Kang Jinhyuk grabbed his bat, as if it was attracted by something.
‘So this is the high instinct effect.’
Aside from the fact that it can detect enemies, he didn’t know that it makes him automatically defend himself.
Jinhyuk was at ease because the baseball bat blocked the enemy’s attack on its own.
He swung the bat without hesitation before the orc could even regain himself.
“Keeuuuo!!”
The orc was hit on his shin, and it screamed loudly as it collapsed.
Juncheol was surprised to see the leg of the orc that had been bent just like a reversed joint.
“He broke the orc’s bone in one hit?!”
Orc bones were harder than titanium alloys, and their legs were way thicker than adult humans. It’s difficult to crack it even with a great amount of power.
Only A-rank hunters can break it in one blow.
“I thought this guy’s an amateur….”
Kang Jinhyuk himself was also surprised.
The S durability of the enchanted bat had a lot more power than he thought.
It’s not just durable, it causes a lot of damage as well.
“Let’s do this!”
Jinhyuk gained confidence so he hit the orc on the head with his bat.
With a satisfying sound, the orc’s head turned 360 degrees.
As the orc’s skull and neck bone were broken, it’s unlikely for it to survive.
Jinhyuk received numerous level-up notifications when the breathless orc fell on the floor.
His level soared from 15 to 27, but it’s still too early to celebrate.
“Shwaaa!”
The other orc, who saw his dead companion, opened his eyes widely and rushed towards him.
This time, Jinhyuk was not flustered at all.
After gaining confidence from defeating the first orc, he realized that the other’s attack was threatening but not fast at all.
As long as he stays calm, he can avoid the orc’s attack.
“Kuuu!”
The club wielded by the orc made a strong sound as it swung in the air.
Jinhyuk stepped forward at the perfect time as he aimed at the orc’s side.
“Take this!”
The orc tried to move his club in a hurry, but he was too late to stop Jinhyuk’s attack.
The heavy club made it impossible for him to be agile enough to defend himself.
Jinhyuk’s baseball bat dug into the orc’s flesh and completely broke his ribs.
“Geuulk!”
The orc collapsed as it made a pig-like sound.
While the orc was distracted by the crushing pain, Jinhyuk swung his bat toward his temple.
The orc was beaten to death and could no longer scream.
He died on the spot with his head crushed.
Jinhyuk once again checked the level-up notification that appeared in front of him and realized that the battle was over.
“I… caught two orcs?”
Even though he can see the two orcs fallen on the parking lot floor, it felt unbelievable for Jinhyuk.
Just yesterday, Jinhyuk was only a D-rank hunter who could only hunt goblins.
Since at least 4 B-rank hunters were usually needed to handle this matter but he accomplished it alone, it was natural for him to doubt the situation.
“Wooaaaah!”
“Awesome!”
Lee Juncheol’s men, who tried to run away earlier, all cheered.
They were not the only ones who admired Kang Jinhyuk’s ability to instantly deal with the orcs.
Juncheol felt like he had seen a precious gemstone that no one had ever discovered.
“Who knew there was such a hunter with that much skill…”
Lee Juncheol thought that he knew the faces of all the renowned hunters.
That’s why he thought that Jinhyuk was a complete amateur when he saw him, and he never considered Jinhyuk to be a veteran hunter.
Now he realized that he was wrong.
“That was an amazing display of skill.”
Juncheol clapped as he approached Jinhyuk.
“In return for saving my life, I’ll buy all the goblin corpses for 6 million won.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I have no intention of lying to my savior.”
Jo Hyungil heard what Juncheol said and he thought that maybe the sun won’t shine on them tomorrow.
If he buys the corpses for 6 million won, the profits that the organization could gain were close to zero.
It was the first time that Lee Juncheol, who only ever thinks of profit, voluntarily made such a proposal.
‘What is he planning?’
As Jo Hyungil expected, Lee Juncheol offered Kang Jinhyuk a proposal.
“In exchange, please sell those orc corpses to us as well.”
“The orcs?”
Jinhyuk contemplated hard.
The orcs weren’t caught inside the dungeon, unlike the goblins.
There’s no reason to sell it in the black market because it doesn’t matter even if he reveals the location of where he caught them.
When Jinhyuk didn’t answer immediately, Juncheol knew that he had to give more appealing conditions
After thinking for a while, Lee Juncheol opened his mouth.
“If you sell the orc corpses to us, we’ll promise to give you 10% more money for any item you’d sell to us.”
“You’re saying 10% more than what the association will offer?”
“Of course.”
Even if they give him more money for the bodies, they’d still gain many benefits from the monster corpses.
Lee Juncheol wanted to continue doing business with Jinhyuk, even if it meant risking some damage.
If they’re able to continuously trade with him, they will receive a steady flow of monster materials, so it’s possible for them to expand their size in the market.
“Raise it by 5% more.”
Jinhyuk attempted to bargain by spreading all his fingers on his right hand.
Five percent was not a small figure, but Lee Juncheol nodded his head without any worries.
This was because Jinhyuk proved himself to be powerful in front of their eyes, so it’s reasonable to agree with him.
“Alright. Let’s agree on 15%.”
Lee Juncheol reached out his hand to Jinhyuk.
“I look forward to doing more business with you.”
* * *
Since the deal was set, Kang Jinhyuk’s life flipped 180 degrees.
He was worrying about rent just yesterday.
Now, almost 200 million won has been accumulated in his bank account.
“It’s 6 million per goblin, so that’s 90 million in total. That, plus the orc bodies…”
Jinhyuk confirmed the amount on his account and he clenched his fist in joy and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment.
“All those large guilds have monopolized this much money, huh?”
The more he thought about them, the more disgusting and terrible they seemed.
He knew that money would mean a comfortable life, but even so, it didn’t make sense for those guilds to be so greedy.
How much more did they want to earn that they don’t yield even to the small monsters?
When he checked an article posted on the internet, he confirmed the harm that these guilds do.
The comment section of the article, which announced the performance of a large guild, was filled with complaints and anger from lower-rank hunters who were deprived of their right to hunt.
“We’ll see.”
His level exceeded 30 after hunting those orcs.
Jinhyuk decided to enter the labyrinth again after he bought good equipment with his capital.
“The dwarf ahjussi’s items looked good but…”
The dwarf’s equipment was of the best quality, but he can’t just buy them with his money.
The currency here won’t work for the dwarf, so he had to prepare another way to get equipment from him.
“….Should I just bring a lot of aluminum cans?”
Since the dwarf regarded the aluminum Oriharukon as a valuable item, it could be a good thing to trade with.
He ran out of beer in his attic, so Jinhyuk had to stop by the mart to get refills.
Jinhyuk bought beer and soju and headed straight to the labyrinth.
When he arrived at the blacksmith’s, he saw him wielding a hammer on his anvil.
The dwarf didn’t sweat even though the heat in here was hotter than on a summer day.
As he had been hammering for a long time, he picked up the item with tongs and quenched it.
When the smoke rose along with a sizzling sound, Jinhyuk’s made eye contact with the dwarf.
“What the? When did you get here?”
“I just got here.”
“What’s that on your hand? Why did you pack so much?”
As Jinhyuk expected, the dwarf showed interest in the paper bag that he brought.
“Do you want to drink one?”
Jinhyuk took out a can of beer and handed it over to the dwarf.
Upon receiving it, the dwarf’s eyes widened.
“What the heck? This one is Orikarukon too!”
“There’s also alcohol inside it.”
“They pack alcohol in Oriharukon? What’s this, a holy grail?”
In the outside world, it was a common aluminum can. But where the dwarf lived, it was a luxury that neither a Pope nor an Emperor got their hands on.
The dwarf believed that Jinhyuk was not an ordinary person.
He brought not just one, but a lot of these things.
He was sure that the guy was a warrior.
“Try drinking it.”
When Jinhyuk opened the can and handed it back to him, the dwarf took a sip.
And he immediately splashed it back on the floor and spat out the liquid.
“What the f***! Did someone pee in this?!”
“P-pee?”
“Yeah! It’s my first time tasting such disgusting liquid! What the heck is this?”
“It’s beer.”
“…Beer? This is alcohol?”
“Yes.”
“Do humans call this thing an alcoholic drink?”
The dwarf had an expression of disbelief.
Humans call such a bland and tasteless drink as alcohol, how poor of them.
“Don’t tell the one on the green bottle is the same liquid as this one.”
“It’s a bit different. This one is called soju.”
“Give it to me. I want to know what kind of things you guys drink.”
The dwarf snatched away the soju bottle and opened the lid.
He took in the scent of the liquid.
“What the fuuuuuuuuu**! There’s not even a fruity scent, it just smells like straight-up alcohol.”
He could taste it just by smelling the liquid, but he won’t really know unless he drinks it himself.
The dwarf took a sip with some hope.
Unlike with the beer, the dwarf drank a few more sips and sighed in appreciation.
“It tastes like trash, but it’ll taste better if I add something.”
“Add something? Like what?”
“Stay still. There’s something that comes to mind.”
The dwarf was lost in thought for a moment. He brought a large wooden barrel and poured all the soju that Jinhyuk brought.
And then, he said something to Jinhyuk.
“Hey you, go and get me some mithril.”
The dwarf poured the remaining soju in the barrel as he spoke to Jinhyuk.
“What? Some mithril?”
“Yeah. In order to salvage this crappy drink, I need to bower power from some Mithril.”
The mithril was a mysterious metal, which held mana on its own.
The dwarf believed that by combining the mithril’s mana with his skill, he would be able to greatly enhance the taste of this liquor.
“Heheehe, if you do well, you might even get something you’ve never imagined.”
Thanks to the alcohol brought by Jinhyuk, the dwarf was filled with spirit as he challenged his own mental capacities after a long time.
“What are you staring at? I told you to get me some mithril, quick!”
“Where can I get those things?”
“If you go down this floor, you’ll see a cave. Once you go inside, you’ll know where to find mithril.”
The dwarf picked up the granule that he had hung on the wall while talking and he handed it over to Jinhyuk.
“While you’re at it, I’ll craft some equipment for you so you won’t have to complain and complain.”
“Well, alright. If you’ll do that for me, then…”
Kang Jinhyuk readily accepted the dwarf’s request because he was about to ask him for equipment anyway.