Leveling Up Alone

‘Alright, all that’s left is to finally prepare for the hunt,’?Han-Yeol suddenly thought.

Dingdong!

‘Huh?’?He took a look and checked his phone when an old-fashioned tone rang from it.

[The proceeds from the sale of Troll corpses have been deposited into your account.]

[810,000,000 won has been deposited into your account.]

‘I’m glad that ended without any issues,’?he thought as he finally received the long-awaited money. He then went to the Dwarven Workshop once again.

“Welco- Omo! You are here again?” the wife of the workshop’s owner said in delight when she recognized Han-Yeol.

“Yes. Would it be possible to extend the length of my chain by tomorrow?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Please give me a minute,” the woman said, typing something on her computer just as she had the last time.

“Sure,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Yes, he says it will be possible, and your request will cost a total of three hundred million won,” the woman said with a smile on her face.

‘Hoo… I always end up spending a ton here…’?Han-Yeol sighed and grumbled inwardly. He swallowed his tears before handing his card to the woman.

“Will you be paying in full?” the woman asked.

“This is a debit card…” Han-Yeol replied.

“Ah! Thank you, customer!” the woman exclaimed brightly. She swiped Han-Yeol’s debit card and politely handed him the receipt.

“Goodbye, then,” Han-Yeol said before leaving the shop.

At times during the Troll hunt, he had felt that his chain was a bit short, and that he had suffered because of its slightly insufficient length. That was the main reason why he had just spent a huge three hundred million won to make his weapon longer.

He went over his other equipment while he waited.

***

Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri were already fully geared up and waiting for Han-Yeol when he arrived at the meeting spot behind the Hunters’ Association.

“Hello, Hunter-nim!” the two greeted him enthusiastically with a bow.

“Good morning to you two. Have you both had a good rest?” Han-Yeol asked, giving them a generic greeting.

“Yes! I am in my best condition, even though I was a bit nervous last night,” Sung-Beom replied.

Both of the Porters had actually made sure that they were in tip-top shape, as they were nervous about getting fired in the event that they performed poorly.

‘There’s no other Hunter who hunts as well as this one.’

‘I have to stick to this guy if I want to become an Awakened as fast as possible!’

The two Porters steeled their resolve to stick with Han-Yeol no matter what happened.

It was widely known that the chance of one awakening increased the more monsters one killed. Han-Yeol’s hunting style was a bit riskier than that of others who hunted a little at a time, but the Porters had realized that he would be a significantly greater help to them as they worked toward their goals. Of course, the two had already vowed to never hunt as recklessly as Han-Yeol in the event that they awakened.

“Alright then. Shall we move over to the Orc Burrows?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Yes! I shall drive you comfortably all the way!” Sung-Beom replied enthusiastically as he hopped into the driver’s seat. Meanwhile, Ah-Ri sat in the front passenger seat.

However, Han-Yeol did not hop onto the back of the RV truck; he was going to be driving the new vehicle he had received not long beforehand. He wondered, ‘Hmm… So is this how it feels to have your own car…?’

He had obtained his driver’s license as soon as he turned twenty years old by self-studying, but it still felt strange and new to him to finally be driving his own car.

After he began driving, an hour passed, and a familiar scene greeted him at last.

Gulp…

Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri gulped at the same time once they reached the infamous Orc Burrow. This was the same place where the nine o’clock news frequently reported on Hunters either dying or going missing.

Han-Yeol parked his van in the parking lot right outside the Orc Burrows, then hopped into the back of the RV truck the way he had the last time. He said, “Alright, let’s enter this place slowly.”

“Yes, sir,” Sung-Beom replied, slowly driving the car past the hunting ground’s military checkpoint and entering Anseong City.

Vroom…

“…”

The place was eerily quiet, as expected of a place that had been overrun by monsters when the dimensional gates first appeared.

‘Mana Eyes.’?Han-Yeol activated his skill as soon as he entered the city, just in case there were any Orcs lurking nearby in an attempt to launch an ambush against them.

Not long after…

Thud thud…!

It was the signal Han-Yeol had arranged with his two Porters beforehand. Two taps on the roof of the RV truck was the signal that would let them know that he had found an Orc.

“I’ve spotted two Orvs thirty meters in front of us. Please prepare accordingly,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes, Hunter-nim!”

It was very inconvenient for Porters to move around with a full load of equipment, which was why most Porters usually took a while to put on all their equipment when they entered hunting grounds. However, Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri were well aware of the dangers of the Orc Burrow, so they had already been wearing theirs all the way from Seoul. That was how it was possible for them to get out of the RV truck immediately, fully prepared to shoot at any time.

“Shh! You have to be alert and focused. They’re coming here,” Han-Yeol said as he took out his M4A2 rifle and aimed it. He planned to inflict as much damage as possible while the advantage of range was still on their side. He told the Porters, “Prepare to fire.”

Clack…!

The two Porters prepared their rifles at his command.

“I’ll give the order to fire first, and Mr. Sung-Beom can take over after and lead Ms. Ah-Ri the way you did the last time,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes, I understand,” Sung-Beom replied.

“They’re coming,” Han-Yeol followed up immediately after.

“Chwiiiiik!”

“Keuk! Kuek! Kueeeeek!”

Two Orcs appeared around the corner of a building while letting out hideous sounds. As soon as they showed up, Han-Yeol immediately yelled a command. “Fire!”

Ratatatata!

The three of them simultaneously pulled their triggers, and hundreds of bullets rained down on the two Orcs.

“Kieeeeeek!” 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺

The Orcs let out screeches of surprise at the sudden shower of bullets, bringing up their shields and taking cover. Soon after, they peeked over their shields, spotting Han-Yeol’s party in the distance firing at them.

“Reload!” Han-Yeol ordered.

Click… Clack!

The three of them had instantly emptied their guns. The two Porters reloaded as quickly as they could while Han-Yeol slung his rifle onto his back.

“Kieeeeeek!”?

The Orcs charged while letting out hideous roars, seeing an opportunity while the party was reloading. They held their shields up in front of them, prepared to defend themselves if bullets started raining down on them again.

‘I’m not gonna let you! Restrain!’?Han-Yeol thought, throwing his chain.

Shwwwiiiik!

Han-Yeol’s chain flew toward an orc, reaching an incredible speed due to his higher-ranked chain skills.

Shwiiiiik!

The chain rapidly wrapped itself around one of the Orc’s legs.

Thud!

The Orc’s charge toward the humans was interrupted by the chain that tripped it up.

“Kieeek!”?The Orc shrieked in pain as it fell, its nose striking the ground hard. Blood began to drip from its crushed nose. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and charged at the other Orc while the first one was tied down.

Clang!

“Kureuk…!”?The Orc groaned.

Han-Yeol had been pushed back the first time he hunted Orcs due to his lack of strength. However, his continuous training had produced amazing results; he was now able to go against the Orc head-on without being pushed back at all in a contest of strength.

The Orc was greatly surprised to see that the human was not being pushed back at all, despite it using all of its strength.

Creak…

Right as the contest of strength between Han-Yeol’s one-handed sword and the Orc’s shield and glaive was heating up…

Bam!

The Orc suddenly felt a strong impact smash into its side.

“Kuek!”?The Orc shrieked in agony.

The blow that struck the Orc was one of the things Han-Yeol had continuously practiced for some time. He had hit the Orc in the side with a mixed martial arts kick to the midriff, which he had trained accurately. Han-Yeol had previously noticed that the Orcs were not wearing any armor at all, and had subsequently decided to try landing a blow using his mixed martial arts experience.

The Orc’s strength faltered due to the sudden pain from the blow to its side. Han-Yeol seized the opportunity to press his sword forward, cutting into the Orc’s shoulder.

Sukeok!

“Kieeeek!”?The Orc screamed in agony as the sword bit deeply into its flesh.

As the Orc squirmed and twisted its body in pain, Han-Yeol quickly cut its head off its shoulders with a sweep of his sword. The headless Orc wobbled for a moment, then finally stopped moving.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The remaining Orc had still not escaped from its restraints. It smashed its glaive down on the chain, trying to cut itself loose.

Swoosh!

“Kuek?”?The Orc tilted its head in confusion as the chain suddenly tightened around its legs.

Han-Yeol pulled the chain and yanked the Orc toward himself, using the monster’s momentum to drive his sword into its neck.

Ding!

[You have successfully managed to kill a monster using martial arts.]

[A new skill has been created—Martial Arts.]

‘Martial arts…?’?Han-Yeol wondered as he checked the skill’s details.

[Martial Arts (F)]

Type: Passive

Description: A skill that lets you deal increased damage to your enemies using your hands and feet. You can increase the amount of mana infused into your arms and legs.

‘This isn’t bad at all,’?Han-Yeol thought.

He had trained continuously in martial arts at his father’s friend’s gym ever since he was young. It had not reached the extent of being something to brag about, but he had still reached a level where he could freely use and move his body however he wanted. Now, he would be able to exert as much force as he wanted due to the skill’s effect of letting him increase the amount of mana he infused his body with.

“Mr. Sung-Beom, Ms. Ah-Ri, please take care of the bodies as fast as you can. We’ll be moving shortly,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes, Hunter-nim,” the two Porters replied.

They immediately went into action dismembering the Orc corpses. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol wiped the blood off his sword after making short work of the Orcs. He kicked off the ground and jumped up to the roof of a building in four quick steps to scout around while the two Porters were busy with the bodies.

Ding!

[The rank of the skill ‘Jumping’ has increased from (D) to (C).]

‘Alright,’?Han-Yeol thought in satisfaction. The sound of a skill leveling up was a welcome tune whenever he heard it.

‘Mana Eyes.’ He infused mana into his eyes and used a skill after reaching the roof, then looked around the area. While he was scouting with Mana Eyes, he suddenly spotted a concentration of mana to the west.

‘Hmm?’?he thought as he removed the mana from his eyes, taking out the binoculars he had often used during his time as a Porter to scout for any potential ambushes. He looked through the binoculars to try to identify the source of the mana, wondering, ‘Is it an Orc…?’

Soon, he realized that his assumption was off the mark as he found out what the source of the mana was. He thought, ‘Oh, it’s a party of Hunters.’

Most larger parties were busy with the war against the dimensional hole, so they were rarely seen at regular hunting grounds these days. However, smaller unofficial parties did not have the same responsibility to join the war against the dimensional hole, so they kept going to various hunting grounds.

Han-Yeol could not discern any other information, as he was quite a distance away from them. However, he could see that they were currently fighting against an Orc. He thought, ‘I guess it’s better to avoid that area.’

One of the unofficial rules that had to be maintained at the hunting grounds was ‘never disturb another party’.

“Hunter-nim, we have finished,” Sung-Beom called out from below.

“Yeah, alright,” Han-Yeol replied. He set aside his binoculars and clipped them to his waist. He then jumped off of the roof and landed beside Sung-Beom before saying, “Let’s get moving. We’re going east.”

“Yes, Hunter-nim!” Sung-Beom replied enthusiastically.

It was an obvious choice for Han-Yeol to set a course eastward, as he had clearly seen that there was another party west of them.

***

Six hours passed since Han-Yeol had arrived at the hunting grounds to hunt Orcs. At the moment, he and the Porters were facing four Orcs at the same time.

“H-Hunter-nim!” Sung-Beom cried out.

Ratatatata!

The two Porters were shooting at the Orcs, but they could not help but be stricken with fear while facing four Orcs at the same time. Until this encounter, they had only fought against a maximum of three Orcs at a time. The main cause of their fear was that they had noticed that Han-Yeol already struggled against three Orcs, but they now had to face four.

“Gruwwwaaak!”?The Orcs, that single-mindedly craved human flesh and blood, roared while charging madly toward them.

‘Restrain!’ Han-Yeol thought.

Shwiiiiik!

Han-Yeol’s chain flew quickly toward an Orc and restrained it, but the other three remaining Orcs charged forward and swung their glaives.

Clang!

“Grrrr…!”?

‘Mana Shield.’

Han-Yeol blocked one of the incoming attacks, not with his bare hands or his weapon, but rather with his Mana Shield. However, the other Orcs’ attacks followed right behind the first one’s.

Clang! Clang!

Han-Yeol parried their attacks and swung his left hand with all his strength.

Whoooosh! Bam! Bam!

“Kuek!”?

Two Orcs fell down as Han-Yeol swung his chain, which was still wrapped around the first Orc. However, there was still one remaining Orc standing, as it had jumped up and avoided the chain. It charged wildly at Han-Yeol as soon as it landed.

‘I was waiting for this opportunity! Shield Bash!’?Han-Yeol thought, using another skill.