were different, but they would still be able to carry out jobs to earn money and recognition.
“... I don’t have any plans yet.”
Lee Sungmin shook his head.
His past self was a C-rank mercenary. It wasn’t the best. Most of the mercenaries were ranked C.
C rank. That was essentially the limit of a No Class. Perhaps, if he had come across fortuitous opportunities, he might have reached a rank higher than that, but it was impossible for the average No Class- such as himself.
‘I would be a F-rank mercenary if I signed up now.’
The lowest ranking was G. ly, he started from G-rank and made it up to C-rank. The mercenaries within the same rank also had great disparity in strength between one another. To say there were different levels of strength such as C+, C, and C-, he was a mere C.
He already knew the process of becoming one and knew that there wouldn’t be much benefits in joining. Though it was simple to enter the guild, rising up in ranks was far more difficult. Dropping in ranks, however, was an easy matter. Just a few botched missions would cause a person to drop down by one rank.
It would be better to conserve his energy for the time being and sign up later on. Starting out as a D-ranker would put him in a better situation as compared to starting as a G-ranker. His aim was to qualify to be a D-ranker. He had no plans on entering the guild till then.
“Hm, if you don’t want to, then it’s fine”
Hans muttered.
“But, becoming a mercenary isn’t that bad. A lot of benefits come along in doing so.”
“I suppose.”
He already knew about said benefits. The stench of battle still clung to his body distracting him.
“Um, can I leave?”
“Leaving once you’ve finished your business with me. You uncharming boy.”
“Do you enjoy getting charm from a boy?”
“No. Leave.”
Hans waved his hands. Sungmin bowed and grabbed his bag from the ground. Then, he moved away from Hans.
“Hey! Take your trash!”
Hans yelled at him, but he ignored it.
*
“Hey, you stink.”
He heard such a remark once he returned to the inn.
A girl with fair cheeks looked at Sungmin and held her head. He knew that he stunk, so he didn’t react to it.
“I know.”
“You, you talked disrespectfully to me again!”
The girl said in a sharp tone. Her name was Lula she was Jack’s daughter.
“Our difference in age is only by one year. It’s funny to have to call a person just a year older than you your older sister.”
“What’s funny about that? You’re still younger than me.”
“You should act more mature before people address you as their older sister.”
Lee Sungmin put down his bag. Lula was 15; she was older than him by a year.
However, he had no intentions on addressing her as his older sister. He looked to be 14 years of age, but he was actually a 27 year old man. Referring to a 15 year old girl that way was something Sungmin could not bear to do.
“What about Jack?”
“He’s in the kitchen. The meal today is mushroom stew and chicken. It should be delicious, right?”
Lula said laughingly. Jack’s cooking was exemplary. If Sungmin had to pick out two things that he liked the most, it would be the increase in speed of his cultivation methods and Jack’s culinary skills.
He couldn’t eat a proper breakfast as he left the inn early in the morning. Therefore, his breakfast comprised of mainly hard bread. His lunch was comprised of just bread, too.
“What did you eat for breakfast?”
“Bread, fried eggs and potatoes.”
“It probably tasted great.”
“Dad’s good at cooking. You should leave a bit later so you can eat breakfast together with us.”
Sitting on the table, she grumbled as she swung her legs. Sungmin smiled bitterly at that.
There was a reason why he had to leave so early. In the morning, there were fewer people. Usually, the forest would be crowded with Otherworlders later on during the day. If he were to come across another person in the forest annoying issues might arise.
Instead of having to deal with the possibility of encountering matters like that, it was better to leave early with some hard bread.
‘However, I’ll be able to hunt with ease tomorrow.’
With the help of the interdimensional pocket, it would be convenient to bring more food along with him. He didn’t bring milk before- for fear of it spoiling midway- but he would be able to bring some in the future by using the interdimensional pocket.
Milk was important. He was currently growing. If he didn’t maintain a balanced diet, he might not grow to be as tall as his previous self.
“Why do you fight in the forest everyday? You always return with a stench on you.”
She asked. She was probably bored, hence the smalltalk. There weren’t many customers in the inn as it was located far away from the forest, and the customers who visited were usually Jack’s regulars who just wanted to have a meal.
Of course, there would not be anyone near Lula’s age. Lee Sungmin was a friend that she did not have since a long time ago.
“I’m an Otherworlder. I need to hunt monsters to earn money.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? Otherworlders don’t have to hunt. They can just get a job and work!”
Lula retorted. He could only smile bitterly in response.
Lula was right. There were easier ways to live in Eria. Becoming a mercenary and hunting monsters like Lee Sungmin did in his past life was just one of the various methods for survival.
Usually, the Otherworlders who had no power would get jobs.
“How about working at our inn? I think my dad likes you.”
“I don’t know how to cook or clean.”
That was a lie. He knew how to do such things. It was the first task the mercenary guild made him do after his registration.
However, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to waste his precious return to the past by engaging in menial tasks such as hard labour.
“But, what if you die?”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Easier said than done, is it not?”
“Of course I know that. I almost died today.”
“I don’t get it. Isn’t it better to work at a inn than to put your life at risk?”
Lula grumbled. She might be right. Lee Sungmin knew from experience that what he planned to do might just be a stupid aspiration.
“Call me when it’s dinnertime.”
He said as he climbed up the stairs.
He knew that the outcome may be bleak, but he wanted to start all over again.
A life better than before.