Chapter 8

“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 . Previously, 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 beard .

‘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 .