I received a payment from JM Agency, Junmo Kang.
'What is this? Have I already paid off
The advance payment was 50 million won.
Since his earnings peaked at 20 million won for hunting horned rabbits, the payments had been fluctuating between 10 and 20 million won, as the number of horned rabbits had been decreasing.
'However, I have already deducted all the money I received as an advance.'
'Having two clones hunting at the same time definitely boosts my profits.'
Sangwoo thought to himself and decided to check with Junmo Kang for details.
"It's really 30 million won. This must be the hunting fee."
"You've been hunting since you started skipping school, but this is a huge amount, is your balance really 57 million won?"
"That's right."
"Hyung."
Kyung-do suddenly called him elder brother.
Sangwoo looked at Kyung-do.
"Come on, have you finally recognized the greatness of this elder brother?"
"Yes, big brother. Live with me. I love you."
The teddy bear stuck out his lips and lunged for Sangwoo's embrace.
"Ew! Get away from me!"
Sangwoo may have been joking, but he was seriously creeped out and ran away with all his might.
Tap tap tap-!
His stats had risen considerably recently, so he was able to easily get away from the bear, who only had high strength and endurance.
And then.
[The Running skill was created].
"Huh?"
Sangwoo was stunned by the sudden skill.
Then he was caught by Kyung-do.
"I love you~ squish squish squish~"
"Aaah!"
That day, Sangwoo was eaten by a bear(?).
* * *
Sangwoo returned to his home.
"Ah- Dirty bastard. You don't brush your teeth."
Sangwoo washes his face, disgusted by the rotten odor of hardened saliva on his face.
When he was done, he opened the status window to check his new skill.
───────────────
[Running/Casting (Lv.1)]: Grants additional effects when running.
-You become faster when running.
-Reduces energy consumption when running.
───────────────
'It's not much. It's just a running buff, but it'll probably improve when the skill level increases.'
Sangwoo thought that he should make his clones run more often when traveling.
'But, it's a coincidence that I've gained a skill just because I ran a bit, right?'
Sangwoo concludes that the clones have been training hard to run, and that their experience must have accumulated to make it happen at just this time.
After confirming the skill, Sangwoo immediately contacted Junmo Kang.
-[Sangwoo]: Agent, I've received your payment.
-[Sangwoo]: It was 30 million won, have you already deducted 50 million won?
Shortly after sending the message, Junmo Kang replied.
-[Junmo Kang]: Yes, Mr. Hunter. All the payments have been deducted.
-[Junmo Kang]: The 30 million won I deposited today is from the sale of the horned rabbit yesterday.
Sangwoo hasn't been hunting the Bipedal Fish Monsters since he got the Cursed Sword because the carcasses aren't as valuable as he thought.
He had been focusing on hunting horned rabbits because he was still in debt from buying the Familiar Skill.
The cursed sword was a rusty sword that Sangwoo picked up, but he didn't know what to call it yet, so he gave it a temporary name.
-[Junmo Kang]: We've also received a reward of 10 million won from the hunter's association for hunting 1000 horned rabbits.
-[Junmo Kang]: I'll let you know when it's deposited.
-[Sangwoo]: Oh a reward, yes I see~.
The balance is 57 million won, but there's still money coming in.
'If it's the money from yesterday's hunt, the money from today's hunt will come in soon, right?
Moreover, there's even more money coming in due to the reward.
The corners of Sangwoo's mouth turned into a smirk.
-[Junmo Kang]: Oh, and Mr. Hunter. Didn't I tell you that we moved our hunting grounds?
-[Junmo Kang]: We had a great harvest today!
-[Sangwoo]: Spiny Raccoon Dungeon?
-[Junmo Kang]: Yes... I sent your clones there to hunt and it was quite efficient.
-[ Sangwoo]: How was it?
The spiny raccoon is an E-class monster.
How could Sangwoo, an F-level hunter, and his clones hunt in an E-level dungeon?
Junmo began to explain the details of today's hunt.
* * *
Two men were walking through a forest with falling leaves.
Black cargo pants and black tight span t-shirts. Over the t-shirt was a black lightweight ballistic vest with a magazine, a black hat pressed against a black ski mask over their faces. With pistols in their pockets and K2 rifles slung over their shoulders by suspender straps, they had the look of rugged special forces, though one of them was carrying a rusty sword.
Their outfits were typical of most low-level hunters these days.
But black was the wrong color.
For this was a deciduous forest.
The black outfits stood out like a sore thumb in a brownish forest filled with lifeless leaves and dried up trees.
It was a 3 out of 10 for concealment and cover.
And so, it was no surprise that soon they were being targeted and attacked by monsters.
Woosh!
The sound of something approaching.
It was the man on the left who was closest to the creature.
He quickly raised his lightly held K2 rifle.
In a split second, he has it steady and his scope is pointed in the direction of the sound.
The next moment, the monster appeared.
A black object moving towards them, clinging to the ground, at high speed.
BANG!
Despite things happening in the blink of an eye, the man calmly took aim and fired.
The fallen monster was a spiny raccoon, a raccoon-like creature whose entire body was covered in thorns.
Its fur is made of hard spines, and its thick skin makes it resistant to being shot.
This time, however, it only took one shot.
The reason for this was revealed in the carcass of the dead spiny raccoon.
The bullet had gone straight through the forehead.
It was a clean shot.
And that's when the monsters started coming.
BANG!
BANG! BANG!
The two men, or rather, the clones, No. 1 and No. 2, moved from place to place, slaying spiny raccoons.
Of course, there were other monsters in the mix as well, including a bloodthirsty red fox and a monster dog with unusually large teeth.
Gradually, as more and more monsters rushed toward them, they got closer and closer.
Then clone No. 2 drew his rusty sword, the Cursed Sword.
No. 2's eyes became red and bloodshot.
Moving faster, he began to swing it.
Whack, whack, whack.
The monster dog and the red fox collapsed, spewing blood as they were cut.
The blade was dull, so it was more of a tear than a slash.
[Stamina increased by 0.001].
The spiny raccoon's skin was hard enough that No. 2 could only knock it aside.
The pistol in his left hand was pointed at its face.
Bang!
Due to the enrage effect of the cursed sword, No. 2 exerted a very strong force and swept the monster away.
On the other hand, clone No. 1 was struggling.
Holding a K2 rifle in his right hand and a pistol in his left, he fired frantically.
When he ran out of bullets and had to change the magazine, he was bitten by a monster.
Crack! Crack!
The monster dog was biting his leg, threatening to crush his bone.
However, No. 1 didn't seem to mind and calmly changed the magazine, blowing the monster dog's head off.
At that moment, a nearby spiny raccoon jumped in, latched onto No. 1's stomach, and unleashed its spikes.
POOOSH!
No. 1's body was pierced like a honeycomb.
However, No. 1 calmly fired a bullet into the spiny raccoon's face.
BANG!
However, the dead raccoon's spikes were not removed.
In the end, No. 1 fought with a spiny raccoon hanging from his body.
A normal person's organs would have been ruptured by the thorns and they would have died, but No. 1 didn't seem to mind.
[Regeneration increased by 0.001].
No. 2, who had just finished cleaning up the monsters around him, approached and helped No. 1.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Monsters were being swept away.
At last, they had slain all the monsters.
When the hunt was over, they began to collect and heap the monsters together.
The spiny raccoon embedded in No. 1's body was also removed and piled on top.
When the pile was complete, they stuck a locator into the carcass and walked away.
In pursuit of another kill.
* * *
Junmo Kang explained that they had nearly wiped out the entire E-level dungeon.
Although No. 1 was injured, it proved the power of the cursed sword that No. 2 used.
No. 1 needed to be healed, so they decided to summon him again in the morning.
-[Junmo Kang ]: I sent them there because I saw that your doppelganger killed the Fishman.
-[Junmo Kang ]: I still can't believe you actually killed a D-class monster.
-[Junmo Kang ]: The spiny raccoon skin we hunted this time is worth a lot of money.
-[Junmo Kang ]: You can expect a good hunting fee.
-[Sangwoo]: I see, I see.
-[Sangwoo]: Take care~
-[Junmo Kang]: And you're about to become an E-level hunter.
-[Sangwoo]: Is that so?
-[Junmo Kang]: Just two more successful E-level dungeon hunts and you're good to go!
-[Junmo Kang]: Congratulations in advance!
-[Sangwoo]: Thank you, but Mr. Agent, isn't it a loss for you because your settlement percentage will be less---.
-[Junmo Kang]: It's okay~ because you'll earn more.
'Well, I make a few million a day, so that means I am making almost a hundred million a month.'
If he had signed a 7:3 contract, which is the average in the industry, his earnings would have been severely cut.
'I'm glad I saw the future and signed a contract with a lower settlement ratio.
After the conversation with Junmo Kang.
Sangwoo was lost in thought.
He suddenly wondered how much money Junmo Kang was taking home.
So he started calculating his own salary.
"So, if I make at least 10 million won a day, that's 300 million won in a month, and
3.6 billion a year!
The average F-level hunter earns as much as a large company employee, which is a ridiculous number.
And that's just the minimum.
Junmo Kang would take 20% of it, or 720 million won.
Of course, there are tax issues.
Sangwoo finally realized how much he had earned.
"I'm successful."
Of course, that's only in theory, and no one knows if he'll actually be able to make that kind of money in the future, but he's one step closer to success.
'But I'm an F-rank Hunter, what if I become a D-rank, C-rank, ... A-rank Hunter?'
The average salary of an A-rank Hunter is tens of billions.
But since Sangwoo has clones, he has to multiply those tens of billions by the number of clones.
'I'll be making trillions, not billions...?'
Sangwoo can't imagine such a future.
But he didn't hate this feeling of hope and expectation.
In fact, it motivated him.
He jumped out of his seat.
Somehow, he felt like he had to do something.
'Hmm-- what to do.'
Thinking calmly, he realized that mana training was his top priority.
'That's right. I only need to feel the mana once. As soon as I feel it, I'll just have to command my clones to train it.'
Then I'll be able to continuously build up my mana.
With that in mind, Sangwoo went back to bed and began to meditate.
He sat still and tried to recall the sensation of mana when he used his clone and familiar skill.
He felt a tingling sensation, as if he was about to feel something.
Normally, Sangwoo would have fallen asleep after a few minutes.
But somehow, today felt different.
He felt like he could do it.
And eventually, he did.