Leveling Up Alone

“Hap!”

Sukeok!

“Kieeeek!”

The Dokkaebis were helpless against Han-Yeol once again, and they could not even put up a fight as they were simultaneously butchered.

‘A-Amazing… This is really amazing,’ Yoo-Bi thought in amazement as she saw what was happening in front of her eyes. She wondered, ‘How can he kill the Dokkaebis so effortlessly…?’

It was possible for anyone to think that the Dokkaebis were not that strong after seeing them get destroyed by Han-Yeol, but that was far from the truth. The Dokkaebis were one of the most cunning monsters out there, and they were not afraid to pull all sorts of dirty tricks to kill their prey. In fact, most parties found the Dokkaebis to be very difficult to deal with, since they had the habit of attacking in groups and picking their targets off one by one, starting from the weakest link. However, they could not pull those tricks on Han-Yeol, since he was alone.

Some of the Dokkaebis targeted Yoo-Bi instead, but most of them were dragged back by Han-Yeol’s chain. Those that did manage to reach Yoo-Bi were instantly taken care of by Kajikar and the Shadow Demon.

‘I wonder why there is no reaction from the Hunters’ Association when such a Hunter exists…?’ Yoo-Bi wondered. In her eyes, Han-Yeol was a Hunter strong enough for the Hunters’ Association to drool over.

While Yoo-Bi was deep in her own thoughts…

Unbeknownst to Yoo-Bi, demons possessed the ability to read the minds and hearts of humans, and a mid-ranked demon like Kajikar could do so effortlessly.

The demon drill sergeant thought that Han-Yeol was not strong enough for him to openly go around flaunting his strength. In fact, most of the demons in the demon world only showed thirty percent of their strength while hiding the rest, since that reduced the chances of them being stabbed in the back.

***

Han-Yeol collected the Dokkaebi corpses and loaded them on the five-ton truck that he had rented from the Hunters’ Association. He drove the truck down to the association and sold the mana stones for a hefty sum before driving to Sung-Jin Factory to sell the monster parts.

Manager Han rushed out and personally greeted Han-Yeol when he saw the truck approaching the factory. “Welcome, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. Thank you for your patronage as always.”

All of the Sung-Jin Factory’s employees felt very grateful to Han-Yeol, and Manager Han was definitely one of them. The employees did not know the details of what was going on, but they knew that there was something going on in the factory because of the recent rowdy events.

Han-Yeol was nothing short of a savior for them. Not only had he stopped the harassment from the TK Group, but he was also the only Hunter who continuously supplied the factory with monster corpses. Thanks to him, the factory did not close down and their jobs were saved.

“I brought Dokkaebis this time. I mainly brought their skins, heads, hearts, and livers. Can you please take a look at them?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Aigoo! Of course, we will get to it at once,” Manager Han replied. He waved his hands and urged his employees to move.

Normal corpses would usually stink after a while, but monster corpses did not. Perhaps it was because of the mana flowing within their body, but monster corpses decayed a hundred times slower than normal corpses.

The long shelf life of monster corpses was one of the main driving factors behind the flourishing industry that manufactured products from monster parts.

“Please send me the estimate once it is ready,” Han-Yeol said.

“Of course, please do not be worried about it,” Manager Han said while rubbing his hands.

“I will take my leave then,” Han-Yeol said.

“Thank you very much, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!” Manager Han exclaimed, bowing politely.

Han-Yeol left the factory with Yoo-Bi. Then, they went into an abandoned factory where Kajikar was waiting for them while drinking. Looking at the demon, Han-Yeol asked, “What is the matter, Kajikar-nim?”

[I was able to resolve the matter with the demon world’s increased demand for monster corpses thanks to the ones you provided,] Kajikar said.

“Haha, please do not mention it. It was part of our agreement, after all,” Han-Yeol replied.

[You are right. Anyway, I will first give you this to uphold my end of the bargain,] Kajikar said as he extended his closed hand.

Han-Yeol extended his palm toward the demon drill sergeant’s hand, and the demon dropped two tiny marbles on his palm. The marbles looked like those that kids would usually play with, except that they had a dark red hue to them.

Han-Yeol could feel a sinister energy coming from the tiny jewels, but he could not make heads or tails as to what they actually were. He muttered in confusion, “These are…?”

[I contemplated for quite a while if I should give you a weapon or a skill, but I eventually decided to give you these jewels that I recently got my hands on,] Kajikar said.

“These are jewels…?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Yes, and they are extremely valuable ones. I am giving them to you since you granted my urgent request,] Kajikar replied.

“Hmm…” Han-Yeol muttered.

Though Kajikar had just said that these were very precious jewels, Han-Yeol could not really feel anything special about them. The sinister aura that the jewels emitted was a bit of a concern, but he could somehow understand that—they were items from the demon world, after all.

The biggest problem for Han-Yeol was that he could not feel any particular power coming from the jewels. In addition, whatever these jewels could do definitely wouldn’t work with mana, since they came from the demon world.

[Ah, one more thing. I will pass on a very precious piece of knowledge to you,] Kajikar said.

Gulp…!

The demons were not ones to simply say things to appease others, since they were a race that valued honor more than anything else.[1]

Han-Yeol could not help but be nervous and excited at the same time, since a demon like Kajikar said that it was a valuable piece of information.

[Ah, before that. Those jewels are called Demon’s Eye. It is a very precious jewel that only appears when a demon at the weakest rank lives for two thousand years before dying of natural causes. You will be able to absorb the powers hidden within the gem if you consume it,] Kajikar added.

“R-Really…?” Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief.

[Have I ever lied to you?] Kajikar asked in response.

“Ah, no you have not. T-Then…can I just eat it like this…?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Fool! Of course you can’t,] Kajikar said.

“H-Huh?” Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. He was expecting the demon drill sergeant to tell him that he could just go ahead and swallow the jewel, so he was greatly taken by surprise when he was told that he could not simply do that.

“T-Then…?”

[I have no idea either,] Kajikar replied.

“Huh…?” Han-Yeol muttered in confusion once again.

He had no idea? What kind of irresponsible nonsense was that?

[We demons can simply go ahead and ingest it, but a human’s mana works differently from ours. I’m certain that you will need to do some other things before ingesting it. You need to figure out what that is before you can consume those jewels,] Kajikar explained.

“Then that means…?” Han-Yeol muttered.

[You will need to summon an intellectual demon instead of a combat-centered demon like me,] Kajikar said.

“Ugh…” Han-Yeol groaned.

Fortunately, Han-Yeol’s Summon Demon skill had gone up a level, and he was now able to summon most demons as long as he had their insignia. However, what bothered him was…

“It feels like I have turned into a professional demon summoner…” Han-Yeol grumbled.

[Keke! Demons can be very useful creatures. It’s a different story if you have never summoned one, but a human is bound to be addicted to our usefulness once they have summoned one of us. Then, they will become useless fools once we demons stop helping them out, and then they will naturally offer their souls to us in exchange for our help. That is how a human gets corrupted,] Kajikar explained.

“T-That is quite concerning to hear…” Han-Yeol said while stuttering.

[Well, you don’t have to be scared. You will be fine as long as you don’t go crazy and only deal with the demons in a responsible manner. I’m sure that it is possible to become a great demon summoner while not being corrupted by the demons. Hey, why don’t you aim high and try to summon the Demon Lord since you have already walked this path?] Kajikar said with a smirk.

“Ugh…” Han-Yeol groaned. That was the only reaction he could muster at the demon drill sergeant’s words. It was difficult to discern if he was joking or being serious.

***

“I shall respectfully decline,” Han-Yeol said.

[Keke! Do what you want. Your destiny will guide you to where you have to go anyway,] Kajikar said.

“Why are you saying something so out of character all of a sudden…?” Han-Yeol grumbled.

[Kuhahaha!] Kajikar burst into laughter.

“So, in the end… I will have to figure things out myself by summoning a demon that can teach me how to consume these jewels?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Of course, I have already upheld my end of the bargain simply by giving you the jewels and sharing that precious piece of information, and I’m not even asking for the spare change!] Kajikar said cheekily.

“Haha… You’re so kind you’re making me cry…” Han-Yeol replied sarcastically.

[Good luck figuring it out.]

“Ugh…” Han-Yeol groaned.

Han-Yeol was groaning quite a lot today.

The demon drill sergeant let out a boisterous laugh, then dove back into his insignia and returned to the demon world.

“Hoo… That demon is always tiresome to summon,” Han-Yeol grumbled.

He was holding his frustration in since he still had a lot of things to learn from Kajikar, but it seemed that the demon drill sergeant was innately talented when it came to annoying people. Han-Yeol could not help but be skeptical whether Kajikar was really such an anonymous demon. He seemed much more skilled at annoying humans than most humans themselves.

“What’s wrong, oppa?” Yoo-Bi asked as she walked up to Han-Yeol.

“Ah! Yoo-Bi! I’m sorry. I was so engrossed with my stuff that I neglected you for a while,” Han-Yeol said.

“Don’t mention it, it’s alright. I don’t have time to think about things when we are hunting, since I am quite on the edge as well,” Yoo-Bi replied truthfully. She was always on the edge during their hunts, since she had no idea what kind of danger could strike at any time.

The danger during their hunts remained no matter how strong Han-Yeol was. Of course, things could be much better if there were more Hunters with them, and Yoo-Bi would be less tense if there were others around.

“Ah, really?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes,” Yoo-Bi replied.

“Hmm…” Han-Yeol muttered while remaining deep in thought for a while. He stared at Yoo-Bi for quite a while, and she looked back at him while tilting her head in confusion.

Looking at Yoo-Bi’s expression that seemed to ask ‘what’s wrong?’, Han-Yeol suddenly blushed when he locked eyes with her.

“Ehem… Ehem… Ah, it’s nothing, don’t mind me,” Han-Yeol said, faking a cough, then he turned around.

“?”

Yoo-Bi was still trying to figure out what was going on. Then, a thought suddenly flooded into her mind, ‘Ah… I want to awaken too…’

She had initially wanted to awaken so that she could earn a lot of money, but she was starting to enjoy the job as time went by and she had even started thinking that she had a knack for it. However, she could not help but want to become a Hunter just like Han-Yeol. This was especially true whenever she saw him enjoying victory after a struggle against a monster. She wanted to feel that bliss, as well as the feeling of accomplishment that came from proudly standing toe to toe with the monsters.

The Hunters looked very cool in her eyes, and the desire to become just like them started to well up from within her.

‘I want to become a Hunter, specifically one like Han-Yeol oppa,’ Yoo-Bi thought.

She wanted to become a Hunter like Han-Yeol even though she knew that it was possible that she would have to separate from him one day.

She had heard that there were a lot of Hunters who were much more powerful than Han-Yeol was, but she had a feeling that this was not the limit of his abilities and that he was going to be much more powerful in the future.

‘Oppa is not saying it himself, but I’m certain that he has a growth-type ability,’ Yoo-Bi thought. She was not stupid—she could easily tell what was going on after going on so many hunts with Han-Yeol, and she knew from what she had learned that it was impossible for a normal Hunter to gradually take on stronger monsters the way Han-Yeol was doing.

Of course, it was possible for other Hunters to do what Han-Yeol was doing, but that was under the premise that they hunted monsters much weaker than them from the start.

“Ah, Yoo-Bi,” Han-Yeol suddenly called out.

“Yes, oppa?” Yoo-Bi asked.

“Shall we have dinner together?” Han-Yeol asked. He was asking her out on a date.

“Yeah sure, let’s do that,” Yoo-Bi replied without a hint of hesitation.

Of course, it was an easy decision for Yoo-Bi to accept his offer, since she did not stand to lose anything from getting closer to Han-Yeol after all. She did not really feel any attraction toward Han-Yeol for now, but she thought that he was a nice oppa, so she did not really mind going out on a date with him.

Han-Yeol brought Yoo-Bi to a famous hotel restaurant.

They did dress up for the dinner, but their clothes did not really match the hotel restaurant’s dress code since it was a very upscale place. As expected, a man blocked their path when they were about to enter the establishment.

“Customer-nim, I apologize but you may not enter our restaurant as you do not meet the dress code,” the man said.

“Huh? Do they still care about dress codes these days?” Han-Yeol asked.

“I apologize for that. It is not that our restaurant requires our patrons to wear a suit, but you may not enter wearing trainers here. I apologize once again,” the man replied.

“Ugh…” Han-Yeol groaned. He felt his anger boiling inside of him.

Han-Yeol knew that he was at fault, since he had come to a hotel restaurant without caring about his appearance, but a man had his pride. What was Yoo-Bi going to think of him if he backed off like this? Still, she was not going to think nicely of him if he caused a scene here too.

He actually forgot that such a thing as a dress code even existed in the first place, since he came from a dirt poor background, so this kind of fancy restaurant was not a place that he could have ever dreamt of coming to.

“Ah, then, do you lend or rent suits? I’m sure you have one of those,” Han-Yeol said. He remembered seeing something like that on the TV. He saw that a high-end restaurant like this one placed great importance on the dress code, so there were places that lent or rented suits to their patrons who forgot to wear one.

“I apologize, but our restaurant does not require our patrons to wear a suit so we do not have such a service,” the man replied.

Grumble… Grumble…

Han-Yeol would have given up the moment he was denied entry if he had come here on his own, but he felt that his pride would be hurt if he were to turn back now when a pretty dongsaeng[2] like Yoo-Bi was with him.

“Oppa…” Yoo-Bi looked at Han-Yeol with a worried expression. She was concerned about his pride, since she knew very well why he had chosen to come to this restaurant in the first place.

Rendered speechless, Han-Yeol thought, ‘I guess I have no choice…’

He could not bear the thought of being humiliated in front of Yoo-Bi, but he could not cause a scene in a public place now that he was a Hunter.

“Alright, let’s go,” Han-Yeol said.

‘I’m not coming here ever again. Mark my words,’ he thought as he looked at the restaurant with eyes filled with resentment.

The restaurant was not at fault here, but he could not bear to even think about returning to a place that had humiliated him before. After all, he would be reminded of today whenever he came back here. However, as Han-Yeol was about to turn around and leave, a voice called out to him.

“P-Please wait a minute!”

“Hmm?” Han-Yeol muttered in confusion.

Someone hurriedly stopped Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi from leaving the restaurant.

1. I still can’t get used to this and neither can you. I read everything again before translating just to make sure it’s correct, and yes it is. ☜

2. Dongsaeng means someone younger to you. It is usually used to refer to a junior and can be used for both male and female. ☜