I Was a Porter, But My Mana Is Infinite? Chapter 3
His surprise at suddenly encountering goblins was short-lived.
Seong-u realized he had instantly killed two goblins.
“At this rate, I could probably take on hundreds easily.”
All he had to do was rain down Fireballs from afar.
He didn’t need to conserve mana for a boss fight like other Hunters.
The goblin corpses, charred black, soon turned into fine particles and vanished into the air.
All that remained on the ground was a small jewel the size of a thumbnail.
“A Mana Stone!”
Though smaller than a quail egg, each one was worth over a million won.
It was ten days’ wages from when Seong-u had worked as a porter.
Seong-u carefully wrapped the Mana Stone in cloth and placed it in his bag.
Starting off with good luck.
“But wait, this is a Goblin Mine? Did the Dungeon Management Office make a mistake?”
This was a matter of life and death for Hunters.
“No matter how low-ranked it is, for a dungeon to change? I should squeeze something out of this when I get out.”
Seong-u walked deeper into the cave.
Goblins lurking about spotted him and let out vicious screeches.
—Keeeeeeeh!
It felt like his flesh would be torn off by their sharp claws and fangs at any moment.
‘Though of course, that won’t happen.’
The straight-line cave was entirely advantageous for him.
[Fireball]
[Fireball]
…….
All Seong-u did was stretch out his hand and rain down Fireballs upon them.
Booom—
The goblins either exploded upon being hit by the flames or died burning to death.
From one of the three, another F-rank Mana Stone dropped.
“Nice! That’s two million won already!”
Seong-u clenched his fist tightly.
Now, rather than fearing goblins, he wanted to meet them as soon as possible.
He strode forward without even bothering to hide his footsteps.
The deeper he went into the cave, the more frequently goblins appeared.
—Keeeeeh!
Their ugly faces, drooling as they hopped about, looked cute.
After repeatedly casting Fireball, he had even figured out how to aim precisely.
Booom—
The fireball struck the head dead-on and exploded.
He couldn’t hide his smile even as he picked up the dropped Mana Stone.
After passing the first cave, the number of goblins increased.
Now they charged in groups of three to five.
[Fireball]
[Fireball]
Seong-u maintained a proper distance as he poured out fireballs.
He mechanically advanced, burning them and picking up Mana Stones, repeating this over and over.
When he suddenly came to his senses, he was standing before the final cave where the boss monster waited.
“……Has it been about two hours?”
He hadn’t taken a single break on his way here.
It was hard to believe this had been accomplished by an F-rank Hunter alone.
“This is something only a D-rank or higher Hunter could pull off, right?”
In the cave with the boss monster, a faint mist covered the floor.
From the outside, the inside couldn’t be seen properly.
Instead, intermittent panting-like breaths could be heard.
“One Hobgoblin and about ten regular goblins?”
If that was all, there was nothing to worry about.
Seong-u exhaled lightly and stepped into the cave.
Sssshhh—
The mist cleared, revealing the scenery inside.
From atop a towering cliff, the Hobgoblin looked down at him and unleashed a roar.
—Keeeeeeeh!
The cave shook lightly.
[The Hobgoblin is emitting an aura.]
[You have successfully resisted due to overwhelming mana.]
An unexpected advantage.
When Seong-u showed no reaction, the Hobgoblin grew furious.
The goblins standing nearby had their eyes turn red as they charged.
Their movements were twice as fast as before.
“I’ve been a porter for a year. I fully expected this much.”
Seong-u quickly retreated and sprayed Fireballs.
Since there was no need to conserve mana, he blanketed even the direction the goblins were charging from with fireballs.
Booom—
In an instant, the cave blazed up in flames.
—Keeeeeh!
The goblins burned and wailed.
Some of them launched poison needles they had.
“Not a chance!”
They fell to the ground before reaching Seong-u.
He had already grasped their range.
As the goblins died helplessly, the Hobgoblin moved.
Unlike the others, it used magic.
—Kirrrrrk!
After spewing unintelligible sounds, fire poured from its palm.
“Just one?”
In that short time, Seong-u unleashed ten fireballs.
The first and second fireballs collided with the Hobgoblin’s and fizzled out.
And from the third one onward, they collided with its head and exploded.
Booooom—
It raised one arm, but it was insufficient to block the fireballs.
Its arm blew off, leaving its head completely exposed.
Soon its head exploded too, and it collapsed as a headless corpse.
Thud—
It fell from the cliff, the impact echoing loudly.
Then the space above the Hobgoblin’s corpse tore open lengthwise, and a Gate was created.
Passing through there would let him escape the dungeon.
The fact that this Gate appeared meant one thing.
“It means the clear was successful.”
Seong-u smiled brightly and walked toward the Hobgoblin’s corpse.
As expected of a boss monster, it dropped not only a Mana Stone but also a Skill Book.
[Healing Aura]
[Rank: F]
A skill capable of healing small wounds or minor sprains.
It wasn’t instantaneous; it took effect slowly.
Though common, it fetched a high price simply because it was a healing skill.
Seong-u put the Skill Book in his bag and flopped down in front of the Gate.
“Clearing it too quickly is a problem too.”
If he went out like this, he would attract the attention of the Hunters from the Dungeon Management Office.
He was already uneasy because of the matter with Red Skull.
‘No need to draw unnecessary attention.’
He had cleared an F-rank dungeon quickly, but that didn’t mean his actual skill level was high.
It was simply because his mana never ran out, allowing him to clear goblins quickly.
If he entered a high-rank dungeon where Fireball didn’t work, he wouldn’t be able to kill a single monster and would die.
“The same goes when meeting other Hunters.”
If he met someone with ill intentions, he would end up in a situation worse than slavery.
Because right now, anyone could see Seong-u was an Irregular.
‘I need to be careful until I become overwhelmingly strong.’
Fortunately, the way for him to grow stronger wasn’t difficult.
He just needed to learn high-rank Skill Books.
That was all.
‘If I can use not only Fireball but also skills of other ranks without limit…….’
He might reach S-rank, something only a handful of Hunters in the world had achieved.
Just thinking about it made his mouth go dry.
Seong-u shook his head.
‘I shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch.’
For now, he had to climb the stairs right in front of him.
‘I need money to buy Skill Books.’
Seong-u sat down and checked the loot he had obtained in the dungeon.
He turned the heavy bag upside down.
Clatter—
F-rank Mana Stones spilled out from inside.
Clearing [Goblin Mine], he obtained 29 F-rank Mana Stones and an F-rank [Healing Aura] Skill Book.
Calculating the [Healing Aura] Skill Book at 20 million won, combined with the Mana Stones, he had earned close to 49 million won.
‘And that too from just a 3-hour raid…….’
Seong-u pinched his cheek to see if this was a dream.
Fortunately, it hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes.
“This is money you can’t earn with a normal party or raid squad.”
For safety, you needed a team with a tank, dealer, and healer, and you had to hire a porter on top of that.
Including breaks, you’d have to spend anywhere from half a day to a full day in the dungeon.
Even if you entered a dungeon once a day, or pushed yourself to enter twice, Hunters who could earn 10 million won a day were rare.
“To get a proper D-rank or higher skill, you need hundreds of millions.”
Thinking that he had been lucky to get a Skill Book drop today, he would need at least a month otherwise.
“I shouldn’t overdo it. Take it slow. Slowly.”
Seong-u suppressed his chest, which was heating up with excitement without him realizing it.
He still needed to check whether skills other than Fireball could be used without limit, among other things.
He needed a way to grow stronger without standing out.
‘Is there a good way?’
* * *
Seong-u killed some time inside the dungeon before exiting through the Gate.
Before going out, he smeared dust and monster blood here and there on his clothes.
Hunters waiting in front of the Gate poured their gazes upon his disheveled appearance.
“He came out alone. Did his whole party get wiped out?”
“Maybe he cleared it solo.”
“Look at his outfit. He doesn’t even have a basic robe; he looks no different from a porter, and you’re saying he cleared it solo?”
Sympathy soon mixed into their gazes.
Seong-u deliberately staggered even more and approached the Dungeon Management Office employee.
As if aware of his own mistake, the employee gauged Seong-u’s reaction.
“U-um… are you alright?”
“I chose the Slime Mine, but goblins came out. Would you be okay if it were you? I nearly died. Don’t tell me you tried to kill me?”
“No, that’s not it. It was simply a mistake. I’m sorry.”
“Is ‘sorry’ enough? What about compensation?”
The Hunter employee flinched.
At his gaze that seemed to be testing the waters, Seong-u flopped down on the spot.
“A-are you okay?”
“What would happen if it became known that I nearly died because the dungeon changed due to the Dungeon Management Office’s mistake?”
Seong-u said what he wanted.
“Give me a Hunter Pass and I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
The Hunter Pass was a product sold by the Hunter Management Bureau, which exclusively managed Gates.
It allowed one to prioritize reservations and immediately enter competitive dungeons.
Not only that, but without having to go around struggling to sell items after leaving a dungeon, one could consign them to the auction house.
Though the amount was less than selling directly, it was convenient.
Additionally, supplementary facilities could be used at a discount, so most Hunters purchased it.
‘The problem is the murderous price.’
“……I can give you a one-week pass.”
“One year.”
“Ngh.”
One year cost 100 million won.
When Seong-u feigned collapsing again, the employee hurriedly nodded.
“Understood. But you must never speak of this again.”
“Of course.”
The employee handed over a card emitting a blue light.
‘That’s quite a bit saved.’
Seong-u smiled and left the spot.
Just then, the Gate opened and Hunters poured out.
It was the party whose dungeon had swapped with Seong-u’s.
They had finally cleared the Slime Mine and come out.
“Hey! Why slimes instead of goblins!?”
“We just wasted our time!”
Because the monsters were relatively weak, they complained that they had only wasted time.
The Hunter employee finally realized something.
“He went in alone and cleared it before them?”
However, Seong-u had already disappeared from the spot long ago.