Leveling Up Alone

‘They are just as strong as an Orc, not more and not less than that,’ Han-Yeol thought.

There was one point in time when Han-Yeol had hunted so many Orcs that the mere sight of them made him nauseous. He was able to immediately make a comparison of the four Hunters to the Orcs since he had observed so many Orcs with Mana Eyes when he had been hunting them day in and day out. He was able to relax thanks to that.

‘I can easily take care of a hundred Orcs even if they come at me at the same time,’ Han-Yeol confidently thought.

His level was now a whopping Level 52, and one could say that his confidence was not baseless at all. This was especially true if they considered the fact that he had been hunting Orcs since he had been Level 10. On top of that, Han-Yeol had a far larger arsenal of skills at his disposal now.

Shiiing…

Han-Yeol pulled out his sword while thinking, ‘The chain is a luxury to these bastards.’

Actually, he had forgotten his chain in the van and had come without it because he had rushed over here.

“Kill that bastard!” one of the Hunters shouted.

Tak!

At that shout, all four Hunters rushed toward Han-Yeol. They immediately got into formation without even sending any signs or signals to each other. It seemed that these four worked together quite often.

However, Han-Yeol could clearly see their movement pattern thanks to him being able to trace their mana using Mana Eyes, and Sixth Sense kicked in and made everything slow down whenever the assailants tried to attack him.

Their combined attack was so fast and vicious that Sixth Sense was not able to completely slow it down, but that did not really matter since Han-Yeol’s skills were already leagues above the four.

‘Two spears, one sword, and one magician-type dealer…’ Han-Yeol thought while observing the assailants. Three of the Hunters had engaged him in melee while the last one remained standing at the back. The Hunter that stayed behind had both of his hands covered with a blue glow.

The magician was wearing magic gloves, which was a piece of equipment that magician Hunters who awakened with three magic skills often used to unleash ranged magic damage.

Han-Yeol raised his sword and activated a skill, ‘Mana Shield.’

He went into combat stance after summoning his shield made out of mana.

Fwoosh!

The two spear-wielding Hunters each stabbed their spears while aiming for Han-Yeol’s head and heart respectively. Their movement was so natural and fluid that it was impossible for them to achieve this level of precision if they had not committed murder before.

However, Han-Yeol was not someone who would get done in so easily like that, and the only thing on his mind right now was whether he should respond with the same intent to kill as these guys were doing.

‘These two will keep me at bay with their spears while the sword-wielding one will look for an opening. Then, the magician will step in with his skills if things drag on for too long or if I manage to fend the three melee attackers off,’ Han-Yeol calmly analyzed the situation.

Clang! Clang!

Han-Yeol went into a defensive stance and used his Mana Shield to block their attacks while he continued to gauge the four Hunters’ abilities. He easily deflected the two spearman's attacks since they had precisely aimed for his heart and head, which made it possible for him to defend both attacks at the same time with Mana Shield.

“Damn it, this guy is quite sturdy.”

“Is he a Tank?”

“What are you doing chatting around? Keep stabbing him. He is just an E Rank even though he is a Tank. He won’t be able to last for too long!”

“Do you think we don’t know that too?!”

The four Hunters chattered among themselves as they gained confidence after seeing Han-Yeol only defending, and it was as if this had turned into a game for them where they were trying to break through Han-Yeol’s defense.

However, little did they know that a viper from hell was lurking in the corner and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

‘Let’s see… I’ve made them lower their guard, so in that case…’ Han-Yeol thought. He had actually blocked their spears just enough so that they would lower their guard and get further drawn toward him, and then he presented them with an irresistible opening.

The swordsman Hunter lurking around waiting for an opening to present itself, while the two spearmen were keeping Han-Yeol busy, immediately pounced at the opportunity when he saw an opening in Han-Yeol’s defense. He shouted and charged right in, “Gotcha!”

Both ends of Han-Yeol’s lips suddenly curled up as he cheekily smiled.

“!!” Upon spotting Han-Yeol’s smile, the swordsman Hunter noticed that something was not right.

‘Shield Bash!’ Han-Yeol activated his only attack skill with his shield.

Bam!

He knocked the two spearmen back with Shield Bash, and he was now facing the swordsman one on one.

“Huh…?” The swordsman Hunter was confused at the sudden turn of events.

The swordsman Hunter possessed three skills specialized in assassination, so he was bound to lose to the same E Rank Hunter if he were to fight them one on one. He was aware of this fact, and that was why he always preferred to lurk behind and wait for an opportune moment to strike.

In fact, the swordsman Hunter could be considered weak compared to an average E Rank Hunter, and the same applied to the rest of the other three Hunters. These four Hunters were so weak that not even a mediocre hunting party would be willing to take them in.

That was the main reason why these four, despite being Hunters, were not out at the hunting grounds to hunt monsters for a living, and they instead chose to roam around the streets robbing civilians or other Hunters weaker than them.

Han-Yeol made the first move and lightly swung his sword. At the same time, the swordsman Hunter used his evasion skill to try and avoid Han-Yeol’s attack.

Sukeok!

But Han-Yeol’s sword was much faster than the swordsman Hunter’s reaction speed, so his shoulder was easily cut open by the sword.

“Gwaaaaaah!” The swordsman Hunter screamed in agony when the burning sensation engulfed his entire shoulder. He could not bear the pain, which was a pain that he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

“Jack!” one of the Hunters shouted.

‘Jack?’ Han-Yeol wondered.

The four Hunters looked like typical Koreans, but they were using English names. Then, Han-Yeol’s brain had a lightbulb popping up. He asked, “Ah, so you are the Four Mad Musketeers?”

“H-How did you know?” the Hunter asked in response while being surprised. They were indeed the Four Mad Musketeers.

The Hunters’ Association had a wanted list that rated them by rank, and the Four Mad Musketeers were wanted D Rank criminals. They were ranked as D even though their individual ranks were only E because they could hunt down a C Rank Hunter through their cooperation and sheer luck. Nobody really paid attention to them or wasted their time looking for them since their faces were unknown, and the only thing known about them was the fact that they moved in a group of four and called each other with nicknames such as Jack, Howl, Tale, and Kyle.

Han-Yeol was able to come up with this deduction the moment he heard the name ‘Jack’. Armed with new knowledge, he then said, “D Rank wanted… You guys have a bounty of three hundred and forty million won, right?”

There were some Hunters who only chased after wanted criminals with bounties on their heads instead of going after monsters, and these Hunters were called Bounty Hunters.

Of course, Han-Yeol was not interested in Bounty Hunters nor was he planning to become one. It was just that there had been a few times in his Porter days when he had heard of the bounty placed on these criminals from the Hunters, and he remembered being green with envy at the bounty figure placed on their heads.

He was able to recognize the Four Mad Musketeers since they were one of the wanted criminals that he had heard of back in the day.

“That bastard saw our faces! Kill him!”

“Hap!”

The swordsman Hunter might have been incapacitated, but the core of their team, which were the two spearmen and the magician, were still able to fight.

“Tale!”

“Okay, leave it to me!” the magician named Tale responded when one of the spearmen shouted his name. He started to gather mana into his hands—he was casting a spell.

“Sorry to say this but… I’ll stop watching what E Rank Hunters have to offer now,” Han-Yeol said.

“What the hell are you saying you…”

Sukeok!

Han-Yeol was done playing games with them. He used Jumping to immediately close the distance with the two spearmen, and he swung his sword while activating his skill, ‘Sword Breath.’

“Gruwaaah!”

“Gwaaaak!”

The fiery sword slashed across the spear-wielding Hunters’ chests without giving them a chance to defend against it. Their chests were charred black with a large wound across them. They coughed up blood and struggled to survive, but it was too late.

“Damn it! You are dead meat!” the magician threatened despite having three of his comrades dead. He did not really seem to mind the deaths of his comrades, since criminals usually had a mindset of shrugging it off and replacing them with others.

Tale was trying to kill Han-Yeol not because he wanted to avenge his comrades’ deaths, but because Han-Yeol had made it cumbersome for him to go and look for new ones. Also, he had to kill Han-Yeol at all costs since it was going to be a pain in the ass if a criminal sketch of him was made and spread around the country.

“A magician always has to watch where they step,” Han-Yeol said.

“What the hell are you talking… Heok!” Tale jumped in surprise. He was about to ignore Han-Yeol’s ramblings and throw the skill he had channeled toward Han-Yeol, but he jumped up in fright when the Shadow Demon that had disappeared a while ago was suddenly standing underneath his feet and lurking in his shadow.

Then, the Shadow Demon wrapped both of its hands around the magician Hunter’s neck.

“Keok! Keok! S-Spare me…!” Tale pleaded.

Han-Yeol walked toward the magician Hunter who was being choked by the Shadow Demon. He said, “I’m sorry to say this but… I have two Shadow Demons, you see.”

[Shadow Demon]

Level: 4

Rating: Low

Experience: 789/232119

Skill: Devour, Shadow Taunt, Overwhelming Strength, Ambush.

“Also, this guy is the real deal. It recently got a new skill, so it is now able to lurk in any shadow unbeknownst to the shadow’s owner,” Han-Yeol explained, which was unlike him. He was frustrated by the fact that he had to keep his abilities under wraps and keep it a secret from everyone else, and he wanted to vent some of his frustration by telling someone else about his abilities—since they were going to die after all.

“I had no intention of killing you guys, but based on what I saw just six months ago… you guys killed twelve civilians and eight Hunters, right? I’m sure you killed even more within the last six months too,” Han-Yeol said in a cold voice.

“Keok! Keok! S-Spare me…!” Tale pleaded once again while extending his hand toward Han-Yeol.

“I’m sure your victims begged for their lives just like you are doing right now. They probably begged and cried that they did not want to die. They probably also told you about their families waiting back home, right? But what did you guys do to them?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Guoh…”

“Cough…!”

The other three Hunters, who were still alive, coughed up blood and struggled on the ground.

“They are all dead. Not even one survived. You killed all of them!” Han-Yeol shouted angrily.

Crack…!

The Shadow Demon tightened its grip on the Hunter’s neck.

“Guek!” The magician Hunter let out one last groan before dying with his eyes rolled back.

‘Hoo… I’m not a fan of confirming my kill but…’ Han-Yeol thought as he walked toward the four Hunters and stabbed them with his sword to make sure they were all dead.

Clang…!

Han-Yeol then threw his sword to the ground and sat while leaning against a wall. He had just committed his first murder. He killed them because of his anger towards them and the atrocities they had committed, but the burden of taking another human being’s life was a very heavy one.

Then, Han-Yeol took out his smartphone and placed a call. Not long after, the police and investigators from the Hunters’ Association came after receiving his call. They cordoned off the area and started to clean up the mess.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

The investigators were taking pictures of the murder scene when someone called out, “Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?”

“Yes, that is me,” Han-Yeol replied.

It was a white-haired investigator from the Hunters’ Association. He identified himself by showing his ID and said, “My name is Park Soo-In. I am a Rank 3 investigator from the Hunters’ Association. Are you certain that you are the one who killed the Four Mad Musketeers?”

“That is correct. I got into a fight with them because they attacked my father, but I found out that one of them was named ‘Jack’ and I managed to win after a fierce battle,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Hmm…” Park Soo-In muttered while nodding.

It did not seem like Han-Yeol was lying based on the scene of the crime.

“Well, we will have to investigate things further, but you will be able to receive the bounty without any problems since there’s nothing suspicious from the nearby CCTVs. There were also no traces of any other Hunters in the vicinity,” Park Soo-In said.

“Is that so?” Han-Yeol asked in response.

“Of course,” Park Soo-In replied.

“Hoo… That is a relief. I thought you would refuse to pay me the bounty since I killed them,” Han-Yeol said.

“Of course not. Only ordinary criminals get to blabber about their rights and whatnot so we cannot kill them so easily, but that is not the case for these so-called Black Hunters since they are a severe threat to society. That is why we have no qualms about paying whoever caught them, whether dead or alive,” Park Soo-In explained.

“I see,” Han-Yeol muttered in response.

Han-Yeol was aware of all these facts, but he was simply acting dumb since he wanted to divert the investigator’s attention to something else. Perhaps it was because of his efforts to distract the investigator, but the case was wrapped up almost immediately without a single hitch.

***

Han-Yeol still had to get investigated by the Hunters’ Association, but it was only out of formality since he did deserve credit for bringing down those Black Hunters.

Ding dong!

[340,000,000 Won has been deposited into your account.]

He received the full bounty amount since bounties were not taxed by the government.

“Hmm… I don’t feel anything even when seeing such a big amount,” Han-Yeol muttered.

Han-Yeol now had ten billion won in assets, and that was all in full cash[1]. There was no way that Han-Yeol, who was born poor and had lived a poor life, would know how to manage his money. Therefore, all of his money currently sat in his bank account.

Skills and stats were much more important to Han-Yeolthan money right now.

‘Oh right, Summon Demon leveled up, right?’ Han-Yeol thought. He was now able to summon another demon thanks to Summon Demon leveling up.

Han-Yeol immediately went to his computer and accessed the internet, and then searched ’72 Demons’ online.

‘It’s better to summon one of the seventy-two demons if I’m going to summon a demon anyway,’ Han-Yeol thought.

He had already summoned two Shadow Demons, which were the lowest-ranked demons, so he wanted to summon a high-ranking demon this time around.

Scroll… Scroll… Scroll…

He scrolled down the list of demons before his eyes became fixated on one name on the list.

‘This demon is…?’ Han-Yeol muttered inwardly.

[Astaroth]

1. I know he has cars and a house which should be counted toward his assets… but I decided to stick to the raw since this was how it was written. ☜