Leveling Up Alone

Han-Yeol quickly glanced around his surroundings. The crowded park was now so empty that not even a single ant was to be seen, and the only people remaining were Yoo-Bi and himself. He thought, ‘I have to finish this before they send in a party to manage the situation.’

He planned to monopolize the insect monster that was in front of him, and he was certain that this plan of his would go up in smoke if a party of Hunters arrived. Clicking his tongue, he thought, ‘It would be much easier if only I had my chain and rifle…’

The insect monster seemed to be quite good at mid-range and melee combat, since the short-range electricity it shot out from its stinger was extremely destructive.

Swoosh!

Han-Yeol lightly swung his sword, which was engulfed in a majestic flame.

“Kireuk!” The insect monster let out a cry.

Brooom!

The insect monster charged at Han-Yeol, taking the initiative by attacking first. It viciously flapped its wings while letting out the same sounds as that of a helicopter’s propeller, and it was gathering its electricity to its stinger as well.

‘Mana Shield!’ Han-Yeol immediately responded by injecting more mana into his shield. He thought that a defensive approach would be safer and more effective in this situation, since he was not used to fighting melee against a flying opponent.

The monster unleashed a bolt of electricity once Han-Yeol was within range of its attack.

Han-Yeol focused and intently watched the bolt of electricity before he parried it with his shield at the last minute to minimize the impact he had to receive. This was only possible because of his skill ‘Sixth Sense’.

‘Keuk!’ Han-Yeol groaned. He was slightly grazed by the bolt of electricity, but he was thoroughly electrocuted. ‘As expected… Electricity is such a pain to deal with.’

That was all the more reason that Han-Yeol desired the electric attribute. Any ability related to electricity was very rare, and electricity was a relatively efficient and versatile attribute to use.

Sukeok!

Han-Yeol counterattacked with ‘Sword Breath’ as soon as he avoided the insect monster’s stinger.

“Kieeeek!” The monster shrieked in pain.

The flames engulfing Han-Yeol’s sword were very effective against the monster regardless of which elemental attribute it possessed, and this was due to the fact that fire was very effective against insect-type monsters.

The insect monster was in immense agony after being struck by ‘Sword Breath’, and it was trying to fly up into the air in hopes of avoiding Han-Yeol’s sword. However, Han-Yeol had no plans to let the monster escape.

‘I won’t let you!’ Han-Yeol thought. He probably would have just let the monster fly up before he took his sweet time to hunt it down if this was a hunting ground, but the current circumstance was one where he had to hunt the monster as fast as possible so he had to prevent it from escaping.

However…

Bzzzzt…!

The insect monster had already gathered electricity on its stinger, just in case Han-Yeol would try to disrupt its flight. It shot the bolt of electricity when Han-Yeol attempted to get near it, preventing him from coming near.

‘Damn it!’ Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. The only weapons he currently had on him were his sword and mana shield, and it was going to be problematic for him if the insect monster managed to fly up. He was just about to give up on hunting the monster when…

Tang! Tang! Tang!

The firing of three bullets rang out before the bullets pierced through the insect monster’s wings, and the bolt of electricity that the monster shot out was interrupted thanks to that.

‘This is my chance!’ Han-Yeol thought before he jumped up. He used ‘Jumping’ to jump so high that he was now above the insect monster. Then, he took a stance in mid-air just like the Spartans from an old movie. His shield was in front of him and his sword was right next to it as he started his descent toward the monster.

“Kieeeeeek!” The insect monster screeched as it tried to defend against Han-Yeol’s attack. The only way it could attack or defend was through its stinger, but Han-Yeol was currently above it entirely.

“Die!” Han-Yeol shouted before he activated his skill, ‘Shield Bash.’

Bam! Pukeok!

He stabbed the insect monster in the head with ‘Sword Breath’ together with the momentum of his fall.

Squirm! Squirm!

The insect monster squirmed as it tried to get Han-Yeol off of its head, but it could not struggle for long. Half of Han-Yeol’s sword was already stabbed deep into its head, continuously unleashing its hot flames.

“Kireuk…” The insect monster made a strange noise before it fell to the ground.

Thud…!

The insect monster momentarily squirmed after it hit the ground. Then, it plopped dead.

“That’s the end of that,” Han-Yeol muttered. He had successfully managed to solo-hunt the insect monster from the dimensional hole.

“Han-Yeol oppa, are you alright?” Yoo-Bi asked as she approached Han-Yeol. She had been quietly hiding while the battle between Han-Yeol and the insect monster had raged on. Now that the battle was over, she had come to check on Han-Yeol just in case he was hurt after the battle.

“I’m alright. What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?” Han-Yeol asked in response.

“I was just watching from the sidelines so it would be strange if I was the one that got hurt,” Yoo-Bi replied.

“Is that so?” Han-Yeol said with a smile before he suddenly remembered and asked, “Oh right, the three bullets a while ago. Did you shoot those?”

Han-Yeol was referring to the bullets shot when the insect monster was about to take flight.

“Ah, yes. I felt that I had to shoot those at that moment. Did I disturb you by any chance…?” she asked with a worried look.

However, Han-Yeol simply broke into a big smile. “No, your timing was impeccable. Keep it up even when we are at the hunting ground. Then, you will become a top-class Porter in no time. Ah, that is if you don’t awaken as a Hunter before that.”

Telling someone that they had the potential to become a top-class Porter seemed like praise, but it was actually no different from cursing someone. 99.99% of the Porters did not set their goals as merely becoming a top-class Porter, but they were aiming to awaken and become a Hunter themselves.

“Hihi! Thank you, Han-Yeol oppa!” Yoo-Bi replied with a big smile on her face. She did not seem to be aiming to become a Hunter yet, since she was extremely happy by the fact that Han-Yeol had praised her just now.

‘I hope that you will never get corrupted by this dirty messed-up world,’ Han-Yeol thought as he looked at Yoo-Bi smiling innocently.

Yoo-Bi was bound to be influenced by the world at one point, but Han-Yeol hoped that the time would come as late as possible.

Wiiing! Wiiiing! Wiiing!

Han-Yeol took care of the dimensional hole that had appeared in the middle of the city, and the response team only arrived after everything was over. The whole thing was briefly broadcasted on the evening news since there were no fatalities, and the only casualty was the park having sustained some damage.

Han-Yeol drove Yoo-Bi home before he went home.

Psshhh…!

He opened a can of beer and sat in front of the TV.

Opening a can of beer and sitting on the sofa was a habit that made him happy, and this did not change whether he was rich or poor.

‘It’s a shame though… I really wanted that electric attribute…’ Han-Yeol thought as he clicked his tongue inwardly. He was really disappointed because the electric attribute was what he wanted the most out of all the elements, and he was not able to obtain it despite meeting an electric attribute monster which was considered to be quite rare.

‘Tsk… It can’t be helped, but I’ll definitely get my hands on that attribute the next time. No matter what,’ he thought as he steeled his resolve.

Gulp… Gulp… Gulp…

Han-Yeol took a swig from the beer can while watching his favorite variety program. The program had six participants that did comedy with different concepts every week, and the MC, who was also known as the national MC of Korea, was quite good at making the show livelier and funnier.

Han-Yeol enjoyed watching this specific show, which he found to be quite funny, and the show also gave him a good laugh whenever he watched it. Before he ended his day, he thought, ‘I want to go on that show at least once in the future.’

***

The next day, Han-Yeol got up early in the morning like he usually did. He checked his weapons and equipment before he prepared to leave his house. Today was going to be the first day that he was going out to hunt with Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan.

Of course, Han-Yeol’s goal for today was not to level up but to test the Shadow Demon at the hunting ground. However, he had thoroughly prepared his weapons and equipment, because being overconfident was the biggest mistake a Hunter could make at the hunting grounds.

Ding dong!

‘Hmm? Who is messaging me this early in the morning?’ Thinking that, Han-Yeol checked his smartphone and saw a message from Yoo-Bi.

[Han-Yeol oppa, we are meeting at nine in the morning, right?]

The content of Yoo-Bi’s message was nothing special. Han-Yeol had already informed both Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan of the meeting time, and he had also reiterated this before previously dropping her off at her place.

However, Han-Yeol could not help but feel happy because of Yoo-Bi’s message. The simple fact that he had someone to exchange messages with in the morning, and that the someone was a beautiful girl like Yoo-Bi made him happy.

‘No. I can’t. Yoo-Bi is still a high schooler. I only like her as an older brother… I have no ulterior motives. That’s right, this isn’t love…’ Han-Yeol thought.

There was a huge eight-year age gap between them. It was not going to be a problem if they were both adults, but Yoo-Bi was still in her senior year—she was technically a minor.

‘Ah, did she drop out of school by any chance…?’ he then wondered.

Han-Yeol had seen a lot of students drop out of school just to become Porters when he had been working as one. It seemed to him, at that time, that these kids had chosen to become Porters rather than betting their future on their studies, and the fact that the economy was in ruins these days did not help as they probably did feel that there would be a better chance of them making it big if they worked as a Porter instead. Also, there was a higher chance of awakening the younger they were, and that was the biggest factor for kids to drop out of school and become a Porter at an early age.

[Yes, we agreed to meet at the Hunters’ Association at nine in the morning. Also, don’t forget to prepare and bring your equipment. I hope you won’t make a scene tomorrow because you forgot your equipment.]

Han-Yeol replied.

[Alright! Hihi!]

Han-Yeol might have sounded like a boomer in his message, but Yoo-Bi did not seem to mind it at all. She replied in her usual cheerful demeanor, and Han-Yeol could not help but smile as he read her reply.

The trio met up in front of the Hunters’ Association and drove down to Sokcho. They each had an earpiece that was connected to a walkie-talkie to talk to each other. Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri had been veteran Porters, so they did not need this kind of equipment, but these two required it. This was the first time they were going out to the hunting grounds.

“We are going to hunt the Volaxes for your first hunt. Well, there’s not much you have to do, to be honest. I just want you to try and get a feel for the hunting grounds for starters. Don’t feel too nervous, I won’t be reprimanding you to do better right away,” Han-Yeol explained.

[Yes!]

[Yes!]

The two enthusiastically replied.

‘Well, I like their enthusiasm,’ Han-Yeol thought that an enthusiastic Porter without experience was always bound to be better than an experienced one who did not really want to work.

They arrived at the low-level hunting ground at Sokcho, and they identified themselves to the military guarding the checkpoint before entering the hunting ground. Han-Yeol was driving his car at the front while Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan were following in a truck.

“Are you picking up anything on the detection device?” Han-Yeol asked while looking around the hunting ground with ‘Mana Eyes’. He knew that there was nothing around them, but he still asked nevertheless to train the newbies.

Pssht!

[No, I am not picking anything up in the detection device.]

It seemed that the two had decided that the leader between the two Porters would be Sung-Hwan. It was unsurprising since the males were usually the leader if the Porters were mixed genders.

“Report immediately if you pick something up,” Han-Yeol said.

Pssht!

[Roger that, Hunter-nim.]

Quite a while had passed since they had entered the hunting ground.

Pssht!

[Hunter-nim, I am detecting four monsters that seem to be Volaxes just three hundred meters in front of us.]

“Okay. We will advance one hundred meters and lure them toward us,” Han-Yeol replied.

Pssht!

[Roger that.]

They finally picked up some Volaxes on their detection device, but Han-Yeol had already spotted the monsters as well.

‘It’s finally starting,’ Han-Yeol thought while rubbing the back of his right hand. The time for him to use his latest skill had finally arrived, and he planned to grow the Shadow Demon more powerful in this hunt.

***

Keung! Keung!

The Volaxes caught a whiff of Han-Yeul’s party’s scent even though they were quite a distance away, thanks to their developed sense of smell. They viciously ran, following the scent of the humans.

“Fire!”

Ratatatata!

The two Porters pulled the triggers on their K2 rifles and opened fire at the command of Sung-Hwan, who assumed the role of the leader since they had no manager. Most of the bullets the Porters fired missed the Volaxes as these monsters were quite agile, but the fact that they missed was not important to Han-Yeol at all.

Han-Yeol extended his right hand and cut the back of it with his mana-infused finger. He looked at the blood dripping from the back of his hand before he muttered, “Summon Demon.”

The droplets of blood that dripped to the ground coagulated together before they spread out and formed the pattern of the sigil that belonged to the demon that Han-Yeol had contracted with.

Han-Yeol summoned the Shadow Demon.

Fwaaaa…!

A cloud of black smoke rose up from the ground before the Shadow Demon slowly emerged from within the cloud of smoke.

[Did you call… Human…?]