#3
Ha-seong, who had obtained better items than expected from the C-rank dungeon, headed straight home. As soon as he arrived, he devoutly began preparing for work. First, he took out the items he had farmed today from his inventory. Among them, he picked up the most eye-catching pitch-black magic stone.
“I can’t believe I found this.”
To others’ eyes, it would just look like a rock that had been rolling around on a dusty floor, but Ha-seong knew very well what it was.
[Trait ‘Crafting Skill (S)’ is activated.]
A status window appeared asking if he wanted to craft the magic stone, and soon the magic stone began to emit light. The black and dark-colored magic stone slowly began to take on a beautiful blue-green hue.
Ha-seong slowly read the item property window that appeared. As expected, it was just as Ha-seong had predicted. It was a ‘Firefly Crystal,’ the highest grade among crystals used to make weapons or consumable items. Like fireflies that look especially beautiful at night, this crystal could only show its true form after going through precise crafting.
Today felt good from the start. Ha-seong slowly worked on the remaining items as well. Ha-seong roughly selected the items to take and put them back in his inventory, then slowly left the house.
With his well-stocked inventory, his destination was already decided.
* * *
“Oh? Ha-seong is here?”
“Hello, boss.”
Jongno 3-ga street. This place, lined with numerous item distribution shops selling magic stones, weapons, potions, and so on, was called ‘Item Street’ by hunters. As soon as Ha-seong entered Item Street, he didn’t hesitate and went straight into a shop at the very end.
“Here to bring items again today?”
“Yes. Just a moment…”
Ha-seong opened his inventory and took out the magic stones and weapons he had farmed from the C-rank dungeon yesterday. The magic stones had gone through the crafting process, and the weapons were carefully selected ones that had value worth selling for money after comparing their stats with other items.
“Here you go.”
“Wow, you’ve brought only high-quality ones again today.”
The boss told him to wait a moment and went inside with the items Ha-seong had placed down. Ha-seong familiarly went to the water dispenser in one corner, got some water, and sat at the customer table. Quite a lot of time had already passed since he started coming and going to this place.
As soon as Ha-seong realized he had fallen into a parallel world, he thought first. He needed to establish himself in this place. Anyway, he wasn’t dead, and since he had dropped into this place, he had to live this way. So he had to find a way to survive here.
If it were an ordinary person, their mental state might have collapsed from the fact that the world they lived in had perished and they alone survived, and that they had dimensionally traveled to a completely different place from where they originally lived, even if it was a parallel world. But Ha-seong wasn’t like that. Following the nation’s orders, he had entered countless dungeons and killed countless monsters. The times he had escaped death crises were countless. So naturally, survival instinct had to be strongly embedded in his psyche. Realizing his situation and seeking ways to survive first. Wasn’t that the basic principle of a hunter?
‘I need money first.’
Ha-seong thought of that first. It wasn’t money for the first step toward a wealthy unemployed life. It was really for survival, for the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter that needed to be resolved immediately to establish himself in this place.
Since Ha-seong was usually cautious and didn’t trust others well, he didn’t carry cash on him. He kept cash in a safe that could only be seen after breaking through triple doors on the first basement floor of his house, so he had almost no money on hand. If he had known he would fall into a parallel world, he would have carried some with him.
But there are always ways to overcome hardships. Ha-seong first came to this street with the magic stones and weapons that filled his inventory. Among what Ha-seong had, there were naturally many A-rank weapons, and the items and magic stones he had obtained by killing monsters were all high-quality, so he thought they would bring quite a bit of money if sold.
But contrary to such thoughts, Ha-seong had to be turned away by the shop owners on his first day coming to Item Street.
‘Hmm, this is a magic stone? No matter how I look at it, it’s just a rock…’
‘What kind of A-rank weapon is this scrap metal? You’re a scammer, aren’t you?’
That’s when he realized. This place was more advanced technologically and civilizationally than the world he had lived in, but the information power regarding items hadn’t developed that much yet. Well, the world Ha-seong originally lived in was one where gates opened frequently and they had to fight in dungeons all day long. Even if technology hadn’t developed, dungeon strategy and item utilization—that is, methods directly related to survival—had developed tremendously.
Ha-seong tried his best to persuade them, saying that good days would come if they had these items, with words that only cult leaders would use, but it was all useless.
‘How about selling those items to me?’
The only one who extended a hand then was the boss of this shop, ‘We’ll Try to Sell Anything.’ This shop, which prioritized purchasing, specialized in buying good items and reselling them to guilds, and the boss was also the only one who recognized the value of Ha-seong’s items.
“Here, did you wait long? Here’s the money.”
“Thank you.”
“The items are really good this time too. I put in plenty.”
The boss laughed heartily and patted Ha-seong’s shoulder. Exactly one month after first handing over items here, this shop hit what you might call the jackpot. Ha-seong’s weapon turned out to be an A-rank item that partially contained materials from a Grade 1 monster, and the magic stones were also revealed to contain tremendous energy, which became the opportunity for Ha-seong to establish formal dealings with this shop.
“The boss really has a good eye.”
“But who exactly is the hunter making requests for you to keep bringing such good items?”
“Haha, I’m just playing a middleman role, so I don’t know much either.”
Ha-seong scratched his head as if embarrassed. As the number of transactions increased, naturally the boss began to pay attention to Ha-seong. When asked which guild’s hunter he was to keep bringing such items, Ha-seong lied without batting an eye.
‘I’m not a hunter.’
He had nearly died from working to death as a hunter, so he couldn’t live as a hunter even here. Of course, he knew that the consciousness and authority regarding hunters in this place were on a different level compared to his previous world, but Ha-seong’s goal was to be a wealthy unemployed person.
Unemployed. A jobless person, that is. If he worked as a hunter here, he could naturally enjoy treatment he had never received in his previous world, but he was now sick of hunter work.
So he decided. He would be someone who wasn’t a hunter. Anyway, he had decided that for himself. Since this world couldn’t possibly know about ‘S-rank Hunter Do Ha-seong,’ it wasn’t that difficult.
“Well, it’s not easy to make a living doing purifier work. Everyone has side jobs.”
The boss nodded understandingly. He couldn’t reveal that he had been a hunter, but for the <Second Life Living Project – Subtitle: My Dream is to be a Wealthy Unemployed Person> project, he needed to earn funds. So at that time, the deal with ‘We’ll Try to Sell Anything’ was absolutely necessary for Ha-seong. So this was the method he came up with.
He was a middleman who delivered items for hunters and received money. If he said that, he could also get the image of being an insignificant person who needed the tiny commission that fell from that process, killing two birds with one stone.
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“Alright. Be careful. Come often!”
Leaving behind the boss’s greeting filled with self-interest, Ha-seong left the shop. At the same time, Ha-seong’s phone rang. It was a request call.
“I seem to be lucky these days.”
Ha-seong grinned as he checked the request location. The purifier profession didn’t exist in the world Ha-seong originally lived in, so it was unfamiliar. But as soon as he learned of that profession’s existence after coming here, Ha-seong thought it was perfect. The mask of being a purifier would be the key to lead Do Ha-seong to the life of a billionaire unemployed person.
“Hello. I’m Do Ha-seong. You called for a purifier, right?”
Fortunately, the request location was close to Item Street, so Ha-seong could arrive quickly. When he arrived, several people who appeared to be hunters were standing around a dungeon that had already been cleared. They seemed to have just finished clearing it.
“Ah, yes, hello.”
This was also a request from a small guild. Ha-seong was a so-called freelance purifier. Usually, large and medium-sized guilds had exclusive purifiers under formal contracts, so Ha-seong’s popularity was gradually growing among small guilds that couldn’t afford to have such purifiers. The biggest share of the reason was that he charged less than the average purification cost for request fees. Of course, this request fee wasn’t Ha-seong’s main purpose.
“Let me explain the contract conditions once more. From now on, I’m going to briefly go inside this dungeon. Of course, I’ll be back within 5 minutes. As soon as I return, I’ll start the purification work.”
Ha-seong smoothly recited the now-familiar lines. And he stood in front of the gate with a calm face. That’s when he noticed the person who appeared to be the guild leader looking restless. Well, it was a familiar reaction. They had made the request because they were tempted by the cheap price, but hearing such strange conditions directly made them worry a bit.
But the most important part of the contract conditions was ‘not asking anything.’ Ha-seong crossed the gate, leaving behind the half-believing faces.
“I can never get used to entering dungeons.”
Ha-seong activated his search skill as soon as he entered. Fortunately, there were no monsters inside and it was indeed a completely cleared dungeon.
“Well then, shall I make some money?”
Ha-seong grinned and stepped forward. Even he thought it was a brilliant scheme. Working as a purifier while briefly borrowing cleared dungeons to collect items. And selling them to ‘We’ll Try to Sell Anything.’ This was the kind of business Ha-seong was currently running.
Of course, there were many clients who found Ha-seong’s business suspicious. But there were solutions for that too.
Ha-seong wandered around the cleared dungeon collecting items. This dungeon didn’t have many useful items, so he went out through the gate before even 5 minutes passed.
“Then I’ll start the purification work right away.”
Ha-seong, who came out of the dungeon, used his energy absorption skill as usual to close the gate. Now he just needed to receive the purification fee and this job would be finished.
“Um, excuse me. Is it okay for a purifier to do this?”
That’s when the person who appeared to be the guild leader carefully spoke up.
“Even if the strategy is finished, for someone who isn’t even a hunter to enter a dungeon alone… I don’t even know what you’re doing in there…”
Tsk, Ha-seong clicked his tongue inwardly. If they were going to make such uncomfortable faces, why did they make the request in the first place? When they themselves called because they were tempted by the cheap price.
Ha-seong let out a short sigh and raised his head. He had experienced such situations countless times. People like that who brought up principles and asked if this was okay. For such types, arguing that not asking anything was the contract condition might have the opposite effect. It would be troublesome if they reported to the Hunter Management Bureau.
So Ha-seong just had to follow the manual he had created.
“Ah… the truth is… I’ve dreamed of being a hunter since I was young, but I awakened with mediocre abilities…”
Ha-seong was now possessed by a famous actor who had won the Best Actor award. He continued speaking in a trembling voice while making the most pitiful expression possible.
“I also wanted to be active in dungeons magnificently like you hunters, and kill monsters to protect people from threats…!”
Ha-seong even made a motion of wiping his eyes. Of course, it was all bullshit. Magnificent activity, what a joke. Ha-seong was the person who was sick of being a hunter.
“Oh my…”
The expressions of the hunters who had been quietly listening began to change.
“But I couldn’t become a hunter due to lack of ability… I started purifier work because I wanted to contribute to society somehow. But I couldn’t give up my hunter dream, so I wanted to at least look inside dungeons like this…”
Ha-seong realized not long after starting this business. That he had talent in acting. If he had known this, he should have tried being a real actor instead of a damn hunter.
“Such a story… I didn’t even know that… You’re really amazing…! Taking less purification fees is also because of that… To not forget your hunter dream, that precious childhood dream, you’re making such efforts…! You’ve traded money for your dream!”
The guild leader, somehow moved by Ha-seong’s words, grabbed Ha-seong’s hands with drooping eyebrows.
“Huh? Ah, yes, well. That’s right.”
I hadn’t thought that far. Ha-seong was momentarily flustered but made a choked-up expression again.
“To think there’s someone with such noble beliefs even among purifiers! You guys! Learn from this spirit. Don’t always grumble about not getting good weapons!”
The guild leader turned to his team members and shouted. Ha-seong felt a pang for a moment. He had just been whining about why good stuff wasn’t coming out in there.
“I’m sorry for being suspicious. I didn’t know there was such a story…”
The guild leader, whose eyes had become moist, took out the payment from his inventory and pressed it into Ha-seong’s hands.
“I’ll call you again if there’s another opportunity.”
“I’d be grateful if you did.”
After that, the guild leader expressed his admiration for Ha-seong’s ‘true beliefs and will’ several times before leaving.
Ha-seong headed home completely drained after today’s passionate performance. But compared to what his past self had done, this was nothing. This job was a hundred, a thousand times better than facing death crises several times, witnessing the death of comrades who had been fighting together just moments before right before his eyes, or fighting with his life on the line but having no one acknowledge it. People had no interest in C-rank purifiers anyway, and even if they were suspicious, if he acted like just now, ten out of ten people would fall for it.
A life without threats to his life, a leisurely and quiet life unlike the previous life where he couldn’t even sleep and had to fight confronting monsters. And now money was added to that. That was finally the utopia Ha-seong dreamed of.
By the way, at this pace and with this luck, he might be able to reach his unemployed dream before long. These days, many good items were coming out, and it felt like good fortune was coming to find him.
But Ha-seong overlooked one thing. The ‘law of total luck’ where bad things always happen after good things.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
