Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 167: Telepathy II (2)

Chu Si-Han, one of the delinquents Han-Yeol used to hang out with in high school, possessed a high level of loyalty and had a propensity for laughter. However, he stood out as the most short-tempered member within the group. His approach to conflict resolution relied more on his fists than on engaging in conversations, often initiating fights with students from other high schools.

If he learned that one of his schoolmates was being bullied by students from another institution, he would swiftly charge into their school. Han-Yeol, Sung-Jin, and four other friends consistently found themselves responsible for resolving the aftermath of his actions.

Si-Han was a troublesome friend who frequently caused problems. Nonetheless, their friendship meant more to them than the issues he brought along during those days.

‘Well, it’s a friendship from the past that I ruined…’?he thought.

Honestly, when he initially reached out to Sung-Jin, he couldn't comprehend his own actions. Deep down, he knew that Han-Yeol was the one who had shattered the friendship among their group. Sung-Jin informed him that, following his sudden disappearance a few years ago, everyone else began to slowly drift apart.

Since Han-Yeol had been the binding force that held the group together, it was only natural for them to disperse once that cohesive element vanished abruptly.

‘Yeah, it’s totally my fault,’?he relentlessly blamed himself for the situation, going over it countless times in his mind. He was convinced that the others would not be as forgiving toward him as Sung-Jin had been.

[Uhm… Hyung?]

“Yes, Si-Hyung?”

[Why did you tell me your name was Mavros…?]

“Ah, sorry about that.”

[N-No! You don’t have to apologize!]

“Keke! Alright~ Anyway, you remember the request I commissioned last time, right?”

[Certainly, that has been the best request I have received since I awakened. The Gold Mine dungeon happens to be the simplest dungeon for our raid party due to our composition. However, we were experiencing financial struggles as there wasn't much to gain from that dungeon except for gold, which holds little value nowadays.

[Hunting there proved to be rather inefficient, leading us to consider exploring other options. However, your timely contact provided a significant boost to our income! My friends were genuinely delighted with the request, and we all eagerly anticipate your next commission.]

Chu Si-Hyung's raid party appeared to be one of those rare instances where a group of close friends formed their own party.

“Keke! Yeah, I called to commission another request,” Han-Yeol said.

[Wow! I expected you to inquire through your lawyer, so I was surprised when you personally called. I'm glad you did because I wouldn't have realized it was you if you hadn't reached out directly.]

“Yeah, my lawyer is a bit busy these days, so I decided to call you personally. I guess I’m connected by fate with your brother or something.”

[I agree. Ah, how much gold will you need this time, hyung?]

Si-Hyung had anticipated that Han-Yeol would commission another ten tons of gold, just like the previous time. However, he was open to a reduced amount as long as they could still profit from hunting in the Gold Mine dungeon.

"Hmm... I'm uncertain about the exact quantity I'll require, so why don't you gather as much as possible?"

[W-What…?]

Si-Hyung doubted his ears as he thought, ‘U-Unlimited…?’

The unexpected statement left him astonished, as he had initially anticipated receiving around ten tons of gold. However, he quickly regained his composure and resolved to ask the essential questions. After all, despite his young age, he remained the leader of his raid party.

[Does that mean we are able to bring you as much gold as we can…?]

"Yes, that's correct. I do require a substantial amount of gold at the moment. Hm... considering I paid you ten billion won for ten tons of gold previously, how about we set the price at one billion won per ton of gold this time?"

[I-It will be our honor to work with you, hyung-nim!]

It had been reiterated multiple times that gold had become practically worthless in the current era. Prior to the emergence of dimensional gates, the price of gold experienced significant fluctuations, with a single kilogram bar fetching over fifty million won during those times.

In essence, one ton of gold would have been valued at a minimum of fifty billion won back then. However, the price had plummeted to the point where Si-Hyung was content with the offer of one billion won per ton. In fact, the current market price for one ton of gold stood at half that amount—five hundred million won.

The Shine raid party was being offered double the international market rates for this request, and they were undoubtedly motivated to gather as much gold as possible for Han-Yeol.

The reason Han-Yeol avoided purchasing gold from the market was the cumbersome process of dealing with all the necessary legal paperwork to acquire the desired quantity. He preferred to pay twice the price to avoid the hassle of government dealings.

Additionally, he chose to commission the Shine raid party to hunt for gold instead of buying it directly from the market because most of the gold circulating in the market was not physical gold but rather paper gold. In other words, the amount available in the market did not correspond to the actual gold stored in vaults.

"Then, I'll leave it in your hands. I suppose we don't need to sign a contract, right?"

[Yes, you’re going to pay us by cash whenever we deliver the gold, right?]

“Yeah, you’re right. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

[Just leave it to us! I’ll make sure to deliver the purest gold available out there!]

“Thanks.”

Beep!

"Haa... I suppose that's another thing I need to take care of..." Han-Yeol muttered, slouching on his sofa. He gazed up at the voluminous ceiling above him.

The building he currently occupied was a three-story structure with a peculiar design that featured an open concept, allowing the ceiling to stretch all the way up to the third floor. It resembled the layout of the library Han-Yeol used to frequent in his previous residence, where a large circular opening occupied the central area of the building.

This outhouse appeared to have been designed with the intention of accommodating only a few residents, resulting in a relatively compact space. That's precisely why Han-Yeol had chosen this outhouse as his room.

“Kyu! Kyu!”

As soon as Han-Yeol ended the call, Mavros dashed toward him to enjoy his embrace. Despite the black dragon's substantial growth in size, his eagerness to play with Han-Yeol remained unchanged.

Han-Yeol cherished this bond, finding solace and tranquility in hugging and petting Mavros.

“I should probably apologize, right, Mavros?”

“Kyu?”

"I betrayed their trust... and honestly, I'm scared. I have no idea how they will react to me... I was fortunate that things went smoothly with Sung-Jin, but the others aren't as forgiving as him," Han-Yeol sighed, weighed down by his concerns.

He had ceased contacting his friends due to the exhaustion of caring for his father, but in hindsight, he recognized that he had been entirely at fault.

“Kyu! Kyu!”?Mavros cried out as if trying to say, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t give up!’ as he licked Han-Yeol’s cheek.

“You really are the best, Mavros!”

“Kyu!”?The black dragon responded with a happy cry that seemed to say, ‘isn’t that obvious?’.

After finding some comfort in the presence of Mavros, Han-Yeol reached for his phone once again. Feeling a sense of relief, he decided to call Sung-Jin.

[Yeah, what’s up?]

“Are you busy?”

[No, I’m free right now. I’m helping my father during the weekdays and going out on hunts during the weekends, so I’m not that busy these days.]

“I got in touch with Si-Han’s brother, Si-Hyung.”

[What?!]

Thud!

A crashing sound echoed through the phone, indicating that Sung-Jin had been startled to the point of leaping out of his seat. While he assured Han-Yeol that the others were doing well, he was actually lying at that moment. In truth, Sung-Jin had limited knowledge about their current circumstances, only receiving sporadic updates here and there.

As mentioned previously, the group of delinquents had disbanded following Han-Yeol's sudden disappearance.

[So, what about Si-Han?]

“I’m not sure, but I told Si-Hyung to pretend that he didn’t hear from me. I was able to easily contact you, but I don’t think I can do the same to the others…”

[Ah… Han-Yeol…]

“Yeah?”

[You knew that all of us got together because of you back then, right?]

“Yeah.”

During that period, Han-Yeol had a strong affinity for pirate manhwa, finding the protagonist's charismatic phrase, "You should come join my group!" incredibly cool. Inspired by this, he genuinely repeated the same line when recruiting his friends to join his own group.

Initially, everyone viewed Han-Yeol as eccentric and avoided him, thinking he had lost his mind. However, his complete immersion in the manhwa had left him oblivious to any sense of shame.

Nevertheless, Han-Yeol's unwavering determination eventually paid off, much like the protagonist in the manhwa. He successfully managed to recruit all seven of his friends to join his group.

Thus, whether they liked it or not, Han-Yeol became the central figure holding the group together, just as depicted in his beloved pirate manhwa.

[It’s a bit strange to put it this way, but you’re the one that disbanded the group.]

“Yeah, you’re right…”

[Ultimately, the decision of whether to reassemble the group rests with you. It's possible that the others have moved on with their lives, and some may even feel betrayed by your previous actions. They might respond with laughter, dismissing your return, or perhaps even label you a traitor for abandoning them. However, as the leader who once held the group together, it seems fitting that the responsibility of making this call falls upon you, Cap'n.]

“Ah… Don’t remind me of that past…”

[Keke! Alright, alright. Anyway, I’m going to a meeting now, so I’ll talk to you later.]

“Alright, good luck.”

Beep!

Sung-Jin was the first one to hang up as usual.

‘It’s my decision to make… Well, I guess that makes sense since I was the one who brought everyone together and the one who ruined it. I don’t plan to bring the group back anyway… I just want to apologize to them one by one…’?he thought.

Seuk…

“Sigh…”?Han-Yeol let out a sigh out of frustration.

He was the one who had formed the group, but he came to realize that he had disbanded it in the wrong manner. He should have made the effort to call each person and explain his circumstances before abruptly cutting off contact. They had been the ones who stood by him through thick and thin for three years, so the least he could have done was to personally deliver the news to them.

‘Haa… This is too difficult for me…’?he realized that dealing with people was the most difficult thing in life.

Furthermore, he came to the realization that his preference for outgoing individuals stemmed from his own lack of extroversion. This became evident through the small size of his social circle.

Then, he finally made his decision, ‘Let's go ahead and apologize. It's not about whether I can rekindle the friendship with them or not, but rather about acknowledging and making amends for the mistake I made. Even if they label me as a traitor, I should accept it. That's the least I can do to show my sincerity.’

Realizing that avoiding reality would not lead to any resolution, Han-Yeol took a step forward. He reached out to Si-Hyung, requesting Si-Han's phone number via a message.

After five minutes, Si-Hyung replied with the requested information.

“Hoo…”

“Kyu!”

However, Han-Yeol could not help but feel nervous now that he was about to call Si-Han, and Mavros seemed to be cheering him on despite being unaware of what was going on.

Han-Yeol called the number Si-Hyung gave him with trembling hands. He let out a sigh before pressing the call button. “Phew…”

Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring…?

The ringing tone of the phone call seemed to stretch out into an eternity, despite only lasting for a short while.

[Who’s on the line?]

The voice on the other end of the line was undeniably familiar. Despite the ten-year gap since last hearing it, Han-Yeol instantly recognized his friend's voice. However, this sudden rush of familiarity also stirred a deep sense of pain in his heart.

“It’s me,” he said.

[Fuck you. How am I supposed to know who you are if you just say ‘it’s me’, ha? Tell me who you are, you fucking son of a bitch!]

“That filthy mouth of yours never changed.”

[Hey, are you picking a fight?]

“It has been a long time, Si-Han. It’s me, Han-Yeol.”

[What…? Who did you say you were…?]

“I said it’s me, Han-Yeol. We went to the same high school for three years and…”

[Shut your mouth before I rip it open, you fucking son of a bitch. You're not a friend. The Han-Yeol I knew died nine years ago when he severed all contact with me.]

“I’m sorry.”

That was the only thing Han-Yeol could say as he was not able to come up with any excuses.