Leveling Up Alone

[You need some basic preparations before you summon a demon. Firstly, the summoner should be aware of what kind of demon they are trying to summon. You can check the link below to go to a site where the details of numerous demons are listed, and you can also find the demon’s sigil on the site so you should print that out before you try and summon the demon of your choice. Secondly, you need to have a clear goal when attempting to summon a demon.]

‘A goal? Hmm… Wanting it to protect father should be more than enough, right?’ Han-Yeol wondered.

It did sound strange to summon a demon to protect something or someone, but it was still a clear goal so there should not be any problems with it.

Han-Yeol continued reading.

[You have to come into an agreement with the demon and offer something once you successfully manage to summon it. The demons in fantasy games or novels usually demand something unreasonable from humans, but the real demons are not like that at all. They are a race that values honor, and they can only demand an offering when both parties, the demon, and the summoner, come to a mutual agreement on what the offering would be. However, the demon could get enraged and either attack the summoner or just go back to the demon world if both parties fail to reach an agreement.]

‘Well, that’s a relief. I was kind of worried that it might be unreasonable. But a race that knows honor and mutual agreement…? It does not suit them at all for some reason…’ Han-Yeol thought.

It would have been the same case for anyone, and the same went for Han-Yeol. He didn’t perceive demons in a positive light. The demons portrayed in fantasy games or novels were usually evil beings that had mostly hated humans and were always trying to corrupt humans so that they could slurp up their souls.

[Also, you will have to be aware of how to communicate with a demon before summoning one.]

‘How to communicate…? Can’t I just talk to them?’ Han-Yeol thought as he tilted his head in confusion.

[A demon usually communicates through our minds. This means that they use telepathy to communicate instead of words. It will be difficult to differentiate between your own thoughts and the demon’s words when you talk to one for the first time, and those that lack spiritual or psychic powers will fail to communicate with a demon even if they somehow managed to summon one successfully. Of course, you can train your mind by meditating, and you can also get used to communicating with demons by summoning more and more demons. In the end, it will be much easier for those of you that have psychic powers to communicate and reach an agreement with the demons.]

‘Psychic powers… Hmm…’ Han-Yeol pondered.

***

‘It’s called psychic powers, but mana should be able to substitute for it, right?’ Han-Yeol thought.

Han-Yeol continued reading the explanation on summoning demons a bit more thoroughly this time, and the part he waited for the most, which was the summoning part, had finally come.

[The most important thing when it comes to summoning a demon is to not be disturbed by anyone during the summoning process, so please try to find a quiet place where you are certain that nobody will be able to disturb you. The demons absolutely hate being disturbed while being summoned.]

‘Well, father will only come home after the pool place closes anyway…’ Han-Yeol thought.

[Also, you need to check and prepare the sigil of the demon that you wish to summon.]

‘Oh right, I have to decide which demon I want to summon,’ Han-Yeol thought as he clicked on the link under the post and read through the list of demons on the site.

There were unexpectedly quite a lot of types of demons, but Han-Yeol ignored the long list of demons. He immediately scrolled down to the lesser demons.

‘What I need right now is a demon that won’t stand out and that can be a protector from anything that might try and hurt father,’ Han-Yeol thought. He continued to scroll down when the profile of one demon stood out.

[Shadow Demon]

It was a demon with a pitch-black body, with only its red eyes shining brightly. It was a lesser demon that possessed the ability to hide in the shadows. It possessed basic combat abilities, but that was about it, since it was only a lesser demon. However, Han-Yeol found the fact that the Shadow Demon was only a lesser demon to be its most appealing trait.

‘Alright, I will summon this Shadow Demon,’ Han-Yeol thought as he made up his mind. He then printed the Shadow Demon’s sigil on a clean piece of paper as instructed.

[Lastly, close your eyes and visualize the sigil as hard as you can, and it is highly important that you memorize what the sigil looks like before moving on to this step. Next, you will have to shout out the name of the demon you wish to summon while visualizing its sigil with your eyes closed. You have to keep shouting out its name until the demon gets summoned.]

‘Hmmm…’ Han-Yeol pondered. He switched his computer’s monitor off and positioned himself at the center of his room. Then, he closed his eyes and visualized the sigil he printed a while ago. ‘Visualize it… Visualize… Visualize…’

The Shadow Demon’s sigil was quite simple, so it did not take a lot of time for Han-Yeol to memorize it. He could perfectly visualize it even with his eyes closed, and he focused on visualizing the Shadow Demon’s sigil.

Fwoooooosh…

‘!!’

Han-Yeol felt the temperature of his room drastically drop. His room felt quite warm a while ago since it was still mid-summer, but his room’s climate suddenly changed as if it was mid-winter outside. He wondered, ‘Did it work…?’

He actually did the demon summoning while being half skeptical, but he was amazed when he felt that something was actually happening. He came back to his senses and focused on the summoning once again.

‘The name of the demon I want to summon is… Shadow Demon... Shadow Demon… Shadow Demon… Shadow Demon… Shadow Demon… Shadow Demon…’ he repeatedly thought of the Shadow Demon’s name.

“Shadow Demon!” Han-Yeol shouted out the demon’s name.

Bzzt…! Bzzt…! Bzzt…!

‘Hmm?’ Han-Yeol noticed that his house lights went out the moment he shouted, ‘Shadow Demon!’.

Han-Yeol slowly opened his eyes.

“Huh?” Han-Yeol was surprised when he found the monitor that he had switched off a while ago was switched on, and the Shadow Demon he had summoned was inside the monitor.

‘You are…’ Han-Yeol thought.

[I am… Shadow… You called… Me…]

A bunch of words suddenly popped into Han-Yeol’s head.

‘Is this what they called telepathy?’ Han-Yeol thought in amazement. He then looked straight at the Shadow Demon and thought, ‘I have summoned you. I have a request for you, something I want you to do for me.’

[Deal… Fairness… I ask…]

Han-Yeol could not hear clearly what the Shadow Demon said, but he could make out what it wanted. It was something along the lines of, ‘The deal has to be fair. State your request and I shall state my terms.’

‘My request is for you to protect my father clandestinely,’ Han-Yeol thought as he transmitted his thoughts.

[Alright… My terms… Monster… I eat…]

Han-Yeol thought long and hard about what the Shadow Demon said this time, since he could not really make out what it was trying to say.

[Monster… Corpse… Nutrition…]

‘Ah, you want me to give you monster corpses as an offering?’ Han-Yeol thought.

[…]

There was a saying that silence meant agreement.

The Shadow Monster was basically requesting Han-Yeol to give it monster corpses as an offering. It was not really a difficult request, but…

‘Why does it feel like I’ve just entered into a contract with a high-maintenance demon…?’ Han-Yeol thought with a hint of worry.

Of course, he had no intentions of backing out of the contract with the Shadow Demon. He just had to earn more money and kill more monsters to maintain the upkeep of the demon, and he had no intentions of being stingy with money when his father’s safety was on the line.

‘Alright, demon. I shall enter into a contract with you,’ Han-Yeol said through his thoughts.

[Blood… Back of your hand…]

‘Is it telling me to smear my blood on the back of my hand…?’ Wondering, Han-Yeol gathered his mana to the tip of his fingertip. He then cut the back of his right hand with his mana-infused finger like a scalpel.

‘Euk…!’ Han-Yeol groaned when he failed to control his strength, cutting more than he originally intended to.

Shwoo…

‘Huh?’ Han-Yeol was surprised when his blood suddenly flowed upward and went toward the monitor that the Shadow Demon was in. Then, his blood went through the monitor screen and into the monitor, and the display on the monitor suddenly changed into the Shadow Demon’s sigil.

Soon after, the Shadow Demon slowly started to crawl out from the monitor, just like the scene from a well-known horror movie, ‘The Ring’.

‘I guess birds of the same feathers flock together, whether they’re demons or ghosts,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Shwaaaak!

‘Keuk!’ Han-Yeol winced when he felt a burning sensation on the back of his right hand. Then, the blood on the back of his right hand started to rearrange itself into a pattern that was similar to the Shadow Demon’s sigil, and the pain on the back of his right hand subsided the moment that the Shadow Demon fully exited the monitor.

[This… Contract… Complete… I will… Grant… You… Give Corpse…]

Perhaps it was because he had already entered into a contract with the Shadow Demon, but Han-Yeol was suddenly able to hear more words in his mind. Also…

Ding!

[This will be your last chance.]

[Are you certain that you wish to enter into a contract with the lesser demon ‘Shadow Demon’?]

‘What does it matter if it’s an angel or a demon when it comes to protecting the ones you love? Of course it’s a yes!’ Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly.

Ding!

[You have successfully entered into a contract with the lesser demon ‘Shadow Demon’.]

[A new skill has been created – Summon Demon.]

[A new skill has been created – Telepathy.]

[A new skill has been created – Power Meditation.]

[A new skill has been created – Psychokinesis.]

[You have successfully summoned a demon using the traditional summoning method.]

[You have been exposed to demonic energy.]

[A new stat has been created – Invoke.]

Han-Yeol received a lot of new gifts just by entering into a contract with a demon. He called up his status to check on his new developments. ‘Status window.’

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 50

Points: 0

STR: 105

VIT: 101

AGI: 99

MAG: 150

LCK: 10

Invoke: 10

Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (D), Power Strike (B), Mana Shield (C), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (C), Jumping (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (D), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (F), Healing Bullet (F), Enhance Healing (F), Summon Demon (F), Telepathy (F), Power Meditation (F), Psychokinesis (F).

[Summon Demon (F)]

Type: Active

Description: A skill that allows the user to summon a demon. The user may call forth a demon they have already contracted from the demonic world. The user may summon a higher ranking demon the higher the skill level of this skill becomes.

[Telepathy (F)]

Type: Active

Description: The user may transmit their thoughts to another and converse through their minds. The user may engage in clearer conversations with a demon the higher the skill level of this skill becomes. The user may transmit their thoughts across farther distances to a target human the higher the skill level of this skill becomes.

[Power Meditate (F)]

Type: Passive

Description: The concentration of the user will increase, and the rate of health and mana recovery of the user will increase when the user is meditating. The user may cure all sorts of status ailments if they meditate for an extended period of time.

[Psychokinesis (F)]

Type: Active

Description: The user may move objects with only their mental powers or mana without physically touching the object. The telekinesis will become stronger the higher the skill level of this skill becomes.

[Stat Description – Invoke]

[The energy used by the demons. The demonic world is filled with this energy just as how the real world is filled with mana, and the main reason why the demons are not able to display their full capability in the real world is due to the lack of this energy. The demons summoned by the user will be stronger the higher this stat is. However, the user may be eaten alive by the demon they summoned if the summoned demon is stronger than this stat. Please be mindful of how you manage this stat.]

‘W-Wow…’ Han-Yeol was speechless. It could be considered that he had evolved thanks to the rewards he obtained from successfully summoning the demon this time, and he never imagined that his actions of trying to summon a Shadow Demon, a lesser demon, would reap him such huge rewards.

Han-Yeol had gained four skills and one extra stat all at once. He thought, ‘I’m not so surprised about the skill, but it’s quite surprising to obtain a stat.’

He was already expecting a new skill to be created since he always obtained one whenever he did something different, but he never expected, even in his wildest dreams, that he was going to obtain a new stat altogether.