Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 62: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon’s Eye (3)

“Oh, hi, Sung-Jin, you should also remember to take care of you…” the pub owner began to start nagging.

“Stop! I’ll listen to your nagging another time!” Sung-Jin immediately interrupted the pub owner.

“Aigoo… Your bad temper still hasn’t changed,” the pub owner said before he let out a laugh in disbelief before he went back inside the kitchen.

“Yo,” Sung-Jin greeted Han-Yeol.

“Yo,” Han-Yeol welcomed Sung-Jin.

Han-Yeol held out a bottle of soju the moment Sung-Jin sat down on the chair, and Sung-Jin naturally lifted his glass to receive the drink before they made a toast and brought the glass to their lips. Each of their actions was so natural and full of nostalgic memories.

Han-Yeol stared at Sung-Jin’s face.

Pfft!

“Crazy bastard,” Han-Yeol said.

“What? You crazy bastard,” Sung-Jin countered.

“Never mind, let’s have another glass,” Han-Yeol said as he held out a bottle of soju.

“Pour me a glass,” Sung-Jin requested as he lifted his glass.

The amount of alcohol they drank increased from one glass to two, and then even more after that.

“Thanks…” Sung-Jin said.

“For what?” Han-Yeol replied.

“My father's factory. You never said anything, but you’re the one who has been protecting the factory all this time right?” Sung-Jin said.

“Your intelligence has always been one of your best qualities. When did you find out?” Han-Yeol joked in response.

“Of course, I know that psycho, Director Kwon, is not the type of person to give up so easily. Something must have gone wrong for them to stop attacking the factory,” Sung-Jin explained.

Sung-Jin was indeed correct. Currently, all aggression made by TK Chemicals against Sung-Jin Factory has stopped, and the hunters who left a long time ago have returned and resumed business with the factory. It was unlike the TK Group, which had a reputation for aggressive corporate takeovers, to give up that easily.

Of course, Han-Yeol was not the sole reason for this change. It could also be because of the TK Group's complicated internal affairs, but Han-Yeol disposing of the killers likely was a factor that put a stop to their plans.

“I realized, after this incident, that an ordinary person like me is unable to protect myself, my father, the factory, and other precious things around me. Besides, in this day and age, becoming a hunter is the best possible job one could ever dream of, '' Sung-Jin explained. He steeled his resolve that he wanted to make sure that something like this would never happen to his father and the factory ever again.

“I’m certain. That psycho, Director Kwon, will attack our factory again when he finds the opportunity to do so. Rumor has it that he’s eyeing the technology that we have. Even if it's not a direct attack, they can always do indiscriminate scouting or sabotage operations, and you never know when they will attack again. But before that happens, I want to awaken and this time I want to protect my father and the factory with my own strength,” Sung-Jin explained as he downed his glass.

“Sure sure, you are cool alright, crazy bastard,” Han-Yeol said with a smirk.

He thought inwardly, ‘Good luck, punk.’

Han-Yeol cheered for Sung-Jin in his heart. He was relieved that Sung-Jin did not simply want to become a Porter for money or to look cool or because he wanted to take revenge against his enemies. He had no plans to meddle with Sung-Jin’s decision, but working as a Hunter was a dangerous job where you could die at any time, and most people who chose this path because of shallow reasons and convictions did not last long in this field.

Han-Yeol was just worried about his friend.

“Hehe, did you only realize how cool this hyung-nim is?” Han-Yeol said with an air of arrogance.

“Sure thing, whatever floats your boat,” Sung-Jin grumbled in response.

“Okay, let's have another shot,” Han-Yeol said as he raised his glass.

“Alright, alright,” Sung-Jin replied.

Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin let loose and drank as much as they could, sang at the top of their lungs at the karaoke, and danced as much as they wanted at the club. They played until the morning before they separated.

The reason Sung-Jin had partied so hard last night was that he knew that it would be difficult for him to meet Han-Yeol again once he started his Porter training and work.

***

The next morning, Han-Yeol called Yoo-Bi, who was lounging at home after the incident with the killers.

At first, Yoo-Bi was surprised by the incident, but she did not make a big deal about it because she was also aware of the existence of killers from her training at the academy. In addition, she was aware of a specific type of killers who made money by killing Hunters. She thought to herself,?‘I’m sure he has his reasons.’

Yoo-Bi was not the type to ask about other people’s private lives.

Vroooom…!

“Are we really going to that place?” questioned Yoo-Bi. She was surprised to hear about the next hunting destination that they were going to, which Han-Yeol had chosen, because she still had not adjusted back to the usual routine after resting for a long time.

“I told you already… How many times do you have to ask that question?” Han-Yeol said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“I mean you were hunting Orcs and Crazy Cows not too long ago, but you are going to a hunting ground two levels higher compared to the ones you usually hunted all of a sudden,” Yoo-Bi said worriedly. That was the reason she could not help but be concerned, asking over and over again if she had heard the correct thing.

Increasing the difficulty level of the hunt by a single level was already going to make it much more risky and difficult, but raising it by two whole levels at once was a ridiculous and arrogant thing to do based on what the Hunters’ Association said. This common sense applied to every single Hunter, and the same applied to Han-Yeol no matter how strong he was.

Yoo-Bi had felt her physical limitations ever since she started hunting with Han-Yeol. She did not really feel much of a difference between her and her peers while training as a Porter, but she could not help but acknowledge the biological difference between a man and a woman once she was out at the field and had experienced it herself.

Instead, she decided to study like crazy these days to make up for her shortcomings. She had never studied this hard before, not even when she had been attending high school. Yet she was trying to learn as many things as she could so that she could be more efficient as a Porter and eventually as a Hunter one day.

Yoo-Bi steeled her resolve and invested most of her time in acquiring knowledge. She decided that she did not want to lose in a contest of intellect even though she might lose in a contest of physical strength because of the biological differences between the sexes.

‘This is not about gender discrimination, it's about individual abilities, and I can do this,’ Yoo-Bi thought as she steeled resolve.

“Yawn…” Yoo-Bi yawned while driving. She was quite tired these days. Then, she said, “Oh, I think we arrived.”

“Yes, we have,” Han-Yeol said.

Their destination was the Dokkaebi Field located in a remote mountain village in Gangwon-Do.

The field was originally called Dokkaebi’s Pass even before the monsters started appearing, but the appearance of the monsters that resembled the Dokkaebis in ancient folklore solidified that name. Soon, the place was renamed as the Dokkaebi Field and the monsters gained their name from it as well.

Of course, the monster did not look like a monster with green skin and horns swinging a Dokkaebi bat like how they were portrayed in ancient folklore.

The Dokkaebi was a monster that walked on both legs and was two meters and thirty centimeters tall. It had razor-sharp claws, sharp fangs, and dark red eyes. The monster did not initially have a name so the people just decided to name it ‘Dokkaebi’ after the place where it appeared and its resemblance to the monsters from ancient folklore.

“This place has a really creepy atmosphere…” Yoo-Bi said with a hint of fear in her voice. This was her first time coming here.

“I also get a bad feeling whenever I come here,” Han-Yeol said.?It was his third time coming to this place.

The Dokkaebi Field was a place that had a thick fog covering it, giving whoever entered it limited vision. These kinds of natural phenomena did not usually occur at the hunting grounds, so it was highly likely that this was made by someone or something on purpose.

“Oppa, hold on a minute. Let me put on some equipment,” Yoo-Bi said.

“Alright, go ahead.” Han-Yeol said.

He began to think, ‘Let’s see…’

***

Han-Yeol cut the back of his right hand and spilled his blood on the ground while Yoo-Bi went to put on her equipment. Then, he focused on a thought in his mind before he shouted, “Summon Demon, Kajikar!”

Woooong…!

Han-Yeol’s blood created a pattern on the ground, and a familiar figure slowly came out of it.?It was the demon drill sergeant, Kajikar.

This was the demon responsible for whipping the Baal army into shape. It was an Intermediate demon with a bull’s head and a muscular body, one who mastered various martial arts and was also a master of arms.

[Hmm… There is the scent of blood mixed in with this fog… This kind of fog can be frequently found in our demon world,] Kajikar said.

“Welcome, Kajikar-nim,” Han-Yeol greeted as he politely bowed his head.

Anyone who saw the relationship these two had would think that it was an awkward one, since Han-Yeol was the first to bow his head despite him being the summoner and Kajikar being the summoned demon. However, this was absolutely normal, since Kajikar was the teacher and Han-Yeol was learning from him as a student. Most importantly, Kajikar was much stronger than Han-Yeol.

‘He said it himself that he’s the lowest ranking demon among the intermediate demons in terms of strength…?Just how much stronger are the higher-ranking demons then?’ Han-Yeol thought. The mere thought of it gave him goosebumps.

“Oh?” a voice said from behind Han-Yeol.

Han-Yeol did not notice Yoo-Bi approach him from behind as he was too engrossed in his own thoughts.

Yoo-Bi was startled when she came closer and saw Kajikar. Before her words trailed off, he muttered, “That person is from the last time…?”

She had seen the bull-headed figure watching Han-Yeol fight with his arms folded beside her when she had briefly woken up and opened her eyes while Han-Yeol had been fighting against the killers.

Kajikar raised his hand and greeted Yoo-Bi, [Hello, human woman.]

Kajikar tried to speak to Yoo-Bi, but only the summoner who signed a contract with the demon or a person with high spiritual powers could hear the words of a demon.

This was the case for the shamans or exorcists with high spiritual abilities making contact with spirits, and a Hunter who possessed high spiritual powers could have simple conversations on their own with a demon they did not summon.

“Ah, Yoo-Bi, this is Kajikar-nim. He is an intermediate demon that I summoned. He is also the one who protected you from the killers last time and trained me how to fight,” Han-Yeol explained to Yoo-Bi. “I see…but, oppa, you summon demons too…?” Yoo-Bi asked.

“Yes, it’s one of my skills,” Han-Yeol replied.

“That’s amazing,” Yoo-Bi said in awe.

Yoo-Bi was already genuinely in awe of Han-Yeol's abilities. She originally viewed Han-Yeol as a competent fighter, but she was now even more in awe of him after finding out that he had a very rare summoning skill.

It was said that one would see as much as they knew, and this was the case for Yoo-Bi. She was not aware of many things when she had first signed the contract with Han-Yeol, but she had no way of realizing that Han-Yeol was not an ordinary Hunter after studying day and night.

‘I’m certain that Han-Yeol oppa is not an ordinary awakened person,’?Yoo-Bi thought. Han-Yeol had mentioned that he was an E Rank Hunter, but she was certain that he was not an E Rank Hunter. After some thought, she wondered, ‘I wonder what is oppa’s secret??Maybe I can get stronger as well if I find out his secret…?’

Yoo-Bi wanted to awaken as soon as possible and become a Hunter herself.

.

They officially started the Dokkaebi hunt after Han-Yeol briefly introduced the two to each other.

[Hmm…] Kajikar muttered.

“W-What might be the problem?” Han-Yeol asked.

Kajikar continued to observe while rubbing his chin as he looked at Han-Yeol.

Han-Yeol felt nervous when he saw Kajikar staring at him, and this was because he knew that it was going to be a tiring day for his mind and body whenever the demon drill sergeant made that sound and action.

[Human, you can use both hands, right?] Kajikar asked.

“Yes, I can use my sword, shield, and chain simultaneously on both hands,” Han-Yeol replied.

[I still think that’s not enough. Why don’t you take this opportunity to use the claw attached to your chain as well from time to time? Wield it like a weapon and also use it whenever you see the opportunity to. I’m certain that it is going to be a very effective weapon,] Kajikar said.

“What…?” Han-Yeol muttered in surprise. He was taken aback by what Kajikar said. He felt that his arsenal of weapons was already more than enough and that it was futile to add another combat style to the multitude available to him.

However, Kajikar’s order was law, since Han-Yeol’s relationship with him was teacher and student. He had no other choice but to follow his orders. This was because it was only going to be his loss if he did not follow the demon drill sergeant’s orders.

[You are not allowed to use your chain in this hunt, and you are only to use your sword and chain’s claw.] Kajikar instructed.

“Sigh, I understand…” Han-Yeol sighed since he had no choice but to follow.

“?”?Yoo-Bi could not hear the conversation between Kajikar and Han-Yeol, and the whole sight in front of her was very confusing. After all, the only thing she could hear was Han-Yeol’s one-sided speech and short answers, since she could not hear what Kajikar was saying.

She was not really the nosy type that wanted to know everything that was going on around her, but she could not help but feel alienated when the two were talking among themselves while three of them were present.

Han-Yeol just so happened to see Yoo-Bi’s expression. Then, he explained, “Ah, Kajikar-nim told me to use only my sword and the claw on my chain this time. He is trying to train me to master using both at the same time with both hands.”

“Oh, I see,” Yoo-Bi said.

She thought to herself, ‘So it’s not anything important.’

Then, Yoo-Bi switched the mana detection device on and searched for the Dokkaebis in this field that had less than two hundred meters of vision. It seemed that she was now fully adjusted to her role as a Porter despite being alone.

The mana detection device developed in America provided a detection distance of more than four kilometers. Although Han-Yeol’s Mana Eyes was an excellent skill, it was still lacking when compared to this device which was manufactured with the most advanced technology out there.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Oppa, there are three Dokkaebis about 1.2 km northwest from here,” Yoo-Bi said.

“Okay, let’s make our way there,” Han-Yeol said.

“Okay,” Yoo-Bi said.

[Train! Training is the only way to assure your survival!] Kajikar shouted as he expressed his burning passion for training.

“Kieeek!?Kieeek!”

“Ugh, they look so hideous and ugly,” Yoo-Bi said with severe disgust in her voice. She reacted out of reflex when she saw the Dokkaebis for the first time.

The Dokkaebis had green skin that was covered in slimy fluid, and their skin was not smooth but bumpy and grotesque. They were quite fat as well, with a lot of curves and bulges sticking out from their bodies.

The Dokkaebi was a monster considered to be very ugly because of their short limbs compared to their height, and these were very different from the Dokkaebis that were portrayed in fantasy games and novels.

“As expected of a monster that ranks second on the list of ugly monsters,” Han-Yeol said.

“I don’t think I would want to see what the monster that topped the list looks like…” Yoo-Bi said with obvious disgust in her voice.

“Hehe, I’m not sure if it’s a relief or not, but the monster that topped the list is a very powerful and rare one so it’s not something that you will commonly find like this one,” Han-Yeol said as he jerked his chin toward the Dokkaebis.

“Phew, that's a relief…” Yoo-Bi said as she let out a sigh of relief.

[Alright, enough with the chit-chat. it's time for battle,] Kajikar said.

“Hoo… Alright… Alright…” Han-Yeol muttered in response to the demon drill sergeant’s nagging.

1. Soju is an alcoholic drink that is considered as the national alcohol of Korea.

2. Hyung-nim is a more formal way to call an elder brother.

3. Dokkaebi are the Korean version of goblins but not exactly a goblin. I went with the actual Korean name since the only translation in English was going to be a goblin, but it might cause confusion later on when a goblin monster appears. For more information, refer to this link