The Skill Maker

“That’s great. Congratulations Hyun-Soo! It’s really awesome!”

Hyun-Soo patted her head while she was still in his arms.

“Seeing you cry in my arms makes me think you’re still a baby.”

Hyuna was always calm and never expressed her feeling because she thought it would burden other people. Seeing her cry like this in his arms surprised him.

The siblings hugged each other for a long time.

It took some time for Hyuna to calm down.

It was obvious that she had been contemplating about different things.

As she talked to Hyun-Soo, her emotions became stronger and that’s probably how Hyun-s…o…b..came a hunter.

As Hyun-Soo joked around about how a big girl like her was crying, Hyuna playfully frowned at him.

When he asked what was so good about him being a hunter, Hyuna replied with a smile by saying that he fulfilled his dream.

“…Hyun-Soo, does that mean you don’t have to do part-time jobs anymore?”

“Yeah, I told you, I’m a hunter now.”

“He he…that’s a relief. It’s great.”

As soon as Hyun-Soo told her that he became a hunter, Hyuna kept on saying how great it was and smiled.

Hyuna knew that when Hyun-Soo took the proficiency test, he was placed in the superior group.

She stayed within Hyun-Soo’s arms for a long time and made small comments.

It was mostly about the hunter.

The word ‘hunter’ became taboo within the family, but now that Hyun-s…o…b..came one, it didn’t matter anymore.

For Hyuna, when she took the first proficiency test, she didn’t get accepted because she didn’t have the talent, so she didn’t know anything about the hunter.

As he answered all the questions that she had, it was time for them to sleep.

While they were talking, Hyuna’s eyes were almost completely closed.

Since she was emotionally and physically exhausted, Hyun-Soo thought it would be best for her to sleep so he told her to go to bed.

The house became quiet as soon as Hyuna left to go to sleep.

‘I feel somewhat proud…’

Even though he wasn’t part of a major cla.s.s, the fact that his family member was genuinely happy for him made him even happier.

The unfairness that he felt for being a subordinate slowly faded away.

A smile appeared on his face as soon as he thought about Hyuna’s happy expression.

His caring younger sister was happier about him fulfilling his dream rather than it helping them improve their living condition.

It was a minor change, but this change made him really happy.

He felt a bit frustrated at the thought of trying to settle down, but he decided to enjoy the moment.

‘I’m sure it’ll work out.’

He felt a bit uneasy about the way things ended with that crazy healer, but Hyun-Soo tried his best to ignore it.

‘Maybe I can partic.i.p.ate in the next hunt as an attacker.’

An attacker gets paid more than a carrier.

It was a matter of whether they’ll accept a beginner, but he had a skill that was beneficial to him.

It was the bright, white dot that he saw during the battle.

The white light was definitely its weak point and for some reason, only he was able to see it and attack it.

If the others could see it as well, they would’ve attacked it as well, but Hyun-Soo was the only that was able to see it and attack it.

The result wasn’t what he expected, but he earned a lot through the hunt.

He still felt that it was unfair and gritted his teeth.

‘I’ll rise to the top. Just you wait.’

He decided to be satisfied with just that.

The problem was that even if he was satisfied, it didn’t mean that others were.

Hyun-Soo didn’t know at the time.

Hyun-Soo decided to tell his parents about awakening as a hunter.

Luckily, his father wasn’t required to be on duty today, so he decided to tell them in the morning after they came home from work and rested for the remainder of the night.

At first, his parents were surprised by the news and didn’t know what to say. Moments later, they managed to calm down and started talking.

“Congratulations, my son…”

Hyun-Soo felt his mother’s dry hands gently pat the back of his hand.

His mother cried and his father’s eyes turned red.

His parents were crying tears of joy as they congratulated Hyun-Soo.

They always thought that it was their fault that Hyun-Soo didn’t become a hunter and felt bad about it.

Hyun-Soo knew it as well.

He told them several times that it wasn’t true, but they wouldn’t accept it.

They were finally relieved from this pain.

For about 10 years, his parents carried this pain within their hearts and with the news of Hyun-s…o…b..ing a hunter, it slowly made them feel better.

Hyun-Soo gave his parents the money that he prepared for them.

“Here you go. It’s the money I earned as a hunter.”

Technically, he earned it as a carrier, but if he wasn’t a hunter, then he wouldn’t be able to enter the portal and get paid for it.

“For us?”

“Hunters earn a pretty good amount. I’m still a beginner so I’ve only managed to get paid this much, but once I settle down, I’ll be able to get paid more. It’s not much, but it’s for you.”

“You earned it so you should use it. We don’t need it. We work and earn our own money. It seemed like hunters need a lot of money for their gear. Use it towards that.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. You use it.”

Despite of their son becoming a hunter, they didn’t want to become a burden.

Going against what his parents told him, Hyun-Soo placed the envelope that contained 500 dollars in his father’s hand.

He earned 700 dollars, but before giving the money to his parents, he first gave 200 dollars to his sister, Hyuna.

At first, he wondered whether it was too much for her, but a.s.sumed that girls her age received a similar amount as their allowance.

There were probably food she wanted to eat and clothes she wanted to wear, so it was enough.

With this, he was doing his job as the older brother.

He always felt bad about how hard his parents were working and how late they would always come home. In order to support their family, he would forcefully go to work despite of how tired their body was.

“Since I became a hunter, you guys can take it easy and not work as much. As soon as I settle down, I’ll be able to earn more.”

“No, we can’t do that. We’re still young and energetic. We’re not that old that we should stop working.”

They declined his suggestion, but looked at him with a proud expression.

It’s because they didn’t want to burden him.

Knowing how they felt, Hyun-Soo didn’t say anything and just nodded his head.

‘It’s only 500 dollars for now, but when I earn a lot more, then they won’t be able to decline.’

As of right now, the most he could give them was 500 dollars.

But, once he earns a lot more and prove that they can stop working, then they’ll probably agree.

“It’s nothing dangerous, right?”

“Yes, it’s nothing dangerous of right now.”

“Okay, but always be careful. It’s great that you became a hunter, but as a mother, I’m still a bit worried.”

“Your mother is right. It’s best to avoid any dangerous situations.”

“Okay.”

While they were happy and proud that he achieved his dream of becoming a hunter, they knew that it was a really dangerous job, so they couldn’t help but be worried for him.

His parents looked at each other and smiled. They patted Hyun-Soo’s shoulder and stood up to get ready for work.

Hyun-Soo felt how proud they were and how much they trusted him as they patted his shoulder. This made Hyun-Soo feel content.

Even as they were leaving for work, they had a big smile on their face.

After his parents left, Hyun-Soo headed to an internet café.

On the day he got hired as a carrier, he quit all the part-time and side jobs.

It would put him in a difficult situation if he got a message about a job while he was working at his part-time job or trying to fill his quota for his side job.

He felt it was only right to quit his jobs and work as a full-time hunter.

‘But, the computer at home is so old…’

In order to apply for a job, he needed a fast computer or a phone, but he didn’t have either.

His phone was pretty old so if he tried to do any work on it, it would slow down.

He regretted quitting his job at the internet café because in order to get a decent job, he needed decent connection for them to contact him.

He walked into a decent internet café and opened the Hunter Net at one of the computers.

Since he told Hyuna and his parents about it, he had to make more money.

He had to make enough money as soon as possible so that his parents didn’t have to work so hard anymore and his sister wouldn’t talk about getting a job.

‘I’ve had enough of being poor! I’m going to start making so much money that I get tired of it!’

People started posting openings early in the morning.

There were also a lot of posts that filled up right away.

Hyun-Soo concentrated and carefully read through the posts that appeared.

Every time he saw the word “carrier” appear, he quickly clicked the post.

“Applying as a carrier. I’m an E rank that has an offensive skill. I’m able to a.s.sist in attacking when needed! (Additional payment is not required). Kim Hyun-Soo 000-0000-0000.”

It has been over 10 minutes since he sent messages to posts that he was able to apply to.

‘…This is odd.’

Hyun-Soo felt that something was off.

It was a totally different feeling from when he was first hired as a carrier.

Most of the carriers are F ranks, so E ranks were treated differently and he even received a lot of replies.

He even got replies when he didn’t have an offensive skill.

There could’ve been other hunters that messaged earlier than him, but it was weird that he didn’t get any replies during the last 10 minutes.

‘Am I just unlucky?’

Since it was still early, Hyun-Soo decided to continue looking.

However, one hour would pa.s.s and then two and eventually, he thought that it wasn’t just luck.

The thought of them teaming up together and not replying to him crossed his mind.

‘No way…I’m just imagining it. I’m sure I was lucky with the first one. I’m sure.’

While Hyun-Soo was thinking about this, his time had ended at the café and when he extended his time once more, he received a message.

“You have received a new message.”

“Oh! Finally!”

Hyun-Soo yelled so loud that other people could hear him and quickly opened the message.

He was really nervous and felt uneasy all this time.

He yelled because he felt relived.

However, Hyun-Soo’s bright face darkened and a weird expression could be seen on his face.

“Know your place.”

No matter how he read it, it wasn’t an approved message.

Feeling really bad about the message, he was about to ignore it, but he decided to write back instead.

“What are you talking about? Was I out of place for applying as an E rank carrier with an offensive skill?”

He wondered if they were actually looking for hunter instead of carriers, but no matter how he read it, it was insulting.

Moments later, he received a reply.

“I heard you went up against a healer when you’re nothing but a carrier. Who would hire someone like you? Stop wasting your time and apply to some manual labor jobs.”