Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 47: High Schooler (5)

At that moment, when the fifty Volaxes were all tied up by the Shadow Demon, an additional thirty Volaxes came from the north and were now visible in the distance.

‘Alright, the fifty?Volaxes?are tied up by the Shadow Demon, so I just have to take care of the thirty incoming,’?Han-Yeol thought before he walked toward the north slowly. It did not matter whether there were thirty, fifty, or even a hundred Volaxes coming at him.

Click… Clack…!

‘They’re all going to die in one hit anyway,’?Han-Yeol thought while loading his M4A2. He went down on one knee and stabilized his rifle before activating his skill and pulling the trigger, ‘Power Strike!’

Ratatatatatata!

There was no need for Han-Yeol to mind his aim at all, since there were monsters all over the place and his Marksmanship skill gave a bit of support regarding his aim.

Peok! Peok! Peok! Peok! Peok!

The sound of something smashing into something else could be heard whenever a bullet hit the Volaxes.

“You guys can shoot as well. They won’t be able to reach us anyway!” Han-Yeol shouted.

The sound of gunfire was extremely loud, but Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan had no problems hearing Han-Yeol who had amplified his voice with mana.

“Yes, Hunter-nim!” the Porters replied before they pulled the trigger and unleashed a barrage of bullets at the incoming Volaxes.

The Volaxes tried their best to avoid Han-Yeol’s gunfire and get closer to him, but his bullets buffed with two skills did not give them an inch at all.

“Kekeng!”

Twenty of the Volaxes quickly died from Han-Yeol’s gunfire.

‘Last but not least… Mana Explosion!’?Han-Yeol thought.

Plop…! Baaaaaaam!

It was at that moment that the ten Volaxes remaining from the thirty instantly died from the grenade that Han-Yeol threw into their midst. Only a cloud of thick black smoke rose up from the place where the explosion happened, and not a single movement could be seen beneath the smoke.

Han-Yeol used Mana Eyes and looked around just to be sure that none of the Volaxes had survived before he placed his heated rifle on his shoulder. Then, he walked over to where the Shadow Demon was diligently fighting against the pack of Volaxes.

Peok! Peok! Munch…! Munch…!

‘Ugh… it’s basically eating them while fighting…’?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.

The Shadow Demon was completely surrounded by the monsters, and its gluttonous instinct wanted to eat them as soon as possible. That was why it stuffed a Volax into its mouth whenever it could while wildly swinging its hands around to dispatch the others.

‘Oh right…’?

After thinking that, Han-Yeol said, “You two can come down and retrieve the Volaxes we killed just now.”

“Yes, Hunter-nim!” the two enthusiastically replied. They had calmed down after seeing Han-Yeol’s one-sided massacre of the Volaxes.

A bit of suspense was needed for the two Porters to feel nervous, but Han-Yeol leisurely dispatched the monsters as if he was just taking a routine morning walk. He thought, ‘Well… it feels different from when I first hunted them.’

The pair heard from their seniors that a Porter was a dangerous occupation where they might be quite often put in shameful or even degrading situations, but all they were doing so far was to shoot, clean up, and drive. In fact, they found their work not that difficult at all as opposed to the stories they had heard from their seniors.

Just as Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan were completely engrossed on dismembering the Volaxes, Han-Yeol looked at the Shadow Demon and thought, ‘I think it’s going to be better for us to go to Ant Hell rather than stay here and hunt the Volaxes.’

The Volaxes were an easy opponent for the Shadow Demon, and Han-Yeol felt that it was now time to move to a more challenging hunting ground for the demon.

The Shadow Demon had leveled up after taking care of all fifty Volaxes and it was now Level 3.

“I think that this place is too easy for us, so we might have to move to another hunting ground,” Han-Yeol said.

“Where are we going then?” Sung-Hwan asked.

“We will go to the Ant Hell,” Han-Yeol replied.

“I understand,” Sung-Hwan said before he thought, ‘The ants are stronger than the Volaxes, but it doesn’t mean that they are much more dangerous.’

He felt that the ants were not going to be much of a threat after personally witnessing Han-Yeol’s greatness with his own eyes.

***

Peok!

“Kiriiik!”

The Shadow Demon grabbed a Giant Ant and slowly squeezed it hard.

Crack… Crack…

“Kieeeeeek!”?The Giant Ant squirmed and screeched in agony when the Shadow Demon. It stubbornly clung to life, but soon stopped moving and plopped down dead when the Shadow Demon crushed its head.

Puseok!

Then, the Shadow Demon voraciously feasted on the dead Giant Ant.

Ding!

[The Shadow Demon’s level has risen.]

‘Shadow Demon status window,’?Han-Yeol thought as he called up the demon’s status window.

[Shadow Demon]

Level: 6

Rating: Lowest

Experience: 1/2018

Skill: Devour, Shadow Taunt, Overwhelming Strength.

The Shadow Demon reached Level 6 after consistently hunting the Giant Ants. The Shadow Demon, which was immune to physical attacks, was a nightmare for the low-tier monsters that could not use mana in their attacks. However, its attack power was not that strong, so it took quite a while to kill its prey. However, it gained the skill Overwhelming Strength when it turned Level 5, and was now able to deal a massive amount of physical damage to its enemies while not receiving any physical damage.

‘Hehe, the demon is now starting to really become a demon,’?Han-Yeol thought while being very satisfied at the Shadow Demon’s growth.

Munch… Munch… Munch…

The Shadow Demon’s skill levels rose alongside its level, and it was now devouring the monsters like a vacuum cleaner compared to the speed it had eaten them when it had been Level 1.

“Are you two alright?” Han-Yeol asked.

They have been roaming around the Ant Hell for almost three days now, but they did not really have much to do since the Shadow Demon ate all of the ant corpses. However, it was quite difficult and tiring for the two normal people to follow around Han-Yeol, who was an Awakened, for three days.

“Ah, I’m alright. I can still go on,” Sung-Hwan replied.

“M-Me too…” Yoo-Bi replied.

That was what they said, but they did not appear to be in great states in Han-Yeol’s eyes. The dark circles underneath their eyes were almost touching their lips, their skin looked dry and dirty, and their disheveled hair was scattering all over the place now.

“Let’s call it a day and come back tomorrow morning,” Han-Yeol said.

“R-Really…?” Yoo-Bi asked.

“…”

Yoo-Bi, who had lesser stamina compared to Sung-Hwan, instantly reacted to the good news while Sung-Hwan quietly smiled at the news.

“Yeah, I will pay you for your work. Just make sure to get some well-deserved rest before coming tomorrow,” Han-Yeol said.

“T-Thank you, oppa!” Yoo-Bi exclaimed.

“T-Thank you, Hunter-nim!” Sung-Hwan enthusiastically exclaimed.

Yoo-Bi was delighted at Han-Yeol’s announcement, since her stamina was almost about to hit rock bottom no matter how much she wanted to stay and spend time with Han-Yeol. Likewise, Sung-Hwan bowed and expressed his gratitude to Han-Yeol.

That was how they decided to take a break after hunting for three days straight.

Han-Yeol returned to the Hunters' Association with the mana stones they had acquired in tow.

Shwaaaaaaak!

“…”

The mana stones Han-Yeol, to be more accurate, the Shadow Demon, had hunted from the Volaxes and Giant Ants for four days piled on top of the counter, and the staffer behind the counter could not believe her eyes. With wide eyes and a slack jaw as she looked at the amount of mana stones piled up, the staffer asked, “T-This… Are these all… M-Mana stones…?”

The mana stones were small and low in purity, but the staffer had never seen such a massive amount of mana stone in the five years she worked at the Hunters’ Association.

.

‘Did a guild hunt all of these? But then, a guild won’t move and hunt for such low-tier monsters, right?’?the staffer wondered. She could tell that these mana stones were extracted from Volaxes and Giant Ants at a single glance, but the fact that surprised her was the sheer quantity of the mana stones on the counter. Was this how the allied forces felt when they were faced with the overwhelming numbers of the communists during the Korean War?

‘Heok!’?The staffer could not help but gasp in shock once again.

[1,580,000,000]

The Volax and Giant Ant might be useless monsters to hunt, but their mana stones amounted to an astonishing 1.58 billion won because of the sheer quantity submitted by Han-Yeol. Of course, the total amount was actually going to be 1.16 billion won after taxes, but it was still an unbelievable sum considering that it was earned from the weakest of the low-tier monsters.

‘That’s with mana stones from the Volaxes mixed in it as well!’?the staffer exclaimed inwardly.

Perhaps this was the reason why China was such a powerful country, since any small thing, no matter how insignificant it might be, would become a force to reckon with. This was assuming that enough of them were bundled up together.

That was how Han-Yeol managed to earn 1.1 billion won after selling the mana stones, and then he went to the factory that he was now a regular client of.

‘So they made it through,’?Han-Yeol thought.

The factory was able to make it through its early stages thanks to Han-Yeol constantly supplying them with monster corpses, and it was now time for them to withstand the pressure the corporation-owned larger factories were going to put on them.

“Thank you! Thank you very much once again, Hunter-nim!” the factory CEO, who was previously the manager, said while shaking Han-Yeol’s hand.

Han-Yeol wasn’t selling countless corpses to the factory, but the factory had no hesitations when it came to signing a contract with him. Having a constant supply of monster corpses in their early days, no matter how little the quantity might be, was going to decide whether they were going to make it or not. On top of that, the fact that they were able to maintain operations thanks to the constant supply from Han-Yeol was more than enough of a reason for them to sign a contract with him.

Thanks to Han-Yeol, the factory was able to make it through its early stages, which was the most difficult period for any factory.

“Well, I’m selling to you because you are giving me good prices for them,” Han-Yeol replied.

“In the future, we will be in your care as well,” the CEO said.

“Of course,” Han-Yeol replied. As a VIP client, he received the payment on the spot. It was now time for him to pay his Porters.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

Han-Yeol accessed his bank application on his smartphone and wired money to the bank accounts he previously received from the two.

[You have successfully transferred: 60,480,000 Won]

[You have successfully transferred: 60,480,000 Won]

“Heop!”

“Heok!”

Thanks to Han-Yeol paying them in full, Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan’s eyes and mouths opened as wide as they could upon seeing the amount wired to their bank accounts. They had walked around for four days without doing anything, and they only had to forego sleep a few times, but they received a huge sum of sixty million won in their bank accounts.

The money they received was incomparable to what a normal Porter would earn, since a normal Porter would earn only around 1.4 million won in a day.

“H-Hunter-nim… Is it alright for me to receive such a huge amount…?” Sung-Hwan asked.

“Of course, thanks for your hard work. It’s only your interim pay for half of the month, so there will be more where that came from,” Han-Yeol said with a smile. He might have paid his Porters a hundred twenty million won, but that was not even ten percent of the amount he had gotten from selling the mana stones and that also excluded the proceeds from selling the monster corpses. Then, he added, “Now, let’s part ways here for today. Get some good rest and let’s meet again tomorrow. Got that?”

“Yes, Hunter-nim!” the two enthusiastically replied.

Sung-Hwan’s attitude made a drastic one eighty-degree turn after receiving his fat pay. After all, he had become a Porter to make ends meet, but the unexpected lump sum that fell on his lap was nothing short of a god-sent for him.

Sung-Hwan giggled like a little kid while looking at his bank account, and he was about to go home when he suddenly asked, “Yoo-Bi, aren’t you going?”

“T-That is… Can we really accept this money…?” Yoo-Bi asked. She was well aware that an average Porter made around 1.4 million won a day, but she felt that she was cheating the others by receiving such a huge sum after only working for a few days.

“Of course, I did tell you beforehand that you will be receiving six hundred thirty thousand won an hour. I’m just giving you what I promised,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Still…” Yoo-Bi muttered. She thought that they were only going to get paid for working eight hours a day, which would have explained why Han-Yeol was paying them so much per hour. She never imagined that he was going to pay for the entire twenty-four hours they spent with him.

Han-Yeol patted Yoo-Bi, who was still hesitating whether she could take the money or not, on the head and said, “I might have paid you sixty million won each, but I earned a billion this time. I will start feeling awkward if you keep hesitating over sixty million, you know?”

“No, that is not what I meant! I will gratefully accept it, thank you very much!” Yoo-Bi exclaimed with sparkling eyes before she bowed to show her gratefulness. She usually did not like causing trouble for others, but she snapped out of it the moment Han-Yeol mentioned that he was going to feel awkward because of her. She added cheerfully, “Then, I will see you tomorrow!”

“Alright, see you,” Han-Yeol replied.

Yoo-Bi left after saying her goodbyes.

Han-Yeol had a satisfied smile on his face while watching Yoo-Bi walk away, and he soon left and went home as well.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

Murmur… Murmur…! Murmur… Murmur…!

‘Hmm? Is father?home?’?Han-Yeol wondered when he entered his house. He heard the sound of people noisily talking and it did not come from the TV. It sounded like there were at least four people talking right now. He took off his shoes and went inside.

“Hahaha! Cheers!”

Clink!

A feast was already set up in their living room, and Han-Yeol’s father was at the center of it just as Han-Yeol expected.

“Ah! Han-Yeol! Are you home already? Didn’t you say that you will be gone for at least fifteen days?” his father asked.

“Ah, I came back to wash up and change clothes, but father… Why are you drinking so early in the evening?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Hahaha… I-It just happened,” his father replied with an awkward laugh.

Han-Yeol did not really like it when his father called his friends over and drank with them at home when he had been young, and that was why his father had stopped calling his friends over even when he really liked to host these drinking parties.

His father thought that this was a golden opportunity he could not miss when Han-Yeol had told him that he was going to be away for fifteen days, and that was why he had called his friends over to host them for a drinking party. However, Han-Yeol had unexpectedly come home ahead of plan.

“Well, I will need to leave after I wash up, so please go ahead and enjoy yourselves,” Han-Yeol said.

“R-Really…?” his father nervously muttered.

“Yes,” Han-Yeol coolly replied.

“Alright! Let’s have a toast since my son gave us permission! Cheers!” his father exclaimed.

“Cheers!”

“Wahahaha!”

Liquor was certainly a powerful thing. The tense atmosphere instantly elevated into a rowdy one as soon as they clinked their glasses.

‘Sigh…’?Han-Yeol inwardly sighed.

Han-Yeol liked to drink, but his love for drinking was nothing when compared to his father’s. He went to his room and washed up before he cut the back of his right hand and summoned the demon.

‘Summon Demon,’?Han-Yeol thought as he summoned the demon lurking underneath his father’s shadow.

Shwaaa…

[I… by human…]

Han-Yeol summoned the Shadow Demon he had tasked to protect his father and checked its status. He called up its status window, ‘Shadow Demon’s status window.’

[Shadow Demon]

Level: 1

Rating: Lowest

Experience: 1/100

Skill: Devour

The Shadow Demon’s stats were hopeless, as expected, because Han-Yeol had not brought this demon out to hunt yet, and the only skill it knew how to use was Devour.

‘Hmm… Then, is it possible for the demon to learn a different set of skills…?’?Han-Yeol wondered.

Shwaa…

The Shadow Demon stood there observing Han-Yeol.

‘Demon, I have a question,’?Han-Yeol said through telepathy.

[Ask.]

‘Is it possible for the demons’ abilities to be different from one another?’?Han-Yeol asked.

[Of course… all demons… skill… different…]

The Shadow Demon replied, but it was hard to make out its words due to the interference in its telepathy, and this annoyed Han-Yeol. However, it was not impossible to understand what it was trying to say.

‘So you mean that Devour is a basic skill, but the rest are different. Alright, it will be fun nurturing you guys,’?Han-Yeol said.