《Leveling Up Alone》 Chapter 1: The Awakened System (1)

Chapter 1: The Awakened System (1)

It was hard to say when the dimensional gates had opened on Earth. All over the, gates had suddenly opened, and monsters had poured out of them. The governments of each country had been taken aback by the sudden attack from out of nowhere by unidentified monsters; however, that did notst for long, as they immediately took defensive measures ording to their standard military defense manuals to protect their respective countries against the monsters. Unfortunately, the monsters had barriers surrounding their bodies that repelled the bullets widely used by soldiers, and they would not die even after hundreds of rounds rained down on them. Smaller monsters died when they were fired upon with missiles or artillery shells; however,rger monsters, unique monsters, and named monsters either withstood the attacks through their incredibly high resistances, or avoided the attacks using unbelievably fast speed that defied logic. Additionally, some of the monsters possessed special abilities, and were not affected by Earth¡¯s firearms at all. In fact, nuclear missiles, which were known to man as the pinnacle of modern warfare when it came to destructiveness, were useless against monsters with special abilities. That made it seem as if it were pointless to try to fight against, or rather resist, the monsters. That was how countless human lives were massacred by monsters. It seemed as if there was no longer any hope for humanity. However, whether the dimensional gates were a miracle or a curse, the monsters were not the only ones to emerge from them. [Transdimensional Space Association] Earth was not the only ce in the universe that housed living beings. The universe consisted of numerouss, gxies, and dimensions that also had human-like beings living in them, and it was those beings from a distant gxy who taught the humans a way to fight back against the monsters. To that end, they taught the humans how to ¡®Awaken¡¯ and kill the monsters, and how to use monsters¡¯ remains to develop a new civilization. They provided numerous skills, technologies, and fighting styles that could be used against the monsters. In return, they asked Earth to join the Transdimensional Space Association, and there was only one condition Earth had to honor¡ª to guarantee that trade could flourish between the dimensions. That was all the aliens wanted. However, taking into ount that Earth was a new applicant to the alliance, they decided that trade barriers would be in ce for thirty years. The specific details of what would happen after that would be discussed when the thirty-year treaty expired. Then, the aliens went back to their own dimensions after leaving humanity with newfound ¡®powers¡¯. Humanity evolved after that fateful encounter, using their new powers to fight fiercely against the monsters and push them back. That was how ten years had passed since the war against the monsters first started; most of the metropolitan cities of the world were left in ruins. However, humanity seeded in pushing back the monsters from their cities and into specific regions, which signaled the start of an entirely new era of human civilization. *** Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Sparks flew as countless bullets flew across the battlefield toward a monster. The bullets urately hit the monster¡¯s body, but they failed to deal any significant damage to the monster¡¯s barrier. ¡°Gruuuuuu!¡± In fact, the gunfire seemed to only make the monster more agitated, as it seemed to find the bullets annoying. ¡°Everyone! Snap out of it!¡± The manager scolded the Porters as they sprayed bullets all over the ce, scared out of their wits. The monster¡¯s aggro would be pulled toward them if they hit the monster¡¯s eyes, head, or any other weak spots by ident, and it would end up causing the monster to attack the Porters instead of the Hunters that were currently facing the monster. ¡°Concentrate, you lot! You should never be a hindrance to the Hunters while they¡¯re fighting!¡± the manager shouted. ¡®Tsk¡­ Alright, alright,¡¯?a Porter grumbled inwardly. The Porter had a lot of frustration pent up against the hierarchy, but he did not have the balls to actually speak up against it. He needed money, but he had no skills, and there were nopanies willing to hire someone like him who had graduated from a small country college. The onlypanies that were willing to hire him would only pay him 1.3 million won; they would find all sorts of nonsensical excuses to deduct even more from that measly amount, on top of that. This job as a Porter was the only way he was going to be able to sustain having a roof over his head and putting food on the table. ¡°Fire Charging!¡± Kam! A man who was in a DPS role put his hands together and charged a spell. Then, a powerful me shot out of his hands and hit the silver monster they were fighting against. Fwooosh! However, the lizard monster¡¯s sturdy silver scales only seemed to sustain a negligible amount of damage. In fact, the monster did not seem to have been hurt or even staggered in the slightest, thus rendering the so-called ¡®magic¡¯ attack null and void. ¡®Tsk¡­ Stupid. The Silver Lizard is a monster that has high resistance against fire, and even the Monster Encyclopedia says that a fire-attribute magic attack used against it has to be cast in tandem with a magic-amplifying spell to make it work!¡¯?the young Porter grumbled inwardly. Han-Yeol had been working as a Porter for over three years, and this was going to be his fourth year. The job was definitely dangerous, but the pay was very lucrative. Additionally, he was working as a Porter in hopes of Awakening one day. So far, however, he could forget about Awakening and all that. All he had experienced working as a Porter was frustration, as he watched stupid Hunters make silly mistakes that were obvious even to him. ¡®I mean... How can these Hunters who have worked for two years already make such stupid and frustrating mistakes¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled once more. Han-Yeol had been diligently studying everything there was to know about the Hunters and the monsters in hopes of one day bing a Hunter himself. How were these Hunters so ignorant of simple things that even he, someone who was not a Hunter but rather a lowly Porter, knew about? Han-Yeol could not help but click his tongue at the stupid Hunters¡¯ ignorance and stubbornness. ¡°Damn it. This guy isn¡¯t a joke!¡± ¡°Hey, Tank! Try and buy us some time!¡± ¡°Fuck! Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m doing my best right now?!¡± Even the happy-go-lucky, leisurely atmosphere they had previously had turned sour the instant the monster hunt did not go as easily as they had expected. They cursed at one another, and the Tank¡¯s vitality and item durability slowly started being chipped away by the monster. Bam! Bam! Bam! The Silver Lizard¡¯s attacks continuously pounded against the Tank¡¯s barrier. ¡°Keuheuk¡­!?Damn it!¡± the Tank cursed. ¡®Hey¡­ Isn¡¯t this getting dangerous¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It seemed he was not the only one who had sensed the danger in the air; the other two Porters nced backward, as they already appeared to be nning their escape. It was then that the manager suddenly shouted, ¡°Now! Let¡¯s help the Hunters out!¡± Ratatatatatata! The manager¡¯s gun spat a firestorm of bullets toward the monster. The remaining Porters did not really seem to want to engage the monster, but they had no choice but to fire as well, as the one in charge of them had opened fire first. They had to shoot at the monster alongside their manager if they wanted to stay in this line of work. The same could be said for Han-Yeol. He fired his gun at the silver monster while eximing inwardly, ¡®Die! Die you monster!¡¯ Han-Yeol¡¯s marksmanship was quite good, and he aimed precisely for the Silver Lizard¡¯s legs, making it difficult for the monster to move around freely while cautiously avoiding any of its weak spots. It was then that all of a sudden¡­ Ratatatata! ¡°Grrrr¡­!¡±?The monster growled. ¡°Which bastard was it?!¡± the manager screamed and cursed. ¡°D-Damn it¡­!¡± one of the Porters cried out. He was a newbie Porter, and he had identally shot the Silver Lizard¡¯s reverse scale, which was the monster¡¯s biggest weak spot. He had be extremely nervous and failed to control his gun¡¯s recoil. A Hunter fell on his rear as his legs gave way. Thud¡­! The guns the Porters were using possessed stronger firepower than normal guns, as they had been made by a crafting-ss Hunter. However, that did not mean their attacks had been able to inflict any kind of significant damage to the Silver Lizard; the monster did not show any signs of the damage bothering it. The problem was the fact that the aggro was now directed toward the newbie Porter. ¡°Run!¡± the manager shouted. Tremble¡­ Tremble¡­ ¡°Euaaaaaaaah!¡±? the newbie Porter screamed, realizing that he could have just made a fatal mistake. He had learned during his Porter training that such mistakes could actually cost him his life. He threw away his gun and tried to run away. Tak! However¡­ Thud¡­! He was only able to run about ten meters before tripping on a rock and falling. ¡®That son of a bitch¡­ What a shitshow¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud¡­!¡± ¡°Eh¡­?¡± ¡°What the? The aggro shifted?¡± The Hunters only realized that the Porters had screwed up when the Silver Lizard ignored them and walked away all of a sudden. It was normal for the Hunters to scream and curse at the Porters under such circumstances, but this time, they seemed to be quite rxed instead. ¡°Phew¡­! We can finally catch a breather,¡± one of the Hunters said. The Hunters had also been in a pinch against the Silver Lizard previously. They decided to use the time ¡®bought¡¯ by the Porter to reorganize and rearm themselves, giving up on drawing the monster¡¯s aggro toward them. ¡°I feel sorry for that dude, but it¡¯s not that strange for a Porter to die while working. Besides, we would have been in danger if the fight dragged on, so¡­ That bastard ended up sacrificing himself to save us Hunters, eh?¡± one of the Hunters said nonchntly with a shrug. ¡°It¡¯s pretty unfortunate, but he can at least die proudly knowing that he had the honor of dying for us Hunters¡­ An honor unbefitting of a lowly Porter like him, tch!¡± another Hunter said. Their way of thinking was quite terrible. The Hunters were actually nning on using the Porter as bait to buy them some time to rest and rearm before fighting the monster again. ¡°Fuck!¡± Han-Yeol cursed the moment he realized that the Hunters had no intention of helping them out. ¡°H-Help me¡­!¡± the newbie Hunter cried out pleadingly. His legs had long since given up on him, and hey helpless on the ground, unable to muster the strength to even stand up. ¡°Damn it!¡± Han-Yeol cursed. He had no idea where his courage hade from, but he took his magic gun and aimed at the Silver Lizard¡¯s reverse scale before pulling the trigger. Ratatatata! His marksmanship was almost perfect, as all of the bullets precisely hit the area around the monster¡¯s reverse scale and the reverse scale itself. ¡°Grrrr¡­!¡±?The Silver Lizard growled and suddenly stopped going after the newbie Porter. It turned around and charged toward Han-Yeol. ¡°Euaaaaaaaaaah!¡±?Han-Yeol screamed, running with all his might without even taking a single nce backward. ¡®I¡¯m dead if that thing catches up to me!¡¯?he thought as he ran for his life. He was just an ordinary human who had not awakened yet, and it was certain that all the bones in his body would be crushed if the Silver Lizard so much as grazed past him. ¡®Damn it! Damn it! Damn it¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. The only thing that he could do in such a messed-up circumstance was curse in his mind. [Congrattions! Code Number 17588957, Lee Han-Yeol-nim.] [You have awakened!] [I am the Ego System, Karvis, that has been assigned to assist Lee Han-Yeol-nim from now on.] ¡®W-what the¡­?¡¯ He saw a message window suddenly pop up before his eyes, and his ears were filled with a voice that came out of nowhere. He tried to understand the current situation while running for dear life. [The current situation: Running away from the Silver Lizard that is chasing you.] [Your current remaining stamina is 55%.] [Calcting the Silver Lizard¡¯s speed¡­] [You will be caught in 1 minute and 15 seconds.] ¡®Stop talking and help me out, will you?!¡¯?Han-Yeol screamed in his mind. He had no idea what was going on at all, but he strangely felt that he could survive if he followed whatever the voice in his head was going to tell him to do. [Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s level¡ª1] [The Silver Lizard¡¯s level¡ª2] [You have no chance of winning against this monster if you fight against it.] ¡®Then are you telling me to just die?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled in his mind. [I suppose I have no choice¡­] [It has been 10,000 years since I wasst out in the world, and I fear I will disappear immediately if things go on like this.] [I will grant you a special skill within the limits of my power.] Ding! [A new special skill has been created¡ªDeep Stab.] [Deep Stab] [There will be a low chance of instantly killing the target if you stab the enemy¡¯s weak spot.] ¡®T-This is¡­?¡¯ [Remaining time: 45 seconds] ¡®Ah, now¡¯s not the time to be surprised,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He gave up on running away and instantly turned around. Whoosh! Then, he aimed precisely for the monster¡¯s eyes and pulled the trigger. Tang! Tang! Tang! He hit the monster¡¯s eyes urately with hisst three bullets. The monster staggered for a moment, closing its eyes and shaking its head. ¡®Now¡¯s my chance!¡¯? Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity to charge toward the monster with all of his strength. He targeted the monster''s reverse scale, which was the weakest spot on its body, and stabbed the bay attached to his magic gun deep into it. Stab! ¡°Kwuuuuaaaaaah!¡±?The Silver Lizard roared in pain. [The ¡®Deep Stab¡¯ skill¡¯s special effect has been sessfully activated.] [The Silver Lizard has been instantly killed.] Thud¡­! A very wee notification rang out as soon as Han-Yeol urately stabbed the reverse scale¡ªthe skill had been sessful. The Silver Lizard did not even manage to put up a proper fight, and ity on the ground while huffing and puffing withbored breathing. ¡°Heok¡­! Heok¡­! Heok¡­!¡± Han-Yeol finally let out the breath he was holding, rxing at the sight of the monster lying helplessly on the ground. He eximed inwardly, ¡®I¡­ I won!¡¯ Thud¡­ Han-Yeol fell on his rear while huffing and puffing, as he no longer even had the strength to remain standing. ¡®Ah¡­ I thought I was going to die¡­!¡¯?he thought inwardly. ¡°Eh? Hey!¡± It was as Han-Yeol was lying motionlessly on the ground like a dead person that the Hunters and Porters finally came running to him. It was a wee sight, but he did not have the luxury to stand and greet them. The only thing that came out of his mouth was a small mutter that the Hunters and Porters would not be able to hear. ¡°You¡¯rete. Bastards.¡± [Congrattions! You have sessfullypleted your first hunt!] [You have automaticallypleted the tutorial!] ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol had been able to win against the monster somehow, but he still had no idea how the Ego System that was speaking to him worked. He had thought he studied about all there was to know about the Hunters and the Awakened, but he was now faced with something he had never seen before in his life. ¡®Can someone exin what the hell is this and what the hell is going on?!¡¯ *** Han-Yeol had been able to kill the Silver Lizard somehow, but¡­ ¡°Eh? What the? That thing died to a lowly Porter?¡± ¡°We brought it near death¡¯s door, and this Porter was lucky enough to stab it and take thest hit.¡± ¡°That exins it!¡± It never crossed the Hunters¡¯ minds to think that the monster they had struggled and failed to kill had been killed by a lowly Porter. In fact, they thought a lowly Porter had dared to take thest hit of a hunt they had already set up for themselves. They did not want to recognize Han-Yeol¡¯s contribution to killing the Silver Lizard, which meant that they were unwilling to give him anything rted to the Silver Lizard as a reward¡ªat all. ¡°Hey, Porter! You don¡¯t have any qualms, do you?¡± one of the Hunters asked. ¡°Ah! No, I don¡¯t have any problems with that!¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡°What a smart fellow,¡± another Hunter said cheekily. ¡®These sons of bitches¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. While talking to the Hunters, he put on an innocent expression that seemed to show that he really had no qualms, but the moment he looked away, his face crumpled severely. ¡®This bunch of shitheads¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly once again. Han-Yeol had actually hoped deep inside that they would recognize at least 1% of the kill as his contribution, but his expectations had been smashed to pieces even though he had suffered like a dog for the kill. 1. 1.3 million won/KRW is around 1,030 USD, which is not a lot rtive to Korean costs of living. 2. The original text uses ¡®?????¡¯, which is a transliteration from English. Chapter 2: The Awakened System (2)

Chapter 2: The Awakened System (2)

The Hunters threatened Han-Yeol, telling him to be thankful that they were willing to overlook the fact that he had stolen thest hit, and that he had better not go around bbering about what had happened that day. Additionally, they refused to acknowledge any contributions he had made in the day¡¯s monster hunt. This was the rtionship, or rather, the established hierarchy between a Hunter and a Porter. Han-Yeol was boiling with anger inside, but Tae-Su approached and patted him on the shoulder, giving him some words offort. ¡°Just let it go. Those kids¡¯ demeanor is nothing new anyway, right?¡± ¡°Hooo¡­ You¡¯re right. Tsk¡­ I just got worked up since it¡¯s still a lot of money,¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ¡°Haha! That¡¯s that, but you¡¯re quite an amazing one, aren¡¯t you? To think a Porter like you would be able to kill a Silver Lizard!¡± Tae-Su eximed while letting out a heartyugh. ¡°Well¡­ I just got lucky,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a shrug. Han-Yeol and Tae-Su left behind the newbie Porter who seemed to still be out of his wits, and they each took out their monster dismemberment tools before going to their respective positions. Then, they put on their safety goggles. ¡°It¡¯s just the two of us today. Ahjussi should start from the head until the monster¡¯s midsection, and I¡¯ll start from the tail all the way up and meet you there,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright, that sounds like a n,¡± Tae-Sun replied. They were just called ¡®Porters¡¯ for the sake of convenience, but the Porters basically did everything during a monster hunt apart from participating inbat against the monsters. No, rather, they were still involved inbat against the monsters, albeit in a supporting role; it really could be said that they basically did everything in a monster hunt. They took out tools that resembled chainsaws from their toolkits. Brrr¡­! Whiiiiiing! The barrier that surrounded monsters¡¯ bodies naturally disappeared once the monster was dead, but that did not mean the monsters¡¯ muscles and bones were weak enough to be easily dismembered by a normal human. That was why the Porters needed to use special electric chainsaws made by crafting-ss Hunters. Brrrrrr¡­! Han-Yeol did not hesitate at all as he started to dismember the Silver Lizard¡¯s corpse with his chainsaw. Splurt¡­! Splurt¡­! Not long had passed since the monster died, so blood oozed out whenever the chainsaw dug into its flesh. Han-Yeol¡¯s vision was hindered by the blood that sshed all over the ce whenever his chainsaw spun. It would actually be impossible for just anyone to dismember a monster¡¯s corpse out in the open that way if they did not have a lot of experience and practice. Brrrr¡­! Brrr¡­! ¡°Eh?¡± It was then that the chainsaw Tae-Su had been using until then suddenly started to have some problems before stoppingpletely. Han-Yeol stopped what he was doing before he looked at Tae-Su and asked, ¡°Ahjussi, is there a problem?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Han-Yeol. It seems there¡¯s an issue with my chainsaw and it won¡¯t start at all,¡± Tae-Su replied. Han-Yeol could not help but shake his head as he responded, ¡°Seems we have shit luck today.¡± ¡°I know, right? I heard the newbie doesn¡¯t have a chainsaw with him,¡± Tae-Su added. ¡°What can we do? I¡¯ll dismember the corpse, so can you work on the other things and clean up?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Tae-Su said apologetically, as he felt bad about pushing all the work onto Han-Yeol. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol had no choice but to work alone on dismembering the monster after Tae-Su¡¯s chainsaw broke down. Around thirty minutes after he started to focus on dismembering the monster, he finally managed to finish the job. ¡°Phew!?That¡¯s done,¡± Han-Yeol said, wiping his sweat. It was at the moment that he finished dismembering the monster that¡­ Ding! [You have sessfully dismembered the Silver Lizard.] [A new skill has been created¡ªDismember.] A skill called ¡®Dismember¡¯ had suddenly been created. ¡®What the hell is going on?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, unable to hide his confusion at what had happened throughout the day. *** ¡°I¡¯ve transferred 1.4 million won to each of your ounts. Great work today once again,¡± Tae-Su said. There were no other hunts, as the Silver Lizard Han-Yeol had caught was thest one for the day. Perhaps the Hunters had also sensed that it was an ominous day, as they refused to hunt anymore and called things a day early. ¡®Well, I have noints about finishing?early.¡¯ Porters were paid based on a daily wage whether they worked for one hour or the standard eight hours, and their pay was fixed at 1.4 million won. Dingdong! Just then, Han-Yeol¡¯s phone rang and alerted him of a new message. [Mr. Lee Choon-Sam¡¯s hospital bill of 5 million won for the month of November has been deducted from your ount.] Han-Yeol¡¯s monthly ie was around 5.6 million won, but the hospital bills alone amounted to a staggering 5 million won per month. ¡®Euk¡­?The money disappeared as soon as it came in¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a hint of despair. He had known it would happen, but it felt much more depressing when he read the message that seemed to remind him of reality. ¡®Well¡­?It¡¯s still nothingpared?to my father, who¡¯s currently fighting for his life against his illness. Let¡¯s hang on! Aja?aja!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, snapping himself out of his despair. The only family Han-Yeol had was his father, who had been bedridden for four years due to an unidentified rare disease. His father had told him that his mother died giving birth to him, but he hadter found out that his mother was still alive and that she had left home along with his elder sister when he was young. Well, that did not mean Han-Yeol had any intention of looking for his mother and sister. ¡®Why would I waste my time looking for the people?who?abandoned me?¡¯? Now, Han-Yeol found it difficult to even make ends meet, as he was the sole breadwinner of his so-called ¡®family¡¯. ¡®Hold on. What time is it?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he checked his old mobile phone. [15:30] He still had around four and a half hours remaining before his part-time job started. How long had it been since hest had spare time for himself? [Rather than that, what about checking your current status first?] ¡°Euaak!¡±?Han-Yeol suddenly screamed. He was so surprised by the sudden message window and voice that popped out of nowhere that he fell backward andnded on his butt. ¡°Hahaha! What is he doing?¡± ¡°Is he stupid?¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Several passers-byughed at Han-Yeol, who had suddenlynded on his butt in the middle of the street. ¡®D-Damn it¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol felt extremely embarrassed, as his face flushed red before he ran into an alley away from the crowd. Then, he let out his anger and shouted, ¡°You! What the hell are you?!¡± [I will repeat myself once again.] [I am the Ego System, Karvis, who has been assigned to assist you, the newly awakened Mr. Lee Han-Yeol.] ¡°Me? Are you saying I¡¯m an Awakened?¡± Han-Yeol asked with confusion and skepticism in his voice. [Yes.] [Luckily, you have beaten the odds of one in ten billion and received the ¡®Awakened System¡¯.] [First, try saying ¡®status¡¯.] ¡°S-Status?¡± Han-Yeol obediently did as he was told. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 1 Points: 5 STR: 28 VIT: 34 AGI: 29 MAG: 10 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (F) A simple and organized message window popped up in front of his eyes as soon as he said the word ¡®status¡¯. ¡®Points?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in confusion. Then, the Ego system immediately spoke as if it had read his mind. [You may distribute the points into each of the STR, VIT, AGI, MAG, and LCK stats that you see on your status window.] [I am certain that you will be able to understand what each stat does even if I do not exin it to you in detail, right?] ¡°O-Of course!¡± Han-Yeol replied. There had been a time in his life when he enjoyed yingputer games. However, he only had enough time to y games at an inte caf¨¦ for an hour or two once in a while because of his busy schedule working to make ends meet. There was no way someone like him would not be able to understand a simple status window like that. ¡®They say there are different types of Awakened in the world. Perhaps I?have?some unique powers¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, recalling what he had learned from his previous research. The Awakened usually got their powers the same way, and there were no major differences in how they awakened. Awakened usually knew what kind of abilities they had as soon as they awakened, and they even knew how strong they were from the get-go. Most Awakened possessed three abilities, and their role in a monster hunt would be decided by thebination of the abilities they had awakened with. For example, an Awakened who possessed mostly offensive skills was designated as a ¡®DPS¡¯, an Awakened who possessed healing abilities was designated as a ¡®Healer¡¯, and an Awakened who possessed misceneous abilities that assisted others inbat in one way or another was designated as a ¡®Supporter¡¯. Of course, there were always some deviations from that standard set-up, as it had also been found that there were some Awakened who defied thatmon logic and possessed unique abilities. ¡®Some of them can shapeshift into the?form?of other creatures, and there are some?who?can manipte space and dimensions,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. People called those kinds of Hunters ¡®Unique Hunters¡¯. ¡®Then, am I also?a?Unique Hunter¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. [Well, you can think of it that way.] ¡°Karvis, did you say you were an entity assigned to assist me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [You finally understand.] Karvis¡¯ voice finally sounded gentle, as she felt that her owner had finally gone from being a frustratingly stupid baboon to being a baboon who used his brains. ¡°Then, how am I supposed to grow stronger from now on?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Of course, you will slowly grow stronger from now on.] [Other Awakened get their strength all at once and no longer grow strongerter on, but the strength of Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s abilities will fully depend on how much effort you put into getting stronger.] ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered, as he seemed to be processing what Karvis had just said. [Try to perform a plethora of activities as much as possible.] [Any action that can be developed into a skill will turn into a skill once you be proficient in it.] ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Yes.] Han-Yeol asked Karvis everything he wanted to know, but that did not mean Karvis gave him all of the answers he was looking for. No, it would be more precise to say that she did not answer anything outside the information she possessed. ¡°Then, are you saying that trying to hunt monsters is a stretch right now and that I should continue working as a Porter to level up a bit more while collecting new skills?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Yes.] [It will be risky to try and hunt monsters, as you do not possess any skills at the moment.] [I advise that you continue getting some experience while working as a Porter for now.] ¡®But I already have enough experience as a Porter¡­?Tsk¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue inwardly. He had already been doing this crazy job for three years, and he had already achieved the sole reason he had been doing it, but to think he had to continue working as a Porter because of his unique abilities as an Awakened? ¡®Should I be happy about this, or should I be sad¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was conflicted, but he had already awakened, and he decided that it would be for the best that he listened to the advice of the Ego System. ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s a good reason why it¡¯s an assistant,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Of course.] ¡°Can you stop reading my thoughts¡­?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. [¡­I apologize.] It seemed that even the Ego System was not perfect. *** Han-Yeol ate a simple,te lunch after resolving every question he was curious about before going to the factory where he worked part-time. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The factory was busy at work today, as always. ¡°Hello!¡± Han-Yeol enthusiastically greeted people. ¡°Oh! If it isn¡¯t Han-Yeol! You¡¯re early today.¡± A few familiar faces weed him as soon as he entered the factory. ¡°Ah, yes. My work as a Porter finished early today,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a smile. The ce was a factory near where Han-Yeol lived; it was also where monster remains that had been dismembered at the hunting grounds were processed again. Han-Yeol worked as a Porter while also working part-time at this ce, because his ie as a Porter alone was not enough to make ends meet while paying for his father¡¯s hospital bills. ¡°Did something goode in today?¡± Han-Yeol asked his line partner, whom he usually got along with very well, while changing into his work clothes. ¡°That¡¯s an excellent question. Today, we had that famous B-grade monster, an Alcatraz,e in!¡± the man said. ¡°Wow! Really?¡± Han-Yeol eximed with sparkling eyes. An Alcatraz was a monster that was infamous for being difficult to catch. Han-Yeol could not hide his excitement at the news that one had been brought in. It was also a monster that would be very difficult for a small factory like theirs to procure. ¡°They say it was caught by a Hunter who¡¯s close to our factory manager. He got it through his connections, I guess. He might be useless, but we do know that he has very good connections,¡± the man said. ¡°Still, it is really amazing,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Of course, there was no way that a mere part-time worker like Han-Yeol was ever going to get the chance to even touch the Alcatraz that hade in today, and the fact that he could admire it from afar was an honor in itself. *** Han-Yeol was excitedly thinking about whether he would get the chance to see the Alcatraz that hade in when someone called him from behind. ¡°Oi! Lee Han-Yeol!¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Han-Yeol responded while thinking to himself, ¡®Ah¡­ I¡¯m screwed¡­¡¯?He knew exactly who had called him just by hearing the voice. He cursed inwardly, ¡®That damn pig.¡¯ The pig called Deok-Su was the manager of the factory Han-Yeol worked at, and the brother of the factory owner as well. On the first day Han-Yeol had started working at the factory, he had identally spilled the coffee he was drinking on Deok-Su when thetter suddenly appeared out of nowhere and bumped into him. The ce where Han-Yeol had been standing at the time was not a walkway, and it had even been a ce where it would be difficult to bump into anyone, but Deok-Su seemed to hold a grudge against Han-Yeol since that fateful day, finding all sorts of ways to bother him. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you work a little bit harder if you¡¯re getting paid? How dare you chit-chat leisurely like this, you freeloader?! Get moving, you leech!¡± Deok-Su shouted condescendingly. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I understand,¡± Han-Yeol responded while grumbling under his breath, ¡®Damn¡­ I guess I won¡¯t get to see the?Alcatraz¡­¡¯ He would no longer be able to take it easy today now that Deok-Su had his sights set on him. He had to just stick to his line and avoid running into Deok-Su, as the pig would nag about every small thing he could think of. ¡®Let¡¯s just get to work and be done with it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a sigh. The dismembering work at the factory required more precision than the dismembering done at the hunting grounds. Fshoooo! The first step was to use an air gun to remove any dust or contaminants that could havee along with the monster corpses. The next step was to use a de made out of a special material to cut the monster corpses into pieces. The body parts Han-Yeol was currently in charge of were the easiest parts, the arms and legs. They were easy because they did not contain any important organs, and were only made up of meat and bone most of the time. Additionally, all he had to do was to separate the muscles from the rest and his job would be done. Shhk¡­ Shhk¡­ Shhk¡­ ¡®Huh?¡¯ He had started to dismember the monster''s corpse just as he usually did, but something strange suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. ¡®What are these lines¡­?¡¯ The monster Han-Yeol was currently working on was a Mad Deer, which was literally a deer that had gone mad. Han-Yeol had tried to get to work the way he usually did, but that was when the lines had suddenly appeared all over the monster he had to dismember. He rubbed his eyes, thinking that perhaps he was hallucinating and seeing things, before he looked at the monster corpse again. ¡®Eh??They¡¯re?still here?¡¯ Han-Yeol was confused. 1. Korean for ¡®uncle¡¯. 2. 5 million won is around 3,955 USD. 3. 5.6 million won is around 4,429 USD. 4. ¡¯Aja aja¡¯ is a cheer used to support someone or yourself in Korea. It¡¯s usually used in tandem with ¡®fighting¡¯, which is another cheer. 5. The author used ¡®????¡¯, which is the English phrase ¡®Mad Deer¡¯ transliterated into Korean. Chapter 3: The Awakened System (3)

Chapter 3: The Awakened System (3)

The lines on the Mad Deer¡¯s corpse were still present no matter how many times Han-Yeol rubbed his eyes. ¡®Is this because of the Dismember skill, by any chance¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. [¡­] ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ¡°Hmm? Did you say something, Han-Yeol?¡± the line partner asked. Han-Yeol had asked Karvis, his Ego System, but the line partner beside him had ended up answering instead. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. Please don¡¯t mind me. I was just talking to myself,¡± Han-Yeol said with an awkwardugh. ¡°Alright, if you say so,¡± the line partner replied. Han-Yeol¡¯s line partner went back to his own work, and Han-Yeol talked to Karvis in his head instead. ¡®Why aren¡¯t you answering?¡¯ [Did you not tell me not to read your mind?] ¡®Cancel that. You can read it from now on,¡¯?Han-Yeol said, with a hint of resignation mixed with frustration. [Then I shall exin.] [The ¡®Dismember¡¯ skill is a passive skill that assists Han-Yeol-nim whenever you dismember a monster¡¯s corpse.] [The skill will support you by providing the most efficient and fastest way to dismember corpses.] ¡®Ah, so that¡¯s why I¡¯m seeing these lines¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Yes, that is correct.] Han-Yeol cut the monster corpse along the lines visible only to him without any hesitation after listening to Karvis¡¯ exnation. Cutting up monsters was something he had been doing for the past three years, so there was no hesitation in his movements at all. This time, however, Han-Yeol felt as if he were basically taking a test with the answer sheet right beside him. ¡®It¡¯s really fast,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a hint of admiration for the skill. The speed he was working at was iparable to before. In fact, his average work efficiency was normally around 12 to 15 corpses per hour, but he had now already exceeded 40 corpses with the help of the Dismember skill. He would be able to finish his daily quota in just three hours if he continued at this rate. ¡®This is amazing!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. The thought of being able to finish earlier excited him all the more, and his cutting speed increased. Ding! [Your repeated actions have increased your knowledge of swords.] [A new skill has been created¡ªSword Mastery.] ¡®Sword Mastery?¡¯ A message suddenly popped up while he was immersed in dismembering the monster corpses. He found it odd that he had obtained an offensive skill while dismembering monster corpses. [Sword Mastery (F)] Type: Passive Description: A skill that appears when you gain a little bit of understanding of swords. You will gain increased proficiency whenever you handle a sword. The efficiency when you imbue your mana into a sword will increase by a little. ¡®It¡¯s a bit of a stretch to call it an offensive skill. I guess it¡¯s more of a support?skill?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he went over the skill¡¯s details. The skill helped its user to gain increased proficiency with swords, and dismembering monster corpses was technically an action performed with a ¡®sword¡¯. Shhk¡­ Shhk¡­ Shhk¡­ ¡®I knew it!¡¯?Han-Yeol marveled inwardly. His cutting speed had increased as expected. Chiiik! Chiiiik! Chiiik! Han-Yeol finished his quota of 120 monster corpses in a record time of two and a half hours, and quickly began cleaning his workstation. ¡°Eh? Han-Yeol, have you given up for today?¡± his line partner, who was still hard at work, asked with a confused expression. It was understandable, as it had only been two and a half hours since they started working. The dismembering job was verybor-intensive work, so there were a few people who usually gave up halfway. ¡®Well, it¡¯s understandable¡­ The factory manager has his eye on him, so it¡¯s actuallymendable that he stuck it out till now,¡¯ the line partner thought. The workers all thought that the factory manager was just a scumbag who depended on his elder brother¡¯s position as the factory owner to bully even those who were decades older than him. ¡°No, I¡¯ve finished my quota for the day. So I¡¯m wrapping things up to go and watch the Alcatraz dismembermentter,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°What?¡± the line partner responded, unable to believe what Han-Yeol had just said. They had to work a full eight hours without taking any breaks in between to barely meet their daily quota, and it was just impossible for anyone to fulfill their quota in just two and a half hours. [Daily Quota (120/120)] However, the machine beside Han-Yeol¡¯s workstation disyed the number 120. ¡°H-How¡­?¡± the line partner muttered, unable to believe his eyes. ¡°Well¡­ Let¡¯s just say I discovered some techniques from experience? You know¡­ Like the way people get enlightenment in wuxia novels?¡± Han-Yeol said with a shrug. He gave a silly excuse, as he had not made his awakening public yet. Besides, he was still legally a normal civilian, as he had not done any mana testing yet. ¡°Even if you say so¡­ That¡¯s still a bit¡­¡± The line partner could not make heads or tails out of the current situation. He had been working in this industry for nearly twenty years, and even he found it difficult to fulfill his daily quota in eight hours; but Han-Yeol, who had only worked for four years, was able toplete his daily quota in such a crazy time? ¡®Did he pull off some tricks?¡¯?the line partner thought as he gave Han-Yeol a skeptical look. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll excuse myself,¡± Han-Yeol said as he waved his hand while leaving the workstation. ¡°Fwuumhaaa!?The air when you get off work early smells extra sweet!¡± he eximed in delight. He had been working at the factory for four years, and this was the first time he had left work early. The fact that he had been able to finish work early made him extremely happy. However, while he was relishing in his happiness¡­ ¡°Oi!¡± ¡®Fuck¡­?It¡¯s that pig again¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. He had been nning to rx for a bit at the rest area before going to watch the Alcatraz dismemberment, but the factory manager had called him out. Han-Yeol¡¯s face crumpled in annoyance, but he was all smiles the moment he turned around. He responded in a calm, friendly voice, ¡°How may I help you, sir?¡± ¡°Ha? ¡®How may I help you¡¯, you say? You¡¯ve got it quite easy, haven¡¯t you? Lounging around when you should be working! Have you evenpleted your work? Huh?!¡± the factory manager nagged, giving Han-Yeol an earful while he thought, ¡®Tsk¡­?This fucking beggar. How dare he try to leech off of me!¡¯ The factory manager was pettier than anyone else Han-Yeol had ever met in his life. In fact, it seemed that he still held a grudge for what had happened on Han-Yeol¡¯s first day at work, when Han-Yeol had spilled coffee on his shirt. ¡®How dare he make a mess out of the expensive shirt mommy bought for me!¡¯? Yes, that was how petty the factory manager was, and he was a mama¡¯s boy on top of that. The truth was that he, who did not have any particr skills or sufficient intelligence, was still able to work as the manager of his elder brother¡¯s factory only thanks to his mother. ¡°Yes, I am done for the day,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ha! I knew¡­ What did you just say?¡± Deok-Su asked with a perplexed look on his face. He even doubted his ears for a moment, thinking he had heard Han-Yeol wrongly. That was why he decided to double-check just to make sure. However, Han-Yeol confidently replied, ¡°I finished my quota for the day. The whole 120 corpse requirement.¡± Beep! [Lee Han-Yeol-nim has fulfilled his daily quota of 120 corpses.] Han-Yeol tapped his employee card on the machine beside him, and the machine backed up his im, precisely repeating what he had just said. ¡°Eh¡­? H-how could this be?!¡± Deok-Su shouted, unable to believe his ears. Deok-Su had worked for quite a long time at the factory, and he knew very well howbor-intensive and grotesque the dismembering job was. In fact, he was also the one who had adjusted the daily quota to be very difficult to achieve in eight hours. ¡°Well, it is as you heard. So, I will excuse myself,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile before he walked toward the rest area. He rested for a bit before going to observe how the veteran workers dismembered the Alcatraz. ¡®So that¡¯s how you dismember an Alcatraz¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with fascination. He focused on the Alcatraz, as he wanted to test whether he would be able to see the same lines he had seen on the Mad Deer or not. However, nothing special happened, and he could not see any lines on the Alcatraz. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s going on? Why can¡¯t I see anything¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, perplexed. [Your Dismember skill level is still too low to support you in dismembering an Alcatraz.] ¡®Ah, so that¡¯s how it is,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling slight regret. He felt that he could do nothing about it, and instead decided to focus on observing the veteran workers dismember the Alcatraz. He learned a lot just by observing the veteran workers. Han-Yeol¡¯s dream had been to be a professional dismemberment technician in the event that he failed to awaken. ¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore since I managed to awaken.¡¯ He had originally nned to leave this ce as soon as he awakened. However, it had be difficult for him to just get up and leave the factory, as his ability was not an instantaneously empowering one, but rather a growth-type ability one might see in a video game. ¡®Let¡¯s stick around for a bit longer.¡¯ After finishing his observation of the Alcatraz¡¯s dismemberment process, Han-Yeol put on his coat and left his workce for the day. The factory manager looked as if he had just eaten shit as he watched Han-Yeol leave early. Han-Yeol felt slightly nervous, but he decided to brush it off, as he was not in the wrong at all. He also remembered to politely give a 90-degree bow toward the factory manager before he left. Han-Yeol went on his way home. His house was around forty minutes away from the factory by foot. He had never felt that it was too far, so he preferred to walk to save money on transportation. He ignored the bus that had just left the bus stop as he started to walk, just as he always had every day for the past four years. He had always loathed the fact that he had to walk just to save money, but his steps were unusually light today. ¡®I¡¯m?also an Awakened?now!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. He had lived with no hopes, and dreams had just been a luxury he could not afford, as he worked day in and day out to pay his father¡¯s hospital bills. He had never felt alive for even a day in his life as he struggled to make ends meet, but it was different now¡ªthings were slowly starting to change for the better. The way back home that had once been empty and filled with despair felt as if it were praising him and cheering him up. It was then¡­ Ding! [Your positive mindsetbined with your light steps have created a new skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªWalking.] ¡°Whoa! What nonsense is this?¡± Han-Yeol eximed, surprised and perplexed at the same time due to the sudden creation of a skill while he was walking. Of course, the creation of a skill was always a good thing for Han-Yeol. However, he could not help but be dumbfounded at the way it had been created, along with the strange name the skill had. ¡®What kind of a skill is ¡®Walking¡¯¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered as he opened the skill¡¯s details. [Walking (F)] Type: Passive Description: A skill created through thebination of optimistic thinking and walking. You will recover a little bit of mana whenever you take a step. ¡®Recover mana whenever I take a step¡­?¡¯ [Any Awakened can use mana.] [As you can see in your status window, Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s current MAG stat is 10.] [You may invest your bonus points into your MAG stat if you wish to increase your mana.] ¡®Any Awakened can use magic??Han-Yeol thought in surprise. In truth, that was unexpected information. There were nomunities online that had mentioned anything of the sort. ¡®Or maybe they only let the paid subscribers in on this info¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. If that was the case, his Ego System, Karvis, was the most perfect partner any Awakened could ever wish for. [Yes. It is difficult to exin through words, but mana can be considered your mental strength.] [You will be able to use it if you desperately wish for it and focus hard enough.] [I advise you to try it out once you get back to your residence.] ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you advise,¡± Han-Yeol replied. His steps home were lighter thanks to the unexpected gains he had obtained on the way home. He took a quick shower and sat down in afortable position on the bed. Then, he looked at his hand and focused all of his senses on it. ¡®Mana! Come on! Mana! Show yourself!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he channeled his mental strength. 5 minutes passed since he had begun staring at his own hand, and it was right when he started to doubt what he was doing and wondered how much longer he needed to do that when¡­ Fwuaah! A bright blue ball of light suddenly appeared above his hand. It was the size of a table tennis ball, and was so small that it seemed negligible; however, without a doubt, Han-Yeol had seeded in channeling his mana. Ding! [You have gained an understanding of how mana works.] [A new skill has been created¡ªMana Control.] [A new skill has been created¡ªMana Mastery.] ¡°Wow! Jackpot!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. He was normally not the type of person to talk to himself that way, but he could not help but shout in joy as something really amazing had just happened. ¡®Hehehe¡­ I¡¯m going to stay up all night tonight!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought excitedly. He was going to be on night shift the next day, so it did not really matter if he stayed up all night. *** Wooong¡­ Perhaps it was because he had gained the Mana Control skill, but Han-Yeol could now easily control his mana, and the ball of mana floating above his hand that had been the size of a table tennis ball had now grown to the size of a tennis ball. He tried to focus even more just in case the ball of mana could grow further, but it seemed to already be at its limit. ¡®Hmmm¡­?What should I do with this?¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered, and he threw the ball of mana toward the wall just to test it out. Thud. ¡°¡­¡± The impact was so weak that it would probably have been stronger if he had punched the wall with his own fists. Grrrr¡­ His stomach suddenly growled, crying for food at ate hour. ¡®Ah¡­ I usually would have eaten dinner at the factory¡­¡¯? He usually ate dinner at the factory, but he had forgotten to eat as he rushed home filled with the joy of leaving work early for the first time. ¡®Tsk¡­ I should¡¯ve eaten before I left¡­¡¯ Missing out on a free meal was quite a blow for Han-Yeol, who had to save every penny to make ends meet. In fact, he had begun thinking about how to convince the cafeteriady to feed him in advance starting from tomorrow, and he was even ready to beg her if he needed to. However, what was done was done, and he went to check his kitchen cupboard to see if he had anything to eat. He found a pack of ramyun, which was the only food he had in the house. He then took out a portable burner stove and cooked the ramyun. It has been quite a while since his gas stove had broken down, and he had had no choice but to buy a cheap portable burner stove, as the homeowner had shown no signs of fixing the gas stove anytime soon. Brrup... Brrup¡­ A spicy, savory scent filled the room; itsck of proper venttion made the ramyun¡¯s smell even stronger. Slurp¡­ Slurp¡­ Han-Yeol turned on the TV while eating his ramyun. Any other hobby that cost money would be a luxury to him, and that was why the only other hobby he had was watching TV after work. A baseball game was live on TV, so he decided to watch it. [Jeon Gwang-Yeol throws a pitch.] A baseball yer wearing a red uniform fiercely threw the baseball in a shy motion. Tak! [Strike!] It was a powerful throw. The pitcher¡¯s ball messed up the batter¡¯s rhythm, easily passing the bat and digging itself into the catcher¡¯s mitt. It was a throw befitting a yer who was known as a top-ss pitcher. ¡®Wow¡­?It must hurt like hell if anyone gets hit by that ball¡­?Hm?¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly had a thought while he was watching the baseball game. An idea suddenly came to his mind as he watched the pitcher throw the ball. ¡®Karvis,¡¯?Han-Yeol called on the Ego System in his mind. [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] Chapter 4: The Awakened System (4)

Chapter 4: The Awakened System (4)

Karvis, who was always on standby at any time of day, responded immediately without any hesitation when Han-Yeol called for her. ¡®Is it possible to imbue mana into an object using the Mana Control skill?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [Of course.] [Although it will not make a huge difference, the infusion of mana into an object will increase its durability by multiple times.] ¡®Is that so?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he decided to test out his idea. First, however, he slurped up the ramyun he had cooked and drank its soup down to thest drop. He would have liked nothing more than to put some leftover rice into the ramyun soup, but he was so poor that he did not even have any leftover rice lying around his house. That was how Han-Yeol filled his starving stomach with ramyun and left the house. He then climbed the hills of his moon vige. Anybody who lived in the moon vige would know that it was located adjacent to a mountain, and that mountain would be essible if one climbed the hills of the vige. The mountain was not that great or pretty, however, and nobody ever bothered to climb all the way up to visit it. The only visitors one might asionally see were old people who sought refuge under the cool shade of the trees on the mountain. The only facility on the mountain was an old resting hut next to a dimly lit streetmp, and the ce emitted an eerie atmosphere once the sun set. That was one of the reasons why nobody dared to visit the ce after dark. Additionally, the local street urchins imed they had seen a ghost there a few days before, and people had avoided it ever since. ¡®This looks like a good spot,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He looked around the vicinity before finding a few things he might be able to use. He found five empty cans, then picked them up and lined them in a row. Then, he picked up a few stones that were littered across the ground. ¡®I have to?imagine?my mana bing one with the stone?to infuse the stone with it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he closed his eyes and focused. Then, he felt a sliver of his mana traveling all over his body. He gathered all of the mana he felt and infused it into the stone in his hand. The stone started to emit a blue glow as he infused more and more of his mana into it. ¡®Alright!¡¯ Han-Yeol made all his preparations before entering the pitching stance he had learned back in middle school. He pulled his knee all the way up to his chest and twisted his waist, then threw his arm forward while fully extending his shoulder. Tak! nk! The stone flew out of Han-Yeol¡¯s hand, crushing an empty soda can and embedding itself in a tree behind it with a deep impact. It was much stronger than throwing the ball of mana alone. ¡®Alright! I can use this as a weapon from now on.¡¯ Han-Yeol decided to kick the gear up a notch, deciding that this would be one of his offensive skills. He pushed himself and practiced harder as he was not satisfied with his hit-or-miss uracy. Whii¡­ Thud! He had briefly yed baseball back in middle school, but he had not attended any lessons or sses for it. Additionally, a long time had passed since he hadst thrown a ball, so his form and everything else were a mess. He repeatedly imbued stones with his mana and threw them, heavily depleting his mana. His head started to hurt from his excessive use of mana, and his body suddenly started to feel weak all of a sudden. He walked around the mountain for a while to aid him in recovering the mana he had used. An hour passed after he began walking to recover his mana, nearly restoring his reserves to full. Whiii¡­ Tak! ¡®Alright!¡¯? The fruits of hisbor finally started to show as he sessfully hit ten cans in a row. Ding! [Your persistent practice has created a new skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªPower Strike.] ¡®Yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol cheered inwardly at the creation of a new skill. ¡°Hooo¡­¡± He exhaled. He was covered in sweat from his continuous practice, but he felt as if he were on cloud nine at the moment. ¡®Power Strike.¡¯ [Power Strike (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill that imbues your mana into a small object and inflicts damage when throwing it toward an enemy. You will deal greater damage the closer your hit gets to an enemy¡¯s weak spot. ¡®Now all that¡¯s left is a defensive skill,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, picturing the concept he already had in mind. The offensive skill, Power Strike, had required a lot of movement and effort to create. On the other hand, the defensive skill on Han-Yeol¡¯s mind required an extremely high amount of concentration. That was why he had begun sittingfortably at the resting hut. He initially crossed his legs the way the characters from a martial arts novel would, but he decided against it since he was quite susceptible to cramping. Wooong¡­ All Han-Yeol wanted for his defensive skill was a simple shield¡ªnothing more and nothing less. That was why he gathered as much of his mana as he possibly could and created a ball of mana. Next, he stretched the ball of mana to be as wide and thin as possible before forming it into a circr shield. Then, he practiced maintaining the mana shield for as long as he possibly could. ¡®Keuk!¡¯ The training he was doing demanded a lot of concentration from him, and he gritted his teeth as he tried to sustain the shield for as long as he could. It was his first time doing such a thing, so he had no clue if he was doing the right thing or not, and the only means he had to progress was to go through a process of trial and error using his own body as the test subject. Tremble¡­ His arms started to tremble, but Han-Yeol did not give up. He had enough of running away and giving up, and he was sick and tired of living like a loser as he had before he awakened. He no longer wanted to give up. ¡°Graaaaah!¡±?Han-Yeol screamed, squeezing out every single ounce of strength he had in his body. Ding! [A new skill has been created¡ªMana Shield.] ¡°Hoooo¡­¡± He had finally managed to create his own defensive skill, and was thus no longer required to concentrate as hard as he had when creating the skill to sustain the shield. The shield remained casually on Han-Yeol¡¯s arm as if it belonged there naturally. ¡®Finally! Skill, Mana Shield.¡¯ [Mana Shield (F)] Type: Active Description: A shield made by stretching the user''s mana to be wide and thin. It will be able to protect the user from attacks depending on the user¡¯s mana capacity. Han-Yeol had sessfully created the two skills he desperately needed¡ªan offensive skill and a defensive skill, and felt that he had managed to take care of the urgent stuff for the time being. He wanted to create more skills, but he did not have any ideas for what to make. Besides, his stamina was quite low after creating two new skills, and so he decided to go back home and rest up. ¡°Euk¡­?I¡¯ll just continue tomorrow¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered, walking back to his home while swaying from side to side. It was then¡­ ¡°Eup! Eup!¡± ¡°Shhh! Be quiet! I can¡¯t guarantee your life if you don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol looked around when he heard the voices of a man and a woman. However, the impression he got from the sound was not a pleasant one, but rather that of a clich¨¦d criminal and victim scenario. ¡®This ce is?prettywless?after all.¡¯ The moon vige where Han-Yeol currently lived had a lot of people who worked in the sex industry. That was why many criminals gathered in it, and those criminals took advantage of theck of foot traffic in the area tomit all sorts of crimes. The roads were winding and arduous with steep inclines, and that made it difficult for the police to patrol at night. Ignoring what he heard was the right thing to do, as he would end up getting the short end of the stick if he got hurt by chance while trying to be a hero. The criminals whomitted crimes in this neighborhood usually carried weapons with them. However¡­ ¡®Something feels off¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The instincts he usually depended on when life got tough for him kicked in from time to time. This time, his instincts told him to go and take a look. His body was telling him to go home and rest, but his instincts kept nagging him to go and help out the woman. . ¡®Ah, damn it¡­?Here goes nothing!¡¯ Han-Yeol decided to listen to his instincts, and walked toward the active crime scene just as those instincts told him to. ¡°Eup! Eup!¡± ¡°Hehehe! Look at this little bitch. You must have wanted it too if you were out loitering around at this hour. Stop resisting and stay still, will you?!¡± ¡®As I thought. It¡¯s just a stupid pervert.¡¯ A lot of poor, powerless women lived in this neighborhood, so there were a lot of sex crimes that specifically targeted those women. Due to that, there had been a public outcry from the surrounding neighborhoods to destroy this neighborhood and put it up for redevelopment. In their eyes, the moon vige was nothing but a cancerous tumor that reduced the value of properties in the surrounding neighborhoods. It was right as Han-Yeol was about to click his tongue and leave when he suddenly noticed something. ¡®Huh??A high schooler?¡¯ Han-Yeol noticed that the victim was a beautiful high school student who lived with her mother next door. The fact that she lived in this neighborhood alone was more than enough to speak volumes about what kind of poverty she lived in. Despite her circumstances, however, the girl was quite polite and always smiling. She was always the first one to approach and greet Han-Yeol, who usually avoided interacting with other people. ¡®I knew it. My instinct is never wrong,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Ding! [You have disyed a keen sense that surpasses the normal five senses of a human being.] [A new skill has been created¡ªSixth Sense.] ¡®Eh? What¡¯s with this Sixth Sense all of a sudden?¡¯?Han-Yeol was momentarily confused by the sudden development. [Sixth Sense (F)] Type: Passive Description: The sixth sense that follows the five senses of a human being. You will be able to read the enemy¡¯s movements. The duration and coverage of the skill will increase the higher the skill level is. ¡®Who knew this was going to turn into a skill?¡¯? He had never imagined that his instincts, which had no shape or form, would actually turn into something he could depend on. He also thought that there was no harm in having more skills, and he could notin about his unexpected profit. However, that was not what was important at the moment. The rapist had tied up the girl next door¡¯s arms while Han-Yeol was distracted, and he had even taped her mouth to shut her up. At that point, he was about to strip her clothes off. ¡®What should I do? What should I do?¡¯?Han-Yeol panicked. The girl next door was going to be scarred for life by a horrible and traumatic experience if he did not do anything. As he looked around in a panic, however, he found something on the floor. He thought as he grabbed the object, ¡®Ah, I don¡¯t know. Here goes nothing!¡¯ ¡°Hehehe¡­! Now, shall we have a taste of you, pretty little thing?¡± the rapist said excitedly in a creepy voice. ¡°Eup! Eup!¡±?The high school girl¡¯s face was covered in tears, as the only thing that went through her mind was, ¡®Mom! Help me!¡¯?She had probably called for help more than a hundred times in her mind. It was then¡­ Shwiiiii¡­ Bam! A stone suddenly flew out of nowhere and embedded itself in the streetmp right beside the rapist¡¯s head. ¡°W-Who the hell are you?!¡± the rapist eximed in surprise. ¡®Damn it. I missed,¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed under his breath. Perhaps it was because he was nervous, but the stone imbued with his mana had missed his target. Fortunately, he had been able to separate the rapist from the girl next door, as his attack seemed to have startled the man. ¡®Here goes nothing!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he used the opening to rush at the rapist. ¡°This little bastard!¡± the rapist cursed, moving quickly in an attempt to cement his advantageous position by taking the girl next door hostage. But¡­ Shruuuuuuk¡­ Tak! ¡°W-What the hell?!¡± the rapist eximed. He tried to attack with a knife, but his movements were suddenly restricted by a chain thrown by Han-Yeol. The rapist tried to undo the chain wrapped around his hand, but it was tightly bound up as if it had been pulled together by a ma. ¡®N-no way¡­!¡¯?The rapist thought, going into denial. ¡°Die, you trash!¡± Han-Yeol shouted as he threw a punch. The rapist could not avoid the punch, as he had been held in ce by the chain. Bam! ¡°Kuheok!¡±?The rapist let out a groan as he flew backward and hit a wall, having been hit by the punch of an Awakened. ¡°Hooo¡­¡± Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief. It was a risky gamble, but thankfully, it had paid off. Suddenly, he received a notification. Ding! [A new skill has been created¡ªRestrain.] *** ¡®Restrain?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he checked the skill details. [Restrain (F)] Type: Active Description: The user may imbue mana into an object such as a rope or a chain before throwing it at a target. The target will be momentarily stunned and bound by the skill. The new skill was a flexible skill that was open to improvisation based on the situation. Han-Yeol felt that he had received quite the reward, as he had seeded in saving the victim as well as obtaining quite a useful skill. Tremble¡­ Tremble¡­ The rapist was already down and out, but the high school girl still had her eyes closed while trembling uncontrobly. She was aware that someone had helped her just then, but there was no guarantee that the neer was a good person. She was scared that she would spiral into unending despair if she expected them to be a good person, but then they turned out to be the exact opposite. She was still young, but she had been forced to experience the world at a young age, so she knew a bit about how the world worked. ¡°Hey, high schooler,¡± Han-Yeol called out. Flinch¡­! The girl¡¯s trembling ceased for a moment when she heard the familiar voice that called out to her, and she carefully opened her eyes. She saw a familiar face standing in front of her, and that person knelt down and carefully removed the tape over her mouth. He also untied her arms and fixed her disheveled clothes. His gaze did not possess any lust or ulterior motives, even though an exposed and vulnerable young girl was right in front of him. ¡®How would it feel if I had a little sister like this¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not treat the high school girl right in front of him as an object of lust or desire, but rather saw her as a little sister. 1. This is the name used to refer to shanty towns in Korean cities where low-ie people live. Chapter 5: The Awakened System (5)

Chapter 5: The Awakened System (5)

The little sister in his imagination was the unrealistic type who acted cute with her older brother and took care of him, however. ¡°Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?¡± Han-Yeol asked after undoing the rope that bound her and checking for any injuries on her. ¡°Sniffle¡­¡±?The girl just sobbed quietly. ¡°Hey, hey,¡± Han-Yeol said, looking genuinely worried about her. Then, the girl suddenly cried loudly, the tears she had been holding back gushing out. ¡°Waaaaaaaah!¡± Shrrk! The girl suddenly jumped and hugged Han-Yeol tightly as she started to cry even more loudly. She was usually always bright and cheerful, but she was still a teenager regardless, and the traumatic experience was undoubtedly a huge shock to her. She cried in Han-Yeol¡¯s arms over and over again. Pat pat¡­ Han-Yeol, who did not possess the talent offorting a woman with words, could do nothing but gently pat her back¡­ ¡®She smells good.¡¯ ¡­while having those kinds of silly, childish thoughts. Twenty minutes passed since the girl had started crying in Han-Yeol¡¯s arms. Finally, she gradually stopped crying before looking away in embarrassment. She then took out a small mirror and checked her puffy eyes. Her face turned bright red when she realized that she looked like a mess. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Han-Yeol asked carefully. ¡°Y-Yes, I¡¯m fine now. Thank you, Han-Yeol oppa,¡± the girl replied. ¡°Wow! You used to give me the cold shoulder whenever I told you I wanted you to call me ¡®oppa¡¯. Am I your oppa only in circumstances like this?¡± Han-Yeol yfully teased her. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know!¡± the girl eximed before turning her bright red face away from him. ¡°Haha!¡± Han-Yeol let out a heartyugh while looking at the shy little girl. Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation that seemed to be warning him that his back was about to be stabbed. He immediately turned his body and sidestepped to avoid the attack from behind. Swoosh! ¡°Kyaaaah!¡±?the girl screamed. The rapist had regained consciousness and tried to stab Han-Yeol from behind, and the girl screamed when she saw the man charging aggressively toward Han-Yeol. However, the rapist was dumbfounded when Han-Yeol sidestepped and avoided his surprise attack. He had been certain that it was a perfect sneak attack from the guy¡¯s blind spot, but the guy easily avoided his attack as if he had already been expecting it. ¡°E-Eh¡­?¡± The rapist was stupefied for a moment, but that momentsted for only a split second as the enraged Han-Yeol punched him once again in the face. Pukeok! ¡°Euk¡­!¡±?The rapist could only utter a moan, as the power-packed punch knocked him out cold and made him foam from the mouth. Han-Yeol had only put a small amount of mana behind his punch, so he was certain that the rapist was not dead. ¡°A-Are you alright?¡± the girl asked Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m alright. You must have been surprised.¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± the girl said. ¡°It¡¯s alright now. It¡¯s all over,¡± Han-Yeol said,forting the high school girl as he smiled brightly at her. Then, she returned a small smile, slowly starting to calm down. ¡®She¡¯s surprisingly tough,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The incident was already over, but the fact that she was still trying to smile after what she had just gone through was quite impressive. The whole incident was wrapped up after Han-Yeol called the police, and they reached the scene after huffing and puffing up the hills of the moon vige. The suspect, the victim, and the witness all went to the police station together. The high school girl, Yu-Bi, testified about everything she had gone through at the hands of the rapist, and Han-Yeol testified about the things he had witnessed. Thankfully, both of their testimonies matched, and the rapist was arrested on the spot and locked up due to the police having sufficient evidence against him. The cops were about to have their dinner, but Han-Yeol pulled out his usual shameless money-grubbing face and convinced them to order additional servings for two. They enjoyed a hot meal of police gukbap before leaving the police station. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m full. It feels as if it¡¯s been ages since I ate this well,¡± Han-Yeol said in satisfaction. ¡°Hehe, me too!¡± Yu-Bi added while smiling brightly. Yu-Bi was already back to her old, cheerful self, and she was smiling so brightly that nobody would believe that she had just been a victim of attempted rape. ¡°Are you really alright?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± Yu-Bi asked, tilting her head in confusion. ¡°You just went through a horrible experience. Are you really alright?¡± Han-Yeol asked once again. ¡°Umm¡­ It would have been bad if that guy managed to have his way with me, but that wasn¡¯t the case. Oppa helped me and saved me from danger,¡± Yu-Bi replied. Hug! Yu-Bi clung to Han-Yeol¡¯s arm, and his face turned bright red when he felt a certain kind of softness unique to women for the first time in his life. Han-Yeol had grown up in a single-parent household, and they had not been that well-off in his younger days. In fact, one of his inferiorityplexes was because he had actually been poor growing up. He had tried his best to cover that up by making a lot of friends, and he had been famous among the girls in school. However, he had been unable to afford to go out with women, let alone hold a woman¡¯s hand, in recent years as he had been busy trying to make ends meet. Now, though, he had a young and beautiful high school girl clinging onto his arm. Han-Yeol, who was turning 28 years old this year, would be called a criminal by his friends if they saw him with Yu-Bi just then. ¡°I-Is that so¡­?¡± Han-Yeol replied, stuttering from embarrassment. An infectiously happy aura surrounded Yu-Bi once again as she smiled; Han-Yeol liked the feeling of her clinging to him, and he did not even make an attempt to push her away. ¡°Oppa, you will walk me all the way home, right?¡± Yu-Bi asked with a hint of anxiety in her voice. Her anxiety and nervousness were clearly evident no matter how hard she tried to hide it by pretending to be cheerful. She squeezed his arm with trembling hands when she asked if he was going to walk her home, and Han-Yeol could clearly sense her anxiety through that trembling. ¡°Of course! Let¡¯s go. Your house is right beside mine anyway,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Their houses really were literally right beside each other. Han-Yeol safely walked Yu-Bi home before entering his house. He plopped down on his bed and stared dazedly at the new phone number on his mobile phone. [Han Yu-Bi] [010-4xx8-9xx5] Yu-Bi had given him her number and firmly insisted that she would definitely repay him one day after thanking him a few times, and she had also told him to send her a message whenever he was bored. ¡®Yu-Bi, Yu-Bi, Han Yu-Bi¡­ What a pretty name,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had already known that her name was Yu-Bi, but he had not known that her surname was ¡®Han¡¯. He had initially been reminded of the main character from the ¡®Romance of the Three Kingdoms¡¯ and found her name to be funny, but her name sounded beautiful now that he added her surname to it. That was how Han-Yeol felt his heart flutter for the first time in a long while as he slowly fell asleep. His sleep that night felt very different from how it usually did, when he would pass out from being too tired. *** It was a little past lunchtime the next day when Han-Yeol woke up and slurped up a bowl of ramyun. He flicked through the channels on TV briefly, before turning it off with a yawn as he found nothing interesting on. He then put on his trainers and left the house, heading to amercialplex in a residential neighborhood next to the moon vige. There, he went up to a gym on the third floor. Ring! A voice greeted Han-Yeol the moment he went in. ¡°Welc¡­ Eh? Oh! Han-Yeol! Long time no see!¡± A middle-aged man with a buzz cut warmly weed Han-Yeol, and Han-Yeol greeted the man in response. ¡°Hi, coach! How have you been?¡± Thud! The two men greeted each other with a tough hug, of the sortmonly shared among men to express how d they were to see each other. The scene brought to mind the term ¡®bromance¡¯. ¡°Hey, you brat! I¡¯m doing well. How about you? How many months has it been since you visited? I thought you died working as a Porter or something!¡± the middle-aged man joked. In truth, however, his words were halfway between a joke and the truth. That was because the Porters¡¯ line of work was a dangerous job, in which they never knew when and where they would die. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve been too busy and too tired these days, but I have a bit more free time these days so I n to start working out again,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol had a personal rtionship with the owner and coach of this ce, the OKGYM. The owner of the OKGYM had been a hometown junior of his father. It was also this man who had pushed Han-Yeol to work out and train when he was younger, telling him that a man should be strong and dependable. Han-Yeol had been able to train for free at the gym in exchange for cleaning the ce, as the man could not help but feel guilty if he took money from a boy who was no different from his nephew. Han-Yeol had visited the gym for old times¡¯ sake and to use the newfound free time he had on his hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to do some exercise and clean up the ce. Leave this ce to me and rx for the day,¡± Han-Yeol said. The man replied, ¡°Alright, just call me if you need anything.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The man went to his office, and Han-Yeol got to work, taking out the cleaning tools and meticulously cleaning the ce. He finished in no time, as he had cleaned this ce more than a thousand times by now. Afterward, it was time for him to start exercising. Whoosh whoosh whoosh! ¡°Heup! Heup! Heup!¡± Han-Yeol started warming up by doing double-jump jumping ropes, running on the treadmill, and doing bench presses. He did some weight training as well by utilizing the assorted equipment at the gym for ten minutes each. Two hours after he had started doing weight training, a message popped up. Ding! [Your continuous body training has unlocked limitless potential for you to grow stronger.] [A new skill has been created¡ªBody Strengthening.] ¡®Body Strengthening skill¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol read the message in his mind. Tak! He had been doing bench presses when the message popped up, so he put the barbell back in ce and checked the skill¡¯s details. [Body Strengthening] Type: Passive Description: You will be able to permanently increase your physical stats by putting yourself through arduous training. ¡®Wow! What a haul!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. The exercise and training he would do from now on were no longer merely for the purpose of maintaining his health. If the skill was going to increase his physical stats, he now had the potential to grow exponentially stronger through his own effort and hard work. ¡®I should?work out more frequently from now on,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after he checked the skill¡¯s details. He would want to work out more if it were up to him, but unfortunately, he had other things to attend to. So, he said goodbye to the gym owner and left the gym after taking a quick shower to freshen up. Then, he took a bus and went to the S-Hospital¡ªthe hospital where his father was admitted. ¡°Hi, Han-Yeol,¡± a nurse warmly greeted him. Han-Yeol greeted her back. ¡°Ah, hello, Nurse Kim.¡± She was the nurse Han-Yeol had be close with, as he frequently visited his father whenever he got the chance to. The doctors in charge of his father had changed multiple times over the years, but the nurses who watched over him had stayed the same. ¡°Have there been any changes to father these days?¡± Han-Yeol asked as he went into the ICU. Nurse Kim followed behind him and replied while smiling bitterly, ¡°Unfortunately, there is no news I can give you.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Don¡¯t mind it. I can entrust my father to this hospital¡¯s care because of Nurse Kim, after all,¡± Han-Yeol said. The doctors had said that Han-Yeol¡¯s father had cancer, but the cancer he had was very different from the normal cancers most people knew of. The doctors had no idea what the cause of his illness was, nor the cure for it. The time his father spent sleeping had started to be longer than the time he spent awake as the cancer progressed, and his father could not wake up at all no matter how many times anyone tried to wake him up once he fell asleep. ¡°How many hours has father been sleeping these days?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°He sleeps for fourteen hours a day these days,¡± Nurse Kim replied. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol was speechless. The only thing he could do was to hold his sleeping father¡¯s hands, and his own hands trembled as he held onto them. Han-Yeol was aware of what was happening to his father. He had overheard the doctors talking to each other by chance one day, and they had been saying that his father was going to pass away once his sleep began tost for twenty-four hours. Han-Yeol had been holding on hoping that a miracle would happen one day, but the miracle had nevere, and his hope was getting fainter and fainter. However, Han-Yeol now had hope. ¡®Karvis, can I also learn a skill to cure illnesses?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked the Ego System in his mind. [Of course.] [Although there is a tricky condition, you will be able to learn it as long as you satisfy that condition.] ¡®I see¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. [Yes.] His hopey in the true power of the ability he had awakened with. An average Awakened usually possessed three abilities after awakening, and their positions were decided based on the skills they had. Han-Yeol, on the other hand, had no limits on the number and types of skills he could learn. That was when Han-Yeol decided to use his ability to learn a healing skill to cure his father¡¯s illness. ¡®There¡¯s no time.?Karvis, what should I do if I want to cure my father¡¯s illness?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [The most basic condition is to increase your level first.] ¡®That¡¯s right. My level,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He felt the need to change his usual schedule of working as a Porter four times a week. ¡®Let¡¯s go work as a Porter for now. It won¡¯t be a bad idea to gain some experience while working as a Porter, since it¡¯s a growth-type ability after all.¡¯ 1. A Korean term used by girls to refer to men a little older than them. 2. Gukbap (??) is a Korean dish made by putting cooked rice into hot soup. The word is abination of ?, meaning soup, and ?, meaning rice. Police gukbap is basically the style of gukbap eaten in a police station. 3. Yu-Bi (??) is the Korean name of Liu Bei, the main character of ROTK. Chapter 6: My Ability Is? (1)

Chapter 6: My Ability Is? (1)

Han-Yeol left the hospital and went back home. He then turned on his most expensive asset, which was his old, slow, outdatedputer, and checked for any raids that were going to take ce the next day. He logged in to the website dedicated to Porters. [Lee Han-Yeol¡ªLevel 22] His name and level were visibly disyed on the screen. The level that was disyed here was not a measurement of Han-Yeol¡¯s ability, but rather of his ability as a Porter. The Porter leveling system had been introduced to make it easier for Hunters to filter and hire Porters. A Porter was awarded experience points whenever they joined a monster hunt and survived, and their level increased when they gained the required experience points. ¡®I wish my real level would be Level 22 soon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought wistfully. Hunters preferred to work with high-leveled Porters, as they would have to deal with fewer headaches the more experienced their Porter was. Han-Yeol scoured the website searching for any parties that were going on a monster hunt the next day. However, there were no potential parties he could join, as most of the ones listed were being hosted by useless Hunters. A greenhorn Porter would not mind joining any party as they only wanted to make quick bucks, but experienced Porters like Han-Yeol were very selective about the kinds of parties they joined. Unfortunately, there were no parties going on a monster hunt the next day that caught his eye. ¡®Should I just join any party¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He did not really want to join just any bunch of ragtag Hunters, but that was the only choice he had at the moment if he wanted to go on a monster hunt the next day. In the end, Han-Yeol scrolled through the list and left a message for a party that had been assembled by a Hunter who seemed to have a good reputation, as well as a lot of experience with monster hunting. [I¡¯m a Porter with four years of experience. Do you need a Porter in your party, by any chance?] ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol waited in silence for a moment. [You may join us tomorrow.] He received a reply in less than a minute, and of course, the reply contained the party¡¯s eptance. ¡®As expected. It¡¯s not easy to get a Porter like me, after all,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk on his face. He received the time and location of the meeting before shutting hisputer and heading to bed. He was nning to take a quick nap before heading to work at the factory. ¡®I should quit the factory at the end of the month,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was not an officially recognized Hunter yet, but he felt it was only a matter of time before he became one, and if he did be an official Hunter, the factory would no longer be a source of ie for him. Rather, it would be something that held him back from going out on monster hunts. Just as his eyes were about to close¡­ Ding-dong¡­! ¡°Hmm?¡± The doorbell suddenly rang. ¡®That¡¯s weird¡­ I¡¯m not expecting anyone,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It has been quite a while since he had cut contact with most of the people he knew, as he would not have both the mental and physical energy to hang out and chat with them even if he somehow managed to set some time aside. Besides, he did not want to show other people how miserable his life was, and so he also changed his mobile number after moving to the moon vige. ¡°Yawn¡­¡±?Han-Yeol yawned as he got upzily and dragged his feet toward the door while scratching his abdomen. Step¡­ Step¡­ He opened the door and asked, ¡°Who is¡­?¡± However, nobody was at the door. ¡°Ah, fuck¡­ Who the hell still pulls doorbell pranks nowadays, and in broad daylight too¡­ Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled, and was about to close the door when something caught his eye. ¡®Banana milk? There¡¯s a letter too?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he looked at the two items left on the floor. ¡®Who put these here?¡¯?he wondered before bringing the banana milk and the letter inside. ¡®I hope this isn¡¯t one of those chain letters or something.¡¯?Han-Yeol expected the contents to be like the letters he had used to pull pranks in his younger days. He then scoffed and thought, ¡®That¡¯s not going to work against me.¡¯ He decided to read the letter. As childish as the prank was, he decided to be considerate of the effort they had put in preparing the whole thing. [Dear Han-Yeol ahjussi¡­ I mean, Han-Yeol oppa. I am really thankful to you for saving me yesterday. I could not think of any way to thank you, so I am giving you my favorite banana milk. Thank you so much!] ¡®That kiddo,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. The letter had not turned out to be a chain letter; instead, it was a letter sincerely written by the cute and beautiful high schooler who lived next door to express her gratitude. He could not help but smile, as he found the girl¡¯s actions adorable. He drank the banana milk and prepared to go to work. ¡®Today¡¯s going to be a good day!¡¯?Han-Yeol optimistically started the second half of his day. *** Han-Yeol fulfilled his daily quota faster than anyone else once again. Deok-Su, the factory manager, stood and watched from the second floor, trying to catch Han-Yeol red-handed just in case he pulled any tricks. Of course, Deok-Su could not find any fault in Han-Yeol, as he was not pulling any tricks and was just working at a faster rate due to the buff from the Dismember skill. ¡°Then, I will be off,¡± Han-Yeol said as he confidently clocked out after fulfilling his daily quota once again in two and a half hours. The other workers red at him with eyes full of envy, but the thick-skinned Han-Yeol was not someone to be fazed by that as he clocked out of his shift. ¡®Ah, should I practice a bit before going home?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he walked up the road of the moon vige and passed his house to reach the park. Coo, coo, coo, coo¡­ The park was deserted and eerie as expected, but Han-Yeol had experienced too many things in life and fought against too many monsters right before his eyes for something like that to scare him. Han-Yeol¡¯s nerves had been tempered such that the only time he would actually get scared was if his life were in danger. Han-Yeol sat at the resting hut after arriving at the park, then he assessed his current situation by focusing on himself. ¡®The things I have at the moment are¡­¡¯ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 1 Points: 5 STR: 29 VIT: 35 AGI: 30 MAG: 10 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (F), Sword Master (F), Walking (F), Mana Control (F), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (F), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (F), Body Strengthening (F) ¡®I gathered quite a few skills,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought proudly about his growth-type ability that was different from those of the other Awakened. He had so many skills under his belt even though he had not even gone out on a single official monster hunt as an officially recognized Hunter. However, he could not help but feel nervous. He might have obtained a game-like ability, but monster hunts were reality, not a game; he knew very well that he would have to forfeit his life if he died in reality. Many people registered as Porters every year, and many Porters managed to awaken as well. However, many Porters and many Hunters were also killed in action by the monsters every year. The upation of Hunter guaranteed wealth, fame, and social status; but the death toll rose every year, while those who were lucky enough to escape death ended up being disabled. Working as a Hunter was definitely only for those who were brave enough to bear the risks. ¡®But I have to be a Hunter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clenched his fists. He had to take care of his father, who had devoted his whole life to Han-Yeol and was bedridden due to an unknown illness. Han-Yeol had to be a Hunter at all costs. It did not matter that he was scared, nor did it matter that it was going to be a difficult journey. He had to do it for his father, who was barely hanging on to life. ¡°I¡¯ll never give up!¡± Han-Yeol screamed. Whooosh¡­ Kam! Han-Yeol had been practicing throwing a decent-sized rock at a target he had drawn on an abandoned building. However, his emotions had red up and he ended up putting a bit too much power behind his throw this time. The rock, which had only managed to create small cracks in the building previously, prated the building wallpletely. Ding! [Your continuous training has produced results.] [The rank of Power Strike has risen from (F) to (E).] [You are now able to imbue more mana into objects.] [Your throwing uracy has slightly increased.] ¡®It ranked up,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, surprised. He had not expected his skill to rank up from what he had done. He was amazed, thinking, ¡®So my skills can rank up like this as well.¡¯ He then continued throwing for another hour before heading home, and he started to prepare for the monster hunt that was taking ce the next day. He did have a lot of skills, and even a skill that had ranked up, under his belt; but he was technically attending the monster hunt the next day as a Porter, so he had a lot of things that he had to prepare. The intensepetition between Porters made them provide all sorts of services that were not within their scope; but that had made the Hunters evenzier, and now, the Hunters came to monster hunts empty-handed with only their weapons in tow. The Porters had to prepare and provide food, shelter, and other things that were required for parties to survive in the hunting grounds. ¡®I¡¯ll never be like that.¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve as he finished packing his gear for the next day, before setting an rm and going to sleep for the night. *** The next morning, Han-Yeol woke up due to the rm he had set the previous night. He took a quick shower, then took a taxi together with the gear he had prepared and packedst night. Of course, there was no way that Han-Yeol, who preferred to walk instead of taking the bus to save money, would ever take a taxi normally; but he had so many things packed this time that it was impossible for him to ride the bus, so he was left with no choice but to take a taxi. The ce he went to could be called the headquarters of the Porters. It was located in the city hall building, where they had created a special department called the ¡®Porter Handling Department¡¯. ¡°Calling all Porters designated for Team A-007, departing at 09:00,¡± a staffer from the handling department called out, identifying the party¡¯s code number. ¡°Yes!¡± Han-Yeol and two other Porters responded while raising their hands. ¡°Lee Han-Yeol, Choi Chung-Hyun, and Kim Han?¡± the staffer asked. All of them nodded in response and replied, ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± The staffer received the IDs of the three and verified their identities using their photos before guiding the three to the basement to receive their weapons for the monster hunt. ¡°All three of you have experience working as Porters for over a year, so I will skip over the rules and regtions. In return, I pray that you will return alive and return these guns to us,¡± the staffer said. The three Porters received their weapons and the blessing from the staffer before moving together toward the vehicle rental area. It did not take long for them to get along with each other. ¡°Hello! My name is Choi Chung-Hyun, and I am 26 years old. I was preparing to be a civil servant before I became a Porter to make ends meet,¡± one of the Porters said as he introduced himself. The other Porter followed suit, saying, ¡°Hi, my name is Kim Han and I am 21 years old. It has always been my dream ever since I was young to be a Hunter, so I applied to be a Porter as soon as I graduated high school.¡± Then, Han-Yeol finally introduced himself. ¡°I suppose I am the most senior among us then. I am 28 years old, and I have been working for four years as a Porter.¡± Porters had to spend the whole day together, so most of them usually introduced themselves at the start and tried to get acquainted with the others. It was also not too hard for them to get close and form camaraderie, as they usually went through the same stresses and problems working as Porters. The three of them wrapped up their self-introductions and went to the rendezvous spot with the truck they had rented. ¡°The Hunters aren¡¯t here, as expected.¡± ¡°Come early, my ass. I¡¯d be d if they weren¡¯tte.¡± The Porters grumbled and waited until the Hunters arrived before leaving for the hunting grounds. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Han-Yeol drove the truck, and the hunting ground they were going to was located in what had been known before as the DMZ at North Gyeonggi-do. It boasted the highest concentration of monsters in Korea, and a lot of Hunters made their way there to hunt. ¡°Alright, Hunter-nims. The monsters we will be hunting today are Mad Dogs. As you may know, they might be called ¡®Mad Dogs¡¯, but they¡¯re violent monsters that are asrge as cows, and they¡¯re very agile and strong. They roam around in packs of two or three, so we need to be alert at all times,¡± the manager said. Nod. The Hunters nodded nervously in response. ¡°Haha. There¡¯s no need for you to be so nervous. They¡¯re weakpared to you, and we won¡¯t be having any casualties as long as we don¡¯t lower our guard,¡± the manager said, skillfully calming the Hunters down and showing why he had the title of manager. He was there to make sure that none of the party members were overly nervous, so they would not end up making a mistake that might cost the partyter on. ¡°We¡¯re finally almost at our destination. Let¡¯s get off here,¡± the manager said. Creak¡­ They crossed the CCL of the DMZ, and parked the truck on a wide and vast in. ¡°Shall we get off?¡± The party exited the truck and traversed the ins with the manager guiding them. Grrr¡­ Woof! Woof! ¡°They¡¯re here! It¡¯s the Mad Dogs!¡± the manager called out, alerting the party. The Mad Dogs had used their excellent sense of smell to sniff out the party from a great distance. Three gray Mad Dogs charged fiercely at the party, foaming at the mouth. ¡°Porters! Open fire!¡± the managermanded. Ratatatata! Han-Yeol and the other two simultaneously opened fire, but something felt different about their bullets today. ¡®I should be able to imbue mana into bullets,¡¯?Han-Yeol had thought previously when they were going over their supplies and equipment. He had imbued the bullets the Porters were shooting with mana through his Power Strike skill. Grrrr¡­! Kekeng kekeng! ¡°They¡¯re faltering! Porters, cease fire! Hunter-nims, go ahead and finish them off!¡± the manager ordered. ¡°Haaap!¡±?The five Hunters simultaneously charged at the Mad Dogs. Sukeok! Kekeng! ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± ¡°Why is it so easy?¡± The Hunters were perplexed at how easily they were able to kill the monsters. They had chosen a hunting ground that was slightly easy for them, but they were confused as to why the Mad Dogs, which were famous for their tenacity, had died so easily. ¡°I guess it¡¯s not that bad?¡± ¡°I agree.¡± The manager nodded in satisfaction as their first engagement against the monsters wrapped up and said, ¡°We can kick things up a notch if we keep this up.¡± 1. The DMZ is the border between South Korea and North Korea. 2. CCL stands for ¡®Civilian Control Line¡¯, the closest a civilian can approach before being arrested or turned back. Chapter 7: My Ability Is? (2)

Chapter 7: My Ability Is? (2)

The Mad Dog hunt went easier than they had expected. Sukeok! A Hunter shed his sword at a Mad Dog¡¯s neck. Kekeng! The Mad Dog howled loudly in pain, and its neck spurted out a fountain of blood before it staggered and died. Ding! [Your level has risen.] Han-Yeol¡¯s level went up, and he secretly rejoiced. ¡®Yes! I¡¯m finally Level 2!¡¯ All he had done was shoot his gun a few times and keep the monsters at bay, but his contributions had nheless been acknowledged by the system, and his level had gone up. The Hunters took a break from hunting, sitting in folding chairs one of the Porters had brought and waiting for the Porters to finish dismembering the Mad Dog corpses. ¡°Things are working out very well today, don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°I know, right? Who knew hunting could be this easy sometimes?¡± The Hunters chatted leisurely, but that was not always the case. Rest time on most monster hunts was very quiet, as Hunters usually did not have the energy to chat leisurely. They usually rested in silence or distracted themselves with video games to cope with the stressful situation of having their lives on the line. The Hunters were in a very good mood today because of how smoothly the monster hunt was progressing, and they shared stories with each other to further boost their morale. ¡°Hey hey, do you want to go on a vacation to Europe after this hunt?¡± ¡°Shall we?¡± ¡°Count me in. I¡¯ve just been stuck at home these days. It¡¯s not as if money is an issue, so why don¡¯t we travel the way the other Hunters do? We can go there and sweep the luxury brand shops too.¡± ¡°Great! That sounds like a n!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± While the Hunters were busy dreaming up ns for their vacation¡­ Whiiiiiiing! Three people armed with tools that would normally only be seen at a construction site were hard at work as each of them dismembered a Mad Dog¡¯s corpse. They extracted mana stones from the monsters and ced them in a special container made for them, then finished up dismembering and cleaning the area. ¡°Hunter-nims, the Porters are done. Shall we get moving again?¡± the manager asked with a p after the dismembering job finished. ¡°Ah, really? Alright, let¡¯s go, everyone. It¡¯s time to hunt!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The Hunters got worked up as the hunt progressed more and more easily, and they hunted so diligently that calling them a ragtag party seemed almost unbefitting. ¡°Fire!¡± Ratatatata! The Porters, on the other hand, were extremely busy thanks to the Hunters¡¯ vigor. Hunters usually hunted until they got tired and took multiple breaks in between, which was probably the only time that Porters could catch a breather. However, the Hunters this time were so excited that they only took individual breaks in between. That, in turn, made the Porters have a taste of hell, as they were not given the luxury of rest due to the endless stream of monsters being hunted. ¡°Heok¡­ Heok¡­?We really might die at this rate,¡± one of the Porters said, nearly out of breath. ¡°Hoo¡­ I know, right? What insanity is this? Why the hell aren¡¯t they taking a break as a party?!¡± anotherined. Whiiiiiing! The Porters ended up having to slow down their dismembering speed, as that was the only way they could catch their breath. The two other Porters were grumbling and swearing at the Hunters for their insane hunting pace, but Han-Yeol, on the other hand, focused on his task and dismembered the monsters without saying a word. Whiiiiing! It was at the moment that he finished dismembering a Mad Dog¡­ Ding! [Your skill ¡®Dismember¡¯ has leveled up.] ¡®Yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Han-Yeol had beenpletely immersed in training his skill while the other Porters were about to go crazy from fatigue. Yes, the pace was very quick, but Han-Yeol recovered mana whenever he walked thanks to his ¡®Walking¡¯ skill, so his stamina depleted quite a bit more slowly than the average person. Additionally, his stamina had already been quite good even before he awakened. Ding! [The intensivebor has increased your VIT stat by 1.] ¡®Alright,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, greatly satisfied. There was no way he was going to give in to exhaustion when he knew all his efforts were going to be rewarded by his stats growing. ¡°Porters! What are you guys doing?! Get a move on!¡± The Hunters, ironically, reprimanded the Porters for being too slow. ¡°Y-Yes! We areing!¡± one of the Porters responded. *** The hunt continued. ¡°Fire Cross!¡± One of the Hunters cast a spell, and a wall of fire in the shape of a cross came crashing down on the Mad Dogs. Kekeng! Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Alright! I¡¯m finally Level 4,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a satisfied look on his face. The hunt was almost over, and Han-Yeol had leveled up three times to reach Level 4. He had amassed 20 bonus stat points that he had not allocated yet to any of his stats. ¡®I¡¯ll decide how to distribute these when I¡¯m sure of my fighting style,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The fact that there were only four stats to distribute the points across made Han-Yeol all the more cautious as to how to invest those bonus stat points, because there were no stat-resetting systems in reality, unlike the ones one would find in games. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break!¡± The Hunters finally gave the Porters a break. ¡°Euk!¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying¡­!¡± They were still young men, but the two Porters were sprawled across the dirty ground, as the intense hunting pace had exhausted them. They did not care about rolling in the dirt, as their first priority was to appease their exhausted bodies that were screaming at them for rest. The two Porters looked at Han-Yeol, who did not seem to be tired, while lying on the ground. They asked, ¡°Hyung, aren¡¯t you tired?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. I¡¯ve been doing this thing for four years, so I¡¯m used to it. You don¡¯t usuallye across guys like them, but there are Hunters like that from time to time. That¡¯s why I try to go to the gym and work out at least four times a day. You won¡¯t be able to survive in this industry if your body can¡¯t keep up. That¡¯s why I advise that you go and exercise on your days off,¡± Han-Yeol said, giving a word of advice to his juniors. However, the Porters did not seem to be convinced at all. ¡°Ei¡­ You¡¯re making it too obvious that you¡¯re a boomer.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­ I¡¯m saying this to help you guys,¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. All he had wanted to do was to help his juniors out, but it seemed that they were not interested in his help. ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,¡± his juniors replied, brushing off his words. ¡®Tsk¡­ This is why I don¡¯t like to get involved with other people,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he clicked his tongue. He sincerely wanted to help and get along with other Porters, but his instincts were telling him that these two were not worth wasting his time on. Based on his personality, he would no longer be offering them any help or advice in the future. Han-Yeol sat on a rock some distance away from the others before thinking, ¡®I need to have an urate grasp of the monsters¡¯ strength if I want to hunt alone from now on.¡¯ Perhaps it was because he had been living alone for a long time, but Han-Yeol had automatically started thinking of hunting solo, and he decided that it was going to be important for him to find a way to assess the monsters before attempting to go solo. ¡®Hold on¡­ Maybe¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he suddenly had an idea. He imbued mana into his eyes with the help of Mana Control. Wooong¡­ ¡°Euk!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in pain. His eyes felt dry as if he had kept them open in front of an electric fan for a long time after he injected mana into them. The problem was that the pain felt intense, and the mana he had imbued into his eyes clung to them and did not show any signs of dissipating. ¡°Keuk!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned while covering his mouth and toughed out the pain. Drip¡­ Tears dripped down his cheeks, and the pain eventually subsided. His vision was hazy, and he blinked a few times to refocus his eyes. ¡®Huh?¡¯? His mana was still gathered around his eyes; perhaps because of that, he could see the Hunters¡¯ mana when he turned and looked at them as they leisurely chatted away. At first, he could only see the Hunters¡¯ mana as something akin to white steaming from their bodies. He concentrated and focused his vision once more; then, he could see the mana flowing inside the Hunters¡¯ bodies just like an X-ray. Not only that, he could tell how much mana they had overall, as well as its density. ¡®Does the density indicate the mana¡¯s strength?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It was only a spection, but it seemed right to him, as mana was the source of every Awakened Hunter¡¯s strength. ¡®Then¡­ Can?I also see the monsters¡¯ mana?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered once again. ¡°Break time¡¯s over! Let¡¯s go and hunt again!¡± the manager said, beckoning the Hunters over. ¡°Aishhhh¡­¡± ¡°What the hell is this? We barely even rested!¡± The two Porters grumbled, and Han-Yeol looked at them and said inwardly, ¡®Stop grumbling, you punks.¡¯ Han-Yeol had tried to get along with them at first, but their grumbling andck of respect toward him had made him change his mind, wanting to distance himself from them. ¡°Manager, are there Mad Dogs in this area?¡± a Hunter asked the manager. The manager replied, ¡°Ah, yes there are.¡± He then took out a mana detector from his bag and ran it. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ A mana detector was a device that used mana waves to detect creatures that possessed mana. The device emitted mana waves into its surroundings and detected any mana that reacted to those waves, using the reactions to pinpoint the locations of any creatures. ¡°Three Mad Dogs detected, 1.2 kilometers northwest from here,¡± the manager informed them. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go toward them!¡± the Hunter enthusiastically eximed. ¡°Alright,¡± the manager replied politely. He turned and ordered the Porters, ¡°Oi! We¡¯re moving 1.2 kilometers northwest from here. Get moving!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we heard you,¡± the Porters grumbled. Han-Yeol, who was in charge of driving, drove the truck to the location the manager had given him while continuously looking around the surroundings with mana in his eyes. He thought as he scouted around, ¡®Objects don¡¯t seem to contain any mana, but things like nts and trees have a minuscule amount of mana in them.¡¯ They soon reached the ce where the Mad Dogs were located. ¡°The monsters are on their way here!¡± the manager shouted the moment he spotted the Mad Dogs on the move. One of the Hunters eximed in response, ¡°Alright, stop the truck!¡± The Hunters prepared forbat, and the Porters aimed their guns and prepared to open fire once the order was given. ¡®I can see it!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, as he could clearly see the mana of both the Mad Dogs and the Hunters. Ding! [You have learned how to imbue your mana into a part of your body to strengthen it.] [You have imbued mana into your eyes and can now see the flow of mana.] [A new skill has been created¡ªMana Eyes.] ¡®Mana Eyes?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he checked the skill¡¯s details. [Mana Eyes (F)] Type: Active Description: You may imbue your mana into your eyes to see the mana capacity, flow, and density of the target. ¡®Isn¡¯t this really good?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after reading the skill¡¯s details. He was now able to further improve the ability, as it had turned into a skill that could be leveled up. ¡°Fire!¡± the manager ordered. Ratatatata! Kekeng! Kekeng! The party started their onught against the Mad Dogs once again, and the one who was the most excited about the hunt starting once again was none other than Han-Yeol. *** The party that had started at nine in the morning finally ended when it was around six in the evening. The Hunters who formed parties like this usually took fewer risks and preferredfort over profit or growth, which was why the monster hunt started and ended simrly to office hours. ¡°Thank you for your hard work!¡± However, the party was not aware of Han-Yeol¡¯s interference, and they still believed that the monster hunt had gone so fast because of their own abilities. Indeed, the monster hunt this time had moved quite a bit faster than usual. ¡°Here, 1.4 million for each of you,¡± the manager said as he gave the Porters their pay for the day. ¡°Eh? Ptui!¡±?The two Porters spat on the ground, openly expressing their severe dissatisfaction at their pay. ¡°Hey, does it make sense that we worked multiple times harder than usual and still get paid the same?!¡± ¡°They earned so much today by overworking us. Shouldn¡¯t they pay us more for it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you agree, hyung?¡± Chung Heon and Kim Han grumbled as they tried to coax Han-Yeol to their side, but Han-Yeol did not even bother responding to them. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time asking him. He¡¯s been doing this for four years. He probably thinks it¡¯s best to kiss those Hunters¡¯ asses.¡± ¡°I figured.¡± They had started on good terms at the start, but had slowly drifted apart as the monster hunt went on. Han-Yeol was unable to remain on good terms with them, but his business with them was already finished. He ignored the two and confirmed that his pay had been deposited before leaving the city hall. He no longer needed to get involved in the affairs of Porters, as he was no longer one of them. ¡®I need to increase my level,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he looked down at his hand with his new skill, Mana Eyes, active. He had looked at his hand with Mana Eyes for no special reason, but he realized that his mana density was distinctly inferiorpared to the Hunters from before. He thought, ¡®I still have a long way to go.¡¯ He possessed a lot of skills, but none of them were very helpful inbat. Additionally, the only thing that stood out about his mana was the fact that he possessed excellent mana regeneration, but his mana¡¯s strength and capacity was still very negligible. ¡®I should stick to being a Porter for now and keep increasing my level the way I did today.¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve as he drew up ns in his mind to grow stronger. 1. The term a male would use to refer to an older brother. Chapter 8: My Ability Is? (3)

Chapter 8: My Ability Is? (3)

The next day, Han-Yeol went to the hospital to visit his father¡¯s doctor as he always did. ¡°Have you still not found a cure for my father?¡± he asked. It was the same question he would always ask whenever he went to meet the doctor. However, the doctor¡¯s response was always the same. ¡°I am sorry. We can only dy the progress of the illness with current medical technology, as this is a rare type of cancer that drains the patient¡¯s life force. A normal cancer cell is usually a mutated cell that infects the other cells near it, thus causing a problem once the tumor has grownrge enough; but this cancer works in the exact opposite way. The cancer your father has is growing at an abnormal speed, and it is eating away at the life force of the cells near it. The mechanism of this cancer ispletely different from those we know of¡­ I am sorry.¡± Han-Yeol covered his face with his hands. He had heard the exnation countless times, but it did not change the fact that his heart was torn apart whenever he heard it. His father had never hesitated to do anything for him, but the fact that he could not do anything in return now that his father needed him hurt Han-Yeol a lot. ¡°Why not visit your father since you are here anyway? He should be awake right now,¡± the doctor suggested. ¡°Ah, thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied. His father was always asleep whenever Han-Yeol visited the hospital, but it seemed that he had gotten lucky, as he was told that his father was awake today. Han-Yeol immediately went and filled up the visitor¡¯s form, then changed into a sanitized gown before going to the ICU to pay his father a visit. ¡°Han-Yeol¡­¡± His father¡¯s extremely weak voice called out to him. Han-Yeol grabbed his father¡¯s withered, bony hands that did not have an ounce of strength in them. He said softly, ¡°Father¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you busy? Why did you visit?¡± his father asked. Han-Yeol did not get to visit frequently, and yet his father was always worried that he was causing trouble for his son at his workce; he was also always concerned that Han-Yeol was neglecting work just to make time to visit him. Han-Yeol had lied to his father, telling him that he was working for a mid-sized corporation and that he was doing quite well at work. He did not want to make his father worry whenever he was awake by telling him that he was risking his life as a Porter. ¡°I told you, I am doing very well at work. I told them I would be going out for a while to meet a client, and I decided to drop by and visit you on the way,¡± Han-Yeol lied. ¡°You brat¡­ When did you grow up so fast? Look at you, talking about clients already. This old man of yours won¡¯t have any regrets even if I die today,¡± his father said with augh. ¡°Father! You have worked your whole life. I will take care of you from now on, so you have to get better and let me!¡± Han-Yeol replied. His father always apologized and felt sorry toward him, but Han-Yeol wanted to save his father no matter what. He held his father¡¯s hand and tried infusing his mana through it. He infused his mana into his father with a desperate plea in his heart that it would make a difference and cure him. Wooong¡­ ¡®You have to get better, father¡­ I can¡¯t send you off like this¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pleaded inwardly, looking away to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes. ¡°Hoo¡­ Maybe it¡¯s just because it¡¯s been a while since youst visited, but I feel really good today. I suddenly feel vigorous!¡± his father eximed. Han-Yeol and his father did not realize it, but the numerous scars all over his father¡¯s body that looked as if they had been drawn with a pencil slowly started to disappear. Han-Yeol decided to pour all of his mana into his father before leaving, hoping that his mana would help alleviate his father¡¯s illness even by a tiny bit. It was then that a message suddenly popped up. Ding! [You may heal the body depending on how you utilize your mana.] [A new skill has been created¡ªHeal.] ¡®Heal?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised by the sudden message, and he checked the skill¡¯s details. [Heal (F)] Type: Active Description: The skill infuses your mana into the target to heal their external wounds and regenerate their vigor. He was very happy that a new skill had been created, and he did not waste time as he called out to his Ego System, ¡®Karvis. Will I be able to cure my father if I level this skill up?¡¯ [It is possible in theory.] [There are other skills that can cure illnesses, but you might be able to cure this illness by leveling up your skill and using a powerful version of ¡®Heal¡¯ on the target.] Karvis made an appearance after a long period of absence. She normally waited quietly on the sidelines due to her personality as an Ego System, not saying a word until Han-Yeol asked her something. ¡°Hoo¡­ Han-Yeol¡­ I¡¯m getting sleepy,¡± his father said. ¡°Ah! Father, please rest well. I will definitelye and visit you again,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Hoho, I feel much better going to sleep after seeing my son¡¯s face,¡± his father said with augh. ¡°What are you talking about, father? Just hang on a little bit and you will be able to see my face until you are sick and tired of it,¡± Han-Yeol said seriously. ¡°Alright¡­¡± his father muttered before sumbing to the drowsiness and falling asleep. Han-Yeol looked at his father¡¯s face and gripped his hands tightly as he steeled his resolve, ¡®Father¡­ I¡¯ll definitely cure you. Believe me, I will¡­!¡¯ ¡°Lee Han-Yeol-nim, visiting hours have ended.¡± A nurse opened the door and informed him it was time to go. ¡°Ah, yes. I will get going now,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a sigh before leaving the hospital. He looked up into the sky after leaving the hospital. The sky high above was a deep blue. He thought as he clenched his fists tightly, ¡®I don¡¯t have a lot of time. I need to hurry up.¡¯ His n had been to slowly and safely grow stronger, but he had realized after meeting his father that time was unfortunately not on his side. He had felt his father¡¯s life force slowly being extinguished when he had infused mana into him. Clench¡­! Han-Yeol clenched his fists even more tightly as he resolved, ¡®I have to change all of my ns, even if it will be dangerous. I could end up dying, but what¡¯s the point of living if I don¡¯t push myself and my father ends up dying?¡¯ What he needed now was not a stable ie, but a huge gamble that would strike it big. A gamble could make one lose everything in an instant, but the opposite also held true, as one could also strike it big in an instant. ¡®Alright, I¡¯ll give it a shot. Besides, was there ever a time I nned ahead in life?¡¯?Han-Yeol made up his mind as he sat at a nearby bench and took out a memo pad. ¡®I¡¯ll pass on the Hunter registration for now. It¡¯s tooplicated and it¡¯s just going to take a lot of time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he jotted an entry down on the pad. Of course, he nned to officially register as a Hunter sooner orter. It was just that the registration process was veryplicated, and he would not be allowed to go on any monster hunts until he received his Hunter license. A single second was precious to him right now, and he could not afford to waste time sitting around while waiting for some bureaucratic process to finish. ¡®Also, I have to quit working at the factory,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, adding it to the list. What Han-Yeol needed right now was not to make money, but to level his skills up. ¡®Getting a gun is going to be a stretch¡­¡¯?he thought, clicking his tongue. It would be extremely easy for him if he used a gun and imbued his mana into the bullets, but guns were impossible to procure unless he went through a lengthy legal process. He had heard that there were ways to illegally obtain a gun from the ck market, but Han-Yeol did not have the funds to purchase a gun that would definitely be sold at multiple times the cost of a legal gun. ¡®I need to utilize my skills to the fullest extent. They might not be that powerful, but I do have a lot of them. There¡¯s definitely going to be a way for me to use them efficiently,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he stood up and walked. He had learned that if there was a problem he could not find an answer to, taking a step back and going for a walk would help. He ended up going to a supermarket; as he was passing by the supermarket¡¯s entrance, he saw some street peddlers selling various dubious things. He did not pay much attention to the peddlers as he passed by them. ¡®Eh?¡¯ Han-Yeol stopped for a moment as something caught his eye. That something was a slingshot. ¡®A slingshot¡­?¡¯?he thought. It was not a toy slingshot of the kind sold at the kid¡¯s toy corner, but rather a proper slingshot made out of wood andposite stic that adults would use to hunt for small game. ¡°Grandpa, this is a real slingshot, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked the street peddler. ¡°Of course! I might be old, but I was a slingshot maniac back in the day. But grandma hates these babies and threatened to throw them away. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to sell them off and make some booze money out of them before that hag throws them out,¡± the old peddler replied. Han-Yeol picked up a white slingshot made out of wood and pulled the band attached to it. ¡®Wow, its sticity is no joke!¡¯?Han-Yeol was impressed. He felt that it would be a dependable weapon if he imbued the projectiles with his mana. ¡°Grandpa, how much is this?¡± he asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ Since you¡¯re my first customer¡­ How about 50,000 won? I¡¯ll throw in two bundles of bullets as a service,¡± the peddler replied. Han-Yeol flinched for a moment when he heard the price, but he decided that 50,000 won was not a bad price for a weapon. Thus, he ended up opening his wallet and passing 50,000 won to the street peddler with trembling hands, saying, ¡°¡­Here you go.¡± He then received the slingshot and two bags of steel shot as a bonus. ¡°Please treasure it. I might be selling it because I¡¯m bending to my wife¡¯s wishes, but it was my partner at one point in time¡­¡± the peddler said. ¡°I will, grandpa,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a nod before cing the slingshot and the bullets into his backpack. He then said, ¡°Well, I hope you sell a lot today. Goodbye.¡± ¡°Thanks! Goodbye to you too,¡± the peddler responded. Han-Yeol was delighted by the fact that he had been able to purchase a weapon so soon, and he decided to drop by the supermarket before going home. However, another old street peddler suddenly caught his eye once again. He called out, ¡°Excuse me, grandpa.¡± ¡°Eh? Why are you calling me?¡± the peddler responded. ¡®What the hell? Why would someone selling something ask why I called him¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was perplexed by the old man¡¯s response, but that was not the important thing right now. ¡°Grandpa, are you allowed to sell these kinds of things here¡­?¡± he asked. The peddler suddenly got worked up and retorted, ¡°What¡¯s the problem?! I want to sell them! Who dares toin?!¡± The items disyed in the peddler¡¯s stall looked as dangerous as the old man¡¯s outburst. ¡®I did see on the news a few days back that there were illegal street peddlers selling dangerous things like axes or machetes on the streets¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he looked at the peddler¡¯s wares. Among the items that the old street peddler was selling, there were several normal hunting knives, but he even had knuckle knives and folding military-style knives in his selection. The weapons seemed illegal even in the eyes of Han-Yeol, who had zero knowledge about knives. However¡­ ¡®Excellent. The slingshot can be my ranged weapon, and I can buy some of these knives to use for closebat,¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. Han-Yeol would technically require a license to legally keep such weapons in his possession, but he did not have the luxury of being picky about legal and illegal things right now. These weapons were the best he could do at this point in time when a gun was definitely out of the question. ¡®Which one should I get, though¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered as he observed the knives. The folding knives looked cool, but they did not look as if they would be of much help inbat, so he passed on them. That meant only the normal knives and the knuckle knives were worth considering. ¡®What are you hesitating for¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, then made up his mind. He pointed at a normal knife and a knuckle knife, saying, ¡°Give me these two, please.¡± ¡°That will be 70,000 won,¡± the old peddler said. ¡®Euk¡­ I¡¯m in the red today¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced inwardly, as the money he had saved up for some time had gone down the drain in less than an hour. Still, he had been able to purchase several items and solve his weapon issue thanks to his frugal habits. ¡®I need to invest rather than save up right now,¡¯?he thought to console himself. ¡°I hope you sell a lot, grandpa. Goodbye,¡± Han-Yeol said as he received the knives. ¡°Yeah, yeah, you have a good night too,¡± the old peddler replied while waving his hand. ¡°Thank you.¡± Han-Yeol bowed before he turned around and left, as he had been able to fill his weapon arsenal earlier than expected. Right when Han-Yeol left, four men approached the old street peddler. ¡°Hmm? Do you want to buy some knives?¡± the peddler asked. ¡°Grandpa, we were alerted that someone was selling weapons illegally here. We are confiscating these knives, and you will have toe with us to the station,¡± one of the men, who turned out to be a cop, said. ¡°Ha! What the hell are you talking about?! Who are you to say anything against me?!¡± the peddler screamed at the men. However, one of the men, who had a civil servant ID, did not budge an inch. He told the police, ¡°Hurry up and take him away.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the cops replied as they grabbed the old man from both sides. The old man resisted while shouting, ¡°Let go of me, you bastards! What¡¯s the problem with me trying to make a living?!¡± However, he was no match against the two young, able-bodied policemen. ¡°Tsk tsk¡­ I knew this was going to happen,¡± another peddler remarked. The surrounding peddlers clicked their tongues. They had warned the stubborn old man multiple times that what he was doing was illegal, but he had refused to budge an inch, and now he was getting dragged away by the cops. The civil servant collected all the knives the old man was selling and put them in a bag he had prepared in advance while thinking, ¡®I hope no one bought anything from him¡­¡¯ There were not many people passing by this ce at this hour, and there were even fewer people who would go out of their way toe all the way here just to buy some weapons, of all things. The civil servant closed the bag after collecting all of the knives in it before getting into his car and following the police cars in front of him. The knives he had collected were going to serve as evidence against the old man. Chapter 9: The Hunt (1)

Chapter 9: The Hunt (1)

Han-Yeol returned home after purchasing his weapons, and the first thing he did once he reached home was to check all of his equipment. The equipment he had used when he was a Porter would be quite useful as well if he went out to hunt monsters alone. He went online after he finished checking his equipment, and searched for any trucks he could rent. He could get a truck from the Porter department at the city hall for free, but what he was trying to do right now would be considered unregistered, illegal monster hunting. Getting any support from the government would definitely be out of the picture. That was why he was checking online to rent a truck. [RV Truck¡ªDaily Rent] [500,000 won per day] The RV trucks used to go monster hunting were trucks that were specially modified to suit Hunters¡¯ needs, which was why the daily rental rate was so expensive. ¡®It¡¯s a bit expensive, but it¡¯s an absolute necessity. There¡¯s no way around it,¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly. There was no way around it, as he absolutely needed a truck if he wanted to earn money, and the only way for him to get one was to pay to rent it. Han-Yeol immediately called the rentalpany and requested them to bring the truck the next day by nine in the morning at the location he gave them. He was supposed to pay up front, but he was able to convince them to take the payment the next day when they handed over the truck to him, as he would be paying by cash. ¡®Alright, the truck is ready as well,¡¯?he thought. All of his preparations to go on a hunt wereplete. *** That evening¡­ Slide¡­ Han-Yeol passed a white envelope toward the factory manager, who was giving him a dirty look. ¡°What¡¯s this? Did you write a letter or something so I would treat you favorably?¡± Deok-Su said with a cocky grin. There were a few young kids who came to him with handwritten letters in the hopes that he would treat them better, but Deok-Su ripped their sincere letters to pieces whenever someone brought one to teach them a lesson. However¡­ ¡°It¡¯s my resignation letter,¡± Han-Yeol said with a straight face. ¡°What¡¯s with your tone?¡± Deok-Su raised a brow at Han-Yeol¡¯s informal tone. He was so focused on the way Han-Yeol had said it that he did not even hear the words that had been said. Bam! Deok-Su mmed his fist on his table and stood up in a fit of rage as he screamed, ¡°What?! You bastard! Have you finally gone crazy? Huh? Huh?! This fucking moron dares!¡± Whoosh! Deok-Su swung his hand and tried to p Han-Yeol. He was aware that it might end up turning into a case of corporate violence, but he felt that a social outcast and loser like Han-Yeol deserved to have a taste of reality. Tak! Of course, Han-Yeol easily caught Deok-Su¡¯s hand. Grip¡­! ¡°Aaaaak! Euk¡­ You! Let go of me this instant!¡± Deok-Su screamed while groaning in pain. Han-Yeol did not grip his hand that hard, but for Deok-Su, who was a normal person, it was already strong enough. However, Deok-Su still did note to his senses as he spoke in his usual derogatory tone toward Han-Yeol. ¡°You fucking loser!¡± he screamed as he swung his other hand, but this time it was balled into a fist. Peuk! Deok-Su had put all of his weight and power behind the punch, so the sound reverberated quite loudly when the punch connected with Han-Yeol¡¯s right cheek. . However, Han-Yeol nonchntly rubbed his right cheek with his hand before opening and closing his mouth a few times. He then said in a coldly threatening voice, ¡°You hit me first.¡± Deok-Su tried to free the hand Han-Yeol was holding, but Han-Yeol had other ns. ¡°What¡­?!¡± Deok-Su eximed. Whooosh¡­ Bam! ¡°Kuheok!¡± Han-Yeol threw Deok-Su into the wall, and the manager hit the wall hard andnded on his face. He could only groan in pain, as he was left stunned and barely conscious from the impact. ¡°Euuuuk¡­¡±?Deok-Su rolled on the ground while groaning in pain. ¡°Factory manager-nim!¡± It would be strange if nobody hade rushing in, as the sound that had emerged when Deok-Su hit the wall was quite strong. Deok-Su¡¯s secretary and three other people who had been waiting to enter the office came rushing in. They were shocked by the factory manager¡¯s condition, and they hurriedly approached him to check his condition. One of the senior staffers red at Han-Yeol after checking Deok-Su¡¯s condition, saying, ¡°Hey, you bastard. Have you gone insane?!¡± However, Han-Yeol smiled nonchntly, holding up both of his palms toward the senior staffer as he leisurely said, ¡°I just protected myself when that bastard hit me.¡± ¡°W-What did you say?!¡± the senior staffer eximed, taken aback. ¡°Oh, and,¡± Han-Yeol said as he grabbed his resignation letter from the table and walked toward Deok-Su. He was smiling, but he gave off a chilling aura at the same time, and the senior staffer and the secretary slowly backed away as Han-Yeol got closer to the man. ¡°I think you didn¡¯t hear me a while ago. This is my resignation letter,¡± Han-Yeol said. Munch¡­ Munch¡­ Han-Yeol stuffed his resignation letter into Deok-Su¡¯s mouth, and Deok-Su gagged as his breathing became morebored. Tak! Tak! Han-Yeol tapped Deok-Su¡¯s cheek twice and said, ¡°Try to be better next time, alright? Kekeke!¡± Then, he stood up and leisurely left the office. ¡°T-T-T-That gangster bastard!¡± ¡°Has he gone mad?!¡± ¡°I told you, didn''t I?! That bastard was famous around here for beating kids up when he was in school! I told you he was a good-for-nothing gangster wannabe scum!¡± Just as the senior staffer had said, Han-Yeol had never been a model student in his school days. He had neither been talented nor interested in his studies, and he had gone to a trade school and gone around town beating other kids up for three whole years. He had never officially acted like a gangster, but he had been infamous as someone to avoid messing with. Han-Yeol¡¯s gaze was cold after he left the factory. ¡®Well, I just repaid him for all the shit he gave me,¡¯?he thought. He was someone who would definitely pay back anything done to him, whether it was good or bad. He did not feel relieved or anything, but he knew that anything more than what he had done couldnd him in legal trouble, which was why he decided to be content with that. ¡®All that¡¯s left is to start hunting¡­ Oh right, rations!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had already decided not to choose thefortable route of going to hunt at nine in the morning anding back at six in the evening the way other Hunters did. ¡®I¡¯ll focus on getting stronger and only that. I won¡¯te back until I¡¯m satisfied with myself¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve as he went to the supermarket and bought the cheapest MREs avable. ¡®Preparationplete!¡¯ *** The next day¡­ Han-Yeol woke up early in the morning, as he had gone to sleep early the previous night. He took a quick shower before putting on all of his Porter equipment. He did not forget to bring the weapons he had bought the previous day, and he went to the ce he had specified to the rentalpany. ¡°Mr. Lee Han-Yeol?¡± the rentalpany staffer asked. ¡°Yes, I am Lee Han-Yeol,¡± Han-Yeol responded. A staffer from the rentalpany was already at the ce they had agreed on, and Han-Yeol handed his ID over. ¡°I have confirmed your identity. Here is your key,¡± the staffer replied, then passed the truck¡¯s smart key to Han-Yeol. ¡°Here you go as well,¡± Han-Yeol said, passing a white envelope with ten 50,000 won bills inside to the man. ¡°Can I just pay you for whatever time I exceed if I do not return it in 24 hours?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The man replied, ¡°Yes, you may do that.¡± Then, he blew into the envelope and counted the bills in it. ¡°Hooo!?Alright, that checks out. Have a safe and sessful hunt!¡± He took off his hat and bowed toward Han-Yeol. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be off,¡± Han-Yeol said as he drove the RV truck toward Gangwon-do. If the North Gyeinggo-do DMZ was a hunting ground crawling with mid-tier monsters, then Sokcho in Gangwon-do was a habitat for low-tier monsters. Vrooom¡­! The RV truck let out a loud roar of exhaust as it sped toward Gangwon-do. Sokcho contained many low-tier monsters, and one had to pass a checkpoint manned by the military if they wished to enter the hunting grounds there. ¡°Please show us your ID,¡± a soldier asked. ¡°Here it is,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he passed his Porter ID to the soldier. ¡°I see you are a Porter, but why are you alone?¡± the soldier asked. ¡°I am the advance party. I am supposed to go first and set up the base camp before the main party arrives,¡± Han-Yeol lied. ¡°I understand,¡± the soldier said. He did not seem to suspect anything, as he waved his light baton to signal the gate to open. Creaaaak¡­ The sturdy gate slowly swung open. Vroom¡­ Han-Yeol drove the truck through the gates, and soon arrived at the hunting grounds. He looked around the hunting grounds. The entire area was enclosed within a giant, invisible dome that resembled the forcefields frequently seen in sci-fi movies. Such domes had been put in ce by the aliens to contain monsters, and also to quarantine locations where dimensional gates had appeared, separating them from civilian areas. The domes were truly an example of hitting two birds with one stone, as they acted to prevent monsters from leaving their enclosures while providing Hunters with ces to actively hunt monsters down. Buzzz¡­ Buzzz¡­ The sound of insects noisily buzzing around filled the air as soon as Han-Yeol parked and exited his vehicle. ¡®They said on the inte that this was an Insect Field,¡¯?he thought, recalling the information he had read online. There were insect-type monsters that had crossed over to Earth through dimensional gates, but there were also a lot of cases in which Earth insects had been exposed to the dimensional gates¡¯ energy and mutated into monsters. The dimensional gate in this ce was known to be a habitat of insect-type monsters, and had thus been called an ¡®Insect Field¡¯. ¡®Oh right, I have to distribute my bonus stat points,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The hunt today was not a time for him to joke around, nor was it a time for him to save up his bonus stat points. ¡®Status,¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in his head. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 4 Points: 20 STR: 29 VIT: 36 AGI: 30 MAG: 10 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Master (F), Walking (F), Mana Control (F), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (F), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (F). Two of his skills were E-Ranked now, and he still had 20 bonus stat points to distribute. ¡¯10 points each to STR and MAG,¡¯?Han-Yeolmanded. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 4 Points: 0 STR: 39 VIT: 36 AGI: 30 MAG: 20 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Master (F), Walking (F), Mana Control (F), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (F), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (F). Badump¡­ Badump¡­ He felt his muscles tighten and his heartbeat increase the moment he invested his bonus stat points into STR and MAG. ¡°Hmpfh¡­! Haaa¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol tried to exhale slowly and control his breathing. The shock subsided, and his breathing soon returned to normal. ¡®Now, shall we start?¡¯?he thought as he looked around his surroundings and checked for any traces of monsters in his vicinity. Han-Yeol was certainly going to be ganged up on by monsters if he moved too noisily or plowed through the field with the truck, so he chose to quietly and stealthily move around and find some monsters first. He imbued his mana into his eyes and scoured his surroundings to look for monsters. ¡®Aren¡¯t these footprints¡­?¡¯?he thought as he saw a footprint with numerous holes. It did not seem to have been made on purpose, nor did it seem to belong to a human, so the only answer was that it definitely belonged to a monster. ¡®Is it this way¡­?¡¯?he thought as he carefully followed the footprint¡¯s direction and went into the bushes. Rustle¡­ Rustle¡­ ¡®Hmm¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol stopped when he heard a strange sound from somewhere. Rustle¡­ Whoosh! He instinctively turned around as soon as he heard the sound of somethinging from behind. ¡°Grrrr¡­!¡± ¡®A Vx!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. The monster that had appeared behind him had the body of arge dog and green skin. Its face looked hideous, as it was made up entirely of a mouth divided into four parts. Vxes were monsters that had crossed through dimensional gates, and were ssified as low-tier monsters. ¡®Using the slingshot at this distance isn¡¯t an option,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he took out a chain from his backpack. The steel chain was not something he had purchased; rather, it was something provided for free by the Porter Department to Porters, for them to tie uprge monsters during monster hunts. Han-Yeol had gone to a local hardware store and asked the owner to weld a hook onto the end of the chain. ¡°Grrr..!¡±?The monster growled at Han-Yeol while drooling from its divided mouth. Monsters usually treated humans as food. They saw Hunters as nothing but walking meals, freshly delivered to monster habitats by their own two feet. Tadak! Tak! Rwar! The hungry monster charged at Han-Yeol. ¡°Ha! Restraint!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. Shwaaak! Han-Yeol imbued his mana into the chain, and it flew straight toward the Vx. All he had done was throw the chain in the monster¡¯s direction, but the chain moved through the air by itself, twisting and turning to bind the monster¡¯s body. Shwaak! Then, Han-Yeol pulled on the chain, dragging the monster around helplessly. The Vx was stunned for a moment, unable to move or do anything just as the ¡®Restraint¡¯ skill¡¯s description had said. However, it regained its ability to move almost immediately, as the stun¡¯s duration was very brief. ¡°How dare you!¡± Han-Yeol roared as he stabbed the knuckle knife in his other hand deep into the monster. Puuuk! ¡°Kekeng!¡±?The Vx winced in pain and tried to escape from Han-Yeol. ¡®So you don¡¯t wanna die a quick death, eh?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he mercilessly stabbed away at the monster. Puuk! Puuuk! Puuuk! He just had to stab multiple times if it refused to die the first time. Han-Yeol kept stabbing the monster again and again until it finally stopped moving. Thud¡­! The monster that had just been iling around, trying to escape from Han-Yeol, dropped dead on the ground. ¡®I did it!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Finally! I¡¯m Level 5!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in delight before looking down at his hands. Clench¡­ Then, he balled his hands into fists and clenched them tightly as he thought, ¡®It¡¯s easy. I can do this!¡¯ 1. There¡¯s a cultural barrier here. The Korean version says ¡®??¡¯, which is the end of an informal sentence without any honorifics, but there¡¯s no way to express that in English so we went with ¡®tone¡¯. Yes, Korean can be quiteplicated if you add the honorifics and formalities. 2. Gangwon-do, or Gangwon Province, is one of the provinces of Korea that borders North Korea. Gangwon is the name, and ¡®-do¡¯ stands for province. Chapter 10: The Hunt (2)

Chapter 10: The Hunt (2)

Rustle¡­ A sound suddenly emerged from behind the bushes while Han-Yeol was still rejoicing from his victory. ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he turned around. ¡°Grrrr¡­¡± There were four Vxes prowling a short distance from him, their jaws wide open. It was impossible to tell when they had gotten so close. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed, instantly recognizing the gravity of the situation. He had barely managed to deal with one Vx; there was no way he would be able to deal with all four at the same time. Thus, he wasted no time running away from the Vxes. Graah! Grrraah! The Vxes roared and chased after Han-Yeol. ¡®They¡¯re going to catch up to me no matter what at this rate,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Vxes were much faster than him when it came to running. While he ran, Han-Yeol looked around at his surroundings. He spotted a rock and used it as a stepping-stone to jump up onto a tree, which he used as another stepping-stone to jump to an even higher tree. Ding! [Your quick thinking and nimble movement have created a skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªJump.] He gained a new skill, but he did not have the luxury to go over its details. Kwachik! The Vxes failed to jump onto the tree the way Han-Yeol had; however, they instead chose to chew through the tree trunk with their strong split jaws. They were chopping through the trunk faster than a professional lumberjack would, but Han-Yeol retained hisposure, thinking, ¡®I bought the slingshot exactly for this reason!¡¯ Han-Yeol tucked his chain and knuckle knife into his waist before taking out the slingshot and some steel shot. Shiiiiiik¡­! Han-Yeol loaded the slingshot, aimed at the Vxes, and drew the band back. Then, he imbued the steel shot with mana and activated his skill, Power Strike. ¡®Power Strike!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, as he found it embarrassing to shout the skill name aloud, before letting go of the band and firing the slingshot. Taaak! Whoooosh¡­! Pukeok! The steel shot imbued with mana flew at an incredible speed before prating through a Vx¡¯s body and embedding itself into the ground. ¡®H-Holy¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol could not hide his surprise. The shot had not killed the Vx, but it had been powerful enough to make the monster crawl limply along the ground in agony. ¡®One more time!¡¯?Han-Yeol tried to reload his slingshot, but¡­ Crack¡­! The three remaining Vxes managed to chew through the tree trunk, and the tree started to lean sideways, beginning to fall. ¡®Daaaaamnnn?it!¡¯?Han-Yeol screamed inwardly, but thankfully, he was in a forest. He sessfully jumped onto another tree right before the one he was onpletely toppled over. He would have fallen to the ground and be the Vxes¡¯ food if he had reacted a split secondter. ¡®Hoo¡­ I¡¯m alive¡­! You bastards are dead!¡¯?Han-Yeol red at the remaining Vxes as he finally realized what their weakness was. The Vxes were enraged that their prey had managed to escape, as they ran toward the other tree Han-Yeol hadnded on and started to chew through it as well. ¡®Don¡¯t get so cocky, you monsters!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he fired another shot from his slingshot. Tak! Shiiiiik¡­! Pukeok! ¡°Kekeng¡­!¡±?One of the Vxes winced in pain. Han-Yeol had aimed meticulously this time before firing his shot, and the steel shot had flown urately into the Vx¡¯s mouth and prated through its body before embedding itself into the ground behind the monster. Han-Yeol had managed to incapacitate two of the monsters. He loaded his slingshot once again and aimed it at one of the two remaining Vxes. Pukeok! ¡°Kekeng¡­!¡± There was now only one remaining Vx. ¡®I still have one shot left¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered as he took aim and fired. Tak¡­! Pukeok! ¡°Kekeng!¡±?The fourth Vx winced in pain and copsed on the ground. The four monsters were not dead yet, but they were incapacitated and in extreme pain. Han-Yeol observed the Vxes for a moment before climbing down from the tree holding his knuckle knife. He infused his mana into the knuckle knife and shed the monsters¡¯ necks to dispatch all of them. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol cheered inwardly. Perhaps it was because he was still low level, but he was leveling up at a fast pace. He let out a sigh of relief, thinking, ¡®Hoo¡­ I have to be a bit more careful from now on.¡¯ The unpredictable movements of the Vxes were always a hazard. They were ssified as low-tier monsters, but they were still formidable foes for Han-Yeol, who was still low level and heavily dependent on his skills alone. He was only able to hunt these monsters alone because of his highly efficient skillbinations and the sheer variety of skills he possessed. ¡®Oh right! The mana stones!¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered to collect the mana stones, which he had momentarily forgotten due to the Vxes¡¯ ambush. Hunting solo was a very risky thing to do, but there was one critical advantage to risking it¡ªhe would get to monopolize all the mana stones. ¡®Other hunters would usually use a Porter to extract these mana stones¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while infusing his mana into the other knife he had bought along with the knuckle knife. Woooong¡­ A bluish hue enveloped the knife. Peok! Shhhk¡­ Shhkk¡­ Shkkk¡­ Han-Yeol was easily able to cut through and dismember the Vxes without the help of the special saws produced by crafting-ss Hunters. Of course, that was only possible because the Vx was a low-tier monster, and Han-Yeol possessed a lot of experience in dismembering monsters in addition to his Dismember skill. This was not a job an average Porter could ever dream of doing. Thud¡­ Something suddenly fell to the ground while Han-Yeol was dismembering the monster¡¯s corpse. It was a translucent stone that exuded a purple glow. The crystalline stone was what people called a mana stone. ¡®This guy right here is my mana stone,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Extracting a mana stone for himself felt very different from extracting a mana stone for someone else. The mana stone was a small one, only the size of one knuckle on Han-Yeol¡¯s finger. Mana stones were graded higher therger their size was, but Vxes were among the lowest-tier monsters, so the mana stones they dropped were considered the lowest of the lowest quality. ording to rumors, however, this tiny little stone would be able to project a barrier if worn on the body. ¡®They say this tiny mana stone can fetch almost a million won¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The prices of mana stones varied greatly depending on their size and density, but low-ranked mana stones usually averaged around a million won. ¡®Tsk¡­ They¡¯ll probably undercut me if I sell this at the ck market, though¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. Thinking about selling his mana stones on the ck market already left a bitter taste in his mouth, but since he was not on a legal hunt, he had no choice but to bear the cost, as he had no other way to dispose of the mana stones. He decided, ¡®I¡¯ll just have to increase the quantity.¡¯ Grip. Han-Yeol gripped the knife tightly and steeled his resolve. *** Grrrwah! Grrwaaah! ¡°Hap!¡± Han-Yeol went around the vicinity, focusing on hunting down the Vxes. Shwiiiik! Han-Yeol threw his chain and bound a Vx, before yanking the chain and mming the monster against a tree behind him. Peok! Kekeng! Another Vx took the opportunity to lunge at Han-Yeol, trying to chew his head off with its hideous-looking jaws. ¡®You dare!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. Pukeok! ¡°Kekeng!¡±? The Vx winced in pain as Han-Yeol spun nimbly and avoided its jaw before stabbing his knife deep into its neck. The monster squirmed in agony when Han-Yeol attacked the weak spot on its neck. Wooong¡­ Then, Han-Yeol infused more mana into his knife. Shhhhk! The Vx copsed lifelessly onto the ground after being stabbed by the mana-infused knife. Grrwah! Grrwah! It was then that the Vx Han-Yeol had previously flung into a tree finally came back to its senses after being stunned, and it charged at him once more. ¡®Restrain!¡¯?Han-Yeol used his skill. Shwiiiik! He threw the chain in his left hand once again and bound the monster. Then, he pulled the stunned monster through the air toward him, using the monster¡¯s momentum to sh it all the way from its mouth down to its midsection with his mana-infused knife. ¡°Kekeng!¡±?The monster winced loudly. It did not die from the attack, but it was left barely alive, trembling on the ground in agony like a gutted fish out of the water. Pukeok! ¡°Hoo¡­¡± Han-Yeol finally rxed after he dispatched the final Vx by stabbing its weak spot. He muttered, ¡°Every single hunt is a fight for survival¡­¡± Plop! Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Han-Yeol sat down on the ground and took out a water canteen from his bag, then gulped half of it down in one go. Then, he poured the remaining half over his head to cool off his body. He had hunted so intensely that steam rose from his body. However, he did not have the luxury to loiter around and rest like this. He had to quickly dismember the corpses and extract the mana stones, as there were bound to be Vxes nearby that would smell the blood ande running toward him. As such, he took out his knife and stabbed a Vx¡¯s corpse. Peuk! Ding! [Your repeated action has created a skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªStab.] ¡®Stab?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head and checked the skill details. [Stab (F)] Type: Passive Description: You may infuse additional mana into your weapon when performing a stabbing motion regardless of the weapon type used. The damage dealt by your stabbing attacks will increase. Ding! [Your repeated use of a dagger-type weapon has created a skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªDagger Mastery.] ¡®Dagger Mastery on top of that?!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in surprise. [Dagger Mastery (F)] Type: Passive Description: Your proficiency with dagger-type weapons will increase. Your movements will receive an assistance buff. ¡®Yes! Today¡¯s my lucky day! Who knew I would get two new skills at once?!¡±?Han-Yeol rejoiced. He maintained the momentum from obtaining two new skills and immediately started to extract the mana stones from the Vxes lying dead on the ground. Click¡­ ck¡­ Click¡­ The sound of mana stones bumping into each other in his bag was music to his ears, and he could not help but feel his adrenaline pumping whenever he heard it. ¡®But¡­¡¯? The mana stones were going to give him a hefty profit, but Han-Yeol could not help but feel his heart break into multiple pieces at the sight of the Vx corpses littered across the ground, which he would be leaving behind. ¡®These could also be turned into money if I brought them to a factory¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. Mana stones were so valuable that trading them on the ck market would still prove to be a lucrative business, but monster corpses were less lucrative than mana stones, as one would need a huge factory just to process them into something of value. Hunters usually signed an exclusive agreement with a factory to sell their trophies to, but that was only possible for officially licensed Hunters. The regtions surrounding the processing and sale of monster parts were highly restrictive due to the fact that some monster parts could be turned into dangerous weapons. ¡®I¡¯ll definitely have to be an official Hunter and turn these babies into cash next time,¡¯?Han-Yeol resolved. He felt as if he might die from stress if the corpses went to waste every time he came to hunt. He finished everything he had to do before entering his truck, and moved to hunt for more Vxes onest time. *** Ding! [Your level has risen.] [The skill ¡®Restrain¡¯ has leveled up.] ¡®I¡¯m finally Level 8,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a satisfied look on his face. He had diligently hunted the Vxes and ended up doubling his level in one trip, and had gained 20 bonus stat points to allocate. ¡®What should I invest these into¡­?¡¯?he pondered. He thought long and hard about that question, before finally deciding to equally distribute five points into all his stats excluding LCK. He had thought about investing all of it into his MAG stat because he burned through his mana very quickly due to his frequent use of skills, but he could still recover mana through the skill ¡®Walking¡¯, and he needed to boost his physical abilities to be able to use his skills more efficiently. Badump¡­ Badump¡­ The moment he allocated the bonus stat points, his heart started to beat powerfully and he could feel his muscles start to change. The strange sensation reminded Han-Yeol that all of this was not a video game, and rather was actually happening in reality, as he would probably not feel a thing whenever he allocated bonus stat points if it were a game. His stats were basically a reflection of his physical capabilities, so it made perfect sense that he would feel any changes his stats made to his body. ¡®Hooo¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol breathed out after some time passed, and his beating heart slowly calmed down. Then, hemanded mentally, ¡®Status.¡¯ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 8 Points: 0 STR: 44 VIT: 41 AGI: 35 MAG: 25 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (F), Mana Control (F), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (F), Jump (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F). ¡°Ahhh¡­ Let¡¯s take a break¡­¡± Han-Yeol said after checking his status window. Thud¡­ Han-Yeol entered the truck and sat in the driver¡¯s seat, finally deciding to end the monster hunt after reaching Level 8. He was so exhausted that he wanted to lie down, but he decided against it, as he was still in the hunting grounds and had to remain alert to his surroundings. ¡®Hmmm?¡¯?He raised a brow as he saw a strange-looking fruit hanging from a tree, wondering, ¡®What¡¯s that¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol prided himself greatly on having gone to most hunting grounds in the country while working for years as a Porter, but he did not recall ever seeing a fruit that looked like the one hanging from the tree. ¡®It looks interesting¡­?¡¯?he thought as he stared at the red fruit, which was shaped like a heart and marked with yellow polka dots. As he observed the mysterious fruit that resembled a peach, he muttered inwardly, ¡®It gives off the same feeling as a poisonous mushroom, though¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol felt toozy to go all the way to the tree, so he infused his mana into his chain and lightly threw it toward the fruit, thinking, ¡®Restrain.¡¯ He used his skill to pull the mysterious fruit toward him, feeling confident in his throwing control as he had thrown his chain countless times during the monster hunt. However, the chain was way off the mark, as this was the first time he had thrown it without any power behind it. Thud¡­! ¡®Ah... Damn it¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol cursed inwardly as the chain failed to snag the fruit, only managing to tap it before sending it falling to the ground. Chapter 11: The Hunt (3)

Chapter 11: The Hunt (3)

Ding! [Your continuous use of a chain has created a new skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªChain Mastery.] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol was confused by the sudden creation of a skill. ¡®Chain Mastery¡­¡¯?he muttered in his mind as he read the skill¡¯s details. [Chain Mastery (F)] Type: Passive Description: Your proficiency over chain-type weapons will increase. The damage dealt by your chain attacks will increase. Your movements will receive an assistance buff. ¡®I¡¯m getting all sorts of weird skills now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with an awkward smile. The skill not only allowed him to use the chain to restrain targets, but also let him use his chain offensively. He felt grateful and dumbfounded by its creation at the same time. ¡°Oh well.¡± Han-Yeol sighed and thought, ¡®I guess it¡¯s time to get up¡­!¡¯?He had to get up and check the mysterious fruit that had fallen to the ground anyway. Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Han-Yeol lightly dusted the fruit after picking it up, thinking, ¡®What the hell are you?¡¯ He could not discern the identity of the fruit no matter how many times he observed, smelled, and touched it; but he did not dare to eat it, as the dots on it resembled those of a poisonous mushroom. ¡®Hold on, maybe¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before infusing his eyes with mana. ¡®Mana Eyes.¡¯ He looked at the mysterious fruit, thinking, ¡®There¡¯s a huge concentration of mana in it!¡¯ The objects Han-Yeol observed with Mana Eyes usually only had a minuscule amount of mana within them. Han-Yeol checked the other objects around him after seeing the mana within the mysterious fruit, just to check whether his skill was working properly or not. He looked back and forth between the mysterious fruit and the trees, but the only special thing he saw was that the trees possessed a little bit more mana than those outside the hunting grounds. ¡®But this fruit possesses a huge concentration of mana¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, perplexed. He did not possess any skills at the moment that could reveal the details of a target. [The rank of ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯ will need to increase before you can observe the target¡¯s details.] [You will receive the M rank, which stands for Master, if your skill ranks up from A.] [The skill might evolve or create apletely new skill once you reach the M rank.] [You will need to experience it yourself topletely understand the concept.] ¡®That was what Karvis told me before. The only answer is to keep using my skills whether I like it or not,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he put the mysterious fruit in his backpack. He would be able to solve the mystery surrounding the fruit one day. ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± He raised a brow as a Vx emerged from the bushes after he got into his truck. ¡®Look at this punk! You dare disturb my rest?¡¯?He smirked confidently as he exited the truck. He was about to take out his slingshot when he suddenly noticed his chain and thought, ¡®I can now attack with my chain thanks to Chain Mastery, right¡­?¡¯ Whoosh...! Whoosh¡­! Whoosh¡­! Han-Yeol whirled his chain in a circle while observing the Vx. Grrwaaah! The Vx charged and lunged at him, but Han-Yeol swung his chain at the same time and mmed it into the monster¡¯s body. Puek! Kekeng¡­! It was impossible for a monster to change course in midair if it did not have any flight capabilities. The Vx flew a great distance before mming against a tree and falling to the ground. Tremble¡­ Tremble¡­ ¡®Eh? One hit?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised at the damage he had just dealt. The monster had not immediately died, but it was left incapacitated, which made it impossible for it to avoid the knuckle knife Han-Yeol stabbed into its neck. Puuuuk! ¡®This is amazing¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought excitedly. His arsenal had been diversified even further; now, he could use the slingshot to attack enemies at long range and use the chain to deal with enemies at mid-range. Previously, the chain could only be used to restrain an enemy, but it was now able to deal a significant amount of damage as well. Han-Yeol did not forget to extract the mana stone and load the Vx corpse into the truck. Crack¡­ Crack¡­! It was only his first hunt, but he seemed to have pushed himself too far, as his whole body ached and his bones creaked and cracked. He did not feel particrly tired, but his body screamed for rest. ¡®I¡¯ll end the hunt here,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, deciding to wrap things up. Today was not the only time he could hunt; the hunting ground was a ce he could always return to as long as he stayed alive. ¡®I shoulde as an official Hunter next time,¡¯?he resolved. He had gone on an illegal hunt this time because he needed to make some quick cash and increase his level. There was no guarantee that he would be able to keep it up and get lucky by not getting caught, however. Besides, he also needed to be able to legally cash in on the monster corpses. Thus, he made a resolution toe back the next time as a fully-fledged official Hunter. Vrooom¡­! Han-Yeol drove the truck back to the military checkpoint. He had to answer a few questions they had for him before they would let him pass and leave the hunting grounds behind him. ¡°It looks all clear, Sarge,¡± a soldier said after searching Han-Yeol¡¯s truck. ¡°Pass,¡± the sergeant said, and the gates opened as he spoke. The reason why the security checks were so stringent was that it waspletely illegal under any circumstances to capture a live monster and smuggle it back to the city. The soldiers had been tasked to check if there were any live monsters being smuggled out of the hunting grounds. That was the reason why Han-Yeol had loaded a few Vx corpses into the truck, even though he would not be able to sell them. ¡®They would definitely be suspicious if a truck that had gone out to hunt came back without any monster corpses loaded into it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he leisurely passed through the security checks. He went to a secluded area afterward to bury the Vxes before going home. That was how Han-Yeol¡¯s first ever monster hunt concluded. *** A day passed. It was already noon by the time Han-Yeol woke his fatigue-ridden body up and prepared to leave his house. The ce he went to was an underground ck market he had first heard of while working as a Porter, from another Porter who dealt in illegal goods. The ck market was tucked away from the public eye underneath a busy marketce in Seoul. This ce not only dealt with illegally obtained mana stones, but also with all sorts of other contraband. Han-Yeol walked around the ck market a few times, before entering a shop that he had decided was the best one. Inside, an olddy behind a counter asked, ¡°How can I help you?¡± Rustle¡­ Tatatak¡­ ck¡­ Han-Yeol silently took out all of the mana stones he had extracted from the Vxes and ced them on the table. The olddy behind the counter, who looked to be in her 60s, suddenly raised a brow; the mana stones Han-Yeol had taken out seemed to have piqued her interest. She put on a pair of magnifying spectacles that were hanging from her neck and observed the mana stones, remarking, ¡°You must be quite a skilled Hunter judging by the sheer amount of mana stones you brought, but why are you trading these on the ck market?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± Han-Yeol replied curtly. ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. All I have to do is to pay you for these, after all. That was my mistake,¡± the olddy said before cing the mana stones on a special weighing scale. [22,170,000] The weighing scale was a device manufactured by crafting-ss Hunters that measured the density of mana stones, and the number that appeared on the scale was the final price those stones would be traded for. ¡®Damn it¡­ I brought 24, but they¡¯re only worth 22,170,000 won. As expected of the Vxes. That¡¯s why those guys aren¡¯t famous at all¡­ Tsk¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue inwardly. Not all of the mana stones held value. In fact, out of the thirty Vxes Han-Yeol had hunted, six of them had produced damaged mana stones. The 22,170,000 won figure had emerged because those damaged stones were mixed into the pile. ¡°You seem to have hunted Vxes. They¡¯re quite infamous for their damaged mana stones¡­ But the fact that you still went ahead and hunted them down means there¡¯s something fishy about you,¡± the olddy said with a grin. ¡°Shut up and give me my money,¡± Han-Yeol shot back curtly. ¡°You are aware of how the ck market works, right? The real price outside might be 22.17 million won, but I¡¯ll buy them for half the price at 11 million won,¡± the olddy offered sharply. ¡°Euk¡­¡±?Han-Yeol could only groan. He would only have had to pay a 10% tax if he sold the mana stones directly to the government, but the ck market took a whopping 50% of the total amount and rounded down the other digits aside from the first two. It might have been unfair to sellers, but most sellers who came to the ck market were troublesome figures, and no other ces would be willing to ept their wares. That was exactly why the ck market merchants held the upper hand against them. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll sell it for that,¡± Han-Yeol said, epting the offer. ¡°Hehe. Good thinking, young man,¡± the olddy said with augh. She took out an envelope that contained 11 bundles of 1 million won each, then passed it to Han-Yeol. ¡®Finally!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. The amount might have been far below what he would have received if he sold them properly, but the money in his hands at that moment was thergest amount of cash he had ever touched in his entire life. ¡°Fwuuuuuh¡ªhaaaaa¡­!?This! This smell of money!¡± Han-Yeol eximed as he sniffed the bundles of cash one by one. He took in an especially deep breath when he reached thest two, and the smell of freshly printed bills filled his nostrils. ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re a funny one. Come again if you need anything from me,¡± the olddy said. However, Han-Yeol snapped, ¡°No way, granny. Did you really think I woulde here again?¡± An ordinary person who saw Han-Yeol speaking to the olddy would probably think he was a bastard with no manners at all. However, anyone who knew how the ck market worked would not find his actions strange at all. All of the people who came to the ck market, whether to buy or sell, were people with checkered pasts. The olddy Han-Yeol had just dealt with had also been a Hunter in her younger days, before she lost her mana due to her age. She had been one of the so-called ¡®ck Hunters¡¯, Hunters who were infamous for stealing and robbing other Hunters. She had used the money she saved up and the connections she had made to enter the ck market and set up shop. ¡°I would easily have killed someone like you back in the day,¡± the olddy said with a sinister smile as she reminisced about her glory days. ¡°Then you should¡¯ve killed me back in the day,¡± Han-Yeol shot back before adding, ¡°Then I¡¯ll get going.¡± He left the shop in a good mood, his steps light. He thought, ¡®I should pay off the pending medical bills with this money before anything else.¡¯ Han-Yeol had always done his best to work two jobs to make ends meet, but treating his father¡¯s rare illness that had no cure in sight was like pouring water into a broken jar. The illness was a rare form of cancer, to be exact, so the doctors had tried every single treatment avable with modern medical technology. The costs of those procedures had added up to hundreds of millions of won. Of course, not all of the hundreds of millions of won remained as debts. Han-Yeol had paid most of them off with the money he had earned from risking his life as a Porter. However, a significant amount of the debt was still left over, and he would have to use all of the money he had just earned to repay the outstanding amount. ¡®I¡¯ll be able to pay back my debt in no time at this pace,¡¯?he thought as he balled his hands into fists and clenched them tightly. He was already nning to hunt the way he just had from now on, so money would no longer be an issue for him. ¡®First, I have to go visit my father,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He could not cure his father¡¯s illness with his Heal skill, but he had still found out that it greatly helped his father¡¯s condition, so he wanted to go and cast the skill on his father again. ¡°Father, I havee to visit,¡± Han-Yeol said as he entered the ward, but only silence greeted him. ¡°¡­¡± There was no way that a miracle would happen twice in a row. His father was asleep by the time Han-Yeol visited him. Han-Yeol turned his father over the way he always did to prevent his skin from blistering. He then began massaging his father¡¯s back and wiping his body clean with a towel. The nurses usually handled that task, but Han-Yeol did it whenever he visited nheless, as it would be beneficial for his father. ¡°Father, I earned a lot of money today. You do not have to worry about your hospital bills anymore. So please¡­ Please do not leave me,¡± Han-Yeol pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes. He had resolved not to cry before he came to the hospital, but he could not hold his tears back after seeing his father sleeping motionlessly. After he finished massaging his father, it was time for him to do what he hade for. Han-Yeol held his father¡¯s hand and muttered, ¡®Heal.¡¯ Woooong¡­ Han-Yeol closed his eyes and focused on infusing as much mana as he could into his father. His continued use of mana, paired with the Mana Control skill, allowed him to have better and more efficient control of his mana. That, in turn, tranted into him being able to further amplify the effect of his Heal skill. ¡®I have to keep going until visiting hours are over!¡¯?he thought, gritting his teeth. Heal was a skill that consumed a lot of mana, and he could not help but feel dizzy after using Heal for an extended period of time. ¡®Eu¡­ Eup¡­!¡¯?He forced his nausea back down, despite his churning stomach. ¡®Not yet! Not yet!¡¯?He gritted his teeth and pushed on despite the headache and nausea. He had to finish before the nurse came in once visiting hours ended. Woooooong¡­! Han-Yeol kept infusing his mana into his father using the Heal skill for quite some time. Cold sweat started to form on his forehead, while his face slowly started to look more haggard. It was the price he had to pay for overusing his mana. ¡®Euk..!¡¯?he groaned. Just then, the nurse came to inform him, ¡°Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, visiting hours have ended.¡± ¡°Hap¡­ Haa-ap¡­ Hap¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol started to breathe heavily, stopping his use of Heal as soon as the nurse came in. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Mana Control¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] [The rank of ¡®Heal¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] ¡°Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­ Hoooo¡­¡±? Han-Yeol breathed raggedly. A delightful notification had popped up notifying him that two of his skills had leveled up, but he could not rejoice over it at all; he was barely conscious due to the side-effects of overusing his mana. ¡°Mr. Lee Han-Yeol?¡± the nurse called out. ¡°Ah¡­ Hak¡­ Hak¡­?I will get going soon¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡°¡­Sure,¡± the nurse replied, looking at Han-Yeol as if he were a crazy person. There was no reason for anyone to be out of breath in the ICU. ¡®Has he finally gone mad¡­?¡¯?the nurse thought out of concern. It had already been four years since she started working at the ICU, and Han-Yeol¡¯s father was the first patient she had begun taking care of, so she felt a special attachment to the father and son duo. ¡®Sigh¡­ I can only imagine how a son who has been taking care of his father for the past four years without even knowing what the name of the illness was would feel¡­¡¯?the nurse thought as she looked at Han-Yeol with eyes full of pity. She knew better than anyone that it waspletely expected for Han-Yeol to gave gone crazy after so long. ¡°Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, you should not do anything drastic no matter how hard life bes!¡± the nurse cautioned Han-Yeol. ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in confusion as he thought, ¡®What the hell is she talking about¡­?¡¯ ¡°Hang on! Fighting!¡± The nurse sincerely cheered Han-Yeol on before going to check up on another patient. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol was left standing there absolutely confused about what had just happened. ¡®What the hell was that all about¡­?¡¯ 1. ¡¯Fighting¡¯ or ¡®???¡¯ is a cheer in Korean, used as a way to cheer someone up. Chapter 12: The Hunt (4)

Chapter 12: The Hunt (4)

Han-Yeol returned home after exhausting his mind, body, and mana. It was only after sleeping for twenty-four hours straight that he finally woke up and moved his exhausted body. His body felt heavy, just like a lump of lead, and he found it difficult to move. ¡°Yawn¡­!¡±?He yawned and got up. His body was still riddled with fatigue even after sleeping for so long. He grumbled, ¡°I slept for twenty-four hours, but I still feel tired. Are the side-effects of using up my mana always going to be this bad?¡± Han-Yeol slept around five hours every day, and even if he slept in due to exhaustion, it would only take an additional hour or two at most. However, the fact that he had slept for twenty-four hours continuously meant that he was not only dealing with physical exhaustion. He thought it was possible that he was experiencing ¡®Mind Shutdown¡¯ syndrome, after squeezing his mana out to thest drop. Still, twenty-four hours of sleep was too long, despite the fact that he had recovered some of his mana on the way back home. ¡®I have to pay extra attention to my mana next time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, as he now knew that his ¡®Walking¡¯ skill would be limited in the event of Mana Down. ¡®Ah, let¡¯s apply for the Hunter evaluation first. I¡¯ve taken care of the urgent stuff and?dyed father¡¯s?illness from progressing, so I should officially be a Hunter and start earning legitimate money,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he walked toward hisputer. He booted theputer up and went to the Hunter¡¯s Association website, then entered his identification code and applied for the Hunter evaluation test. ¡®So?it¡¯s three days from now. What should I do until then¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He stretched his tired body and moved his neck from side to side before suddenly thinking about his father¡¯s illness. ¡®Isn¡¯t there any way to cure father¡¯s illness in one guaranteed shot¡­?¡¯ Curing his father¡¯s illness was his top priority now that he had three days to spare. He was prepared to live his whole life in hiding while hunting illegally if it meant he would be able to cure his father¡¯s illness. ¡°Karvis.¡± Han-Yeol called out to the Ego System, as Karvis would not speak unless he called for her first. [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] ¡°Is there a way to treat my father¡¯s illness? If my Heal skill might be able to help, is there a way for me to quickly level it up?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [There is a way.] Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes opened wide when he heard Karvis¡¯ response. He quickly asked, ¡°R-Really¡­?¡± [Yes.] [I did not tell you because you did not ask me, but you do not necessarily have to keep using the skill to level it up.] [Of course, in the case of physical skills, you have to train your body, perform any actions indirectly rted to the skill, or use the skill often.] [Your passive skills will level up when you repeatedly perform any actions rted to them, however.] Karvis only seemed to be quiet because Han-Yeol did not speak to her often, but she was quite talkative once she started talking. She started spitting out assorted information rted to skills non-stop. ¡°Indirect?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Hmm¡­ Ah! I will use the support skill ¡®Heal¡¯ as an example, since Han-Yeol-nim is trying to level it up.] [The ¡®Heal¡¯ skill is rted to repairing the human body.] [Thus, it will be possible to level up the skill if you read medical literature and expand your knowledge rted to the human body.] ¡°...!¡± Han-Yeol could not hide his surprise. He thought, astonished, ¡®I can level my skills up just by reading books?!¡¯ [Yes, although I do not know the reason why.] [That is how the system has been designed.] ¡®Then I absolutely have to do it!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. Combat-type skills required Han-Yeol to risk his life by repeatedly using them at the hunting grounds, but reading a book was definitely a much easier method to level a skill, since there was no need for him to risk his life. This time, the ¡®battleground¡¯ Han-Yeol had to go to was not one of the hunting grounds, but rather the library near his ce that had multiple air-conditioners. ¡®Let¡¯s go!¡¯?Han-Yeol cheered enthusiastically. He was the type of person who would act first instead of putting things off forter. He changed quickly and prepared to go out, then left and went to the library. The library had been around for decades, but continuousints from the people had forced the government to renovate it and open it anew this year. It was also the ce Han-Yeol had frequented in his primary school days to borrowic books. ¡®How long has it been since I wasst here?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a hint of nostalgia. However, thatsted only for a few seconds before he quickly entered the library building. He checked the information board in the lobby on the 1st floor before going up to theprehensive archives located on the 3rd floor, then looked for the books he needed. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Medical books¡­ Medical books¡­ Where is it¡­¡¯?he thought as he scanned the ce. The medical books he was looking for were not those used by medical students, but those used in regr schools that were easier for an ordinary person like him to understand. The library made Han-Yeol feel awkward and out of ce. Although he had frequently visited it when he was younger, he had gradually stopped once he got older as the realities of life caught up to him. Eventually, he found a total of ten books that he needed. He then picked a spot at a nearby table and sat down. Flip¡­ There were a lot of people at the library, even though it was noon on a weekday. All of them seemed to be absorbed in their books, and appeared highly focused. However, the truth of the matter was that they were there just to read their own books, and they were only using the library because it was convenient and quiet; not that that was illegal or anything. ¡®All of them must be preparing for the civil servant exam,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he nced around. He always watched the news no matter how busy his life was, because he had always maintained a glimmer of hope that he would be able to hear of a new cure that could potentially treat his father¡¯s illness. That habit of watching the news had made him aware of all sorts of issues. The economy of Korea was undergoing a recession, so there was a boom of people applying to be civil servants. ¡®Figures. No matter how much money Hunters can earn, the process of bing one is pretty tedious and difficult. They have to be Porters first and join in on monster hunts to be able to be Awakened, which is a prerequisite to bing a Hunter. Most people who have experienced risking their lives as Porters while being looked down on by Hunters would definitely give up and try to be civil servants instead.¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced, recalling memories of wanting to quit countless times. He had not minded being looked down on by Hunters, but the main reason he had wanted to quit was because he had experienced countless near-death situations. ¡®Who will take care?of father?if I die?¡¯?was the thought that had always entered his mind whenever he wanted to quit. However, in the end, he had decided to keep going. ¡®Well, I got lucky in the end,¡¯?he thought. He had almost died countless times, but he had survived, and had even managed to awaken in the end. ¡®I probably would have preferred to be a civil servant instead of going through all that shit just to be a Hunter if I had been born in a normal household,¡¯ he thought, and that felt somewhat bittersweet. The world was changing. The economy that had once depended on fossil fuels now relied on a new form of energy derived from mana stones, and the power possessed by a nation had begun to be decided by the quality of the Hunters they possessed instead of their military might. A lot of jobs had been created because of the change, although a lot of jobs had disappeared as well. The ones who had noticed the change and grabbed the opportunity had managed tond a spot in the new industries, but most normal people who worked paycheck to paycheck had been unable to adapt to the changes that had happened to the world overnight. Those sudden changes had increased the poprity of stable jobs. Civil servant positions, which were already the most popr jobs in Korea, had seen the highest increase in poprity. However, the changes had also further increased the wealth gap, as money had be even more concentrated in the possession of the elite few. ¡®That¡¯s not what¡¯s important to me right now.¡¯?Han-Yeol shook his head as his train of thought started to drift into the political domain. The people around him in the library trying to be civil servants were not what was important to him right now. He needed to focus all of his efforts on finding a cure for his father¡¯s illness. Thus, he checked the title of the book in front of him. [A Study of Rare Diseases] ¡®Rare diseases¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he flipped a page. Flip¡­ He turned the first page, but its contents were not as impressive as the title of the book implied. The content of the book was simplified to give the reader an introduction to medicine, but there was not much that could prove helpful for Han-Yeol. [All kinds of rare diseases follow certain mechanics, ruled by the samews. We must understand and resolve those mechanics to help the countless people dying from those rare diseases.] The book started with those words. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol started to read the book diligently. Some time passed since he began reading, and he managed to read a significant proportion of the books. His readingprehension speed was normally very fast, due to his habit of reading fantasy novels in his school days. However, he struggled to read the medical books quickly, as he had no medical background and there were someplex words included that took him a while to understand. Still, he slowly managed to read through all of the books. ¡®I think I¡¯ve made some good progress,¡¯?he thought. Suddenly, however¡­ Ding! [Your continuous reading of medical textbooks has increased your medical knowledge.] [Your newfound knowledge has contributed to its rted skill.] [The proficiency of ¡®Heal¡¯ has greatly increased due to your newfound knowledge.] A message popped up, before another message quickly followed suit. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Heal¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] Heal had ranked up from E to D. It was astonishingly fast progress, if hepared it to his other skills that were still at rank F or E at most. He was greatly pleased with Heal¡¯s fast progress, as what mattered more than earning money for him was the treatment of his father¡¯s illness. ¡®Yes! So this is what Karvis meant when she said that gaining knowledge would help rank skills up!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. Karvis had already told him how it worked, but seeing it personally still shocked him, and he decided not to waste any time and take full advantage of it. He read all of the books he could get from the shelves, nning to maximize the four days he had left before his Hunter evaluation test. Ding! [Your continuous reading has enhanced your mind and increased your rate of absorbing knowledge.] [A new skill has been created¡ªInfinite Library.] ¡®Infinite Library¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he read the skill¡¯s details. [Infinite Library (M)] Type: Passive Description: A library rumored to contain all of the knowledge in the world. Its fame has traveled across the world, although no one has been able to see it yet. It will increase the user¡¯s ability to absorb knowledge, as well as the proficiency gained by the user for gaining knowledge rted to a skill. You may witness a miracle if this skill levels up and evolves into another skill¡ªalthough the chances of that are slim to none. ¡®This is interesting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after he read the skill¡¯s details. It was his first time obtaining an M-ranked skill. The skill¡¯s description was nothing short of a riddle and he understood almost nothing about it, however. The only thing he could do at that moment was to keep reading books to develop his skills. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Heal¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] Han-Yeol had been focusing on medical books. He had first started by reading the simplified ones that were easy to understand but had less detail; now, he could slowly increase the difficulty of the books he was reading. He had initially had a hard time understanding the content of the books, but now, whether it was the effect of the skill ¡®Infinite Library¡¯ or because Han-Yeol was naturally a genius, he could now understand the medical books even if he speed-read through them. ¡®I should be a doctor if I fail to be a Hunter,¡¯?Han-Yeol joked inwardly. In any event, his Heal skill had grown to C rank after he read books for three days straight. ¡®Haaa¡­ I would¡¯ve been able to go to Seoul National University if I studied this hard during my school days,¡¯?he thought. It would be basic social etiquette to let people off at least once in their lifetime for such delusional remarks¡ªno matter how arrogant they sounded. He still had more books to read, but the Hunter evaluation test would be conducted very soon, and he had to leave the library. ¡®But first, there¡¯s something I have to do,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he left the library and headed home. He quickly prepared to go out once again, heading toward the hospital where his father was. *** Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ His father was still sleeping motionlessly with an oxygen mask over his face. He did not need to wear an oxygen mask while he was awake. However, his breathing had been unstable for days while he was asleep, which was why he needed to have the oxygen mask on while sleeping. ¡®Father¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grasped his sleeping father¡¯s hand tightly. Then, he slowly infused his mana into his father¡¯s body. ¡®Slowly¡­ Slowly and carefully,¡¯?he kept repeating in his mind while infusing his mana. ¡®Heal!¡¯?Han-Yeol used Heal, which had now grown to C rank. Woooong! Blue light emitted from his father¡¯s body when Han-Yeol used the now-stronger heal. Fortunately, his father¡¯s room was located farthest away from the reception of the ICU, so no one noticed the strange phenomena going on in the room. ¡®I used to hate where they ced him,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol had initially been worried that the location of the room, being farthest from the staff, would be the deciding factor during an emergency as the staff might reach him a second toote. However, the room being the farthest away from everyone else was a blessing in disguise for him now. ¡®There¡¯s no chance of anyone passing by unless theye over on purpose,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. However, he stopped dwelling on those meaningless thoughts and decided to focus on infusing his mana into his father¡¯s body. He made sure he was not infusing too much or too little of his mana, and he also made sure that the mana was neither too dense nor too sparse. Time passed for a while. Badump¡­ Badump¡­ ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned, as the effects of overusing his mana started to show. He had ignored the signals his body was sending him the previous time, but he decided to take things slowly this time. The healing process he had chosen this time was less like a 100m sprint, and more like a 42.195km marathon. He cut off the flow of mana after using Heal sufficiently on his father. ¡°Hooo¡­¡±?Han-Yeol looked around after releasing a breath, just to check if anyone had witnessed what he had just been doing. Chapter 13: The Hunter License (1)

Chapter 13: The Hunter License (1)

¡®There¡¯s no one,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, relieved. Of course, it was an odd hour, so there was nobody elseing to visit the ICU aside from Han-Yeol and the nurses. Most of the patients had just taken their lunch, so they were probably asleep as well. Han-Yeol looked back at his father after checking to ensure there were no witnesses. He had no problem with anyone seeing that he was an Awakened, but he was still worried that someone might annoy his father because of the fact that he had be an Awakened. ¡®Mana Eyes.¡¯?Han-Yeol infused mana into his eyes and used the skill that allowed him to see the mana within the target. He checked his father¡¯s body with Mana Eyes and saw a faint blue light within him. ¡®I can see it!¡¯?He rejoiced. Han-Yeol¡¯s father was not an Awakened, so he only had a minuscule amount of mana flowing in him. However, Han-Yeol also saw that there was a lump of ck mana clinging to his father¡¯s heart. ¡®That¡¯s the thing causing all of this!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, gritting his teeth in anger. He was enraged at the ck lump, having realized that it would have killed his father by now; the only reason his father was still alive was that Han-Yeol had awakened and infused mana into him. It was a lump of evil that had not only stolen away his father¡¯s life, but would also have taken away his father, someone who meant everything to Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol¡¯s anger slowly turned into rage, and he started to emit killing intent toward the ck lump. [I advise you to set aside your anger.] [Increased anger will only make it more difficult for you to control your mana.] [Your unstable mana may affect the ordinary people in this ce and could lead to their deaths.] [This ce has a lot of weakened people who are vulnerable to mana.] [Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s future will be in ruins if you cause an incident here.] Karvis¡¯ tone waspletely different from her usual monotone. She was speaking in a soft, gentle voice while trying to convince him to let go of his anger, and her advice soothed Han-Yeol¡¯s raging emotions. ¡®Hooo¡­ Thank you, Karvis.¡¯?Han-Yeol expressed his gratitude toward his Ego System. [Please do not mention it.] [I was just doing my job to support Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®It¡¯s reassuring to have you by my side,¡¯?Han-Yeol said inwardly. He then calmed down and observed the ck lump of mana. He steeled his resolve, thinking, ¡®Father, I promise that I will cure you of this fucking thing. I will cure you myself.¡¯ Han-Yeol had been denied any insurance ims because the doctors could note up with a proper diagnosis for the illness. However, he could now clearly see the ck lump of mana that was slowly sucking his father¡¯s life force away through his Mana Eyes. The ck lump of mana greatly resembled a parasite that was eating away at its host. ¡®No wonder the doctors couldn¡¯t figure out anything about this,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue. The doctors had been unable to find out the cause of the illness despite using almost every single device avable to modern medicine. That was because they had never thought of using a mana detection device; such devices had never been considered medical instruments in the first ce. ¡®Well, it¡¯s not as if they would have been able to treat it just because they saw it.¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed. Of course, even he had no idea what the cure for the parasite-like thing was. His ¡®Heal¡¯ skill had been able to preserve his father¡¯s life, but it had not been able to get rid of the ck lump of mana. ¡®Karvis, is it possible to cure my father and get rid of that thing?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked his Ego System. [I cannot tell for sure, but it should be possible to cure him.] [The limit of the ability Han-Yeol-nim has been bestowed is almost infinite and cannot be measured.] [You might be able to get rid of that ck lump of mana if you grow stronger.] ¡®Yeah¡­ That¡¯s right. I definitely should grow stronger.¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve once again. Grip¡­! Han-Yeol balled his hands into fists and clenched them extremely hard. ¡°Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, visiting hours have ended,¡± the nurse informed him. ¡°Ah, I will take my leave now then,¡± Han-Yeol responded to the nurse with a smile. He stroked his father¡¯s hand a few times before leaving the ICU. Shiiiiik¡­ Han-Yeol stood alongside several nurses in a disinfection room, which was located in the corridor in and out of the ICU. The ICU contained a lot of critical patients, so the disinfection room was something all visitors and staff members had to pass through on the way. Han-Yeol was going through the disinfection process when one of the nurses suddenly spoke to him. She remarked, ¡°Han-Yeol, you seem to be visiting quite often these days.¡± She was a nurse who seemed to be around Han-Yeol¡¯s age, and at one point he had even been interested in her. Normally, she did not even pay any attention to him, but this time, she suddenly spoke to him first. Of course, he had no idea what her name was. ¡°Huh? Ah, yes. I am a bit freer these days,¡± Han-Yeol replied awkwardly. He was close to the older nurses, but this was the first time that a younger nurse, who was around his age, had spoken to him about personal matters. Han-Yeol was taken aback by the sudden conversation, but he pretended to maintain hisposure and replied as calmly as he could. ¡°Hehe, did something good happen?¡± the nurse asked. ¡°Not at all. I am really busy just trying to make ends meet,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± the nurse replied, putting on a cute expression. ¡®What the hell is this woman nning¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, perplexed. He might have been busy trying to make ends meet, but he was not detached from the world. He knew everything there was to know about current affairs, as the inte was the only pastime he had. He had also found out everything there was to know about S-Hospital, the ce where his father had been admitted, through the inte. The fees charged by S-Hospital were on the expensive side, but the facilities and staff were the best one could find in the country. Even the nurses received a hefty sry that was easily double what they would earn in other hospitals, and they were well known for being proud and haughty. That was why the younger nurses had never even given Han-Yeol a second nce; he had alwayse to the hospital sweaty and smelly because he had to rush over from work. In fact, they had even been worried that Han-Yeol would show interest in trying to strike up a conversation with them. In the event that they had to speak to him because of work, they would usually speak to him in a very stiff, official way and leave as soon as they said everything they had to say. In other words, they usually tried to wrap up conversations with him as soon as possible, not wanting him to bother them. ¡®Is she interested in me? Nah, no way.¡¯?Han-Yeol snapped out of it before any delusional thoughts took over. He had started to wash up beforeing to visit, but he was still poorly dressed. However, this young nurse had talked to him first. Most young men would get the wrong idea that she was interested in them. Of course, in most cases, those men were simply delusional. ¡®She is pretty, though¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he stole a nce at her. Interestingly, there had been some rumors flying around that S-Hospital picked their nurses based on both looks and qualifications. That was said to be the reason why all of their nurses were so beautiful. ¡®But what the hell is she nning?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought skeptically. He had never received the interest of women after his family became poor when he was in his 20s. As such, his first reaction was to be suspicious of the nurse¡¯s motives. He finished disinfecting before turning and giving a slight bow to the nurse, then hurriedly walked away from her. ¡°Ah¡­!¡± the nurse eximed. She had wanted to talk to him more, but Han-Yeol had quickly moved away from her, leaving her all alone. She looked in the direction he had walked toward with longing, and suddenly, something changed. Her innocent expression suddenly turned into that of a predator as she thought, ¡®Tsk¡­ What a waste. He seemed as if he might be good prey. Oh well, this isn¡¯t the only chance I¡¯ll get. Hoho.¡¯ Slurp¡­ She slowly licked her lips, like a carnivore anticipating its prey. It was an expression that would give anyone goosebumps all over their body. Then... ¡°Oh, Nurse Kang! There you are!¡± a man suddenly called out. ¡°Yes, doctor!¡± Nurse Kang enthusiastically replied. ¡°Haha! I was looking all over for you,¡± the doctor who had called for her said. ¡°Ah, how may I help you, doctor?¡± Nurse Kang asked. ¡°There is something Nurse Kang has to help me out with,¡± the old doctor said as he moved closer to her and motioned inappropriately with his hand. ¡®Tsk¡­ That guy¡¯s way better than an old fart like this,¡¯?Nurse Kang thought while thinking of Han-Yeol. She smirked while thinking, ¡®I¡¯ll definitely reel him in next time, hehe.¡¯ ¡°Nurse Kang?¡± the doctor called out again. ¡°Yes, doctor!¡± Nurse Kang replied. The predatory look disappeared from her face, and her expression shifted into the innocent look she normally had at work. ¡°Are you busy tonight? I made a reservation at a fancy restaurant,¡± the doctor said. ¡°Omo! Are you treating me to a nice meal tonight?¡± Nurse Kang asked with a smile. ¡°Of course! Nurse Kang has been so good to metely,¡± the doctor replied with a heartyugh. ¡°Hohoho, of course I am free for that!¡± Nurse Kang replied, letting out a slyugh. The gaze of a predator shone for a second before reverting to innocence once again. *** Han-Yeol checked the time after escaping from the suspicious nurse and leaving the hospital. [14:02] ¡®I still have three hours left,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. His appointment was at five in the afternoon, so there was no need for him to rush at all. ¡®Hmmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered for a moment before taking out his phone. He opened a map app created by N-Company and looked up the distance between the hospital and the Hunter Association building. ¡®It should take around two and a half hours if I walk from here. That¡¯s not bad at all,¡¯?he thought. He still had his scrupulous mindset, even though he had just made a lot of money from selling the mana stones. He flung his bag onto his back and followed the path the map app showed him. Han-Yeol was not particrly smart, but he was very skilled at finding his way using a map, and he would never forget directions after walking along a path once. ¡®Ah¡­ How long has it been since I was so free?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It had been ages since he wasst able to walk leisurely without thinking of anything. It had even been so long that he had forgotten that doing so felt therapeutic in a sense. He felt an unfamiliar bliss upon realizing that he did not have to think about his next work schedule, and that made it seem as if he had found true happiness. However, peace was bound to be disturbed at any moment. Crack¡­ Booom¡­! ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°Kyaaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Euak!?Help me!¡± Arge boom rang out from the opposite side of the street where Han-Yeol was, and the ground there suddenly sank. Three people standing in that spot were swallowed by the hole that had opened up. ¡°W-What the hell?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sinkhole!¡± ¡°Omo! Omo! What should we do?¡± The onlookers were shocked, their mouths hanging wide due to the sudden turn of events. Some of the passers-by stopped, took out their phones, and started to take pictures or videos. The cars that had been busily moving around also stopped in their tracks when the sinkhole suddenly appeared. ¡®Huh? Wait a minute¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly felt an ominous sensation. ¡®Mana Eyes!¡¯?He infused his mana into his eyes and observed the sinkhole. His instincts never failed him; the moment he used the skill on the sinkhole he was shocked. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?He cursed inwardly and ran away as fast as he could. He shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Everyone, run away! That¡¯s not a sinkhole! That¡¯s a dimension gate!¡± ¡°What the hell is he talking about?¡± ¡°Dimension gate?¡± ¡°Is he crazy?¡± Han-Yeol tried his best to evacuate the civilians from the area, but nobody believed him. In fact, some of them even looked at him with disgust, treating him like a lunatic. It was understandable, as no dimension gates had popped up ever since the aliens came and helped the humans out thirty years prior, and people had becent about the possibility. However, it was an unwritten rule that suchcency was bound to bring forth a disaster. Boom! ¡°Shit!¡± Han-Yeol cursed and stopped in his tracks when he saw a tremendous source of mana suddenly emerge from the sinkhole. Arge monster that resembled a giant lobster rose out from the sinkhole, confirming it to be a dimension gate. ¡°Huh? Eh? Aaaaaaaah¡­!¡± The bystanders all froze in ce as the monster suddenly emerged from the sinkhole. The monster hadrge pincers, and there were strange-looking mushrooms on its back. Of course, the first person to snap out of their shock was Han-Yeol. He once again shouted, ¡°Everyone! Run away!¡± ¡°Kyaaaah!¡± ¡°Euuuuuuaaak!¡± The streets had been turned upside down, and chaos ensued. People started screaming wildly and running in all directions, and cars bumped into each other. Some people even abandoned their vehicles and ran away on foot. ¡®Damn it,¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed. Ziiip¡­! He hesitated for a moment before opening his bag, but the situation left him with no choice. He seemed to be the only Awakened in the vicinity, from the looks of it. ¡®Oh well, I was on the way to get my Hunter License anyway. They won¡¯t treat me as an illegal Awakenedter on, though¡­ Will they¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It was illegal for Awakened to hunt monsters without a Hunter License. After all, there was no reason for anyone not to get a Hunter License, as there were a lot of benefits that came with having one¡ªof course, there were still some who decided to be illegal Hunters just to avoid taxes. However, now was not the time to think about such things. Han-Yeol took out his slingshot and his chain from his bag, wrapping the chain around his right arm. He cursed, ¡®Fuck¡­ It looks pathetic nowpared to that monster.¡¯ The monster that had emerged from the sinkhole was asrge as a two-story building, and the thought of Han-Yeol attacking it with a steel bullet as small as his own fingernail seemed pathetic and disheartening. Shwiiik¡­ Han-Yeol stretched the slingshot band to the limit. ¡®Fuck¡­ There¡¯s no other way, right? Power Strike!¡¯?He let his shot fly while muttering curses under his breath. Fshwoooh¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kiiekik?¡±?The monster, which had been looking down at the people running away from it, suddenly looked around when it felt something tap it. ¡®Fuck¡­ Damn it¡­ I knew it wouldn¡¯t work,¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed. The size of a monster was usually proportional to how strong it was. The one in front of Han-Yeol now was too strong an opponent for someone like him, who had only been hunting Vxes a few days before. ¡°Kierik¡­?¡±?The monster looked at Han-Yeol and his surroundings. Then, it started doing something with its pincers, seemingly gathering energy. ¡®What the hell is that thing doing¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in confusion. He possessed a lot of knowledge about monsters, but even he could not help but be perplexed by the actions of the monster he had never before seen in his life. The mushrooms on the monster¡¯s back suddenly started to squirm after the monster performed the strange motion with its pincers. ¡®D-Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol imagined the worst-case scenario. That worst-case scenario was¡­ Chapter 14: The Hunter License (2)

Chapter 14: The Hunter License (2)

Plop¡­ Plop¡­ Plop¡­ Plop¡­ Plop¡­! Shwaaaaaak¡­! The mushrooms on the monster¡¯s back spewed clouds of spores into the air. ¡°W-What the hell are those¡­?¡± The spores spread out into the area and flew toward the civilians who were running away from the monster. They clung to the civilians¡¯ bodies, then slowly started to poison their newfound hosts. Red spots grew all over the bodies of the spores¡¯ victims; they started to copse one by one, and it was impossible to tell if they were dead or alive. ¡°Kyaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± The city had fallen into utter chaos, as people frantically ran for their lives after the appearance of the new threat. ¡®Is something like that even possible?!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in shock. He had worked as a Porter for years and had seen various kinds of monsters, but even he was bewildered by what the monster in front of him was doing. However, he did not have the luxury of just sitting around and watching. He looked around at the destruction in his surroundings, before his eyes darted toward a fallen signboard. ¡®It might be possible if it¡¯s that¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He threw the chain on his left hand toward the signboard, thinking, ¡®Restrain!¡¯ Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain wrapped itself around the signboard. ¡°Grrraaah!¡± he roared, squeezing out every bit of his strength to fling the signboard toward the monster. Of course, he did not forget to use his skill before throwing the signboard, eximing inwardly, ¡®Power Strike!¡¯ His mana flowed into the signboard through the chains, and it was greatly strengthened by Power Strike. The signboard, which had be extremely hard due to the effects of Han-Yeol¡¯s skill, mmed into the lobster-like monster. Baaaam! ¡°Kieek!¡±?The monster let out a shriek, as the signboard seemed to have inflicted some damage through its tough exoskeleton, unlike when Han-Yeol had first fired a steel shot at it. ¡®It worked!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. However¡­ ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±?The monster let out a shriek that was more akin to a roar. ¡®Eh¡­? Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, perplexed. The truth of the matter was that the monster had not been damaged by Han-Yeol¡¯s attack just then. In fact, all it had done was redirect the monster¡¯s aggro away from the fleeing people to him. Boom¡­ Boom¡­ Boom¡­! Boom¡­! Boom¡­! The lobster monster slowly began to move, before gradually picking up speed and charging at Han-Yeol. ¡®Eh? Waaaaah!¡¯?Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise as he screamed inwardly. His morale had been sky-high after hended a blow against the monster, but he had soon realized something not long after. The reality was that his chances of winning against the monster were next to zero, and that realization came crashing down on him as the humongous monster drew nearer and nearer. That was why Han-Yeol had decided to at least buy time for Hunters to arrive by running away and luring the monster. ¡®I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s a rescue team or the Special Forces. Hurry up, you bastards!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed and hoped that help would arrive while running as fast as he could. Boom¡­! Boom¡­! Boom¡­! ¡°Everyone! Run away! It¡¯s a monster!¡± Han-Yeol shouted at the top of his lungs. ¡°Kyaaaaaah!¡± Han-Yeol shouted to alert others to run away, even while running as fast as he could. In truth, however, it did not really matter whether he shouted or not; everyone else had already run away after hearing the booming footsteps of the monster chasing after him. ¡°Eat this!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. He did not only run away; rather, he frequently flung signboards toward the monster just in case, to prevent it from redirecting its aggro toward someone else. Thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s heroic actions, numerous innocent signboards were destroyed. Baaam! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?the monster shrieked in rage. ¡°Aaah! My 800 million won Lamborghini!¡± someone screamed. ¡®Heok!¡¯?Han-Yeol was taken aback for a moment. He had been throwing signboards left and right at the monster while running away, and had not had the luxury to check the cars parked on the side of the road. Thanks to his heroic actions, a very expensive luxury vehicle was destroyed. ¡®Sorry¡­ The government will pay you back¡­ I think?¡¯?Han-Yeol apologized inwardly before sprinting away. The city was already in tatters due to the sudden appearance of the monster, and the car owner could only pray that his vehicle would be covered by insurance. ¡®What the hell are those Hunters doing?!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. It had already been twenty minutes since the chaos ensued, but the Hunters were still nowhere to be seen. ¡®Huh? Hunters!¡¯?He suddenly rejoiced. Right as he was cursing the Hunters, he saw a group of Hunters he had followed around in his Porter days. ¡®I¡¯m saved!¡¯?he thought, suddenly feeling relieved. He was certain that the Hunters would take care of the lobster monster that was chasing after him. That was their job, and prior to receiving their Hunter Licenses, they had been taught to help in these kinds of situations. Han-Yeol was not yet a Hunter, but he had always aspired to be one. That was why he, who had a knack for gathering information, knew about that fact. However¡­ ¡®Eh? Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was perplexed. He was certain that the Hunters had locked eyes with him, but they all seemed to turn a blind eye toward the monster. ¡°Hey, hey, shouldn¡¯t we help him out?¡± one of the Hunters asked. ¡°Are you crazy? Can¡¯t you tell that monster is way out of our league? Do you have a death wish or something?¡± another Hunter retorted. ¡°B-But¡­¡± the first Hunter said. ¡°Shh! Shut up and ignore it!¡± The second Hunter hushed him. ¡°A-Alright¡­¡± The Hunter obediently closed his mouth. These were Hunters who had been taught the obligations of a Hunter, but they quickly pretended to be ordinary civilians when they sensed that they would be no match for the monster in front of them. ¡®T-Those assholes!¡¯?Han-Yeol threw all sorts of curses toward them inwardly. These were the Hunters who had looked down on him just because he was a Porter while bragging about how great they were just because they were Hunters. Han-Yeol still clearly remembered the arrogant words they had spat out that day. But those same fools who had wanted to bask in and enjoy the glory that came with being a Hunter were now running away when it was time for them to fulfill their obligations. ¡®W-What should I do¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol despaired, as he slowly felt his stamina running out. Ding! [Your continuous walking has increased your skill level.] [The rank of ¡®Walking¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] ¡®That¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now!¡¯?Han-Yeol screamed inwardly. ¡°Waaah!?Mommy!¡± Suddenly, while Han-Yeol was busy running for his life, he saw a little girl crying on the street while holding her bloodied leg. ¡®What the hell is it this time?¡¯?he thought in despair. He looked around frantically, but he could not find another escape route. However, the child would be in danger if he kept running toward her. ¡®Someonee help! Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol pleaded and cursed in his mind. The child was injured and crying on the street, but nobody seemed to even care about her, as they were all busy saving themselves. ¡®Fuuuuuuuck!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. He had no choice but to stop running before he reached the spot where the little girl was. ¡®Here goes nothing!¡¯?he screamed in his mind before infusing as much mana as he could into the chain. ¡°Grrraaah!¡±?he shouted. He swung his chain as hard as he could andunched an attack with the help of the ¡®Chain Mastery¡¯ skill he had recently obtained. Boooom! ¡°Kuheok!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in pain as he was flung backward by the impact of his chain colliding with the monster,nding in front of the little girl. ¡°Ahjussi! Waaaah!¡± the little girl cried after seeing Han-Yeol copse in front of her. ¡°Hey, kiddo. I¡¯m not an ahjussi,¡± Han-Yeol joked despite the dire situation they were in. The lobster monster was only a step away from him, and it raised itsrge pincer. ¡®Is this the end?¡¯?Han-Yeolmented. He dragged his aching body over to cover the child. Booom! A loud sound reverberated across the city, and the ce where Han-Yeol was standing was covered in a cloud of dust. *** ¡°Cough! Cough!¡±? Dust covered the surroundings, and Han-Yeol could not help but cough as he inhaled it through his nose and mouth. ¡®W-What happened?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, perplexed. He was certain that something had sparkled right before the monster mmed itsrge pincer down toward him, and that sparkling light had turned into an immensely powerful shockwave that swallowed the lobster monster. That thing had also caused the cloud of dust. Step¡­ Step¡­ ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol looked around. He could not see clearly because of the cloud of dust, but he was certain that someone was walking toward him. He wondered, ¡®Who¡¯s that¡­?¡¯ The silhouette behind the cloud of dust slowly got closer. Only when the person was standing right in front of Han-Yeol did he finally recognize the person¡¯s identity. ¡®Eh¡­? Huh? What?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked. It was someone he knew very well. ¡®M-Master Hee-Yun?!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. Hee-Yun was one of the six Master-ranked Hunters in Korea; the Master rank was the pinnacle among hunters. ¡°Are you alright?¡± the expressionless Hee-Yun asked Han-Yeol in a worried tone. Han-Yeol only realized he was still alive when the Hunter called out to him. ¡°Hooo¡­ T-Thank you. This child and I only survived thanks to you,¡± he said while looking at the unconscious child in his arms. Thankfully, it seemed the child had only passed out from excess shock due to the turn of events. ¡°It is a relief I was notte,¡± Hee-Yun said. ¡°Haha, that is a huge relief,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a weakugh. However, he thought to himself, ¡®I almost shat myself¡­!¡¯ It was probably the greatest escape he had ever had in his life, but it was also one he hoped to never repeat ever again. He had honestly thought that he was done for when the lobster monster¡¯s pincer was about to fall onto him. Dudududududu¡­ It was only then that the sound of helicopters filled the skies, and sirens red noisily across the city. ¡®Haha. It¡¯s all over. You fuckingzy assholes,¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly before he finally felt the tension lift from his body. *** The monster¡¯s appearance in the city caused a huge uproar, and the repercussions were immense. The incident had happened when the thirty-year promise made with the aliens was almost over, and that prompted various media outlets, academics, and conspiracy theorists to throw all sorts of theories out into the open. [A new dimensional gate? A dimensional hole? What is the government¡¯s response to this new crisis humanity is facing?] [Will we be safe from the monsters?!] [Hunters should be more proactive in closing the dimensional gates!] [Humanity will go extinct!] The news headlines were so extreme that they sounded like tabloids, which further fueled the fear and insecurity that the general public was feeling. On the other hand, Han-Yeol could not care less whether the public was scared or not, as he was being dragged to the Hunters Association. Ironically, he had been arrested and charged with ¡®hunting without a license¡¯. However, he had his own reasons for having done what he was used of. ¡°Hey, I registered for an evaluation with the association on that day. I was on the way to take the test when the monster suddenly appeared, and I had no choice but to fight against it. Should I have just let civilians die just because Icked a Hunter¡¯s License?!¡± Han-Yeol argued. He felt that the arrest was pure injustice and just did not make any sense. Logically, he was supposed to receive des for his bravery in standing up against the monster, but all he was getting in return was an investigation? That was a load of bullshit, in his opinion. ¡°Well, we sent some people to go and check that, so we will find out whether you are telling the truth or not,¡± an investigator from the Hunters Association said with pure skepticism in her voice. She did not give Han-Yeol an inch, standing by her suspicions. ¡°Ha, this is driving me nuts,¡± Han-Yeol grumbled, thumping his chest with his fist in frustration. A few momentster¡­ Click¡­ ck¡­! Another investigator came and whispered something into the ear of the investigator in front of Han-Yeol. The first investigator raised a brow in surprise while looking at Han-Yeol. ¡°See? My name was on the list, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Correct. Well, you still hunted before receiving your license, so you stillmitted a crime. I will let you off this time, but do not forget that you havemitted a crime. You may go now,¡± the investigator said haughtily. ¡®What the hell? Not even an apology?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling frustrated. However, he was content with the fact that he would not be charged with anything and the case would be over. ¡°Oh, right,¡± he began while getting up. ¡°What? Do you have anything else to say?¡± the investigator asked. She had thought that Han-Yeol would just run away with his tail tucked between his legs, but was surprised when he sat back down again. Han-Yeol had sat back down because there was one important thing he had forgotten to tell the investigator. He suddenly said, ¡°Team Registration Number SW3-5587. The Hunter team, I mean.¡± ¡°Yes, what about them?¡± the investigator asked. ¡°I am certain that that team was at the scene. They even locked eyes with me, but they did not even help and just ran away. If I am not mistaken, the Hunters have responsibilities to uphold, just as much as the benefits they get from being licensed. Am I right?¡± Han-Yeol replied seriously. ¡°¡­That is right,¡± the investigator replied. Han-Yeol felt some of the stress he had received from the interrogation fade when he reported the team that had abandoned him earlier in the day. He said with a smug smile, ¡°Then, I will excuse myself.¡± Han-Yeol was about to leave the room when the investigator suddenly said, ¡°The Hunter test is conducted on the floor above.¡± ¡°Huh? But the test is already over. Do I not have to apply ande again next time?¡± Han-Yeol asked, tilting his head in confusion. The test had been scheduled at five in the afternoon, but it was already 6:03 p.m. The test should have long since concluded. ¡°Well, you are not mistaken, but since you have already proven your worth as a Hunter, the Hunter¡¯s Association has decided to exempt you from the test and specially acknowledge you as a Hunter,¡± the investigator said. ¡°Ahhh¡­!¡± Han-Yeol was shocked, but he eximed inwardly, ¡®That¡¯s a relief¡­!¡¯ He had been worried that he would have to hunt illegally for a few days since he had missed the test, but the news the investigator gave him was quite the silver lining after the day¡¯s events. He said goodbye to the investigator and rode the elevator to the upper floor. What greeted him when he got off on the upper floor was a wide, spacious hall, with a roombeled ¡®Reception¡¯. He entered the reception room, and saw a group of beautiful receptionists in purple uniforms who were busily going around doing their work. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± Han-Yeol carefully called out to them. ¡°Ah, hello. Are you Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, by any chance?¡± one of the receptionists replied. Chapter 15: A Successful Trick (1)

Chapter 15: A Sessful Trick (1)

¡°Yes, that is me,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°May you kindly show me your ID?¡± the receptionist asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He took out his ID from his wallet and passed it to her. The receptionistpared the picture on the ID to Han-Yeol¡¯s face with a nod. She then guided him toward a machine to scan his fingerprint. Beep¡­ Beep! ¡°I have confirmed your identity. You may proceed to Testing Room 1,¡± the receptionist said. ¡°Ah, thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was aware of the process, since he had researched it before. ¡®They¡¯re probably going to test my mana capacity and type with this test,¡¯?he thought, recalling the information he had looked up. Normally, a candidate was supposed to first get tested to determine whether they had the aptitude to be a Hunter, then go through four weeks of training before their mana was tested¡ªwhich was what Han-Yeol was going to do now. ¡®Haa¡­ I got lucky this time,¡¯?he thought. He had almost died because of the lobster monster, but he had been able to save four weeks of his precious time because of it. He had originally nned to hunt illegally during his four weeks of training, but there was no longer a need for him to risk that anymore. ¡°Pleasee here,¡± a receptionist said as she guided him. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. This ce, which was usually crowded with those hoping to be Hunters, was supposed to be closed and empty by six in the afternoon. But now, he was the only one taking a test in therge hall. ¡®It feels as if I rented the whole ce out,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought smugly. When he entered Testing Room 1, he was greeted by a modern interior and arge machine. The machine had four pirs and a circr tform in the center. ¡°Please take your shirt off and stand on the tform,¡± a staffer instructed him. ¡°Eh? Take my shirt off¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked in surprise. He was suddenly embarrassed by the request, as the staffer present was a woman; but she did not seem to be bothered by it, despite the way he was feeling. ¡°It will be over quickly, so please cooperate with us,¡± the staffer said. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied, and he obediently took his shirt off. Beep¡­ The staffer pressed a few buttons and activated the machine. Wooooooong¡­ Bluish light that resembled mana slowly started to flow out from the four pirs, moving up and down Han-Yeol to scan him. The process went on and on for a while before the light suddenly dissipated. Beep¡­ Beep! ¡°Hmm¡­ Your mana rating is F. You have my sincere condolences,¡± the staffer said. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol pretended to be disappointed. It was something he had already expected, as he had a growth-type ability, and he was not truly disappointed at all. ¡°The next step is supposed to be a demonstration of your skills, but since you are F-ranked¡­ I will just do it as a formality. What are the skills you awakened with?¡± the staffer asked. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol contemted for a moment before replying, ¡°A skill for using chains in rangedbat, and a skill for using a dagger in closebat.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± the staffer muttered while writing something down. Shk¡­ Shk¡­ Shk¡­ ¡®Isn¡¯t he just a mishmash? What rotten luck he has,¡¯?the staffer thought. However, she politely said, ¡°Then, please just wait for an hour.¡± ¡°Ah, okay!¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was able to receive his freshly printed Hunter License after an hour. He stared at the card for a while, and he could not help but feel deeply moved after seeing his face on it. In fact, he felt more emotional than when he had first awakened. He finally felt that one of his lifelong goals had been achieved, as he was now looking at his own Hunter License. ¡®I¡¯m officially a Hunter now!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. It did not matter that he was F-ranked on his Hunter License, as he no longer had to sneak around and hunt illegally from now on. ¡®Alright, first things first,¡¯?he thought. He really wanted to sleep. He was exhausted after running away all day from the lobster monster. ¡®Ah¡­ Master Hee-Yun¡­ She was really beautiful¡­¡¯?He suddenly thought of the beauty who had saved his life. In addition to her superhuman strength, Hee-Yun possessed beauty that was out of this world; she also had the strong backing of the S-Group as well. She was still in her mid-twenties, and there was no man in the world who would not covet her, as she was the definition of a perfect woman. No one deserved the title of ¡®Perfect Woman¡¯ more than her. ¡®Right¡­ I don¡¯t have time for all of this,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, snapping himself out of his reverie. He dragged his tired body home, copsing onto the bed as soon as he returned. Snore¡­ Zzzzz¡­ *** The next morning, Han-Yeol dragged his half-awake body out of bed and sat down in front of theputer. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Where should we go hunt today?¡¯?he thought as he waited for hisputer to boot up. He could have rested for longer after his near-death experience, but his fight against the lobster monster had made him realize how weak and powerless he was. ¡®Still have a long way to go¡­ I¡¯m stillcking,¡¯?he thought as he steeled his resolve once again. His fight against the lobster monster could not even be considered a real fight. All he had done was draw its aggro and run around while hoping that someone woulde and help. The chain attack he had thrown with all of his might had easily bounced off of the monster, and he was the one who had received damage instead when the impact flung him backward. Han-Yeol desperately wanted to grow stronger even more quickly, and thus did not even consider taking a break. He began scouring the inte for information. He was nning to hunt solo for the time being, and was browsing for information on small and low-tier monsters when one particr piece of information caught his eye. ¡®Anthill? This should be about right,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He decided that the anthill would be his next hunting ground. He had had to secretly rent a truck from apany when he hunted illegally thest time; it was different this time around, however, as he confidently walked to the Hunter¡¯s Association to ask for support. He was now eligible to borrow a fully equipped RV truck as a licensed Hunter. ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol said to the association staffer before driving the truck toward the anthill. The Anthill was located at a mountain in Chungcheongbuk-do. Despite being called an Anthill, it was not located in a cave or anything resembling one, instead having a wide-open ceiling. It was not dark at all, as the area was fully lit by sunlight. Shhhhkkk¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kiriririieeek!¡±? Giant Ants were the weakest monsters found in the Anthill. However, they were still strong monsters, as theirrge frames and hard exoskeletons made them able to withstand Han-Yeol¡¯s chain attacks without dying in one hit. He had to hit them with at least three chain attacks to stagger them, then stab them in the head with his mana-infused knuckle knife, in order to kill them. ¡®There guys are annoying,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue. The Giant Ants¡¯ hard exoskeletons and natural barriers made his slingshot useless against them, which made him wish that he possessed a powerful AoE skill to sweep them away in one go. *** The hook attached to the end of Han-Yeol¡¯s chain wrapped itself around the neck of a Giant Ant, which was the size of arge dog. Shhhk¡­ Thud! He yanked the chain and pulled the Giant Ant down to the ground, and the ant fell over with its abdomen facing up. Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity to charge at the Giant Ant with his knuckle knife, stabbing it in the chin and neck. Giant Ants possessed tough exoskeletons, but the areas around their neck and chin were covered by a softer shell, and targeting those areas was the fastest way to kill them. ¡®Ugh¡­ This way of hunting is too inefficient,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. Such a method would make quick work of one or two Giant Ants, but it would hardly be effective when facing a lot of Giant Ants. It had been four days since Han-Yeol started hunting at the Anthill, but he had not made any progress at all, only being able to hunt carefully around the entrance. Ding! [Your level has risen.] Han-Yeol invested all of the bonus stat points he gained after leveling up into VIT, the same way he had previously when he invested them into STR. ¡°Hooo¡­¡± He exhaled deeply, feeling his fatigue leaving his body and his muscles contracting and rxing after he invested his bonus stat points into VIT. He thought, ¡®Status.¡¯? Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 10 Points: 0 STR: 49 VIT: 46 AGI: 35 MAG: 25 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (F), Infinite Library (M). He had just been hunting conservatively at the entrance, but there had been more than enough monsters to make him level up twice in the span of four days. However, Han-Yeol was still not satisfied. ¡®Arghhh¡­ I don¡¯t like this¡­!¡¯?he thought, sitting down in frustration. Thud¡­ Han-Yeol pouted as he sat in the truck, even though he had gained an average of one level per day. ¡®It¡¯s slow¡­ It¡¯s too slow¡­ My level is rising too slowly,¡¯?he thought, feeling frustrated. His Heal skill was at a meager C-rank, and he also needed to level up to quickly raise his other skills¡¯ levels as well. His father¡¯s illness had been slowed down thanks to his skills, but he had still failed topletely cure it, and it could suddenly explode like a ticking time bomb. ¡®I need to at least raise the level of Heal for now,¡¯?he thought. He had kept some medical books in the truck to read from time to time while taking a break, but the speed at which the Heal skill leveled up had slowed dramatically after it reached the C-rank. ¡®In that case¡­ The best method is to use the skill repeatedly¡­¡¯?he thought. If there was one simrity among many video games, it was the fact that the best way to level a skill up was to consistently use it again and again, rather than leveling one¡¯s character up. ¡®Should I join a party as a healer¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. There was bound to be a shortage of healers, whether in games or in reality. ¡®No¡­ I¡¯ll only end up bing a backup healer, since I can¡¯t heal as quickly as a real healer,¡¯?he concluded. At its current level, his Heal skill was not as efficient as a main healer¡¯s skill. ¡®Things have?just?circled back to me having to level up in the end¡­¡¯?he thought with a sigh. Level up, level up explosively, and level up monstrously. Those were the only three choices Han-Yeol had at this point. Kirik! ¡°Huh? Ah, damn it¡­¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. A group of Giant Ants was approaching the truck; he had not noticed them fast approaching, as he had been busy spacing out while thinking about many different things. Shhhhhwiik! However, Han-Yeol calmly prepared forbat, extending the chain wrapped around his left arm. ¡®There are six of them in total,¡¯?he counted. It was thergest group of Giant Ants he had ever faced at once. He was slightly nervous, but he was not afraid. He thought with a smirk, ¡®In the end, they¡¯re only ants.¡¯ Bam! Han-Yeol mmed the truck door shut, then jumped and threw his chain toward a Giant Ant. Shhhhwiik¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?One of the Giant Ants shrieked in agony. However, the other Giant Ants surrounded Han-Yeol as soon as hended after throwing his chain. The Giant Ants¡¯ hard exoskeletons made them able to withstand Han-Yeol¡¯s powerful chain attacks up to three times before they were incapacitated; he had to follow them up by stabbing them in the neck as soon as they were incapacitated, as they would recover and get up once again if they were not taken care of within three minutes. ¡°Kieeek!¡±?A Giant Ant shrieked as it charged toward Han-Yeol. ¡°In your dreams! Mana Shield!¡± Han-Yeol yelled, casting his defensive skill. Thud! He had forgotten about it for quite some time, but offensive skills were not the only skills he had obtained until then. Mana Shield had been neglected for a while, as he had not particrly felt the need for it. It was a small, round shield made out of his mana, which acted as a barrier and protected him from attacks. One of the Giant Ants tried to bite Han-Yeol with its strong jaws, but it was thrown back as soon as it hit his Mana Shield. ¡®Alright, Mana Shield is really effective,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had invested five points into his STR and five points into his VIT after leveling up, which meant he would no longer be pushed back by the Giant Ants. Giant Ants were simple-minded monsters that only knew how to charge at their target with brute strength, and the newfound boost to his stats made it possible for him to use their strength against them. Pueok! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?One of the Giant Ants shrieked in pain after being hit by Han-Yeol. ¡°Mana Shield!¡± Han-Yeol quickly shouted, once again using his defensive skill. Thud! ¡®Keuk¡­!¡¯? Han-Yeol groaned when a Giant Ant mmed itself into him with its signature strength. However, he parried the Giant Ant¡¯s attack by twisting his body slightly. Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The Giant Ant shrieked in pain as Han-Yeol drove his knuckle knife into its neck, having lost its bnce when he parried its attack. Squirm¡­! Squirm¡­! The Giant Ant squirmed as it struggled to survive, and its fellow ants rushed in to save it. Thud! ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol was stunned for a moment, finding that he could not pull his knuckle knife out of the Giant Ant¡¯s neck. He hurriedly tried to remove his fingers from the knuckle knife, but even his fingers were stuck inside the ant¡¯s carapace, and he could not free himself no matter how much he struggled. He tried to pull his hand out, but it simply would not budge an inch. ¡°Damn it!¡± Han-Yeol cursed out loud. The Giant Ants were closing in on him. ¡°Eat this!¡± he shouted. His right hand was stuck, so he used his Mana Shield to bash two of the Giant Ants multiple times. The Giant Ants retreated for a moment before closing in on him again. Again! Bam! Bam! Bam! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The Giant Ants shrieked and retreated after Han-Yeol bashed them with his Mana Shield. It was then¡­ Ding! [Your improvised use of the skill ¡®Mana Shield¡¯ has created a new skill.] [A new skill has been created¡ªShield Bash.] ¡®What? Shield Bash¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised by the sudden message. 1. In Korea, you are required to scan your fingerprint to prove your identity whenever you do something at a government facility. This measure was implemented to prevent identity theft. 2. ??? is a province in Korea, divided into North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong. The ¡®buk¡¯ or ¡®?¡¯ here means ¡®North¡¯ in Korea, so the province mentioned here is North Chungcheong. 3. ¡¯Area of Effect¡¯, meaning a skill that covers a wide area in games. Chapter 16: A Successful Trick (2)

Chapter 16: A Sessful Trick (2)

The situation was dire, but Han-Yeol desperately needed the skill to be useful to him, so he opened the skill details and read through them. [Shield Bash (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill linked to Mana Shield. You may bash the enemy with your Mana Shield. An enemy hit by this skill will be knocked back a few steps. The knockback will be much more effective the higher this skill¡¯s level bes. ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol cheered inwardly when he saw that a useful skill had emerged from Mana Shield, something he had had no expectations for. ¡®Anyway, this guy first!¡¯?he thought. Bam! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The Giant Ant shrieked in agony. As soon as he finished reading the skill details, Han-Yeol bashed the half-dead Giant Ant that was trapping his right hand with the Mana Shield in his left hand. ¡®Shield Bash!¡¯ The Giant Ant was knocked back by Han-Yeol¡¯s newfound skill, and he was finally able to free his hand from the monster. Unfortunately, he was only able to free his right hand, while his knuckle knife was still stuck in the monster. Shhk¡­ However, the knuckle knife was not the only weapon Han-Yeol possessed. He drew the hunting knife on his waist and readied himself forbat once again. . ¡°Kieeeek!¡± A Giant Ant shrieked after it was struck down by Han-Yeol, then died. However, Han-Yeol had barely managed to kill one Giant Ant, and there were still five monsters remaining. He observed his current situation, thinking, ¡®Hoo¡­ There are still five of these buggers left¡­¡¯ He might have created another skill from his Mana Shield, but that did not change the fact that the Giant Ants were still formidable opponents for him when they ganged up on him. Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and charged toward the Giant Ants, and the five Giant Ants responded by charging toward Han-Yeol as well. Shwiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain sliced through the air as he attacked in a frenzy. *** ¡°Heuk¡­Heuk¡­ Heuk¡­ Heuk¡­ Haaa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol gasped for air. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! [The skill ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has leveled up.] [The skill ¡®Restrain¡¯ has leveled up.] [The skill ¡®Mana Shield¡¯ has leveled up.] [The skill ¡®Shield Bash¡¯ has leveled up.] [The skill ¡®Chain Mastery¡¯ has leveled up.] [The skill ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ has leveled up.] [Your level has risen.] ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Ha¡­?S-Status,¡± Han-Yeol mutteredboriously, checking his rewards as he sat atop a pile of six dead Giant Ants. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 11 Points: 5 STR: 49 VIT: 46 AGI: 35 MAG: 25 LCK: 10 Skills: Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (E), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (E), Sixth Sense (E), Restrain (D), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (E), Infinite Library (M), Shield?Bash?(E). Most of thebat skills he used frequently?in battle?had gone up a level this time around, which further boosted hisbat capabilities.?Han-Yeol?might?have had weaker physical prowess than other Hunters, but he was notckingpared to?them at all because of his massive arsenal of skills. However, the one decisive skill?that?made him not fall behind other Hunters despite being a growth-type Awakened was ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯. Sixth Sense allowed him to see everything around him in slow motion, and it would definitely turn out to be a cheat-type skill when used to its full potential. ¡°Hoo¡­? He had allocated all of his five bonus stat points into AGI this time around, and he felt his body be lighter as those stats took effect. Shwik! Shwik! He threw a few punches and moved around while doing some shadowboxing to test his newfound agility. ¡®My body has gotten much lighter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a satisfied expression. He did not seem to have be especially faster or anything, but he definitely felt his movements had be lighter. After stretching his body a few times, he cut off the dead Giant Ants¡¯ heads with his knife and collected their mana stones. Thud! He dismembered the Giant Ants and kept only the parts that were in demand by the factories, loading them up in his truck. Han-Yeol, who had previously worked at a factory that dismembered monsters caught by Hunters, was probably the only one who could hunt in this fashion. Most Porters usually loaded up the whole monster''s remains just in case they missed something and ended up taking the me for it. However, any excess monster parts that were not used by the factories usually ended up bing waste products and discarded as trash. ¡®Everyone else just keeps their mouths shut,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Factory owners could ask Hunters to leave out specific monster parts when providing them with corpses, but they did not, as they feared the Hunters would be offended and end up cutting all business ties with them. That was why the factory owners usually ended up stuck in a situation where they had to bear the disposal cost for useless monster parts while not being able to say a word to the Hunters. ¡®But I¡¯m different.¡¯ He already had years of experience working at a factory, and he had also studied which body parts of various monsters held value during his time as a Porter. Both of his experiencesbined allowed him to distinguish between valuable monster parts and useless garbage. Due to that, Han-Yeol was able to load up many more monster parts onto his truckpared to normal Hunters. Vrooom¡­! Han-Yeol left the hunting grounds and drove to the factory he would be doing business with. ¡°Wee, Han-Yeol-nim. We have been waiting for you.¡± ¡°Hello,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a short greeting. The factory manager hade out to greet Han-Yeol in person. A normal factory manager would most likely not even bother toe out and greet a Hunter who had only brought low-tier monsters like Giant Ants, but the ce Han-Yeol was dealing with this time was a small, newly established private factory. Every Hunter, no matter how small or low-tier the monsters they brought, was a precious customer to them. Shwik! ¡°Here are the goods,¡± Han-Yeol said as he pulled away a tarpaulin covering the pile of Giant Ants. ¡°Oh! There are a lot of Giant Ants today!¡± the factory manager eximed in delight. ¡°I did work a bit harder this time around,¡± Han-Yeol said, while thinking in the back of his mind, ¡®Although I almost died this time.¡¯ A chill went down his spine whenever he remembered the time his hand had been stuck in the Giant Ant¡¯s carapace. ¡°Hey! What are you doing just standing around?! Hurry up and calcte the goods for Han-Yeol-nim!¡± the factory manager ordered his staffers. ¡°Yes, manager-nim!¡± the staffers responded, and they immediately got to work. *** ¡°There are eight hundred kilograms of Giant Ant corpses, and that will be fifty million won in total. If I subtract the tax, it will be around thirty-five million won,¡± the factory manager informed Han-Yeol. The tax rate for dealing with monster corpses was fixed at 30%. Many Hunters hadined that the tax rate was too high, but the government had stopped theirints by bringing up how high the percentage was in Europe. ¡®European Hunters would be delighted if their governments lowered the tax rate to 30%, anyway,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he recalled the tax rates in European countries. The tax rate for an A-Rank Hunter in Germany, for example, was set at a whopping 55.5%. It was a rate that would definitely make anyone gasp. ¡®Well, it¡¯s embarrassing to think about the facilities and support that we Korean Hunters getpared to European Hunters. Thanks to that, the fatality rate of European Hunters is much lower inparison to us Korean Hunters,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, before eventually deciding to stop dwelling on useless things. ¡°Alright, I will sell them to you,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a nod. ¡°Hahaha! I sincerely thank you for doing business with a small factory like us every time! Really, thank you very much, Han-Yeol-nim!¡± The factory manager expressed his gratitude with a heartyugh. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Han-Yeol replied coolly. The factory manager smiled brightly and extended his hand, and the two men shook hands. Han-Yeol was actually losing out on this deal, but the reason why he bore the loss of potential profit and did business with this factory was the fact that there were very few Hunters who operated solo. Rumors about him would spread like wildfire and the other Hunters would try to keep him in check if he went to deal with therger, more established factories. The factory he had decided to work with this time was a small one, but it was a calcted decision that he had made despite the reduced profit. In truth, the small factory had dealt honestly and fairly with him without attempting anything underhanded. He knew plenty of factories out there that woulde up with all sorts of excuses and stories about their misery to try to reduce the amount they would have to pay. ¡®I wonder if this factory will survive?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Most factories that survived their start-up phase would eventually be pushed out byrger corporations and go bust. He thought, ¡®Well, I look forward to them surviving.¡¯ Ding dong! [Deposit: 35 million won] ¡°Everything seems to be in order,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Thank you once again for doing business with us,¡± the factory manager replied with a polite bow toward Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol left the factory and got back into his RV truck. He then drove to the Hunter¡¯s Association and returned the truck before heading home on the bus. ¡®Han-Yeol really made it, huh? Riding the bus and all now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a snicker. He could now take the bus even for distances he had used to walk or run for if he had the time to spare. ck. Han-Yeol returned home, took his clothes off, and took a quick shower. Pssht¡­ Shaak! He had brought home a few cans of beer that had been on sale in a convenience store at the entrance of the moon vige, and he drank them while watching TV. It was a moment of respite that he never could have afforded before he awakened. On the TV, a beautiful girl who was a former member of an idol group was conducting an interview with a man. ¡®That man doesn¡¯t seem like a celebrity¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while looking at the man. He did not have the handsome appearance one would expect of a celebrity, nor did he have the funny face of aedian. ¡°Hello, Mr. Joo-Hyun,¡±?the MC said in greeting. ¡°Hello, everyone. I am the Vice Master of the Hermos Guild, Lee Joo-Hyun,¡±?the guest, who seemed to be called Lee Joo-Hyun, introduced himself. ¡°Hermos Guild!¡± Han-Yeol eximed when the man introduced himself, clenching the beer can in his hand tightly in the process. Crush¡­! The beer can could not withstand a sudden burst of strength from an Awakened and was instantly crushed, spilling its contents all over the floor. ¡°Euk¡­?What a waste¡­¡± Han-Yeolmented. Slurp¡­ Slurp¡­ Han-Yeol slurped up the beer flowing out of the sides of the crushed beer can. He might have purchased it on sale, but the fact that he had not even been able to drink much of it felt like a kick to the gut. ¡®How much do you think this was?!¡¯?hemented inwardly. However, the interview continued while he was clumsily licking his own hand. ¡°Is it true that the Hermos Guild is going to attempt to raid Karakus, the top-tier monster that emerged out of a dimensional hole?¡±?the beautiful MC asked. The Vice Master of the Hermos Guild smiled gently and replied, ¡°Yes, that is true. Before that, I am aware that many of our fellow Koreans have been trembling in fear and great shock after the dimensional hole emerged recently, and I would like to sincerely apologize for that unfortunate event on behalf of all Hunters. We Hunters also deeply regret what happened this time and are greatly concerned with the sudden turn of events. I would also like to add that the Hunter¡¯s Association is doing everything possible at the moment to prevent such events from happening again.¡± It was a reply that was not rted to the MC¡¯s question. Thus, she asked, ¡°But how is that rted to the Karakus raid?¡± ¡°Yes, we are nning to reim the Nam-Gu district?of Incheon by hunting down the first ever top-tier monster summoned through a dimensional hole. I will personally be leading the raid party formed to raid the monsters that emerge from this dimensional hole and subjugate it,¡±?Lee Joo-Hyun dered. ¡°A-Are you serious?¡±?the MC asked, her eyes wide open in shock. Lee Joo-Hyun almost broke character when he saw the MC¡¯s cute reaction, but he managed to collect himself and reply coolly, ¡°Ehem¡­ Of course, the only reason we were watching from the sidelines all this time was to prepare an efficient and safe raid n. I wish to inform the public that it is not because we Hunters werezy or anything.¡± Beep! Han-Yeol switched the TV off and did not bother to listen to the whole interview. He could always easily look up the details on the Hunter¡¯s Association¡¯s website, anyway. He felt that it was more worth his time to think about what he had just heard. ¡®Arge-scale raid party will be mobilized to subjugate the dimensional hole? Those selfish bastards are going?¡¯?he thought skeptically. Lee Joo-Hyun had said that they were doing this for public safety, but Han-Yeol did not buy even 0.1% of that story. He knew very well how selfish and prideful Hunters were, as he had experienced it firsthand when he worked as a Porter. The most recent dimensional hole incident was a very good example. ¡®I¡¯m certain they¡¯re doing this because they have something to gain out of it. That¡¯s the only reason they¡¯re rolling up their sleeves and risking their lives. It could be because the monsters are worth much more than usual, or the mana stones from the dimensional holes are much more valuable. Anyway, there must be a reason why they¡¯re doing this,¡¯?he thought. He was certain that his theory was highly probable. ¡®Hmm¡­ But does that mean that only temporary parties and unskilled Hunters will be at the hunting grounds, since most of the established raid parties will be busy with the dimensional holes?¡¯?he thought. Most Hunters were already affiliated with a party, and those who were not affiliated with a party were either unskilled or socially awkward. Most temporary parties at the hunting grounds were usually formed by thetter, or by Hunters who were already affiliated with a party but were just moonlighting on the side. ¡®I¡¯m not sure how valuable the monsters from the dimensional holes are, but I am certain that this is a golden opportunity to monopolize the monsters at the hunting grounds. Which means¡­ It¡¯s a golden opportunity for me to level up explosively!¡¯?He rejoiced at the rare opportunity. ¡®What do I need to level up explosively? I need to pull?monsters over and kill them in groups. What would I need in order to do that? I¡¯d definitely need an AOE skill. So, I need to obtain an AOE skill.¡¯?He mentally listed his goals before getting from the couch and booting up hisputer. Han-Yeol started looking up AOE skills on a search engine owned by G-Company. As he scrolled through the results, he thought, ¡®There must be a skill somewhere out there that I can obtain right now¡­¡¯ ck ck ck¡­ ck ck ck¡­ ck ck ck¡­ He typed away busily at his keyboard for some time, but he soon leaned back in his chair and sighed. He said in resignation, ¡°Haa¡­ It¡¯s not as easy as I thought it would be.¡± He had looked up the term ¡®AOE skill¡¯, but the only results that had turned up were skills used in retro RPGs. In short, the results were useless, unrealistic, and skills he would never be able to use in real life. Han-Yeol¡¯s ability was very simr to the systems seen in games, but the kinds of skills that turned up in the search results were the ones that depended purely onputer graphics, such as lightning or a giant sword suddenly falling from the sky. ¡®Am I missing something¡­?¡¯?he thought. 1. The original text says ¡°It was an amount that would make anyone say a hundred million.¡± But that doesn¡¯t sound right, does it? The word ¡®?¡¯ (Eok), which means ¡®a hundred million¡¯ in Korean, rhymes with the word ¡®?¡¯ (Heok), which is the sound of a gasp, as seen in many Korean novels. 2. ¡¯Nam-Gu¡¯ literally means ¡®South District¡¯, as ¡®Nam¡¯ (?) means ¡®south¡¯ and ¡®Gu¡¯ (?) means ¡®district¡¯, but in English the term ¡®Nam-Gu¡¯ became a name in itself, so the English word ¡®district¡¯ was added to it. 3. He means drawing enemy attention (i.e., ¡®pulling aggro¡¯) to get them all in one area, not literally pulling them. Chapter 17: A Successful Trick (3)

Chapter 17: A Sessful Trick (3)

Han-Yeol leaned back in his chair with both of his hands behind his head. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Let¡¯s think about this again, but slowly this time. An AoE skill is basically a skill designed to attack multiple monsters at once in arge area. Arge area¡­ That¡¯s too broad. Arge area basically means it spreads out widely¡­¡¯?he thought. Wooong¡­ Han-Yeol began controlling his mana ording to the idea he had in his mind and heart. He slowly collected his mana above his head and began to spread it in all directions. As he focused, he thought, ¡®The goal isn¡¯t to target a single enemy, but to target the whole area.¡¯ Pak! Han-Yeol spread his arms forward, and his mana flew forward before hitting the wall and spreading throughout the room. The mana dissipated as soon as it spread, because he did not have any intention of attacking anything and was just testing his theory out. ¡®I should try creating a skill this way. Hmm¡­ The easiest thing to do would be to cast an explosion¡­¡¯?he pondered. AoE skills came in all sorts of forms and attributes, such as water, wind, fire, earth, electricity, and so on. However, Han-Yeol felt that the most efficient attribute, and the easiest attribute he could work with at present, was fire¡ªin other words, causing an explosion. In truth, the main reason he had picked fire to work with was the fact that he had no clue where to even start with the other elements, but an explosion was something that could be made artificially. ¡®The source of an explosion is fire! It¡¯s?always fire!¡¯?he thought proudly. Han-Yeol hurriedly made preparations to test out his new theory, preparing a few items before heading out. He went to the mountain behind the moon vige, which had practically be his personal training ground. Drrrrreuk¡­ Drrrrreuk¡­ He dragged over a metal barrel of the sort that would be used by the homeless in winter, which he had filled up with books and magazines he had at home but no longer needed. He even gathered any dried twigs scattered across the ground and added them to the barrel. Then, he took out a matchbox he had found somewhere in his house and lit a match, throwing it into the barrel. The reason why he was doing all this in the rear mountains was that he could end up burning down the whole apartmentplex if he messed up substantially, and that was a responsibility he was not willing to take. Fwaaaaah! The fire consumed the dried twigs and paper, starting to ze brightly. ¡®I hope this works¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before sticking his hand into the barrel. Anyone who saw what he was doing would jump in surprise and think he had gone mad, but his hand was unscathed, as he had enveloped it in mana prior to sticking it into the fire. ¡®I¡¯ll control this fire¡­! I¡¯ll make this fire mine!¡¯?he thought, steeling his resolve. Controlling an element and making it his own was an extremely difficult thing to do, and the fire resisted his attempts to tame it. ¡®Focus, Han-Yeol! Focus on controlling the fire!¡¯?he urged himself once again. He did not give up, and kept attempting to tame the fire by pouring all of his focus into his Mana Mastery skill. Over time, the fire slowly started to be one with his mana and listen to his will. Crackle¡­ Crackle¡­ ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. The fire that had previously resisted his attempts to ce it under his control now sat obediently in the palm of his hand. The me above his palm no longer needed any fuel such as paper or wood, as it had begun feeding off his mana to sustain itself. He raised his hand and looked at the zing red me atop his palm. ¡®Fire turns redder the lower its temperature is, and turns blue as the temperature rises,¡¯?he thought, digging through his shallow knowledge¡ªknowledge he had gained while watching the news. ¡®Is there a way to increase its temperature¡­?¡¯?he wondered, worrying about whether the red fire would be enough. The things he had to face were not humans, but rather monsters that threatened the existence of the human race. ¡®Hmm¡­ Maybe¡­ Just maybe¡­?¡¯?he pondered. Woooong¡­ He infused more of his mana into his fingertips, just in case it would work. Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­ He even walked around to recover some of his lost mana, just in case he ran out of it. Fwaaah! The red fire slowly turned orange as he infused more of his mana into it. ¡®Oh! It worked!¡¯?He rejoiced inwardly. However, his joysted only for a moment, as the color no longer changed no matter how much mana he infused into it. ¡®Tsk¡­ I guess this is the highest standard my mana can reach at the moment.¡¯ He clicked his tongue in regret, as he had to end the experiment right on the cusp of creating a new skill just because his mana wascking. ¡®As expected. I have to increase my level first,¡¯?he thought. It was a problem that could be solved just by leveling up and investing his bonus stat points into his MAG stat, at least. In the end, everything he wanted to do eventually circled back to his low level. ¡®At least I managed to clear the first stage of it¡­ I guess?¡¯?he consoled himself. His main objective at the moment was to obtain an AoE skill, and he had to focus on that task. Han-Yeol infused his mana into his left hand as well, and took some of the fire that sat atop his right hand. Fwaaah¡­! The single me split into two, but it did not decrease in size. That meant the way it worked was not so different from natural fire. ¡®Alright, this means I¡¯m now able to perfectly control the fire,¡¯?he thought, before throwing both of the mes in his hands forward. Fssswooooh¡­! Psssshhh¡­ He flung both mes into a puddle of water just in case things would be dangerous. However, he soon felt extremely embarrassed for even worrying, as both mes flew in an arc beforending in the water and being immediately extinguished¡ªby a puddle of water on the ground. ¡®I can¡¯t use it like this, eh? Hmm¡­ Then what if I add Power Strike to it¡­?¡¯?he pondered. He linked Power Strike to the fire and threw it again, but he had no luck this time either. The Power Strike skill could not resonate with the fire, as it was technically an immaterial object. Thud. ¡®Ahhhh! I can¡¯t seem to get a grasp of it!¡¯?hemented as he sat on the ground and scratched his head in frustration. ¡®Perhaps¡­ Would it help if I had a medium that could aid in casting the skill¡­?¡¯?he wondered. At the moment, all of Han-Yeol¡¯s offensive skills required him to infuse his mana into an object or a medium that aided him in casting a skill to attack a target. *** Han-Yeol went home and further contemted how to use an AoE skill after obtaining some clues from his recent experiment. ¡®What should I use as a medium for this one¡­?¡¯?he wondered. He took the backpack lying in a corner of his room and opened it. Ziiip¡­! ¡°Eh?¡± he eximed. The knuckle knife and hunting knife he had ced in the backpack were broken. ¡®Euk¡­ It must be because I bought cheap ones off the streets¡­¡¯?he thought while letting out a sigh. The things he had to take care of on top of the AoE skill issue had just increased by one. ¡®I guess it¡¯s now time for me to buy a real weapon,¡¯?he thought. The knives he had been using until now were cheap weapons he had bought from a street peddler. They had withstood being infused with his mana, but they were bound to break one day, as their durability would eventually plummet after being abused by mana. ¡®Yeah, I should properly arm up now that I¡¯m an official Hunter,¡¯?he thought. Until now, he had been hunting with the knives and slingshots he had bought off the street, which were very shabby whenpared to the high-quality items most Hunters used. ¡®But still¡­ I¡¯m not that financially well-off yet, so maybe I should just purchase one sword to start with,¡¯?he thought. Of course, Han-Yeol wanted to fully arm himself with those very same high-quality items used by Hunters, but he did not have the funds to purchase them yet. That was why he decided to only purchase a sword, which had suddenly be his highest priority, and slowly purchase other items once he had more financial leeway. Tap tap tap tap tap tap¡­ He booted up hisputer once again and navigated to an online store that dealt exclusively with Hunter equipment, then searched for swords on the website. Swords were mainstream weapons that were second only to spears; as such, he was presented with a plethora of choices at reasonable prices. ¡®Wow, every single one of them is tempting¡­!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. The swords that were on the screen came in all sorts of designs and specifications, but the ones Han-Yeol wanted were on the higher end of the price range. In the end, he decided to settle for a sword that was reasonably priced at five million won. ¡®I should take this with me when I test out the AoE skill at the hunting grounds,¡¯?he thought. He decided to register the sword personally, since he had to go and get a permit from the Hunter¡¯s Association prior to going out on a hunt anyway, and the Hunter¡¯s Association building was where most Hunters and Porters decided to meet up. Additionally, the physical branch of the online store he had purchased the sword from was located on the way to the Hunter¡¯s Association, so he thought it would be convenient to collect the weapon on the way. *** ¡°Thank you very much; we hope to see you again,¡± a staffer working at the physical store said while bowing toward Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol walked out of the store while grumbling, ¡°Aishh! They should have written that the scabbard was sold separately!¡± He had ended up having to spend an additional amount after walking leisurely into the store, only to find out from the staffer that the scabbard cost extra. ¡°You can¡¯t trust these merchants at all, I tell you,¡± he grumbled. Merchants did not discriminate between civilians and Hunters when it came to conning them out of their money. Han-Yeol was very annoyed after getting done in by the shop, but he soonposed and prepared himself before arriving at the Hunter¡¯s Association. ¡°Wee,¡± an association staffer greeted him when he entered the building. The Hunter¡¯s Association received thergest amount of tax money in Korea, and it was also the ce that collected thergest amount of tax revenue for the government. Its building, which had received an astronomical amount of funding ,was the embodiment of the word ¡®luxury¡¯. In fact, it could be considered even more luxurious than the Blue House itself. Of course, the employees working in it were not only quite capable, but also quite good-looking as well. Han-Yeol approached a counter and said, ¡°I booked an appointment for today, to receive a permit to hunt under the name Lee Han-Yeol.¡± He then passed his Hunter license to the staffer behind the counter. ¡°Ah, yes, yes. Please wait for a moment,¡± the staffer replied. The staffer was flustered for a moment, because such tasks were usually handled by the manager associated with a party rather than the Hunters themselves; however, she was quickly able to snap out of it due to the intense training she had undergone to serve customers ording to the association¡¯s standards. Beep. ¡°Ah, Lee Han-Yeol-nim. I have checked your appointment. S-Solo? Y-You are going to hunt solo, is that correct?¡± she stuttered and asked. ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡± Han-Yeol responded. He might have sounded nonchnt, but he was actually bothered deep inside, as he had wanted to keep the fact that he was hunting solo a secret. He was concerned that he might be treated strangely or attract too much unwanted attention. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to register as a solo Hunter, since he would be lying if he registered himself as a team. ¡°Ah, no, there is nothing wrong with it. I see that you have requested an RV truck as well?¡± the staffer asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡°Please wait a moment,¡± the staffer said before typing busily away at theputer. A printout emerged soon after, and she said, ¡°Please submit this document to the staffer managing the equipment storage to rent your RV truck.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a bow. He then checked the information board to find out where the equipment storage was, before heading to it. ¡°Omo omo! That Hunter was so polite. How is that even possible?¡± the staffers gossiped among themselves. It was still not the association¡¯s peak hours, so they had the luxury to huddle around and gossip about things. ¡°I know, right? A Hunter came and personally collected his equipment without a manager, and even spoke politely to us. Did you see what he did before he left? He actually bowed before leaving!¡± ¡°Kyaaah! He¡¯s so cool!¡± The employees of the Hunter¡¯s Association all received high sries on top of various kinds of benefits; thesedies were considered to be among the elites of society. They garnered the envy of other women and the praises of men outside their workce due to their social status as the association¡¯s employees. Unfortunately, it was a job that had a high resignation rate, and only a few actually made it until retirement despite the high sry and benefits provided. That was because of the constant sexual harassment and verbal abuse they had to receive from Hunters. Han-Yeol was a breath of fresh air for thesedies who had only ever known rude and ill-tempered Hunters, and they fell head-over-heels for his first impression. They all had dreams of marrying a rich and handsome Hunter one day, regardless of the hatred they harbored against most Hunters. After all, the most eligible marriage candidates in the world at the moment were no doubt Hunters. ¡°Snap out of it, you wenches. I went over his details; he¡¯s just at the level of hunting Giant Ants, and alone at that. How much do you think he can make in a month with that? He¡¯s just a greenhorn,¡± one of the staffers said, instantly bringing down the mood. ¡°Why do you always have to kill the mood? Besides, so what if it¡¯s just Giant Ants? He must be keeping all of the profits if he¡¯s hunting solo, right? It¡¯s guaranteed that he¡¯s earning way more than what we make.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± . ¡°Tsk tsk¡­ This is why you girls still have a long way to go.¡± ck ck¡­ The staffer had killed the mood, said what she had to say, and walked away. 1. The Blue House is the presidential pce of South Korea. They call it that because it has a blue roof. Chapter 18: A Successful Trick (4)

Chapter 18: A Sessful Trick (4)

¡°Why is she always like that?¡± ¡°I know, right? That¡¯s why she¡¯s an outcast.¡± The staffer who had dampened the mood always went around saying pessimistic things, and that was why none of the others wanted to be friends with her. It was a ssic case of workce bullying, but she did not seem to mind it at all. A pink atmosphere once again bloomed among the women after the pessimistic coworker left. ¡°Kyaah! Should I try talking to him if hees back next time?¡± ¡°His name was Lee Han-Yeol, right? How can even his name be so sexy?¡± ¡°Kyaah!¡± ¡°How many kids do you think I should have with him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it matters, since he¡¯ll be loaded anyway.¡± ¡°But they say you¡¯ll gain weight if you get pregnant¡­ Hing¡­¡± Well¡­ One had the freedom to imagine. Vroooom! Han-Yeol drove the truck toward the same Anthill he had previously been to. He was very familiar with the way, as he had already driven over there personally countless times by now. ck. He parked the car somewhere safe after arriving at his destination, then slowly entered the Anthill. ¡°Kiekik!¡± ¡®They¡¯re here,¡¯?he thought, preparing himself. The Giant Ants weed him, as expected. He nced around and counted them, concluding, ¡®There are three of them.¡¯ Three was a small number for a group of Giant Ants, as they tended to move about in groups of six at the entrance. However, it was a perfect number for Han-Yeol to warm up with before diving deeper into the Anthill. He took out a lighter he kept in his pocket and flicked it on. He then gathered his mana into his hand. Then¡­ Ding! [You have mastered the basics of infusing your mana with an attribute.] [A new skill has been created¡ªFire Attribute.] Another skill had been created. Han-Yeol wanted to check its details immediately, but he did not have the luxury of doing so, because the three Giant Ants were already prowling in front of him without hiding their intention to feast on him. He loaded a steel bullet into his slingshot and pulled it as far back as he could. ¡®The most basic AOE attack is an explosion. An explosion is basically an expansion of force. A wide expansion¡­ So wide that it spreads all over the area¡­¡¯?he thought as he infused the bullet withpressed fire mana. Tak! Fsshhwoooh¡­ Pukeok! He let go of the band and a steel bullet flew, digging itself into a Giant Ant¡¯s forehead. Kaboooooom! The steel bullet exploded after hitting its target, causing a fierce explosion in the area that swallowed the two other Giant Ants around it as well. ¡®Heok!¡¯?Han-Yeol was stupefied by the intense explosion he had created, and he could not believe it was something he had done. The explosion did not cover arge area, but all of the three Giant Ants in it died instantly. Ding! [You have sessfully created a new skill by infusing the fire attribute into yourpressed mana.] [A new skill has been created¡ªMana Explosion.] ¡®Fire Attribute¡­ Mana Explosion¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he read the notifications. [Fire Attribute (F)] Type: Passive Description: A union of mana and fire. This skill can cause a natural ignition by utilizing mana. In addition, it also increases the user¡¯s proficiency in fire-attribute skills and increases their destructiveness. [Mana Explosion (F)] Type: Active Description: An AoE skill that utilizes the natural energy of mana and the explosive properties of the fire attribute. It will cause an explosion five meters in radius if infused into a physical medium. The explosion radius will increase the higher this skill¡¯s level bes. ¡®I-It¡¯s amazing¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but exim in awe at the skill he had just created. He thought, ¡®I can definitely pull and kill multiple monsters at once from now on.¡¯ Previously, he had only stayed at the entrance of the anthill due to the fact that more and more Giant Ants would be crawling around the deeper he went inside it. From now on, however, he had nothing to be afraid of. He might not have had a proper AoE skill that covered arge area yet, but he now had a skill that would allow him to dispatch multiple monsters at once. Tak. Han-Yeol bumped his fists together with a smile and thought, ¡®Shall we go and exterminate some bugs?¡¯ *** As Han-Yeol swept through the Anthill, explosions continuously rang out through the ce as if a war had just broken out, Kabooom! Kaboooom! Boooom! ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± ¡°Is it an earthquake?¡± ¡°No, it sounds like some kind of explosion!¡± ¡°Did a fire-type Huntere here or something?¡± ¡°I have no clue¡­¡± That night, a rumor spread among the Hunters because of the continuous explosions. It was that a high-ranking Hunter was at the Anthill massacring the ants in search of something. Numerous Hunters flocked toward the Anthill when the rumor spread in hopes of finding that ¡®thing¡¯ the high-ranker was looking for, and Han-Yeol had to stop hunting due to the sudden influx ofpetitors. ¡°What the¡­? Why are there so many people all of a sudden?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled in confusion. The only person at the Anthill who had no idea of what was going on was the cause of themotion¡ªHan-Yeol himself. That was how he had to put a stop to his hunt even before he was fully satisfied with it, and he left the Anthill. However¡­ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 15 Points: 20 STR: 49 VIT: 46 AGI: 40 MAG: 25 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (F), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (E), Fire Attribute (F), Mana Explosion (F). He had been able to gain four levels in a short amount of time from hunting the Giant Ants and an assortment of other ant monsters in massive numbers, and he now had a whopping 20 bonus stat points piled up as a result. ¡®Mana?Explosion is really?effective, but I can only use it a few times because of myck of mana¡­ I should diversify my stat distribution the way I always have, but¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling conflicted. He had realized howcking his mana was in this hunt even with the regeneration provided by Walking. That made him decide to invest all 20 of the bonus stat points into MAG. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 15 Points: 20 STR: 49 VIT: 46 AGI: 40 MAG: 45 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (F), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (F), Sixth Sense (F), Restrain (E), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (C), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (F), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (E), Fire Attribute (F), Mana Explosion (F). ¡®Alright,¡¯?he thought in satisfaction. Wooooong¡­ His mana wildly flowed inside his heart for a moment before eventually calming down. ¡®Hooo¡­¡¯?After investing all 20 bonus stat points into MAG at once, Han-Yeol felt all of his fatigue dissipate as the mana in his heart spread a cleansing sensation throughout his body. ¡®I really like this feeling,¡¯?he thought. It was the sort of high a junkie would experience, and he felt as if he might get addicted to it one day. *** Han-Yeol voluntarily ended his hunt, albeit with some influence from external forces. Unfortunately, he could not recover as many ant remains due to the explosions, but he was still able to fill up his RV truck and sell them at the factory he had sold them to thest time. He did not earn a lot from the hunt, but he was still able to earn a significant amount of money in a short period of time, as he did not have any other particr expenses aside from his father¡¯s hospital bills and his living allocations. ¡®My mana has significantly increased. I guess I can properly use Heal on my father now,¡¯?he thought. The first ce Han-Yeol went to after receiving his money from selling the monster remains was the hospital where his father had been admitted. He had not had the luxury to frequently visit his father prior to his awakening, but he was now able to visit whenever he had spare time due to the freedom his awakening gave him. He filled up the visitor¡¯s form and entered the room where his father was staying. He approached his father, who was sleeping on the bed, and grasped his pale, skinny hand before using Heal on him. Woooong¡­ Han-Yeol¡¯s body let out a blue glow that moved to envelop his father. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Heal¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] Han-Yeol stayed in the hospital¡¯s patient guardian lounge for ten consecutive days, and continuously used Heal on his father whenever he got the chance to during visiting hours. The healing he did for his father sessfully slowed down the progression of the illness, but failed to show any signs ofpletely curing it. In fact, the more he used Heal on his father, therger the ck lump of mana on his father¡¯s chest grew, as if it were resisting his attempts to cure it. He had decided to stay for ten days at the hospital after realizing the severity of the situation, and made the most out of every single visiting hour to use Heal on his father. Fortunately, he was able to rein in the ck lump of mana that was trying to rampage through his father¡¯s body. His Heal skill reached A-Rank from continuous use over the previous ten days, but it still did not show any signs of ridding his father of the ck lump of mana. During one of his usual consultations with the doctor in charge, however¡­ ¡°Your father is showing signs of improvement,¡± the doctor said. ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol eximed in surprise. The doctor in charge, who usually said things that only made Han-Yeol worry, had suddenly said something positive today for a change. He exined that Han-Yeol¡¯s father had begun getting better, and that the improvement of his condition was nothing short of a miracle. ¡°It is really a miracle for a patient whose condition has deteriorated that badly to suddenly recover. I am certain that this will garner a lot of attention if it is published in a medical journal!¡± The doctor, who was usually emotionless and cold, was full of enthusiasm as he spoke, his saliva spraying all over the ce. However, Han-Yeol was not interested at all in what the doctor was saying, as he was lost in thought, ¡®I¡¯m certain that the ck lump of mana is still there, but father¡¯s condition has improved¡­?¡¯ He wanted to grab the doctor¡¯s cor and scold him for iming something akin to saying a dog was a grass-eating herbivore. However, when he thought about it again, he realized that his father had managed to wake up on five out of the ten days he had been using Heal. He had considered it pure luck and a very good coincidence that he had managed to catch his father awake, but what if that was no coincidence at all? ¡®Wait a second¡­ The?ck lump of mana is still there in his chest, but what if his body actually has gotten better because of the constant healing I was doing?¡¯?he thought. He finally understood why the doctor was so worked up about the recent turn of events. He was able to reach that conclusion because of the knowledge he had absorbed from reading countless medical journals to level up his Heal skill. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?He was deep in thought as he left the excited doctor behind and went back to his father just in time for visiting hours to start. Then¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to get myself discharged,¡± his father said. ¡°What?¡± Han-Yeol eximed, perplexed. ¡°I overheard the doctor and nurse talking a while ago. They were saying that my illness hasn¡¯t been cured, but I¡¯m now able to function and live a normal life like everyone else,¡± his father said. ¡°But father, you still have not fully recovered, just as the doctor said. I suggest that it would be better for you to stay at the hospital instead of at home¡­¡± Han-Yeol tried to convince his father. It was not as if his father would suddenly recover just because he was staying at the hospital; still, the hospital had people monitoring him twenty-four hours a day. He wanted his father to stay longer because he would feel more at ease, and someone would be there for his father in the event that something happened. However, his father adamantly refused and would not be convinced, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay any longer in this useless hospital. Look, I¡¯ve been here for so long, but they still couldn¡¯t figure out the cause of my illness. This is all a waste of time and money. I want to get discharged immediately, and I¡¯ll do it myself if you refuse to.¡± His father tried to get up as soon as he finished speaking, but Han-Yeol jumped in surprise and immediately blocked him. He said, ¡°Ah! No, father. I will do it myself, so please do not push yourself too hard.¡± ¡°Alright, if you say so,¡± his father responded. Han-Yeol could not bend his father¡¯s stubborn will, so he went to the administration office and applied to have his father discharged. The administration office had perhaps received some sort of instruction from above, as they tried their best to prevent Han-Yeol¡¯s father from getting discharged and even offered to reduce the hospital bills. However, Han-Yeol refused their offers and proceeded to have his father discharged. He had already settled all of the dyed bills, so the hospital had no justification to prevent him from discharging his father. He then returned to the ICU with five minutes remaining before the end of visiting hours. ¡°Father, you will be discharged a week from now,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m feeling tired,¡± his father replied. ¡°Yes, please sleep well, father,¡± Han-Yeol said, just before visiting hours finished. The next day, Han-Yeol moved his father out of the ICU to a normal ward, in order for his father to rest for at least a week before he gets discharged. His father¡¯s illness had stopped progressing, and there was no longer a reason for him to stay in the ICU. Now, Han-Yeol ran around busily trying to find a house that could amodate him and his father. Chapter 19: A Successful Trick (5)

Chapter 19: A Sessful Trick (5)

¡®Father¡¯s heart will be torn to pieces if he sees me living in such a shabby ce. I lied to him that I had a stable job, after all. I need to hurry up and find a proper apartment unit we can live in!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he checked his bank ount¡¯s bnce through his mobile phone. [Total: 311,479,000 won] He had around three hundred million won in his bank ount. It was an amount he had managed to save up after tirelessly hunting Giant Ants and selling their remains and mana stones. ¡®I should be able to buy a decent apartment in Gangbuk with this much money,¡¯?he thought as he looked up average housing prices online, searching for decent apartments in the area. Afterward, he went to a real estate agent¡¯s office, and the real estate agent suggested an apartment unit for him. ¡°Oh, it is clean and in a good location. This seems nice,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Aigoo! Of course! It is very difficult to find a property like this in these times. The owners asked me to sell this as soon as possible because they had to go urgently to the United States, and they were willing to sell it for a cheaper price,¡± the real estate agent said. ¡®Why do all property owners always have to go urgently to the United States¡­?¡¯Han-Yeol wondered. However, he concluded that he was not losing anything, and so paid it no heed. ¡°Hmm¡­ But still¡­ 420 million is a bit¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered, trailing off. He really liked the apartment unit, but it was also true that the price was a bit burdensome for him. His budget was around three hundred million, and it would be nowhere near enough for the asking price set by the owners even if it really was a discounted rush sale. The real estate agent desperately wanted to make a sale because Korea was in a recession, so he tried to think of a way to convince Han-Yeol to buy the property. He eventually asked, ¡°Hmm¡­ Excuse me, but how much money do you have?¡± ¡°My budget is around three hundred million,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Is it three hundred million in cash¡­?¡± the real estate agent asked in surprise. ¡°¡­Of course?¡± Han-Yeol replied. He tilted his head in confusion and stared at the real estate agent while thinking, ¡®Do people buy properties with credit cards these days¡­?¡¯ However, the real estate agent¡¯s eyes were sparkling, in contrast to Han-Yeol¡¯s confusion. He asked, ¡°Have you ever heard of a mortgage loan, by any chance?¡± ¡°Huh? Mor-what loan?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡®As expected!¡¯?the real estate agent rejoiced inwardly, excited by the ray of light he saw in Han-Yeol¡¯s ignorance. ¡°You seem to be unaware, but the government has reduced interest rates as they are trying to revitalize the economy, and that includes a significant reduction to interest on mortgage loans. S-Bank is giving a special reduced interest rate of 2.59% to those living in Seoul. The current interest rate is so low that I advise you to take it at a fixed rate, so you will not be affected if they increase the ratester on. Besides, it would be a waste to pass up on this property. You will not be able to find a property like this anywhere else for this price. Look, with three hundred million won, the best you would be able to find are those old apartment units in Beon-Dong, which is quite old and does not offer a very good standard of living,¡± the real estate agent bbered on, trying his best to close a sale with Han-Yeol. His fervent plea seemed to have worked on Han-Yeol, who replied, ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± He could not be bothered by the interest rates, as it would not be a burdensome amount for him. The main issue he had at the moment was the fact that he did not have a lump sum of cash with him, but he was prepared to take out as much money as he could if the banks would give him a loan. ¡°Of course!¡± the real estate agent eximed in response. Han-Yeol was the type of person who would always see things through to the end after he got started, and he liked the property the agent had shown him in the first ce, so he did not feel the need to go around and look at other ces. ¡®Hmm¡­ So there was a solution like that¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He said, ¡°Alright! Can you proceed with that?¡± ¡°Leave it to me! I will handle and take care of everything! Hahaha!¡± The real estate agent let out a confident, heartyugh. That was how Han-Yeol was able to quickly purchase a property to live in with his father. *** Han-Yeol finished moving and furnishing his new house before going to officially discharge his father from the hospital. When he arrived, he asked, ¡°How are you feeling, father?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve never felt better,¡± his father replied. ¡°That is a relief,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I agree,¡± his father replied. Han-Yeol hade to the hospital in a clean white sedan. Beep. ¡°Han-Yeol, is this your car?¡± his father asked. ¡°Yes, father,¡± he replied. The car he had brought with him was something he had purchased hurriedly the previous day on a two-year lease, just toe and pick his father up today. He actually had not wanted to buy a car right after purchasing a house, but it was not that burdensome for him, since he had the option to pay it back monthly instead of paying for it one time in cash. Han-Yeol helped his father into the car and drove toward the apartment, which was now both officially and legally his own property after he had paid all the fees the previous day. His father took a look around the house after entering it, remarking, ¡°So this is your house.¡± ¡°Yes, it is a nice ce despite being in Gangbuk,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yeah, it does seem like a nice ce,¡± his father said with a strange expression that Han-Yeol did not notice. Han-Yeol gave his father a tour around the house and showed his father the room he had prepared beforehand. His father suddenly started to tear up, saying, ¡°I never dreamed that I would be able to walk into a house you owned one day. I¡¯m sorry, Han-Yeol.¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father was always strong and steadfast, but even he could not withstand the wave of sorrow he felt at that moment. ¡°Father¡­¡± Han-Yeol said as he hugged andforted his father. As they were sharing in their sorrow, Han-Yeol suddenly eximed, ¡°Ah! Father!¡± ¡°Why? What is it?¡± his father asked. ¡°Shall we dine out today? It has been a while since west did,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°That¡¯s just a waste of money. Let¡¯s just order some jjajangmyun and eat here,¡± his father grumbled. ¡°Today is a special day, because father was just discharged. We cannot just have jjajangmyun on a day like this! We need to go and slice some meat! We should go, father,¡± Han-Yeol urged his father. ¡°Ah¡­ We should just eat at home¡­¡± his father protested, but Han-Yeol forcefully dragged him out of the house. His father pretended to be unable to fight back and let Han-Yeol drag him out. They went to a famous grilling restaurant that Han-Yeol had looked up on the inte. They ordered a bottle of soju, as alcohol was a must for such a joyous asion. Han-Yeol filled his father¡¯s cup with soju, and his father took the bottle and filled his cup in return. They both raised their sses before Han-Yeol eximed, ¡°Cheers to your being discharged today, father!¡± Clink! ¡°Keeeu!¡± ¡°Keeeu!?Alcohol tastes really bitter after having it for the first time in a long while,¡± his father said. ¡°Father, you are only allowed to drink for today. You should not drink from tomorrow onward. You might have been discharged, but you are still sick. Please do not forget that,¡± Han-Yeol pleaded. ¡°Of course. You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I don¡¯t have any ns to be admitted to a hospital ever again,¡± his father replied. ¡°Haha! That is a wise decision, father,¡± Han-Yeol happily replied. The father and son duo quietly clinked their sses again. They did not really have to exchange any words, as they perfectly understood what the other wanted to say. ¡°Oh, right, Han-Yeol,¡± his father began. ¡°Yes, father?¡± Han-Yeol replied as he put a slice of cooked meat on his father¡¯s te, while turning over the meat on the grill so it would not burn. Pssssh¡­ ¡°You¡¯re already twenty-eight years old, right?¡± his father asked. ¡°Yes, that is right,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Hmm¡­ Isn¡¯t it time for you to start considering marriage?¡± his father said out of the blue. ¡°Cough! Cough!¡±?Han-Yeol spluttered, choking on his food when his father suddenly brought up marriage. He quickly drank a cup of water and eximed, ¡°Father!¡± ¡°I mean, I thought about that quite often while I was hospitalized. I was thinking about what my biggest regret would be if I were to die tomorrow, and I realized that it was being unable to see the face of my grandchild, in this day and age where people live up to a hundred years. I might be healthy right now, but who knows when this damned illness wille back? How can you call yourself a son if you can¡¯t even grant your dying father¡¯s small wish?¡± his father nagged him. ¡°Nobody said anything about you dying!¡± Han-Yeol loudly retorted, but he was still flustered by what his father had just said. He felt awkward as he thought, ¡®What¡¯s with this talk of marriage all of a sudden¡­?¡¯ ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not telling you to get married right now, but still. Here,¡± his father said as he passed a picture of an average-looking woman over to Han-Yeol. ¡°Who is this, father?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°I received it from an ahjumma I became close with at the hospital ward. How is she? Isn¡¯t she beautiful?¡± his father asked. ¡°I-I am not sure¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied. The woman in the picture was not exactly beautiful enough to captivate Han-Yeol. She looked quite in, and she could notpare to the countless beauties he had met while working with the Hunters. However, he suddenly remembered the high schooler who lived next door to his old house. ¡®That punk¡­ I wonder how she¡¯s doing right now?¡¯?he thought. He had been busy over the previous couple of weeks, so he had not had the time to see her, and the only contact he had with her was through the countless banana milks she had left in front of his door. ¡®That kid is much prettier than her¡­¡¯?he thought. She was only a child, but her body and face had already matured¡­ ¡®No, no¡­ she¡¯s just a kid, and our age gap is just too wide. I¡¯ll be called a cradle robber by people if I go for her,¡¯?he thought as he shook his head, but he still missed her nheless. *** Han-Yeol spent the next few days together with his father. Eventually, his father finally decided to go out alone to meet some of his friends, whom he had not seen for quite a while. Of course, Han-Yeol did not forget to use Heal on his father before he left just in case something might happen while he was away. Afterward, Han-Yeol made ten hunting trips to the Anthill which was now quite crowded with Hunters, but he could not achieve any real results out of it due to the congestion. There was also one concern on his mind that had been bothering him for days. ¡®Hmm¡­ I¡¯ve been using Heal for days now, but the skill level shows no signs of leveling up¡­¡¯?he pondered. Heal had leveled up more quickly than the other skills he possessed, but the skill would not budge from A-Rank even though he had been using it on his father for days. ¡®There must be another condition that needs to be met¡­ Karvis?¡¯?he thought, calling on his Ego System. [That is most probably the case right now.] [You need to personally experience and go through each and every one of your skills.] [There is definitely a prerequisite condition that needs to be met if the skill will not rank up to M.] ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was left deep in thought by Karvis¡¯ answer, but he decided to level up first. Thus, he started to look for a new hunting ground suitable for him online. ¡®The?Anthill?is a bit boring now, and there are too many people over there. I need to find a ce that¡¯s more difficult than the Anthill and barely visited by the other Hunters¡­¡¯?he thought as he searched. He still had not cleared the Anthill all the way through, but he had to give up on it, as it was no longer possible for him to hunt freely because of the crowds there. ¡®Hmm¡­ Then where should I go¡­?¡¯?he thought. He started to search for a suitable hunting ground to rece the Anthill, based on the information he had collected about his current stats while fighting against the Giant Ants. [Orc Burrow] ¡®Orc¡­?¡¯?he thought as he read the result. He had run a simtion program that analyzed his current strength and stats to find the most suitable hunting ground for him countless times, and the results kept going back to the same monsters¡ªOrcs. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ The closest Orc Burrow from here is¡­ Ah, it¡¯s Anseong City,¡¯?he thought as he looked it up online. . The Orc Burrow at Anseong was a ce he had never visited even while working as a Porter. The city had been overrun and upied by the monsters summoned through the dimensional gate thirty years before, and the aliens had had to ce a barrier around the whole city to keep those monsters in check. It was a small city that had once had a poption of 180 thousand people, but they had been forced to give it up, unable to control the Orcs that had poured out of it. The government had received severe criticism and bacsh because of the civilian casualties suffered on that fateful day. Of course, they had made up some other issue to divert the masses¡¯ attention the way they always did,ing up with some excuse that Anseong was not the only important city for them and they had to protect other cities too. ¡®Anyway, my next destination is Anseong,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, deciding it would be his next hunting ground. While nning for the next hunt, he thought, ¡®But first¡­ I have to rearm myself and upgrade my equipment.¡¯ Han-Yeol had quite arge sum of money on hand. The mortgage loan he had taken out was something he could pay back leisurely over ten years, and the total was not that much of a burden to him anyway. As such, he had a lot of money left over after diligently hunting the Giant Ants once again. ¡®I should visit the Hunter Mall instead of just looking things up online,¡¯?he thought. It was convenient for him to shop online, but there was nothing more reassuring than being able to get a feel for goods in person before purchasing them. Online shopping was severely limited, as he could not touch, feel, or even test out any items before purchasing them. Han-Yeol quickly got ready and left his house. He took the bus to the Hunter Mall, taking a seat at the back. He ced his hand on his chin and fell deep into thought. ¡®First¡­ I need to get a firearm.¡¯ The slingshot was a good weapon, but Han-Yeol now needed a proper firearm made by a crafting-ss Hunter that was imbued with mana. The words of the old man who had sold him the slingshot, telling him to treasure and cherish it, continuously repeated in his mind, but he could not afford to continue risking his life for something sentimental like that. ¡®I¡¯d like to buy a new chain as well¡­ If there¡¯s one avable,¡¯?he thought. The free chain he had received to tie uprge monsters with when he was a Porter was already damaged and chipped in ces, as he had been constantly infusing it with his mana. [The next stop is Hunter Mall.] ¡®Ah, I¡¯m here already,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought when he heard the bus announcement. Beep¡­ He had been paying attention to the announcements since it was his first time going to the Hunter Mall, and he immediately pressed the stop bell when he heard it would be the next stop. After he hopped off the bus at his stop, what greeted him was a huge mall. Han-Yeol was stunned by the grandeur and size of the ce, as it was his first time visiting it. ¡®I-It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s so big¡­!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. 1. Gangbuk means ¡®north of the river¡¯. It¡¯s the ce across Gangnam, which some of you might be familiar with from the song ¡®Gangnam Style¡¯ by Psy. 2. This is amon phrase that real estate agents use in Korea to secure a deal quickly. ¡°The owner has to go to the US, so they¡¯re selling it in a rush. Someone else will take it if you don¡¯t. Hurry!¡± 3. Beon-Dong is an old neighborhood, almost on the outskirts of Seoul. It would take more than an hour to reach Gangnam from there, even though it¡¯s technically Seoul. 4. Jjajangmyun is a noodle dishmonly found in Chinese restaurants in Korea. It¡¯s actually a variation of a Chinese dish, first made by a Chinese immigrant. Jjajangmyun is considered a staple food in Korea, and there¡¯s a tradition of eating it when someone moves houses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jajangmyeon 5. Soju is an alcoholic drink enjoyed by the majority of Koreans. It¡¯smonly referred to as the staple alcohol of Korea. 6. A word that literally means ¡®aunt¡¯ in Korean, but is used to refer to middle-aged women more generally. 7. Anseong is a city in Gyeonggi-do, famous for producing various kinds of crafts made out of copper and other metals. Chapter 20: Orc Burrow (1)

Chapter 20: Orc Burrow (1)

Han-Yeol had initially thought that the Hunter Mall would only be the size of arge supermarket when he first discovered that there was a mall exclusively for the gear needed by Hunters. After all, how much gear did Hunters really need? To be honest, he had actually thought that he was being generous with the size estimate byparing it to arge supermarket. ¡®This is on the scale of a massive department store!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. The grandeur of the Hunter Mall turned Han-Yeol, who had lived in Seoul his whole life, into a country bumpkin in an instant. Although it was simply called the Hunter Mall, it was actually argeplex made up of several different buildings. It was a mall made for Hunters, but there were various families strolling around the za, where there was arge fountain in the middle. Several children were present, running around and ying with the fountain water. Han-Yeol looked around the ce while standing dumbfounded in ce like a country bumpkin. After a moment, he read the information board at the entrance of the mall and followed its directions to the dedicated Hunter¡¯s corner. ¡°Wee!¡± As soon as the automatic sliding doors of the Hunter¡¯s corner opened, Han-Yeol saw eight beautifuldies lined up, four to each side, and they all bowed at the waist as they greeted him. No matter howrge and grand this ce was, it was still sustained by the revenue from their main customers, the Hunters. One of the beautiful staffers approached Han-Yeol and said, ¡°I will personally guide you if there is a specific item you are looking for.¡± ¡°Ah, then kindly guide me to where they are selling the firearms, please,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes, sir. Pleasee this way,¡± the attendant said as she escorted him to an elevator. They both went up to the fourth floor. Han-Yeol exited the elevator after the doors opened again, taking a look around the ce. The fourth floor was packed with numerous stalls, with a variety of firearms made by crafting-ss Hunters on disy. These firearms would just be ordinary guns with slightly higher quality than average when used by someone without mana, but they instantly became deadly monster-killing weapons in the hands of Hunters. ¡°Is there a specific kind of weapon you are looking for?¡± the attendant asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ Please guide me to where the automatic rifles are,¡± Han-Yeol said. The attendant walked ahead, and he followed behind her. Gulp¡­ ¡®What an ass she has¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was not sure whether she was trying to seduce him or that was just how she normally walked, but her rear was moving a bit too muchpared to a normal person¡¯s gait. ¡®As expected¡­ Being a Hunter is a job blessed by the gods! Hurrah!¡¯?Han-Yeol secretly cheered inwardly. Most average people would choose Hunters as their ideal marriage partners. That was the case for both men and women. The upation of Hunter had a very low survival rate. In fact, nobody had ever worked in the field for more than twenty years since the job emerged thirty years prior, ording to the statisticsid out by the Hunter¡¯s Association recently. It was said that the average lifespan of a Hunter after they started working as one was a meager 10.8 years. The fatality rate had remained at 10% ever since, which meant that ten out of every hundred Hunters died every year. In the end, the ¡®ideal spouse candidate¡¯ for most people was someone who had a lot of money and lived on borrowed time. ¡®Well, that¡¯s why Hunters tend to only marry their fellow Hunters,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. However, that did not mean there were no Hunters who had rtionships with average civilians. In fact, it was quite easy to see various Hunters who were in such rtionships. However, most of those rtionships never continued all the way to marriage. After all, Hunters were very well aware of how people saw them. Additionally, being a Hunter was a lonely and arduous upation, and only someone who worked in the same field would be able to understand and sympathize with the challenges they faced. However, there was another problem. The gender ratio among Hunters was between 7:3 and 8:2, skewed toward men. There were bound to be a lot of male Hunters left over even if every female Hunter married their fellow Hunters. ¡®That¡¯s why normal women keep trying to seduce us Hunters,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Of course, it was not their fault; they could not be med for it, since the disproportionate gender ratio had presented them with an opportunity anyway. The attendant stopped walking while Han-Yeol was deep in thought, saying, ¡°This is where the automatic rifles are sold. Please take your time looking around.¡± . ¡°Ah, alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Before him were numerous shops lined up on both sides of the corridor with numerous firearms on disy. There was quite a distance between where he was and the end of the corridor as well. ¡®This is amazing¡­!¡¯?he thought to himself. Afterward, he walked around to various shops on his own, inspecting the many firearms on disy. ¡®Hmm¡­ There seem to be both the generic guns sold all over the world, and the ones exclusively created by crafting-ss Hunters,¡¯?he thought as he observed a few of the firearms. The world¡¯s economy now revolved around monsters, and the wars between nations had stopped because of that. As such, the technology used to produce firearms was shared all across the world, and there were no longer any copyright restrictions ced on it. Additionally, weapons manufacturers had all abandoned any business rted to supplying firearms for international warfare, focusing all their resources on supplying firearms to Hunters. The guns and other weapons manufactured by thosepanies specifically for Hunters and Porters were very expensive. For instance, there was even a certain model of weapon made in the United States worth 120 million won that was still not being exported to Korea. The reason for that was very simple. Any weapons manufactured through a coboration between weaponpanies and crafting-ss Hunters required a significant amount of mana and various exotic monster parts to be produced. As such, those kinds of weapons were different from the ones that were mass-produced in factories, and each of their parts had to be made by hand. The only way to mass-produce such weapons was for crafting-ss Hunters to craft the parts, and for normal workers to assemble them. Due to that limitation, there were a different variety of weapons avable in the market, and their prices were astronomically high. Han-Yeol started to feel indecisive, overwhelmed by the many rows of shops. As such, he chose one at random to enter. ¡°Wee!¡± the owner greeted him. ¡°Hello. Oh? You seem quite young for a shop owner,¡± Han-Yeol remarked as he saw the young man who was manning the store. He gave off the impression that he was someone who had just graduated from university and begun a new venture as a budding entrepreneur. ¡°Haha! Yes, I¡¯m quite youngpared to others, but you can still trust me! I can assure you that I never pull any tricks on my customers,¡± the young man said, thumping his chest with his fist a few times. ¡®What an interesting fe¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He asked, ¡°Hmmm¡­ Could you please show me some American rifles with grenadeunchers attached to them?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I suppose you have no interest in our local products, then?¡± the young man asked. ¡°Right. Admittedly, they¡¯re on the cheaper end of the spectrum, but I¡¯m not doing this for fun, nor am I going to hunt deer in the mountains. Why would I use a local rifle when American-made rifles, which are the best in the world, are readily avable?¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol meant every single word he had just said. He had fired tens of thousands of rounds with Korean-made firearms when he worked as a Porter, because the rifles provided by the Porter Department were mostly locally made, stamped with the ¡®MADE IN KOREA¡¯ seal and all. However, he could never forget the feel of the American-made rifles that he had gotten the opportunity to use when he worked for arge-scale raid party once. He thought, ¡®The bullets never jammed, and I didn¡¯t have to clean the barrel so often. Ah, it had more firepower than the local ones too.¡¯ That was when Han-Yeol had made up his mind to only buy American-made firearms when the time came for him to purchase his own weapons. ¡°Tsk, tsk¡­ I know, right? They invest an astronomical amount of money every year into crafting-ss Hunters just to develop our own weapons, but I wonder where all of that money went, since we¡¯re only left with trash like this.¡± The young man clicked his tongue and openlyined, even though he was supposed to be selling weapons to customers. ¡°Are you even allowed to say that when you¡¯re supposed to be selling guns?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Of course not, but I saw that you were already putting some distance between yourself and the local firearms anyway. I knew I would have no way to convince you no matter how hard I tried. So, wouldn¡¯t it be better for me to talk crap about these and build up some trust with you?¡± the young man replied. ¡°Haha! You are an interesting fe,¡± Han-Yeol responded with augh. ¡°Haha, I do get that a lot. Ah, but this isn¡¯t the time for that. I have a fe here that¡¯s just been freshly imported from the United States,¡± the young man said as he started looking for something under the showcase. He took out a rifle from underneath it, cing it atop the showcase in front of Han-Yeol. ¡°What is this?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°It¡¯s the M4A2-001, which was released in the United Statesst year. The M series designation refers to automatic rifles, and this little fe was a big hit not only in the United States, but on the entire American continent! It was so popr that the demand for it in the United States alone already depleted the entire supplyst year, which made it impossible to import, but I managed to get my hands on this fe just fifteen days ago,¡± the young man exined, giving the gun a grand introduction. However, Han-Yeol was not convinced, feeling that something was off. He asked, ¡°But why was a product that was such a big hit in the United States tucked away in a corner?¡± He thought that if he were the owner of the shop, he would disy such a gun as the main product of his store and promote it massively. ¡°Haha, I thought the same way too when this product first arrived, but I took it down after just four days,¡± the young man said. ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Han-Yeol asked, tilting his head in confusion. The young shop owner silently showed him the gun¡¯s price tag. [28,200,000 won] ¡°T-Twenty-eight million won¡­?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in shock. ¡°Haha, yes. The price is the problem,¡± the young man replied. ¡°Why the hell is it so expensive¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The locally-made K2 rifles normally sold at around three million won, going up to twelve million won for the higher-end ones. ¡°This is all because of those damned Defense Ministry bastards. They used petty tactics such as levying higher taxes on imported firearms when they found that the imported ones had better quality for a slightly higher price tag. They¡¯re really hopeless! They should have focused on increasing the local firearms¡¯ quality rather than thinking of petty tactics like this!¡± the young manmented in frustration. ¡°That¡¯s just too much,¡± Han-Yeol remarked. ¡°Well, would you like to try it out, at least?¡± the young man asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ Why not?¡± Han-Yeol replied. Testing the weapons was free, after all, so he did not decline the young shop owner¡¯s offer to let him test it out. He went to the basement with the M4A2-001 rifle in hand and shot a few rounds. Ratatata¡­! Ratatata! His heart was now captivated by the M4A2-001 after shooting it in several different ways. ¡®It¡¯s amazing!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. He could understand why this weapon had been such a big hit on the American continent. This rifle was in a different leaguepared to the locally-made ones. ¡°It¡¯s good, right?¡± the young man asked confidently. ¡°It¡¯s the best. It makes other rifles look like a toy,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Haa¡­ But the price is still an issue, I guess,¡± the young man said as he let out a sigh. The young shop owner prided himself in selling goods at reasonable prices, but even he could not find a way around the massive taxes levied on the rifle that made the price jump severalfold. In fact, some of the other shops were selling the same model for more than forty million won. That had happened all because the government turned a blind eye to the taxes levied on imported firearms. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Huh?¡± the young man eximed in confusion. ¡°I¡¯ll pay it in full,¡± Han-Yeol added. ¡°Are you serious?¡± the young man asked, still in disbelief. ¡°Yes. Here¡¯s my card,¡± Han-Yeol said, extending his debit card. It was a fact that the rifle was very expensive, but in truth, it only looked overpriced whenpared to local rifles. The price was not really a burdensome amount for Han-Yeol, as he had already saved up quite a bit from hunting the Giant Ants. He might have taken the bus instead of a taxi to save money, but he was not the type of person to skimp on something his life would depend on out at the hunting grounds. After all, the millions in his bank ount would be worthless if he died. As such, he always tried to arm himself with the best equipment avable. ¡®I can¡¯t die while trying to save money when I have to take care?of father,¡¯?he thought. ¡°Oh, right, do you sell pistols as well?¡± he asked. The young shop owner smiled and nodded before replying, ¡°Of course! This might be a shop that specializes in rifles, but I do sell pistols as well.¡± ¡°Then, can you rmend a nice pistol? An American-made one, of course,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes. Please give me a moment,¡± the young shop owner replied. A pistol was not an absolutely necessary piece of equipment when hunting because it did not pack as much firepower as a rifle, but it was still a wise choice to keep one as a backup in case of an emergency. The young shop owner eventually rmended a revolver to Han-Yeol. After purchasing the revolver and bullets on top of the rifle he had just bought, Han-Yeol¡¯s bill came up to thirty million won. He then left the shop, and the beautiful attendant asked him with a smile, ¡°Is there anything else you require aside from firearms?¡± ¡°Ah, would you know where I can buy a chain, by any chance?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°A chain¡­?¡± the attendant muttered in surprise. The staffers here were trained to be the best in the industry when it came to providing the best services, but even she, who had gone through intense training to always maintain herposure, showed her confusion for a moment. Her smile disappeared for a split second due to Han-Yeol¡¯s strange request. ¡°Yes, a chain. Something like this?¡± Han-Yeol replied, taking his chain out of his bag and showing it to her. ¡°Ah, you may find these in the misceneous corner on the basement floor. Shall I guide you there?¡± the attendant asked. ¡°Yes, please do,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°As you wish, sir. Please follow me this way,¡± the attendant said as she escorted him to the basement. Thankfully, there were a variety of chains avable in the misceneous corner. Chains were usually used to bind monsters, so they came in all sorts of shapes and sizes depending on the target monster¡¯s size. Han-Yeol had fun shopping for chains because of the huge variety avable. 1. Technically, the designation M4A2 already belongs to the Sherman tank, but author-nim used this name for his fictional gun. In the real world, the current American army rifle is the M16A1, also known as the M4, and scheduled to be reced by the M5. Chapter 21: Orc Burrow (2)

Chapter 21: Orc Burrow (2)

Luckily for Han-Yeol, chains were not considered to be weapons; they were mostly used as logistical tools by Porters. That made them extremely cheap for someone like him who used them as a weapon. The reason why chains were soparatively cheap was the fact that weapons were taxed by the government at a higher rate than misceneous items. Han-Yeol looked around the misceneous corner of the basement and picked out a size four chain from among the chains made by crafting-ss Hunters. He thought, ¡®Well, who in their right mind would ever use a chain as a weapon besides me?¡¯ All in all, he had managed to purchase a rifle, a revolver, and a chain on this trip. The attendant asked Han-Yeol as soon as he exited the misceneous corner, ¡°Shall I guide you to any other ce?¡± She had been waiting for him outside the whole time with a smile on her face. ¡°No, I would prefer to go around by myself from now on. Thank you for your hard work,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Thank you, customer. Please do not hesitate to call me again if you need anything, and also¡­ Here,¡± the attendant said as she took out her business card and politely passed it to him with both hands. Han-Yeol received her business card and read it. [Hunter Mall] Lee Su-Yeon Assistant Manager E-mail: The business card had a simple design with the attendant¡¯s details on it. ¡°This is?¡± Han-Yeol asked, looking confused. ¡°You may call for me again if you show that to the receptionist on the first floor the next time you visit us, dear customer,¡± Su-Yeon exined. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, customer,¡± Su-Yeon replied. ¡®Ohhh!¡¯?Han-Yeol was impressed and thought that it was a good system. Anyone would prefer to deal with someone they were familiar with, after all. He said, ¡°Alright. I will call Ms. Su-Yeon the next time Ie again.¡± ¡°Thank you, dear customer. Then, I wish you a pleasant day,¡± Su-Yeon said as she bowed politely. Han-Yeol walked around the Hunter Mallplex after Su-Yeon left. It was the first time he had found out that there was a dedicatedrge-scale shoppingplex for Hunters; he really liked this ce, as it had a very nice and aesthetically pleasing exterior. ¡®Oh right, I should buy a gift?for father, since I¡¯m here after all. How could I forget to buy him a gift to celebrate being discharged? Sheesh, and I call myself a son¡­¡¯?he reprimanded himself. He wondered how much filial piety hecked. He resolved that it would now be his turn to take care of his father the same way his father had once taken care of him; after all, he was no longer the poor and powerless son he had been. ¡®I¡¯m a Hunter now. I¡¯m considered to be in the top 1% now,¡¯?he thought. Of course, he was still a greenhorn Hunter who wascking in many ways and still had to grow stronger, but he was confident that he would be able to grow stronger than anyone else. The ce he went to next was one most Hunters loved visiting¡ªthe luxury brands corner. In that area, shops sold all sorts of luxury goods such as handbags, clothes, and watches made from monster parts. If people were able to craft luxury goods from materials such as crocodile and buffalo leather, what could stop them from making such things out of monster hides? The luxury goods being sold in this ce were primarily marketed toward Hunters, but there were still a lot of normal people who came and bought them as well. After all, there were plenty of normal people who were wealthier than most Hunters, and most of them loveding to the Hunter Mall just as much. The best example of that was the chairman of S-Group, who had been unable to awaken, but was nevertheless famous for his love for the goods sold at the Hunter Mall despite being a normal person. Han-Yeol went to a shop selling men¡¯s wallets. ¡®Father really loved wallets back then,¡¯?he recalled clearly, even though it had been ages. His father had always worked tirelessly and scrimped meticulously just to provide for his son, but the only things that had always caught his eye were the expensive wallets disyed in luxury shops. However, he had always bought cheap wallets at the bookstore for ten thousand won and used them for years until they were worn out and tattered. ¡°Wee! Is there anything you are looking for?¡± a salesperson greeted Han-Yeol. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking to buy a gift for my father. May I see some of your wallets?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, is it your father¡¯s birthday?¡± the salesperson asked. ¡°No, he was very sick until recently, but he thankfully recovered after some time. I wanted to buy a gift tomemorate his being discharged,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol spoke freely about such a sensitive subject without reservation. He and his father had been struggling for a long time because of his father¡¯s illness, but he felt a sense of freedom now that his father has recovered. ¡°Omo! Congrattions! Then, shall I prepare the best gift possible for him?¡± the salesperson asked. ¡°No, I¡¯m not looking for the best one. My father has always loved wallets, so I was wondering if you had a wallet with an imposing yet luxurious design?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Of course we do!¡± the salesperson replied. Of course, there was no way a salesperson would tell a customer that they did not have what the customer was looking for. ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol asked. In truth, he had zero knowledge of luxury goods. He was amazed that the salesperson had told him that they had what he was looking for when he had just repeated some fancy words he heard on the TV. He wondered, ¡®Is that person just trying to sell me something, or do they really have it¡­?¡¯ Perhaps it was because he was from a poor family, but he was always skeptical of anything a salesperson said. That was why he always preferred to see the goods in person before purchasing anything. The products sold online were always cheaper, but they had the tendency to break more quickly, which would be his loss in the end. ¡°What do you think of this?¡± the salesperson asked Han-Yeol while opening a luxurious box. Click. All of the products in the shop came in boxes. They were all expensive products, so it made sense to keep them protected in boxes at all times. ¡°Oh! It looks good!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. The item the salesperson had shown him was a long wallet from L-Company. In keeping with thepany¡¯s trademark, it had a distinctive checkered pattern of gray and ck squares, which made it look even more luxurious and elegant while staying ssic. However, the only question on Han-Yeol¡¯s mind was, ¡®Is this good?¡¯?The wallet looked somewhat cool to him, someone who had no idea about anything rted to luxury goods, but that was it. He was stuck in a dilemma about whether to buy it or not. Suddenly, the salesperson caught wind of his hesitation and started to run their glib tongue with a sales pitch. ¡°This is a product newlyunched by L-Company! This brand proudly holds the top spot for the brand desired by men in their forties, and anyone who has a passion for wallets would definitely want one of these!¡± ¡°Really?¡± Han-Yeol said as his ears perked up. He was a Korean through and through, so themon Korean trait of choosing luxury brands based on the way people perceived them certainly applied to him. ¡®I won¡¯t get scolded if I buy something from the bestpany, right¡­?¡¯?he thought. He recalled a phrase he had heard somewhere: ¡®When in doubt, buy something from arge conglomerate.¡¯ ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll take this. How much is it?¡± he asked. ¡°That will be thirty-two million won,¡± the salesperson replied. ¡°What?¡± Han-Yeol blurted out in shock. ¡°That will be thirty-two million won. Should I find you a cheaper option?¡± the salesperson asked. Han-Yeol was surprised once he heard the price tag, but the salesperson was surprised by his reaction as well. The salesperson assumed that Han-Yeol was a Hunter, which was why they had started by presenting a mid-range product. But to think that a Hunter would be shocked by such a price tag¡­? ¡®Maybe he isn¡¯t a Hunter¡­?¡¯?the salesperson thought. They had never seen a Hunter visiting the luxury goods corner and getting shocked by the price tag. ¡°Ah, no¡­ I¡¯ll take it¡­¡± Han-Yeol said, extending his debit card. However, he grumbled inwardly, ¡®What the hell? What kind of wallet costs thirty-two million won¡­? They call it a luxury brand, but still¡­¡¯ L-Company held the top spot when it came to desirable wallet brands, and their products did note cheap at all. Han-Yeol was initially shocked by the price tag, but he could not help but hum a tune when he imagined how happy his father was going to be. ¡°Ll~¡±?he hummed while walking. While he was not paying attention to his surroundings, however¡­ Thud! ¡°Oh my!¡± Han-Yeol bumped into someone as he turned a corner on the way to the elevators. As a Hunter, he was not pushed back at all, but the person he bumped into, who was holding arge pail of water and a mop, fell backward and copsed. Ping! ng ng ng¡­! The water in the pail sshed all over Han-Yeol¡¯s legs and his lower body, covering the surrounding area around them. Unfortunately for the cleaning ahjumma, the floor manager had witnessed what had just happened. He cried as he ran toward Han-Yeol, ¡°Sir customeeer!¡± This ce was mostly visited by Hunters, and even the ordinary people who visited this part of the mall were rich, as the prices of the goods sold in it were exorbitant. This part of the Hunter Mall was a ce where top-ss customer service was constantly. And yet, dirty water had been sshed all over a customer in this ce? It was something that should never have happened unless someone had gone mad and done so on purpose. ¡°Ahjumma! Are you crazy?! Have you gone mad?!¡± the floor manager screamed. ¡°I am sorry¡­ I am so sorry¡­¡± the ahjumma repeated over and over again. The floor manager¡¯s anger was fully directed toward the cleaning ahjumma, and he continued scolding her. ¡°Do you think this is something that will be solved by apologizing?!¡± ¡°I am sorry¡­ I am really sorry¡­¡± the ahjumma continued to apologize. Han-Yeol was notfortable seeing a woman who was old enough to be his mother bowing and apologizing while not being able to stand up for herself. He felt that he had seen enough and decided to talk to the floor manager, saying, ¡°Manager-nim, I am fine. Just let go of it.¡± ¡°B-But, sir¡­¡± the floor manager mumbled hesitantly. ¡°It was my fault. My shopping bags are safe, and I am really fine. Also, I am sorry, ahjummoni. I should have watched where I was going,¡± Han-Yeol said, apologizing earnestly to the cleaning ahjumma. After all, what had happened was clearly his fault. ¡°Ah, no, sir¡­ It was my fault. I should have been more careful,¡± the ahjumma said. ¡°Then it is both of our faults, so no one has to apologize. You do not have to keep apologizing,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°But¡­¡± the ahjumma mumbled. In truth, she was shocked. The customers she had to deal with everyday were not the type to let go of things so easily. ¡°Umm¡­ Excuse me, sir. We have to tidy this ce up now¡­ So¡­¡± the floor manager carefully told Han-Yeol. The ce where they were standing was on the way to the elevator, so they had to clean it up as soon as possible. ¡°Oh! I am sorry,¡± the cleaning ahjumma said as she quickly started to mop the floor. ¡°Let me help you,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°No, sir; you do not have to,¡± the ahjumma replied. ¡°No, it is fine with me. Please, let me help,¡± Han-Yeol insisted. He then helped the cleaning ahjumma clean the ce up. His entire lower body was soaked, but he still did notin as he assisted in mopping up the mess. ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much¡­!¡± the cleaning ahjumma repeated multiple times. She was very thankful to the young man in front of her for helping her out, as she could have been fired immediately from her job over such an incident. ¡®He¡¯d be a perfect son-inw¡­¡¯?she thought greedily, but shook her head and dismissed the idea. He must have been someone very rich or an able Hunter if he was shopping in this ce; she could not help butpare him to her daughter, who did not know how to do anything except fool around. Han-Yeol wrapped up the incident without a fuss, then dried his pants in the restroom with his fire-controlling skill before heading back home. His father was not home by the time he came back, so Han-Yeol could not give him the wallet he had purchased earlier in the day. ¡®Well¡­ I can always give it to himter,¡¯?he thought as he went into his room. *** The next morning, Han-Yeol started his day with a big stretch before heading over to his father¡¯s room. He ced the wallet he had purchased the previous day on the bedside table, then used most of his mana to use Heal on his sleeping father just in case anything happened while he was away hunting. ¡®I will be going, father,¡¯?he greeted his father inwardly before he left, just in case he never made it back. He stopped and looked at his father¡¯s face for quite a while as the thought that this might be thest time he saw his father crossed his mind. Eventually, Han-Yeol turned around and left the house. ¡°¡­¡± Seoul was a city that was always filled with people, but it also had a quiet side in the early mornings when even the sun had not risen yet. It was still very early in the morning, but Han-Yeol was able to collect the RV truck he had reserved, as the Hunter¡¯s Association worked around the clock. ¡®It¡¯s nice that I get to save money on small things like this after officially bing a Hunter, but is it time for me to hire my own personal Porter now¡­?¡¯?he wondered. He had initially wanted to do everything by himself to save up as much money as he could. However, after having done the work of both a Hunter and a Porter by himself for quite some time, he realized that not only was it a bother, he was also losing a lot of precious time by burdening himself with both jobs. ¡®Well, let¡¯s think about that a bit further down the line.¡¯?He pushed back those thoughts, saving them for another time. After all, he had nned to hunt alone today, and it was not something he urgently needed to decide on anyway. He drove for over an hour before reaching the outskirts of Anseong. ¡®So it¡¯s here,¡¯?he thought as he stopped his truck. Creak¡­ It was still early in the morning, but the hunting ground was unusually empty and free of Hunters, as most of them were focused on the dimensional hole raid. ¡®Perfect. Shall we go and hunt some Orcs now?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he parked the truck in a suitably safe ce. He climbed up to the second floor of an abandoned house before taking out his new M4A2-001, which was equipped with a scope, to survey the area. Then¡­ ¡®Orcs,¡¯?he thought, spotting three of the monsters through his scope. The three Orcs were equipped with shabby swords and shields, and were simply loitering around the area. He had no reason to hesitate. He aimed at the Orcs and pulled the trigger. Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! ¡®Tsk!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue. Perhaps it was because hecked practice, or because he was not used to the new gun¡¯s recoil, but three out of four of the shots he had fired missed; only one had managed to hit one of the Orcs in the chest. Of course, he had not forgotten to infuse his mana into the bullets before firing them. ¡°Gguek?¡±?the orc that had been hit eximed, looking around in confusion. ¡®Damn it¡­ What kind of monster has such tough skin¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol thought in surprise. Orcs were monsters that were famous for their thick skin. One of the shots might have hit its target, but it did not manage to inflict much damage on the Orc¡¯s hide. ¡°Gguek!¡±?the Orcs roared as they charged toward Han-Yeol. They had been able to find where he was hiding due to the sound of the gunshot. 1. Giving something to someone older or higher-ranked than you with both hands is a form of respect in Korea. 2. ¡¯Ahjummoni¡¯ is the respectful way of addressing an ahjumma. Chapter 22: Orc Burrow (3)

Chapter 22: Orc Burrow (3)

¡®Mana Explosion!¡¯?Han-Yeol activated histest skill and simultaneously pulled the trigger of his M4A2-001¡¯s grenadeuncher. The grenade flew in an arc, speeding urately toward the Orcs that were rushing at him. ¡®It¡¯s over,¡¯?he thought confidently, expecting the Orcs to be destroyed by the grenade. However¡­ ¡°Ggueeeeeek!¡±?The Orc in front let out a hideous howl before raising its shabby, tattered shield. Booom! The grenade connected with the Orc¡¯s shield, unleashing a terrifying explosion that heated up the whole area. ¡°Ggueeeeeek!¡±?the Orc roared. The shield it had been using had been sted to pieces, but the Orc itself was perfectly fine, without a scratch. ¡®H-Hey! Is this even legal?!¡¯?Han-Yeol protested inwardly. He aimed his rifle at the Orcs and pulled the trigger. Ratatatatata! He fired a whole cartridge this time around, aiming directly at their heads. His bullets rained down on the Orcs, leaving them a bloody mess. Unfortunately, they did not seem to have been left tired or weak from the injuries they sustained. ¡®Tsk!¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. He realized that attacking from a distance would no longer be of any help at this point, so he put his rifle on his back and stretched out the new chain he had wrapped around his left hand. *** ¡®Heok¡­! I never knew the Orcs were going to be this strong!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, surprised. After all, the Orc Burrows were not highly-ranked among hunting grounds. ¡®As expected, it must be because I¡¯m weak.¡¯ However, Han-Yeol was not the type of person who would easily give up on hunting the Orcs. ¡®Eat this, you monsters!¡¯?he thought as he threw the chain on his left hand toward an Orc. Shhhhwiiik! The first thing Han-Yeol had done after leaving the Hunter Mall was to visit a workshop owned by someone he knew. Pukeok! ¡°Ggueeek!¡±?The Orc roared in agony as it was hit hard by the w on the end of the chain. ¡®This is my newly modified chain!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. Attached to the end of the chain was a sturdy w that was strong enough to be used as a weapon. It was his secret weapon that could smite, cut, and bind a target; it could truly be considered ¡®hitting two birds with one stone.¡¯ . ¡®How does it taste?! Haha!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Ding! [You have sessfullynded a new attack.] [A new skill has been created¡ªChain Smite.] A new skill had been created, but Han-Yeol did not have the luxury to rejoice. ¡®Heok!¡¯ ¡°Chwiiiiiik!¡±? Han-Yeol¡¯s chain cut the Orc¡¯s arm off, causing it to stagger. However, the other two Orcs continued to charge, running directly up the wall of the house to reach the second floor where Han-Yeol was. Shrrk! Han-Yeol retracted his chain and threw it once again toward an Orc that was running up to the second floor, using one of his skills. ¡®Binding!¡¯ Badum! Thud! Booom! The orc barely managed to reach the second floor before falling backward after being entangled in Han-Yeol¡¯s Binding skill. ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. After he got rid of the second Orc, there was only one left, leaving him in a one-on-one standoff. ¡°Chwwiiiiiik!¡±?The Orc screamed at him before swinging a ive that resembled a cleaver. ng! ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned. He had barely managed to block the Orc¡¯s attack by gripping his one-handed sword in both hands. He grumbled to himself, ¡®How the hell is it so strong?!¡¯ He had thought that he was quite strong now after diligently raising his stats, but all of his confidence flew out the window with that blow. All he was left with was the shame of having to kneel on the floor after being overpowered by the Orc. Momentum was definitely on the Orc¡¯s side, but Han-Yeol gripped his sword once again, aiming tond a decisive blow. He gritted his teeth and thought, ¡®Here goes nothing!¡¯ He had realized after exchanging one blow that he was never going to win against the Orc in a swordfight, which was why he decided to throw his sword at the monster instead. ng! However, the Orc easily parried the sword flying toward it as if it had already expected that to happen, breaking out intoughter. Han-Yeol had also predicted that would happen, though. He gritted his teeth again, thinking, ¡®Eat this you freak!¡¯ The reason why he had thrown his sword at the Orc was to free up his right hand, as his left hand was still holding onto the chain binding the second Orc down; apart from that, it was also to draw the attention of the Orc in front of him. Flop! Han-Yeol did not miss the opening that had presented itself for a second when the Orc deflected his sword. He immediately drew the revolver holstered on his right hip and fired it into the Orc¡¯s face, using his skill. ¡®Power Strike!¡¯? Tang! Tang! Tang! ¡°Ggueeeek!¡±?The Orc roared in agony as three bullets hit it in the face. Han-Yeol immediately ran toward the Orc while it was still stumbling in agony, firing a bullet right between its eyes at point-nk range and thinking, ¡®Goodbye! Mana Explosion!¡¯? Tang¡­! Booom! The bullet pierced into the Orc¡¯s head and exploded inside its skull. The explosion left behind empty space, and the headless Orc fell backward. ¡°Hooo¡­¡±?Han-Yeol finally let out a breath. He did not even have the luxury to reload his revolver. Instead, he grabbed his sword and went downstairs. There, he found that the second Orc had managed to free itself from his chains. The enraged Orc huffed and puffed, rapidly charging at Han-Yeol as soon as he went down from the second floor. Shrk! ¡®Chain Smite,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after he calmly pulled his chain back, sending it out again to strike the Orc¡¯s heel. The Orc lost its bnce from the sudden attack and fell t onto the floor. Bam! Thud! Han-Yeol jumped at the Orc as soon as it fell to the ground and stabbed his sword down toward its chest. However, the Orc had no intention of making things easy for him. ng! The Orc swung its sword and flung Han-Yeol backward. ¡®Tsk¡­ So you don¡¯t have any ns to let me win easily,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue. He infused his mana into his sword and used a skill. ¡®Power Strike!¡¯ He threw his sword at the Orc once again. ng! ¡°Ggreuk!¡± The orc groaned. Han-Yeol had infused the sword he threw with Power Strike this time, unlike the first time. The mana-infused sword knocked the orc back as soon as it tried to guard against the strike. Then, he drew his revolver once again and fired it, just like a scene out of a wild west movie. ¡®Power Strike!¡¯ Taaang! The Orc that had previously lost one of its arms to Han-Yeol¡¯s chain attack had recovered and tried to hit him with a sneak attack using its ive, but the round he fired out of his revolver hit it dead center between the eyes. Thud¡­! The bullet pierced through the Orc¡¯s head and prated its brain, and it fell backward and copsed onto the floor. Ding! [Your excellent marksmanship has allowed you to hit your targets urately.] [A new skill has been created¡ªMarksmanship.] Another new skill had been created once again. ¡®One has to always watch out for any attacks from behind,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a proud smirk. ¡°Gwuuooooh!¡±?The Orc that had been knocked back by Han-Yeol¡¯s mana-infused sword let out an enraged roar. However¡­ Ratatata! Han-Yeol had already aimed his rifle at the Orc, and he the trigger. The Orc did not even have time to defend itself, as the bullets that flooded out of the M4A2-001 rifle riddled its body with bullet holes. ¡°Cough! Cough!?Greeuk!¡± The Orc was left kneeling on the floor, exhausted and out of strength. After being filled with more than thirty bullets, it started to vomit out blue blood. Han-Yeol slung his rifle onto his back and picked up his sword from the floor, then he slowly walked toward the orc. ¡°Grrrrr¡­¡±?The Orc growled at him, but anyone could see by then that it had lost the fight. However, each Orc was born with a warrior¡¯s spirit. It refused to ept its defeat as it extended its neck and snarled at Han-Yeol. ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol quietly stared at the Orc, but thatsted only for a moment before he swung his sword and cleanly cut its head off of its neck. Sukeok! Thud¡­ The Orc¡¯s head fell down and rolled across the floor. Ding! [Your level has risen.] Han-Yeol had gained a level as the finale of the fierce battle. He had almost lost his life in the fight, but the reward was well worth the risk he had taken. After all, he had gained a total of two new skills and a level in a single battle. ¡®Status,¡¯?he thought, summoning his status screen. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 16 Points: 5 STR: 49 VIT: 46 AGI: 40 MAG: 45 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (E), Walking (E), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (E), Mana Shield (E), Sixth Sense (E), Restrain (D), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (A), Jumping (F), Stab (F), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (E), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (E), Fire Attribute (F), Mana Explosion (F), Chain Smite (F), Marksmanship (F). [Chain Smite (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill that allows you tounch an urate attack at your target with a chain. It increases the damage of your chain attacks and allows you to slightly control the trajectory of the chain mid-flight. [Marksmanship (F)] Type: Passive Description: The damage of all attacks using firearms will increase. This skill will assist you in aiming and hitting your targets. ¡®Who knew I''d hit the jackpot after just one hunt?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was d that the new skills hade just in time to help him deal with the Orcs much more easily. ¡®But one thing¡¯s for sure¡­ I won¡¯t be able to survive just by increasing my MAG all the time,¡¯?he thought. He had managed to supplement hiscking mana by investing all twenty bonus stat points he had gained while hunting Giant Ants into MAG. However, he realized this time around that investing all of his bonus stat points into MAG was definitely not the right way forward. This battle had made him realize the importance of his STR, AGI, and even his VIT stats if he wanted to hunt further, and especially if he wanted to operate as a solo Hunter. ¡®I should go back and call it a day,¡¯?he thought. It was dangerous to hunt continuously, as the odds of him falling into danger would increase by the minute. That was why Han-Yeol decided to be satisfied with what he had already gotten and call it a day, dismembering the Orcs before leaving the hunting grounds. After receiving the payment for the three Orcs and their mana stones, he dropped by the supermarket before heading home. ¡°I am back,¡± he said as he returned home. ¡°Wee back,¡± his father greeted him. He was on a stationary bike while watching TV. ¡®Heh. Father always took very good care of his health,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol¡¯s father had always taken care of his health until he fell sick; that was why he had be even more concerned about his health after experiencing a severe illness. Han-Yeol could not help but smile after seeing his father try to get in shape. He ced the groceries he had bought from the supermarket into the fridge, then brought a can of beer to his room and sat down at theputer. Psssshh¡­! He went to the Hunter¡¯s Association¡¯s website after opening the can, thinking, ¡®What I need to do right now is to research and investigate Orcs.¡¯ Gulp¡­! He took a swig of beer. ¡®I would have died if there were four orcs instead of three,¡¯?he thought. He might have won against three Orcs, but he knew that three was the most he could handle at once. He had found out through an online monster database that three was the most basic group size Orcs gathered together in. That meant there would have been a possibility for him to run into a group of more than three Orcs if he had been greedy and tried to hunt one more time. He felt a chill down his spine the moment he realized that things could have quickly gone wrong. He thought, ¡®Never. Earning money and all that is good, but I have to survive first and foremost. I need to collect as much information on the Orcs¡¯ patterns and habits as I can.¡¯ He scoured the Hunter¡¯s Association website for any information on the Orcs. Eventually, he learned through the website that most Orcs loved hand-to-handbat, and theirbat style involved using their swords and shields to get as close as possible to their enemy. ¡®It¡¯s simple, but the problem is their numbers¡­ It¡¯s already scary to think of not three, but four of them, ganging up and charging toward me,¡¯?he thought. It would be impossible even for Han-Yeol, who possessed a plethora of skills, to take on four Orcs at the same time because of their monstrous strength. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s a stretch to hunt them solo¡­?¡¯?he wondered. It had only been a while since he had resolved to hunt solo, but that same resolve was now starting to crumble. ¡®Well¡­ the fact that only a few Hunters actually hunt solo is proof of how hard solo hunting can be,¡¯?he thought to himself, trying to justify his shaky conviction. However, the fact that Han-Yeol was a bit different from other Hunters was a silver lining. A normal Hunter would awaken to their full potential from the get-go, and their overall strength would not increase significantly over the course of their life. Of course, it could improve with some training and practice, but the innate strength they had awakened with would not change much. ¡®Companions and all are pretty handy, but what I need right now isn¡¯tpanions¡ªit¡¯s more levels. I have to monopolize all of the experience points if I want to power level. Of course, I¡¯ll need to have my ownpanions one day, but it would be a stretch to find some immediately,¡¯?he mused, deep in thought. He then shifted to trying to figure out how to fight against four orcs at the same time. ¡®First off, I have to hire a Porter before anything else. It¡¯s getting bothersome for me to do everything alone at this point.¡¯ He did not feel the need for apanion at the moment, but he definitely felt the need for a Porter. He had realized that trying to save money by doing all the menialbor by himself was just stupid at this point. Click¡­ Click¡­ Han-Yeol opened the list of Porters registered and approved by the Hunter¡¯s Association and clicked through it. Most of the Porters who were not affiliated with any parties usually uploaded their profiles to the website. He immediately got to work filtering the countless profiles uploaded by Porters to try and promote themselves. Of course, there were no other Hunters who would be as skilled as Han-Yeol when it came to filtering out Porters. ¡®There won¡¯t be many Porters out there who can fool the eyes of this Hunter. I¡¯m someone who personally worked as a Porter for over four years, after all,¡¯?he thought as he scanned through the profiles, so intensely that it was as ifsers were shooting out of his eyes. This was probably the first time his eyes had shone so brightly in his entire life. Chapter 23: Orc Burrow (4)

Chapter 23: Orc Burrow (4)

¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­!¡±? Han-Yeol exercised and trained his body on the days he did not go out to hunt. Ding! [Your continuous training has produced results.] [The rank of ¡®Body Strengthening¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] [Your STR has increased by 2.] [Your VIT has increased by 3.] [Your AGI has increased by 1.] ¡®Alright!¡¯?he cheered. Han-Yeol had been stuck in a dilemma after investing all of his bonus stat points into MAG and losing after physically shing with the Orcs, but the buff he had just received to his stats could alleviate some of his concerns. ¡®This means I can grow stronger by training myself, and investing stat points isn¡¯t the only way to grow,¡¯?he thought. ¡°Hooo¡­¡±?He exhaled after finishing the first part of his physical training. As he was catching his breath from the workout, however¡­ ¡°As I thought¡­ Han-Yeol, you¡¯ve awakened as a Hunter, haven¡¯t you?¡± the owner of OKGYM suddenly asked. ¡°Ah, you noticed?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. He had not really nned to keep it a secret from people, but neither had he nned to go around bragging that he had be a Hunter. That was why he did not bother hiding it from the people who had noticed or recognized it. ¡°Of course. You might havee by from time to time, but I¡¯ve seen you ever since you were a kid. There could be no logical exnation for your sudden explosive growth¡­. other than the exnation that you¡¯ve awakened as a Hunter, that is,¡± the owner said. ¡°As expected, no one can beat you when ites to anything rted to physical ability,¡± Han-Yeol said with augh. ¡°Of course!¡± the owner eximed. ¡°Oh, right, how is Ji-Sook doing?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Ji-Sook was the gym owner¡¯s only daughter. She had always been picked on for her tacky old-fashioned name, and she had cried quite a lot with snot all over her face because of it. Han-Yeol had suddenly asked about her because he suddenly remembered that it had been ages since hest saw her. ¡°They say a person has to have a bit of abundance in their life. Who knew that you of all people would ask about Ji-Sook? Well, she¡¯s doing fine, as always¡­ Although she still hasn¡¯t given up on her ambition to change her name¡­¡± the owner said. ¡°You can say that again. Everyone needs to have a bit of abundance in their life to rx¡­¡± Han-Yeol responded. He picked up a pair of boxing gloves lying on the floor, putting them on and climbing up into the ring. Bam! Bam! He bumped his fists together twice and asked, ¡°Uncle, can you hold the mitts for me?¡± ¡°A-Alright¡­¡± the owner replied with a hint of awkwardness in his voice when he heard Han-Yeol call him ¡®uncle¡¯ after a long time. Nevertheless, he brought the mitts and joined Han-Yeol in the ring. ¡°Here Ie,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright,e!¡± the owner responded. Bam! Bam! Bam! It had been ages since the two of themst did some mitt work together, but they synchronized quite well even though a lot of time had passed since their previous session. The gym owner had actually seen some potential for Han-Yeol to pursue a professional boxing career, which was why he had allowed Han-Yeol to use the gym for free under the condition that he would clean it. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol had trained just to get fit and showed no interest in pursuing a career as a boxer. In the end, the man had to give up on any ns to turn him into a boxer. ¡®As expected¡­ Such a waste of talent,¡¯?the man had thought. Of course, Han-Yeol had now awakened and be a Hunter, but his punches were still as urate as those of a boxing professional. Bam! Bam! ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­?Have you met with father, by any chance?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Exchanging conversations during mitt work was something both of them had done ever since Han-Yeol was young. ¡°One! Two! Jab! Of course. He did lose a lot of weight, but he¡¯s still as lively as ever,¡± the man replied. ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­ I thought he was acting healthy in front of me just to avoid making me worry,¡± Han-Yeol said. In truth, Han-Yeol had still been worried about his father¡¯s health the entire time. He knew that his father was a proud, stubborn man who would rather die than show his weak side to his son. Of course, his father was not stupid enough to just sit back and ignore the signs his body sent him, but Han-Yeol was still worried nevertheless, because his father had already suffered an incident of severe illness. Bam! Bam! ¡°Take good care of your father. He¡¯s lived his entire life just for you,¡± the man said. ¡°Yes, I am very well aware of that,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol had realized a lot of things in the previous four years. There was a time in his younger days when he had not known how to be grateful for the things his father gave him, and he had med his father for being too poor to give him the things others usually got. However, he was very aware of those things now that he had gotten older. He was aware that the only reason he had not starved and could still socialize with other people on equal footing was the fact that his father had sacrificed so much for him. ¡®It¡¯s now my turn to make sure father lives afortable life!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he gritted his teeth. Baaam! ¡°Kuheok!¡±?The gym¡¯s owner let out a pained groan. Han-Yeol had failed to control his strength as his emotions started to well up from inside at the thought of his father, and had thrown a powerful straight punch. Thankfully, the thick mitt had absorbed most of the impact, but even that could not stop the sharp pain that traveled all the way to the man¡¯s wrist. Han-Yeol immediately approached the gym owner and checked up on him, asking, ¡°Uncle, are you alright?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ You Hunters pack quite the punch, eh?¡± the man replied while holding onto his wrist. ¡°I am sorry¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered with a guilty look. His sparring session ended prematurely because of the injury he had given his uncle. He cleaned the gym just as he always did to pay for working out, then took a shower before leaving for the agreed-on meeting ce. Cring¡­! Cring¡­! The Starcafe was a popr coffee shop in the city, and the ma of all meeting ces for youngsters to meet in. Han-Yeol stood at the entrance and looked around, thinking, ¡®Hmm¡­ Oh, there they are.¡¯ He spotted a man and a woman nervously sitting at a table while sipping on iced Americanos. He reminisced, ¡®I was also like them in the past.¡¯ It was a tremendous opportunity for a Porter to be hired directly by a Hunter or a party. That way, they received more pay and had a stable source of ie, as opposed to when they had to look for parties to join each time. Additionally, some Porters would steal a mana stone or two whenever the chance presented itself from time to time. ¡®I¡¯ve really grown a lot. Who knew I would be hiring two personal Porters of my own?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Until just recently, Han-Yeol had been meticulously weighing every single one of his decisions just to earn a little bit more. But now, he had the luxury and abundance needed to put money second and focus on leveling up to cure his father¡¯s illness. He walked toward the table where the two Porters were waiting for him. ¡°Ah!¡± Drrrd¡­ The two Porters immediately stood up once they saw Han-Yeol walking toward them. The male Porter was the first one to introduce himself, bowing deeply from the waist. ¡°Hello, sir! My name is Choi Sung-Beom!¡± ¡°Hello, my name is Lee Ah-Ri,¡± the female Porter said, following suit with a slight nod. ¡®Heh. I used to be just like that,¡¯?Han-Yeol reminisced. Memories from his past had flooded in when he saw the Porter bowing deeply. He had been hired as a personal Porter twice during his career as a Porter, and he remembered bowing from the waist just to appeal to the Hunter. ¡®I realized sooner orter that I just looked stupid, though.¡¯ Hunters did not usually need to hire their own personal Porters, but the main reason they would go out of their way to hire one was that they liked something about the Porter. It could be because they liked the Porter¡¯s skills or appearance, or because they felt romantically inclined toward the Porter. In most cases, the second and third reasons were the main factors. ¡®I was just a pushover both of those times, though.¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue when he remembered how he had been used both times. He had actually been hired by Hunters to educate and train the other Porter they had hired both times, and was fired once the other Porter was fully trained. He had btedly realized the Hunters¡¯ modus operandi after the second time, so he had begun refusing all offers and gone back to working as a daily Porter. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet both of you. My name is Lee Han-Yeol. Let¡¯s try to get along from now on,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile. ¡°Yes! I will work hard until my body breaks!¡± Choi Sung-Beom said enthusiastically. The female Porter nodded awkwardly in response, but she did not seem to be the type of person Han-Yeol would have to be worried about. Her eyes glistened when she shook his hand, and he knew very well that people who had eyes like hers were not weak types who would easily give up. Besides, he had picked them in the first ce because of their ster records as Porters. ¡°Please, take a seat,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Okay,¡± the Porters said simultaneously, both sitting at the table. ¡°The reason why I wanted to see you both before going out to the hunting ground was to exin my hunting style,¡± Han-Yeol began. ¡°I am all ears, sir,¡± Choi Sung-Beom said earnestly. Han-Yeol almost burst out intoughter, as he saw his old self in the male Porter. ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys are aware of how Hunters normally hunt. Usually, they start at nine in the morning and finish at six in the afternoon,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes,¡± Choi Sung-Beom and Lee Ah-Ri replied. They answered and nodded at the same time, and their eyes sparkled as they showed their determination not to miss a word that came out of Han-Yeol¡¯s mouth. ¡°However, I hunt in a slightly different fashion. I don¡¯t usually leave the hunting grounds until my truck is full of loot, and I rest for an hour after transporting and selling the monster remains before going back to the hunting ground. I do this back-to-back for a few days,¡± Han-Yeol exined. ¡°I-I see¡­!¡± Both Porters flinched at Han-Yeol¡¯s exnation. The two Porters were experienced enough to understand how risky and tiring Han-Yeol¡¯s hunting style was. Even a party that hunted just once a week tended to be ambushed by monsters, barely making it out alive. Hunting day in and day out continuously would definitely increase the odds of them getting ambushed by monsters. Then, Han-Yeol added the most critical piece of information. ¡°Also, I hunt alone.¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°Eh¡­?¡± The two Porters were shocked by what they had just heard. They heard some rumors of Hunters going on solo hunts, but they had never met one before in their entire career as Porters. In fact, they had thought that Hunters going out on solo hunts was a rumor people had made up after experiencing numerous grueling and dangerous hunts themselves. It was understandable for them, people who had experienced the dangers of monster hunting personally, to think that solo hunts were just rumors. There were some records of Hunters going out on solo hunts, but they had always believed that there was more to those stories than the records showed. The only logical exnation for a solo hunt would be that a high-ranking Hunter was going on a solo hunt in a low-tier hunting ground. ¡®It¡¯s impossible for Hunters to go out on solo hunts¡­¡¯?was what was on both Porters¡¯ minds. It was now time for Han-Yeol to throw them the carrot, since he had already whipped them up. He offered, ¡°In return, I¡¯ll pay you four and a half times more than the pay you¡¯ve been receiving until now.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°F¡­ Four and a half times more¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not going to exploit you for free. It¡¯s going to be a tough job after all,¡± Han-Yeol continued. ¡°T-That is not the problem¡­¡± The two Porters were once again shocked, this time by Han-Yeol¡¯s offer. Porters who joined unofficial parties usually received around 1.4 million won a day, and they normally received around 2 million won if they were hired as personal Porters. However, Han-Yeol was offering them an astonishing 9 million won for a day¡¯s work. ¡°I-I will do it! I will do everything you tell me to!¡± Choi Sung-Beom eximed enthusiastically. ¡°Me too! I will do it too!¡± Lee Ah-Ri eximed as well. The two Porters were not that poor, but they thought that it was well worth the risk to get paid several times more if they were going to go out on hunts anyway. ¡°Alright, then please sign here,¡± Han-Yeol said as he extended papers toward each of them. They were the Porter contracts he had prepared beforehand, and he only handed them over after confirming that they had no qualms about his hunting style. The two Porters carefully read the terms and detailsid out in the contract, then signed it after confirming there were no problems. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to work with you two,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I will do my best! Thank you, sir!¡± Choi Sung-Beom eximed energetically. ¡°Me too. I will do my best as well,¡± Lee Ah-Ri said. ¡°Good. Oh, and, we¡¯ll be going to the Anthill for our first hunt. We¡¯ll meet at the Hunter¡¯s Association at eight in the morning in two days,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± both of them replied. That was how Han-Yeol¡¯s first meeting with his personal Porters concluded. *** Han-Yeol spent the next two days before the hunt preparing his equipment. In the meantime, however, did not forget to check up on his father¡¯s health and spend some quality time with him. On the day of the hunt, he left for the Hunter¡¯s Association. He met up with both of his Porters, Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom, there and they left for the Anthill. Creak¡­ There was no longer a reason for Han-Yeol to drive, so he just slept leisurely in the back seat until the truck stopped. He thought, ¡®Hmm? Are we here already?¡¯ ¡°Hunter-nim, we have arrived at the Anthill¡¯s entrance,¡± his Porters informed him. His Porters addressed him as ¡®Hunter-nim¡¯; that was the industry standard for how Porters were supposed to address Hunters. ¡°Alright¡­ Yaaawn,¡± Han-Yeol responded while yawning. He stretched to wake his body up before sitting upright. The Porters parked the truck, then proceeded to take their equipment from the trunk, fully arming themselves. ¡®They¡¯re certainly not the kind of Porters who do it just to make ends meet,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he observed the equipment of the two Porters he had hired. The people who became Porters just to make a living, the way Han-Yeol had before, usually used the cheap and reliable equipment sold by the association. However, those Porters who were serious about their work and aimed to awaken as Hunters, like Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri, did not use that sort of cheap equipment. Rather, they purchased proper equipment made by a crafting-ss Hunter from the Hunter Mall. Click¡­ ck¡­! Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom finished putting on their expensive-looking equipment. ¡®Ah¡­ I remember drooling over that equipment back then¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he reminisced about the past that was not so far behind him. However, he decided to stop as he realized, ¡®I don¡¯t have a single good memory from that time¡­¡¯ It was only natural that he would not have had any good memories, since he had lived for money and money alone. The only memories he had from that period of time involved going through all sorts of tedious and hazardous situations just to make enough money to pay off his father¡¯s hospital bills. In addition, he had spent all of his free time working part-time at the factory to supplement his ie just to make ends meet. ¡°Hunter-nim?¡± the Porters called out. ¡°Ah, sorry. I was just reminiscing about the time when I was a Porter myself,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah¡­¡± both Porters muttered, looking at him enviously. Both of them were actually from well-to-do families, and they did not really have to work as Porters. However, they endured the nasty things a Porter had to do just so that they would one day be able to be Hunters as well¡ªpeople who were currently at the top of the socialdder. ¡®I want to hurry up and be a Hunter as well¡­¡¯? ¡®My father will finally acknowledge me if I be a Hunter¡­¡¯ The two Porters had their own reasons for aiming to be Hunters. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the Porters both responded at the same time. ck! Han-Yeol led the way, and the Porters followed him from behind. Four Giant Ants immediately showed up and weed them as soon as they entered the Anthill. ¡°Oh right, we don¡¯t have a manager. Why don¡¯t you, Sung-Beom, take on that role for now since you¡¯re the more experienced one?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I understand! Fire!¡± Sung-Beom bellowed out amand. Ratatatata! The two Porters¡¯ assault rifles spat fire. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Giant Ants shrieked loudly as the shower of bullets struck them. However, it was not a shriek of agony, but one of annoyance. The Giant Ants charged toward them, but Han-Yeol was ready for them. He infused his mana into his bullets, then aimed his M4A2-001 rifle and pulled the trigger. Ratatatata! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Giant Ants shrieked once again, but this time it was from pain. Thud¡­! The result was worlds apart from when the Porters had fired at the Giant Ants. The monsters Han-Yeol had fired on bled profusely with a colorless fluid, then copsed and died. Their blood was colorless because ants did not have any hemoglobin. ¡®As expected¡­ The?bullets fired by a Hunter are in apletely different leaguepared to mine¡­¡¯?Sung-Beom thought. The bullets they had fired were equivalent to annoying pests, but the ones the Hunter had fired went straight into the Giant Ants¡¯ exoskeletons. ¡®I will be a Hunter no matter what it takes!¡¯? Both of the Porters were thinking the exact same thing. 1. This is technically true; ants have a fluid called hemolymph, although it¡¯s sometimes yellowish to greenish instead of clear. Chapter 24: The First Party (1)

Chapter 24: The First Party (1)

It has only been half a day since the two Porters steeled their resolve with the thought, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t waste this opportunity!¡¯ ¡°Euuhh¡­?I¡¯m tired¡­¡± ¡°M-My body has no energy¡­¡± It was the first time Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri had met; but perhaps because they were both working as Porters, or because they were the same age, they got along with each other very quickly. They had both been excited to find out that they were the same age and that they could keep each otherpany when boredom struck. However, Han-Yeol did not give them a moment to even feel bored. They had been hunting like crazy. Normal hunts usually had around an hour of rest in between moving and hunting. However, Han-Yeol knew the ce very well due to having already hunted there countless times before. Because of that, he had been able to hunt at a ferocious speed, while Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri stayed behind him dismembering monster corpses and loading them into the truck. The way they hunted would normally have been quite dangerous, as the Porters were left behind on their own; but this ce wasposed of a single passage, so there were no potential dangersing from the ces Han-Yeol had already hunted in. They did that over and over again for twelve hours. Click¡­ ck¡­ ¡®Alright,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling satisfied as he looked at his mana stone bag that was full to the brim. The reason why they had stopped hunting at that moment was due to the fact that the RV truck was already full of Giant Ant corpses. They had cut off the useless parts and kept only the essential, valuable ones, but the 1.5-ton RV truck¡¯spartment was so full that not even a single ant leg could fit in anymore after the twelve-hour hunting marathon. Han-Yeol had also gained a level, and a few of his skills had ranked up as well during the hunt. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 17 Points: 10 STR: 51 VIT: 49 AGI: 41 MAG: 45 LCK: 10 Skills:?Dismember (E), Sword Mastery (D), Walking (D), Mana Control (E), Mana Mastery (F), Power Strike (D), Mana Shield (E), Sixth Sense (E), Restrain (D), Body Strengthening (F), Mana Eyes (F), Heal (A), Jumping (E), Stab (E), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (D), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (E), Fire Attribute (F), Mana Explosion (E), Chain Smite (E), Marksmanship (F). Sword Mastery, Walking, Power Strike, Jumping, Stab, Chain Mastery, Mana Explosion, and Chain Smite had all gained a level this time. ¡®Ah, I have to distribute my bonus stat points,¡¯? thought, remembering that he still had ten points to distribute. He could not decide how to divide the bonus stat points, as all four of his stats, except the LCK stat, was important to him. He pondered for a while, then eventually?decided to invest four points into MAG, and two points into the other stats to bnce?things?out. He had no choice but to invest more points into MAG; he could increase the other stats by training his body, but at that moment, he had no way?to naturally increase his MAG stat by training. ¡®Ah, but why the hell won¡¯t that Heal skill level up?¡¯?Han-Yeol?thought in frustration. He was quite content with how things were going¡ªexcept for the stagnant Heal skill. The reason he?had been risking his life hunting was to level up his Heal skill. He?had been doing his best hoping to remove?the ck lump of mana causing his father¡¯s illness, but his Heal skill had?been?dormant for quite a while. p! p! ¡°Attention, everyone!¡±?Han-Yeol called out?with two ps. His mana-infused ps?boomed loudly and startled the two Porters. They?quickly?jumped up in surprise and ran toward him. They did not really have to run, but?Han-Yeol?was not really bothered by it, as that?was something?he had gone?through as well when he was a Porter. He felt that he was already being nice enough by not talking down?to?them. ¡°Since the RV truck is full already, this is the end of the hunt. Shall we go back and sell these first?¡± Han-Yeol suggested. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two replied enthusiastically. The two Porters were delighted by Han-Yeol¡¯s deration that the hunt was over. They were usually always eager to go out on hunts, but this was the first time they had hunted for so many hours without any breaks in between, and it was definitely not the type of hunt they were eager to go out on. Han-Yeol had spared a few Giant Ants, incapacitating them and passing them on to the Porters. He had tried to help them awaken by letting them deal the final blow, but they had not felt any excitement from it, as all they had wanted to do at that moment in time was to rest and rest alone. ¡°We¡¯ll sell the Giant Ants¡¯ corpses, freshen up at the sauna, get some shut-eye, ande back here,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Eh?¡± The two Porters tilted their heads in confusion. ¡°We¡¯ll go at it again after resting for about five hours,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°¡­¡± For some odd reason, the dark circles under Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri¡¯s eyes grew twice asrge when they heard Han-Yeol¡¯s words. *** Han-Yeol and his Porters decided to make some amendments to the contract they had signed a few days prior, amending the wages they were getting paid from daily to hourly wages. A normal Porter would be paid around 175,000 won an hour, but based on the new contract, Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri would receive a little bit over five times that amount at 900,000 won an hour. It was a shocking offer that would probably never happen again in the industry. Han-Yeol hunted like a madman for ten days straight. He continued to hunt even after his Porters had already copsed from exhaustion, taking over their duties while they were unable to move. It did slow down his hunting speed, but he felt that it was still better than sitting around and doing nothing. ¡®Eugh¡­ Ants¡­ I feel sick¡­ I¡¯m sick and tired of these ants¡­ Eugh¡­.¡¯ Han-Yeol¡¯s mental state had be unstable. However, he had been able to gain a whopping five levels during the time he had spent hunting until he was sick and tired of the Giant Ants, and some of his skills had ranked up as well. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 22 Points: 0 STR: 58 VIT: 56 AGI: 48 MAG: 59 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (D), Body Strengthening (E), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (C), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (D), Marksmanship (E). Most of his skills had reached a useful level. However, the biggest reward he had reaped during his crazy hunting trip was none other than¡­ [3,090,000,000.] Three billion and ny million won. That was the amount he had earned after hunting like a madman for fifteen days straight. He had been left with a staggering three billion won in his bank ount even after paying off his Porters¡¯ wages and other misceneous costs. ¡®T-This¡­ It¡¯s not a dream¡­ Is it¡­?¡¯?he thought. Three billion won was an astronomical figure that some, including him, would never have dared to dream of. However, that was only possible because he was monopolizing everything¡ªalone. It would take quite a long time for a normal party of three to five Hunters hunting twice a week, eight hours a day, to amass three billion won. Of course, that was based on the assumption that they were hunting Giant Ants as well. ¡°Thank you for your hard work,¡± Sung-Beom said with a bow. ¡°Thank you for your hard work as well, Hunter-nim,¡± Ah-Ri said with a bow. The two Porters approached Han-Yeol and bowed while he was still in a euphoric state after checking out his bank ount. He had already told them that the hunt was officially over. ¡®My level isn¡¯t increasing anymore,¡¯?he thought. He had hunted the Giant Ants for quite a long time, and his level no longer budged from where it was. That was why he decided to end the hunt on the fifteenth day. ¡°Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work, you two,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He added, ¡°It¡¯s a shame you guys didn¡¯t get to Awaken this time.¡± ¡°Well, there is nothing we can do about it.¡± ¡°This is not the only chance we will get.¡± Both Porters replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll definitely Awaken next time!¡± Han-Yeol said encouragingly, even though they were nothing but empty words. He actually liked the two a lot. He had spent around 540 million won on their wages alone, but he did not feel that it was wasted at all, as they diligently fulfilled their responsibilities until the very end. He felt that the two were doing far better work than he had back when he was a Porter like them. ¡®The youngsters these days work much harder than expected,¡¯?he thought, sounding like an old man. That might have seemed like the case, but in truth, Han-Yeol¡¯s work as a Porter was only a means of making money back then. He had had no choice but to do it, as it was the only way he could have been able to afford to pay for his father¡¯s hospital bills and make ends meet. However, it was a different story for Sung-Beom and Ahri; the two were currently working as Porters as a stepping stone to achieving their dreams of bing Hunters one day, and every single action they took was filled with their hopes and dreams. That was the main difference between Han-Yeol¡¯s life as a Porter and theirs. The difference between someone doing something because they were forced to do it and someone doing it because they wanted to do it was as wide as heaven and earth. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a call if we ever need to go out and hunt again,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim,¡± the two replied with bitter smiles on their faces. They normally liked going out on hunts, but the hunts with Han-Yeol were excruciatingly tiring. That was how the trio ended their fifteen-day hunting trip and separated in front of the Hunter¡¯s Association. Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri staggered away, while Han-Yeol sat leisurely on a za bench while deep in thought. ¡®What should I do now? Should I keep hunting alone like this? Or should I create a party and start from there?¡¯ It would be much more helpful and safer for him to go around massacring low-tier monsters the way he had this time around if he wanted a lucrative source of ie. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s current goal was not to be rich and live afortable life. ¡®I can earn money anytime from now on, but what I need right now is to increase my Heal skill¡¯s level¡­¡¯?he thought. He suddenly felt the need to hunt with others the next time, deciding, ¡®I can challenge stronger monsters if I¡¯m not alone, and I can raise my level faster that way.¡¯ He had to be prepared to give something up if he wanted to gain something in return, after all. ¡®First, I have to go buy a new chain,¡¯?he thought. The chain he was currently using had been made by a crafting-ss Hunter, but it was a misceneous item crafted for the purpose of binding, not to be used as a weapon. Some cracks had already started to appear after it sustained fifteen days of abuse from him. ¡®Hmm¡­ I have to give the custom-made ones a try and not get one from the Hunter Mall this time around,¡¯?he decided before heading home. *** ¡°Let us go eat out, father,¡± Han-Yeol said when he arrived home. ¡°Sure,¡± his father replied. Han-Yeol intended to treat his father at the same barbecue ce as before, because he felt sorry for having left his father alone for the past fifteen days. Thus, they both went to the restaurant and ced their orders. Psssshhh¡­ As tasty-looking slices of beef sizzled on the tabletop grill, they ate quietly without exchanging many words with each other. ¡°Han-Yeol,¡± his father began. He was the first one to break the silence. ¡°Yes, father?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°I think I should go and do some work now as well,¡± his father said. ¡°Father? You have not fully recovered yet; what kind of work are you nning to do in your current state?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Han-Yeol had continuously used Heal on his father every time he left on or returned from a hunt; that was the reason why his father was healthy, as Heal¡¯s effect was suppressing his illness. However, his father still had the ck lump of mana attached to his body, and it was still situated near his heart, of all ces. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. My body is doing really well and my condition is great. Rather, I feel as if I¡¯m going to go nuts just staying at home like a freeloader when my body is in such great condition,¡± his father argued. ¡°No, what work are you talking about? What am I here for? I suggest that you consider traveling for a while like others. You know, go y golf, seduce somedies, and get remarried,¡± Han-Yeol said, trying to talk his father out of it. Han-Yeol would prefer for his father not to work at all if possible. His father had already given up his entire youth to raise him, so it was now Han-Yeol¡¯s turn to let him rx and enjoy life for a change. However, his father seemed to have no ns of doing that. ¡°What remarriage? Not a chance. Besides, I¡¯m so healthy I could fly at any moment now. How can I just stay at home? People are going to badmouth me if all I do is go out and y around. All of my friends are still working their butts off, so who will I even go traveling with? I don¡¯t want to go traveling alone, so forget it,¡± his father said, adamantly refusing. ¡®That does make sense¡­ I can¡¯t force him to travel alone¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was somehow convinced. He eventually decided to give in a little bit to his father¡¯s desire and asked, ¡°Then, what kind of work are you thinking of doing?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I haven¡¯t really thought about it, but I was thinking of working as apartment security. It¡¯s a job that doesn¡¯t really require any qualifications to do, and the work is really easy too,¡± his father replied. His father was right. He had worked at a smallpany as an ordinary employee until before he got sick, and the only job he could probably get at his current age was as a security guard. However¡­ ¡°No, father! Never, I will neveeeer agree to that!¡± Han-Yeol adamantly turned down his father¡¯s idea of working as a security guard. ¡°Why not?¡± his father asked. ¡°Have you not seen the news these days? There have been numerous security guardsmitting suicide after being bullied by the tenants. Frankly speaking, will you be able to handle the amount of insults you will receive working as one?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°¡­¡± His father merely expressed his agreement silently. His father was quite a proud man, and he would definitely be unable to handle the assorted insults and abuse the tenants would throw at him. He was definitely not well suited to a job that was exposed to those kinds of abuse. Of course, that would not be the case all the time, but there was still a chance that he would end up working at an apartment with unruly tenants. The idea of his father working in such a stressful environment was stressful to Han-Yeol as well, and there was no way in hell he would agree to that. 1. ¡¯Sauna¡¯ here actually refers to a public bathhouse. Chapter 25: The First Party (2)

Chapter 25: The First Party (2)

¡°Anyway, I n to work no matter what,¡± his father stubbornly insisted. Han-Yeol now had another thing on his te to worry about, and it was not going to be something he could solve this instant. ¡°Father, I understand. I will let you do what you want, so please take your time and think about it. I think I should help you find a nice job, so please wait for me, but the security guard idea is a no-go. Are we clear?¡± Han-Yeol said firmly. ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t mind as long as you find something for me as soon as possible, but Han-Yeol... Do you even have the ability to do all of that?¡± his father asked. Han-Yeol¡¯s father was still unaware that he was a Hunter. Han-Yeol had kept it a secret because he did not want his father to continuously worry about him and end up making his illness worse. ¡°I-I am the most capable guy in ourpany; did I not tell you?¡± Han-Yeol replied while stuttering a bit. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± His father stared at him with a strange look in his eyes. *** Han-Yeol looked up the details of a famous crafting-ss Hunter¡¯s workshop in Gangnam, then went to pay them a visit. Ring¡­! The sound of a ssic, vintage bell that seemed out of ce in such a modern city rang out when Han-Yeol entered the workshop. ¡°Wee to the Dwarven Workshop,¡± a woman¡¯s clear voice greeted him as soon as he entered. ¡®What kind of a name is ¡®Dwarven Workshop¡¯¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He decided not to think too much about the workshop¡¯s odd name as he walked toward the reception desk. There, he took out the chain he had been using, along with a picture of a chain with a w attached to one end and showed it to the receptionist. He said, ¡°I want to request a chain weapon that looks like this.¡± ¡°Wow, that looks unique. I have worked here for almost five years now, but this is the first time I have seen a request to make an unusual weapon like that,¡± the woman said. She continued, ¡°The owner of this workshop is actually quite a fussy person. He has beenining for quite a while now that he has been making the same kinds of weapons for too long. Well, I guess I will not have to listen to his grumbling this time.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Han-Yeolughed in response, while thinking in the back of his mind, ¡®This woman is a bit weird¡­¡¯ It was definitely strange to see an employee openly criticizing their boss in front of a customer. He suspected that the woman might somehow be rted to the owner. The woman received the picture and scanned it, then typed something on her keyboard. Then, she clicked a few times with her mouse before turning to look at Han-Yeol. She said, ¡°The quotation came out just now.¡± ¡°Ah, how much is it?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. ¡°Hmm¡­ You cannot get shocked, okay?¡± the woman asked. ¡°What?¡± Han-Yeol responded, tilting his head in confusion. ¡°That will be 1,930,000,000 won, and it will be 2,123,000,000 won including taxes. Oh right, you will have to pay the whole thing up front, by the way,¡± the woman said. ¡°¡­What did you just say?¡± Han-Yeol asked, thinking he might have misheard the woman. ¡°Your order will cost 1,930,000,000 won, and it will be 2,123,000,000 won including taxes. You will have to pay the whole thing up front,¡± the woman repeated. Han-Yeol was bbergasted to learn that the workshop had quoted him a price that amounted to nearly two-thirds of his assets. He protested the unreasonable figure, eximing, ¡°W-What the hell? Are you making the chain out of diamonds or something? How does 2.1 billion even make sense?¡± However, the woman calmly dealt with the unruly customer in front of her even though he was protesting in a very rough and aggressive tone. She replied, ¡°I am sorry, but we are not the ones who decide the material, method, and price of our items. Our owner is the one who decides those things, and there is nothing we can do about it. We do not have the authority to touch even a single won of the total price.¡± ¡°Haa¡­ Never mind, I¡¯ll just go,¡± Han-Yeol said with a sigh. ¡°I apologize for the inconvenience. We hope to see you again,¡± the woman responded with a polite bow. ¡®See me again, my ass!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he stomped out of Dwarven Workshop. He then went around to the other workshops he had looked up before going there to request his chain. However¡­ ¡°I apologize¡­ Our boss does not make these kinds of weapons.¡± ¡°I apologize¡­ Our boss does not¡­¡± ¡°I apologize¡­ Our boss¡­¡± ¡°I apologize¡­ Our¡­¡± ¡°I apologize¡­¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡®What the hell¡­? What¡¯s going on right now?¡¯?Han-Yeol was perplexed by the responses he received. He has already visited more than ten workshops, but his request tomission his chain was rejected by all of them. He was certain that the workshops he visited had all advertised that they took requests for all sorts of weapons, but all of them had repeated the same thing like parrots, rejecting his request tomission a chain. Han-Yeol¡¯s head felt as if it would crack from stress at that point. He thought, ¡®Haa¡­ I guess I have no choice¡­¡¯ He was very annoyed and frustrated, but he needed to get his weapon made. In the end, he had no choice but to go back to the Dwarven Workshop. Ring¡­! ?¡°Wee! Omo! You are back?¡± the woman eximed in surprise. ¡°Haa¡­ Please ask your boss to make it for me. I hope the quality will match how expensive it is,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Of course! You may request for an exchange if you are not satisfied with the quality of our work,¡± the woman replied. ¡°Haa¡­¡± Han-Yeol sighed in frustration. He finalized his request with the Dwarven Workshop before heading to the bank to issue a check for 2,123,000,000 won. He then returned and passed the check over to the woman. ¡°Thank you very much, dear customer. We will contact you once it is ready if you leave your contact details with us,¡± the woman said. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied weakly.He wrote down his name, address, and mobile number before heading home. When he arrived, however, his father was not home. ¡®He must have gone out to have a drink with his friends,¡¯?he thought. He was not particrly worried, as he knew his father was one to prioritize taking care of his health even if he was out with his friends. Additionally, Han-Yeol had been casting Heal on his father every day so it did not really matter if he drank or not, but it was still reassuring to see his father take care of his health. Flop. Han-Yeol threw himself on top of a bed that was iparably morefortable than the one he had once used. ¡®Haa¡­ I¡¯ve earned 3 billion won, but I ended up using 2.1 billion already. Is this what it means to be a Hunter¡­?¡¯?he thought. He suddenly remembered something he had read on the Hunter¡¯s Association¡¯s website back when he was a Porter. [Hunters make a lot of money, but there are only a few rich Hunters.] He had initially thought back then that that was a load of horseshit, but he now understood what that meant. It had already cost him billions just to make a chain, but what if he requested a piece of equipment that required more precision or something even more sophisticated? How much more would he have to spend on that? A chill traveled down his spine at the mere thought of it. ¡®Let¡¯s just get some sleep¡­¡¯?he thought, closing his eyes and deciding to leave those problems for another time. *** Han-Yeol was forced to rest for four days until his chain wasplete. Shhhhwiiik! His eyes sparkled the moment he arrived at the Dwarven Workshop and saw his 2,123,000,000 won chain. He eximed, ¡°Wow, what¡¯s this? This ispletely different from what I imagined!¡± Han-Yeol had initially grumbled about what kind of chain would cost 2.1billion won, but all of that changed when he received the finished weapon. The chain felt so natural in his hands and exuded such warm mana that it was well worth the 2.1 billion won he had spent. That said, that did not mean that Han-Yeol, who was a penny-pinching miser, was happy about spending 2.1 billion; still, he was content with the fact that the chain he had received boasted quite high-quality workmanship. ¡°It¡¯s the best,¡± he said in satisfaction. ¡°Haha! My boss of a husband is quite skilled with his hands, and his skills are the one thing I can personally guarantee about him,¡± the woman said with a proud smile on her face. ¡°Ah, you are married to the crafting-ss Hunter?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, did I not tell you?¡± the woman asked in response. ¡®No, you didn¡¯t¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was about to reply, but he decided against it when he saw the bright, innocent smile on her face. ¡®No wonder she had no reservations talking crap about her boss to a customer,¡¯?he thought. It made perfect sense if they were a married couple. ¡°Oh and, our boss wanted to tell you that it was a fun request, so he is willing to give you a 10% discount the next time you request for something else,¡± the woman added. ¡°Ah, please thank him for me then,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°I will!¡± the woman replied enthusiastically. Han-Yeol left the workshop, thinking about what to do next. He pondered, ¡®Should I just go home?¡¯ He had already gotten his new chain, so hisck of weaponry was no longer stopping him from going out to hunt. He thought of going home and searching online on the Hunter¡¯s Association website under the ¡®looking for party¡¯ tab to see if there were any parties he could join. But then¡­ ¡°Lee Han-Yeol, Hunter-nim?¡± someone called out from behind. Han-Yeol had felt someone approach him from behind, but he had never expected that they would call him out. He turned around and replied, ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s me.¡± When he turned around, he saw two people who were wearing ck sunsses and suits. They looked exactly like the stereotypical image of a government agent¡ªparticrly like S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The two people took out their official IDs and showed them to Han-Yeol, saying, ¡°We are from the Hunter¡¯s Association. We are currently investigating the Giant Ants'' corpses and mana stones you have sold. Will you pleasee with us?¡± ¡°Are you asking me toe voluntarily?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes,¡± one of the agents replied. ¡®So it means I¡¯m not in trouble,¡±?Han-Yeol thought. A voluntarymitment did not give the arresting officer any right to forcefully make an arrest. That meant that he had the right to refuse to be investigated. However, Han-Yeol did not refuse, and instead agreed to follow them. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t mind at all,¡± he said, thinking, ¡®I¡¯m not guilty of anything anyway.¡¯ The only thing Han-Yeol had done the entire time was hunt diligently; that was the reason why he agreed to follow them to be investigated. ¡®This will be the second time I¡¯m going to the Hunter¡¯s Association for an investigation,e to think of it¡­¡¯?he thought. He had been investigated on charges of ¡®illegal hunting¡¯ the first time he went, and he was curious as to what the charges would be this time around. ¡°Ughhh¡­¡± Han-Yeol groaned when the door to the investigation room opened, and the same investigator who had investigated him thest time he was there¡ªthe same one who had tried to corner Han-Yeol for illegal hunting. ¡°We meet again. I was hoping that it was just someone with the same name when I saw the name Lee Han-Yeol, but I suppose we are destined to meet,¡± the investigator said. ¡°You do not have to be so nervous. You will be out in no time¡­ if you are innocent, that is.¡± ¡°I suppose you are right. That was what happenedst time, after all,¡± Han-Yeol leisurely replied. Han-Yeol tried his best to put up a front, but he could not help but feel nervous while he was in the investigation room , which was the kind of ce he normally only saw in movies or TV dramas. He was an Awakened and a Hunter, but he was also a human with a beating heart, in the end. ¡°So, what are your suspicions about me this time?¡± he asked. ¡°I will get straight to the point, since you asked me first. Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, are you involved in any illegal trade of monster corpses and mana stones?¡± the investigator asked. ¡°What?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled in surprise as he thought, ¡®What kind of dogshit nonsense is this?¡¯ He was in disbelief. He had hunted to the point of exhaustion and experienced multiple bouts of nausea that made him vomit a few times to pay his taxes and contribute to the country¡¯s economy, but now they were using him of illegal trade? ¡°Ha! What a load of bull! Look here, on what grounds are you even investigating me right now? Illegal dealings? My patriotism and love for my country made me hunt like crazy for the past few days to contribute to our economy, but what? Illegal trade?!¡± He could not help his angry outburst at the usations thrown at him. He was so worked up that he could not control his emotions any longer, and mana slowly started to exude out of his body. [Please calm down, Han-Yeol-nim.] [You will be restrained by the Hunters outside if you get worked up in here.] [It is aplete misunderstanding, so there will be no problems as long as you do not get worked up.] Karvis suddenly intervened. This was the second time she had helped calm him down. ¡®Hoo¡­ Thank you, Karvis,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied to the Ego System. [You are wee.] Getting worked up gave him a nice kick to his adrenaline, but anything in excess was bound to do more harm than good. ¡°Please calm down. That is the reason why we did not arrest you, but asked you toe voluntarily. We do have our suspicions, but we do not have any concrete evidence against you. That was why we wanted to listen to your side of the story first. Please just keep in mind that the amount of monster corpses and mana stones you have sold is highly suspicious for an F-Rank like you,¡± the investigator exined. ¡°Hoo¡­ I understand,¡± Han-Yeol said. He calmed himself down and started to think about his next words. After all, the investigation room was a ce where a single word could have him locked up regardless of whether he was guilty or innocent. ¡®I saw that on the news once,¡¯?he thought. Y-News was a channel that specifically dealt with stories like that, and he had watched a few of their segments before. Han-Yeol lied to the investigator, exining that his ability allowed him to grow slightly while not mentioning anything about being able to level up. He then exined the times when he had hunted with full honesty and transparency. ¡°So you are saying¡­ Your ability grew stronger, so you hunted the Giant Ants for fifteen days with just two Porters?¡± the investigator asked. ¡°Yes. You may check the CCTV cameras around the Anthill if you do not believe me. You will clearly see me there, since I used the main roads after all,¡± Han-Yeol said confidently. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The investigator thought deeply about his words. . One of the investigators watching in the other room went to check the CCTV as soon as Han-Yeol mentioned it in his statement. However, the investigator in front of Han-Yeol was already convinced, thinking, ¡®He is telling the truth.¡¯ 1. The reference here is from the raws. Author-nim must be a Marvel fan. Chapter 26: The First Party (3)

Chapter 26: The First Party (3)

Han-Yeol¡¯s demeanor had been careful but confident, and he had also been able to look her straight in the eyes while he spoke. The investigator thought, ¡®It would make sense that he could be lying if he were a pathological liar or a career criminal, but all this guy has on his records are a few fights he had back in his school days.¡¯ Some time passed before another investigator entered the room and whispered something to the investigator in front of Han-Yeol. ¡°Hmm¡­ As expected,¡± the investigator muttered. They had checked the CCTV around the Anthill, and also received the statement of the two Porters who had apanied him. ¡°See? What did I tell you? There is no problem, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ There certainly is not. Though it seems that you have quite the ties with us, seeing how you have met us for the second time without being guilty,¡± the investigator said with a straight face. ¡®Tsk¡­ No such thing as an apology again,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue in annoyance. He understood that they were just doing their job, but the fact that they did not feel the need to apologize to him ticked him off for some reason. ¡®They did that when I was a Porter, but they¡¯re doing it again when I¡¯m a Hunter. Are they looking down on me because I¡¯m an F-Rank or something?¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. Awakened Hunters were at the top of the socialdder, but the fact that they were treating him the same way as when he had been a Porter ticked him off. But still, Han-Yeol decided to hold it all in as he thought, ¡®Just try doing this again next time. I won¡¯t stay so quiet then!¡¯?He stood up, about to stomp out of the investigation room. He might have been pronounced not guilty, but the fact that he had notmitted a crime in the first ce made him even more annoyed. ¡°Oh, right, please do not forget to update your rank next time to prevent these kinds of things from happening. We are also upset that we have to go back empty-handed a second time, you know?¡± the investigator added. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯ll do as you say,¡± Han-Yeol replied nonchntly. ¡®You. I have my eyes on you,¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. It was not the right moment, but Han-Yeol swore he would one day grind that investigator¡¯s nose t. *** Han-Yeol finished the annoying and frustrating investigation he had to take part in before going to have his mana tested. His rank increased from F-Rank to E-Rank. ¡®F or E, it doesn¡¯t really make a huge difference¡­¡¯?he thought. He did get some benefits in terms of taxes or ess to information, but the ranks F, E, D, and C were all birds of a feather anyway. Han-Yeol went to the multimedia room, which was located on the second floor of the main Hunter¡¯s Association building, instead of going home. He grabbed a spot and uploaded his information to themunity board for those looking for a party on the association¡¯s website. [Looking for Party¡ªE-Rank Hunter] I am an E-Rank Supporter and secondary Healer looking for a party. My main weapon is a chain and w, and I can bind enemies with my chain as well as attack them with the w. I can also use Heal, so I can assist in healing injuries. However, I cannot heal at long range like a main Healer, and am limited to physical contact. Additionally, I can only heal external wounds. He uploaded his information before leaning back in his chair, thinking, ¡®I wonder when I¡¯ll receive a message¡­¡¯ Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! A wave of messages flooded theputer screen as soon as he finished wondering when he would be able to get a response. ¡®What the hell? Why are there so many messages?¡¯?he wondered, before he turned the rm off and read the messages he had received. [Hunter-nim! We will offer you the best conditions! We will give you 1.5 times the share of the loot!] [Hunter-nim, you will be able to hunt exponentially faster if you hunt with us.] [We are Hunters associated with the Arangsa Guild. Don¡¯t you want to huntfortably with us in our own hunting ground?] He had received a ton of messages trying to scout him for their party. He wondered, ¡®Hmm¡­ The matching system doesn¡¯t usually work this well, from what I¡¯ve heard¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol had experienced various kinds of situations while working as a Porter. There were times when a Hunter had suddenly decided not to show up, so they had to find a recement Hunter, but the Hunters had always used to grumble that there were no useful ones in the bunch. There were also some Hunters who grumbled that they rarely received a message even after writing very good introduction posts on themunity board. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is it because of Heal¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Looking back, most of the parties he had joined as a Porter hadcked a Healer. However, it was a given that there would be injuries and casualties while hunting monsters, so the Hunters had been forced to treat their injuries with expensive potions due to the absence of a Healer. ¡®Now it makes sense. My healing ability is something any party would covet even if it¡¯s not an immediate or long-distance healing ability,¡¯?he thought,ing to a sudden realization. Han-Yeol had finally realized that even though his Heal was not an instant healing skill that was usable in battle, the fact that he was able to heal was already a huge merit in itself. That was because the Hunters would be able to save a lot of money, as they would not have to use expensive potions anymore. He decided to happily re-read the messages he had received now that he understood what was going on. They were all offering him the best terms and conditions to scout him for their parties. Han-Yeol finally sent a reply after pondering which party to join for thirty minutes. [I wish to join your party.] Then, he waited for their confirmation. Ding! [Thank you! The hunt will be three days from now at eight in the morning. The meeting point will be in front of the 2nd wharf of Incheon Port.] Han-Yeol replied. [I understand.] *** Han-Yeol arrived at Incheon Port three dayster, boarding a ship at the 2nd wharf. The ce they were going to was none other than Baekryeong-do. ¡°The ce we are going to is Baekryeong-do,¡± the party leader said, pointing at a screen where a projector was disying an image of Baekryeong-do. He added, ¡°As you might be well aware, this is a ce where Trolls live.¡± ¡®This reminds me of old times¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol reminisced about a time two years before, when he had gone to this ce while he was still a Porter. Trolls were very valuable monsters, so entry into Baekryeong-do to hunt them required the party to obtain a hunting permit from the government. They were also quite the opponents to deal with; they were as strong as they were valuable, so most parties that hunted them were made up of three to five Hunters. However, this party wasposed of eight Hunters, eight Porters, and two managers, for a total of an eighteen-person strong party. ¡°I will now exin how the Trolls attack. They use wooden clubs as their weapons, but you should in no way underestimate them. Their clubs are infused with mana that can rip through most Hunters¡¯ defenses like paper. Just listen to my orders; as the Tank, I will guarantee that none of you will be attacked as long as you follow mymands,¡± the party leader exined. Then, he continued, ¡°The Trolls¡¯ attack pattern is quite simple. They smash away with their wooden clubs until they feel that their prey is in a weakened state, before throwing away their clubs and hacking away with their long nails. That will reduce the reach of their attacks, but you have to be vignt, as their nails are significantly stronger than their clubs.¡± He exined further, ¡°Next up is defense. These monsters do not even bother to defend when they are holding their wooden clubs. They do not bother, as their hides are quite thick and their blood grants them a healing ability. They can heal from whatever damage they receive in under five seconds. That is why we have to restrict their movement and inflict as much damage as we can in a short period of time, and aim for their hearts or necks to prevent them from regenerating.¡± Those present nodded, as they were all aware of those details. ¡°Lastly, I will repeat myself once again. I hope you will follow mymands. Alright, I will end my briefing here. We still have some time before we reach the ind, so you may all have your own personal time till then. Our ETA is at one in the afternoon,¡± the party leader said, ending his briefing. Most of the Hunters chit-chatted with their fellowrades, while other Hunters took a nap after the briefing ended. However, the party leader walked over and approached Han-Yeol, calling out, ¡°Mr. Lee Han-Yeol.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you. I am the leader of the Onyx party, Ham Ji-Pyung,¡± the party leader said as an introduction, offering Han-Yeol a handshake. ¡°Yes, it is nice to meet you too. Your briefing skills were extraordinary,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Haha! Thank you very much. I was actually very surprised to find someone with a healing ability pop up on the matching website, so I immediately sent you a message. To be frank, I was not really expecting much when I sent it, so I was really happy when you replied,¡± Ji-Pyung said. ¡°It is good for me as well, since I get to be a part of a Troll hunt, which is rumored to be very difficult,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The reason why Han-Yeol had chosen this party was because of the Trolls. He could go to any other hunting ground whenever he wanted to, buting here to hunt Trolls was not an opportunity that came easily. ¡°What? A Healer?¡± ¡°Daebak! Are you saying we have a Healer in our party?¡± The biggest problem the Hunter industry was facing at the moment was the shortage of Healers. Therge guilds scouted anyone who awakened as a Healer, regardless of whether they were a primary Healer who could use an instant healing skill or a secondary healer who could not. There had been numerous usations against therge guilds of monopolizing Healers due to that, but it did not really matter, as therge guilds had already cemented their status and power in their respective countries. It was possible to find a Healer from time to time due to the government¡¯s intervention, but that still did not change the fact that a Healer was a rare and precious asset to any party. ¡°Nice to meet you! I heard you were a Healer?¡± one of the party members asked. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice to meet you too. I can¡¯t really say I¡¯m a Healer, since I can¡¯t use an instant heal,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Well, what does it matter? I¡¯ll be in your care from now on!¡± the party member said. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The Hunters had not really cared who Han-Yeol was, but that all changed after they heard that he was a Healer, as all of them rushed to get acquainted with him. After all, it was simplymon sense to appeal to a Healer so they would be prioritized for healing in a life or death situation, which could end up saving their lives. Additionally, the chances of them joining a party with a Healer would increase if they got acquainted with a Healer who was not affiliated with any party. That was whatworking is all about. ¡°Haha! You sure are famous because you are a Healer! I am jealous!¡± Ji-Pyung said after all of the Hunters were done taking turns shaking hands with Han-Yeol. ¡°You are one to talk, party leader. I heard you were an Original Tank; should you not be much more famous than me, someone who is just half a Healer?¡± Han-Yeol replied. It was exactly as Han-Yeol had just said. Another role that was just as difficult to find as a Healer was a Original Tank. An Original Tank was also known as a Main Tank in many cases. A Main Tank¡¯s primary role was to block the monster¡¯s attacks and protect their allies at all costs. Most Tanks these days did not focus fully on defending like Original Tanks, but instead focused on either increasing their strength to deal damage or increasing their mobility to avoid and parry attacks. There were also some new-generation Tanks who focused on honing their long-range skills in some cases. They were called jacks of all trades, as these Tanks could both defend and attack but their defense was a bitcking for them to be considered Main Tanks. In fact, most of the new Tanks who had awakened recentlycked defensive skills, unlike the Original Tanks. That was the reason why the recent trend these days was to have two Sub Tanks in a party. However, a Main Tank was still preferred, as that would allow the party to free up a slot to bring in a DPS instead of having two Tanks. ¡°Well, I do not really feel the importance of a Tank. Perhaps it is because I am a Tank myself? Anyway, all I know is that I am really d to meet you!¡± Ji-Pyung said. ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Of course!¡± Ji-Pyung replied enthusiastically. The ship soon reached Baekryeong-do while the Tank and the Healer, who were considered to be the backbone of the party, chatted away and got acquainted with each other. ¡°We have finally arrived,¡± Ji-Pyung said. ¡°Did you say we would be staying here for three days?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I received permission from the government to hunt for three days in this ce. There is no reason for us to waste time by going back and forth, right? A friend of mine went ahead with the party just before us, so I asked him to save us a spot to camp. We will set up our base camp in that ce, and hunt Trolls for three days,¡± Ji-Pyung exined. ¡°I see¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied. That was the second reason why he had chosen the Onyx party. Han-Yeol desperately wanted to level up more quickly, and it would have been very annoying for him if he had to hunt with a party that hunted leisurely for eight hours with breaks in between. He had already been prepared to join an eight-hour-a-day party before he luckily stumbled upon the Onyx party, who had put forth their n of hunting for two nights and three days instead of the eight-hour-a-day schedule. ¡®Well, I¡¯m not losing out on anything either way. I actually got the best deal this time,¡¯?he thought. They soon arrived at the ce Ham Ji-Pyung had told Han-Yeol about and set up their base camp. Their camp was nothing special, as it just consisted of tents made out of tarpaulin. ¡°Alright, listen up, Porters. Hurry up and finish your preparations. We will be moving in an hour from now,¡± the manager said. ¡°Yes, manager-nim!¡± the Porters replied. The busiest people in any party were always bound to be the Porters. That was because the job of a Porter was to make life easier for Hunters while they were hunting, even if it was by the smallest bit. ¡°Party leader, we have finished all preparations,¡± one of the managers reported to Ji-Pyung. ¡°Alright, all forces! Prepare to move out!¡± Ji-Pyung gave out themand to mobilize, and all eighteen members of the party moved at hismand. ¡®This ce still gives off that sinister vibe¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The ce had given off a bad feeling even when he had been there two years ago, and this time was no different. 1. There is a saying in Korean that someone arrogant or haughty ¡®has a high nose¡¯ and the act of humbling someone is to ¡®grind their nose down¡¯. So what Han-Yeol meant was that he intended to greatly humble them, akin to making them kneel in front of him one day. 2. Baekryeong-do, also known as Baengnyeongdo, is a South Korean ind near North Korea. You may read up on its details here if you¡¯re interested. 3. Here, the author literally uses the Korean term ¡®???? ??¡¯, which is a transliteration of ¡®Original Tanker¡¯ in English. It¡¯s meant to distinguish them from the new style of ¡®hybrid tanks¡¯ described a few paragraphster. Chapter 27: The First Party (4)

Chapter 27: The First Party (4)

¡°Eugh¡­ This ce¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to this ce no matter how many times Ie here.¡± ¡°I know, right? I heard that all of the ind¡¯s residents were eaten alive by Trolls when the dimension gate opened here, but I can¡¯t shake off the feeling that this whole ind is cursed by an evil spirit¡­¡± Han-Yeol was not the only one who felt that the ind was eerie and sinister; the others all seemed to share the same thought. ¡®Mana Eyes,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, activating his skill. He infused his eyes with mana and observed the surroundings while the other Hunters were busy chit-chatting away. He was being careful, as there were some odd Trolls that wandered around apart from the rest, and thest thing they would want was to be caught off-guard by a deadly monster like a Troll. Thankfully, they did not run into any Trolls on the way to their target location. ¡°Listen up! The Trolls will be quite active from this point on. I wish to remind you again. You have to follow my orders no matter what. We will all die if even one of you acts out of line,¡± Ji-Pyung said. ¡°Yes, yes. You don¡¯t have to keep saying that, party leader-nim,¡± the younger Hunters in the party nonchntly responded to Ji-Pyung''s nagging. They were already starting to feel annoyed due to the way Ji-Pyung had been saying the same thing over and over again. Ji-Pyung was only reminding them out of concern for the party, but he felt upset due to the way they responded to him when he was just looking out for them. Boom! Boom! Boom! Several loud booms suddenly reverberated from the forest. ¡°The Trolls have finally caught our scent, and they areing for us. Everyone! Get ready for battle!¡± Ji-Pyung alerted the whole party. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The looks in the Hunters¡¯ eyes changed in an instant as they prepared for battle. They had been dilly-dallying until that moment, but they turned serious right as the battle was about tomence. ¡°Porters! Prepare to fire!¡± one of the managers called out. ck! The first to engage in battle were the Porters. ¡°Fire!¡± the managermanded. Ratatatatata! The eight Porters opened fire at the manager¡¯smand as soon as a Troll emerged from the bushes. The bullets from their rifles rained down on the Troll, but they failed to do any damage, and the Troll only seemed to be annoyed by them. ¡°Gwuuoooooh!¡±?The Troll let out an angry roar as it charged at them. ¡°Mr. Han-Yeol!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted, knowing that Han-Yeol possessed a CC skill. ¡°Yes!¡± Han-Yeol responded. He used his skill. ¡°Restrain!¡± Shhhhwiiiik! The chain on Han-Yeol¡¯s left hand flew out as soon as he activated his skill, and it wrapped itself around the ankle of the Troll he was targeting. ¡°Gwueh?¡±?The Troll tilted its head in confusion, before¡­ Baaam! The Troll crashed to the ground after Han-Yeol¡¯s chains bound its legs up, just like a person tripping over because their shoces were tangled. As it was running with all its might right before that, the resounding noise that followed was incredibly loud. ¡°¡­¡± The whole party was speechless. They had been aware that Han-Yeol possessed a CC skill, but they could never have imagined that someone they had brought along as a Healer would be able to disy such ability outside of healing. ¡°What are you doing?! Hurry up and attack it!¡± Han-Yeol shouted in frustration. . ¡°Ah! DPS! Hurry and attack it! Hurry up!¡± Ji-Pyung snapped back to his senses and gave out amand. The Hunters who had been staring at the scene suddenly came back to their senses at their party leader¡¯smand, and they rushed at the Troll on the ground with their weapons drawn. *** The Onyx Party contained three ranged DPS and three melee DPS, and all of them mercilessly attacked the Troll with their own special skills. ¡°Muscle Crusher!¡± ¡°Vacuum Spear!¡± Baaam! ¡°Die! Die!¡± Booom! Han-Yeol was controlling his chain to prevent the Troll from getting up easily, but the Troll was miles ahead of him in terms of physical strength. ¡®Keuh!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned as he struggled to keep the Troll under control. The moment it unleashed all its strength without reservation, however, he retrieved his chain, sensing that he could no longer keep it bound. However, Han-Yeol was not disappointed at all even after losing to the Troll in their contest of strength. In fact, he was actually delighted. He eximed inwardly, ¡®My new chain is really good!¡¯ He had initially thought that spending 2.1 billion won for a chain was a very bad decision, but those thoughts changed the moment he used his new chain in battle. The new chain was iparable to the ones he had previously used that came from the misceneous stores at the Hunter Mall. His new chain was far sturdier, absorbed his mana better, and was much easier to control. Han-Yeol stopped thinking about his new weapon and focused on the battle again. ¡°Gwuuuooh!¡±?The Troll let out an enraged roar as soon as it was released from Han-Yeol¡¯s chain, and it relentlessly smashed its wooden club in all directions in a frenzy. ¡°Taunt!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted. Wooong! A wave of mana emanated from Ham Ji-Pyung¡¯s body as soon as he shouted ¡®Taunt¡¯. The Troll that was wildly swinging its wooden club all over the ce suddenly flinched for a moment. ¡°Grrrrr¡­¡±?With a growl, the Troll looked around briefly, then set its eyes on the Tank. It red at him with bloodshot eyes. ¡®Bring it on, you Troll!¡¯?Ji-Pyung thought as he lowered his stance. Bam! Bam! Bam! The Troll rushed forward and attacked the party leader as if unaware of anything else around it, and the power behind its every strike was enough to send a chill down the spines of the melee DPS who had been near it a while ago. ¡®Ha¡­ I forgot about our leader¡¯s skill.¡¯ ¡®How shameful¡­!¡¯ These Hunters had hunted alongside Ji-Pyung numerous times in the past, but they had briefly forgotten about their leader¡¯s Taunt skill. ¡°Aggro secured! DPS! Attack!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted amand. ¡°Fire Arrow!¡± ¡°Wind Spin!¡± Ji-Pyung repeated hismand to attack the troll after securing the Troll¡¯s aggro. The ranged DPS unleashed a fierce array of spells, while the melee DPS charged at the Troll. ¡°Vacuum Spear!¡± ¡°Fast Walk!¡± Bam! Bam! Bam! Ji-Pyung had gained the Troll¡¯s aggro, but that did not mean the Troll was forever tied to him. The Troll¡¯s aggro was bound to reset after it received a certain amount of damage. ¡°Grrr¡­¡±?The Troll let out a low growl. ¡°Damn it! The Troll is about to redirect its aggro!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted. The Troll slowly began to look away from the tank. It was then¡­ Shwwiiiik! ¡°Restrain!¡± Han-Yeol used his skill again and threw his chain, and this time, it wrapped itself around the Troll¡¯s neck. ng! ¡°Gruuuaaaah!¡±?The Troll roared and iled wildly as the chain wrapped around its neck. ¡°Keuh!?Party leader! Hurry up and take the aggro!¡± Han-Yeol shouted while struggling against the Troll. ¡°O-Okay!¡± Ji-Pyung responded. Han-Yeol had calmly handled the situation when the Troll¡¯s aggro was about to be diverted to the DPS, wrapping his chain around its neck and pulling it back toward the Tank. Then, he retrieved his chain as soon as the aggro was focused on the Tank, as the Troll might suddenly switch its aggro toward him instead. Bam! Bam! Bam! The Troll once again started to bash away at arge rectangr barrier the party leader erected. ¡°Alright! Everyone, attack!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted hismand once again. ¡°Uryaah!¡± ¡°Haap!¡± They repeated the cycle of the party leader attracting the Troll¡¯s aggro by using Taunt, followed by the DPS safely unleashing their attacks while the Troll was distracted by the Tank. Then, Han-Yeol stepped in to use Restrain on the Troll if its aggro was about to shift, buying time for the party leader to reset its aggro once again. The innate property of the Troll¡¯s blood that allowed it to recover could not keep up with the damage it received. It was impossible for the Troll to withstand and regenerate from all of the damage it received when the party unleashed their fierce attacks against it. ¡°Hwan! Now!¡± Ji-Pyung suddenly shouted. ¡°Okay!¡± the party member named Hwan replied. The spear-wielding DPS Hunter took a few steps back upon receiving the party leader¡¯smand, then cast a skill. ¡°Lightning Enchant!¡± Bzzzzzt! The spear he was holding was surrounded by a ferocious lightning current that seemed as if it could rip apart the heart of anything it came into contact with. ¡°Hwan! End it!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted. ¡°Alright!¡± Hwan replied as he ran and kicked off the ground. Then, he stabbed his spear directly into the Troll¡¯s heart. ¡°Hwan!¡± Ji-Pyung suddenly screamed. The Troll that had busily been blocking the Hunters¡¯ attacks suddenly threw away its wooden club and readied its nails as if it had been waiting for that precise moment, swiping directly at Hwan. Ji-Pyung felt a chill down his spine the moment he saw the Troll attack Hwan. He thought in horror, ¡®Damn it! We were fooled!¡¯ Hwan was already in mid-air, making it impossible for him to avoid his impending doom. It was then¡­ Shiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain flew out just in time and wrapped itself around the Troll''s right hand. He pulled on the chain and muttered, ¡°Restraint.¡± ¡°Grrue?¡± the troll eximed in confusion. Itsted for a mere moment, but that was more than enough. ¡°Haaaaaaaap!¡± Puuuk! Bzzzzt! ¡°Gruuuoo!¡±?The Troll roared in agony. The agile spear-wielding Hunter had been able to take full advantage of that split second, using the opening to drive his spear into the Troll¡¯s heart with all of his strength. Then, a strong electric current spread throughout the Troll, frying every single muscle in its body including its heart. ¡°Gruwah¡­!¡±?The Troll let out ast gasp, then slowly fell backward after being stabbed in one of its two critical weak points. Han-Yeol had been watching the fight from the back lines, but the entire time, he had kept his Mana Eyes active. He had been scrutinizing the flow of mana from start to end. These people had be Hunters much earlier than Han-Yeol, and he had wanted to see whether studying how the skills of other Hunters worked would help him create new skills. ¡°The Troll is down!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°What the? That was easy, wasn¡¯t it?¡± They had sustained not a single casualty, nor a single fatality. It was a decisive victory for the Hunters, and the ones who had shone the brightest in the battle were the party leader, who was the Tank, and the Hunter who had dealt the final strike, Hwan. However, all the Hunters fixated their attention on one person. ¡°But what is that chain skill?¡± ¡°Did you see how he instantly restrained the Troll?¡± ¡°It was awesome!¡± The Hunters started to see Han-Yeol in a different light. They had initially wondered if their party leader recruited Han-Yeol as a backup in case of emergencies, as he could not use an instant healing skill. However, they had been greatly surprised to see that Han-Yeol had more to offer than just healing, as he had used an amazing skill in the battle. ¡°We¡¯re off to a good start.¡± ¡°I agree. We have a skilled Tank and a skilled Healer/Supporter. It¡¯s my first time being in a party like this!¡± ¡°I look forward to what we¡¯ll achieve this time.¡± Han-Yeol honestly disliked getting any attention, but he could not keep from having his ego inted when everyone was praising him. To be honest, what kind of person would not want to be praised? Ji-Pyung approached Han-Yeol while he was still drunk on the others¡¯ praises. He said, ¡°Your skill was quite amazing.¡± ¡°Do you think so?¡± Han-Yeol replied, nonchntly brushing off thepliment. However, he was actually acting humble. People were bound to praise someone even more if that person showed exceptional skills but subsequently humbled themselves. ¡°Yes, it was really amazing. I actually recruited you because of your ability as a Healer, and not as a Supporter. In fact, I was not really expecting much from your Supporter ability. But this¡­ Wow. I think I will have to increase your share of the profit at this rate!¡± Ji-Pyung eximed. ¡°Well, I will be d if you increase my share, but there is no need to change that when we have already started our hunt,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The party leader¡¯s proposal to increase his share was very tempting, but Han-Yeol refused the offer, as the rewards he would reap from this hunt were already significant enough for him. Additionally, he wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflict that might ariseter on because of changes in the profit distribution. ¡°I understand. Then we will continue with the original distribution,¡± Ji-Pyung replied. ¡°I have no issue with that,¡± Han-Yeol replied. It was at that moment, as the Hunters were leisurely sitting around, that the two managers started to push the eight Porters in the party to move faster. One of them shouted, ¡°Hurry up! We can¡¯t let a single thing go to waste from this Troll!¡± A Troll¡¯s corpse was many times more valuable than a normal monster¡¯s, which was why the managers were rushing the Porters so heavily. Whiiiiiiing! The sound of the Porters¡¯ saws filled the air as they started to work on dismembering the Troll¡¯s corpse. *** The first Troll they brought down was just the start of the hunt. The Onyx Party minimized their rest time and focused on hunting down more Trolls. The younger Hunters, who would usuallyin about the fast-paced hunting, diligently fulfilled their roles without a singleint; even they were aware that they only had three days to hunt these valuable monsters. Additionally, Ham Ji-Pyung, the party leader, maintained control of all the Hunters in the party effectively. At this point, they had hunted more than ten Trolls. ¡°Gwuuuuooh!¡± ¡°Two Trolls iing!¡± Unfortunately, they had to face two Trolls at once this time around. ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m the only Tank!¡± Ji-Pyung cursed as his face crumpled. In the end, they had no choice but to use n B, which had been prepared beforehand in case of emergencies like this; they had hoped to never have to use it. ¡°I will keep one of the Trolls busy. I want all of you tobine your strength and kill the other one!¡± Ji-Pyungmanded. They had no choice, as Ji-Pyung could only taunt and keep one of the Trolls busy at a time. It would have been a different story if they had a sub-Tank at least, but they had pre-nned their hunt to stay around the areas where Trolls were known to wander alone. Thus, they had thought they would not really need a sub-Tank for the hunt. 1. Short for ¡®crowd-control¡¯, or disabling Chapter 28: The First Party (5)

Chapter 28: The First Party (5)

¡°Damn it! Fire Fist!¡± Bam! ¡°Earthquake!¡± The Hunters unleashed their strongest skills regardless of whether they were melee or ranged DPS. Boom! Booom! Boom! ¡°Gwuooooh!¡±?The Troll roared in agony as it was forced down to one knee by the barrage of attacks. The Hunters¡¯ attacks were very effective, but it was nowhere near enough to bring down the Troll through its innate regeneration. The Troll soon stood up and swung its wooden club at the Hunters. ¡°Avoid it!¡± ¡°You¡¯re dead if you get hit by that!¡± The melee DPS Hunters spread out in all directions. ¡®I won¡¯t let you! Restrain!¡¯?Han-Yeol threw his chain, and it wrapped itself around the Troll¡¯s arm, letting him sessfully restrain the monster. ¡°He did it! Everyone, attack!¡± ¡°Earthquake!¡± ¡°Fire Arrow!¡± The ranged DPS Hunters, who were safe on the back lines, unleashed a flurry of attacks at the Troll when Han-Yeol managed to restrain it. However, it was impossible for Han-Yeol to continue restraining the Troll for a long period of time given his current stats. ¡®Keuh!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned. Not only was it important for Han-Yeol to use Restrain on the Troll at crucial moments, he also had to release it at the right time for his own safety; the Troll could pull him over to it by using sufficient strength to yank him off his feet. Shwwiiiik! Han-Yeol released and withdrew his chain, then immediately used another skill. ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯? Shwiiik¡­ Bam! Han-Yeol joined the fray, attacking the Troll alongside the DPS Hunters. The Troll crouched and protected its face while waiting for an opportunity to attack. ¡°Hahaha! How does it taste, you monster?!¡± One of the Hunters concluded that the Troll was on itsst legs from their relentless attack, then decided to ignore the safety protocols the party had with the intent of showing off his abilities. It was basicmon sense for any Hunter to not stay within the attack radius of a monster, but that very Hunter decided to ignoremon sense. ¡°Grwaaaaah!¡±?The Troll roared loudly. Suddenly, it swung its wooden club, havingin in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. ¡°Huh?¡± The Hunter eximed in confusion. Bam! ¡°Kuheok!¡±? The DPS, who had remained overconfidently in front of the Troll in an attempt to deal the finishing blow, was struck by the Troll¡¯s club as it found an opportunity to strike back. After being hit, the Hunter staggered backward and was left stunned. Hunters had inhuman regenerative abilities and vitalitypared to average humans, but that waspletely insignificant whenpared to the regenerative abilities and vitality of a Troll. ¡°Cheol-Jin has been caught!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± The Onyx Party was left in a state of emergency. *** Han-Yeol dashed toward Cheol-Jin, the hunter who had been hit by the Troll, and quickly checked his condition. He thought, ¡®Phew¡­ That¡¯s a relief.¡¯ The Hunter had survived being hit by the Troll¡¯s wooden club, having managed to protect his body with a barrier just before impact. His quick thinking had managed to save his life. He seemed to have sustained quite a few injuries, but fortunately for him, they were still within the scope of Han-Yeol¡¯s healing ability. Of course, the injuries he had sustained were critical enough to have been lethal if there were no Healers or healing potions present in the party. The situation further deteriorated after Cheol-Jin was put out ofmission, however. The strategy they had chosen this time was for the party leader, Ji-Pyung, to keep one of the Trolls busy while the seven other Hunters quickly took care of the other one. However, that was where they faced a serious problem. ¡°Damn it! No one else can tank in front!¡± Ji-Pyung cursed. Ji-Pyung had initially nned the hunt based on credible information he had obtained, which had provided a route where Trolls only showed up one by one. That was the reason why the DPS who hade with him this time did not have any survivability skills such as evasion or tanking, and all three of their skills were offensive skills. He had been very flustered when two Trolls popped up while they were hunting in a one-Tank partyposition, but he had made a wise decision to split up the Trolls by taunting one away from the party. However, the problem was that the Hunters he had recruited this time were too hopelessly inexperienced to deal with such a sudden turn of events. ¡°Poison Ambush!¡± Sukeok! A melee DPSunched a surprise attack from behind the Troll, stabbing it with a poison dagger. ¡®Dumbass! Trolls have some of the highest poison resistance among monsters! You¡¯re just going to agitate it further!¡¯ Han-Yeol thought in frustration. He was very surprised by what he had just seen. How could these Hunters not even be aware of the Trolls¡¯ resistances when they hade to hunt these monsters? It was also funny that nobody seemed to have found anything wrong with what the melee DPS had just done, as if they had no idea what the problem was. ¡°Gruuuuoh!¡±?The Troll roared in anger. ¡°Huh? Eh? Ehhh?!¡± The melee DPS Hunter was perplexed. He had been expecting the Troll to stagger like other monsters because of the poison he used, and had already been confident of his victory the moment he stabbed his poison dagger into the back of its neck. Let alone staggering, however, the Troll seemed to have just be even more enraged. Whoosh! The Troll swung its wooden club at the Hunter, and as he was in mid-air, he could not avoid the attack. Swoosh! Right at the moment when the Troll¡¯s wooden club was about to hit the Hunter, his body suddenly turned into ck smoke. ¡°Damn it, to think poison doesn¡¯t work against it!¡± the Hunter grumbled in frustration. The ck smoke was a shadow clone he had summoned, which he had been controlling from the safety of the back lines. The Troll was now even more enraged after hitting nothing with its wooden club. It stomped its feet in anger, and its eyes turned red. ¡°Watch out! It¡¯s be enraged!¡± Monsters tended to enter an enraged state after being angered past a certain limit. Nobody knew the exact figures, but it was estimated that monsters would be at least 50% stronger in that state. ¡°We¡¯re screwed! Damn it!¡± The situation spiraled out of control, as the Troll had be enraged while Cheol-Jin, one of their main damage dealers, was out ofmission. ¡®How hopeless¡­ Really¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly before extending his left hand. ¡®Restrain!¡¯?He threw his chain worth 2.1 billion won, using Restrain on the enraged Troll. Shhhwiiik! The chain with a w attached to its end flew in an arc before striking the Troll. ng! ¡®Huh?!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in surprise. The enraged Troll seemed to have been expecting the attack, as it easily deflected his mana-infused chain. Han-Yeol thought, ¡®So you¡¯re not going to go down without a fight.¡± Woooong¡­ ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Han-Yeol had been using Heal on Cheol-Jin with his right hand while throwing his chain with his left hand. In short, the enraged Troll was fighting against only five Hunters at that moment. ¡°T-The chain didn¡¯t work?!¡± ¡°Damn it, how are we supposed to fight against it now?¡± The Hunters¡¯ morale was greatly weakened. ¡®I guess I have no choice,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he stopped using Heal on Cheol-Jin. Fortunately, Cheol-Jin was no longer in danger due to the Heal. ¡®I have no choice but to start getting serious now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He extended his chain, letting the w hang down, then spun it around. He used Mana Control to umte mana in his body, then slowly infused that mana into his chain. As he filled it with his mana, the weapon began to emit a threatening glow. Then¡­ ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯?Han-Yeol threw his chain with all his might. Shhwwiiiik! He decided to forgo using Restrain the way he always did, and instead chose to attack the Troll directly with Chain Smite. The chain flew toward the Troll in an arc once again. The Troll seemed to have been expecting the attack, as it readied its wooden club before swinging it against the iing chain. However, there was no way Han-Yeol would be stupid enough to try an attack that had just failed again the same way. Han-Yeol drew his revolver and aimed it at the Troll¡¯s face, then fired using a skill. ¡®Marksmanship.¡¯ Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! ¡°Grwuoh!¡±?The Troll roared in agony. It would be difficult for Han-Yeol to hit a target precisely so many times without his skills, but his Marksmanship skill gave him assistance and boosted his uracy. He was able tond four of the six shots he had fired at the Troll¡¯s face due to the uracy boost the skill gave him. The Troll, having only been focused on the iing chain, iled its arms around wildly as it felt the sharp pain of several small objects suddenly hitting it in the face. It covered its face with both hands due to the sudden pain. Whoooosh¡­ Bam! ¡°Grwuuuooh!¡±?The Troll roared in agony once more. Han-Yeol¡¯s chain mmed into the Troll¡¯s side. It would not have hurt the monster much if it were just an ordinary chain, but it was no such thing. After all, Han-Yeol had paid 2.1 billion won to have it specially crafted. The mana-infused chain¡¯s attack was nothing to scoff at, as it packed quite a punch. Thud! The Troll fell down on its side after being struck by the chain. ¡°The monster is down! Attack!¡± ¡°F-Fire Fist!¡± ¡°Earthquake!¡± The Hunters were briefly stunned when the attack of a Healer/Supporter hybrid, whom they had expected would be of no help when it came to dealing damage, was the one to bring the strong and sturdy Troll down to the ground. However, the Hunters¡¯ instincts kicked in when they saw the Troll fall over, and they unleashed their strongest skills against the monster. Boooom! Booom! Boooom! ¡°Grwwuooooh!¡±?The Troll roared in agony, before using its rage-amplified strength to withstand the attacks and stand back up. ¡°Not on my watch!¡± Han-Yeol yelled as he threw his chain once again. ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯ Shwiiiik¡­ Bam! ¡°Grwuuuooh!¡±?The Troll roared in agony once again. There was no reason for Han-Yeol to stand around and watch as the Troll tried to get back on its feet; as such, he immediately used Chain Smite against the monster. The Troll that had been struggling to slowly get back up found itself on the floor once again when Han-Yeol¡¯s chain struck the arm it was using to support itself. ¡°A-Attack! Keep attacking!¡± ¡°Dancing Sword!¡± ¡°Ultimate Strike!¡± The melee DPS used up their mana and unleashed a barrage of attacks against the Troll. ¡°Lightning Enchant!¡± Afterward, Hwan, who was the key party member when it came to dealing decisive blows against the Trolls, infused lightning into his spear and stabbed it deep into the Troll¡¯s chest. The spear pierced right into the center of the Troll¡¯s heart. Puuuuk! Bzzzzzzzzzt! The Troll tried to defend against the spear aimed at its chest, but the continuous barrage from the other Hunters prevented it from moving fast enough to keep the weapon from digging deep into its heart. ¡°Grwuuooooohh!¡±?The Troll screamed in agony as the spear pierced through it, unleashing a fierce lightning strike that fried it from within. Thud¡­ Then, the Troll¡¯s arms fell helplessly to the ground with a thud. ¡°W-We won!¡± ¡°The Troll is down!¡± ¡°We won against a Troll¡­ even without a Tank!¡± The Hunters were dumbfounded at their victory, unable to believe what had just happened. However, the situation was not resolved yet. ¡°Ji-Pyung!¡± Hwan shouted as he ran toward the party leader, who was tanking the other Troll alone. ¡°Oh right! Over there!¡± The Hunters had briefly forgotten that there was still another Troll, as they had been drunk on their victory. Han-Yeol and Hwan were already on the other side helping Ji-Pyung by the time they realized what was going on. ¡°H-Hurry up!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The Hunters slowly gathered one by one behind Ji-Pyung, who was still busy tanking the remaining Troll. The Troll fought fiercely against the whole party, but it was no match against the Hunters, who had been able to bring down an enraged Troll even in the absence of a Tank. Bzzzzzzt! ¡°Gwuooo¡­¡±?The Troll let out a final groan. As Han-Yeol¡¯s chain bound up the Troll, Hwan precisely stabbed it through the lower right of its chest where its heart was located. The Troll¡¯s dark ck eyes rolled back and turned white, as the monster spasmed uncontrobly and fell backward. ¡°W-We won!¡± ¡°We fought against two Trolls and won!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± The party was in high spirits after winning a desperate and seemingly hopeless battle against two Trolls. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly when his level went up. He then brought up his status screen. ¡®Status.¡¯ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 23 Points: 5 STR: 58 VIT: 56 AGI: 48 MAG: 59 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (D), Body Strengthening (E), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (C), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (D), Marksmanship (E). As usual, he had received five bonus stat points after leveling up. He invested one stat point into each stat except for LCK. He had intended to invest thest remaining bonus stat point into MAG, but decided to invest it into AGI instead; as his AGI stat was at 49, putting thest remaining bonus stat point into it would make it a perfect 50. ¡®Hooo¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol closed his eyes as he felt the familiar sensation of his fatigue dissipating and his body lightening after distributing his bonus stat points. Chapter 29: The First Party (6)

Chapter 29: The First Party (6)

Clench. He clenched his fist and thought, ¡®As expected¡­ I can¡¯t get enough of this feeling. It¡¯s so addictive.¡¯ The Hunters slowly gathered one by one in front of Han-Yeol while he was still drunk on the ecstatic sensation of distributing his bonus stat points. ¡°Uhmm¡­¡± They carefully called for Han-Yeol¡¯s attention. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°You were really cool when you were swinging your chain at the Troll! Uhmm¡­ Can we take a selfie with you, if that¡¯s okay with you?¡± they asked. ¡°What?¡± Han-Yeol eximed in surprise. He was well aware of what a selfie was, even though he was antisocial. He wondered, ¡®They say it¡¯s a trend to take selfies with strong and cool Hunters these days¡­ But me?¡¯ ¡°Me too! Me too! Can I take a selfie with you as well?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Healer, but you can use a chain as well! You were really cool!¡± It was only difficult for the first Hunter to request a selfie with him, but the others soon readily followed suit in the wake of the first. A total of four Hunters, male and female, asked for selfies with Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol was taken aback by the situation, but he granted their requests and calmly took selfies with them. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± The Hunters bowed and thanked him. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Han-Yeol awkwardly muttered in response. The Hunters were delighted while looking at the selfies they had taken together with Han-Yeol. ¡°I¡¯ll upload this to my social media ount once I¡¯m back from the hunting ground!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s such a shame that we can¡¯t use the Inte in hunting grounds because of the signal disruption¡­¡¯ ¡°I know, right?¡± The Hunters murmured among themselves. ¡®Well¡­ There¡¯s no harm in it, I guess?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was still taken aback by the whole situation, but he knew it was not a bad thing at all, so he justughed his nervousness off. Then, he went to Cheol-Jin, whom he had stopped healing for a while to fight against the Troll. Cheol-Jin had regained consciousness due to the first aid treatment Han-Yeol had performed. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, Healer-nim. I am fine now. Thank you for healing me,¡± Cheol-Jin replied. ¡°No problem. I was just doing my job as the Healer of the party,¡± Han-Yeol said. It was certainly something he had to do, as his share of the profit would be 1.8 timesrger due to his role as a Healer. Cheol-Jin smiled, seemingly aware of what Han-Yeol meant, and replied, ¡°Well, the profit share is not something I care about anyway. What is important is the fact that I could have died if Healer-nim were not here.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Cheol-Jin replied. ¡°Alright, if you say so,¡± Han-Yeol said, ending the conversation. He then ced his hand on Cheol-Jin¡¯s chest and used Heal again. Woooong¡­ A bright blue stream of mana that felt pure and warm spread around the area, healing Cheol-Jin¡¯s leftover injuries from the battle. ¡°Hoo¡­ I realized how awesome Healer-nim¡¯s skill was after experiencing it firsthand like this,¡± Cheol-Jin said with a smile. However, Han-Yeol did not reply, as he was busy focusing on using Heal. *** That was how they won against two Trolls without suffering any fatalities. Afterward, the Onyx Party kicked up the pace further and went out to hunt even more Trolls. Of course, that did not mean they were drunk on their victory and went around looking for pairs of Trolls; rather, they stuck to their original n to safely hunt one Troll at a time. Instead, the speed at which they hunted lone Trolls significantly increased, and Han-Yeol did not have any reservations about using his chain skills. Shhwwiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain bound a Troll¡¯s leg. ¡°Grwuuoohhhh!¡±?The Troll let out a roar as it tried to escape the chain. However¡­ ¡°Mega Charge!¡± Ji-Pyung shouted. He was a Tank, but that did not mean he had no offensive skills at all. He used a skill that would let him charge at the monster with a shield-shaped barrier, rushing toward the Troll. Thud! ¡°Guek!¡±? The Tank¡¯s skill did not deal a lot of damage, but the blunt force of the shield charge was more than enough to push back the Troll. Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity, and quickly pulled his chain that was binding the Troll¡¯s leg. The Troll lost its bnce due to having its leg pulled while it was being pushed back by the Tank, and it wobbled for a moment before falling backward. Thud¡­! ¡°Now! All forces, attack!¡± Ji-Pyung bellowed out amand. ¡°Uryaaaaaah!¡±? The Onyx Party Hunters did what they did best when it came to a Troll that had fallen to the ground, and they unleashed a barrage of attacks at it. It was basically a group lynching at that point¡­ Bam! Bam! Bam! Puk! Puk! Booom! ¡°Die! Die! Die!¡± ¡°Wahahaha! Melee attacks are the best when ites to ganging up on a monster!¡± The Hunters unleashed the strongest attacks they could muster whenever a Troll fell to the ground. It was difficult for the Trolls to withstand such an onught of attacks even though they had cheat-like regenerative abilities. Hwan¡¯s spear, infused with Lightning Enchant, soon dealt the final blow to the Troll¡¯s heart and ended the battle. The Onyx Party kept hunting in the same pattern for three days with near-minimal rest. Ding! [Your level has risen.] [The rank of ¡®Chain Smite¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] [The rank of ¡®Chain Mastery¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] [The rank of ¡®Restrain¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] Name: Lee?Han-Yeol Level: 30 Points: 35 STR: 59 VIT: 57 AGI: 50 MAG: 60 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (E), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E). Han-Yeol¡¯s level had increased by a whopping seven levels after powerleveling day and night with the Onyx Party. However, only three of his skills had increased in rank. He had initially joined the party as a Hunter who used chains, which meant he had to consistently use just his chain throughout the hunt. As a result, only his chain skills had ended up improving. ¡°Thank you very much for all of your hard work!¡± The party members all exchanged greetings after the grueling three-day hunt ended. ¡°Hahahaha! Wahahahaha!¡± Maniacalughter rang out. Theughter came from the biggest beneficiary of the hunt. One of the eight Porters had sessfully managed to awaken. He could not stopughing in joy, his mouth seemingly fixed in a Joker-like grin. The other Porters sincerely congratted him for awakening, but it was visibly evident that they felt jealous deep down. ¡°Hunter-nims. We will be distributing the shares when we reach the Hunters¡¯ Association,¡± one of the managers said. ¡°Alright!¡± Most parties usually distributed the shares on the spot after the hunt ended, but this hunt was a special case. It hadsted for three days, and they had umted a huge amount of loot, so the final amount was quiterge. However, none of the Hunters had any qualms about that, as the calctions of the Hunters¡¯ Association were the most urate and trustworthy, and the Association¡¯s decisions could always be considered the final say on the matter. The pre-contracted factory came right on time as they were about to end the hunt, promptly shipping the Troll corpses the party had collected over the course of the hunt to their factory. Finally, it was all over. The party members all boarded the ship heading back to Port Incheon. Han-Yeol leaned against a rail on the main deck of the ship while staring out into the open, thinking, ¡®I¡¯m d I was able to significantly raise my level, but I have to maintain a bnced growth pattern¡­¡¯ His main goal was still to obtain a new healing skill that was capable of treating his father¡¯s illness. However, it was difficult for him to fulfill that goal, as he had no idea what the prerequisite for leveling up his Heal skill was. It would definitely not help him to keep joining parties like this while only using his chain skills. ¡®Do I have to go back to hunting solo¡­?¡¯?he wondered. It was right when Han-Yeol was seriously considering going back to hunting solo that the leader of the Onyx Party, who was a type of Hunter as rare as a Healer, approached him and asked, ¡°What are you looking at out in the distance?¡± ¡°Ah, nothing. I was just thinking of a few things on my mind,¡± Han-Yeol replied, leaning forward on the ship¡¯s rail. Ji-Pyung, on the other hand, leaned back against the rail and said, ¡°I have been watching Mr. Han-Yeol for the past three days, and I was greatly amazed by your strange chain skills and your ability to heal most kinds of injuries.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol replied with a smile. It did not matter what the other person¡¯s intention was; it was customary to smile at someone who was giving one praise, and nobody ever felt bad from being praised. ¡°So what I am trying to say is¡­ Would you consider joining us from now on?¡± Ji-Pyung asked. ¡°Ah, is this a party recruitment offer?¡± Han-Yeol asked. A party recruitment offer was something quitemon among Hunters. They usually recruited Hunters who matched well with them into a party by extending such an offer, and if that offer were to be epted, they would begin hunting together as a party from then on. However, that was slightly different from the way standard parties worked. The Onyx Party was made up of three original members including Ji-Pyung, but they had recruited five outsiders to join this hunt. ¡®A party¡­ Do I need that right now?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered for a moment. However, the answer was simple. ¡°I am sorry, but I do not have any ns tomit to a single party right now,¡± Han-Yeol replied. It was an obvious decision, if anyone were to think of it. Hunters awakened with three preset skills, and they could develop those skills in terms of quality, but it would normally be impossible to increase the quantity of said skills. However, Han-Yeol was a Hunter who could increase his level while increasing the number of skills he had. In short, he was an Awakened who could grow both quality and quantity-wise. These Hunters would probably be hunting Trolls, or monsters of a simr level, for the rest of their lives, but Han-Yeol would need to keep aiming for higher goals if he grew stronger bit by bit. ¡°Ah¡­ That is a shame. I did expect it, but I cannot but feel hurt a bit after being rejected so straightforwardly like this,¡± Ji-Pyung said, but he kept a smile on his face. ¡°Haha, I am sorry,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°No, it is alright. It is an obvious decision. Someone with the skills of Mr. Han-Yeol would be wasted in a small party like ours. You could easily join arger raid party or even aim to join a guild with your skills,¡± Ji-Pyung said. Ji-Pyung had tried his luck even though he knew it would not work, just in case Han-Yeol epted. However, the reason he was thinking of and the reason Han-Yeol had rejected the offer were different. ¡°Then, I will let you have your space,¡± Ji-Pyung said with a slight bow, then returned to his cabin. Han-Yeol was left deep in thought once again. He had realized what path he should take after talking to Ji-Pyung just then. He thought, ¡®I should start solo hunting again for now, and join a party whenever the need arises.¡¯ He had realized that there was no reason for him to stick to either solo hunting or joining a party when he could do both. The wise choice would be to first assess his situation and move ording to what he needed at that time. He facepalmed after he reached that conclusion, thinking, ¡®Euhhh¡­ Dumbass¡­ Why did you even have to think so seriously about something so simple¡­?¡¯ From time to time, Han-Yeol really thought that he had a stupid head on his shoulders. Right as he finally made up his mind about the issue, he heard the announcement that they were close to reaching port. When the party disembarked, Han-Yeol boarded a bus that had been pre-arranged for them, heading to the Hunters¡¯ Association. ¡°¡­¡± It was right when Han-Yeol closed his eyes while riding the bus that the others began murmuring among themselves. ¡°Eh? Why is a Hunter on this bus?¡± ¡°I know, right? Doesn¡¯t he have his own car when he¡¯s earning so much?¡± ¡°Euh¡­?What a miser. Ew.¡± In fact, the bus was the pre-arranged transport for the Porters and the managers. Seven out of the eight Hunters who had joined the Troll hunt had driven their own cars to the Hunters¡¯ Association. The Porters¡¯ expression crumpled when they saw Han-Yeol, who was the only Hunter to have arrived by public transportation, board the bus. They knew exactly how much money a Hunter made, but here he was trying to hitch a ride for free. There was no way they would ever see him in a good light for taking the same public transportation they did. He could call it being frugal, but the poor had no choice but to be frugal because they did not have much. However, here was a rich man trying to save money by taking public transportation, and a free ride on top of that! Han-Yeol opened his eyes and red at the Porters who were gossiping about him. ¡°Heup!¡±?One of the Porters who locked eyes with him immediately averted his gaze and looked down, and the other Porters who had been cursing him acted coy, feigning innocence. ¡®How stupid,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Hunters¡¯ bodies were overwhelmingly superior to that of an average human, but here they were thinking he would not hear them from this distance. However, he also thought, ¡®I guess buying a car won¡¯t be a bad idea, though¡­¡¯ He had not really felt the need to buy a car, as no other country in the world had a public transportation infrastructure as developed as Korea¡¯s. However, Han-Yeol decided to purchase his own car after being made aware of how inconvenient it would be to travel on the same bus as the Porters. His father was using the car he had bought on a lease thest time, so he technically had no car of his own at the moment. When Han-Yeol finally arrived at the Hunters¡¯ Association, the amount he received as his share from the hunt added up to six hundred million won. He had initially been supposed to receive only four hundred million won, but the total had been increased to seven hundred twenty million before taxes due to the 1.8 times share he was offered. ¡®Hehe, this is why it¡¯s good to be a Healer,¡¯?he thought happily. Of course, that was only the amount he had received from the mana stones. The party leader, Ji-Pyung, had already notified them beforehand that the profit from the sale of Troll corpses would be deposited at ater date. Chapter 30: The Mutant Orc (1)

Chapter 30: The Mutant Orc (1)

¡°Thank you very much for your hard work, everyone!¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work!¡± As the hunt finally ended, the party dispersed into groups of three and five; either they had been already close to each other, or they had gotten acquainted with each other on the hunt. Han-Yeol did not really want to be acquainted with anyone; thus, he did not mind being left alone, as he felt morefortable that way. He thought to himself, ¡®I don¡¯t really have anything to do, so should I just go and buy a car?¡¯ He took out his smartphone and searched for any car dealerships nearby¡ªof course, he searched for vehicles that were manufactured by crafting-ss Hunters. After finding a suitable ce, he headed over. ¡°Wee!¡± A man wearing a professional-looking suit ran toward Han-Yeol as soon as he entered the dealership, greeting him enthusiastically while bowing from the waist down. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a Hunter Vehicle,¡± Han-Yeol said. The salesman¡¯s expression brightened. The so-called Hunter Vehicles were called that because most of the people who looked for them were Hunters. Additionally, such cars were exponentially more expensive than normal cars. ¡®A jackpot! I have to catch him no matter what¡­!¡¯?the salesman thought. A huge catch had walked in while the other salesmen were busy, and this was an opportunity he could not afford to lose. He asked, ¡°What kind of Hunter Vehicle are you looking for, customer?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m thinking of a van,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ah, pleasee this way,¡± the salesman said. Unlike most Hunters, who tended to look for design or shiness, Han-Yeol focused on the practicality of his would-be vehicle. Sports cars or luxury sedans looked great on the outside, but they were not practical in terms of cargo capacity. He would still be going to the hunting grounds with an RV truck driven by a Porter and most items would be stored there, but still, a sedan would be nowhere near enough to even contain his own personal gear. ¡°These vans are all Hunter Vehicles,¡± the salesman said, pointing at a few vans in the showroom. Unfortunately, vans were not particrly popr models among Hunter Vehicles, so there were only a few options avable. Han-Yeol took a look around the showroom a few times before eventually settling on a ck luxury van manufactured by C-Company. He asked, ¡°How much is this one?¡± ¡°Ah, that is the Tourer model from C-Company. It currently goes for around six hundred ten million won,¡± the salesman exined. ¡°¡­It¡¯s not cheap, huh,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ah, shall I show you another model if you are looking for a cheaper option?¡± the salesman hurriedly asked. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to do that. Please prepare this model for me,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes! I will immediately get to it!¡± the salesman eximed enthusiastically. In an instant, Han-Yeol had burned his entire share of the money he had received from the sale of the mana stones after the three-day Troll hunt. It would likely be inappropriate to call the money ¡®wasted¡¯, but he had spent it all in one go nheless. ¡®I¡¯ll be receiving my share from the sale of the corpses soon anyway,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol was not the type of person to splurge and squander all of his money, anyway. He still had a lot of money left in his bank ount, so he was in no financial trouble whatsoever. Thus, he signed the contract with the salesman and wired over six hundred ten million won on the spot. ¡®As expected! These Hunters are on a whole different level!¡¯?the salesman cheered inwardly. Most people preferred to pay in installments even though they had to bear a small amount of interest, as it allowed them to pay off arge sum in parts. However, the dealership would also incur some costs when customers purchased vehicles through installments. That was why all car dealerships loved the Hunters who paid them up front in full. As the transaction ended, the salesman bowed ny degrees toward Han-Yeol. He eximed, ¡°Thank you very much, dear customer!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah¡­ Sure,¡± Han-Yeol responded awkwardly to the salesman¡¯s exaggerated greeting. Afterward, he asked, ¡°When will I be able to receive the van?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. As the Tourer model from C-Company is a high-end luxury model, and it is also imported, it will take around ten days to fully outfit it and have it ready,¡± the salesman replied. ¡°I see¡­ Please let me know if there will be any changes or dys,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Please rest assured! I will make sure that everything is done as we have agreed to in the contract!¡± the salesman replied enthusiastically. ¡°Err¡­ Yeah. I¡¯d be grateful if you could do that for me,¡± Han-Yeol said. That was how Han-Yeol mustered up the courage to splurge and purchase a luxury van for himself. *** Han-Yeol might have purchased his own vehicle, but he had yet to receive it, so he had to go home using the bus today as usual. Beep beep beep beep... Beep! He entered a four-digit password into the digital door lock on his front door. When it opened, he promptly entered the house. ¡°Oh, how was your business trip?¡± his father, whom Han-Yeol had thought would be out at this hour, asked him as soon as he entered the house. ¡°Ah, father, you were home?¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol. Come here for a minute,¡± his father told him. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. His father went over to their single-seat sofa and sat down, while Han-Yeol sat on the three-seat sofa on the other side of the table. As soon as Han-Yeol sat down, his father took out a yellow envelope and slid it across the table toward him. Han-Yeol checked the sender of the envelope, and saw that it had been sent by the Hunters¡¯ Association. ¡°I didn¡¯t check what was inside, but seeing as the Hunters¡¯ Association sent you something directly. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re working for that privatepany you told me you were working for. I won¡¯t ask you to tell me the truth, because all I want is for you to do what you want. Don¡¯t mind me,¡± his father said. ¡®Father¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought regretfully. He pretended to be fine on the outside, but he was close to tearing up on the inside. He had always been thankful, as well as apologetic, to his father. His father was someone who had given him so much love that nothing Han-Yeol could do could ever repay him. ¡°Father¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡°Go on,¡± his father said. ¡°I was actually a Porter until I awakened not long ago, and I am now working as a Hunter. I would have told you honestly under normal circumstances, but there was an issue with your health¡­ That was why I decided to keep it a secret, because I did not want you to worry about me,¡± Han-Yeol said, hanging his head. He had done it for his father. He had done it to repay his father¡¯s kindness and love. However, he could not help but lower his head, as it was also a fact that he had lied to his father about it. He felt truly ashamed of what he had done. ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯s fine. I was actually skeptical the moment you told me you were working for apany in an office,¡± his father replied with augh. ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol replied, perplexed. ¡°Han-Yeol, did you forget that I used to work as a sryman for over thirty years? I might have been a nobody working for a smallpany, but I was still aware of how things worked in other ces. Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t know how much a fresh hire with two to four years of experience would make in a month?¡± his father asked. ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol was speechless. ¡°Besides, there was no way that you, who always found it difficult to socialize after you entered your twenties, would suddenly start working as a salesman,¡± his father continued. ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol remained speechless. His father was throwing fact after fact at him. He might have lived a very busy life to make ends meet, but there was no way he would not have paid attention to what his son was doing. After all, Han-Yeol was his precious son, and his only remaining family member after his divorce from his wife. ¡°I thought about it, and I concluded that you were working as a Porter to pay my hospital bills. Then, you became an Awakened recently, which is how you were able to afford to buy this house,¡± his father said. ¡°Y-Yes¡­ That is 100% correct. There is really no way I would be able to fool you,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Of course! You still have a long way to go if you want to fool me!¡± his father proudly eximed. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Han-Yeol could only let out an awkwardugh. He had always believed that his father was a wise man, which was why he was able to easily ept the fact that he had been caught red-handed. ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s why, Han-Yeol¡­¡± his father began with a hint of nervousness and embarrassment in his voice. ¡°Yes, father?¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡°This¡­¡± His father said as he passed over another yellow envelope, setting it down next to the one from the Hunters¡¯ Association. Han-Yeol opened the second envelope and checked its contents. What he found inside was a business n. [Business n for a Pool Hall] ¡°A pool hall business n¡­? Father, are you nning to open one?¡± Han-Yeol asked. His father scratched his head in embarrassment before replying, ¡°Yeah. My only joy these days is in ying pool with my friends, but there aren¡¯t many proper pool halls in this neighborhood. I was thinking that I wanted to give running a proper one a shot.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol asked. His interest was piqued by his father¡¯s idea, and he read the business n his father had provided in detail. Well, it was not as if Han-Yeol would understand anything just because he read it, but he was still curious as to what his father¡¯s n was. He went over the business n again despite not fullyprehending the details. Eventually, he reached the final page, which mentioned how much capital would be required to start the business. [230,000,000 won.] ¡®It¡¯s not a difficult amount,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The amount was not an issue for him; he was prepared to provide as much money as his father needed as long as it was within his means. ¡°Father, give me a minute,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright,¡± his father replied. Han-Yeol got up and went to his room. Then, he took out his bankbook from his drawer, went back to the living room, and passed it to his father. ¡°What is this?¡± his father asked before opening up the bankbook. [309,310,000 won.] It was a bank ount with an astounding three hundred million won in it. ¡°Han-Yeol?¡± his father asked, looking at him in surprise. ¡°I saved up hoping to be able to give it to you one day, but I was actually hiding it because I was scared that you would not like it. But it worked out in the end anyway. So I hope you will be able to use this money to follow your dream and open a pool hall,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, no¡­ I just needed a bit of help, that''s all. I was nning on getting a business startup loan¡­¡± his father said. His father was aware that his son was a Hunter, but he had never dreamt that his son had be a Hunter who earned a lot of money. Han-Yeol always wore his old worn-out clothes and did not drive around, even after bing a Hunter. Most kids his age always purchased nice clothes and a fancy car as soon as they started making money, but Han-Yeol had not done any such thing, so it was understandable that his father would be mistaken about it. ¡°What are you talking about, father? Your son is earning a lot of money. Why would you take out a loan and be burdened with interest while running a business?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ahem¡­?Nevermind. Anyway, thank you. I¡¯ll definitely pay this three hundred million won back,¡± his father said. ¡°You can pay me back slowly,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Things had somehow ended up with Han-Yeol loaning the money to his father instead of giving it to him; it was something people might point fingers at him over. However, he knew better than anyone else that his father, who could not stand the idea of being indebted to someone else, would immediately return the money if Han-Yeol told him that he did not have to pay it back. That was why Han-Yeol had decided to tell him to pay it back slowly instead. Han-Yeol¡¯s father stared at the bankbook for a while before taking out his smartphone and calling someone. When the person picked up, he said briefly, ¡°Hey, Chan-Su, I have something to tell you. Come out and let¡¯s have a meal. Yeah, yeah, that ce. Alright, see you.¡± Beep. ¡°I¡¯ll head out for a while,¡± his father said. ¡°Alright, take your time and have fun,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Thanks,¡± his father said, then tapped Han-Yeol¡¯s shoulder twice and left the house. Naturally, Han-Yeol had been using Mana Eyes to observe whether his father¡¯s illness had progressed or not. He did not forget to check up on his father¡¯s illness every time he met him. ¡°Haaa¡­?To think father knew about it¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered with a sigh after his father left the house. He thought, ¡®I¡¯m surprised but relieved at the same time.¡¯ It had actually been frustrating for him to keep his upation as a Hunter a secret from his father. But now, he felt relieved by the fact that he did not have anything to hide any longer. ¡®Shall we see what¡¯s on TV?¡¯?he thought as he switched the TV on. He had been so busy these days that he did not have time to watch the news, and he now had no idea what was happening in the world. ¡®I wonder what happened to the dimensional hole issue¡­¡¯?he thought. That was the reason why the Troll hunting ground had been empty. [In other news¡­] [A team of three Hunters, one manager, and one Porter went missing at the Baekgok Reservoir hunting ground near Chungbuk, Jincheon-gun at four in the afternoon. Police have said that they mobilized an emergency Hunter group to look for the party after failing to contact them. Unfortunately, they did not find any remains of the party, as the field is known to be inhabited by Goblins, which are infamous for enjoying human meat. The victims¡¯ families are in shock due to the sudden turn of events, but they are still hanging on to the faint hope that the bodies will find their way back to their families at least.] [ording to the police investigation, the three Hunters recently racked up huge achievements while hunting Mad Dogs, then went to the Goblin Field after bing overconfident in their own abilities. Experts are now calling for additional measures to rank Hunters ording to their abilities and limit their entry to hunting grounds that are out of their league. They are calling for this reform to lower the fatality rate among Hunters. However, the Hunters¡¯ Association is calling this an usurpation of their authority, and this event has sent shockwaves throughout the industry.] Chapter 31: The Mutant Orc (2)

Chapter 31: The Mutant Orc (2)

[I see. Yes, I understand. I really hope things will work out in the end, and there will be some improvement soon. Moving on to the next news report, the Hunters¡¯ Association recently announced a full mobilization of Hunters. Most registered raid parties have been called on to join the operation to raid the dimensional hole.] [Quite a while has passed since then, and we will now find out more about what is going on from reporter Kim Eun-Hyo, who is out at the Hunters¡¯ Association right now. Reporter Kim?] Han-Yeol listened intently to the news. As he had be a Hunter, the current story fully drew his attention. He had diligently followed the news even when he was a Porter, but he was even more interested in what was going on in the industry now. ¡®It seems they sessfully recaptured Incheon Nam-gu¡­ but where can I get information about the dimensional holes¡­?¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol searched for more details about the dimensional hole on the Hunters¡¯ Association website. He did not have to get up, as he could use the TV¡¯s innate web browser function to search online. [Dimensional holes: Are they different from dimensional gates?] [Dimensional holes and their strange mechanisms.] [Dimensional holes: What are they, really?] [The war between Hunters and the dimensional hole: What is the truth behind it?] ¡®What the? There¡¯s nothing useful online?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He scoured various sites to find more information regarding the dimensional hole, but all of them were just clickbait tabloids that did not back up a single bit of information with facts. ¡®Is the Hunters¡¯ Association keeping it confidential¡­? Or do they really have no clue about it?¡¯?he wondered. Most of the geniuses in Korea had gathered in the Hunters¡¯ Association. That was because the Hunters¡¯ Association had a huge R&D budget when it came to researching anything rted to Hunters, mana stones, or monsters; thus, there was money to be made out of it for such geniuses. But to think that even those brainiacs had no idea what was going on¡­ Was it really a mystery even for them? ¡®Let¡¯s not think about it¡­ I¡¯m still only at the level of roaming around the lower tier gates anyway,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Most of the things that were happening at the moment were issues that were supposed to be solved by the people sitting on top anyway. ¡®What I need to do right now is to focus on getting stronger and curing my father¡¯s illness. Until I reach that goal, I just have to keep tabs on what¡¯s going on in the world,¡¯?he thought as he prepared to go to the gym. The door was locked when he reached the gym, but it did not matter. He entered the passcode into the gym¡¯s digital lock and entered. He stretched lightly and warmed up before starting to work out. ¡°Hup! Hup! Hup! Huuuup!¡±? Han-Yeol worked out intensely, sweating profusely. Anyone who saw him working out at that moment would question whether it was necessary for him to do all that, as he had be an Awakened and could use mana to strengthen his body. He was pushing his body to the limit with an intense training routine that would be difficult for a normal human to even attempt, but it was still bearable for someone like him who had Awakened and gained supernatural strength. However, Han-Yeol, who was Level 30 at this point, pushed his body so much further past his limits as an Awakened that even he was starting to feel exhausted by it. Of course, he would have to start looking for other ways to grow stronger once he reached a certain level in the future. He started running in ce as quickly as he could. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Body Strengthening¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] [STR has risen by 2.] [VIT has risen by 1.] [AGI has risen by 2.] ¡®Hoo¡­ Status,¡¯?he thought, calling up his status window. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 30 Points: 35 STR: 61 VIT: 58 AGI: 52 MAG: 60 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (D), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E). Han-Yeol¡¯s stats were looking much stronger than when he had first started. ¡®Ah¡­ Where do I invest the thirty-five bonus stat points¡­¡¯?he wondered. He had actuallypletely forgotten about his bonus stat points. He pondered for a while before deciding to invest all of them into his MAG stat. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 30 Points: 35 STR: 61 VIT: 58 AGI: 52 MAG: 95 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (D), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E). Then¡­ Wooooong¡­ Han-Yeol¡¯s heart released a burst of pure, refreshing mana that spread all throughout his body. ¡®Hoo¡­ This feeling is the best¡­¡¯?he thought. He felt a strange, pleasurable high like never before after investing all of his bonus stat points into MAG. ¡®This feeling really is strangely addictive,¡¯?he thought. However, he decided against gathering his bonus stat points and investing them in one go just to feel the high again, as much as he was tempted to. Grip¡­! Han-Yeol gripped the dumbbell in his hand tightly, deep in thought. ¡®I heard that there was a gym exclusively for Hunters somewhere¡­ Should I go check it out¡­?¡¯ Of course, it was not that the gym he was currently using was bad or anything, and the Hunter¡¯s gym was also quite expensive. However, it had equipment specially made by crafting-ss Hunters, and it even had several pieces of state-of-the-art equipment researched and developed by the Hunters¡¯ Association. No matter how much Han-Yeol wanted to continue using this gym, it was still a ce meant for normal humans and not for Awakened like him. ¡®Let¡¯s try and find some information about it,¡¯?he thought. Bam! Han-Yeol smashed his fist into a sandbag. *** Han-Yeol finished working out and went to find more information about the gym exclusively for Hunters. He found that the fee was a jaw-dropping three hundred thousand won a day. However, he did not hesitate to invest in his own growth, and bought a seven-day entry pass. The expensive fee covered a personal trainer he could hire for an hour a day, and he took full advantage of that topletely immerse himself in the process of growing stronger. A week soon passed after he began going to the Hunter¡¯s gym. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Body Strengthening¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] [STR has risen by 1.] [VIT has risen by 1.] [AGI has risen by 1.] ¡°Hoooo¡­¡± This ce had a very special piece of equipment. That was none other than a gravitational device that could make gravity several times stronger. Even the Hunters, who had far greater physical capabilities than normal humans, could sweat and strain themselves due to that special device; they were able to train until they copsed, which would be impossible at a normal gym. ¡®Status.¡¯ Han-Yeol called up his status window. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 30 Points: 0 STR: 83 VIT: 78 AGI: 72 MAG: 95 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (D), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E). Han-Yeol had been able to let his other stats catch up to his MAG stat, where he had invested all of his bonus stat points, by doing nothing else apart from working out for the whole week. ¡®But what the hell is this LCK for, and how do I raise it¡­?¡¯?he wondered. He had no ns to invest any of his bonus stat points into LCK, but he could not help but be curious as it was a stat that had already been there, even though he had not gained or lost anything because of it. ¡®Well, I guess I¡¯ll find outter on,¡¯?he thought. He exited the gravitational device and lightly stretched his body. His shirtless body had visibly buffed up and could be said to be close to perfection, due to the week of intense training. Due to that¡­ Women flocked toward him. ¡°Wow! I¡¯ve never seen someone work out as hard as you do since this gym opened!¡± a woman remarked as she passed him a towel and sneakily pressed her body against him, clearly trying to seduce him. ¡®What the hell is this ahjumma thinking?¡¯ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He did not really mind that women flocked toward him, but what annoyed him was the fact that most of the women in this gym were rich ahjummas, and they were all basically asking Han-Yeol tomit adultery with them. ¡®Are they crazy? Why would I be a homewrecker when I can date any woman I want in my age range¡­?¡¯?Those words were halfway out of his throat, but he decided against saying them, as he had to keeping here anyway. Thus, he just smiled and politely refused her approach. The ahjumma did not give up, continuing her one-sided attempts to try and seduce Han-Yeol. However, she had to fake a cough in embarrassment and give up eventually when she saw that he was not reacting at all to her seduction. Only after the ahjumma left did the trainer in charge of Han-Yeole over with a towel and an energy drink, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The other members are a bit too forward, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He downed the energy drink his trainer gave him while looking at her, thinking, ¡®I wouldn¡¯t mind if it were her, though¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol¡¯s personal trainer was a beauty who could go toe to toe against most other beauties in Korea, both in terms of her face and her body. Han-Yeol had gotten quite close to her after they worked out together for a week, and asked how she had ended up working in this gym. She had told him that she majored in Physical Education, and that she had worked in another gym as a trainer before she was scouted for this gym with the offer of a huge sry. It only made sense that she would be paid a lot; after all, she now had to deal with Hunters, who paid very wellpared to other clients. The gym had scouted her not only for her talents but also for her looks, as most Hunters preferred to work out with beautiful women. As most of the Huntersing to this gym were men, all of the trainers present were women. ¡°This will be yourst day with us. Do you have any ns to extend your pass, by any chance?¡± the trainer asked. ¡°No, this will be it for now. I have to go out and hunt now,¡± Han-Yeol replied firmly. It was true that his trainer was very pretty and that he was interested in her. However, he had no time to mingle with women, as his main priority at the moment was to grow stronger and cure his father¡¯s illness. As such, he nned to keep women away as much as possible for the time being. ¡°I see¡­¡± his trainer replied very dejectedly, letting out a sigh. Han-Yeol left the gym and ced a call. Ring ring¡­ Ring ring¡­ ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim! I was waiting for your call!¡±?a man replied enthusiastically as he answered the phone. ¡°Mr. Sung-Beom, how have you been?¡± Han-Yeol said. The man on the other end of the line was none other than the personal Porter he had hiredst time, Sung-Beom. ¡°I have been doing well! Although I have been wondering about and waiting for a call from you all this time¡­ Hehehe,¡±?Sung-Beom replied, hinting slightly at the question of why it had taken Han-Yeol so long to give him a call. Han-Yeol caught what he was trying to hint at, but he decided to let it go. He did feel kind of sorry for taking so long to call Sung-Beom, after all. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s why I was thinking of making it up by hunting all out this time. I n to hunt for fifteen days at the Orc Burrow the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°F-Fifteen days¡­?¡±?Sung-Beom stuttered in shock. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol said calmly. Han-Yeol felt as if the man he was talking to over the phone had been growing old at the mere mention of ¡®fifteen days¡¯. Sung-Beom could not help but remember the nightmare he had gone through when they hunted Giant Ants for fifteen straight days at the Anthill the previous time. ¡°Fifteen days, and at the Orc Burrow on top of that?¡± Sung-Beom replied with a hint of skepticism in his voice, hoping he had heard Han-Yeol wrongly. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°¡­¡± A moment of silence ensued. It was unclear whether Sung-Beom said nothing because he was shocked, or because he was mortified. The Orc Burrow was a hunting ground on an entirely different level from the Anthill that the Giant Ants inhabited. Even though Orcs and Giant Ants were both low-tier monsters, it was still impossible to consider the hunting groundsparable to each other. ¡°Mr. Sung-Beom?¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Ah, yes¡­ Yes, Hunter-nim. I will convey your ns to Ms. Ah-Ri,¡±?Sung-Beom finally replied. ¡°Yes. Please be mindful of the fact that we¡¯re going to the Orc Burrow and not the Anthill this time around, so I hope you¡¯ll prepare ordingly. Additionally, I¡¯ll hire a collection service to pick up the monster corpses and mana stones this time,¡± Han-Yeol added. ¡°Yes, I understand,¡±?Sung-Beom replied. ¡°Goodbye, then,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Thank you! Goodbye, Hunter-nim!¡±?Sung-Beom replied enthusiastically. Beep. The call ended after Sung-Beom gave his greetings to Han-Yeol, and Han-Yeol called another number. He chatted with the person on the other end of the line for quite a while. It did cost some money to ask for a collection service, but Han-Yeol felt that hauling the monster corpses and mana stones back and forth would be a waste of time. That was why he had decided to call in a collection service this time, so he could sell the monster corpses and mana stones directly to them. That way, he would no longer have to go to the Hunters¡¯ Association to sell the mana stones, nor would he have to go to a factory to sell the monster corpses. The Onyx Party had used such a collection service when they hunted the Trolls back in Baekryeong-do; the factory had sent a boat to collect the monster corpses. There had been no instances of a single Hunter ever calling in a collection service so far, but there was now preventing Han-Yeol from being the first to do so. ¡°Yes. Then, our factory¡¯s collection team will see you at the public area in front of the Orc Burrow the day after tomorrow, Hunter-nim,¡±?the man on the other end said. ¡°Yes, I will see you there. I will be in your care,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Haha! We are the ones who will be in your care, Hunter-nim! I am thankful that you called me. Our factory¡¯s turnover rate was greatly reduced when we stopped receiving the corpses Hunter-nim used to send to us,¡±?the man said, letting out a heartyugh. It was quite embarrassing that a factory had faced a crisis just because of a single Hunter¡¯s absence, but it could not be helped, as they were still a small factory and did not have any other choices at the moment. 1. Ahjumma basically means ¡®Auntie¡¯, and is a term usually used for married women. Chapter 32: The Mutant Orc (3)

Chapter 32: The Mutant Orc (3)

¡®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 ount.] [810,000,000 won has been deposited into your ount.] ¡®I¡¯m d 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 herputer just as she had thest 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 eximed 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 nervousst 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 be 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 youfortably 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 atst. Gulp¡­ Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri gulped at the same time once they reached the infamous Orc Burrow. This was the same ce 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 thest time. He said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s enter this ce slowly.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Sung-Beom replied, slowly driving the car past the hunting ground¡¯s military checkpoint and entering Anseong City. Vroom¡­ ¡°¡­¡± The ce was eerily quiet, as expected of a ce 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 tounch 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 ordingly,¡± 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¡¯reing here,¡± Han-Yeol said as he took out his M4A2 rifle and aimed it. He nned to inflict as much damage as possible while the advantage of range was still on their side. He told the Porters, ¡°Prepare to fire.¡± ck¡­! The two Porters prepared their rifles at hismand. ¡°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 thest time,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± Sung-Beom replied. ¡°They¡¯reing,¡± 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 amand. ¡°Fire!¡± Ratatatata! The three of them simultaneously pulled their triggers, and hundreds of bullets rained down on the two Orcs. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± 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¡­ ck! 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. Shiiiik! 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. ng! ¡°Kureuk¡­!¡±?The Orc groaned. Han-Yeol had been pushed back the first time he hunted Orcs due to hisck 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 ive 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 urately. Han-Yeol had previously noticed that the Orcs were not wearing any armor at all, and had subsequently decided to trynding 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. ng! ng! ng! The remaining Orc had still not escaped from its restraints. It smashed its ive 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 sessfully managed to kill a monster using martial arts.] [A new skill has been created¡ªMartial 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 wee 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 binocrs he had often used during his time as a Porter to scout for any potential ambushes. He looked through the binocrs 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.¡¯ Mostrger parties were busy with the war against the dimensional hole, so they were rarely seen at regr 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 binocrs and clipped them to his waist. He then jumped off of the roof andnded 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. ¡°Gruaaak!¡±?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 ives. ng! ¡°Grrrr¡­!¡±? ¡®Mana Shield.¡¯ Han-Yeol blocked one of the iing 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. ng! ng! 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 itnded. ¡®I was waiting for this opportunity! Shield Bash!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, using another skill. Chapter 33: The Mutant Orc (4)

Chapter 33: The Mutant Orc (4)

Peuk! Bam! ¡°Guaaah!¡±?The Orc roared in agony. The fight was now finally a one-on-one fight which was the type of fight that Han-Yeol was most confident of. He pushed back the Orc with Shield Bash. The Orc tried to block Han-Yeol¡¯s attack with its shield, but his attack was infused with mana. The Orc was eventually pushed back before it lost its bnce and staggered backward. ¡®Now!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Puk! Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity and stabbed the Orc¡¯s neck. ¡°Grrruoh¡­¡±?The Orc let out a groan. His sword punctured the Orc¡¯s neck and came through the other side, and blood flowed out from the Orc¡¯s mouth before it dropped down to the ground and died. ¡°Fire!¡± Ratatatata! Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri did not miss the opportunity as they opened fire and unleashed a barrage of bullets at the two Orcs that were down on the ground because of Han-Yeol¡¯s chain. ¡°Kiek!¡± ¡°Gueeek!¡± The Orcs squirmed on the ground as the bullets pricked them all over their bodies. Han-Yeol pulled the chain once again, and the Orc tied to the end of the chain was helplessly flung in the air as it flew back to Han-Yeol. It was at that moment that the Orc was flying through the air toward Han-Yeol that. Sukeok! Han-Yeol swung his sword and cut the Orc in half. Pat! Pat! Pat! The Orc¡¯s organs and blood sttered all over the ce as it littered and stained the asphalt road. Han-Yeol killed two Orcs in an instant, and he immediately kicked off the ground and charged toward thest remaining Orc. ¡°Ceasefire!¡± Sung-Beom bellowed an order when he saw Han-Yeol running toward the other Orcs. The Orcs finally managed to get back up to their feet, but¡­ ¡°Kieruk?¡± ¡°Haaaap!¡± Shwaaaak! The first thing the Orcs saw was the chain-wielding human who knew when he got there. They tried to react and raise their shields, but the human was already behind them, ready to strike. The Orcs turned around in an attempt to exact vengeance against the human that killed two of theirrades, but they suddenly felt a burning sensation on their necks that made them slowly lose consciousness and fall to the ground. ¡°Gruuu¡­¡±?The Orcs groaned as their vision started to spin, and the chain-wielding human looked gigantic for some reason. Swoosh! Sukeok! Han-Yeol swung his sword and the hook attached to the end of his chain at the same time and cleanly cut both of the Orcs¡¯ necks off. He then looked back and wiped the blood off of his sword on his clothes. He had plenty of spare clothes to change into so his main priority was always to maintain his expensive equipment. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Alright, status,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he opened his stats window. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 31 Points: 5 STR: 83 VIT: 78 AGI: 72 MAG: 95 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (D), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (D), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E), Martial Arts (F). Han-Yeol invested all of his bonus stat points into MAG after checking his stats, and his MAG stat was now exactly at 100. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sung-Beom, do you think that is possible?¡± Ah-Ri asked. Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri could not believe their eyes even though they saw everything unfold in front of their very eyes. Yes, Han-Yeol went around hunting the Giant Ants with rtive ease, but he still struggled against the Orcs. However, that same Hunter that barely won against the Orcs a month ago was now going around massacring the very same Orcs he struggled against. ¡°I don¡¯t know as well to be honest. How is this even possible? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ No way, there¡¯s no way he possesses a growth-type ability,¡± Sung-Beom said. Sung-Beom seemed to be certain that Han-Yeol was not a growth-type Hunter. He also dreamt of bing a Hunter so he also frequently investigated and studied the various types of Hunters. A Hunter, based on Sung-Beom¡¯s logic and understanding, awakened with a set of skills and the only way for a Hunter to grow stronger was if they learned to have better control and understanding of their skills. The Hunters eventually grew stronger and their mana capacity increased as they continuously used their skills more often, but there was no other way aside from this for a Hunter to grow stronger. However, the Hunter that they were currently following around was growing stronger right in front of their eyes. ¡®It¡¯s still within logical?reasoning, but the problem is¡­ I don¡¯t think his growth is going to stop any time soon,¡¯?Sung-Beom thought as his instinct screamed the obvious. ¡°Sung-Beom,¡± Ah-Ri called out to him before she came beside him and held his arm. Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri grew closer while working as Porters for Han-Yeol, and they soon ended up in a rtionship. Ah-Ri looked at Sung-Beom for a while before he nodded and put his hand into his left breast pocket. ¡°Porters, please hurry up this time as well,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah! Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± Sung-Beom replied. The two jumped up in surprise like they did something wrong when Han-Yeol called out while they were intently staring at each other. They rushed to take care of two Orcs each, and they immediately proceeded to dismember them. Then, Han-Yeol used ¡®Jumping¡¯ to climb up to the roof of a building. ¡®Four Orcs weren¡¯t that bad,¡¯?he thought. He recalled struggling against the Orcs previously, but his consistent growth now allowed him to fight against four Orcs simultaneously with rtive ease. Han-Yeol was about to scout his surroundings when. Boooom! ¡°What the?¡± he muttered in response to the sudden explosion. ¡®Mana Eyes,¡¯?he infused mana into his eyes. He hurriedly scanned over the area where he heard the sound of the explosion from. ¡®It¡¯s those guys from a while ago. Didn¡¯t they go west?¡¯?he thought. He was certain that they went west a while ago, and that was the main reason why he decided to move east. He found it funny that they were suddenly right up his nose while causing a ruckus. ¡®Should we move west?¡¯?he pondered. Suddenly. ¡°Kyaaaaaah!¡±?The sound of a woman screaming rang out from the direction he was looking at. The wavelength of mana suddenly changed while he was thinking of something else, and he could no longer clearly see what was going on with the group. ¡®What the? What¡¯s going on over there?¡¯?he thought. He pondered for a moment before he decided to go check it out. He was curious about what was going on over there, and he could not just simply ignore the woman¡¯s scream as well. He used ¡®Jumping¡¯ to jump from one building to another, and he used his chain like a human spider to swing from one building to another if it was too far for him to jump. He was shocked when he arrived at the ce where the sound of the explosion came from. ¡®What the hell is that?¡¯?he thought in shock as he watched over the scene in front of him from the balcony on the second floor of a building. An Orc three timesrger than a normal Orc with its equipment being three timesrger and thicker than the usual ones used by the Orcs was standing there with amanding presence. ¡®Mana Eyes,¡¯?he infused mana into his eyes to gauge the mana of the gigantic Orc. ¡°!!¡± Han-Yeol was shocked for the second time. ¡®How?is this possible?!¡±?he eximed inwardly. He was shocked because the Mutant Orc had an abundant amount of densely concentrated mana. There was one other individual that hepletely forgot about because of the Mutant Orc. Bam! ¡°Kyaaaaah!¡±?A woman holding arge shield screamed. The woman flew backward and crashed into a building when the Orc hit her with itsrge ive. ¡°Euuuh¡­¡±?The woman groaned in pain while struggling to get up. Her clothes were in tatters and her body was covered in bruises and blood. ¡®I can steal in these kinds of cases, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered for a moment. It was taboo to kill steal a monster that another Hunter was hunting, but Han-Yeol was able to easily make up his mind since the current situation was closer to performing a rescue than a kill steal. Han-Yeol extended his left hand and threw his chain at the Orc that was momentarily distracted by the woman. Shwiiiiik! His chain moved like a snake as it coiled itself around the neck of the gigantic Orc. ¡°Kireuk?¡±?The Mutant Orc muttered as it tilted its head in confusion. The chain tightly bound itself around the Mutant Orc¡¯s neck, and Han-Yeol infused more mana into his chain before he pulled it with all of his strength. It was an extra measure he took instead of simply relying on mana to bind the chain around the Mutant Orc¡¯s neck. The Mutant Orc¡¯s neck was slowly getting squeezed by the chain as if it was an anaconda constricting its prey. However, the Mutant Orc did not sit around and do nothing while the chain was choking it. The Mutant Orc pulled the chain. Clink! ¡°Eh? Ah?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in surprise at the Mutant Orc¡¯s strength which was multiple folds stronger than a normal Orc, and he had to expend more mana just to not get pulled by the Mutant Orc. Han-Yeol gripped the chain as tight as he could while thinking, ¡®What monstrous strength¡­!¡¯ However, the Mutant Orc pulled even harder, and Han-Yeol felt his body slowly get lifted off of the ground. ¡®Damn it! Here goes nothing!¡¯?he thought as he decided to let the chain drag him. He was now up in the air, and it was not easy to maintain his bnce in mid-air. He squeezed his core muscles as tight as possible as he struggled to maintain his bnce. ¡®I will end this in one strike,¡¯?he steeled his resolve before flying through the air. Han-Yeol decided that there was no way that he would be able to win against the Mutant Orc in a contest of strength, and that was why he kicked off the railing of the balcony he was standing at to propel himself toward the Mutant Orc. ¡°Grwuooooh!¡±?The Mutant Orc roared and pulled the chain harder when it noticed that the chain becamex without even knowing that what it did just now was going to seal its fate. The Mutant Orc pulled as hard as it could and this only propelled Han-Yeol faster toward it. Han-Yeol flew like a bullet toward the Mutant Orc¡¯s head, and he activated his skills which explosively boosted his muscles before he stabbed the Mutant Orc. Puuuk! ¡°Kiiiieeeeek!¡±?The Mutant Orc shrieked in agony as the sound of its skin and muscles being ripped apart by the Hunter¡¯s sword reverberated through the air. It was inevitable for the Mutant Orc to receive fatal damage no matter how strong it was if it was hit dead center at the back of its head which was an Orcs¡¯ fatal weak spot. The Mutant Orc spat out blood before it fell face first toward the ground. Bam! Han-Yeol, who was dangling at the back of the Mutant Orc¡¯s head, pulled his sword out and jumped up before hended on the ground in a cool pose. ¡®Ha! That was a piece of cake,¡¯?he arrogantly thought as he shrugged his shoulders. *** Han-Yeol approached the bloodied woman and checked her condition after taking care of the Mutant Orc. ¡°Kuheok! Cough! Cough!¡± The woman was in critical condition. ¡®Figures. The stupidly strong Oded a clean hit on her after all,¡¯?he thought after checking the woman¡¯s condition. She seemed like a Main Tank from her looks, and perhaps it was because of her position but she managed to stay conscious all this time. Han-Yeol used Mana Eyes to check her condition, but her body was in a mess as he expected that her mana was now flowing irregrly and she was in a condition where she was going to die if she did not receive immediate treatment. A Hunter usually had the ability to naturally heal from most kinds of injuries, and it was rare for a Hunter to sumb to their injuries and die. They healed slower the more severe the injury was, but they still had the innate ability to fully heal themselves nheless. However, the woman had most of the mana pathways in her body all tangled up or ruined, and she was definitely going to die if nothing was done as soon as possible. Han-Yeol looked at another female Hunter that was a few distances away from them, ¡®She¡¯s dead.¡¯ He sensed a little bit of mana on the other woman, but those were the mana that was slowly going to dissipate after the Hunter died. ¡®Did the others run away?¡¯?he wondered. He was certain that he saw five Hunters if this was the same party he saw three hours ago, but there was only one dead and one barely alive here, and he could not find any other dead Hunters nearby no matter how much he looked around. Also, there was no human blood or human remains on the dead Mutant Orc¡¯s teeth. ¡®How pitiful,¡¯?he thought. Of course, it was not like he did not understand why the other three ran away, but they ended upmitting a grave crime due to the unexpected intervention of Han-Yeol. It was a huge taboo among Hunters to abandon one¡¯s ownrades, and this was an offense punishable under thews of the Hunters¡¯ Association. ¡°H¡­Help¡­ me¡­¡± the shield-wielding female Hunter reached out and begged the Hunter in front of her for help as she squeezed every single bit of her remaining consciousness. She could not afford to die here. She still had to take care of her young little sister after losing her parents to the dimensional gate outbreak. Her little sister was going to end up at an orphanage if she died here, and no one could tell what kind of cruel future awaited her little sister if she was sent to an orphanage. ¡°Oh right, I forgot about her,¡± Han-Yeol said. Hepletely forgot about having to treat her while his mind wandered somewhere else. He ced his hand on the abdomen of the female Hunter, who had most of the bones in her body broken. ¡®Just don¡¯t report me for sexual harassment¡­ Heal!¡¯?he thought before he used his skill. Wooooong¡­! A wave of blue energy emanated from Han-Yeol¡¯s palm and spread all over the female Tank¡¯s body before her body absorbed the blue energy. Han-Yeol¡¯s ¡®Heal¡¯ only glowed a bit when he first used it, but it was now a very effective skill that had an imposing presence when used after reaching A-Rank. It did not heal as much as the instant heals of the Healers, but it was now capable of healing a wide array of illnesses and injuriespared to when he first got it. The female Tank had broken bones all over her body and was in a mess that anyone would have given up on her. However, she was slowly recovering while being healed by Han-Yeol, and she was close to fully recovering by now. It was at that moment that Han-Yeol was healing the female Tank that someone called out from behind. ¡°Hunter-nim!¡± Chapter 34: The Mutant Orc (5)

Chapter 34: The Mutant Orc (5)

¡°Did something happen¡­?¡± the Porters asked. They had finished dismembering the Orc corpses a while back, and had been following the Mana Detection Device when they suddenly picked up a sudden explosive increase of mana. They rushed toward where the Mana Detection Device had picked up the sudden increase of mana, and found Han-Yeol healing the Tank. ¡®Is he healing her?¡¯?Sung-Beom asked silently by shooting a look at Ah-Ri. ¡®I think he is,¡¯?Ah-Ri replied with her eyes, nodding. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol¡¯s healing skill had already enveloped the Tank¡¯s entire body, and her ruined body¡¯s injuries slowly started to recover. Han-Yeol¡¯s ¡®Heal¡¯ was insufficient when it came topletely healing his father¡¯s illness, but it was more than enough when it came to physical injuries, as long as he had the time to heal them slowly. ¡°Haaap!¡±?the Tank gasped. One of her ribs, which had punctured her lung, slowly snapped back into ce. Her lungs, which had been unable to function properly due to the puncture wounds, once again began to operate after being healed. Soon, the Tank was able to breathe normally once again. Woooong¡­ After around thirty minutes passed since Han-Yeol began using ¡®Heal¡¯ on the Tank, she regained the ability to stand up on her own. ¡°T-Thank you,¡± she said after she stood up, and gave a polite bow to Han-Yeol. However, her face looked quite dark and exhausted even though all her injuries had been healed. The first thing her eyes darted toward was the dead Hunter holding a sword in her hand. ¡°Hmm¡­ Unfortunately, that Hunter didn¡¯t make it,¡± Han-Yeol said. He asked, ¡°Did the others run away?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± the Tank replied. She seemed to be in shock, and replied in a robotic monotone. ¡®Well, this Hunter and I are still humans in the end,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol had no idea what her rtionship to the dead Hunter was, but he was certain that they would have cheered each other on and promised to get out alive if they wererades who had been together for quite a while. The shock of finding herrade dead on the ground must have been quite a shock to the surviving Hunter, and Han-Yeol could feel her pain just from imagining it happening to him. The Tank slowly approached the dead Hunter and hugged her, crying, ¡°Ji-Ah¡­ Sniff sniff¡­?Ji-Ah¡­! Ji-Ah¡­!¡± She continued screaming and wailing even though her throat ached, and she kept patting the dead Hunter¡¯s cheek as if asking for her soul to return to her body. Despite that, however, she had no choice but to ept the death of herrade. Thus, she neatly fixed her deadrade¡¯s hair and paid her final respects, quietly bidding her farewell by saying, ¡°Don¡¯t get sick, and be healthy. Be happy in the afterlife, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol and the two Porters solemnly stood by and kept their silence. The media and the Hunters¡¯ Association simplified the deaths of Hunters by turning them into just another statistic, saying that ten percent of Hunters died every year. However, it was different for the family, friends, andrades left behind by the Hunter who died. It was never just another statistic for them. Quite a while passed before Han-Yeol approached the Tank, having allowed her to calm down a bit. He said, ¡°We¡¯ll help you collect her remains. Our truck is right over there.¡± ¡°T-Thank you for your help¡­ On top of that, you healed me too,¡± the Tank replied. Her eyes were quite swollen and her nose was clogged, due to crying over her deadrade. ¡°We have to help each other, after all,¡± Han-Yeol said. The Tank eventually managed topose herself. Then, Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri brought the truck over and loaded the dead Hunter¡¯s remains onto the truck. The Porter Department made it mandatory for all Porters to receive formal education on taking care of Hunters¡¯ remains in the event that they died in the Hunting Grounds; doing so was one of the Porters¡¯ main jobs. ¡®Something¡¯s strange, though¡­ Hunters usually leave behind Porters as bait instead of a fellow Hunter¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. That was the bitter reality, no matter how cruel it sounded. The chance of a Porter surviving after being cast aside as bait was close to zero, so it was not much of a headache for the Hunters to deal with the consequences afterward. However, the aftermath of having to deal with the consequences of a Hunter surviving after being left behind was massive, as it was quite a serious offense to abandon a Hunter and use them as bait in the Hunting Grounds. The hunt thus ended, and Han-Yeol and his Porters apanied the Tank along with her deadrade. They drove down to the Hunters¡¯ Association in their truck, where they handed over the dead Hunter to the association. The Hunters¡¯ Association had a system to hold funerals for any Hunters who died on the Hunting Grounds. They automatically called the surviving rtives of the deceased immediately after confirming their passing by receiving the body; what followed after that was no different from a normal funeral. ¡®Oh right, I forgot to take the remains of the Mutant Orc¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He recalled the gigantic Orc he had left behind with a heavy heart while driving to Anseong to continue hunting. ¡®Ah¡­ such a waste¡­¡¯?he grumbled. He was annoyed at himself for leaving behind such a rare monster¡¯s corpse, but he soon epted the fact that it was an unavoidable decision. Under the circumstances, there had been no way they could leisurely dismember it and load it onto the truck. ¡®Another one should show up, right?¡¯?he thought, looking forward to hunting down another gigantic Orc. However, coincidences rarely happened twice. ¡°Chwiiik!¡± ¡°Kieeek!¡± ¡®Tsk¡­ There¡¯s no Mutant Orc this time either,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He had been quite motivated to hunt, as he wanted to meet a Mutant Orc once again to grow stronger even more quickly. However, he only encountered normal Orcs, and there was not a single Mutant Orc in sight. Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol wrapped his chain around the neck of an Orc and flung it far away, but there were still five Orcs remaining. They werepletely unfazed, proving their right to be called a ¡®warrior race¡¯. They held up their shields and charged toward Han-Yeol. ¡®Shield Bash!¡¯?Han-Yeol held up his shield made up of mana and used his offensive shield skill. Bam! ¡°Kieek!¡±?The Orc at the forefront shrieked as it flew backward after being bashed by Han-Yeol¡¯s shield. It bumped into another Orc running right behind it, and they crashed to the ground together. Wooosh! Another Orc swung its ive at Han-Yeol, but he immediately ducked and avoided the strike. Then, he kicked the Orc hard in its left thigh. Puuk! ¡°Kieeek!¡±?The Orc shrieked in agony and fell to its knees. Sukeok! Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity to behead the Orc kneeling on the ground. ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯?He immediately followed up by throwing his chain. Shwwiiiik! Puuk! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±? Thest standing Orc was hit with ¡®Chain Smite¡¯ and received near-fatal damage. ¡°Kiiieeeeaaak!¡±?The third Orc attacked Han-Yeol, but he ducked and lightly evaded it. The Orc shrieked in anger as it swung its ive at Han-Yeol¡¯s back once again. However, Han-Yeol immediately pulled his chain back and threw it at the Orc attacking him from behind. Puk! ¡°Kiek!¡±?The Orc shrieked in agony when the hook at the end of the chain dug into its shoulder. Then, Han-Yeol let go of his chain and drew the gun holstered on his waist, and pulled the trigger. ¡®Power Strike!¡¯ He cast one of his offensive skills. Tang! Tang! Tang! Han-Yeol¡¯s silver revolver spat out three rounds, but the bullets buried themselves in the Orc¡¯s shield instead of its head, as it had managed to block just in time. Han-Yeol was unfazed by his failed attack, simply holstering the revolver as if he had already expected the result. He had not expected his revolver to be able to kill Orcs, and all he had wanted was to tie them down for a few seconds. ¡®Tsk¡­ I really have to obtain a new melee skill I can depend on,¡¯?he thought, clicking his tongue. Han-Yeol clearly felt his limitations after hunting the Orcs a few times. He could no longer depend only on his restraining skills, chain attack, and ranged attacks to efficiently hunt Orcs. Additionally, he was certain that he would find himself with the exact same problemter on if he were to face intermediate and high-tier monsters, seeing as he was struggling against low-tier monsters such as Orcs. It did not matter that he had a long list of skills that could assist him when it came to meleebat, as he just wildly swung his sword around due to hisck of knowledge when it came to swordsmanship. ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The Orcs shrieked in anger and charged at Han-Yeol. ¡®Tsk¡­ How stupid,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, clicking his tongue. He stabbed the sword in his right hand into the ground and unslung the rifle on his back. Then, he pulled the trigger and let loose a rain of bullets at the charging Orcs. Ratatatata! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! The Orcs raised their shields once again and blocked the bullets. Some of the bullets managed to graze them, but failed to deal any significant damage due to the innate barriers all monsters had. The monsters¡¯ natural barriers were one of the main reasons why it was almost impossible for a normal person to hunt them. Even the Orcs, considered to be among the weakest monsters, could leverage that strength. Monsters normally did not receive any significant damage even after being fired on with bullets manufactured by a crafting-ss Hunter. In fact, there were some absurdly tough monsters among the high-tier ones that coulde out unscathed even after being hit by a nuclear bomb. The only people who were capable of bringing down such almost impossible-to-kill monsters were the special beings who could use mana¡ªthe ones now known as ¡®Hunters¡¯. ¡®Well, the aliens took care of the stupidly strong monsters that could withstand a nuke in the end,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He shook off the useless thoughts in his mind and infused his mana into his bullets. Then, he used the strongest offensive skill in his arsenal. ¡®Mana Explosion.¡¯ He pulled the trigger. Tang! Whoosh¡­ Kabooom! A grenade from Han-Yeol¡¯s rifle flew in an arc, then came into contact with one of the Orcs¡¯ shields and unleashed a ferocious explosion. The mes from the explosion swallowed not only the Orc holding the shield struck by the grenade, but also the other two Orcs standing next to it. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±?The Orcs shrieked in agony as their bodies were engulfed by the mes from the explosion, slowly being consumed. In time, however, the mes ran out of fuel and died out. ¡°Kuuu¡­¡±?The other two Orcs groaned, struggling to stand up with their charred bodies. Of course, the Orc that had been holding the shield was burnt to a crisp, such that its body was almost unrecognizable. ¡®This is why I refrain from using Mana Explosion¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. The value of a monster¡¯s corpse fell drastically when it was burnt to a crisp, and the only thing of value that could be salvaged from such a corpse was its mana stone. However, what choice did Han-Yeol have? He needed to level up and grow stronger while increasing the rank of his skills, and he could not afford to pass up on ranking up such a powerful skill just because it would damage the monsters¡¯ corpses. The only logical solution he had at the moment was to close his eyes and bear the losses. Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and killed the two Orcs that were staggering around. The Orcs tried to struggle for their survival, but even their stubborn vitality only managed to keep them on their feet and nothing more. They could not even put up a fight as Han-Yeol severed their heads. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Mana Explosion¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] ¡®Yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol cheered. ¡®Mana Explosion¡¯ did ruin the monsters¡¯ corpses, but it was the most powerful offensive skill he had, and that skill¡¯s rank had just gone up. It was natural that he would be delighted by the turn of events. That was how Han-Yeol managed to kill five Orcs in quick session. He then turned around and asked, ¡°Porters, have you killed the Orcs yet?¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two Porters replied. Average Porters usually fired their rifles from a distance, trying to awaken by inflicting minuscule amounts of damage to monsters. However, Han-Yeol could not be bothered with all of that, which was why he had left one injured Orc for each of his Porters and given them permission to take the kill. That was also the main reason why he bound the Orcs with his chain before mming them into buildings to incapacitate them. If one interpreted it in a nice way, he was being considerate; however, if one interpreted it in a bad way, it could also be thought of as ¡®I¡¯ll throw you a bone so don¡¯t bother me¡¯. That being said, Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri had noints, as they preferred this way of hunting over the conventional method. Han-Yeol sat at a bench and checked his status window after hunting down six Orcs. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 31 Points: 0 STR: 83 VIT: 78 AGI: 72 MAG: 100 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (C), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (E), Heal (A), Jumping (D), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (C), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E), Martial Arts (F). ¡°Haaa¡­¡±?He could not help but let out a sigh. ¡®This damn healing skill won¡¯t rank up from A anymore,¡¯?he thought, feeling frustrated. He wanted to cure his father¡¯s illness as soon as possible. The sticky lump of ck mana had stopped growing thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s healing skill, but it had also begun to harden as time passed. It almost seemed to be gathering up its mana, as if it would one day explode like a bomb. Chapter 35: The Mutant Orc (6)

Chapter 35: The Mutant Orc (6)

Clench¡­ Han-Yeol clenched his fist. ¡®The only way to heal father¡¯s illness is to grow stronger. Am I right, Karvis?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked his Ego System mentally. [You are correct.] The Ego System, Karvis, had made an appearance after quite a long absence. ¡®I wish you came with an instruction manual,¡¯?Han-Yeolined to Karvis. [I am ashamed to say that I cannot help in that matter.] ¡®That¡¯s a shame,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had initially thought when he first met Karvis that the Ego System would y a huge role in his life as a Hunter. However, the game-like system he had awakened with was quite strong and simple to use, so there were not many instances when Karvis had to step in and assist him. Of course, Karvis was an extremely smart system, and Han-Yeol had been able to gain some knowledge from Karvis, but it was not to the point that the Ego System could solve problems for him. That was how he had ended up talking less to the Ego System, and thus only spoke to Karvis a few times when he was alone, such as at the present. ¡®Well, I guess there might be a day when I¡¯ll be able to fully utilize you,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [¡­] Karvis did not provide any response. *** Puk! ¡°Kuek!¡±? An Orc shrieked as it kicked in the abdomen, falling backward. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Martial Arts¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] The rank of thest skill Han-Yeol had obtained, ¡®Martial Arts¡¯, was quite low. Thus, it ranked up very quicklypared to his other skills. His physical attacks were no longer just punches and kicks thrown by an average Hunter; rather, they dealt quite a lot of damage due to that skill. Additionally, the ¡®Martial Arts¡¯ skill was quite useful, as Han-Yeol was quite adept at mixed martial arts after having trained from an early age. In truth, it was not on par with shy swordsmanship or swinging chains as if they were an extension of his limbs, but it did still allow him to know how to properly throw punches and kicks. There was one other thing he had gained while hunting the Orcs, however. Whoosh! An Orc ferociously swung its ive, but Han-Yeol easily managed to avoid it by sidestepping and twisting his body. Then, he swung his sword using the momentum to add more force to his swing. Sukeok! Han-Yeol swung his sword in an instant, and cleanly severed the Orc¡¯s head from its body. He thought, ¡®Ah, I¡¯m kinda getting used to using a sword.¡¯ He had initially purchased and begun using a sword because he needed a melee weapon, but at the time, he had never had any experience holding anything that resembled a sword other than the knives he used to cook. However, he was slowly growing more proficient in using a sword due to his continuous, stubborn use of it during his hunts. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] His ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ was now at an astounding B-Rank. Even though he had no skill in swordsmanship, the system seemed to have given him merit for swinging his sword repetitively, ranking up his skill extremely quickly. Whoosh! Whoosh! Han-Yeol freely swung his sword in different directions as if it were an extension of his arm, due to his skill. Then, he suddenly threw his sword behind him, infusing his mana into it. ¡®Power Strike.¡¯ Perhaps because he had gotten used to throwing his sword instead of swinging it back when he was still inexperienced with it, he had developed a strange habit of throwing his sword and using ¡®Power Strike¡¯. aaang! ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s sword, which was infused with the C-Rank ¡®Power Strike¡¯, smacked an Orc that had been intending to ambush him from behind. Then, he quickly ran at the Orc while it was disoriented from being smacked by his sword and threw a high kick at its head. Puk! ¡°Kuek!¡±?The Orc let out a groan, falling to its knees after being hit by Han-Yeol¡¯s kick in the head. Han-Yeol did not skip a beat, quickly drawing his revolver and aiming it at the Orc¡¯s head before pulling the trigger. Bang! Thud¡­! The Orc, a monster that was well known for its vitality and toughness, fell lifelessly to the ground as the bullet pierced through its skull and pulverized its brain. Ity motionless, dead in a pool of its own blue blood. Ding! [Your level has risen.] Han-Yeol had easily taken care of five Orcs once again, but he did not feel particrly happy about it. He thought in frustration, ¡®Damn it¡­ Was there really just one Mutant Orc?¡¯ His dissatisfaction was because he had been unable to see even the shadow of one of the Mutant Orcs he so desperately sought for. Meanwhile, Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri, who usually got busy once Han-Yeol finished hunting monsters, busily moved around and skillfully dismembered the Orcs, extracting their mana stones. ¡®Should I give up on the Mutant Orc¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It was likely that no other Mutant Orcs existed, as he had failed to find one even after leaving no stone in his path unturned. ¡®Should I focus on mass hunting the Orcs and power leveling instead of looking for Mutant Orcs¡­?¡¯?he wondered. Han-Yeol had hunted the Orcs carefully just in case a Mutant Orc appeared, but he had been unable to focus on going all out. Now that he was certain that there were no more Mutant Orcs, he no longer had a reason to hold back. ¡®I guess I have no choice¡­¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol climbed up to the roof of amercial building and activated ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯. The skill had already reached D-Rank, as he had used it over and over again without reservation ever since arriving to hunt the Orcs. Due to that, its range had expanded greatly. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Where are the Orcs?gathered?¡¯?he thought as he observed thendscape in front of him. The time hade for him to look forrge clusters of Orcs instead of small groups. However, what came into view instead of arge cluster of Orcs was something strange. ¡®What¡¯s that lump of mana?¡¯?he wondered, observing the strange phenomenon he had found. He was certain that he could not recall seeing anything of the sort when he had observed the area with his regr eyesight. Han-Yeol disabled ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯ and took out his binocrs to get a closer look at the physical form of the lump of mana. However, he saw nothing. He thought in surprise, ¡®Hmm? There¡¯s nothing there?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s going on¡­?¡¯?he wondered. He lowered his binocrs and infused mana into his eyes again. Once again, the spot that had appeared empty in his normal vision was overflowing with an abundance of mana. Han-Yeol instinctively thought that there had to be something hiding underneath all of that mana. He would not be able to provide a reasonable answer if he were asked why he hade to such a conclusion, but his instincts kept telling him that there was something over there. ¡®Let¡¯s go and take a closer look,¡¯?he thought, making up his mind to investigate the strange phenomenon. ¡°Is the work still going to take a while?¡± Han-Yeol asked his Porters. ¡°No, we just finished everything, Hunter-nim,¡± Sung-Beom replied. ¡°Then I¡¯ll head out first,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, we will be right there with you!¡± Sung-Beom replied enthusiastically. Tak! After he finished talking to Sung-Beom, Han-Yeol used ¡®Jumping¡¯ to move around, leaping from one building to another. He had initially intended to use ¡®Jumping¡¯ as an evasive skill, but it had eventually turned into a useful mobility skill that allowed him to travel from building to building quickly to save time. Thus, ¡®Jumping¡¯ had quickly reached C-Rank after he used it over and over again to get around. It did not take long for Han-Yeol to arrive at the spot where the strange phenomenon was urring, as it was not far away from where he had been. He thought, ¡®It looks just like a normal ce on the surface.¡¯ The ce was an old, abandoned factory, with a padlocked chain wrapped around its gates. Han-Yeol thought as he observed the tightly shut gates, ¡®It seems nobody has been here for a long time¡­¡¯ The chain locking the gates would not be there if someone had already entered the ce. Judging by the fact that they were still present, not a single Hunter had entered the abandoned factory for the past thirty years. ¡®This is making me pretty nervous¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Any person who had wanderlust or loved mysteries would be thrilled by the words ¡®a ce where no one has been¡¯. nk! Han-Yeol smashed the padlock that was holding the chains together tightly with his sword. The rusty old padlock could not withstand the blunt force from a sword coated with mana stones, made by a crafting-ss Hunter. . Creaaak¡­ Han-Yeol gave the old gates a push, and they moved with a loud creak. At longst, the entrance that hid the secrets of the old abandoned factory no one had visited in a long time had been opened. Vroom¡­! The familiar sound of a truck¡¯s engine,ing from the vehicle Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri were on, filled the air shortly after Han-Yeol entered the gateway. Woooong¡­ ¡®Is it really just an old abandoned factory?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered while looking around the ce. He infused mana into his eyes and looked around with ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯, but he did not really find anything out of the ordinary aside from the lump of mana he had seen previously. He clicked his tongue and grumbled inwardly, ¡®Tsk¡­ I just wasted my time.¡¯ He was about to turn around and leave the abandoned factory after confirming that there was nothing special about the ce using ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯. At the very moment he was about to leave, however¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­! ¡®Earthquake?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in surprise. The floor had suddenly begun shaking, and it did not seem to be a natural phenomenon at all. ¡®It¡¯s not an earthquake¡­! Mana Eyes!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, instinctively activating ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯ and looking around the moment he realized that the shaking was not an earthquake. He saw that the lump of mana was suddenly vibrating. He thought in surprise, ¡®What the? What the hell is going on?¡¯ Han-Yeol gripped his sword tightly as he observed thepletely unfamiliar phenomenon happening right before his eyes. After five minutes, however, the unnatural tremors gradually subsided. He thought nervously, ¡®Is it over?¡¯ It was then¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Rip¡­! The space before Han-Yeol began to distort, and a hole that resembled a gaping maw tore itself open in midair. ¡®T-That¡¯s¡­?!¡¯ Han-Yeol thought, stupefied. It was a phenomenon that he had seen only once before in his life¡ªwhen he had witnessed a monster¡¯s appearance on the way to the Hunters¡¯ Association. ¡®Dimensional hole?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought nervously. The hole that had appeared before his very eyes was none other than the subject of heated discussion around the world¡ªa dimensional hole. ¡®Weren¡¯t?these things only supposed to manifest outside the hunting grounds?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered.. It was natural for him to assume that the dimensional holes only appeared outside the hunting grounds, as the only documented and reported instances of them ever urring had all been in the outside world. However, he soon realized not long after how ignorant and stupid he had been for thinking that. Han-Yeolposed himself, bit his lips, and prepared forbat. He was filled with nervousness at the thought of fighting against the monsters that would soon emerge from the dimensional hole. He thought, ¡®What kind of monster will pop out?¡¯ Bam! A loud sound rang out from the dimensional hole, and three monsters slowly appeared from it. ¡®!¡¯ Han-Yeol let out an exmation of surprise, stunned and speechless. His eyes opened wide when he saw the monsters that had emerged from the dimensional hole. Soon, however, the tips of his mouth curled up and he eximed in delight, ¡°There you are!¡± Han-Yeol did not usually voice his thoughts out loud, but he could not hide his joy after seeing the monsters that hade out from the dimensional hole. ¡°Mutant Orcs!¡± he eximed. All three of the monsters that had emerged from the dimensional hole were the very same Mutant Orcs he had so desperately looked for. ¡®So that¡¯s it. I couldn¡¯t find them no matter what because they came from dimensional holes,¡¯?he thought as he observed the answer to the mystery that had eluded him for so long. The Mutant Orcs were not monsters that naturally roamed around the hunting grounds; rather, they were variant monsters that had to be summoned through dimensional holes. ¡°Keeuuu¡­¡±?The Mutant Orcs let out low growls. They looked around at their surroundings after exiting the dimensional hole, and when they spotted Han-Yeol in front of them, they immediately raised their shields and axes. ¡°Kuuuooo!¡±?All three of the Mutant Orcs let out a howl. It was much like a wolf¡¯s howl, seeming to announce that they had found their prey. ¡®Nice to see you again, you damn bastards,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied inwardly to the Mutant Orcs¡¯ howl with a grin on his face. He felt that he had profited this time around, as he was finally able to find the Mutant Orcs he had so desperately searched for. On top of that, he had been able to figure out the secret of the dimensional holes. Shwik! Han-Yeol let loose his chain, which by then could be considered his trademark move. ¡®Well, I killed the other one in one blow before. There¡¯s no reason for me to be unable to do it again,¡¯?he thought confidently as he threw his chain toward one of the Mutant Orcs, using his favorite chain skill. ¡®Restrain!¡¯ ng! However, the Mutant Orc, which was three timesrger than a normal Orc, lightly swung its axe and parried the chain Han-Yeol threw. Han-Yeol would have been taken aback and panicked if that had happened in the past when his level was low, but things were different now. He was now able to control his chain like an extension of his own body due to the skills ¡®Chain Mastery¡¯ and ¡®Restrain¡¯, and so he maneuvered his parried chain to swing around and fly toward the Mutant Orc once again. Shwiiiiik! ¡°Keoru?¡±?The Mutant Orc tilted its head in confusion when the chain it had parried turned in midair and flew right back at it. ¡°Hap!¡±?As the chain sessfully bound and stunned the Mutant Orc, Han-Yeol let out a cry as he pulled it forcefully. Thud! The Mutant Orc fell forward,nding t on its face with a thud that shook the ground. ¡®As expected!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. Chapter 36: The Mutant Orc (7)

Chapter 36: The Mutant Orc (7)

Han-Yeol was slightly nervous because of the number and sheer size of the Mutant Orcs, even though he had been able to kill them in one shot before. However, he was soon relieved, as he realized that the monsters were still as weak as he remembered them to be. He let go of the chain that was restraining one of the Mutant Orcs, then took out his rifle and aimed it at the remaining two other Mutant Orcs before pulling the trigger. He did not forget to infuse his mana into the bullets before shooting them, however. ¡®Power Strike.¡¯ Ratatatatata! The mana-infused bullets flew toward the heads of the two other Mutant Orcs. Puk! Puk! Puk! However, the Mutant Orcs covered their weak spots with their shields. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Han-Yeol had already expected the Mutant Orcs to take cover behind their shields, so that did note as a surprise. However, what did surprise him was that the bullets that were not blocked by the Mutant Orcs¡¯ shields failed to prate through their skin. ¡®What the?¡¯?he thought in surprise. He was taken aback, as that was different from what had happened before. ¡®Then how about this? Mana Explosion!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. He used his most powerful AOE attack, ¡®Mana Explosion¡¯, and aimed it at the exposed abdomen of one of the Mutant Orcs after finding that his bullets did not seem to have any effect on them. Baaaam! The grenade precisely struck the Mutant Orc¡¯s exposed abdomen and unleashed a ferocious explosion, and the Mutant Orc staggered backward while letting out a roar. ¡°Kruuuuooh!¡±?The Mutant Orc cried out in agony. ¡°Alright!¡± Han-Yeol rejoiced. ¡°Kruuuuoh!¡± the Mutant Orc roared again. ¡°T-This can¡¯t be!¡± Han-Yeol was bbergasted by what he saw. The previous surprise was not thest unexpected turn of events. Not only did the Mutant Orc that had been struck by the explosion remain standing, it even started to walk toward Han-Yeol as if nothing had happened. ¡®W-What the hell? Didn¡¯t I kill them in one shot before?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, bewildered by how strong the Mutant Orcs were. He had been expecting them to be as weak as the Mutant Orc he killed while saving the Tank, but the Mutant Orcs this time were far stronger than the one he had killed. nk! The Mutant Orc that had been restrained by Han-Yeol¡¯s chain broke free from it and stood up, recovering much more quickly than Han-Yeol had anticipated. ¡®Damn it, this isn¡¯t going to be easy,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. He had a feeling that this would be a long fight. He had already confirmed that these Mutant Orcs were stronger than the previous one, but it did not mean that he had no chance of winning against them. The only thing that had changed was the fact that he could not kill them in one shot, and that was all there was to it. Additionally, it enabled him to experience firsthand how strong the monsters that emerged from dimensional holes could be. Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped high into the air. ¡°Kuooooh!¡±?One of the Mutant Orcs roared as it unleashed an endless barrage of attacks with its ax. ¡®How dare you!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, gritting his teeth. He activated the skill ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯, making the monster¡¯s attacks slow to a crawl in his perception. That way, he was able to avoid all of the attacks by a hair¡¯s breadth,nding right in front of the Mutant Orcs. *** ¡°Chwiiik!¡±?The Mutant Orcs cried out when they saw the puny human jump toward them, swinging their axes as steam emerged from their nostrils. Then, they mercilessly swung their axes at the arrogant human charging toward them. Whoosh! The Mutant Orcs swung their axes with such overpowering strength that they would undoubtedly break several bones if they struck the human. Han-Yeol was aware that he would not be able to fight against the Mutant Orcs with his current stats and abilities. He thought, ¡®Do you think I¡¯m dumb enough to face you head-on?¡¯ It would have been a different story if he came back to fight themter on when he was at a much higher level, but Han-Yeol was no different from an ordinary Hunter at that moment. ¡®Restrain!¡¯?He thus used his signature skill once again. Shwiiiik! The chain on his left hand flew toward the closest Mutant Orc and wrapped itself around the monster¡¯s ax. Having aimed for the Mutant Orc¡¯s weapon instead of its body, Han-Yeol yanked on the chain and pulled the weapon away. ¡°Kiek?¡±?The Mutant Orc tilted its head in confusion as its ax was suddenly snatched out of its hand. Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity he created, running forward and using ¡®Jumping¡¯ to charge at the weaponless Mutant Orc before slicing its neck with his sword. Sukeok! The Mutant Orc¡¯s momentum gave weight to Han-Yeol¡¯s attack, and his sword left a deep cut on the monster¡¯s neck that sent a fountain of blue blood gushing out. ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡±?The Mutant Orc shrieked in agony, grabbing the wound on its neck that was overflowing with blood. However, it remained standing, as if it refused to fall over and die. ¡®Tsk¡­ Its neck is cut open, but it still refuses to die. Perhaps the monsters from the dimensional hole and the normal monsters out there are different?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had expected it to a certain extent, but the sheer difference in strength between the Mutant Orcs from the dimensional hole and the normal Orcs at the hunting grounds was much greater than he had anticipated. Shwiiiik! Han-Yeol reeled his chain in and flicked the blue blood off his sword, thinking, ¡®I need a properly decisive weapon.¡¯ He had a lot of skills, but he knew very well that he was still far from being able to call himself a strong Hunter. He was quite a versatile Hunter, as he had the ability to attack his enemies from close range, mid-range, and long-range due to being able to use a gun, a chain, and a sword. However, he was not skilled enough, nor did he excel enough, to be able to answer anyone who asked him which of those three offensive roles he was most confident in. ¡®What I need right now is to fight them in melee range. There¡¯s no guarantee that I can bring them down with just my chain, and the same goes for my rifle. So, my only remaining hope is to deal as much damage as I can in closebat even though I can¡¯t guarantee I¡¯ll be able to kill them,¡¯?he thought. Having realized what hisst hope was, he knew he had no choice but to take care of the Mutant Orcs right then and there, as he would die if he did not. Woosh! As Han-Yeol swung his sword, a thousand different thoughts passed through his mind in an instant. He checked his status window while thinking, ¡®I don¡¯t have any offensive skills that I can use with this sword. If that¡¯s the case¡­ The only option I have left is to increase the power of my sword, and the only skill that I can use together with my sword is¡­¡¯ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 33 Points: 0 STR: 83 VIT: 78 AGI: 72 MAG: 110 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (B), Walking (C), Mana Control (D), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (D), Heal (A), Jumping (C), Stab (D), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (E), Mana Explosion (C), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E), Martial Arts (E). Just as Han-Yeol was going over his status window, however¡­ ¡°Kruoooooh!¡±?One of the Mutant Orcs let out an enraged roar and charged toward Han-Yeol. ¡®Tsk¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue inwardly. He was able to avoid the Mutant Orc¡¯s attack despite being fixated on his status window, due to his ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ skill. Afterward, he used his ¡®Jumping¡¯ skill to leap over the factory walls and climb onto the rooftop. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The Mutant Orcs that had just lost their prey angrily stomped their feet on the ground in frustration. Han-Yeol pulled out his rifle and emptied two magazines, spraying bullets at the Mutant Orcs to keep their aggro from resetting and making them pursue Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri instead. The Mutant Orcs were so enraged that their eyes began to turn a bloodshot red, and they started to climb the factory walls. ¡®They look like a mere bunch of pigs, but they can climb walls as well,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought for a brief moment. As he was able to buy some time, he went over the skills he currently had. He was not looking for a shy skill; rather, he was looking for a simple skill that would be able to deal a lot of damage against the Mutant Orcs. ¡®What I need the most right now to increase my sword¡¯s attack power is¡­¡¯?he thought. Puk! He stabbed his sword into the factory roof and extended both of his hands. He gathered mana in one hand and fire in the other. Fwooosh! He thenbined the two in front of his chest. The brightly shining ball of mana that exuded calm, and the fiery ball that exuded a dense concentration of aggressive energy, merged together andbined into a single dense mass of energy as if it had been made through nuclear fusion. ¡®All that¡¯s left is to put this energy into my sword,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. The new mass of energy he had created seemed quite unstable, but he had no other choice at that moment. He slowly injected the mass of fiery mana into his sword, which was embedded into the roof. Bzzt! Bzzt¡­! Bzzt¡­! ¡°Keuuuugh¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in pain. He felt intense feedback all across his hands, arms, and even his brain after trying to force the mass of fiery mana into his sword. His hands and arms started to suffer burns, tearing open from the bacsh. However, there was no way that he would simply give up aftering so far. ¡®Heal!¡¯?He urgently cast his healing skill. In order to resist the feedback, he began repeatedly using ¡®Heal¡¯ ¡®Heal¡¯ on himself, repairing the wounds as quickly as they formed. Bzzt! Bzzt¡­! Bzzt¡­! ¡°Keuuaaaagh¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth in pain. Eventually, he sessfully managed to infuse the mass of fiery mana into his sword after struggling against the intense feedback it created. He eximed in delight, ¡°Alright!¡± The sword that Han-Yeol was currently using was worth more than five hundred million won. It had been specially made for him after he sold the sword he had previously used, which was worth only five million won. The steel of its de was forged from monster bone dustbined with special alloys, and it was coated with mana stone extract that increased its durability many times over. In short, that basically meant the sword was designed to withstand and absorb mana. The mass of unstable, fiery mana would have shattered the sword and caused an explosion that would have killed Han-Yeol on the spot if he had tried to save a bit of money by going to an average cksmith that produced cheap, generic swords. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s gamble paid off in the end, as he had not had any reservations about spending on his equipment. Ding! [You have sessfullybined mana and fire by oveing the bacsh.] [You have learned how to enchant your weapon with different properties.] [A new skill has been created¡ªEnchant.] [The rank of ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has risen from (B) to (A).] [The rank of ¡®Mana Control¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] [The rank of ¡®Fire Attribute¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] [The skill ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has reached A-Rank.] [A new sub-skill has been created¡ªSword Breath.] ¡®Sword Breath?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, quickly opening up the details of the new skill. [Sword Breath (F)] Type: Active Description: The user¡¯s sword will breathe an endless stream of fire. The user¡¯s mana will deplete as the sword emits fire, but the weapon will amplify all fire-attribute attacks and cause an explosion once it has umted enough energy. ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. He had gained an unexpected harvest that was several times more valuable than he could have imagined, having obtained ¡®Enchant¡¯, which allowed him to grant attributes to his weapons, and ¡®Sword Breath¡¯, which greatly amplified any fire-attribute attacks he made. ¡®This is a ssic case of high-risk, high-reward. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll never be able to stop gambling,¡¯?he thought with a smirk. Of course, the gambling he was referring to was not games such as poker or ckjack, which were solely about earning money. Rather, he meant the gamble one had to take whenever they needed to make a choice at a crossroads in life. Kwachik! The Mutant Orcs grabbed the edge of the roof and sessfully climbed up just as Han-Yeol¡¯s new skills were created. The one that had had its neck slit open by Han-Yeol was also there, looking as if it had never been hurt at all due to its excellent vitality and regenerative ability. It would have been impossible to tell that it was the same Mutant Orc that Han-Yeol had just attacked if not for the scar on its neck, which had fully healed leaving only a faint mark. However, Han-Yeol was no longer intimidated by the Mutant Orcs. He smirked as he activated his newly created sub-skill. ¡®Sword Breath.¡¯ Fwuuuaaaa! An endless stream of fire began to emanate from the sword in Han-Yeol¡¯s hand. ¡®It uses quite a lot of mana,¡¯?he thought. He could actually feel his mana being drained from his heart while his sword was breathing out mes. ¡®This is why I have to invest all of my bonus stat points into MAG,¡¯?he thought. However, he soon stopped thinking of such pointless things and decided to focus on the monsters in front of him. He kicked off the floor of the factory¡¯s roof and charged toward the Mutant Orcs once again. ¡°Chwiiiik!¡±?The Mutant Orcs shrieked loudly, as if to show their resolve not to be done in by the same tricks twice. They held their shields tightly against their bodies and gripped their axes more tightly than before as they charged toward the human. However¡­ ¡®Jumping! Shield Bash!¡¯?Han-Yeol cast both skills simultaneously. The Mutant Orcs¡¯ expectation that Han-Yeol would avoid their attacks before counterattacking was shattered to pieces, leaving them in for a big surprise. Chapter 37: Heal (1)

Chapter 37: Heal (1)

Han-Yeol used ¡®Shield Bash¡¯ and charged head-on toward the Mutant Orcs. Bam!? A shockwave reverberated from the point of contact where the Mutant Orcs and Han-Yeol¡¯s shield collided. Despite being stronger than Han-Yeol, the Mutant Orcs were pushed back. They were taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s sudden decision to charge at them head-on, since they expected him to avoid them as he did a while ago. ¡°Kiek?¡±?After being pushed back by Han-Yeol¡¯s charge, one of the Mutant Orcs btedly realized that there was nothing behind it. It shrieked as it was pushed backward. ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± This was exactly what Han-Yeol had nned. Therge Mutant Orc fell from five stories above and crashed into the ground, Han-Yeol falling together with it. Baaaaam! ¡°Kueeeh¡­¡±?The Mutant Orc moaned in pain. It managed to survive thanks to the strong, muscr,rge, and the innate barrier all monsters possessed, but it was immobilized from crashing into the ground. Fwooosh! Fwoooosh! Han-Yeol stabbed his sword that spewed mes because of his newly created skill ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ into the immobilized Mutant Orc¡¯s face. Fwooooosh! ¡°Kueeeeeeeeek!¡±?The Mutant Orc shrieked in agony since it did not immediately die from being stabbed, and the mes from the ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ slowly started to melt its face into a hideous form. ¡®Tsk¡­ These guys are so stubborn,¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled inwardly. However, the Mutant Orc¡¯s struggle was brief. The mes from the ¡®Sword Breath¡¯pletely melted its face, and the Mutant Orcid motionlessly on the ground. ¡°Kieeeeeeek! Kieeeeeeeek!¡±?The remaining Mutant Orcs shrieked in anger from the rooftop as they watched the human kill one of their own. They were enraged by the fact that Han-Yeol was dragging them up and down the factory. ¡°Come! Bring it on, you filthy pigs!¡± Han-Yeol shouted, taunting the shrieking Mutant Orcs. The two remaining Mutant Orcs looked at each other before they tossed aside their shields and jumped down from the factory roof while wielding their axes high above their heads. They roared while falling from the sky, ¡°Kuuuuaahhh!¡±? The two Mutant Orcs were aiming to m their axes down on Han-Yeol and turn him into mince meat. ¡®You want to hit me from there?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk, and he immediately used his trademark skill. ¡®Restrain!¡¯? Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain shot toward one of the falling Mutant Orc and wrapped itself around the monster¡¯s leg. Then, he flung the Mutant Orc and mmed it on the factory¡¯s wall. Bam! The factory walls crumbled and its debris piled on top of the Mutant Orc. ¡®Now, it¡¯s one-on-one!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he cracked his knuckle. He readied his ming sword, which consumed his mana because of his skill ¡®Sword Breath¡¯. ¡°Kuwaaaaahk!¡±?The Mutant Orc roared. It flew down toward Han-Yeol while wielding its ax with both hands. The momentum from its fall was certainly going to greatly amplify its strength upon collision, however¡­ ¡®Jumping.¡¯?Han-Yeol jumped up toward the Mutant Orc and gathered mana into his left hand. ¡®Mana Shield!¡¯ At that moment, the shield that Han-Yeol summoned, which looked pitifulpared to therge imposing ax the Mutant Orc was wielding with both hands, was about to collide against the monster¡¯s attack. Whoosh! ¡°Keuk?¡±?The Mutant Orc momentarily tilted its head in confusion. It was a method that Han-Yeol had seen on TV before. It showed that, whenever an opponent overexerted and attacked you, then you should pretend to face it head on before avoiding it at thest second. It was a difficult skill to pull off and it was mostly only found in martial artics, but Han-Yeol had ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯ which was an ability that allowed him to see things moving in slow motion. Things appeared much slower to Han-Yeol than how they moved in reality, and this allowed him to catch the perfect timing of when the Mutant Orc¡¯s ax was about to collide against his shield before he dodged it at thest second. ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced when the Mutant Orc¡¯s ax slightly grazed him. He was not able topletely avoid the attack, but he did sessfully manage to avoid most of the attack. The Mutant Orc, which had thrown away its shield earlier and was wielding its ax with both hands in anger, had its chest wide open in front of Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol did not miss this opportunity as he struck while shouting out loud, ¡°Die!¡± Puk! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The Mutant Orc shrieked in agony. Han-Yeol had stabbed his sword, which still had ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ activated and was spewing mes, dead center into the Mutant Orc¡¯s chest. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Stab¡¯ has increased from (D) to (C).] The sound of Han-Yeol¡¯s skill leveling up rang out alongside the hideous shriek of the Mutant Orc. ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned. He twisted his body while keeping his sword stabbed into the Mutant Orc¡¯s chest, and got on top of the Mutant Orc just before they both crashed into the ground. Bam! Han-Yeol¡¯s head mmed against the ground. A loud sound still apanied that hit even though most of the impact had been absorbed by the Mutant Orc. He sessfully killed the monster thanks to his new skill ¡®Sword Breath¡¯. ¡°Hoo¡­¡± Han-Yeol breathed out before he looked toward the factory and thought, ¡®There¡¯s only one left now.¡¯ *** Crumble¡­ Crumble¡­ Han-Yeol went to check on the final Mutant Orc that smashed into the side of the factory walls a while ago, and he found it buried under the rubble of debris. ¡°Chwiiik! Kieeeeek!¡±?The Mutant Orc shrieked. Han-Yeol was a bit surprised at how effective his light attack was when he found the Mutant Orc to bepletely immobilized. Before stabbing the Mutant Orc, he said in a cold voice, ¡°Die.¡± Puk! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Mutant Orc shrieked in agony when its chest was stabbed by Han-Yeol¡¯s ming sword. That was how Han-Yeol managed to kill thest remaining two Mutant Orcs. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡°Hoo¡­ It¡¯s finally over,¡± Han-Yeol said with a sigh of relief. His unexpectedly difficult battle against the Mutant Orcs was finally over. He canceled ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ and carried the dead Mutant Orcs over to where the two other dead Mutant Orcs were at. ¡°Please take care of these,¡± Han-Yeol said, asking Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri to dismember the Mutant Orc corpses just as he always did after a hunt. ¡°Y-Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri immediately replied. They grabbed their equipment and started to dismember the Mutant Orc corpses, since they were quite alert and attentive after witnessing the fierce battle between Han-Yeol and the Mutant Orcs. Whiiiiiing! The two Porters started to get to work as they switched on the power tools they were using to dismember monster corpses. Han-Yeol, who usually searched for other monsters to hunt while the Porters were busy dismembering the monster corpse, sat down on the ground while leaning against the factory wall. He was exhausted from the fierce battle against the Mutant Orcs, and all he wanted to do right now was to rest for a while. ¡®Status,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he called up his status window. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 34 Points: 5 STR: 83 VIT: 78 AGI: 72 MAG: 110 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (C), Mana Control (C), Mana Mastery (E), Power Strike (C), Mana Shield (D), Sixth Sense (D), Restrain (C), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (D), Heal (A), Jumping (C), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (D), Fire Attribute (D), Mana Explosion (C), Chain Smite (C), Marksmanship (E), Martial Arts (E), Enchant (F), Sword Breath (F). Han-Yeol invested all of his bonus stat points into MAG. It was not that his other stats were not important, but rather, his MAG stat was the most important stat to him. This was because hisbat style was centered around using his skills. ¡®I¡¯ll have to start training at the Hunter Gym again, since the gap between my MAG and my other stats is starting to widen again,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Of course, his long hunting schedule had just started, and what was more important right now than his stats was a new fact that he had found out this time. ¡®A dimensional hole opened in the midst of the hunting ground¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. That was right. The information section of the Hunters¡¯ Association stated that dimensional holes only urred in urban areas or outside of the hunting grounds, but the dimensional hole that Han-Yeol had found this time, one that summoned the Mutant Orcs, proved to be wrong. ¡®It will certainly be very dangerous if a dimensional hole suddenly appears near me when I¡¯m busy hunting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The world was slowly changing. It might not be felt immediately, but a change was happening as the thirty years period that they had agreed with the aliens was fast approaching. ¡®That means¡­ I have to be as strong as possible before the thirty-year period ends. Of course, treating father¡¯s illness before thates first,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol recovered his stamina before he stood up and paced around to recover his mana while being deep in thought. He then looked at the two Porters before asking, ¡°Are you done?¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim. We have finished everything. Are you nning on moving again?¡± Sung-Beom asked. ¡°Yes, we are just getting started,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Sung-Beom awkwardlyughed. He was well aware of Han-Yeol¡¯s hunting speed once he got worked up. The Porters knew very well that Han-Yeol was not joking when he meant that he was just getting started, and they braced themselves for a long tiring day. *** Fifteen days had passed since Han-Yeol started hunting at the Orc Burrow. ¡°Ughhh¡­¡± Han-Yeol groaned while sitting atop a pile of Orc corpses. Han-Yeol had just hunted twenty Orcs at once, and he would have lit and smoked a cigarette if this was a movie. Unfortunately, he was not a smoker. He had never tried smoking in his life before, but he probably would have quit even if he had smoked because of his stinginess. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Finally,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 50 Points: 0 STR: 98 VIT: 93 AGI: 87 MAG: 150 LCK: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (D), Power Strike (B), Mana Shield (C), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (C), Heal (A), Jumping (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (D), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D). Han-Yeol finally reached Level 50 after hunting for fifteen days. ¡°Waaaah!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to die¡­!¡± Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri''s condition was at its worst. Han-Yeol¡¯s hunting speed was already fast, to begin with, but his hunting speed had gone up several folds because of his own sense of urgency. Thus, he ended up not only pressuring himself but also putting his two Porters in a pretty bad condition. The two Porters hadrge dark circles under their eyes, their hair was disheveled, and their faces were covered in grime. They did not have the chance to wash up properly these past few days. Above all, they were exhausted to the point of copsing due to the tight hunting schedule Han-Yeol was on. ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ahhh¡­ It really is a shame that we failed to awaken this time again,¡± the two Porters said with dejection and exhaustion. Both of them did not be Porters to make ends meet, but to awaken as Hunters. They earned a lot of money from the hunt with Han-Yeol this time, but they could not be delighted by that; the disappointment of not awakening was far greater than any joy money could give them. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you will manage to awaken next time,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I hope that is the case,¡± Sung-Beom replied. Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri looked warmly at each other. Their bond grew deeper during the fifteen arduous days they had suffered under Han-Yeol. They might look like a mess right now, but that was not a problem since they were in love with each other. ¡®I¡¯m happy for them,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, but he was honestly jealous of the two. He really wanted to be in a rtionship now that he was no longer living paycheck to paycheck. He was bitter about the fact that he was twenty-eight years old now, but still hadn¡¯t been in a rtionship. He was very curious about what dating someone would feel like. ¡°Now, now, let¡¯s wrap things up and get out of here. We all worked like dogs over these past fifteen days, and we need to go get some rest,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two Porters replied. Their long hunt at the Orc Burrow came to an end. They drove the truck to the Hunters¡¯ Association and sold the mana stones they had collected, and they finally reaped the rewards of their hard work. ¡°Wow! It has been quite a while since I have seen so many mana stones. Did you really hunt all of these yourself?¡± the staffers at the mana stone exchange center asked in shock when they saw the pile of mana stones in front of them. An entire guild needed to be mobilized to collect the same amount as the pile of mana stones in front of them, and it took the staffers quite a while just to measure each mana stone¡¯s density in the pile. ¡°The total is¡­ F-Five¡­ b-billion two hundred forty million won. Would you like it in cash or shall we wire it to the ount registered under your name?¡± the staffer asked. It was an astronomical amount, and it was extremely hard to believe that Han-Yeol had earned all of this alone. Chapter 38: Heal (2)

Chapter 38: Heal (2)

¡°Please wire it to my ount,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± the female staffer replied. Ding dong! [5,240,000,000 won has been deposited into your ount.] ¡°I received it,¡± Han-Yeol acknowledged. ¡°I understand, Hunter-nim. Is there anything else I can assist you with?¡± the female staffer asked while unting her voluptuous chest and sparkling doe-like eyes as she tried to seduce Han-Yeol. It was because she thought that it would be fun to go out on a date with a man like Han-Yeol even if she wouldn¡¯t be in a rtionship with him. ¡®She is pretty,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. However, Han-Yeol was oblivious to the staffer¡¯s intentions. He just stood there appreciating her beauty before he turned around and left. Of course, Han-Yeol was not a eunuch or anything like that. It was just that nobody had ever tried to seduce him so he was oblivious to what was going on. ¡°Tsk¡­ How can he not even show an ounce of interest in me?¡± the female staffer grumbled. She thought that Han-Yeol was just another arrogant Hunter who was full of himself. ¡°Keke! Didn¡¯t I tell you to just give up on dating a Hunter? We can date any guy we want out there since we work at the association anyway, so why are you reaching for the stars and trying to marry a Hunter?¡± one of the female staffers said whileughing out loud. ¡°They say that a normal guy can¡¯t hold a candle against a Hunter when ites to their performance in bed. You shouldpare something that¡¯sparable at least,¡± another female staffer chimed in. ¡°Hey! You degenerate woman!¡± the female staffer who Han-Yeol ignored simply shouted. ¡°Kekekeke!¡± the rest of the female staffers cackled. The female staffers at the Hunters¡¯ Association relieved the stress and boredom they got from the repetitive and tedious work they did by using any handsome Hunters who came by as fodder for their gossip. On the other hand, Han-Yeol came home after having an astronomical sum of money deposited into his bank ount. Beep beep beep¡­ Han-Yeol pressed the passcode onto the electronic door lock and entered his house. The lights were all switched off and there were also no signs of anyone home. Looking around the house, he thought, ¡®Is father still out?¡¯? Han-Yeol came home once in a while during his hunts to check up on his father, but his father was not in whenever he dropped by. He thought, ¡®Well, he should be home soon.¡¯? Han-Yeol had been aware this entire time that his father loved to spend time with his friends but hadn¡¯t been able to since he had to devote himself to raising Han-Yeol on his own. His father was probably catching up on the time he had lost back then right now. Lacking the energy to wash up, Han-Yeol just took off his shirt and plopped down onto his bed. He thought as he fell asleep like a married man just returning from working overtime, ¡®Ah, I¡¯m tired. I¡¯ll just wash up tomorrow.¡¯? Of course, the biggest difference Han-Yeol had with those married men was the fact that he did not have a wife as they did. Slowly dozing off, he thought, ¡®That¡¯s the saddest part¡­¡¯ Beep beep beep¡­ After falling asleep for a while, Han-Yeol was woken up by the sound of the electronic door lock beeping. He thought while half awake, ¡®Mmmm¡­ is that father¡­?¡¯ The only person who woulde to their ce was none other than his father. Han-Yeol forced himself to wake up and dragged his exhausted body to the living room, since he had to check up on his father¡¯s health. He greeted, ¡°Wee back, father.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Why look who¡¯s here? Isn¡¯t it my filial son, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter!¡± his father eximed. ¡°You seem quite drunk, father,¡± Han-Yeol said. His father staggered while exuding the smell of alcohol and meat. He almost slipped while trying to take his shoes off. Fortunately for Han-Yeol¡¯s reflexes, which were worthy of being called that of a Hunter, kicking in, his father was caught before the fall. Han-Yeol¡¯s father was so drunk that he did not even realize that he had slipped and almost fell. He slurred, ¡°My son Han-Yeol¡­ My precious son¡­¡± ¡°Father¡­¡± Han-Yeol said under his breath while looking at his drunken father. He felt the tip of his nose tingling when he heard that he had been on his father¡¯s mind even though his father was drunk. He was always thankful for all the sacrifices his father had made for him, and he would never be able to repay everything his father had done for him even if he lived a hundred times over. He helped his father to the bed and helped to take off his clothes. He soaked a towel and wiped his father¡¯s body down just as he used to do at the hospital. ¡®I always thought that I was going to be doing this at the hospital forever, but who¡¯d have guessed that I?would?get the chance to do this at home?while father?is drunk??I¡¯m really a lucky guy,¡¯?Han-Yeol looked back at the past months while wiping his father¡¯s body down, and realized that he was indeed a lucky guy. His teenage years had been quite turbulent and harsh, and he had always felt that he was the unluckiest person in the world. However, that was no longer the case. Han-Yeol finished wiping his father down and helped him change into his sleepwear. Then, he held his father¡¯s hand and used his skill, ¡®Heal!¡¯ Wooooong¡­! His mana, which was iparable to his mana before his most recent hunt, shot out from his hand and enveloped his father in a beautiful, warm, and blue light. However¡­ ¡®Keu¡­! Damn it¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly, trying not to wake his father up. He quickly went up to their apartment¡¯s roof because he could no longer keep the frustration welling up inside of him. He yelled, ¡°Damn it! Why! Why won¡¯t father¡¯s illness be cured?!¡± His ¡®Heal¡¯ skill¡¯s growth had already hit a teau, but his father¡¯s illness was not showing any signs of being cured. [Han-Yeol-nim, there is one other way.] Karvis suddenly said while Han-Yeol was agonizing over his problem. The Ego system did not have a marvelous idea, but Karvis had something that she wanted to tell him. That was why Karvis, who usually did not say anything unless Han-Yeol called for her, decided to speak to him first. ¡°Another way?¡± Han-Yeol said. [You increased your skill level by reading medical textbooks early on, but you stopped reading books after that. There are many ways to increase a skill¡¯s level, and the fact that it no longer increases through the same method means that you would have to look for another method. I suggest you try reading medical textbooks once again and see if it helps.] Karvis said. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol was stunned. He had been forgetting that there was another method to increase the level of his skill. His turbulent heart calmed down and he soon said, ¡°Thank you, Karvis.¡± [You are most wee, Han-Yeol-nim.] Karvis replied. Han-Yeol ran to the library as soon as it opened and went straight to where the medical textbooks were. He scoured the library for medical textbooks and read every single one of them that he got his hands on, but he failed to make any progress in leveling up his skill. He thought, ¡®No¡­ There¡¯s a limit with the books at the library.¡¯ The library¡¯s medical textbooks were not the professional ones read by doctors, and these were not even the textbooks that students in medical school used. The public library was severely limited when it came to specialized books, and that was why Han-Yeol decided to leave the library and go to a bookshop instead. Han-Yeol searched for tranted foreign medical textbooks that were rted to the ck lump of mana that was clinging to his father¡¯s heart. He read every single book he could get his hands on, but the books were riddled with words that were too difficult for him toprehend. He barely managed to understand the contents, thanks to the basic medical textbooks he had read until now, and also because of his cheat skill ¡®Infinite Library¡¯ which allowed him to remember most of the things he read. Han-Yeol sat at the same ce for over six hours and read three medical textbooks from cover to cover. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Heal¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Heal¡¯ has reached Master Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] ¡®Finally!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. His skill finally leveled up from A-Rank to M-Rank, which was the Master Rank. He then thought, ¡®Will I finally be able to get a skill to cure father once it evolves?¡¯ Han-Yeol was not satisfied with his skill reaching M-Rank, so he decided to keep reading medical textbooks just as Karvis suggested. He did not eat anything for the whole day, simply immersing himself in books. It was now eleven in the evening, and time for the bookstore to close. ¡®Well, I guess I have no choice,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he called the bookstore''s staffers. ¡°How may I help you, customer-nim?¡± one of the staffers tilted her head in confusion and asked Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol pointed at the rows of medical textbooks rted to the human heart before saying, ¡°Please pack all of these for me.¡± ¡°D-Do you mean all of these¡­?¡± the staffer asked. ¡°Yes, you can deliver them, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. ¡°Y-Yes we can customer-nim. We can deliver it to you,¡± the staffer replied. Han-Yeol nodded and wrote down his home address on his name card. While passing the name card to the staffer, he said, ¡°Please deliver it to this address one hourter. I will pay you handsomely for the delivery.¡± The staffer looked at the name card Han-Yeol had handed over. Unable to hide her shock, she gasped, ¡°Eep!¡± The staffer realized that Han-Yeol was not an ordinary customer, but that he was a Hunter, which was one of the most prestigious people in this day and age. Feeling a lot more alert now, she said, ¡°Yes, customer-nim. We will deliver it as fast as we can.¡± ¡°Then, I will be expecting the delivery one hour from now,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He paid for the books and left the bookstore. However, the bookstore was now in an uproar after Han-Yeol left. The staffers reported what had happened to the manager. Then, one of the staffers asked, ¡°Manager-nim, we do not have a delivery vehicle. What should we do?¡± ¡°What do you mean what should we do?! Don¡¯t any of you have a car that can fit all of these books?!¡± the manager shouted urgently. One of the staffers raised his hand and replied, ¡°I-It will fit in my car. I have a van with me.¡± ¡°Alright! Everyone, load up the books in Seung-Woo¡¯s van! Hurry up! That Hunter is expecting us to deliver it within an hour!¡± the manager shouted with even more urgency. ¡°Yes sir!¡± the staffers replied as they quickly moved. *** K-Bookstore was in an uproar at a Hunter¡¯s suddenrge order, but they were able to skillfully take care of the matter thanks to their able-bodied manager and their position as the country¡¯srgest bookstore. They sessfully managed to deliver the books to the address Han-Yeol provided in fifty minutes which was just ten minutes shy of the delivery time he had requested. ¡°Thank you very much. It might not be much, but please have a meal with your team,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol, who was a stingy miser, surprisingly took out a check worth a million won and paid it as the delivery fee. ¡°Heok!?T-Thank you very much!¡± the staffer eximed. The reason why Han-Yeol paid an enormous sum of one million won as a delivery fee was because he was aware that while it was possible to have books purchased online delivered, it was not possible to have books purchased from an offline store be delivered, and the reason why he had stubbornly requested for it to be delivered was that he did not want to wait before being able to read these books. Also, he recently earned an astronomical sum of five billion two hundred million won, so he felt a bit of leeway in his finances. ¡®One million won is no longer an amount that can affect my finances, but it is enough to let them end their day in happiness,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought that it was not bad to splurge and make someone¡¯s day better once in a while now had the luxury to. Han-Yeol was no longer a poor person, but rather, he could now be considered an affluent Hunter who could earn five billion two hundred million won in just fifteen days¡ªalthough he had worked himself like a horse for that. The K-Bookstore¡¯s staffers bowed and thanked Han-Yeol before they left, and Han-Yeol went to the kitchen to make a cup of strong coffee before going to his room and sitting at his desk. He stretched his neck a few times before he opened the medical textbooks that cost him one million four hundred thirty-five thousand won. *** ¡°Ughh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol groaned after taking twenty days to read the medical textbooks he had purchased for one million four hundred thirty-five thousand won. Of course, he did not sit and read for twenty-four hours a day. He had gone to use ¡®Heal¡¯ on his father from time to time, and he had consistently gone to the Hunter Gym to train his body as well. His stats no longer increased just by working out, and he needed to push his body to the limits to barely increase his stats. In fact, he had to train until his muscles ripped and forcefully healed to increase his stats. The Hunter Gym¡¯s manager fainted at the sight of Han-Yeol¡¯s clothes that got all bloodied up from him forcefully ripping his muscles. Flip¡­ Han-Yeol flipped to thest page, and he was finally done with the medical textbooks that he had bought from K-Bookstore. Ding! [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Heal¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [Heal (M) has disappeared.] [A new skill has been created: Restore (F).] [A new skill has been created: Healing Bullet (F).] [A new skill has been created: Enhance Healing (F).] ¡®What¡­ What in the world¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in disbelief. He only expected the skill to be more effective once it evolved, but he never expected the Master-Ranked skill to disappear and conjure a miracle of creating three different skills. He muttered inwardly, ¡®S-Skill¡­¡¯? [Restore (F)] Type: Active Description: A more powerful healing skill. It does not only heal physical injuries, but it also has the ability to heal illnesses. It is also a high-grade skill that can heal any diseases from contaminated mana. [Healing Bullet (F)] Type: Active Description: Allows the user to infuse healing mana into projectiles such as bullets or shots and fire it to a target. The target hit by the projectile will be healed instead of taking damage. [Enhance Healing (F)] Type: Passive Description: All healing effects are enhanced. ¡®T-This is awesome! No, this is amazing!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. The Master-Ranked skill might have disappeared, but the three skills that took its ce were far greater than the skill he had lost. Chapter 39: Heal (3)

Chapter 39: Heal (3)

This time around, one of the new skills Han-Yeol received was one that he could use duringbat, but his joy was fully focused on the ¡®Restore¡¯ skill. Han-Yeol thought as he clenched his fist. ¡®Ah¡­ finally¡­ I can finally?treat father¡¯s?illness¡­!¡¯? The description of ¡®Restore¡¯ stated that it had the ability to not only heal physical injuries but also illnesses caused by contaminated mana as well. Han-Yeol was now certain, after reading the skill¡¯s description, that his father¡¯s illness was caused by mana contamination. ¡®Ah¡­ Heuk¡­! Heuk¡­! Ahhh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol cried,rge droplets of tears falling from his eyes. He thought that all of the tears he could have cried for his father had already dried up, but the floodgates of his eyes opened as he burst into tears once again. He cried for quite a while before he calmed down and called his father. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ [Hello? What¡¯s the matter, Han-Yeol?] ¡°Where are you, father?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [I¡¯m at the pool ce, of course. Where else would I be? Ah, you shoulde by and see the ce. I might be the owner of the ce, but you are technically my investor. So, shouldn¡¯t you at least see how the interior construction is going?] ¡°Should I drop by?¡± Han-Yeol said. [You should. I¡¯ve always wanted to show you the ce before we officially open it. Can youe right now?] ¡°Yes, I can. Can you please message me the location?¡± Han-Yeol said. [Alright. Oh, don¡¯t even think about buying something on the way. We haven¡¯t opened yet, and we don¡¯t have space here right now.] Beep¡­! ¡°Ah¡­ There¡¯s really no stopping father¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered after ending the call. Han-Yeol checked the address that was sent to him through a message, and he drove there with the van that he had recently purchased. He soon spotted a familiar car that he had previously purchased parked in front of a building where there was construction going on on the second floor. He thought, ¡®The location isn¡¯t that bad.¡¯? The building was not located in the city center, but it was still a ce that had a lot of foot traffic. In fact, Han-Yeol was actually relieved that it was not located in the city center. The area where his father had chosen to open the pool ce mostly had restaurants instead of bars or pubs, which meant that his father would not have to struggle with drunk customersing to his shop. Han-Yeol used the stairs instead of the elevator, since it was located on the second floor. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The busy sounds of ongoing construction could be heard once Han-Yeol reached the second floor, and the sounds of hammering and drilling filled the ce. ¡°Ah, Han-Yeol. Come over here,¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father said. ¡°When is the construction going to finish?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°It will finish by next month, ording to the man in charge. How is it? Isn¡¯t it nice?¡± his father asked. ¡°Yes, the location is good, and the interior seems to being along nicely as well. The other facilities seem to be good as well so I think it can be quite profitable once you open it,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol did not really give it much thought when his father had mentioned wanting to open a pool ce, but he realized after visiting that his father seemed to have put a lot of thought and effort into his business. His father had nned things out so thoroughly that even Han-Yeol, who did not have any knack for business, could tell at a single nce that it was going to be a profitable business. ¡°Oh right, can you give me a few minutes of your time, father?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Sure, I¡¯m just standing here to watch over the construction anyway, but what is this about?¡± his father asked. ¡°I recently found a way to cure your illness, and I want to cure you, father,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Is what you are saying true¡­?¡± his father asked in surprise. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol¡¯s father was aware that Han-Yeol had been healing him when he was asleep. It was not all the time, but there had been quite a few times that he had woken up from sensing Han-Yeol¡¯s approach. He was also aware that Han-Yeol had been frustrated by the fact that his illness was not getting cured. To be honest, he was feeling more relieved by the fact that he was no longer going to be a burden to his son, rather than the fact that his illness could be cured. ¡®Han-Yeol¡­ you don¡¯t have to be tied down by me anymore. You can go and live your life now,¡¯?his father thought. His heart felt lighter now that he was no longer a burden to his one and only precious son. Han-Yeol went to a room caf¨¦ nearby and booked a corner room. He ced his hand on his father¡¯s left chest, which was where his heart was at, and used his skill. He activated his skill with full anticipation. ¡®Restore!¡¯? Woooong¡­ A sound iparably fuller, and mana that was denser than when used ¡®Heal¡¯ before, resonated as Han-Yeol infused his mana into his father. Then, the ¡®Restore¡¯ skill started to sh against the lump of ck mana that clung to his father¡¯s heart. Han-Yeol¡¯s forehead had beads of sweat as he focused all of his senses on the battle against the lump of ck mana. ¡®Han-Yeol¡­¡¯?his father thought with a bittersweet feeling in his heavy heart. He felt sorry for his son, but he was thankful at the same time. ¡®I wonder when this immature little kid grew up so fast.¡¯? His son had met the wrong parents and could not live a normal life. He cursed himself day and night for getting sick with this damned illness just when he thought he could provide a better life for his son. However, his son had grown up well and had be a Hunter despite meeting a useless father like him; but above all, Han-Yeol was a very filial son. His young immature son had suddenly grown up into such an outstanding young man. Han-Yeol¡¯s father closed his eyes and thought that he would have no lingering regrets even if his son failed to cure his illness and if he died right here and now. He suddenly thought, ¡®Although it¡¯s a shame that I won¡¯t be able to see my grandkids¡­¡¯? Tears started welling up in Han-Yeol¡¯s father¡¯s eyes, and his tears fell on Han-Yeol¡¯s arm. However, Han-Yeol did not seem to have noticed it, since he was entirely focused on his struggle against the lump of ck mana. ¡®I got it!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. There was one thing that his father misunderstood: the ¡®Restore¡¯ skill that Han-Yeol used was not a gamble-type of skill that came with risks. Mana filled with healing properties flowed from Han-Yeol¡¯s hands and started to slowly move the lump of ck mana just as it was described in the skill¡¯s description. ¡®So you finally decided to move! I willpletely get rid of you this time!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he steeled his resolve. He looked at the lump of ck mana as if it was his lifelong nemesis that took everything from him, and he was on the verge of exterminating the lump of ck mana that almost took his entire world through his ¡®Restore¡¯ skill. There was no room for mercy. Wooooong!!! Han-Yeol increased his mana¡¯s density as he used every single one of his one hundred fifty MAG stat. Squirm¡­! Squirm! ¡°Keuk!¡±?Han-Yeol¡¯s father groaned. The lump of ck mana that clung to his heart as if it was its own, or rather its own house, caused excruciating pain to him when Han-Yeol tried to pull it out. However, this was the lump of ck mana making a final stand. It held on for dear life, but Han-Yeol pressed on as he felt that it was going to be better for him to finish this in one go instead of doing it progressively. He was certain that his father was going to suffer even more if he failed to cure the illness this time. In fact, he had no idea what that thing would do if it was almost exterminated but survived. ¡®Just give up already!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Pukeok! There was no actual sound, but the lump of ck mana finally detached itself from Han-Yeol¡¯s father¡¯s heart. ¡°Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­¡±?Han-Yeol¡¯s breathing was ragged. ¡®This is not the end of it. I can only say it¡¯spletely cured if I manage to expel it?from father¡¯s?body,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he carefully enveloped the lump of ck mana with his own mana. His experience of controlling his own mana through various situations helped him a lot this time. Focusing all of his senses on his mana, he thought, ¡®Slowly¡­ I have to slowly extract it out.¡¯ Han-Yeol had the option of carefully guiding the lump of ck mana through his father¡¯s blood vessels before leading it all the way down to his fingertips or toes. However, he was concerned that the lump of ck mana might break apart and spread all over his father¡¯s body. There was also the concern of leaving some traces of it behind and making the illness rpse again. Therefore, Han-Yeol decided to take the drastic measure and directly extract it. ¡®It¡¯s not easy even with ¡®Restore¡¯¡­ I thought it would be easy like the?heal?they use in novels or video games,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. The limitations of reality made it much more difficult than he expected things to be. However, Han-Yeol did not give up. He collected his breath and slowly started to extract the lump of ck mana from his father¡¯s chest. Wooooong!!! ¡°Keuhup!¡±? Of course, his father was still in excruciating pain throughout the process. ¡®Please hang on just a little bit more, father. It will be over soon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Chwaak! ¡®It¡¯s over!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. He sessfully extracted the lump of ck mana that desperately clung to his father after battling against it for five minutes. ¡°Finally!¡± Han-Yeol rejoiced. Squirm¡­ Squirm¡­! The lump of ck mana desperately squirmed as if it was trying to escape. In fact, it appeared to be looking for another host to infect rather than trying to run away. Han-Yeol wrapped the squirming lump of ck mana with his own before he set it aze by using his skill ¡®Fire Attribute¡¯. Kieeeeeek!! The sight of Han-Yeol using his mana to burn the lump of ck mana seemed like a holy fire of justice burning evil darkness. ¡®Finally¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was finally over. The source of his father¡¯s suffering and his heartache over the past five years was finally gone. ¡°Cough! Cough!¡±?Han-Yeol''s father violently coughed. He felt awkward at the sudden disappearance of the parasite that had been living in his heart for the past five years, even though it was something that sucked away at his life force. ¡°Are you alright, father?¡± Han-Yeol asked with a concerned look. ¡°Ugh¡­?Y-Yes¡­ Is it finally cured¡­?¡± his father weakly asked in response. Han-Yeol¡¯s father saw it as well. He saw the lump of ck mana emerging from his chest, and he also saw his son burn the hideous-looking thing like he was burning an insect. He thought proudly, ¡®That¡¯s my son.¡¯ ¡°Yes, father. It is finished,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he tightly hugged his father. He no longer had to worry about the lump of ck mana going on a rampage and killing his father, and his father was now going to be able to live normally just like anyone else without having to be worried about his health. With tears in his eyes, he cried out, ¡°Father¡­ Father¡­!¡± ¡°Yes, my son. My beloved son,¡± his father replied as he patted Han-Yeol¡¯s back. ¡°You can now do whatever you want. You can even drink and travel as well,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes. Yes, I can,¡± his father replied with a warm smile as he continued patting Han-Yeol¡¯s back. ¡°You can also remarry a beautiful woman now as well,¡± Han-Yeol jokingly added. ¡°What did you say¡­?¡± his father said. His face slightly crumpled at Han-Yeol¡¯s words. It was a normal reaction for anyone, since it was notmon for someone to say such a joke in these kinds of situations. His father eximed, ¡°Han-Yeol¡­ You!¡± ¡°Yes, father?¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°You¡­! Can¡¯t you do something about my balding then?¡± his father asked. ¡°H-Huh¡­?¡± Han-Yeol was dumbfounded at his father¡¯s words. He expected his father to rebuke him or say something serious, but instead, his father was talking about his balding. Han-Yeol weaklyughed as he felt all of his tension from a while ago disappeared, and then he asked, ¡°Do you really have to fix your balding? You are still cool regardless, father.¡± ¡°What did you say? Don¡¯t you know balding is gically inherited? Oh, I see. You seem to want to be bald too. Let me speed it up a bit and shave your head right now!¡± his father fiercely responded. ¡°Ah! Father! Please calm down. I will find a way to fix your balding, so please calm down!¡± Han-Yeol urgently replied. ¡°Hoho. You should¡¯ve said so earlier,¡± his father replied with a satisfied smile. Han-Yeol¡¯s father changed his mind about shaving Han-Yeol¡¯s head after receiving multiple reassurances from his son, who nned to find a cure for his baldness. ¡°Hahaha!¡± ¡°Hehehe!¡± What followed was a heartyugh filled with happiness by the father and son duo. It seemed that spring had finallye for them, and the winds of favor have started to blow their way. 1. A room caf¨¦ is a caf¨¦ partitioned into rooms. These have been quite a hot topic these days for various reasons, but it is quite a versatile ce since some of them have TVs,puters, beds, and all. Chapter 40: Heal (4)

Chapter 40: Heal (4)

¡°¡­¡± A week has passed since Han-Yeol miraculously cured his father¡¯s illness. Han-Yeol had to endure a lot of things in life due to his personal problems, and he now felt empty since his lifelong goal of curing his father''s illness had finally been fulfilled. There was nothing wrong with him physically, but he was feeling lethargic. Nothing was exciting anymore, because of his current mental state. Suek¡­ ¡®Ah¡­ this could end up badly and be depression¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol covered his forehead with his hand and thought.?He had seen a few times on television that people who did not have a goal in life were more prone to getting depressed exactly because of the lethargy and emptiness that he felt right now. Han-Yeol had an astronomical sum in his bank ount right now, and it could sustain him for the rest of his life as long as he lived within his means. That was why money no longer served as a source of motivation for him. Was it because Han-Yeol grew up poor for almost his entire life that he did not know what to do with arge sum of money? Apparently, only people who have spent arge sum of money before actually knew how to spend money, and the astronomical sum that Han-Yeol currently possessed did not really excite him or anything. It was at that moment that Han-Yeol was knee-deep in his lethargy and emptiness that news was being aired on the TV. [In other news, the sudden increases in dimensional holes have caused multiple civilian casualties, and have sharply increased the fatality rate among the Hunters. Six Hunters have already died due to the dimensional holes since the start of this year as per the statistics announced by the Hunters¡¯ Association, and the number of Hunters who have gone missing at the hunting grounds numbered ten Hunters so far. The experts are currently advising all Hunters to go in a party of eight to ten members instead of the current conventional three to five members from now on when entering the hunting grounds. The government is trying to minimize civilian casualties by setting up numerous ns, but this is proving to be not an easy task for them as the dimensional holes urred at random.] ¡®That¡¯s right. The dangers from the monsters have not disappeared yet!¡¯?Han-Yeol snapped back to his senses and eximed inwardly when he heard the news. It was not the end for Han-Yeol now that he had cured his father¡¯s illness. He had forgotten it for a moment, but the threat of the monsters was still present. This was a threat that he was all too familiar with, but he had momentarily forgotten it as he gotcent. He immediately realized that he did not have the luxury of sitting around the sofa all day and just leisurely watch TV. [The experts are currently criticizing that the Hunters¡¯ Association is not the only one that should be making preparations for the expiry of the treaty set forth by the aliens in two years and that the government should also be making equal efforts to ensure the safety of the people.] ¡®That¡¯s right. I have to make thorough preparations. I¡¯m not losing out on anything even if nothing happens anyway, and it is much better than getting pummeled one-sidedly just because I did not make any preparations for what was toe in the future,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was already enough for Han-Yeol to feel that he almost could have lost his father once, and it was not something he wished to go through ever again. His lethargy and emptiness suddenly disappeared as he got into action, and his usual hardworking attitude sprung back to life. ¡®What if a dimensional hole suddenly opened near this ce while I¡¯m away¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol nervously thought. He could no longer reel his thoughts in after the sudden wave of anxiety that he felt when the initial thoughts kicked in. ¡®Who is going to block the monsters from the dimensional holes then?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The time that he spent out on the field was going to increase from now on if he wanted to get even stronger, and he needed a special measure in ce to protect his father from any monster attacks that could ur while he was away. ¡®I need a bodyguard?for father¡­ However, there¡¯s no way that I can use a Hunter as a bodyguard¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had experienced quite a lot of things while working as a Porter, and he knew very well that hiring a Hunter as a bodyguard was definitely not going to be a walk in the park. He also thought, ¡®I can¡¯t trust them too¡­¡¯? There was no way that those selfish bastards would put their lives on the line to protect someone else. In fact, he would have to be content and thankful if they did not use his father as bait in case of any emergencies. ¡®I need someone trustworthy to protect him¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered long and hard. Han-Yeol suddenly recalled a summoned creature that guarded its master exceptionally well in one of the raid parties organized by a guild that he had joined when he had been working as a Porter. Every Summoner ss Hunter had the ability to summon one summoned creature, and Han-Yeol heard that there was a variety of summoned creatures, from spirits all the way to mythical beasts. He immediately went to his room and booted on hisputer. Then, he went to the Hunters¡¯ Association website and typed in the search bar. [Summoned Creature] Then, Han-Yeol pressed enter. [There are only a few Summoner ss Hunters out there, but there are quite a number of different types of summoned creatures. The mostmon type of summoned creatures are the spirits, and there are also the summoned creatures that possess high intelligence and powerful stats but are hard to control, like the mythical beasts. There are also the golems, whichck intelligence but faithfully follow every single one of their master¡¯s orders, and there are also the ones that resurrect the dead and turn them into the undead. Lastly, there are unconfirmed reports of Summoner Hunters that can summon demons as well.] [There are not many facts known about the Summoner Hunters, since not a lot of research has been carried out on them, and bing a Summoner Hunter itself gave a huge boost to a Hunter¡¯s rank as they are quite few and rare.] ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. He continued reading to better understand the Summoner Hunters¡¯ different abilities. After spending quite a while on research, he eventually decided that the best-summoned creature to watch over his father would be a demon-type summoned. ¡®I need to have an affinity with the spirits if I want to summon a spirit-type, and affinity with the spirits is something that someone is innately born with. Also, a spirit-type summon has to stay within a certain distance of their summoner at all times, so¡­ I¡¯ll have to pass on it. ¡®A golem will prove to be a strong bodyguard once I manage to create it, but its low intelligence is a cause for concern, since it might misjudge the situation at times. Also, the time and money it will take to create a golem are just too much, and I need something that can start guarding father right now. So I¡¯ll have to pass on that as well¡­ ¡®The undead¡­ I¡¯ll have to pass on it just because of how it looks¡­ ¡®It¡¯s simple to summon. Also, it¡¯s a contractual rtionship and not that of a summoner and a summoned, which is good since there¡¯s no concern of the summoned creature being unsummoned, and a demon is willing to do anything as long as the contract is being fulfilled,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he called on his Ego system, ¡®Karvis!¡¯ [Summoning magic is difficult but simple at the same time, because of the fact that Han-Yeol-nim can create skills through your actions.] [I think that it would be possible for you to create a skill that could summon a demon as long as you put your mind to it.] ¡®Put my mind into summoning a demon¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he furrowed his brows. Unfortunately, the ult was not his forte, and neither was it something that was of interest to him. ¡®Ha¡­ I went through hell reading those medical textbooks, but who would have thought that I would end up reading books about the ult?¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly. Han-Yeol might have grumbled inwardly, but it was a luxury for him to grumble about his current situation. His ability to create skills put him in a much more advantageous position whenpared to the other Hunters who had to live their entire lives with only three skills. The other Hunters would never dream of obtaining any skills, even if they read books on the same topic every day for a hundred years. As for Han-Yeol, he had the advantage of being rewarded as much as the effort he put in. ¡®I guess I¡¯ll have to live at the library from now on¡ªagain¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he went to the public library once again. However, his expectations turned into disappointment in less than thirty minutes since entering the library. He eximed inwardly, ¡®There are no books about demon summoning in the library!¡¯ It was just as he thought. The library had no books that were rted to demon summoning or the ult. Han-Yeol decided to ask the librarian, just in case, and the response he got was that those kinds of books were not suitable for all ages and the library was a ce where people from all ages came. Thus, the library purposely did not disy any dark books of that nature. ¡®Why is that considered a dark book?! Also, don¡¯t you have a kid¡¯s section over there?!¡¯?Han-Yeol cried out inwardly in frustration. Han-Yeol left the library and went to the K-Bookstore. ¡°Wee!¡± ¡°Wee!¡± Han-Yeol had be quite a celebrity at K-Bookstore after spending one million four hundred and thirty thousand won on books. He had also given an astounding sum of one million won for the staffers to have dinner thest time he had visited. The K-Bookstore staffers were much more polite than they were required to be toward Han-Yeol. They were hoping for him to generously open his wallet once again this time. The manager quickly asked, ¡°How may I assist you, customer-nim?¡± ¡°Do you have any books rted to the ult here?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. ¡°Huh?¡± the manager was momentarily perplexed at Han-Yeol¡¯s words. ¡°Do you have any books rted to demon summoning or books about demons?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°P-Please wait a moment, I will immediately go and check,¡± the manager replied while slightly flustered at the strange request. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The manager went to the other staffers and asked about Han-Yeol¡¯s request. He called out, ¡°Hwee-Na.¡± ¡°Yes, manager-nim?¡± the staffer responded. ¡°Does our store have any books about the ult?¡± the manager asked. ¡°Please wait a moment¡­ I don¡¯t recall seeing any though¡­¡± the staffer replied. The part-time staffer called Hwee-Na searched the keyword ¡®ult¡¯ on theirputer, and there were quite a lot of different books that showed up on their database. However, all of the books had a message on them that showed that they were not in stock at their store. Noticing that, the part-timer Hwee-Na said, ¡°There are a different variety of ult books, but we do not have any of them in our store.¡± ¡°Well¡­ That can¡¯t be helped. We can¡¯t tell him that we have a book that we don¡¯t have. Alright, thanks,¡± the manager said. ¡°Yes, manager-nim,¡± Hwee-Na replied. She blushed when the tall and handsome manager thanked her with a warm smile. ¡®Kyaaah! Manager-nim smiled at me!¡¯?Hwee-Na thought as she eximed inwardly. She felt that this tiring and difficult part-time job had finally paid off, and she felt as if she got paid a bonus for her hard work. The manager approached Han-Yeol with an apologetic look on his face. He said, ¡°I am sorry, customer-nim. We do not have any of the books that you are looking for at our branch. Shall I at least ce an order for the books that you are looking for?¡± ¡°Ah, no no. You don¡¯t have to,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°I apologize once again. Then, I wish you a pleasant day,¡± the manager said once again with a bow. ¡°Thank you, have a nice day!¡± Han-Yeol said before he left the bookstore. The staffers at K-Bookstore looked at Han-Yeol leaving the bookstore with a hint of disappointment on their faces. ¡°Ahh¡­ We would have received a lot of tips to spend on dinner if we delivered the books to his ce likest time¡­¡± ¡°Tsk¡­ I know right¡­ I still can¡¯t forget the taste of the Hanwoo rib-eye we had that day!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I want to eat it again¡­¡± ¡°Me too¡­¡± The staffers who were born and lived as ordinary citizens had the chance to eat such luxurious meat for the first time in their lives, thanks to the tip that Han-Yeol had given them that day, and it was a taste that they could not forget and wanted to taste one more time. Most of the staffers who worked here were mostly working to make ends meet or save up for their tuition fees, so they did not have the luxury to purchase Hanwoo with their own money. ¡°Well¡­ We just have to hope for the next time.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡±?The staffers sighed in unison. Han-Yeol eventually made his way home after failing to find the book he wanted at the library and the bookstore, and he searched up ¡®demon summoning¡¯ on G-tform on hisputer. Then, he saw five posts with the words ¡®demon summoning¡¯ in them, and he clicked on the link that was written ¡®demon summoning methods of different countries¡¯. It seemed that someone had half-jokingly posted a question regarding demon summoning, but there was an actual reply under it that suggested a few books. ¡®Shall I try ordering these suggested titles?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He set aside the books suggested for a moment, scrolling further down to read the other replies. Then, he thought, ¡®Hmm? This looks quite good.¡¯ Han-Yeol did not really expect much from the online search, but he had unexpectedly found a reply that was quite sincerely written under the post. [I am currently a Priest. I will have to post a reply while maintaining my anonymity due to my ss, but I, myself, am quite interested in demon summoning. I have some experience summoning demons, and I also managed to sessfully request things from them as well. Unfortunately, a demon is not something anyone can just summon. You will need to have innate spiritual or psychic powers to summon one, and you will just keep failing no matter how much you try if you don''t have these. However, I will tell you a few things about demon summoning to satisfy your curiosity as well as to alleviate my boredom.] ¡®Good, keep going,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not expect even 1% on the reply, but he never imagined that he was going to unexpectedly profit from clicking a random link on the inte. Han-Yeol properly sat down and scrolled further down. [Warning: Please treat a demon with utmost respect and honesty at all times. Do not ever try to order it around or take advantage of them in any way.] ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he nodded. 1. Hanwoo is Korean Beef which is a brand like Wagyu. Han ? means Korean and ? Woo means cow. Chapter 41: Heal (5)

Chapter 41: Heal (5)

[You need some basic preparations before you summon a demon. Firstly, the summoner should be aware of what kind of demon they are trying to summon. You can check the link below to go to a site where the details of numerous demons are listed, and you can also find the demon¡¯s sigil on the site so you should print that out before you try and summon the demon of your choice. Secondly, you need to have a clear goal when attempting to summon a demon.] ¡®A goal? Hmm¡­ Wanting it to?protect father?should be more than enough, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It did sound strange to summon a demon to protect something or someone, but it was still a clear goal so there should not be any problems with it. Han-Yeol continued reading. [You have toe into an agreement with the demon and offer something once you sessfully manage to summon it. The demons in fantasy games or novels usually demand something unreasonable from humans, but the real demons are not like that at all. They are a race that values honor, and they can only demand an offering when both parties, the demon, and the summoner,e to a mutual agreement on what the offering would be. However, the demon could get enraged and either attack the summoner or just go back to the demon world if both parties fail to reach an agreement.] ¡®Well, that¡¯s a relief. I was kind of worried that it might be unreasonable. But a race that knows honor and mutual agreement¡­? It does not suit them at all for some reason¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It would have been the same case for anyone, and the same went for Han-Yeol. He didn¡¯t perceive demons in a positive light. The demons portrayed in fantasy games or novels were usually evil beings that had mostly hated humans and were always trying to corrupt humans so that they could slurp up their souls. [Also, you will have to be aware of how tomunicate with a demon before summoning one.] ¡®How tomunicate¡­? Can¡¯t I just talk to them?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he tilted his head in confusion. [A demon usuallymunicates through our minds. This means that they use telepathy tomunicate instead of words. It will be difficult to differentiate between your own thoughts and the demon¡¯s words when you talk to one for the first time, and those thatck spiritual or psychic powers will fail tomunicate with a demon even if they somehow managed to summon one sessfully. Of course, you can train your mind by meditating, and you can also get used tomunicating with demons by summoning more and more demons. In the end, it will be much easier for those of you that have psychic powers tomunicate and reach an agreement with the demons.] ¡®Psychic powers¡­ Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. *** ¡®It¡¯s called psychic powers, but?mana?should be able to substitute for it, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol continued reading the exnation on summoning demons a bit more thoroughly this time, and the part he waited for the most, which was the summoning part, had finallye. [The most important thing when ites to summoning a demon is to not be disturbed by anyone during the summoning process, so please try to find a quiet ce where you are certain that nobody will be able to disturb you. The demons absolutely hate being disturbed while being summoned.] ¡®Well, father will onlye home after the?pool ce closes?anyway¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Also, you need to check and prepare the sigil of the demon that you wish to summon.] ¡®Oh right, I have to decide which demon I want to summon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clicked on the link under the post and read through the list of demons on the site. There were unexpectedly quite a lot of types of demons, but Han-Yeol ignored the long list of demons. He immediately scrolled down to the lesser demons. ¡®What I need right now is a demon that won¡¯t stand out and that can be a protector from anything that might try and hurt father,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He continued to scroll down when the profile of one demon stood out. [Shadow Demon] It was a demon with a pitch-ck body, with only its red eyes shining brightly. It was a lesser demon that possessed the ability to hide in the shadows. It possessed basicbat abilities, but that was about it, since it was only a lesser demon. However, Han-Yeol found the fact that the Shadow Demon was only a lesser demon to be its most appealing trait. ¡®Alright, I will summon this Shadow Demon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he made up his mind. He then printed the Shadow Demon¡¯s sigil on a clean piece of paper as instructed. [Lastly, close your eyes and visualize the sigil as hard as you can, and it is highly important that you memorize what the sigil looks like before moving on to this step. Next, you will have to shout out the name of the demon you wish to summon while visualizing its sigil with your eyes closed. You have to keep shouting out its name until the demon gets summoned.] ¡®Hmmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. He switched hisputer¡¯s monitor off and positioned himself at the center of his room. Then, he closed his eyes and visualized the sigil he printed a while ago. ¡®Visualize it¡­ Visualize¡­ Visualize¡­¡¯? The Shadow Demon¡¯s sigil was quite simple, so it did not take a lot of time for Han-Yeol to memorize it. He could perfectly visualize it even with his eyes closed, and he focused on visualizing the Shadow Demon¡¯s sigil. Fwoooooosh¡­ ¡®!!¡¯ Han-Yeol felt the temperature of his room drastically drop. His room felt quite warm a while ago since it was still mid-summer, but his room¡¯s climate suddenly changed as if it was mid-winter outside. He wondered, ¡®Did it work¡­?¡¯ He actually did the demon summoning while being half skeptical, but he was amazed when he felt that something was actually happening. He came back to his senses and focused on the summoning once again. ¡®The name of the demon I want to summon is¡­ Shadow Demon... Shadow Demon¡­ Shadow Demon¡­ Shadow Demon¡­ Shadow Demon¡­ Shadow Demon¡­¡¯?he repeatedly thought of the Shadow Demon¡¯s name. ¡°Shadow Demon!¡± Han-Yeol shouted out the demon¡¯s name. Bzzt¡­! Bzzt¡­! Bzzt¡­! ¡®Hmm?¡¯?Han-Yeol noticed that his house lights went out the moment he shouted, ¡®Shadow Demon!¡¯. Han-Yeol slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol was surprised when he found the monitor that he had switched off a while ago was switched on, and the Shadow Demon he had summoned was inside the monitor. ¡®You are¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [I am¡­ Shadow¡­ You called¡­ Me¡­] A bunch of words suddenly popped into Han-Yeol¡¯s head. ¡®Is this what they called telepathy?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in amazement. He then looked straight at the Shadow Demon and thought, ¡®I have summoned you. I have a request for you, something I want you to do for me.¡¯ [Deal¡­ Fairness¡­ I ask¡­] Han-Yeol could not hear clearly what the Shadow Demon said, but he could make out what it wanted. It was something along the lines of, ¡®The deal has to be fair. State your request and I shall state my terms.¡¯ ¡®My request is for you to protect my father ndestinely,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he transmitted his thoughts. [Alright¡­ My terms¡­ Monster¡­ I eat¡­] Han-Yeol thought long and hard about what the Shadow Demon said this time, since he could not really make out what it was trying to say. [Monster¡­ Corpse¡­ Nutrition¡­] ¡®Ah, you want me to give you monster corpses as an offering?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [¡­] There was a saying that silence meant agreement. The Shadow Monster was basically requesting Han-Yeol to give it monster corpses as an offering. It was not really a difficult request, but¡­ ¡®Why does it feel like I¡¯ve just entered into a contract with a high-maintenance demon¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a hint of worry. Of course, he had no intentions of backing out of the contract with the Shadow Demon. He just had to earn more money and kill more monsters to maintain the upkeep of the demon, and he had no intentions of being stingy with money when his father¡¯s safety was on the line. ¡®Alright, demon. I shall enter into a contract with you,¡¯?Han-Yeol said through his thoughts. [Blood¡­ Back of your hand¡­] ¡®Is it telling me to smear my blood on the back of my hand¡­?¡¯?Wondering, Han-Yeol gathered his mana to the tip of his fingertip. He then cut the back of his right hand with his mana-infused finger like a scalpel. ¡®Euk¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned when he failed to control his strength, cutting more than he originally intended to. Shwoo¡­ ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised when his blood suddenly flowed upward and went toward the monitor that the Shadow Demon was in. Then, his blood went through the monitor screen and into the monitor, and the disy on the monitor suddenly changed into the Shadow Demon¡¯s sigil. Soon after, the Shadow Demon slowly started to crawl out from the monitor, just like the scene from a well-known horror movie, ¡®The Ring¡¯. ¡®I guess birds of the same feathers flock together, whether they¡¯re demons or ghosts,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Shwaaaak! ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol winced when he felt a burning sensation on the back of his right hand. Then, the blood on the back of his right hand started to rearrange itself into a pattern that was simr to the Shadow Demon¡¯s sigil, and the pain on the back of his right hand subsided the moment that the Shadow Demon fully exited the monitor. [This¡­ Contract¡­ Complete¡­ I will¡­ Grant¡­ You¡­ Give Corpse¡­] Perhaps it was because he had already entered into a contract with the Shadow Demon, but Han-Yeol was suddenly able to hear more words in his mind. Also¡­ Ding! [This will be yourst chance.] [Are you certain that you wish to enter into a contract with the lesser demon ¡®Shadow Demon¡¯?] ¡®What does it matter if it¡¯s an angel or a demon when ites to protecting the ones you love? Of course it¡¯s a yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Ding! [You have sessfully entered into a contract with the lesser demon ¡®Shadow Demon¡¯.] [A new skill has been created: Summon Demon.] [A new skill has been created: Telepathy.] [A new skill has been created: Power Meditation.] [A new skill has been created: Psychokinesis.] [You have sessfully summoned a demon using the traditional summoning method.] [You have been exposed to demonic energy.] [A new stat has been created: Invoke.] Han-Yeol received a lot of new gifts just by entering into a contract with a demon. He called up his status to check on his new developments. ¡®Status window.¡¯ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 50 Points: 0 STR: 105 VIT: 101 AGI: 99 MAG: 150 LCK: 10 Invoke: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (D), Power Strike (B), Mana Shield (C), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (C), Jumping (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (D), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (F), Healing Bullet (F), Enhance Healing (F), Summon Demon (F), Telepathy (F), Power Meditation (F), Psychokinesis (F). [Summon Demon (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill that allows the user to summon a demon. The user may call forth a demon they have already contracted from the demonic world. The user may summon a higher ranking demon the higher the skill level of this skill bes. [Telepathy (F)] Type: Active Description: The user may transmit their thoughts to another and converse through their minds. The user may engage in clearer conversations with a demon the higher the skill level of this skill bes. The user may transmit their thoughts across farther distances to a target human the higher the skill level of this skill bes. [Power Meditate (F)] Type: Passive Description: The concentration of the user will increase, and the rate of health and mana recovery of the user will increase when the user is meditating. The user may cure all sorts of status ailments if they meditate for an extended period of time. [Psychokinesis (F)] Type: Active Description: The user may move objects with only their mental powers or mana without physically touching the object. The telekinesis will be stronger the higher the skill level of this skill bes. [Stat Description: Invoke] [The energy used by the demons. The demonic world is filled with this energy just as how the real world is filled with mana, and the main reason why the demons are not able to disy their full capability in the real world is due to theck of this energy. The demons summoned by the user will be stronger the higher this stat is. However, the user may be eaten alive by the demon they summoned if the summoned demon is stronger than this stat. Please be mindful of how you manage this stat.] ¡®W-Wow¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was speechless. It could be considered that he had evolved thanks to the rewards he obtained from sessfully summoning the demon this time, and he never imagined that his actions of trying to summon a Shadow Demon, a lesser demon, would reap him such huge rewards. Han-Yeol had gained four skills and one extra stat all at once. He thought, ¡®I¡¯m not so surprised about the skill, but it¡¯s quite surprising to obtain a stat.¡¯ He was already expecting a new skill to be created since he always obtained one whenever he did something different, but he never expected, even in his wildest dreams, that he was going to obtain a new stat altogether. Chapter 42: Heal (6)

Chapter 42: Heal (6)

¡®There are still a lot of things that I don¡¯t know about,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Call me¡­ Sigil¡­] ¡®Are you telling me to call you through the sigil whenever I need you?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [¡­] At the start, it was fun trying to understand what the Shadow Demon was saying. However, it was now a nuisance to Han-Yeol, who had to think twice just to try and understand what the demon was trying to say. He grumbled inwardly, ¡®Damn it¡­ I have to level up either ¡®Telepathy¡¯ or ¡®Power Meditation¡¯ to try and make sense of what this guy is trying to say.¡¯ Then, the Shadow Demon was sucked into Han-Yeol¡¯s right hand, as if it was a vacuum cleaner sucking up smoke. Noticing that, he thought to himself, ¡®I can ce this guy next?to father?and ask him to guard father, right?¡¯? That was how Han-Yeol sessfully managed to find a bodyguard for his father, but he was feeling a bit greedy now that he had sessfully summoned a demon. He daydreamed. ¡®Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t necessarily have to stop just because I managed to summon a lesser demon to?guard father. It would be possible for me to summon the strongest demon to fight alongside me as well, right? I do have the skill to summon them now.¡¯? Han-Yeol might have lived a wayward childhood because of poverty, but it did not mean that he had no greed or ambition in him. He had recently been thinking that he could be not only an S-Ranked Hunter, but even an M-Ranked, which was the Master Rank, thanks to the growth-type ability that he awakened with. ¡®I should raise my Invoke stat if I want to summon a greater demon in the future, and I definitely need to level up if I want to increase my stats. It all circles back to leveling up again,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had been feeling quite down these days because of hisck of goals in life, but his motivation was now back up to 100% since he had a new goal in sight. Han-Yeol¡¯s father came back before dawn. He appeared to have drank quite a lot after he had fully recovered from his illness. ¡®I did tell him that his health won¡¯t decline even if he drank alcohol because of ¡®Heal¡¯, but he is drinking almost every day now,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. Alcohol was bad for one''s health because of its adverse effects on one¡¯s stomach, as well as the toxins it umted in one¡¯s liver. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s ¡®Restore¡¯ skill was able to cure all ailments that one had in their body. It did not matter how much his father tried to drink and ruin his health, since all it took was one ¡®Restore¡¯ from Han-Yeol before his health would return to normal. Han-Yeol used his skill as often as he could on his father, who was now as young as a twenty years old thanks to that. Also, his father was now extra motivated when it came to running his business since he was free from his illness. Han-Yeol suddenly felt ashamed when he realized how hard his father was working while hezed around just because he had fulfilled his goal in life. Feeling embarrassed, he thought, ¡®Father is working so hard despite having a Hunter as a son, but I¡¯ve beenzing around pitifully after fulfilling my goal¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol used ¡®Restore¡¯ on his father once again, took off his father¡¯s clothes, and wiped his father down just like he used to. Then, he got his father into sleepwear and changed his position so that his father could sleepfortably on the bed. This was bound to be a nuisance for a normal person, but Han-Yeol was used to this. He had done this every time he had visited his father at the hospital previously. ¡®Shadow Demon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he summoned the demon. [Did you call¡­?] ¡®This is my father. You do remember my terms of the contract where you have to discreetly protect him, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked through ¡®Telepathy¡¯. [Of course¡­ Human¡­ Protect¡­] ¡®Of course, I will be supplying you with enough monster corpses to satisfy you,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in response. [¡­] Swooosh¡­ The Shadow Demon was absorbed into Han-Yeol¡¯s father¡¯s shadow, which was formed by the bedmp¡¯s light. Han-Yeol held his sleeping father¡¯s hand. He thought, ¡®Father¡­ The Shadow Demon will protect you from now on even though I am not around.¡¯ Han-Yeol finally felt that he could slightly rx when it came to worrying about his father. *** Han-Yeol had sessfully summoned a demon to protect his father at all times, but he was not satisfied at just summoning the Shadow Demon, which was a lesser demon, to protect his father. He thought, ¡®I have managed to solve just one small part of the problem, but the main problem still remains. The biggest threat to father¡¯s safety right now is the random appearance of the dimensional holes.¡¯ People only had to be careful of the monsters trapped behind the barrier system that was summoned by the dimensional gates that had appeared thirty years ago. However, there had been quite a few cases of dimensional holes appearing in urban areas over the past few months. The rising civilian casualties from the suddenly appearing dimensional holes outside of the barrier system had been on recent news quite frequently. Thinking about that, Han-Yeol thought, ¡®The dimensional holes do show up in urban areas after all.¡¯? The inte news agency being run by the Hunters¡¯ Association had stated that the appearance of dimensional holes was a global urrence at this point. They also stated that the United States was currently studying the mana frequency that resonated before a dimensional hole opened, and they hoped to find a pattern and predict the dimensional holes¡¯ appearance. Han-Yeol scratched his head in frustration while reading the news article rted to dimensional holes. ¡®Ah forget it. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m a dimensional hole professor or something. I just want to?keep father?safe, that¡¯s all. What was I thinking, trying toe up with theories about the dimensional hole.¡¯ Han-Yeol knew very well that he was not very smart, and that was a fact that he had already epted a long time ago. That was also one of the main reasons why he had given up on studying during his school days and had prioritized working part-time, doing sports, and ying with his friends. He had studied quite hard during his Porter days, but all he had to do during that time had been to memorize different kinds of information. Han-Yeol knew very well that theorizing and deducing these kinds ofplex stuff was not his forte at all. [Han-Yeol-nim, I advise you to continue reading regardless. I think that you will greatly benefit from reading about different kinds of topics just as it benefited you when you read the medical textbooks.] ¡®Really?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked when Karvis¡¯ words piqued his interest. [Yes.] Karvis was with Han-Yeol twenty-four seven even though it did not seem like she was doing much, and Karvis was always analyzing every situation Han-Yeol was in, since she was designed to assist her master. The intelligent Ego system was bound to be a great source of strength to Han-Yeol if he only knew how to utilize her properly. [I am not certain what kinds of secrets the skill ¡®Infinite Library¡¯ holds, but I suspect that the hints to its secrets lie in the books you would read because of the word ¡®library¡¯ in its skill name. What I am trying to say is, you won¡¯t be getting the shorter end of the stick if you decide to read a book.] ¡®Well, if you insist that much,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Karvis had never pressed her suggestion so strongly onto him before, but the Ego system had managed to easily change his perception of reading this time. One of Han-Yeol¡¯s few strong suits was the fact that he was a man of action. He immediately called apany to work on one of the empty rooms¡¯ interiors in his house to transform it into a study room. Then, he went to G-Bookstore instead of K-Bookstore this time, put every single book that piqued his interest into his cart, and had five staffers from the bookstore with one cart each follow him around not long after he started to shop for books. ¡®So this is how flexing your money feels,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He realized how far he hade as he reminisced about his past self who used to walk instead of taking the bus or the taxi as he wanted to save whatever he could. ¡°This, too,¡± Han-Yeol said. Tak! Han-Yeol started to speed up as he added more books to his carts. At a nce, he was just mindlessly throwing the books into the carts, but he was able to precisely throw the books and make themnd at the exact spot he wanted them to thanks to his ¡®Marksmanship¡¯ skill. Thanks to this, the staffers of G-Bookstore were left dumbfounded as they followed him around while taking in this rare sight. The carts would fill up whenever Han-Yeol passed a row of books, and the books were perfectly arranged ording to who knows what criteria Han-Yeol was arranging them. ¡°Excuse me, Hunter-nim,¡± one of the staffers asked. ¡°Yes?¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡®I knew it! He¡¯s a Hunter!¡¯?the staffer eximed inwardly. The staffer at the forefront right behind Han-Yeol had called him ¡®Hunter-nim¡¯ as they suspected that the customer in front of them who was going on a spending spree was a Hunter, and it was just as they suspected, the customer was indeed a Hunter. ¡°Do you n to purchase all of these?¡± the staffer carefully asked. ¡°Of course, I am buying to read them, after all. Oh right, you seem to have books rted to the ult here,¡± Han-Yeol said while surprised at what he saw. He had been disappointed just a few days ago when he had found no ult books at K-Bookstore, so he was surprised to see that these books were readily avable right in front of him at this bookstore. He thought, ¡®Is this what they call customer satisfaction?¡¯ Han-Yeol did not really need the ult books anymore, since he had already seeded in summoning a demon. Still, he decided to put it in the cart anyway. ¡®They say, the more the better,¡¯?Han-Yeol merrily thought as he filled six carts worth of books which came up to a total of two million one hundred thousand won. The staffers of G-Bookstore delivered the books all the way to Han-Yeol¡¯s house, and they even helped to arrange the books in his study room. Of course, Han-Yeol did not forget to give them a sizable tip for their sincere efforts. To be frank, there was nothing special about a Hunter entering a bookstore. A Hunter and a normal person would usually spend the same amount of money at a bookstore, and that was why the bookstore was one ce where they did not really feel the privileges of a Hunter. However, the G-Bookstore at Gangbuk was the first in the country to see a glimpse of how special a Hunter was. ¡®Now, let¡¯s see¡­ Shall we get immersed in books once again?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he opened a book. Han-Yeol read through the books he had purchased from G-Bookstore, and there were a few books that proved to be beneficial to him and some that were not. Still, he continued to read the books just in case he would benefit from one of them, even though some of the books he had bought did not make any sense. ¡®Confucius h h, Mencius h h¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he read through one of the less helpful books. *** Ding! [¡®Infinite Library¡¯ has indirectly influenced one of your skills due to the overwhelming amount of knowledge you have read.] [The rank of ¡®Mana Mastery¡¯ has increased from (D) to (C).] ¡®Status window,¡¯?Han-Yeol called up his status screen. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 50 Points: 0 STR: 98 VIT: 93 AGI: 87 MAG: 150 LCK: 10 Invoke: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (C), Power Strike (B), Mana Shield (C), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (C), Jumping (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (D), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (E), Telepathy (E), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E). ¡®Who knew that ¡®Infinite Library¡¯ was going to be this helpful?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol initially thought that, when he first got the skill and read that it was a helpful skill, he never imagined that the skill was going to be this valuable. In fact, he would have probably never realized the true worth of this skill if he did not read so many books. Also, the biggest benefit he reaped from ¡®Infinite Library¡¯ was the fact that his skills from ¡®Restore¡¯ all the way down the ¡®Psychokinesis¡¯, which were all at F-Rank, level up one by one into E-Rank. Wooong! Flip! Han-Yeol leisurely used ¡®Psychokinesis¡¯ to flip thest page of the book while sitting rxed on the chair. ¡®The good thing is the fact that ¡®Summon Demon¡¯ became E-Rank,¡¯?he thought. ¡®Summon Demon¡¯ was the skill that Han-Yeol was most interested in at the moment, and he had decided to invest most of his efforts into leveling up this skill. The best part about the skill was the fact that leveling it up benefited him in more than one way. Sukeok¡­ Han-Yeol infused mana into his finger and lightly slit the back of his right hand, where the sigil was engraved on. He called forth his summoned demon, ¡®Summon, Shadow Demon.¡¯? Fwoooosh¡­! The Shadow Demon¡¯s sigil glowed brightly in mid-air as the Shadow Demon slowly made its appearance from its sigil. ¡®Huh? You¡¯re not the same Shadow Demon¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he tilted his head in confusion. Chapter 43: High Schooler (1)

Chapter 43: High Schooler (1)

Although it looked the same, this Shadow Demon gave off a slightly different mana frequencypared to the one from before. Han-Yeol was certain that this was not the same Shadow Demon that he had entered into a contract with. [I think the number of Shadow Demons you can handle has increased due to your skill leveling up.] The Ego system, Karvis, interjected at just the right time to assist Han-Yeol. ¡®Ah, is that so?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. [Yes.] Fwoooosh¡­! [Human¡­ What should¡­ I do¡­?] ¡®Oh right, it did warn me not to aimlessly summon a demon for no reason,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he recalled what the online post had written. He had actually activated ¡®Summon Demon¡¯ out of curiosity because it leveled up, but he did not really have anything, in particr, to ask from the demon. [Human¡­] Perhaps it was because the Shadow Demon had noticed what was going on, but its voice seemed to have be a bit more emotional. ¡°Ah, I am curious about something. The offerings you guys require are monster corpses, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [That¡­ is right¡­] The Shadow Demon calmed down when Han-Yeol mentioned the monster corpses. ¡°Then, will you also be able to grow stronger if you hunt the monsters yourself?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Of course¡­ We will¡­be stronger¡­] ¡®I see¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It basically meant that he did not have to summon a greater demon, because he could just train the demons he had summoned to be stronger. ¡°Alright, you can go back now. I will call you the next time I am going on a hunt,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Make sure¡­ Call me¡­] ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Fwooosh¡­! Han-Yeol was able to prevent upsetting the demon thanks to his quick thinking. ¡®I don¡¯t have any more time to waste. I need to offer some monster corpses to the Shadow Demon guarding father as well,¡¯?thinking that, Han-Yeol took out his smartphone and dialed a number. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ ¡®Hmm¡­ why isn¡¯t he picking up?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. ¡ªThe person you are calling is currently not avable. Please leave a message after the beep¡­ Han-Yeol had called Sung-Beom, who did not pick up. He wondered, ¡®Hmm? What¡¯s going on?¡¯? Well, Sung-Beom might be busy or away from his phone, so Han-Yeol decided to call Ah-Ri instead. ¡ªHello? ¡°Hi, Ah-Ri,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡ªAh, Mr. Han-Yeol¡­ ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Sung-Beom is not picking up his phone. Did something happen?¡± he asked. ¡ªAh¡­ Ah-Ri could not easily respond to his question. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol was not dense at all. In fact, he was quite sharp and quick-witted, since he had to work countless part-time jobs ever since young. His instincts were currently telling him that something had happened to Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri. Han-Yeol¡¯s instinct was spot on because something did happen to the two. ¡ªDid Sung-Beom not tell you? ¡°No, did something happen?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡ªActually¡­ We joined another party as Porters, and both of us managed to awaken. It was shocking news. Most Porters, excluding those who gave up on awakening and just worked to make a living, went through all sorts of dangers just in the hopes of awakening, and the actual awakening of a Porter was always something to congratte them about. ¡°Oh! Congrattions! Ah, so that¡¯s why he¡¯s out of reach¡­ He can¡¯t work as a Porter anymore,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡ªI¡¯m sorry¡­ ¡°No, that¡¯s alright. But aside from that, is there any other reason Sung-Beom is out of reach?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡ªAh, luckily, we awakened with B-Rank abilities, so a lot of guilds are calling us. It¡¯s quite hectic for us as well. Sung-Beom was supposed to give you a call, but I guess he forgot about it. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol could totally understand if that was the case. The numerous guilds¡¯ scouts would probably be on fire right now if they heard that they had awakened as B-Rank Awakeneds, and this was especially true in these times when the value of a single Hunter was skyrocketing. ¡ªUhm¡­ Mr. Han-Yeol. ¡°Ah, yes?¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡ªI¡¯m sorry. We should have contacted you earlier. I can introduce you to two Porters I know, would you want to meet them? ¡°Ah, really?¡± he asked. ¡ªYes, they are quite capable, and they are willing to work hard to make big bucks. I¡¯m thinking that they will be a perfect fit for someone like you, Mr. Han-Yeol. Ah-Ri¡¯s offer was not that bad. Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom were veteran Porters with four years of experience, and they wouldn¡¯t have low standards at all. That was why Han-Yeol was confident that the Porters they nned to introduce would be somewhat capable at least. ¡°Then, can I bother you with that?¡± he asked. ¡ªOf course! Also, Mr. Han-Yeol, you are not bothering me at all! I think I am the one bothering you by making you take care of my juniors. ¡°Haha! I should be thankful if I can have a Porter as capable as you. I was actually worried for a moment because good Porters are in short supply these days,¡± Han-Yeol said while letting out a heartyugh. The monsters were popping up like a swarm of bees all over the country because of the dimensional holes, and the Hunters were forced to mobilize more often than they usually would because of it. All of the capable Porters were already snatched up by raid parties and guilds, and it was practically impossible to find a capable Porter in the market these days. Also, the guilds have started to sign the capable veteran Porters to an exclusive contract to protect their own interests during this Porter shortage. ¡ªThen, I will arrange an appointment for you to meet them tomorrow at two in the afternoon at the same ce where we first metst time. ¡°Alright, thanks for your help,¡± Han-Yeol replied gratefully. ¡ªThen, goodbye. ¡°Oh right, Ah-Ri,¡± he called out. ¡ªYes? ¡°I hope that you will live happily ever after with Sung-Beom,¡± he said. ¡ªOmo! You¡¯ve noticed? ¡°Of course, it¡¯s hard not to when you guys were all over each other so openly. I thought I was going to die from envy! Hahaha!¡± Han-Yeol said whileughing out loud. ¡ªAh¡­ We tried to keep it a secret¡­ Were we too obvious? ¡°I just noticed by chance,¡± he said cheekily. There was no such thing as a secret in this world. Han-Yeol hung up after talking to Ah-Ri. Their awakening was very good news, but Han-Yeol had something else on his mind the moment he heard it. He was worried about where to find Porters who could rece the two in this day and age, where Porters were high in demand but low in supply. However, his worries were for naught, because he immediately arranged an introduction to recement Porters. ¡®As expected¡­ It always pays to be generous,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol seemed to have started bing mncholic after bing financially abundant, and he could not help but feel like he wanted to be around people once again. He was extremely looking forward to the new Porters he nned to meet tomorrow. ¡®I wonder what kind of people they are¡­? I hope they are kind and diligent¡­¡±?Han-Yeol wondered as he was looking forward to meeting his new Porters. *** ¡®Should I call my friends and hang out with them¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol found himself pondering this question quite often these days. He missed quite a few of his friends, ones he used to hang out with and do mischievous things together during his younger days. ¡®No¡­ I have to return to my senses. I don¡¯t have the luxury to fool around right now¡­ Not yet¡­¡¯?he thought as he steeled his resolve once again. He still did not have the luxury toze around and do whatever he wanted. ¡®I¡¯ve be quite rxed, both mentally and physically, these days. I¡¯m still not strong enough to be socent. What was I thinking¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol rebuked himself. He didn¡¯t feel that he was at the stage where he could getcent and be satisfied. In fact, he felt an even stronger need to do his best and take one more step if he could. ¡®But first¡­ let¡¯s get some sleep¡­¡¯?he thought as he decided to put to rest the numerous things running on his mind. He was feeling sleepy and he also had to get up early tomorrow, so he decided to lie down on his bed and slowly drift away to sleep. *** The next day, Han-Yeol woke up early in the morning and went for a light jog around his apartmentplex. Then, he took a shower and got ready to go out. The meeting was at two in the afternoon, but he had some other things to take care of prior to that. That¡¯s the reason he left early. ¡°Ahhh¡­ It¡¯s been ages since I¡¯ve gone shopping,¡± Han-Yeol said as he lightly stretched his body before leaving his house. His destination was the Hunter Mall that he had previously been to, but the difference this time was the fact that he was not using public transportation. He was now using his own car. ¡®I¡¯ll buy a proper sword this time,¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve before entering the Hunter Mall. Han-Yeol¡¯s wealth had well exceeded five billion won by now, but he was still using a sword worth five hundred million won, which was uneptable. He felt the need to invest more into his sword, which was the other weapon he depended on aside from his chain. He arrived at Hunter Mall, which was actually more of a shopping mallplex, and he purchased a sword worth one billion five hundred and seventy million won before he sold his old sword at the secondhand market for cheap. Whoosh! Whoosh! ¡®It feels perfect,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while lightly swinging the sword a few times. Han-Yeol went to his afternoon meeting with the new Porters after he leisurely went around window shopping at the Hunter Mall. Ring! A familiar chime rang out when Han-Yeol entered the caf¨¦, and he went to the same spot where he had first met Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri before. There was a pair of one boy and girl sitting at the table, and Han-Yeol could only see the boy from his angle. Looking at how young the boy was, he thought, ¡®Hm? A highschooler? ¡®What the? Did she pass me the bucket or something?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as his face flushed red in anger. There were some cases where a raid party or a guild would introduce a Porter in hopes of getting rid of them, passing them to someone else. The term usually used in these kinds of cases was ¡®pass the bucket¡¯. ¡®Damn it¡­ I should have noticed the moment they did not even bother to contact me even after awakening. How dare they repay my kindness with evil! Those ingrates!¡¯?Han-Yeol cussed inwardly as he gritted his teeth. Han-Yeol was a peace-loving person who did not wish harm on anyone, but it was a different story if someone actually stabbed him in the back. In those cases, he would only be relieved if he managed to get back at them. That was also the reason why he had stuffed his resignation letter in the factory manager¡¯s mouth previously. ¡°Ah, he is here,¡± the boy who looked like a high schooler got up when he first saw Han-Yeol approaching. The girl beside him, who Han-Yeol could barely see, also got up and turned around to greet Han-Yeol. ¡°Huh? You¡­? High schooler?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in surprise the moment he saw the girl¡¯s face. ¡°Han-Yeol oppa¡­?¡± the girl muttered in surprise as well. Surprisingly, the girl who turned around was the same one who lived next to Han-Yeol at Moon Vige, and this was the same girl that Han-Yeol had saved from almost being raped that night¡ªHan Yoo-Bi. ¡°Oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed excitedly. She stared intently at Han-Yeol before she suddenly said, ¡°You suddenly disappeared! Do you know how sad I was when I went to give you banana milk only to find that you have already moved?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My father suddenly got discharged, so it was quite hectic, and that was not long after I awakened as a Hunter. It was a very hectic time,¡± Han-Yeol replied apologetically. ¡°I see¡­¡± Yoo-Bi muttered. The Han-Yeol who was about to explode because he thought he had been ¡®passed the bucket¡¯ was nowhere to be found now. He was quite happy to meet his high schooler once again, because he really missed her but hadn¡¯t been able to see her due to all sorts of reasons. ¡°Now now, let¡¯s cut our greetings short and sit down. It¡¯s ufortable for all of us to keep standing,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Yoo-Bi replied while smiling brightly, but the boy replied nervously while stuttering his words. Actually, Yoo-Bi would have been the one frozen stiff from nervousness if the Hunter in front of her was not Han-Yeol, but the nervousnesspletely disappeared from her face, reced by a big smile. ¡®It¡¯s a relief that I will be working with Han-Yeol oppa¡­!¡¯?Yoo-Bi thought. She had heard a lot of stories during her Porter trainee days from fellow trainees, the inte, and her seniors regarding the harsh treatment that the Porters were subjected to by the Hunters. In fact, the scariest part for her was the fact that there had been quite a few cases of sexual assaultmitted by the Hunters against female Porters. Working as a Porter was difficult for females, who had no one to protect them against the Hunters¡¯ abuse. However, she was now able to be at ease, since she knew very well what kind of a man Han-Yeol was. ¡°How much experience do you two have working as a Porter? Ah, I can speak informally to you two, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He was alreadyfortable with Yoo-Bi, since they knew each other, so his question was actually directed at the boy. Well, who in their right mind would reply ¡®no, I want you to speak formally to me¡¯ in such a situation, especially when it was between a Hunter and a Porter, right? ¡°Y-Yes¡­ Yes! H-Hunter-nim! P-Please speak freely with me¡­!¡± the boy replied. He was frozen stiff from nervousness because of the fact that he was sitting in front of a Hunter, and he could not help but stutter with his words. ¡°Alright, I will ask once again. You just have to answer me honestly,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi replied with a bright expression. Meanwhile, the boy seemed to still be nervous as he kept stuttering. He quickly replied, ¡°Y-Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± Chapter 44: High Schooler (2)

Chapter 44: High Schooler (2)

The two fresh-faced Porters tensed up when they suddenly had to face the charisma of a Level 50 Hunter, and even Yoo-Bi, who was already acquainted with Han-Yeol, unintentionally stiffened in surprise. ¡°How much experience do you have as a Porter?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Then, he wondered, ¡®I haven''t seen Yoo-Bi for around four months. Does that mean she was doing this since before we met¡­?¡¯ It was the same for Han-Yeol, but not anyone could be a Porter just because they wanted to. It was mandatory for anyone who wanted to be a Porter to be registered and receive four months of training from the Porter Department, which was directly under the control of the Hunter¡¯s Association, before bing one. Then, they had to receive additional training if they wanted to advance to the next level as a Porter. In fact, Han-Yeol also had toplete the mandatory four months of training and take numerous additional training just to be an A-Ranked Porter. ¡°But we justpleted our training yesterday¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi replied quite honestly. ¡°What¡­?¡± Han-Yeol was bbergasted at her reply. ¡°Yeah¡­ You were referred to as a very good and kind Hunter by our seniors, so¡­ Ah, is there something wrong?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Ah, no, there¡¯s nothing wrong. It¡¯s just that it is a bit different from what I was told, so I¡¯m a bit surprised,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡®This¡­ I got scammed¡­right¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Well, Ah-Ri had mentioned that they were skilled, but she did not mention that they were experienced in the first ce. Technically, she was not lying as long as Yoo-Bi and this boy had the skills to back it up. ¡®Their seniors¡­ Did she really pass the bucket to me or is she hoping that I can help them grow¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. This situation was quite a headache for him, regardless of Ah-Ri¡¯s intentions. He thought, ¡®Ah, wait a minute! No, that might not be the case here.¡¯? Han-Yeol suddenly shook the problematic thoughts out of his head and remembered what he was supposed to do in theing days. ¡®Hmm¡­ I¡¯m supposed to hunt at the hunting grounds where the weaker monsters are at since I have to train the Shadow Demon. Then, in that case¡­ I can kill two birds with one stone if I can whip these guys into shape at the same time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he decided to be optimistic about this whole situation. It was quite difficult to find a veteran Porter these days anyway, so he really had to make do with whatever he had at the moment. ¡®Also¡­ It¡¯s not a bad idea to go hunting if it¡¯s with Yoo-Bi¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. This was actually the biggest driving factor behind his optimism. Han-Yeol had been missing Yoo-Bi for quite a while now, but he now had the opportunity to stay together with her. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s sign a contract then. I¡¯m sure you have heard of the terms, right?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, yes¡­ I heard that you will hire us for nine hundred thousand won an hour¡­¡± the boy said nervously. Han-Yeol smiled. ¡°I¡¯m already acquainted with Yoo-Bi so I know her name. What is your name though?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­ My name is S-Sung-Hwan,¡± the boy nervously replied. ¡°Alright, Sung-Hwan. Tell me honestly. Do you think that you are worth the same as Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri, who are veteran Porters?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°N-Not at all. They are the role models I look up to and I hope to be like them one day,¡± Sung-Hwan replied. ¡°Right? Then you should know that it will be a joke if you get paid the same rate as they got?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Sung-Hwan replied with a hint of disappointment in his voice. Hepletely understood what Han-Yeol meant, but he could not hide his disappointment when he heard that he was not going to be paid the amount that he had hoped for. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t pay you the same rate as what I paid Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri, but we can start with the intern rate, which is at six hundred thirty thousand won. I will increase the rate when I am satisfied with your skills. Do you have any objections?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°No! Not at all!¡± Sung-Hwan enthusiastically replied. His face brightened when the pay that he expected to be greatly reduced was only reduced by a bit and the terms of the contract were quite favorable. ¡°Same here, I do not have any!¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol said before he wrapped up the meeting by telling them the time and location of their next meeting ce. He then asked, ¡°I hope that you both are aware of the equipment that you need to have as Porters?¡± ¡°Ah¡­that¡­ We did receive the training¡­¡± Sung-Hwan muttered hesitantly. ¡°Umm¡­¡± Yoo-Bi gave a simr response. Han-Yeol felt a bit nervous, but the next hunting ground was going to be a low-leveled one. Also, he was not the type to reprimand someone when they have not even made any mistakes yet. In the end, Han-Yeol decided to give Sung-Hwan and Yoo-Bi the benefit of the doubt and trust them this time. He said, ¡°Alright then, I will see you both tomorrow.¡± Han-Yeol was about to leave after the meeting finished when Yoo-Bi suddenly held his wrist. Looking back at her, he asked, ¡°Ah, what¡¯s wrong, Yoo-Bi?¡± ¡°Han-Yeol oppa¡­ It has been quite a while since we have seen each other¡­ Do you n to leave just like that?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. Do you want to go for a walk?¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Sure! Ah, Sung-Hwan, you can head home first,¡± she said. ¡°Eh? O-Okay,¡± Sung-Hwan grumbled slightly before he left the caf¨¦. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi went for a stroll at a park near the caf¨¦. They have known each other for quite a while now, but this was the first time that they were spending time together. ¡°I was really surprised when I saw that you have be a Hunter,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Yeah, I was surprised when I awakened too. Also, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Huh? What are you apologizing for?¡± she asked. ¡°I should have at least contacted you before I moved, but I couldn¡¯t, since things were just too hectic at that time,¡± he replied apologetically. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mention it. I understand that it was not an easy time for you,¡± Yoo-Bi responded. It was then. Wooong¡­ ¡®Hmm¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head when he suddenly felt a wave of mana from somewhere in the park. As he looked around with ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯, he thought, ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡¯ Then, Han-Yeol saw that mana simr to that of a dimensional hole was forming at a ce not so far away from where he and Yoo-Bi were. Noticing that a dimensional hole was suddenly forming out of nowhere while he was having a lovely time with Yoo-Bi, he cursed inwardly, ¡®Damn it! What shitty timing is this?!¡¯ ¡°Han-Yeol oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi called out when she saw him ring at one spot. ¡°Yoo-Bi, do you have your Porter equipment with you right now?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, no I don¡¯t,¡± she replied. ¡°You have to keep at least some of your equipment with you from now on,¡± he said. ¡°Huh?¡± she was confused at what he had just said. Bzzt¡­ Bzzt¡­ Bzzt¡­! The space above theke in the middle of the park suddenly started to twist and turn while releasing static sounds, and this caused panic among the park visitors as they screamed and fled in all directions. ¡°Kyaaaah!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dimensional hole!¡± ¡°Run away!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± The dimensional hole had already cemented itself as a source of terror, not only to the Hunters but also to the general popce. This was all because of the news that reported the numerous fatalities caused by it. Waaaaaang! Waaaaang! It seemed that someone quickly reported the matter to the authorities, because sirens red from the speakers installed across the park. [Attention everybody. A dimensional hole has just formed here at Gangbuk Park. We request for all civilians to seek refuge at the nearby shelter this instant. I repeat. A dimensional hole has appeared here at Gangbuk Park. We request for all civilians to seek refuge at the nearby shelter this instant. We ask any Hunters nearby to push back the monsters and buy some time for the civilians to evacuate.] Numerous speakers and cameras had been installed all over civilian areas by the government as a precautionary measure in the event of a dimensional hole suddenly appearing. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi did not move a single step despite what was currently happening. With a rxed voice, Han-Yeol said, ¡°You have to be prepared just in case something like that happens, right?¡± However, Yoo-Bi was currently stunned and confused as to what was going on because of the sudden appearance of the dimensional hole. She was barely able to respond, ¡°Ah¡­ Y-Yes¡­¡± She had heard about the dimensional holes quite a lot, but this was her first time seeing one in real life. Han-Yeol smirked at Yoo-Bi, who was obviously frozen with fear, before he took out his revolver and passed it on to her. He asked, ¡°You know how to use a gun, right?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a certified Porter that went through four months of training!¡± Yoo-Bi retorted. Click¡­ ck! She received the revolver from Han-Yeol before opening the cylinder to check the bullets inside. She then closed it with a flick. ¡°Good,¡± Han-Yeol said with a satisfied nod before he pulled out the new sword which he had bought for one billion five hundred seventy million won. His other equipment was all in his car. He would have made it just in time if he had run to his car and collected all of his equipment, but he chose not to bother. ¡®It¡¯s a perfect opportunity for me to check how strong this new sword is,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Ssh! Swooosh! The monster that popped out from the dimensional hole resembled a gigantic blue bee that released electricity around it. ¡®Is it at the same level as the Electric Hos?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Gulp¡­! Yoo-Bi, who was standing beside Han-Yeol, could not help but gulp dryly at the sight of the monster that she had never seen before in her life. Brooooom! The monster emitted a loud sound resembling that of an insect. It threateningly reverberated throughout the park. ¡®Sword Breath,¡¯?Han-Yeol activated his main sword skill. Fwaaaa! A bright me engulfed Han-Yeol¡¯s sword, and Yoo-Bi could not help but exim at the awesome sight that was in front of her. Amazed, she cried out inwardly, ¡®Wow¡­¡¯? Yoo-Bi had never seen an actual Hunter in action before, since the only Hunters she had encountered were the ones who volunteered as instructors during her Porter training. That was all the more reason that she was astounded by how shy Han-Yeol¡¯s skill was. ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi. You have learned that the first thing you should do if you encounter a monster is to shoot it with your gun and lure it, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, yes!¡± Yoo-Bi replied as she snapped back to her senses. ¡°Then, try to hit that bee with the revolver I gave you,¡± Han-Yeol ordered. ¡°Okay!¡± Yoo-Bi enthusiastically replied before she aimed the revolver at the monster. Tang! Tang! Tang! Yoo-Bi urately shot the monster¡¯s face with pinpoint uracy, using the revolver Han-Yeol had given her as soon as he gave the order. The bullets fired from the revolver would have exterminated the insect if it had been fired by Han-Yeol along with ¡®Power Strike¡¯. Unfortunately, the one that was using the revolver right now was Yoo-Bi, who was only a mere human, and the bullets she shot only managed to graze the monster. That was also because the gun and bullets were crafted by a Hunter. ¡®Kireuk¡­!¡¯ However, Yoo-Bi was sessful at agitating the monster, which was her main purpose in the first ce. Brooom! The monster flew at a high speed toward where Yoo-Bi and Han-Yeol were at. ¡®Mana Shield!¡¯?Han-Yeol summoned his shield, which was the best thing that went along with a sword, before he charged toward the iing bee monster. *** Bzzzt! The bee released an explosion of bluish energy. It seemed to have gotten agitated by the human that was charging toward it. ¡®Electricity¡­ Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol coveted the electricity that the bee was emitting. With a smirk on his face, he thought, ¡®Shall we y for a bit?!¡¯ Bam! Bzzzt! Han-Yeol¡¯s mana shield and the bees collided. He groaned upon impact, ¡®Keuh!¡¯ The monster from the dimensional hole lived up to its reputation, because Han-Yeol could feel the difference in their strengthpared to the normal monsters at the hunting grounds in just a single sh. Han-Yeol used ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯ to gauge the density of the monster¡¯s mana, and he found that this monster¡¯s mana was much denser than the normal ones at the hunting ground. He thought, ¡®It¡¯s still a relief that they are only slightly stronger than three Mutant Orcsbined.¡¯ Han-Yeol was already much stronger than he had been when he had fought against the Mutant Orcs, and that was why he was confident that he could face the monster this time around without any problems. ¡®Also, what I want is¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol¡¯s thoughts trailed on. He was not sure if it was going to be possible, but he really coveted the monster¡¯s electricity attribute. He did not know if it was going to work the same way when he had obtained ¡®Fire Attribute¡¯, but he was certain that he would be much stronger if he could obtain a skill to control electricity. ¡®It¡¯s because the electric attribute is quite rare¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he smashed his shield into the monster, ¡®Shield Bash!¡¯ ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±? The bee shrieked in agony when it was hit by the shield. ¡®Shield Bash¡¯ wasgging behind in terms of levelspared to the other skills he had obtained around the same time as it, but the shield was notgging behind at all when it came to its strength. Han-Yeol simultaneously used ¡®Mana Control¡¯ while fighting against the bee. He tried to control the electricity that the bee emitted from its body. Bzzzt! ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned. However, it did not prove to be easy as the electricity that Han-Yeol was trying to control was not something that was made from his mana. Therefore, the electricity rejected all of his attempts to tame it. ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The monster brandished its stinger, gathering electricity on it. ¡®Damn it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed under his breath before he used ¡®Jumping¡¯. Bzzzzzt! The monster had shot the electricity it gathered on its stinger, and it would have hit Han-Yeol if he did not promptly evade by jumping out of the way. The area that was hit by the monster¡¯s attack was charred, and the attack even left arge depression on the ground. Gulp¡­! ¡®I¡¯m a goner if I get hit by that,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he gulped dryly. He was underestimating the insect monster, since its defense did not seem to be that strong. However, he soon realized that the monster¡¯s attack power was not something to look down on. ¡®I would have already died if it wasn¡¯t for ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a sigh of relief. The main reason why Han-Yeol was still alive despite his recklessness was all thanks to ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯, which made him see the opponent''s attacks in slow-motion. Chapter 45: High Schooler (3)

Chapter 45: High Schooler (3)

Han-Yeol quickly nced around his surroundings. The crowded park was now so empty that not even a single ant was to be seen, and the only people remaining were Yoo-Bi and himself. He thought, ¡®I have to finish this before they send in a party to manage the situation.¡¯ He nned to monopolize the insect monster that was in front of him, and he was certain that this n of his would go up in smoke if a party of Hunters arrived. Clicking his tongue, he thought, ¡®It would be much easier if only I had my chain and rifle¡­¡¯ The insect monster seemed to be quite good at mid-range and meleebat, since the short-range electricity it shot out from its stinger was extremely destructive. Swoosh! Han-Yeol lightly swung his sword, which was engulfed in a majestic me. ¡°Kireuk!¡±?The insect monster let out a cry. Brooom! The insect monster charged at Han-Yeol, taking the initiative by attacking first. It viciously pped its wings while letting out the same sounds as that of a helicopter¡¯s propeller, and it was gathering its electricity to its stinger as well. ¡®Mana Shield!¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately responded by injecting more mana into his shield. He thought that a defensive approach would be safer and more effective in this situation, since he was not used to fighting melee against a flying opponent. Bzzzzzt! The monster unleashed a bolt of electricity once Han-Yeol was within range of its attack. Han-Yeol focused and intently watched the bolt of electricity before he parried it with his shield at thest minute to minimize the impact he had to receive. This was only possible because of his skill ¡®Sixth Sense¡¯. ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned. He was slightly grazed by the bolt of electricity, but he was thoroughly electrocuted. ¡®As expected¡­ Electricity is such a pain to deal with.¡¯ That was all the more reason that Han-Yeol desired the electric attribute. Any ability rted to electricity was very rare, and electricity was a rtively efficient and versatile attribute to use. Sukeok! Han-Yeol counterattacked with ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ as soon as he avoided the insect monster¡¯s stinger. ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The monster shrieked in pain. The mes engulfing Han-Yeol¡¯s sword were very effective against the monster regardless of which elemental attribute it possessed, and this was due to the fact that fire was very effective against insect-type monsters. The insect monster was in immense agony after being struck by ¡®Sword Breath¡¯, and it was trying to fly up into the air in hopes of avoiding Han-Yeol¡¯s sword. However, Han-Yeol had no ns to let the monster escape. ¡®I won¡¯t let you!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He probably would have just let the monster fly up before he took his sweet time to hunt it down if this was a hunting ground, but the current circumstance was one where he had to hunt the monster as fast as possible so he had to prevent it from escaping. However¡­ Bzzzzt¡­! The insect monster had already gathered electricity on its stinger, just in case Han-Yeol would try to disrupt its flight. It shot the bolt of electricity when Han-Yeol attempted to get near it, preventing him froming near. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. The only weapons he currently had on him were his sword and mana shield, and it was going to be problematic for him if the insect monster managed to fly up. He was just about to give up on hunting the monster when¡­ Tang! Tang! Tang! The firing of three bullets rang out before the bullets pierced through the insect monster¡¯s wings, and the bolt of electricity that the monster shot out was interrupted thanks to that. ¡®This is my chance!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he jumped up. He used ¡®Jumping¡¯ to jump so high that he was now above the insect monster. Then, he took a stance in mid-air just like the Spartans from an old movie. His shield was in front of him and his sword was right next to it as he started his descent toward the monster. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±?The insect monster screeched as it tried to defend against Han-Yeol¡¯s attack. The only way it could attack or defend was through its stinger, but Han-Yeol was currently above it entirely. ¡°Die!¡± Han-Yeol shouted before he activated his skill, ¡®Shield Bash.¡¯ Bam! Pukeok! He stabbed the insect monster in the head with ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ together with the momentum of his fall. Squirm! Squirm! The insect monster squirmed as it tried to get Han-Yeol off of its head, but it could not struggle for long. Half of Han-Yeol¡¯s sword was already stabbed deep into its head, continuously unleashing its hot mes. ¡°Kireuk¡­¡±?The insect monster made a strange noise before it fell to the ground. Thud¡­! The insect monster momentarily squirmed after it hit the ground. Then, it plopped dead. ¡°That¡¯s the end of that,¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He had sessfully managed to solo-hunt the insect monster from the dimensional hole. ¡°Han-Yeol oppa, are you alright?¡± Yoo-Bi asked as she approached Han-Yeol. She had been quietly hiding while the battle between Han-Yeol and the insect monster had raged on. Now that the battle was over, she hade to check on Han-Yeol just in case he was hurt after the battle. ¡°I¡¯m alright. What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. ¡°I was just watching from the sidelines so it would be strange if I was the one that got hurt,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile before he suddenly remembered and asked, ¡°Oh right, the three bullets a while ago. Did you shoot those?¡± Han-Yeol was referring to the bullets shot when the insect monster was about to take flight. ¡°Ah, yes. I felt that I had to shoot those at that moment. Did I disturb you by any chance¡­?¡± she asked with a worried look. However, Han-Yeol simply broke into a big smile. ¡°No, your timing was impable. Keep it up even when we are at the hunting ground. Then, you will be a top-ss Porter in no time. Ah, that is if you don¡¯t awaken as a Hunter before that.¡± Telling someone that they had the potential to be a top-ss Porter seemed like praise, but it was actually no different from cursing someone. 99.99% of the Porters did not set their goals as merely bing a top-ss Porter, but they were aiming to awaken and be a Hunter themselves. ¡°Hihi! Thank you, Han-Yeol oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi replied with a big smile on her face. She did not seem to be aiming to be a Hunter yet, since she was extremely happy by the fact that Han-Yeol had praised her just now. ¡®I hope?that you will never get corrupted by this dirty messed-up world,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he looked at Yoo-Bi smiling innocently. Yoo-Bi was bound to be influenced by the world at one point, but Han-Yeol hoped that the time woulde aste as possible. Wiiing! Wiiiing! Wiiing! Han-Yeol took care of the dimensional hole that had appeared in the middle of the city, and the response team only arrived after everything was over. The whole thing was briefly broadcasted on the evening news since there were no fatalities, and the only casualty was the park having sustained some damage. Han-Yeol drove Yoo-Bi home before he went home. Psshhh¡­! He opened a can of beer and sat in front of the TV. Opening a can of beer and sitting on the sofa was a habit that made him happy, and this did not change whether he was rich or poor. ¡®It¡¯s a shame though¡­ I really wanted that electric attribute¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clicked his tongue inwardly. He was really disappointed because the electric attribute was what he wanted the most out of all the elements, and he was not able to obtain it despite meeting an electric attribute monster which was considered to be quite rare. ¡®Tsk¡­ It can¡¯t be helped, but I¡¯ll definitely get my hands on that attribute the next time. No matter what,¡¯?he thought as he steeled his resolve. Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Han-Yeol took a swig from the beer can while watching his favorite variety program. The program had six participants that didedy with different concepts every week, and the MC, who was also known as the national MC of Korea, was quite good at making the show livelier and funnier. Han-Yeol enjoyed watching this specific show, which he found to be quite funny, and the show also gave him a goodugh whenever he watched it. Before he ended his day, he thought, ¡®I want to go on that show at least once in the future.¡¯? *** The next day, Han-Yeol got up early in the morning like he usually did. He checked his weapons and equipment before he prepared to leave his house. Today was going to be the first day that he was going out to hunt with Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan. Of course, Han-Yeol¡¯s goal for today was not to level up but to test the Shadow Demon at the hunting ground. However, he had thoroughly prepared his weapons and equipment, because being overconfident was the biggest mistake a Hunter could make at the hunting grounds. Ding dong! ¡®Hmm? Who is messaging me this early in the morning?¡¯?Thinking that, Han-Yeol checked his smartphone and saw a message from Yoo-Bi. [Han-Yeol oppa, we are meeting at nine in the morning, right?] The content of Yoo-Bi¡¯s message was nothing special. Han-Yeol had already informed both Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan of the meeting time, and he had also reiterated this before previously dropping her off at her ce. However, Han-Yeol could not help but feel happy because of Yoo-Bi¡¯s message. The simple fact that he had someone to exchange messages with in the morning, and that the someone was a beautiful high school girl like Yoo-Bi made him happy. ¡®No. I can¡¯t. Yoo-Bi is still a high schooler. I only like her as an older brother¡­ I have no ulterior motives. That¡¯s right, this isn¡¯t love¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. There was a huge eight-year age gap between them. It was not going to be a problem if they were both adults, but Yoo-Bi was still in her senior year of high school¡ªshe was technically a minor. ¡®Ah, did she drop out of school by any chance¡­?¡¯?he then wondered. Han-Yeol had seen a lot of students drop out of school just to be Porters when he had been working as one. It seemed to him, at that time, that these kids had chosen to be Porters rather than betting their future on their studies, and the fact that the economy was in ruins these days did not help as they probably did feel that there would be a better chance of them making it big if they worked as a Porter instead. Also, there was a higher chance of awakening the younger they were, and that was the biggest factor for kids to drop out of school and be a Porter at an early age. [Yes, we agreed to meet at the Hunters¡¯ Association at nine in the morning. Also, don¡¯t forget to prepare and bring your equipment. I hope you won¡¯t make a scene tomorrow because you forgot your equipment.] Han-Yeol replied. [Alright! Hihi!] Han-Yeol might have sounded like a boomer in his message, but Yoo-Bi did not seem to mind it at all. She replied in her usual cheerful demeanor, and Han-Yeol could not help but smile as he read her reply. The trio met up in front of the Hunters¡¯ Association and drove down to Sokcho. They each had an earpiece that was connected to a walkie-talkie to talk to each other. Sung-Beom and Ah-Ri had been veteran Porters, so they did not need this kind of equipment, but these two required it. This was the first time they were going out to the hunting grounds. ¡°We are going to hunt the Vxes for your first hunt. Well, there¡¯s not much you have to do, to be honest. I just want you to try and get a feel for the hunting grounds for starters. Don¡¯t feel too nervous, I won¡¯t be reprimanding you to do better right away,¡± Han-Yeol exined. [Yes!] [Yes!] The two enthusiastically replied. ¡®Well, I like their enthusiasm,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought that an enthusiastic Porter without experience was always bound to be better than an experienced one who did not really want to work. They arrived at the low-level hunting ground at Sokcho, and they identified themselves to the military guarding the checkpoint before entering the hunting ground. Han-Yeol was driving his car at the front while Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan were following in a truck. ¡°Are you picking up anything on the detection device?¡± Han-Yeol asked while looking around the hunting ground with ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯. He knew that there was nothing around them, but he still asked nevertheless to train the newbies. Pssht! [No, I am not picking anything up in the detection device.] It seemed that the two had decided that the leader between the two Porters would be Sung-Hwan. It was unsurprising since the males were usually the leader if the Porters were mixed genders. ¡°Report immediately if you pick something up,¡± Han-Yeol said. Pssht! [Roger that, Hunter-nim.] Quite a while had passed since they had entered the hunting ground. Pssht! [Hunter-nim, I am detecting four monsters that seem to be Vxes just three hundred meters in front of us.] ¡°Okay. We will advance one hundred meters and lure them toward us,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Pssht! [Roger that.] They finally picked up some Vxes on their detection device, but Han-Yeol had already spotted the monsters as well. ¡®It¡¯s finally starting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while rubbing the back of his right hand. The time for him to use histest skill had finally arrived, and he nned to grow the Shadow Demon more powerful in this hunt. *** Keung! Keung! The Vxes caught a whiff of Han-Yeul¡¯s party¡¯s scent even though they were quite a distance away, thanks to their developed sense of smell. They viciously ran, following the scent of the humans. ¡°Fire!¡± Ratatatata! The two Porters pulled the triggers on their K2 rifles and opened fire at themand of Sung-Hwan, who assumed the role of the leader since they had no manager. Most of the bullets the Porters fired missed the Vxes as these monsters were quite agile, but the fact that they missed was not important to Han-Yeol at all. Han-Yeol extended his right hand and cut the back of it with his mana-infused finger. He looked at the blood dripping from the back of his hand before he muttered, ¡°Summon Demon.¡± The droplets of blood that dripped to the ground coagted together before they spread out and formed the pattern of the sigil that belonged to the demon that Han-Yeol had contracted with. Han-Yeol summoned the Shadow Demon. Fwaaaa¡­! A cloud of ck smoke rose up from the ground before the Shadow Demon slowly emerged from within the cloud of smoke. [Did you call¡­ Human¡­?] Chapter 46: High Schooler (4)

Chapter 46: High Schooler (4)

The demon had replied through telepathy, just as it always did. ¡®Shadow Demon, I offer you monsters. Those four?Vxes?are yours,¡¯?Han-Yeol said while pointing at the four hideous monsters frantically charging toward them and avoiding the bullets Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan were firing at them. [I shall grant your request.] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol was confused. The Shadow Demon''s telepathic connection between it and Han-Yeol made it hard for him to fully understand what it was trying to say, but he could clearly hear what the demon was saying this time. ¡°Halt! Cease fire!¡± Han-Yeol shouted amand. The two Porters¡¯ uracy had drastically fallen the moment they were surprised after seeing Han-Yeol summoning the Shadow Demon. Sung-Hwan immediately stopped shooting once the Shadow Demon started walking toward the Vxes. Shiiing! The Shadow Demon raised its sharp nails on both hands and walked toward the Vxes, which opened their mouths while charging at it. Shwaaa¡­! ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What the?¡± Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan were taken aback by what they saw. ¡®They just went through it?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Vxes were about to collide with the Shadow Demon before they simply passed through it. That was the moment thatpletely confused the monsters as to what had just happened. Shakak! The Shadow Demon turned around and swiped its nails at one of the Vxes, leaving four huge lines on its back. ¡°Kekeng!¡±?The Vx that got scratched squirmed and winced in pain. ¡®The Shadow Demon¡¯s attack works, but the Vxes simply passed through it?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, and then he wondered, ¡®Is it because of its shadow trait? Does that mean?it''s?immune against physical attacks¡­?¡¯ It was certainly interesting if that was the case, since this meant that only magic attacks could ever damage the Shadow Demon. This meant that the Shadow Demon was a nightmare for low-tier monsters. There were a lot of mid-tier monsters that used mana to attack their enemies, but the only monster capable of using mana to attack among the low-tier monsters was the hunting ground¡¯s boss monsters. ¡®This is good. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be difficult to grow the Shadow Demon,¡±?Han-Yeol thought. The fact that the Shadow Demon was immune to physical attacks meant that it had the ability to one-sidedly sweep through this entire hunting ground. The Vxes were fully upied by the Shadow Demon, and they did not think about anything else aside from trying to get a bite out of the demon. However, there was no way that these monsters, which only knew how to do physical attacks, could ever win against the Shadow Demon that was immune to it. The Shadow Demon seemed to be rxed while fighting against the Vxes as it swiped its nails at the monsters and easily dispatched three of them. Then¡­ Puek! ¡°Kekeng¡­!¡±? The remaining Vx continued to stubbornly try and bite the Shadow Demon, only to be punched by the demon¡¯srge fist. It cried in pain when it was flung back by the force and hit a tree. The Shadow Demon slowly walked toward the incapacitated Vx, then wrapped its hands around the Vx¡¯s neck and slowly started to choke it. ¡°Keeek!?Keeek!¡±?The Vx squirmed and resisted for dear life. However, the Shadow Demon tightened its grip even further the more the Vx resisted against it. Crack¡­ Snap¡­! The Shadow Demon dispatched the Vx by snapping its neck off, just like a serial killer from any horror movie. [Hehehe¡­] The Shadow Demon that dispatched four Vxes on its ownughed in an eerily sinister manner before it picked up a Vx¡¯s corpse and proceeded to devour it whole. It was just like how a fisherman would swallow its small game after fishing it out. A red mouth suddenly appeared on the Shadow Demon¡¯s face, which was originally void of anything. Munch¡­ Crack¡­ Munch¡­ Munch¡­ Munch¡­ The monsters the Shadow Demon ate were already dead, but the sight of it voraciously eating the corpses could only be described as grotesque and stomach-turning. Nom¡­ Nom¡­ Nom¡­ Tsk¡­ The Shadow Demon clicked its tongue after feasting on a Vx, as if to show that it was not satisfied, and it spat out a mana stone just like how someone would spit out the bones of the fish they were eating. ¡°Make sure you collect the mana stones. You won¡¯t be dismembering any monsters as long as that guy is around,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Huh? Ah, yes, Hunter-nim,¡± Sung-Hwan replied before slowly approaching the Shadow Demon. He was nervous at the fact that he was approaching the grotesque-looking demon that had just picked up another dead Vx. He immediately picked up the mana stone on the ground as fast as he could while the Shadow Demon was busy munching on another fresh corpse. The mana stones from the Vxes seemed to be not so valuable at a single nce. This was unsurprising, since the monsters were widely known to give out mana stones low in purity. ¡®Let¡¯s make a short round before going to the next stage,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was the Shadow Demon¡¯s first hunt, but it was not bad at all. Munch¡­ Crack¡­ Munch¡­ Munch¡­ Munch¡­ The Shadow Demon finished devouring the four Vxes like a hungry person eating chicken legs. ¡®Shadow Demon, are you satisfied?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked [Not enough¡­ I need more¡­ Monster corpses¡­ I¡¯m still hungry¡­] ¡®I wonder how many offerings a more powerful demon would demand if you are already so gluttonous,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Shadow Demon just ate four Vxes, but it was stillining about hunger. Han-Yeol took Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan deeper into the hunting ground, to a spot where the Vxes usually appeared inrge numbers. Sniff¡­ Sniff¡­ Sniff¡­! A massive number of twenty Vxes picked up the scent of Han-Yeol and his party, and they proceeded to ferociously charge toward them. ¡°Let it rip, you two!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two Porters replied before they let loose. Ratatatatata! There was no such thing as aiming for the Vxes right now. All the Porters had to do was to shoot whatever that came into view, and this surprisingly worked very well. Almost all of their bullets hit a target because of the sheer numbers of the monstersing in. ¡®Shadow Demon, these are offerings for you,¡¯?Han-Yeol said through telepathy. [I will take¡­ them¡­ all¡­] Shwaaa¡­! The Shadow Demon glided through the air toward the monsters, as soon as Han-Yeol pointed at them, just like it did a while ago. The twenty Vxes and the Shadow Demon were about to collide any minute now! However, the Vxes¡¯ attacks did not work on the Shadow Demon, just as expected. Grrr¡­! The Shadow Demon was alone and not nimble, and the Vxes came in droves. That was why the demon could not attract the aggro of all of the Vxes, and some of them came charging toward Han-Yeol and his party. ¡®Chain Smite,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he threw his chain. Shwwiiiiik! Han-Yeol mercilessly unleashed his Chain Smite at the iing Vxes. Bam! ¡°Kekeng!¡± Puek! ¡°Kekeng!¡± Han-Yeol looked like a circus ringmaster, whipping the beasts that were charging at him. It only took a single hit for the Vxes to die from his chain. Vxes were the first monsters Han-Yeol had hunted when he was Level 1, but he was now Level 50. It was rather obvious that these low-tier monsters were not going to be able to withstand the sheer difference in level, coupled with the fact that Han-Yeol was using one of his strongest skills against them. Baaam! The five Vxes, who ignored the Shadow Demon and charged at Han-Yeol and his party, did not even manage to reach them beforeying dead on the ground. Their corpses were severely crushed. ¡°Listen up, you two. Go and retrieve the five Vxes I killed just now and try dismembering them,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two enthusiastically replied. Thud! Thud! Thud! Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan immediately got into action and ran as fast as they could to retrieve the five monster corpses. Then, they started to quietly dismember the monster corpses just in case the Shadow Demon was going to shift its attention toward them. Whiiiiiing! Of course, there was no way that they could quietly dismember the monster corpses since they had to use power tools to do it. Shwaa! Shwaa! Shwaa! The Vxes tried their best to attack the Shadow Demon. They charged into the demon, bit it, and even kicked it with their short legs, but the only thing they hit was the smoke that the Shadow Demon was made up of. ¡°Grrr¡­!¡± ¡°Grrr¡­!¡± A monster with a certain amount of intellect would have already noticed that something was wrong, but the sole purpose of the Vxes¡¯ heads was to support their massive mouth that split into four. These low-intelligence creatures only got more agitated when they discovered that their attacks did not do anything against their target. Peok! Peok! Peok! The Shadow Demon used all sorts of methods to execute the Vxes, and it proceeded to devour them by taking a huge bite out of their flesh. The demon ate its prey in different ways, as if experimenting on the tastiest way it could eat them. Also, the more Vxes it ate, the more visible its body became. ¡®Am I seeing things¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Ding! [The Shadow Demon¡¯s level has risen.] [The Shadow Demon has created a new skill: Shadow Taunt.] ¡®What? The Shadow Demon leveled up?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in surprise at the message. [Shadow Demon] Level: 2 Rating: Lowest Experience: 1/118 Skill: Devour, Shadow Taunt. ¡®I can also see the Shadow Demon¡¯s status window¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He originally thought that his game character-like abilities only applied to himself, so he was amazed to discover that his ability could be used toward his summoned creature too. ¡®Shadow Taunt?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion when he read the demon¡¯s new skill. He could not help but be curious about how effective this skill was going to be. ¡°Sung-Hwan, are there any other packs of Vxes in the area?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, please give me a moment. I will immediately check for any signs of them,¡± Sung-Hwan replied. He did not even have time to take a breather after dismembering the monster corpses, because he immediately had to locate another pack of Vxes under Han-Yeol¡¯s orders. Soon, he reported, ¡°There is a pack of Vxes about 1.5km north of here.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go there. There¡¯s not much, but load up the Vxes you have dismembered,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two enthusiastically replied. They were running on a very tight schedule, and other Porters would have already started grumbling after being dragged around by Han-Yeol in such a manner. That was because Han-Yeol was not hunting with the widely used format of resting an hour after every monster encounter that the others were using. However, Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan were fresh graduates from the Porter Academy. The only experience they had was from the practical test they had done back at the academy, and this was their first experience out on the field. That was why they had no choice but to move ording to how Han-Yeol was moving, and this was the main reason that Han-Yeol had epted them as his Porters despite them beingplete newbies. They boarded the truck and moved north to where Sung-Hwan had spotted the pack of Vxes. Bzzt¡­! [Hunter-nim, the Vxes 3km east of us, not the Vxes 1.5km north of us, are fast approaching us. We will be making contact with them in ten minutes.] The Vxes were not good at suddenly speeding up, but they were able to reach top speed if they continuously ran for a distance. Three kilometers was a distance that would take them less than ten minutes to cover. ¡°Their numbers?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Bzzt¡­! [Around fifty, judging by their size, Hunter-nim.] ¡®Hmm¡­ Fifty¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was not a bad number at all. No, in fact, it was the perfect number for Han-Yeol to deal with so that he did not have to trouble himself by going here and there to hunt them down. This was something that made Han-Yeol thankful for these Vxes charging toward them right now. Bzzt¡­! [Hunter-nim! There is an emergency! The thirty Vxes 1.5km north of us have changed directions and are nowing toward us!] Sung-Hwan¡¯s urgent voice conveyed the dire situation they were going to be in. The eighty Vxes charging toward them was more than enough to strike fear in his heart. Bzzt¡­! [O-Oppa¡­ What should we do¡­?] It was Yoo-Bi¡¯s fear-stricken voice that could be heard this time. Eighty was a massive number enough to be of a threat, even though they were made up of only Vxes, which was one of the weakest monsters out there. Their sheer number made the two Porters doubt if they could make it out of this alive, and running away was an option that they wanted to take right now. However, Han-Yeol was not fazed at all. He calmly thought, ¡®They¡¯re just Vxes in the end, even if there are eighty of them.¡¯ He brought the walkie-talkie to his lips and said, ¡°We stop here and face the Vxes.¡± Bzzt¡­! [Eh¡­? I understand, Hunter-nim.] Sung-Hwan was taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s response. He expected Han-Yeol to give the order to retreat, but he had no choice but toply since it was an order given by a Hunter. Bzzt¡­! [Oppa¡­] Yoo-Bi¡¯s worried voice came from the walkie-talkie, whether it was a mistake or on purpose. Thud¡­! Han-Yeol came down from his van, and Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan emerged from the truck. ¡°The two of you will position yourselves on top of the truck. The Vxes might be fast on the ground, but they are bad at climbing up trees or higher ces,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim,¡± Sung-Hwan replied. ¡°Alright, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. The two climbed on top of the truck as fast as they could once Han-Yeol gave the order. Grr¡­! Grr¡­! Soon, the Vxes could be seen in the distance. They kicked up quite a dust storm, one fitting of a fifty-strong pack. ¡®Summon Demon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he dropped his blood on the back of his hand. Shwaaa¡­ A cloud of dark smoke rose up and covered the ground before it gathered and rose up. ¡®You can stay here and eat the monsters thate here,¡¯?Han-Yeol said. [Alright¡­]? The Shadow Demon stood still and waited for the pack of Vxes to arrive. The monsters lived up to their reputation for being fast as they instantly appeared in front of the trio in no time. Grr¡­! Woof¡­! Woof¡­! A whopping fifty Vxes appeared and exuded tremendous pressure despite being low-tier monsters. However, the Shadow Demon simply raised both of its hands before it shouted. [Shadow Taunt!] The Shadow Demon used its newly created skill. Its shadows spread all over the ce, and the Vxes absorbed the shadow into their bodies. Woof! Woof! Then, the fifty Vxes only charged at the Shadow Demon without even sparing a nce at Han-Yeol and his party. In fact, the monsters were lining up behind the other monsters, waiting to have a go at the Shadow Demon. The remaining Vxes did not charge at Han-Yeol and his party like the five Vxes had in their previousbat, and all fifty of them were solely focused on the Shadow Demon alone. ¡®T-This is quite amazing¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Chapter 47: High Schooler (5)

Chapter 47: High Schooler (5)

At that moment, when the fifty Vxes were all tied up by the Shadow Demon, an additional thirty Vxes came from the north and were now visible in the distance. ¡®Alright, the fifty?Vxes?are tied up by the Shadow Demon, so I just have to take care of the thirty iing,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he walked toward the north slowly. It did not matter whether there were thirty, fifty, or even a hundred Vxesing at him. Click¡­ ck¡­! ¡®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 ce 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 Vxes. ¡°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 iing Vxes. The Vxes 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 Vxes 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 Vxes remaining from the thirty instantly died from the grenade that Han-Yeol threw into their midst. Only a cloud of thick ck smoke rose up from the ce 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 Vxes had survived before he ced his heated rifle on his shoulder. Then, he walked over to where the Shadow Demon was diligently fighting against the pack of Vxes. Peok! Peok! Munch¡­! Munch¡­! ¡®Ugh¡­ it¡¯s basically eating them while fighting¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. The Shadow Demon waspletely surrounded by the monsters, and its gluttonous instinct wanted to eat them as soon as possible. That was why it stuffed a Vx 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 cane down and retrieve the Vxes 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 Vxes. 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 upation 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 werepletely engrossed on dismembering the Vxes, 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 Vxes.¡¯ The Vxes 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 Vxes and it was now Level 3. ¡°I think that this ce 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 Vxes, 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 be 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 cleanerpared 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 ce now. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a day ande back tomorrow morning,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°R-Really¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°¡­¡± Yoo-Bi, who had lesser staminapared 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 beforeing tomorrow,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°T-Thank you, oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed. ¡°T-Thank you, Hunter-nim!¡± Sung-Hwan enthusiastically eximed. 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 urate, the Shadow Demon, had hunted from the Vxes 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 ck 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 Vxes and Giant Ants at a single nce, 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 themunists during the Korean War? ¡®Heok!¡¯?The staffer could not help but gasp in shock once again. [1,580,000,000] The Vx 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 Vxes mixed in it as well!¡¯?the staffer eximed 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 be 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 regr 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-ownedrger 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 essed his bank application on his smartphone and wired money to the bank ounts he previously received from the two. [You have sessfully transferred: 60,480,000 Won] [You have sessfully 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 ounts. 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 ounts. The money they received was iparable 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 be a Porter to make ends meet, but the unexpected lump sum that fell on hisp was nothing short of a god-sent for him. Sung-Hwan giggled like a little kid while looking at his bank ount, and he was about to go home when he suddenly asked, ¡°Yoo-Bi, aren¡¯t you going?¡± ¡°T-That is¡­ Can we really ept 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 exined 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 ept it, thank you very much!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed 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 note 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 awkwardugh. 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 unexpectedlye home ahead of n. ¡°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 eximed. ¡°Cheers!¡± ¡°Wahahaha!¡± Liquor was certainly a powerful thing. The tense atmosphere instantly elevated into a rowdy one as soon as they clinked their sses. ¡®Sigh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol inwardly sighed. Han-Yeol liked to drink, but his love for drinking was nothing whenpared 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. Chapter 48: Solo Raid

Chapter 48: Solo Raid

A month had passed, and Han-Yeol spent most of his time sweeping through Ant Hell and hunting down every single one of the ants in sight with the Shadow Demon. Thanks to that, the Shadow Demon gained quite a lot of weight that it was nearly unrecognizable to how it had been a month ago. Pukeok! A Soldier Ant¡¯s head popped as it plopped dead to the ground. Ding! [The Shadow Demon¡¯s level has risen.] [Shadow Demon] Level: 30 Rating: Lowest Experience: 1/32,119 Skill: Devour, Shadow Taunt, Overwhelming Strength ¡®It¡¯s finally Level 30,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. When the Shadow Demon reached Level 30, a message suddenly popped up. Ding! [The Shadow Demon has reached the minimum prerequisite level to evolve.] ¡®It reached the minimum prerequisite level?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered while reading the message. [The Shadow Demon may evolve or transform into another demon.] [1. Lesser Shadow Demon (Evolution)] [2. Lowest Void Demon (Transformation)] [3. Lowest Void Devil (Transformation)] When he was presented with three choices, Han-Yeol thought, ¡®Ah¡­ I hateplicated things like this¡­¡¯? He was someone who preferred to have fewer choices to work with so that he did not have to think so much, and that was why he always preferred to simply make a choice and get it over with. ¡®I have a low appetite for risk. I should just continue nurturing this Shadow Demon I¡¯ve already invested my time in instead of turning it into another demon and causing more headaches. It¡¯s not like anyone else is going to take responsibility for it, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He then chose the first option, which was a Lesser Shadow Demon. Ding! [You have chosen the Lesser Shadow Demon.] [The Lowest Shadow Demon has evolved into a Lesser Shadow Demon.] [The Shadow Demon may now learn up to five skills instead of three.] ¡®Shadow Demon¡¯s status window,¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. [Shadow Demon] Level: 30 Rating: Lesser Experience: 1/32,119 Skill: Devour, Shadow Taunt, Overwhelming Strength There were no visible changes in the Shadow Demon¡¯s stats, but the skills it could possess had now increased from three to five which made the demon even more of a cheat. The simple fact that this immaterial demon, which was immune to physical attacks, could now possess up to five skills was sure to be the worst nightmare of most monsters at the hunting grounds. ¡®I wonder what kind of skills it will be getting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while snickering like a viin. Just as he turned around after checking the newly evolved Shadow Demon¡¯s stats¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The two victims of Han-Yeol¡¯s month-long exploitation were looking at him with their out-of-focus eyes and their dark circles that drooped all the way down to their chin seemed to silently cry out for their survival. ¡®Oh¡­ was I too harsh on them¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He had been so engrossed in nurturing the Shadow Demon that hepletely forgot about everything else, and Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan had been severely exploited during this time. ¡®Should I have made them work on rotation¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The month-long hunting they did this time was supposed to be a crash course for Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan, so Han-Yeol did not really need them both with him at all times. Han-Yeol deeply repented for hisck of consideration. With an awkward smile, he said, ¡°Great work you guys. We will stop our hunt here, and I¡¯m sorry by the way. It was nned to be a fifteen-day trip¡­ but it turned out to be longer than expected.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ please do not mind it¡­¡± Sung-Hwan replied. He was concerned that he would touch a nerve and annoy Han-Yeol, who was a Hunter, if he were toin or grumble. That was the reason why he stayed silent and pretended to be alright despite being severely exhausted and overworked. ¡®He doesn¡¯t look alright to me¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. That was how their long hunting trip at Ant Hell ended, and Han-Yeol paid them a massive sum totaling to a month¡¯s worth ofbor. The two previously received sixty million won for four days worth of work, so it was quite normal for them to doubt their eyes when they received their pay after working for thirty consecutive days this time. Sung-Hwan was the first to go home after receiving his pay, and Yoo-Bi and Han-Yeol were left all alone now. ¡°I-Is it really alright for us to receive this much money?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Of course, Yoo-Bi, you worked really hard to earn your keep this time. It¡¯s all yours, and you can use it as you want,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Yoo-Bi was severely disoriented as she could not differentiate if this was fantasy or reality. In the end, tears started welling up in her eyes when it finally hit her. Han-Yeol silentlyforted the high school girl, who buried her face in her bankbook while crying. Actually, it was not true that Han-Yeol had only focused on the Shadow Demon and had forgotten about the two of them for an entire month. He was interested in Yoo-Bi so he had devised this n to pretend that he was financially looking after the two of them while trying to get closer to her. He had quite a good rtionship with Yoo-Bi after saving her from the rapist, but they did not really know each other very well, so there was a hint of awkwardness between them. Fortunately, they have managed to get a lot closer during this month that they had spent together hunting. ¡°Why don¡¯t you move to a nice apartment and live with your mother from now on? I think you deserve to livefortably,¡± Han-Yeol said. Yoo-Bi had earned four hundred million won for the long hunt they had gone on this time. Frankly speaking, Yoo-Bi and Sung-Hwan did not do much work that warranted them to be paid such a huge sum of money, but Han-Yeol was investing in them for the future right now. No, to be precise, he was investing in Yoo-Bi. ¡°Heuk¡­ Heuk¡­¡±?Yoo-Bi cried again and again, as if she had a lot of sorrow pent up in her heart all this while. Han-Yeol silently stayed by Yoo-Bi¡¯s side. Yoo-Bi stopped crying after a while and calmed down, then Han-Yeol apanied her all the way until she reached home. ¡°Oppa, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for taking care of a newbie Porter like me¡­and for treating me so well too¡­¡± Yoo-Bi said. She was not stupid and neither was she an immature child who did not know how the world worked. She had already noticed that Han-Yeol was treating them too well despite what he said. However, she could not muster the courage to say anything whenever she saw therge sum of money deposited into her bank ount. ¡°I¡¯m telling you that it¡¯s really fine. Hmm¡­ if it really bothers you¡­ then can you grant me a favor?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Y-Yes! I will do whatever you ask of me!¡± Yoo-Bi enthusiastically replied with eager sparkling eyes. The burden in her heart would be slightly reduced if she was able to do something for Han-Yeol in return. ¡°Will you sign an exclusive contract with me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°H-Huh?¡± Yoo-Bi muttered in surprise. She was taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s suggestion. ¡®E-Exclusive contract¡­?¡¯?she thought. She was well aware of what an exclusive contract was. She might be weak when it came to practical things that required physicalbor, but she had graduated with quite high marks when it came to theoretical things. ¡°B-But¡­ A Hunter like you, Han-Yeol oppa, will be able to find far better Porters than me¡­ Why are you choosing me of all people¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi muttered. However, contrary to her words, she was secretly hoping deep inside that Han-Yeol was going to sign an exclusive contract with her, and this was solely because he was someone that she could trust and not because he was a strong Hunter. She had read about quite a lot of cases where a female Porter had been mercilessly raped and murdered by a Hunter, and sexual harassment was a normal thing that a female porter had to go through. Indeed, it was quite difficult for a woman to work as a Porter in this twisted world. ¡°Well, a good Porter or a veteran Porter, these sound nice and all, but what I need is not those kinds of Porters but the kind that I can always depend on and trust. In addition, I also prefer to hire a Porter who will stay with me even after they awaken,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Someone who will stay with you even after they awaken¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi muttered while tilting her head in confusion. ¡°Yes. Ah, but it doesn¡¯t matter even if you don¡¯t awaken. What¡¯s important is trust, after all. I have seen a lot of Porters that secretly lined their pockets away from the Hunters¡¯ eyes, and I have also lined my own pockets sometimes as well,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Wink! Han-Yeol gave Yoo-Bi a cringey wink. He was half joking, but it was true that he had lined his own pockets a few times before. However, in his defense, he did not do it out of malice or ill intentions. He tried to maintain his integrity whenever he worked, but he had fallen sick that month and he had to skip a few days of work. Thanks to that, he had calcted that his sry was not going to be enough to pay for his father¡¯s medical bills, and he had been left with no choice but to do it twice. ¡®Well, I just did it twice and didn¡¯t do it after that,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he justified his own actions. It was possible for a Porter to earn a lot if they lined their own pocket, and that amount was going to be double or even triple the wages they would earn. Most Porters started off by stealing bit by bit before failing to keep their greed in check and ending up getting caught. Then, they usually ended up regretting it after getting severely punished and sued by the Hunters¡¯ Association. Thew punishing and locking up Porters that dared to steal from the Hunters was quite unforgiving in this country, after all. Han-Yeol frequently saw cases where Porters would end up in jail because of their greed, and that was why he had stolen just enough to cover his losses and pay for his father¡¯s hospital bills. Anyway, Yoo-Bi ended up nodding to what Han-Yeol had said. ¡°I see,¡± she muttered. She was convinced, after listening to his words, and she had already decided that she wanted to sign an exclusive contract with him anyway. ¡°So what do you think? Do you want to sign a contract with me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He was not simply proposing to sign an exclusive contract with Yoo-Bi out of affection or for old times¡¯ sake. It was true that he was attracted to her, but all he had to do was ensure that she was financially taken care of and that was it. What Han-Yeol really needed right now was a Porter who listened to hismands and trusted him above anything else. In short, he needed a Porter so that he could establish a rtionship built on trust, and Yoo-Bi was undoubtedly the perfect partner for him in that case. ¡®She won¡¯t be able to easily betray me if ever she decides to, since I saved her from being raped after all,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was the best-case scenario if he could work with a trustworthy yet skilled Porter, but that was not possible since most of the established Porters out there were either one or the other. Most Hunters preferred to work with a skilled veteran Porter, but Han-Yeol, who had been a veteran Porter himself, thought that he could simply teach Yoo-Bi how to be a veteran Porter, and that was why he would choose to work with a trustworthy person over a skilled one. Sung-Hwan was not even a consideration in the first ce, since Han-Yeol could clearly see the cowardice and greed in his eyes, but most importantly, he could see the lecherous way Sung-Hwan looked at Yoo-Bi. It could be a misunderstanding and a misjudgment on his part, but Han-Yeol had no reason to work with someone who made him feel that way. In fact, Han-Yeol was not so benevolent to even consider it in the first ce. ¡°I¡¯ll say this again but, I am not proposing this exclusive contract because of an emotionally-driven reason. I can see that you have the potential to be an excellent Porter, and I can help you reach your potential. Also, I want to propose in advance a partnership in the event that you end up Awakening. In short, this is an investment from my side. Of course, we can mutually terminate the contract any time if we decide that this is not working out so you don¡¯t have to be scared of anything,¡± Han-Yeol exined. ¡®One of the wealthiest?men?in America once said to trust a stock that you have decided to bet on until it gets delisted from the stock market,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was a quote he had read from the wealthy man¡¯s biography when he had been quite into all of these self-help books. Han-Yeol had already tested Yoo-Bi, who passed his test with flying colors. That was the main reason that he decided to invest in her. Also, it was bound to be difficult for a person to bite the hand that fed them when they were just starting out after all. This was another reason why he found that there was practically no merit for him to invest in an already established Porter. Also,st but not the least¡­ ¡®My instinct is telling me that she will get strong abilities if she awakens as a Hunter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought of his true intention. He could rece a Porter anytime he wanted to, but it was going to be extremely difficult for him to find a strong Hunter that he could trust and partner with. Han-Yeol was someone who trusted his instinct 100%. ¡°Y-Yes! Let¡¯s sign the contract! I might becking right now, but I will do my best to live up to oppa¡¯s expectations! Also, I will stay by oppa¡¯s side even if I somehow manage to Awaken. Then, I will be able to proudly walk side by side with you!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed as she steeled her resolve. ¡°Good!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in response. ¡°I will never forget your kindness,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Then, shall we sign the contract?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes!¡± Yoo-Bi enthusiastically replied. ¡°Ah, just for your information. The exclusive contract will be for two years at a time in ordance with thews that regte exclusive contracts, and we can terminate the contract whenever one of us wants to terminate it. Also, it will be automatically renewed if neither of us has ament about it. Are you aware of this?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Of course, I did not doze off during Porter theory sses and I even took down notes, you know?¡± Yoo-Bi proudly replied. ¡°You even took notes? Yoo-Bi¡­ I never knew you were a very good student,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol had worked multiple part-time jobs and had only slept for two hours every day when he had been studying to be a Porter, so he had dozed off during the theoretical sses. He had procrastinated and crammed everything right before the tests, and had somehow managed to pass in the end. The two came into an agreement and they immediately went to a nearbywyer¡¯s office. ¡°Wee, how may I help you?¡± a well-dressedwyer greeted them in the office. ¡°Ah, hello. This Hunter-nim and I would like to enter into an exclusive contract so we came for your help to legalize things,¡± Yoo-Bi said. She had learned during her Porter sses that a Porter was supposed to step up and do everything required in ce of the Hunters, and that was why she was the first to respond and engage in a conversation with thewyer. ¡°Haha, you havee to the right ce. I am awyer specializing in Hunter affairs. I can help you with whatever you require,¡± thewyer replied. Thews covering everything rted to the Hunters were not decided by the congress, but it was rather decided by a panel of one hundred thirty-three Hunters under the Hunters¡¯ Association. The Hunters¡¯ Association would seek advice from these Hunters, who were legal experts as well, and that was why thews governing the Hunters were quite detailed andplicated. Theplex set of rules paved the way for numerous misunderstandings and disputes, and this became an opportunity for numerouswyers to earn money. Of course, it was quite difficult to be awyer specializing in Hunterw as they had to first pass the bar exam and then further study to be specialized in it. However, thewyers that did manage to be specialized in Hunterw would earn quite well. An average legal fee of three million won would instantly turn into thirty million won if it was rted to Hunters. There was a legendary news story of awyer earning thirty billion won after sessfully defending his Hunter client in court. Thanks to that, there was a boom inwyers trying to be specialized in Hunterw. The bottom line was, thewyer that Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi hade to was a skilledwyer who knew what he was doing. Chapter 49: Solo Raid (2)

Chapter 49: Solo Raid (2)

¡°Now, please have a seat and rx. We will bring all of the documents to you,¡± thewyer said. ¡°Thank you,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Would you like some coffee?¡± thewyer asked. ¡°That would be great,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Alright, please wait a moment.¡± Thewyer stood up and went somewhere before returning with two cups of coffee, which were not those instant mix coffee usually given in other ces. Rather, it was an aromatic coffee hand-dripped by a professional barista. Slurp¡­ ¡°So, I just have to legalize the exclusive contract you will be entering, am I correct?¡± thewyer asked. ¡°Yes, the contract term will be for two years¡­¡± Before Han-Yeol could offer a full reply, Yoo-Bi suddenly cut him off and said with a serious look, ¡°No, please make it five years.¡± Yoo-Bi wanted the contract to be binding for five years instead of two. ¡°Yoo-Bi?¡± Han-Yeol said in surprise. He obviously thought that the contract term was going to be for only two years, so he was taken aback when Yoo-Bi suddenly asked for it to be five years instead. ¡°Hoo¡­ Five years¡­ Thew stiptes that the term shall be for two years, but it is possible to change it since the exclusive contract is not a real estate contract or anything. However, are you certain that you want it to be for five years?¡± thewyer asked. ¡°Yes, please make those changes ordingly,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Alright then, consider it done,¡± thewyer replied with a confident smile before he motioned to his assistant to go and amend the documents. He thought that Yoo-Bi was a strong person with convictions, and he could not help but look at her in admiration. ¡®Being young is the time to take risks and take on challenges.¡¯ He did not know what rtionship the two had, but he thought that they did not look bad together at all. That was how Yoo-Bi and Han-Yeol both ended up signing a win-win exclusive contract at thewyer¡¯s office, and they were now in the car on the way back after signing it. ¡°Yoo-Bi,¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Yes?¡± Yoo-Bi responded. ¡°Why did you make the contract five years when two years was more than enough?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Five years is the obvious choice. Did you think I will fulfill two years and run away after that, after all you have done for me?¡± Yoo-Bi replied as she unted her innocent yet confident charm, which was one of the reasons why Han-Yeol liked her. ¡°Well, I trust you after all, but you have to realize that a contract will be the only thing that can help you if things go south and take a turn for the worst,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Hehe. It¡¯s alright. I will be the best Porter beside you, and I will awaken one day as well. Then, I will be a Hunter who can proudly stand beside you,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Yoo-Bi¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while seemingly touched by Yoo-Bi¡¯s words. *** Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi already knew each other, but they were not that close and there was still some awkwardness between them. However, thatsted only until they signed the contract at thewyer¡¯s office. Perhaps the signing of the contract signaled a new start in their rtionship as they somehow found themselves a lot closer than before. They already spoke to each other in afortable manner, but the thin wall that separated them was strangely gone now too. They were able to progress from being a dongsaeng and oppa who met for work to something even closer than that. *** It was the sweet break they got after hunting like crazy for a whole month. Slurp¡­! They were enjoying their break at a global hamburger brand, M Donald. They each ordered their favorite burger set and ate while chatting with each other. Han-Yeol enjoyed the sensation of his vani shake flowing down his throat and hitting his stomach. ¡°So, have you looked around for houses?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ I wasn¡¯t able to find a house that I liked. I went around and saw around four houses, but they did not really interest me,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s not going to be easy to find the perfect house in the current housing market. Hmm¡­ Do you want to go out to the hunting ground and work for fifteen days more? You will be able to earn around a hundred million won, so don¡¯t you think that your choices will increase with the additional funds?¡± Han-Yeol asked. It was important for them to work hard, but it was also equally important for them to take proper breaks as well. This was especially true for Hunters and Porters, since their line of work required them to put their lives on the line, and they would be able to think with a level head the more rested they were. It was quite difficult to find Hunters and Porters that continuously rushed to hunt whenever they got the time like Han-Yeol, who could be considered a workaholic. Yoo-Bi stuck out her tongue at Han-Yeol half-jokingly before she said, ¡°Forget about it. I would rather just wait and buy a houseter. We did not even rest properly yet. I do not want to go.¡± ¡°I was just kidding. We have to rest properly?when we get the chance. Your bones might get holes if you don¡¯t, you know?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°It does not matter since I am young, but oppa will be thirty soon, right? I think you are the one who has to be careful,¡± Yoo-Bi retorted. ¡°Euk!?That¡¯s cheating. You can¡¯t roast me with facts like that! Don¡¯t be a coward and face me with anything else aside from facts!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. ¡°Ah¡­ Can you stop it?¡± Yoo-Bi grumbled. ¡°Haha, sorry,¡± Han-Yeolughed it off. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi frequently met after they signed the contract. They did not really do anything important together, but they frequently met up to have a cup of coffee or to eat. ¡°Ah, right. Have you heard of that news, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Which news?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response before taking a big sip from his vani milkshake. Slurp¡­! ¡®As expected¡­ The vani milkshake is the best,¡¯?Han-Yeol distractedly thought. ¡°The H20 International Summit will be held in Seoul this time and the Strike Guild will be attending as the United States¡¯ representative,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Huh? What happened? Wasn¡¯t the Avengers Guild the usual representative for the United States?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The Hunters¡¯ Association of the United States of America had a strange system of managing their guilds. They gave points to their guilds and ranked them ording to their points, and the Avengers Guild maintained their spot as the representative of the United States for ten years in a row at the H20 summit, which was a gathering of the top twenty countries with the strongest Hunters. However, the guild that would be apanying the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s chairman of the United States of America was going to be the Strike Guild instead of the Avengers Guild, based on the information collected by Yoo-Bi. ¡°The rumors say that the Strike Guild, which always stayed on the twentieth spot on the guild rankings, suddenly managed to secure the top spot in the rankings,¡± Yoo-Bi exined. ¡°No wonder it¡¯s a guild I have never heard of¡­ But a guild on the twentieth spot suddenly managed to be number one in the rankings?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Yoo-Bi replied before she passed a tablet PC to Han-Yeol and showed him a news article, which spoke about the Strike Guild. Well, the writing was hopeless andparable to a tabloid piece, but it made quite a lot of assumptions as it analyzed how the twentieth guild in the ranking suddenly managed to be the number one. Whaaaang! Whaaaang! Whaaaang! The police cars¡¯ sirens sted outside. ¡°I guess the H20 is really something amazing. Those police cars have been patrolling the streets the entire day,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Well, it makes sense since the top leaders of the Hunters¡¯ Association from the twenty strongest countries will gather here and discuss the past year. Then, they will decide on the n for the following year in this event. Imagine that a terrorist attack urs in Seoul when such a major event is happening and the whole world¡¯s attention is focused here. There would be no greater shame than that,¡± Han-Yeol exined. The discussion between the twenty-eight-year-old and the eighteen-year-old seemed to be quite mature and unlike something their peers would talk about. Both of them came from poor backgrounds, so they did not have the luxury to enjoy things that other kids their age enjoyed such as music, fashion, movies, and other hobbies. That was why it was understandable that this topic was more interesting and seemed more natural for both Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi. ¡°Oh right, Yoo-Bi. I saw on the inte that a new action movie is going to premiere today. Do you want to go and watch it together?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Shall we?¡± Yoo-Bi replied. Han-Yeol¡¯s suggestion was a weed one, since they were feeling bored and did not know what to do for the day anyway. To be honest, Yoo-Bi was physically exhausted so she preferred to rest, but she thought that it was not a bad idea to enjoy once in a while since she spent most of her life without being able to enjoy these luxuries. The thought had never crossed Yoo-Bi¡¯s mind when she had been immature and young, but she had started to distance herself from these hobbies and luxuries when she grew up and matured to the point where she understood her family¡¯s financial situation. That was how Han-Yeol took Yoo-Bi to the movies and had dinner afterward before sending her home. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol strangely felt empty after dropping off Yoo-Bi and returning home. ¡®Status window,¡¯?Han-Yeol inwardly summoned. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 51 Points: 5 STR: 105 VIT: 101 AGI: 99 MAG: 150 LCK: 10 Invoke: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (C), Power Strike (B), Mana Shield (B), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (C), Jumping (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (D), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (E), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E). Han-Yeol was not able to grow since he was focusing on the Shadow Demon¡¯s growth these days. ¡®Still¡­ I only gained a level after hunting for a month? I guess there will be a difference in the experience points I gain whenever I level up¡­ I only managed to level up Telepathy since that was the only skill I used, and that was out of necessity tomunicate with the Shadow Demon¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Still, Han-Yeol could not pinpoint the source of his frustration and unease. He thought that he would be able to shake off the feeling if he did something to upy him, so he switched on hisputer and surfed the Hunters¡¯ Association website. Click¡­ Click¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ A certain title caught his eye while he was absent-mindedly surfing the website. [Blue Hunter has sessfully be the first D Rank Hunter to solo raid a D Rank raid monster.] ¡®A D Rank Hunter solo raided a D Rank raid monster?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He immediately clicked the new article as soon as he read the title. [The D Rank Hunter, the Blue Hunter or also known as the Lonesome Hunter, Heo Jun brought back the remains and mana stone of a D Rank raid monster, the Death Frog, at 6:30 pm today. His achievements on solo raiding a D Rank raid monster have stirred up quite a news in themunity. The D Rank Hunter, Heo Jun, earned his additional nickname the Lonesome Hunter aside from the Blue Hunter after being seen hunting alone by several people. The officials are currently checking to verify the authenticity of his achievement, but people are expecting that there will be no problems with his achievement being recognized as the first D Rank Hunter to sessfully solo raid a D Rank raid monster.] ¡®Ah solo raid¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as the idea piqued his interest. It was exhausting for him to go back out to the hunting ground, where he would have to roam around and hunt for multiple creatures, since he should be resting right now. Also, that made raiding sound even more attractive for him, since he only had to go and solo raid one monster. Han-Yeol started to research raid monsters after the news article piqued his interest, since he had no knowledge whatsoever rted to raid monsters. After all, he never had the opportunity to join one in his Porter days. [Raid Monster: A monster with the same mana density as the other monsters of the same rank, but possessed far greater amounts of mana and far more valuable body partspared to them. A raid monster is a special kind of monster that you will only find one at a time at the raid field. A raid monster is very powerful despite possessing the same mana density, so it is considered to be impossible to hunt alone and will require the cooperation of numerous Hunters to hunt.] ¡®A solo raid? That doesn¡¯t sound bad at all,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Hispetitive spirit was ignited. Then, he scoured the inte to search for the easiest raid monster out there. ¡®An F Rank monster will be too easy no matter how dangerous they say they are¡­ I should probably choose an E Rank monster for starters,¡¯?Han-Yeol decided as he searched all over the Hunters¡¯ Association website. Then, one specific raid monster caught his eye. [E Rank Raid Monster, Donkey Kong.] The gigantic gori was named Donkey Kong, since it looked quite simr to the giant gori shown in the movies or video games. Its fists were covered in ck scales, and its main attack of gathering mana in its fists before mming it down on its target was a powerful one. The information written regarding Donkey Kong was that it was a monster highly inclined toward exerting destructive physical attack power, and it did not have any special abilities or high defense and healthpared to other raid monsters. The information also mentioned that it was slow despite possessing destructive strength, and this meant that this raid monster was the perfect one for Han-Yeol to hunt. ¡®Alright, Donkey Kong¡­ I choose you!¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. He then went to the video gallery to see if there were any videos of Donkey Kong that he might watch. ¡®Oh! There is! Ah¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly before his enthusiasm was doused by a pay wall that required him to pay up to watch the video. His poor childhood made him instinctively tense up when the word ¡®pay¡¯ appeared on the screen. ¡®No¡­ I¡¯m already rich. I can¡¯t shrink back at this amount. It sounds funny and stupid if I do,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he steeled his resolve and decided that it was now time for him to break free from his old mindset. He no longer had to live with the miser mindset he had when he had been working like a dog to earn 5.6 million won only to spend 5 million on hospital fees. ¡®A person who earns a lot needs to spend money for it to circte and support the economy,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he bravely paid online and viewed the pay-per-view video. 1. This is a joke/expression in Korean for overworking. Chapter 50: Solo Raid (3)

Chapter 50: Solo Raid (3)

[You have sessfully paid 5,000 won.] A Hunter, who earned 5.2 billion won, actually contemted whether to pay five thousand won or not. Anyone else who saw Han-Yeol struggling like that would have probably found it strange. Han-Yeol downloaded the video he bought for five thousand won and thoroughly analyzed Donkey Kong¡¯s attack patterns. His habit from his Porter days where he analyzed monster attack patterns just in case of emergencies had proven to be quite a lot of help time and time again. After studying the five-hour-long video without fast-forwarding it even once, Han-Yeol repeatedly watched the video three times to perfectly study Donkey Kong¡¯s attack patterns. Then, he checked the raid field since he might lose it to another raid party if he did not manage to get there first on time. It was rare to see Hunters doing a solo raid, but that did not mean that raid parties were just as rare as that. In fact, raid monsters were quite popr among the Hunters and most of them had their own raid parties just to raid them. The main reason for their poprity was due to the fact that a raid monster¡¯s mana stone was a much better source of energypared to a normal monster. Their body parts were also received differently by the factories¡ªin short, expensive. Couple those facts with the fact that a raid monster was not something that you could hunt 24/7 whenever you wanted, their loot became all the more precious. Han-Yeol scrolled through the website to see if there were any open raid fields but¡­he soon thought, ¡®Ah¡­ There aren¡¯t any suitable ones¡­¡¯? The raid fields did not open at the exact same time, so most of the guilds hired people to sit and monitor the raid fields 24/7. Looking at the avable ones, Han-Yeol thought to himself, ¡®Seoul and Gyeonggi are all gone¡­ and Chungcheon is gone as well. Hmm¡­ Huh? Gangwon?¡¯? Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, but the Gangwon area did not look as busy as the other regions. Han-Yeol stared at the Gangwon area¡¯s raid fields, which had quite a few green lights on, before he immediately booked a slot. Click¡­ Click¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­! [You have reserved the E Rank raid field, Donkey Kong Field.] ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol inwardly eximed. He had been a tad bit nervous about whether he would get the slot or not, but luck was on his side. He had managed to get the slot and not waste any more time on hisputer. Grinning, he thought, ¡®Hehehe¡­ I have great luck today.¡¯? It seemed that the heavens hade to pity the poor boy, deciding to help him out in recent months. *** Vrooom¡­! Han-Yeol got into his RV truck and drove down to Gangwon-do. ¡®You gotta strike while the iron is hot,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not want to dy it until tomorrow only to find the raid field had disappeared or that another guild had cut the queue and snatched it from right under his nose. Of course, cutting the queue and taking someone else¡¯s raid field was practically illegal. However, the Hunters¡¯ world was a dog-eat-dog world and thew was not going to be on the side of a weaker Hunter. ¡®A solo raid¡­ I¡¯m getting a bit nervous,¡¯?he thought. idents were more likely to ur during a raid as opposed to a normal hunt, but the rewards were much more tempting than a normal hunt. Therefore, quite a lot of Hunters risked their lives to challenge it for the riches it promised. However, due to the high fatality in recent months, most guilds and raid parties preferred to lower the difficulty level by a rank to reduce their risks. In fact, a handful of guilds started to monopolize the lower-rank raid fields, and this in turn led the other raid parties and guilds tounch aint against them to the Hunters¡¯ Association. However, the Hunters¡¯ Association stayed silent and refused toment on the matter until now. Han-Yeol was on the way to Gangwon-do, Yanggu, when he had a thought. ¡®Hold on a minute, Yanggu?¡¯? [Gangwon-do, Yanggu-gun, Dong-myeon, Sate-ri.] Screeeeeech! Han-Yeol mmed the brakes as soon as he reached the destination. It was not a smart idea to suddenly m the brakes like that with a truck traveling 70 kilometers per hour, because it would degrade the brakes faster. However, that was not the important issue right now. Grabbing his hair, Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, ¡®Yanggu-gun, Dong-myeon, Sate-ri¡­ That¡¯s in North Korea!¡¯ He had previously heard some rumors that some of the hunting grounds and fields in Gangwon-do on the North Korean side would be mistaken as a South Korean field due to a glitch in the system. ¡®No wonder nobody reserved a slot for it! Ahhhh! Damn it! Are you an idiot or what?!¡¯?Han-Yeol cussed himself inwardly. Han-Yeol had already entered Gangwon-do (the South Korean side) and was deep within the mountains. It was going to be a huge waste of time for him to turn around now and simply go back. Unfortunately, his crazy tendency sprung into action when things went south. His attitude of stubbornly focusing on one thing, which could be seen as an advantage or a disadvantage at times, took over his mind. ¡®I heard that some of the raid fields and hunting grounds in Gangwon-do, Yanggu are a part of the South Korean territory because of the effect from the mana wave, so even the North Koreans aren¡¯t aware of its existence in the first ce. That¡¯s why most of the raid fields naturally vanish on their own, or our government passes the information to North Korea and lets them get rid of it. If that¡¯s the case, then I can just go and take care of it myself¡­ In secret, of course,¡¯?Han-Yeol reasoned to himself. That was how Han-Yeol ended uping up with a very dangerous and risky n in his head. *** Complex was the perfect word to describe the current rtionship between South Korea and North Korea. The world changed quite a lot after the aliens¡¯ appearance, and the rtionship between South Korea and North Korea was not as bad as it had been before, but it was still an awkward andplex one. Of course, crossing the border was a huge offense. You could not me either side for thinking that if someone like Han-Yeol, a Hunter who could be considered as a human weapon, crossed their borders, they would see it no different from a deration of war. ¡®I¡¯ll just make a quick visit in secret. Nobody will know, since they will erase the records anyway,¡¯?Han-Yeol justified. The raid field was designated into the South Korean server by mistake because of the mana waves, but it was a raid field that belonged to North Korea and it was bound to be erased from the records. Also, the South Korean government usually sent a notice to the North, requesting them to clear the raid field just in case it did not naturally disappear and instead blow up only to cause severe damages to the south. ¡®I¡¯m just going to quickly go there, kill the raid monster, and leave before anyone notices it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. There was not going to be any problem if he just kept his mouth shut. ¡®Ahh¡­ But safety first is my life¡¯s motto¡­¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. The whole thing started to be a headache now that Han-Yeol thought of it that way. He should not be going ahead with his n if he had stuck to his usual personality, since it was bound to be a risky thing to do. However, he found it cumbersome to go back empty-handed aftering all the way here. On top of that, thepetition to reserve a slot for the raid fields had been so intense a while ago when he was making his booking that he had ended up thinking that he was lucky to get one in the first ce. This meant that he had not been sure if he was going to even be able to get a raid field slotter or not. Beeeeep! A horn sted in this rural secluded ce, because Han-Yeol mmed his head into his car¡¯s horn out of frustration. ¡®Do I bear the risks or wait for another opportunity that who knows when wille¡­? This is the main issue right now¡­ But how did that Blue Hunter manage to do all this in the first ce¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It was very bothersome to do a solo raid now that Han-Yeol tried to do so himself. He pondered over and over again before deciding topletely give up on the raid field. He came to the conclusion that it was not worth doing something illegal that couldnd him in jail no matter how much time he had lost and wasteding all the way here. Also, the fact that South Korea had an arrest rate of 70% to 80% further supported his decision. ¡®Tsk¡­ it¡¯s a shame but what can I do,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he prepared to head back. It was at that moment, when he was about to turn his truck that¡­ ¡°!!¡± ¡®This sensation! Mana Eyes!¡¯?When his senses suddenly tingled, Han-Yeol immediately infused mana into his eyes. He saw that his entire surroundings were covered in mana the moment he activated his skill. He then muttered inwardly, ¡®I¡¯m inside the field¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol read that a raid field usually urred in secluded ces where nature¡¯s clean mana had the highest concentration. However, there were no further urate details on it, because nobody from the Hunters¡¯ Association had ever experienced one forming in front of them. ¡®The problem is¡­ I have no idea what rank this raid field will be¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought nervously. He would still attempt to raid the raid field if it was an E Rank one, regardless of whether the Donkey Kong appeared or not, but he was going to run away without looking back if the rank was any higher than that. The Hunters¡¯ Association would send someone to investigate the area once they picked up the mana wavesing from the new raid field anyway. Boom! Boom! Boom! ¡®It¡¯sing,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he readied himself. The raid field was quite small. That was obvious, since only one monster was going to appear in it, and that was how he heard the earlier footsteps. Han-Yeol decided to leave his truck and hide in the bushes. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The monster¡¯s footsteps grew louder and signaled that it was getting closer. Then, the raid monster finally made its appearance. ¡®Huh? Donkey Kong?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise. There was no way that his luck was going to be so good that the raid field that suddenly appeared just as he was about to turn back would be the raid field for the same monster he was initially targeting. ¡®Alright!¡¯?Then, Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly at the fact that he did not have to illegally cross the border to North Korea, and neither did he have to go back empty-handed. Also, ording to the rules and guidelines set out by the Hunters¡¯ Association, any raid field that an association¡¯s investigator had not visited was fair game for everybody. In short, this meant that a raid field that had note in contact with the Hunters¡¯ Association was going to be finder¡¯s keepers. ¡°Hooo¡­¡±?Han-Yeol calmed his breathing as the Donkey Kong searched for him in its surroundings. Sniff¡­! Sniff¡­! Sniff¡­! The Donkey Kong started to sniff around just like how a gori would as it looked for Han-Yeol, its intruder. Han-Yeol aimed for the Donkey Kong for a moment before he activated his skill, ¡®Restrain!¡¯ It was only for a split second, but he took advantage of the opening where Donkey Kong was distracted and threw his chain toward the raid monster¡¯s leg. Shwiiiiiik! ¡°Grrruoo!¡±?The Donkey Kong angrily stomped when a chain flew out of nowhere and bound itself around its leg. It stomped on the ground and pulled on the chain in an attempt to snap the chain off. Creak¡­ Creak¡­! ¡®How stupid. Do you think a chain worth three billion won is going to snap so easily?¡¯?Han-Yeol confidently thought. He had invested three billion won to coat the chain he was using with mana that explosively increased its toughness, and the chain¡¯s toughness was further reinforced by his Chain Mastery skill as well. It was going to be difficult for a monster to snap the chain no matter how strong it was. Creak¡­ nk! Creak¡­ nk! At that moment, while the Donkey Kong¡¯s full attention was diverted toward the chain, Han-Yeol took out his M4A2 rifle from within the bushes and ced the butt of the rifle to his shoulder. He activated his skill before pulling the trigger, ¡®Power Strike.¡¯? Ratatatatata! The bullets, infused with the B Rank Power Strike skill, instantly flew across the air and mmed themselves at the distracted Donkey Kong. ¡®It¡¯s as tough as I expected it to be,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The raid monster withstood Power Strike quite well for an E Rank monster, but Han-Yeol was not fazed at all. Power Strike was not his main method of attack anyway. ck¡­ ck¡­ It was at that moment that Han-Yeol had emptied his magazine and the clicking of his rifle reverberated through the air that the enraged Donkey Kong charged at him without even bothering to free the chain bound on its leg. ¡°Grrruoo!¡±?The Donkey Kong roared while rushing toward Han-Yeol. ¡®Huh? It¡¯s dumber than it looks I guess?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. His chain went around a thick tree trunk and formed a ny-degree angle. This was a trap he had prepared in advance as insurance, just in case things went south. ck! Han-Yeol pulled the chain as hard as he could. Kwachik! Bam! ¡°Grrrruoooo!¡±?The Donkey Kong roared in anger when the chain wrapped around its leg tightened, causing it to fall from its momentum. It did not suffer huge damage despite falling face first with its heavy body weight, since it was surrounded by an innate barrier that absorbed most of the impact. In fact, the Donkey Kong roared in anger and not pain or anything else. It was annoyed, since it was getting toyed around by a puny human. Also, it was one way for it to reduce its enemy¡¯s morale, but it was nothing but noise pollution to Han-Yeol¡¯s ears. Han-Yeol aimed his M4A2 rifle at the raid monster once again before he fired a grenade while activating his skill, ¡®Mana Explosion.¡¯ Plop¡­ Kaboooom! ¡°Gruuuaaaaaa!¡±?The Donkey Kong roared in agony and squirmed when the grenade urately hit its face directly before exploding. After staggering around, it let out another roar, ¡°GRAAAAAAA!¡±? Bam! The Donkey Kong mmed its fist on the ground in anger, and then it straightened its posture before rushing toward Han-Yeol once again. 1. The Gangwon province makes up the northernmost tip of South Korea and the southernmost tip of North Korea. The province was divided in half when the country was split after the Korean War. To avoid confusion by the foreigners, Gangwon became the English spelling for the South Korean part, and Kangwon became the English spelling for the North Korean part. However, the spelling maintains the same in Korean as ??? which was the reason why Han-Yeol mistook it. I maintained the spelling to be Gangwon since it wouldn¡¯t really make sense if I made it Kangwon. Chapter 51: Solo Raid (4)

Chapter 51: Solo Raid (4)

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The raid monster wasing toward Han-Yeol with both of its fists balled in anger. It was possible to tell how angry it was, since its only attack pattern was punching with absurd strength. Right now, it was tightly clenching its fists. ¡®Haa¡­ This raid monster is just in dumb,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought whileughing in disbelief at the raid monster¡¯s stupidity. Kwachik! Baaam! ¡°Grruooo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!¡±?Donkey Kong roared and angrily stomped its feet. Donkey Kong still did not unwrap the chain around its leg, so all Han-Yeol had to do was pull the chain as hard as he could at the right time to nt the raid monster face-first into the ground once again. And lucky for him, the raid monster fell for the same trick twice. Click¡­ Click¡­ ck¡­! Han-Yeol used the opening created while Donkey Kong was on the ground to reload his rifle. He could have dashed right in and engaged the raid monster in melee while it was vulnerable, but he still had no idea how strong Donkey Kong was. That was why he decided to attack from a distance and continue to observe the raid monster. ¡°Grr¡­¡±?Donkey Kong let out a low growl after realizing that the chain was the main culprit behind it falling down twice. It slowly reached toward the chain in an attempt to grab it. ¡®Tsk¡­ So it finally noticed,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly before he retrieved his chain. He was certain that he was going to end up losing in a contest of strength and dragged toward the raid monster if it were to pull the chain toward it, and that was why he immediately retrieved the chain even before the raid monster had the chance to grab it. The real fight was finally going to start. Han-Yeol cut his left hand and squeezed the blood on top of the back of his right hand. ¡®Summon Demon,¡¯?he muttered inwardly and summoned the Shadow Demon. Shwaaaa¡­! ¡°Donkey Kong over there is my enemy. Please lend me your strength to vanquish my foe,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Alright¡­] The Shadow Demon moved toward Donkey Kong as soon as Han-Yeol made the request. Peok! Peok! Peok! Peok! The Shadow Demon used Overwhelming Strength and smacked Donkey Kong¡¯s leg. In retaliation, Donkey Kong smashed its fist into the Shadow Demon multiple times, but its fists only ended up going through the immaterial demon that was immune to all physical damage. ¡®So that guy¡¯s attack speed is about that quick?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while observing the raid monster. After getting a grasp of the raid monster¡¯s attack speed, he lowered his rifle and took out his sword. He infused his mana into the sword and thought, ¡®Sword Breath.¡¯ Fwaaaaaaah! Sword Breath was now Han-Yeol¡¯s primary weapon, and he prepared another skill to use alongside it. He muttered inwardly, ¡®Enchant.¡¯? The fire that Han-Yeol was using wrapped itself around his chain, which was his secondary weapon, and the chain was now engulfed in a yellowish-white me from tip to end. Shwiiii¡­ Chwaaak! The chain cracked just like a whip when Han-Yeol mmed it to the ground, and the ground had a small crater that was burning even without anything acting as a conduit for the mes. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Donkey Kong was still futilely swinging its fists at the Shadow Demon, which used the Shadow Taunt on it. ¡®Jumping,¡¯?Han-Yeol activated his skill to jump high. Tak! Donkey Kong was fully focused on the Shadow Demon, so Han-Yeol no longer had to maintain his distance. He kicked off the ground and swung his left hand as hard as he could. Shwiiiiiiiiiiiiik! ¡°Grrrruooooah!¡±?Donkey Kong roared in agony when Han-Yeol¡¯s chain smacked it on its back. Only then did the raid monster finally decide to turn around and focus its attention on Han-Yeol, because Shadow Taunt was dispelled the moment that someone else attacked the taunted target. Donkey Kong had a look on its face that seemed to say ¡®I¡¯m going to vent my anger out on you!¡¯ while ring at Han-Yeol. Then, it rushed toward Han-Yeol as fast as it could. The Shadow Demon tried to follow the raid monster, but it could not catch up to the speed of the agitated Donkey Kong who was kicking off the ground with its monstrous strength. ¡°Gwuoooooooh!¡±?Donkey Kong roared before it swung its scaly fists toward Han-Yeol for the very first time. It was at that moment that it seemed impossible for Han-Yeol to avoid the punch, since he was still hanging in mid-air. He used his skill once again, muttering inwardly, ¡®Jumping.¡¯? Tak! Han-Yeol just jumped once again in mid-air by using his Jumping skill. This was possible because his skill had reached C Rank, which allowed him to jump two times while in mid-air. Whoosh! Donkey Kong exhaled smoke from its nostrils in agitation once it failed to strike its target yet again. Han-Yeol spun in mid-air before swinging his left hand once again. ¡®Restrain!¡¯ Shwiiiiiiik! The chain that Han-Yeol swung in mid-air flew toward the raid monster¡¯s arm and bound itself around it just as he intended. Chwiiiiik! ¡°Gruooooh!¡±?Donkey Kong roared in agony once again as the fire-infused chain wrapped itself around its arm and slowly started to burn it. ¡®It¡¯s much more powerful than I expected,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in admiration at his newbo skill, which not only restrained his target¡¯s movement but also applied burn damage to them as well. Han-Yeolnded on Donkey Kong¡¯s other arm, which was not bound by the chain. ¡°Gruoh?¡±?Donkey Kong tilted its head in confusion. Then, its face brightened in delight upon realizing that the annoying slippery little mosquito, which was Han-Yeol in this case, that kept managing to slip through its fingers hade by his own two feet andnded on its arm. Thinking that it could now finally kill the human with its own two hands, Donkey Kong remained still just in case the slippery little mosquito would run away once again if it made any sudden movements. Then, it slowly moved its left arm, which was still bound by the ming chain, back and swung it toward Han-Yeol with its full power while clenching its left fist. Whooosh! ¡°Hap!¡±?Han-Yeol readied himself for the iing attack. He did not attempt to avoid the raid monster¡¯s fist, but decided to face it head-on with his sword that was burning with Sword Breath. He quickly stabbed his sword in between the small openings on Donkey Kong¡¯s fist. ng¡­ Puuuuk! Donkey Kong¡¯s fist was covered in hard scales, but the phngeal joint which connected the phnx of his fingers was not covered in scales, so it was an exposed weakness on its hand. That was the very spot that Han-Yeol urately stabbed with his sword burning with Sword Breath. ¡°Gruuwaaah!¡±?Donkey Kong screamed in agony the moment it felt something prating into its hand and burning it from the inside. Tak! Han-Yeol did not miss that opportunity and jumped once again before retrieving another sword that he kept just in case. ¡®Sword Breath!¡¯?he eximed inwardly before stabbing his sword into the raid monster¡¯s be. Puk! ¡°Gruuk¡­¡±?Donkey Kong desperately tried to cling to life, but its eyes soon rolled backward when its brain started to burn because of Sword Breath. It stuck out its tongue and knelt on the ground before¡­ Whoosh¡­ Baaam¡­! It fell backward in slow motion. Ding! [Your level has risen.] [The rank of ¡®Jumping¡¯ has risen from (B) to (A).] [The rank of ¡®Power Strike¡¯ has risen from (B) to (A).] [The rank of ¡®Mana Eyes¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] [The rank of ¡®Fire Attribute¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] ¡®Hooo¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief. *** Han-Yeol retrieved his chain and wrapped it around his left hand, since the battle was finally over. Then, he called up his status screen, ¡®Status window.¡¯? Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 52 Points: 10 STR: 105 VIT: 101 AGI: 99 MAG: 150 LCK: 10 Invoke: 10 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (C), Power Strike (A), Mana Shield (B), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (B), Jumping (A), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (C), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (E), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E). Han-Yeol was now Level 52, and he had ten bonus stat points as well. He contemted where to invest these ten bonus stat points, and he was currently inclined to increase thetest stat he gained, which was Invoke. That was because he wanted to maximize the demons he summoned, but there was a limit to his control over them because of his low Invoke stat. ¡®It said that I?can?better control the demons the higher my Invoke stat?is, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The other stats were important, but he felt that Invoke was going to y a huge role in the future. ¡®Alright, let¡¯s invest all ten bonus stat points into Invoke then,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he distributed all ten bonus stat points into increasing Invoke from ten points to now twenty points. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered while observing his status window. [Humans¡­ areing¡­] ¡®Ah,¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered when the Shadow Demon was the first to react. When the raid field disappeared and the noisy sounds of sirens red throughout the surroundings, Han-Yeol thought, ¡®You guys are toote, heh.¡¯ These were the investigators who came to investigate the raid field, but they ended up wasting their effortsing all the way here since Han-Yeol had already cleared the raid field. Then, Han-Yeol was recorded as an E Rank Hunter who managed to solo raid an E Rank raid field after a brief interrogation by the investigators. Han-Yeol did not gain a lot of fame since he was not the first to solo raid a raid field, but rumors spread all over about him being an able-bodied E Rank Hunter. This led to him receiving numerous invitations from different raid parties¡­ Of course, he rejected all of their proposals in the end. ¡®Do you think that I¡¯m busting my butt trying to be stronger just so that I can hunt these low-rank monsters?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. Safety first might be his life¡¯s motto, but Han-Yeol was a man with ambition. It wasn¡¯t bad to aim to be a Master Rank Hunter as long as he stayed within safe boundaries and did not risk his life. That did not sound all too bad to him. *** A few dayster, Han-Yeol reached Level 60 after consistently hunting around with Yoo-Bi, and the Shadow Demon was now Level 22 as well. That was not all; he invested all forty bonus stat points that he had gained from the eight levels into his Invoke stat. He was certain that Summon Demon was going to be a powerful skill in the future, since the skill would allow him to summon more powerful demons the higher his Invoke stat was. Thanks to that, his Invoke stat which was only at twenty skyrocketed to sixty. Han-Yeol thought that the bonus stat points he had gained was an absolute cheat. He managed to somehow increase his other stats to close to 105, thanks to his Body Strengthening skill, but he also managed to increase a stat to a whopping 60 within a month after gaining eight levels and investing all of the bonus stat points he had gained from leveling up. ¡°Wow¡­ I think I am starting to get amazed,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°What is?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Han-Yeol continued to go on hunts with Yoo-Bi. It was not only because of the exclusive contract they signed together, but they were also surprisingly well when out on the hunting ground. Also, they were not really dating as of right now, but they had a very good oppa dongsaeng rtionship. ¡°The fact that I am starting to get used to this enormous sum of money,¡± Yoo-Bi replied while staring at the bank application on her smartphone and asionally rubbing her eyes in disbelief. It was understandable on her part, since the amount shown on her bnce was not really realistic for most ordinary people. Thanks to the money, Yoo-Bi moved out from the Moon Vige and settled in an apartment in Gyeonggi-do just at the outskirts of Seoul. She also steeled her resolve to work harder, because she never wanted to go through the feeling of not having her own home ever again. ¡°You could¡¯ve bought a house in Seoul if you hunted a few more times, but why did you settle for Gyeonggi?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Seoul is a bit tooplicated for me, so I wanted to take it easy and settle down in Gyeonggi instead,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Well, if you say so,¡± Han-Yeol said. They started to intrude into each other¡¯s personal life, meeting up quite often. However, a problem soon urred where Han-Yeol felt that he was stuck in a rut these days and had no idea how to get out of it. He even searched on the inte on how to get himself out of a rut, but he only got the following results: 1. Have some luxury in your life. 2. Take a break and go on a vacation. 3. Do not conform to what others do. 4. Find a hobby that makes you happy. But these were not so helpful for Han-Yeol, who thought, ¡®I have enough luxury in life, I get as much break as I want, I work alone so I don¡¯t need to conform to others, but thest is¡­ I don¡¯t really have a hobby now that I think about it¡­¡¯? He could give the fourth advice a go, but he instinctively felt that it was not the solution to his problem. 1. The smooth or soft part of the forehead between the eyebrows. Chapter 52: Solo Raid (5)

Chapter 52: Solo Raid (5)

People engaged in a hobby to relieve themselves of the stress they got from their main upation, but Han-Yeol was not getting any stress from his main job at all. However, after getting stuck in a rut, he did feel empty these days and felt that he had no reason to work hard. Of course, the people around him did not really notice this, since he did not go around making it obvious to them. When Han-Yeol was looking up ways to get out of the rut, one particr piece of advice stood out to him. [Meeting someone new could also help from getting out of a rut.] ¡®Someone new¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He suddenly realized that he hadn¡¯t really expanded his social circle despite having more leeway than he had before. The only person he spent time with was his father, and that only expanded to Yoo-Bi recently even though he did not have to work like a donkey to make ends meet like before. ¡®Did I get used to not having people around me¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. The fact that he got used to loneliness and being alone was a bitter pill to swallow. It was understandable for him to be a loner, since he had spent most of his time working and trying to make ends meet. But now, he was very well off thanks to awakening as a Hunter. Han-Yeol realized that it was now time for him to take a step forward away from being a loner. ¡°Thank you for your hard work today, Yoo-Bi,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, thank you for your hard work too, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Alright, see you next time,¡± Han-Yeol said goodbye. ¡°Alright, bye,¡± Yoo-Bi responded goodbye. Han-Yeol went home after parting from Yoo-Bi. He took out a box that he never thought he would ever open from the corner of his closet. The box was filled with his middle school and high school graduation certificates and graduation album, along with some pictures and some stuff he used to use back then. Now that he thought of it, this box was holding his memories from his happiest days¡ª of course, excluding his present memories as a Hunter that was. The box had been sealed up and stashed in a corner ever since his father had fallen ill. ¡®So I¡¯m finally opening this once again¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had sealed the box up while telling himself that he would open it once again as soon as possible. A year passed, then another, and then another year passed before his longing for friends had dried up, and loneliness naturally took its ce. In the end, he had actively avoided opening this box for fear of his old emotions springing up. He finally opened the box again today. The old mobile phone that he used to use and had saved all of his friend¡¯s contact details was at the top of the box. He thought, ¡®A lot of time has passed, so I¡¯m not sure if their numbers still stayed the same.¡¯? Four years had passed, almost five when also counting the months. It was highly likely that they had changed their phone numbers over the years. Still, Han-Yeol tried his luck and dialed one of his friend¡¯s phone numbers on his smartphone. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ [Hello?] ¡°Ah, is this Sung-Jin¡¯s phone by any chance?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Yes, that is me, but may I ask who is on the line?]? . ¡°It¡¯s me, Han-Yeol,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [¡­] Only silence could be heard over the line after Han-Yeol told the person who he was. [Hey! You son of a xxxxx!] Crude cuss words came flying out from the other end of the call. Sung-Jin, who had been Han-Yeol¡¯s childhood friend and best friend from high school, spat out quite a strongbo of cuss words. However, Han-Yeol quietly stood there, taking all of his old friend¡¯s cussing. No, rather, he seemed to be smiling instead. [Hey! Where the hell are you right now, you asshole? My anger won¡¯t be vented if I don¡¯t see you in person and smack you in the face!] ¡°Let¡¯s meet there,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Now?] ¡°Yeah, now,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Alright, you are dead.] Beep¡­! After the call disconnected without even a word of goodbye or anything, Han-Yeol immediately prepared to go out. He headed for the ce that was quite familiar to him. *** Ring¡­! The sound of a bell, which had stayed the same since his high school days, rang when Han-Yeol opened the door. He thought, ¡®This ce hasn¡¯t changed at all.¡¯ He was currently at a pub near the high school he had gone to. It seemed cringy now that he thought about it, but his high school self had thought it cool to go to a pub. They did not drink or anything, but they had still made this pub their gathering spot as he and his friends had found it cool. Also, the pub was owned by a former gangster, so the owner had no qualms about letting Han-Yeol and his friends hang around. ¡°Wee¡­ Huh? You, are you Han-Yeol by any chance?¡± the pub owner asked. ¡°Yes, ahjussi. It has been a long time,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Wow, how long has it been? I thought you died in a ditch or something since you never bothered to show up after graduating. It¡¯s a rough world out there these days after all. So, what made youe here again?¡± the pub owner asked. ¡°I agreed to meet with Sung-Jin here,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ah, he stoppeding here around the same time you did. How are you two doing? Are you guys doing well?¡± the pub owner asked. The pub owner was as nice as Han-Yeol remembered him to be. He looked quite rough and scary with the scars on his face, but he was quite nice to them. ¡°I am not sure about Sung-Jin as well. This will be the first time we are meeting after five years,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Wow, that is a long time. Alright, one appetizer will be on the house today!¡± the pub owner eximed. ¡°Haha, thank you, boss hyung-nim,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°How long has it been since someone called me that? Kids these days are no fun, you know? Forget about boss hyung-nim, they call me owner-nim. No fun I tell you, they are no fun,¡± the pub owner grumbled. ¡°Haha, I know right?¡± Han-Yeol replied with augh. Nostalgia filled Han-Yeol¡¯s senses as the memories he had kept hidden in a corner of his mind slowly started toe out. He also felt like this was helping him get out of the rut he was stuck in recently. Was this the reason why people ced importance on memories? Perhaps it was still a bit early for patrons toe and drink at the pub, because Han-Yeol¡¯s ¡®spot¡¯ in the pub was still empty when he visited. A few minutes passed after he sat down on his usual spot before the familiar bell rang loudly as someone swung the door open. Ring! Ring! Ring! Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­ A man walked toward Han-Yeol without any hesitation in his footsteps. Han-Yeol got up from his seat and greeted the man, ¡°Hey, Sung-Jin. It has been a¡­¡± Pukeok! The two-meter-tall man who weighed more than a hundred and thirty kilos walked toward Han-Yeol and punched him in the face. His fist was as hard as a rock. Han-Yeol did not avoid the punch, letting the fist greet his face. However, there was no impact or damage to him as a barrier automatically sprung into action and protected his face. Ever since awakening into a Hunter, he could take more than a hit. ¡°Kyaaahk!?What¡¯s that? Is there a fight?¡± ¡°Should we go and stop them?¡± ¡°But look at that man. Can you even muster the courage to go and stop him?¡± ¡°P-Police¡­! Should we call the police or something?¡± The few customers in the pub nervously murmured among themselves while staring at Sung-Jin and Han-Yeol. Their reactions were normal, since a huge gangster-like man had just punched a small man, who did not look strong at all, directly in the face. ¡°Calm down now, everybody. Those guys are friends. They are just venting it out since they are meeting after a long time so you don¡¯t have to mind them at all. Hey you,dy. Can you stop filming them?¡± the pub owner said. The atmosphere calmed down thanks to the pub owner¡¯s intervention. He also made sure to prevent any future uproar by stopping the woman from filming the fiasco, since it could be posted on social media and trigger a witch hunt for Sung-Jin. ¡°You asshole. You call after five years and all you have to say is ¡®it¡¯s been a long time¡¯?¡± Sung-Jin said with obvious anger in his voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°You asshole¡­¡± Sung-Jin muttered while ring at Han-Yeol before he continued, ¡°You¡­ You¡­ Do you know how sorry I felt after I found out that your father¡¯s terminally ill?¡± ¡°Sung-Jin¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. The atmosphere drastically changed at Sung-Jin¡¯s words. ¡°You asshole¡­ Do you know how useless I felt when I heard that your father¡¯s terminally ill but I couldn¡¯t help in any way because you bastard changed your phone number, moved houses, and couldn¡¯t be contacted?¡± Sung-Jinined. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± Han-Yeol said. He had no idea at that moment. Back then, he had been ashamed to meet his friends, scared of them finding out how pitiful his life was. He had despised going through what he had to at that time and had hated the fact that he could only despise the heavens and no one else. Back then, he had been too young to manage the burden he had. He was certain that he would be knee-deep in an emotion he refused to even think about if he had never awakened as a Hunter and his father had passed away. He could not help but feel sentimental after meeting his old friend after five years. Glug¡­ Glug¡­ Glug¡­ Glug¡­ Sung-Jin was the first to pour soju into Han-Yeol¡¯s ss, and Han-Yeol reciprocated by filling Sung-Jin¡¯s. Then, they clinked their sses and drank the soju bottoms up. Sung-Jin was the first to open his mouth to ask, ¡°So, your father is well now?¡± ¡°Yeah. My father¡¯s illness is all cured now. What about you? What have you been up to?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He was curious about what his friend, who looked like a grizzly bear but had feminine hobbies since they had been in school, was up to. Sung-Jin had also been quite a studious student, unlike Han-Yeol and his other friends, although their school was only a technical high school in the end. *** Perhaps it was because Han-Yeol had asked about life, but Sung-Jin¡¯s eyes turned dark all of a sudden. He suddenly poured the soju into a beer mug and downed it in one go. ¡°Why? Is there something going on?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hoo¡­ Don¡¯t even mention it. I¡¯m currently working at a bank, you see,¡± Sung-Jin exined. ¡°Oh! As expected from the only elite from our school! So you are working at a bank?¡± Han-Yeol eximed. ¡°That¡¯s not the important thing¡­ I¡¯m working at a bank, but there was a memo circr that instructed us not to lend any money to my father¡¯spany. I think those bigger corporations had a hand in it or something¡­¡± Sung-Jin grumbled. ¡°Really?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Sung-Jin poured another mug of soju and downed it once again before exining. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why my father¡¯s on the verge of going insane as well. Thankfully, there were some Hunters that we continuously dealt with, so our factory is managing to stay afloat. However, I heard that those corporations have started to make a move on those Hunters as well. Thankfully, the bank is not aware that I¡¯m the son of the owner of thatpany so I can still pass on some information to my father in advance¡­ but things are looking bleak at the moment. I think those corporation bastards are trying to snatch my father¡¯s factory away.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He was familiar with the modus operandi of these big corporations on how they killed theirpetitors. That was the reason why the big corporations still maintained their dominance over the market even after the era of oil had ended and the era of mana stones had started. Well, the politicians and the rich people stayed the same, so there was no reason for the legition favoring the rich to stop after all. The big corporations usually waited until a good medium-sizedpany grew to a certain extent before pressuring the bank to force thatpany to service their loans or luring them with an attractive contract before paying them with a promissory note that only matures after a year. Another method they used is to lure the key employees of thepany with higher sries. The financial pressure coupled with key employees leaving would mount up and force the owners into selling it off to them. It might cost them a lot to do these, but it was well worth the money spent for these big corporations since they could get their hands on the technology of thesepanies while getting rid ofpetition from the market at the same time. It seemed that no matter how much time had passed, the tactics of these big corporations remained the same. Thanks to that, the Republic of Korea had gained the infamous title of the Republic of Conglomerates. ¡°That must be frustrating,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°It is. Those corporation bastards¡­ They won¡¯t have a problem making a living even if they don¡¯t do this, but why are they trying to steal my father¡¯s factory? I would have gone and blown their offices if I was a Hunter¡­¡± Sung-Jin grumbled. ¡°Yeah, yeah,e and have another drink,¡± Han-Yeol said as he poured another ss of soju while listening to Sung-Jin¡¯s unrealistic grumblings. Glug¡­ Glug¡­ Glug¡­ A few hours passed and daybreak came. Sung-Jin was slumped over the table, drunk. He had higher tolerance to alcoholpared to Han-Yeol when they had been younger, but Han-Yeol was now no different from a cheat when it came to drinking. It was basically impossible to intoxicate him with alcohol. ¡°So you have it rough too,¡± Han-Yeol muttered. It seemed that Sung-Jin, who Han-Yeol had thought would be the most well-off among his friends, was struggling with his own issues as well. ¡°What? How the hell are you thest one standing? I was sure that Sung-Jin would be the one awake,¡± the pub owner said aftering to their table. Han-Yeol had always been the first to pass out and be carried home, and Sung-Jin had been the one that always stayed behind and helped the pub owner clean up, but it seemed that the roles were reversed today. ¡°It seems that he is having it rough these days. Heined quite a lot today, and he drank like there is no tomorrow,¡± Han-Yeol exined while looking at his friend with a bitter look. 1. Hyung-nim means older brother, but this is also what gangsters call their bosses or superiors. So Han-Yeol was referring to the pub owner as owner hyung-nim, but that doesn¡¯t sound nice, does it? Chapter 53: Solo Raid (6)

Chapter 53: Solo Raid (6)

¡°Tsk tsk¡­ I can tell just from the direction this country is heading. How is this country not changing even though the whole world has been turned upside down?¡± Most people bad-mouthing the politicians were bound to use this one-liner while talking about politics, since it was a shared sentiment among the public. Han-Yeol got up from his seat and supported Sung-Jin out of his seat. ¡°Are you going?¡± boss hyung-nim asked. ¡°Yes, I have to go now. I have to go home and Sung-Jin is also drunk,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Alright, get home safely. Try to drop by whenever you have time,¡± boss hyung-nim said. ¡°I will, boss hyung-nim,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He paid the bill with his credit card and brought Sung-Jin to his car. Then, he ced his hand on his own chest and muttered inwardly, ¡®Restore.¡¯ Wooong¡­ Blue light came from Han-Yeol¡¯s hand and wrapped all around him. The skill Restore had the ability to cure whatever status ailments, which included intoxication from alcohol. It was kind of weird to use a skill to recover from being drunk, but it was way better than hiring a driver to drive the car for him. Just as he was about to bring Sung-Jin home, Han-Yeol suddenly realized something. He wondered, ¡®Ah! Does Sung-Jin still live in the same house?¡¯? Han-Yeol only remembered the house that Sung-Jin had lived in twenty years ago, so he was going to be in a pinch if his friend had moved within those years. ¡®Should I try calling?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He tried to use Sung-Jin¡¯s phone, but it was locked with a security pattern. ¡®Wait¡­ Maybe this will work¡­?¡¯?Thinking, Han-Yeol infused mana into his eyes and used Mana Eyes. Then, he muttered, ¡®As expected¡­¡¯? Mana Eyes had the ability to see mana, but it was not possible to see anything since the smartphone was not an object made out of mana. Han-Yeol had used Mana Eyes in hopes that he could at least see a remnant of the pattern when Sung-Jin swiped his phone, but he could not see any of it just as he expected. ¡®Mana Eyes still has a long way to go,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while thinking that he still had to level up his skill. Just as he was contemting whether he had to wake Sung-Jin up or not, Sung-Jin¡¯s phone suddenly rang. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ ¡®Oh, lucky,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Thankfully, someone was calling Sung-Jin¡¯s phone just when he needed it. [Father] ¡®Ah, now that I think about it¡­ It has been 10 years since I have been friends with Sung-Jin, but I never met his father even once,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was understandable, since the kids that Han-Yeol had used to hang out with had all been delinquents. They had spent their time roaming the streets all day, so it was understandable that they had only known where each other lived and some details about their family, but they had never had the chance to meet them. Han-Yeol answered the phone. ¡°Yes, this is Sung-Jin¡¯s phone.¡± [Uhh¡­ May I know who is on the line?] The voice of an elderly man was on the other end of the line, but Han-Yeol felt that the voice sounded familiar for some odd reason. He thought, ¡®Who is this¡­? I know this voice¡­¡¯? [Hello?] ¡°Ah, sorry. Hello, this is Sung-Jin¡¯s friend. Sung-Jin is a bit drunk right now, so I should be bringing him home, but I do not know where he lives. Can you kindly let me know his address?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Ah, sorry to trouble you. The address is¡­] Han-Yeol drove to the address that Sung-Jin¡¯s father had given. It was around a forty-minute car ride before he arrived at arge house on the outskirts of Seoul. Then, Han-Yeol pressed the bell. Ding dong! [Who is it?] ¡°It is me, Sung-Jin¡¯s friend. I brought Sung-Jin over, so may you kindly open the door please?¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Ah, just wait a minute.] Click¡­ The door opened and Han-Yeol went inside with Sung-Jin in tow, and his father came out to meet them but¡­ ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin¡¯s father both jumped in surprise when they saw each other. ¡°Factory manager-nim?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in surprise. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father muttered. Surprisingly, Sung-Jin¡¯s father was the factory manager and CEO of the factory that Han-Yeol frequently dealt with. ¡°Who knew that the world could be so small?¡± Han-Yeol said with an awkwardugh. He found it quite surprising and funny how small the world could be. ¡°I-I know right? Who knew that Han-Yeol Hunter-nim would be friends with Sung-Jin?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father replied. Sung-Jin mentioned during their drinking session that the factory¡¯s situation was not so good at the moment. The factory that his father ran was going through a tough time because of the mounting pressure from the big corporations, but he kept it running thanks to the consistent supply of monster corpses from a handful of Hunters. Han-Yeol was one of those Hunters, supplying the factory with monster corpses in huge quantities although they were low-ranked ones. The atmosphere between the two suddenly became awkward. It could not be helped since their business and personal matters had collided all of a sudden. ¡°Ehem¡­ Anyway, thank you very much for bringing my son home. I will take Sung-Jin now,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He passed Sung-Jin, who was still out cold from being drunk, to the factory manager. ¡®Well, I will get to meet him again the next time I bring monster corpses to the factory anyway,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was not going to be toote for him to talk about factory matters with Sung-Jin¡¯s father then. ¡®It¡¯s going to be a different story now that factory manager-nim is Sung-Jin¡¯s father.¡¯ Han-Yeol sort of knew that the factory he was dealing with was going through rough times, since he saw the exact same cases happening to numerous other factories when he had been a Porter. Also, he clearly remembered the employees at Sung-Jin¡¯s father¡¯s factory making the exact same faces the other factories¡¯ employees had made in simr situations. Han-Yeol went back to his car and started driving home. While he drove, he suddenly felt like something had smacked him on the head. [The Shadow Demon has enteredbat.] It was Kavis, who had been quiet for quite a while. ¡®What? What happened all of a sudden?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [I am not sure myself, but the Shadow Demon is currently inbat.] Listening to Kavis¡¯ reply, Han-Yeol suddenly started to feel anxious. Did something happen to his father? He quickly asked, ¡®Where is the location?¡¯? [12km northwest from here.] Kavis replied. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol cussed inwardly as he mmed on the elerator. He swerved like a madman and ignored all of the traffic lights. It was not the time for him to worry about fines or demerits on his license. Han-Yeol immediately used Mana Eyes after arriving at the ce that Kavis directed him to. The Shadow Demon¡¯s mana was a bit differentpared to other manas, so he was able to easily identify it. ¡®Over there!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. He could see the Shadow Demon was currently fighting against something, just as Kavis informed him. He then thought, ¡®Is it a monster? But the emergency sirens should have been ring by now.¡¯? The state-of-the-art monster detection system was deployed all over civilian areas, and it should have rang a long time ago the moment it picked up any signs of a monster appearing in the area. The system was designed to immediately notify the public to evacuate and send a notice to the Hunters¡¯ Association to deploy a team of Hunters to handle the threat. This was an expensive system that they had imported from the United States when the dimensional holes had previously appeared in civilian areas. ¡®Is it a new variety?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It was going to be quite a headache if a monster that could avoid being detected by the state-of-the-art monster detection device started to appear in civilian areas. Tak! Han-Yeol jumped from building to building while running as fast as he could toward where the Shadow Demon¡¯s mana was. When he arrived at where the battle was, he was surprised to find no monsters. He muttered in confusion, ¡°Humans?¡± Han-Yeol was not the type who would subconsciously blurt things out like that, but he was so flustered that he simply vocalized whatever was on his mind. ¡°Han-Yeol!¡± his father shouted and ran toward him. Han-Yeol only realized what was going on after snapping out from the confusion. He muttered, ¡°Ah, damn it. What the hell is that?¡± ¡°I think he is a Hunter. He jumped down from above.¡± ¡°Maybe he is a high rank?¡± ¡°Damn it. There was that strange monster and now this. We stepped on shit this time.¡± The Shadow Demon was currently facing four Hunters, and the demon was already on itsst leg right now. The immaterial demon might be immune to physical attacks, but its innate attack power was weak due to its low level. On top of that, Hunters usually used skills aside from physical attacks, so the Shadow Demon¡¯s immunity would not be of much help against them. It was understandable why it would be badly beaten up. ¡°Who are you people?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Han-Yeol¡­¡± his father muttered. Anger started to boil within Han-Yeol as he stared at the four Hunters with cold murderous intent. His father wanted to say something to him, but he could not muster the courage to speak because of the look on Han-Yeol¡¯s face. ¡®You dare attack my father?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He knew it was a severe crime for a Hunter to rob an ordinary civilian. ¡°This doesn¡¯t look good. What if that guy is of higher rank than us?¡± ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ve seen that guy at the association before. You know, right? My girlfriend works at the Hunters¡¯ Association.¡± The man with blonde hair and earrings seemed to recognize Han-Yeol. ¡°Of course, you are the only one among us that has a girlfriend.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± The blonde man let out a creepyugh before he said, ¡°That guy is E Rank. I caught sight of him when I went to meet my girlfriend.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, why would I lie about something like that?¡± the blonde man said. ¡°What? So he is just a small fry?¡± Actually, these Hunters were E Rank as well, but they were very confident of winning because there were four of them. ¡°Let¡¯s run, Han-Yeol. They are also Hunters and there are four of them. You could die at this rate!¡± his father urgently pleaded. He was very worried about Han-Yeol. He knew that his son was a capable Hunter, but it was a different story if the battle was four-against-one. Han-Yeol would have normally listened to his father, but he was extremely angry right now. He simply said, ¡°Please head back first, father.¡± ¡°Han-Yeol!¡± his father retorted in surprise. However, Han-Yeol looked straight into his father¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Please head back first, father. I will wrap things up and be home in no time.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± his father muttered in the end. He had wanted to stop Han-Yeol at all cost, but he knew very well that Han-Yeol would not change his mind once he had made up his mind. He also recognized his own son¡¯s look of stubbornness; after all, this was the one thing that his son had inherited from his stubborn wife. There was a time when he had asked Han-Yeol to give up on him when he had been sick, but his son had the same stubborn look on his face and had refused to listen. In the end, his son did manage to achieve the impossible by curing him of his illness. But that did not mean that a father was not going to worry about his son. ¡°Please be careful,¡± his father said. ¡°You do not have to be worried about me,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile. When his father took his bag and was about to leave the alley, one of the assants shouted, ¡°Where do you think you are going, fxxker!¡± Boom! One of the Hunters extended his hand and shot out mana just as Han-Yeol¡¯s father tried to escape. The mana bullet that was the size of a basketball threateningly flew toward his father¡¯s back. Fwooooosh¡­ Ziiing! However, the flying mana bullet suddenly stopped in mid-air. ¡°W-What the hell?¡± ¡°Why would a mana bullet suddenly stop¡­?¡± ¡°L-Look at that guy!¡± ¡°What?¡± They saw Han-Yeol with his right hand extended toward the mana bullet, and it seemed that he was holding the mana bullet back with his hand from a distance. ¡°You dare to attack my father in front of me¡­ I guess you have a death wish, you fxcking bastards!¡± Han-Yeol shouted angrily. Baaaam! Han-Yeol gripped the mana bullet the moment he shouted and the mana bullet exploded and disappeared as if crushed by his hand from a distance. ¡°!!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father looked back in surprise when he heard the sound of the explosion, but he soon continued running away when he saw that his son was not harmed. ¡°H-How?¡± ¡°Is that even possible?¡± Ding! [The rank of ¡®Psychokinesis¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] The reason why Han-Yeol was able to grab and crush the mana bullet in mid air was because of the skill he had recently acquired¡ªPsychokinesis. *** Fwaaa¡­ A cloud of smoke rose after the mana bullet¡¯s explosion, and Han-Yeol stood in the midst of it with an enraged look. Looking at him, the four Hunters gulped nervously as they readied their weapons, but it was not like they were scared of him or anything. ¡°Damn it, that bastard is not a normal E Rank!¡± ¡°I think that bastard has low mana density but got lucky with a nice skill.¡± The thought of doubting Han-Yeol¡¯s rank never crossed their minds, since it was more usible for a Hunter to have a low rank but possess a unique skill that let them dominate their rank. A typical raid party wouldprise of fifteen Hunters, but there were cases like the Blue Hunter who had the ability to solo raid a raid monster thanks to possessing two unique skills. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I don¡¯t think he has any unique skills. Also, don¡¯t forget that there are four of us here.¡± ¡°Look who¡¯s talking, crazy bastard. Keke.¡± ¡°Kekeke!¡± The four Hunters managed to maintain theirposure since only a handful of Hunters possessed unique skills, after all. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. He had kept Mana Eyes activated even aftering here, so he could observe the level of the four Hunters in front of him, since he was nning to make a run for it if they were stronger than he was. However, the numerous escape scenarios he had hatched in his mindpletely disappeared without a trace when he saw their levels. Han-Yeol was confident that he could take them on with no problems at all. Chapter 54: Solo Raid (7)

Chapter 54: Solo Raid (7)

¡®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 aparison 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 rx thanks to that. ¡®I can easily take care of a hundred Orcs even if theye 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 farrger 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 hade 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 assants tried to attack him. Theirbined attack was so fast and vicious that Sixth Sense was not able topletely 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 assants. Three of the Hunters had engaged him in melee while thest 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 intobat 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 notmitted 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. ng! ng!? 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 tost 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 weakpared 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 toe 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 nning to be one. It was just that there had been a few times in his Porter days when he had heard of the bounty ced on these criminals from the Hunters, and he remembered being green with envy at the bounty figure ced 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¡ªhe 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 ying 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 shed across the spear-wielding Hunters¡¯ chests without giving them a chance to defend against it. Their chests were charred ck with arge wound across them. They coughed up blood and struggled to survive, but it was toote. ¡°Damn it! You are dead meat!¡± the magician threatened despite having three of hisrades dead. He did not really seem to mind the deaths of hisrades, since criminals usually had a mindset of shrugging it off and recing them with others. Tale was trying to kill Han-Yeol not because he wanted to avenge hisrades¡¯ 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 exined, 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¡ªsince 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 thest 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 onest 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. ng¡­! Han-Yeol then threw his sword to the ground and sat while leaning against a wall. He had justmitted his first murder. He killed them because of his anger towards them and the atrocities they hadmitted, but the burden of taking another human being¡¯s life was a very heavy one. Then, Han-Yeol took out his smartphone and ced 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 bber about their rights and whatnot so we cannot kill them so easily, but that is not the case for these so-called ck 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 exined. ¡°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 ck Hunters. Ding dong! [340,000,000 Won has been deposited into your ount.] 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. 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 ount. Skills and stats were much more important to Han-Yeol?than 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 hisputer and essed the inte, 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. Chapter 55: Demon Drill Sergeant (1)

Chapter 55: Demon Drill Sergeant (1)

[Astaroth] ¡®This demon is¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. He was suddenly interested in this demon named Astaroth, so he immediately searched online for any information regarding it. [Astaroth] [The 29th ranking demon among the 72 demons of Solomon. This demon is unique among the 72 demons since its powerse from Ishtar, the original goddess of love, abundance, and fertility. Ishtar turned from a goddess into a demon upon being cursed by Solomon. Ishtar became the fallen demon of war, poison, miscarriage, and debauchery. She was known to seduce humans into bingzy andcent before gleefully watching them have a taste of hell in endless regret.] From the description alone, Han-Yeol could tell that this was an ill-tempered demon. However, that did not really matter to him. He thought, ¡®Isn¡¯t it stupid to expect a demon to have a good personality in the first ce?¡¯? That was right, the creature that Han-Yeol was trying to summon was not an imbecile but rather a powerful demon. It was going to be ironic if the powerful demon that emerged had a good personality. ¡®Alright, I will summon this guy¡­ Astaroth,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was not trying to summon Astaroth, hoping that the demon would emerge looking like the goddess or anything¡­ Han-Yeol made a decision and printed its sigil. Then, he drove his van as fast as he could toward Ant Hell, since that was the mostfortable hunting ground for him. ¡°Kireuk!¡±?The Giant Ants cried and instinctively rushed toward Han-Yeol as soon as they saw him. Pukeok! However, they were no match for Han-Yeol, who was now Level 60. He made easy work of twenty Giant Ants and piled their corpses on top of each other. Then, he cut the tip of his finger and drew the sigil on the ground before he closed his eyes and chanted, ¡°Lord Satan¡­ Astaroth¡­ to manifest¡­ This I respectfully¡­ Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father!¡± Fwaaa¡­.! A cloud of ck smoke rose up from the sigil after the chant wasplete. The cloud of ck smoke became so thick that Han-Yeol felt like he had been transported to another dimension. The cloud of ck smoke was no ordinary cloud, since it carried the distinctive mana simr to that of a demon. ¡°Kuheok!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned when the mana from his heart was sucked out. He felt like someone was squeezing it till thest drop. He felt a pain so immense that it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Thud¡­! Han-Yeol fell to his knees while shivering. Then, noticing that something had appeared from Astaroth¡¯s sigil, he asked, ¡°A-Are you Astaroth?¡± A creature with a pair of white horns that resembled hooks, long and light indigo blue hair, sharp pointy ears, light blue eyes, andrge dark green wings with orange-colored tips that resembled that of a bird¡¯s wings on her back appeared from the sigil. Upon appearing from the sigil, the woman looked around her surroundings with her eerie snakelike eyes. [Omo! A human really summoned me!] Astaroth said with a hint of innocence in her voice. However, Han-Yeol did not let his guard down. He was well aware that Astaroth was not simply a normal summoned creature. In fact, she was one of the seventy-two demons of Solomon, which were a group of high-ranking demons. p! Astaroth slightly spread her wings open. Han-Yeol was certain that these were the wings of a demon, but they exuded a holy feeling for some odd reason. Astaroth looked around her surroundings once again before she looked at Han-Yeol, who held his breath when she looked over. He froze. ¡®Heup!¡¯ [Hmm¡­ You seem a bit weak to summon me, but you possess an interesting power.] Astaroth said. She slowly approached Han-Yeol while hovering in mid-air. Then, she flew around him while observing him. Astaroth¡¯s appearance was breathtaking. She was supposedly the equivalent to the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite while some said that Astaroth was the goddess Aphrodite had modeled after, and that was why it made sense that she would not becking in terms of her looks. Han-Yeol¡¯s heart beat four times faster than it usually did because of the pressure the demon was mounting on him on top of her looks, which was already more than enough to charm any man. [Interesting¡­ Hey, you, the human that summoned me.] Astaroth said. ¡°Y-Yes,¡± Han-Yeol nervously stuttered in response. [I¡¯m sure that you have a request or a wish you want me to grant since you summoned me, right?] Astaroth asked. ¡°Y-Yes, that is correct,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He could not understand why he had a hard timemunicating and understanding the Shadow Demon, but he could hear Astaroth¡¯s voice so clearly in his head. [A greenhorn, just as I expected. How dare youpare a lowly creature like that to a beautiful and wonderful goddess like me.] Astaroth said. ¡°I-I am sorry!¡± Han-Yeol immediately apologized the moment he heard Astaroth¡¯s chilling voice. He was certainly going to end up dead if he summoned a high ranking demon like Astaroth and offended her. He had read of cases where the summoned demon had ended up killing its summoner and harvesting their souls before returning back to hell just because the summoner had offended them. [Hehe, there¡¯s no need to be so nervous. I¡¯m not going to kill you when you are the first human in 20,000 years who has summoned me to the mortal world. Do you know how stuffy it is living for so long in the demon world?] Astaroth said with a smile. ¡°I-Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol replied nervously. [So, what is the request or wish that you want me to grant for you?] Astaroth asked. Han-Yeol looked straight into Astaroth¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°I want to be stronger.¡± [What?] Astaroth asked in disbelief. ¡°I want to be much stronger than I am right now. Much, much stronger. I heard that Astaroth-nim is the goddess of war as well. I want you to teach me how I can be stronger,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Is that so?] Astaroth muttered. Was it Han-Yeol¡¯s imagination that the demon suddenly had an evil grin on her face? [You, human,] Astaroth said. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Are you aware that I make peoplecent andzy after I¡¯ve moved to my ce of residence?] Astaroth asked. She was sealed in the depth of hell ever since Solomon had cursed her and had made her fall from grace as a goddess to a demon. However, she never mentioned to anyone that she had fallen and turned into a demon, and she always tried to maintain a graceful appearance and referred to her situation as her moving her ce of residence to hide the fact that she was now a fallen demon. ¡°Yes, I am aware,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Why are you asking me for such a favor then?] Astaroth asked. p!? Astaroth¡¯s face suddenly appeared in front of Han-Yeol¡¯s when she pped her wings once. Han-Yeol could not help but gulp when her beautiful and sensual face was inches away from his. Although he still felt nervous, he brazenly said again, ¡°I-I want to be stronger. Please enter into a contract with me.¡± [Hmmm¡­ Kyahahahaha!] Astaroth burst out intoughter. ¡°?¡± Han-Yeol stared at theughing demon with a dumbfounded expression, because the atmosphere had been so tense. He then muttered, ¡°I have p-prepared my offering here¡­ so please¡­¡± Then, Astaroth suddenly stoppedughing. [Are you trying to sign a contract with me with these insignificant creatures as an offering?] Astaroth asked in a chilling voice. ¡°I will try to prepare something else if there is something that you desire,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Hmm¡­] Astaroth pondered for a moment before she looked at Han-Yeol from head to toe. Oh, another important thing to mention was the fact that Astaroth was also the guardian goddess of prostitutes. [Alright! It¡¯s a stretch to enter into a full-fledged contract with you since you are still weak, but I can at least grant your request.] Astaroth said. ¡°T-Thank you very much!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in response. [Hehe, but you will have to grant my request as well. What do you say?] Astaroth said with a cheeky smile. Her request was an obvious one. ¡°Of course,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he steeled his resolve. [What a good little boy.] Astaroth muttered. She moved her face closer to Han-Yeol¡¯s before she cupped his face with her hands, and then she perked her lips and blew her breath into his mouth. ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned when a prickly and agonizing sensation traveled throughout his body. It felt like every single cell in his body was getting pricked right now. [What is this?] Astaroth said. ¡°Yes?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. [You do have the talent. However, you are nothing but an empty shell.] Astaroth replied. ¡°W-What do you mean?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [You use a sword and a shield, plus a chain, as your main weapons, right?] Astaroth asked. ¡°Yes, that is correct,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He had managed to do quite well by using different kinds of weapons until now. [But, can you confidently say that you are good at handling any of them? I mean, is there any one of those weapons that you can confidently handle without using your skills?] Astaroth asked. ¡°N-No¡­ I have none¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. Astaroth puffed up her cheeks at his response and said, [That¡¯s why I¡¯m calling you an empty shell. What¡¯s the point of having a good ability if your body can¡¯t even handle it?] ¡°T-Then what should I do?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Astaroth sighed in resignation at Han-Yeol¡¯s stupid question before she looked at him as if she was looking at an insect. She grumbled, [Are you stupid? Of course you have to learn. You have to learn swordsmanship, and you have to learn how to use a whip for the chain. Then, you have to learn how to use a shield from scratch. Learn, learn, learn, and learn. Are you losing anything by learning?] ¡°N-No, I am not,¡± Han-Yeol replied while being slightly taken aback. He was actually expecting Astaroth to grant him a new skill or teach him how to hunt more efficiently. However, the answer she had given was for him to go back to basics and start from scratch all over again. Astaroth let out another sigh while looking at Han-Yeol¡¯s stupefied expression. [Ha¡­ This is why I find humans to be frustrating. You humans never seem to even try, always taking shortcuts. Well, figures¡­ that¡¯s your limitations as humans since your lifespan is so short.] This was the main difference between the demons, who lived almost for an eternity, and the humans, who lived for a maximum of a hundred years. Astaroth could understand that perspective, but she could not help but feel frustrated deep inside. [It can¡¯t be helped¡­ hey, human.] Astaroth said. ¡°Y-Yes,¡± Han-Yeol nervously replied. Astaroth spun her finger and a piece of paper appeared from thin air. Then, she started to write something on the piece of paper which turned out to be some sort of diagram. Once she was done, she showed it to Han-Yeol. ¡°That is¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. [Kajikar, one of Baal¡¯s loyal servants, is an intermediate-ranked demon, but he is the best drill sergeant for every single weapon avable. He trained most of the demon warriors so he might be able to help you with your sword, chain, and even shield if you manage to summon him.] Astaroth exined. ¡°Are you giving it to me¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked in a slightly quavering voice. This was because he was going to be able to fix the problems she had pointed out if he could get his hands on that one piece of paper. He could not help but feel greedy, wanting that piece of paper. [Hehe. Of course, it is yours¡­ but not for free.] Astaroth slightly teased him. ¡°What should I do?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Astaroth shed an evil smile before she said, [I picked up a certain strange scent whileing here.] ¡°Strange scent?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Yes, that¡¯s right. A nostalgic yet annoying smell¡­ the scent of an angel.] Astaroth said. ¡°Angel?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. An angel was the exact opposite of the demons that he summoned, so he wondered why this demon was talking about an angel right now. He asked, ¡°Who summoned them?¡± [No no, it¡¯s not as simple as that. I suspect that a creature that is actually an angel¡¯s fragment is hiding among the things you call ¡®monster¡¯.] Astaroth replied. ¡°An angel¡¯s fragment?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. [That¡¯s right. That is why you have to promise me one thing if you want to get your hands on this piece of paper. I want you to gather a hundred of the angel¡¯s fragments and offer them up to me.] Astaroth said. Astaroth¡¯s request was quite surprising and perplexing. She was asking for an angel¡¯s fragment that Han-Yeol had never seen nor even heard of before. Han-Yeol was not the type of person to agree to something that he was not familiar with, but he had far too much to lose by not agreeing to this deal. Han-Yeol said with a straight face, ¡°I will do it.¡± [Hehe, then we have a contract!] Astaroth eximed before she flew over and nted a kiss on Han-Yeol¡¯s forehead. Smooch¡­! ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in confusion. Ding! [You have received the blessings from the 29th ranking demon among the 72 demons of Solomon, Astaroth.] [All abilities and stats of the demons you summon will increase by 30%.] [This is my token of appreciation to you, since you agreed to do what I asked of you and have summoned me into the mortal world. I hope that you will treasure it until the day you be stronger and you are able to summon me once again.] Astaroth said while smiling seductively. This smile of hers was sure to charm any man alive. ¡°Yes¡­ I will do it, Astaroth-nim,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Hehe, alright then. Byebye.] Astaroth said while waving goodbye before she returned to the demon world through the magic circle. Fwaaaa¡­ The piece of paper Astaroth had held onto was left behind on top of the magic circle¡ª it was the sigil of Kajikar. ¡®What a shame¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered. He felt empty when the beautiful demon in front of him had suddenly disappeared. ¡®So this is why they say that demons are dangerous¡­¡¯? Chapter 56: Demon Drill Sergeant (2)

Chapter 56: Demon Drill Sergeant (2)

The demon Astaroth had enraptured Han-Yeol, who was much more logical rather than instinctual thanks to the various hardships he had gone through in life, with an intense emotion before leaving him all alone. He felt that this was the precise reason why people offered up their souls to a demon despite knowing that it could only be a bad idea. It was only after that did Han-Yeol calm his breathing and thoughts before he picked up the piece of paper that the demon had left behind. Looking at it, he thought, ¡®So this demon will be my teacher in the basics of weaponry?¡¯? It was a bit funny now that Han-Yeol was calling a demon his teacher, but it did not matter to him whether it was a demon, human, or angel as long as he was able to grow stronger. He was prepared to consider anyone or anything that was beneficial to him as his ally, regardless of their racial background. ¡®Also, the Shadow Demons have gotten much stronger thanks to the gift Astaroth-nim left behind,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Thirty percent was an unbelievable number when considering the fact that it buffed both the abilities and stats of the demon he summoned. It might not be such a huge amount when applied to a low leveled demon, but the difference would be as vast as heaven and earth if it was a high leveled demon instead. ¡®Hmm¡­ should I?gather?more sacrifices?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered when he remembered the fact that Astaroth had called the Giant Ants basically rubbish. ¡®Maybe it worked previously because the Shadow Demons were the lowest ranked demon¡­?¡¯? *** Han-Yeol discarded the pile of Giant Ant corpses with a heavy heart before moving to the Orc Burrows. He did not bring an RV truck this time, so he could not afford to load his van with stinking monster corpses, and his van was already filled with his personal equipment and belongings. There was not much space to begin with, anyway. Han-Yeol swung his chain and massacred the Orcs as soon as he arrived at the Orc Burrows. When he killed the hundredth Orc and ced its corpse on top of the pile, he cut the tip of his finger and drew the sigil on the ground. Then, he closed his eyes and chanted, ¡°Lord Satan¡­ Kajikar¡­ to manifest¡­ This I respectfully¡­ Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father!¡± Han-Yeol was now quite familiar with the chant. His surroundings suddenly overflowed with demonic energy, but it was not as much energy as when Astaroth had appeared. This time, he wasn¡¯t overwhelmed by the pressure. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise when the surface seemed to shake. It was not an earthquake, but rather¡­ Bam! The sound of somethingrge falling to the ground reverberated across the Orc Burrows, and Han-Yeol could see that the shadow of thatrge something was now towering above him. He slowly looked up and immediately muttered in confusion, ¡°Huh?¡± Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Slurp¡­! A bull-headed creature with a muscr human body was sitting on top of a structure in front of Han-Yeol, and in its left hand was arge bottle that it was drinking from. [Keu!?So sweet. Wait a minute, something felt off just now.] the bull-headed creature said. ¡®Is that Kajikar?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. [Hmm? What the, it¡¯s a human?] Kajikar muttered in surprise when it realized its surroundings had changed before staring down at Han-Yeol. ¡°I have summoned you from the demon world,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Hmm¡­ that¡¯s strange. There¡¯s no way that my sigil will exist in the mortal world since I¡¯m not one of the official demons¡­ No, there aren¡¯t even that many demons that know of my sigil in the first ce.] Kajikar muttered. Tak! ¡°Heup!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in surprise when Kajikar suddenly jumped from the structure and rushed toward him. It was such a fast movement that even his Sixth Sense skill failed to respond in time. Kajikar suddenly punched Han-Yeol in his midsection. Pukeok! ¡°Kuheok!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in agony before the enormous impact flung him twenty meters back. ¡°Cough! Cough!¡±? Han-Yeol was able to take quite a beating thanks to raising his VIT ever since he had awakened as a Hunter, and it was only thanks to his high VIT stat that his organs did not explode from that punch just now. [Tsk Tsk¡­ you have the ability and the talent, but you basically have zero knowledge on how to utilize it in a fight. You could have easily evaded or blocked that punch just now if you took a step back with your right foot and mmed your elbow down at my fist just before it made contact.] Kajirkar said. ¡®Argh¡­ What the hell is he talking about? Chain Smite!¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately fought back. He could not make heads or tails of what the demon was talking about, because he was ovee with anger from feeling such excruciating pain for the first time ever since he had awakened as a Hunter. He immediately shot back by throwing his chain and using Chain Smite. [Tsk tsk¡­ Your mentality is weak and your concentration is hopeless too.] Kajikar said while clicking his tongue. Han-Yeol¡¯s Chain Smite was strong enough to make a bloody mess out of most monsters, but¡­ Shwiiiiik¡­! ¡°H-Huh¡­?¡± Han-Yeol could not help but mutter in confusion when Kajikar lightly waved his hand and caught the chain barehanded. [The way you use your chain is too simple.] Kajikar said. ¡°Euk!¡±?Han-Yeol was flustered when one of his main attacks had been neutralized so easily by the demon. [I guess you will have to start from the basics.] Kajikar muttered. And that was how Han-Yeol was trained by the demon Kajikar all night¡ªwhile being abused by him at the same time. Thud¡­! *** ¡°Haa¡­! Haa¡­! Haa¡­!¡± Ding! [Your STR stat has increased by 2.] [Your VIT stat has increased by 2.] [Your AGI stat has increased by 1.] Han-Yeol calmed his lungs and heart, both of which were about to burst from being abused all night, while lying on the ground. The abuse did note in the form ofbat or anything, but rather simple yet harsh training. This was the first time, not only since he had awakened as a Hunter, but also since he was born that he was so severely and thoroughly abused by someone. Thud¡­! The demon Kajikar, who was the main culprit behind Han-Yeol¡¯s abuse, walked closer to him. He said. [Well, at least your tenacity is somewhat of a use. I guess you will be able to keep up with the training at least.] ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ then¡­ are you going to enter into a contract with me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Kekekeke¡­ of course, Astaroth-nim is going to give me an earful if I don¡¯t enter into a contract with you.] Kajikar said with a snicker. ¡°Huh? T-That¡­ was not¡­ what you said¡­ yesterday¡­ haa¡­ haa¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He waspletely out of breath. Han-Yeol was certain that the demon had asked him yesterday why he had summoned him, but he had precisely heard the demon mention Astaroth¡¯s name just now. [Kekekeke! I feigned ignorance. Only the top thirty ranking demons among the seventy-two are aware of my sigil, and Astaroth-nim is the only one among the thirty that would be kind enough to give my sigil to a human. She might be the demon ofziness andcency, but she enjoys a thrill more than anyone else among them. I guess she found you somewhat interesting.] Kajikar said with augh. ¡°Hoo¡­¡± Han-Yeol caught his breath before saying, ¡°Astaroth-nim said that Ick basic fundamentals and that Kajikar-nim would be able to help me with it.¡± [Just as she said, I will definitely be able to help in that field.] Kajikar confidently said while nodding, and then he said, [Alright, I will sign a contract with you.] ¡°T-Thank you very much!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. [But!] Kajikar suddenly interjected. ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. Kajikar pointed at the pile of Orc corpses and said, [I can¡¯t enter into a contract with that rubbish as the offering.] ¡°T-Then¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. Kajikar drew the bottle in his left hand closer to his lips before downing the liquid in it. Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Slurp¡­! The faint smell of liquor teased Han-Yeol¡¯s nose. ¡®Booze?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡°L-Liquor. Is it enough if I offer you liquor?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He remembered a Chinese kung-fu movie he had watched where an alcoholic martial arts master had no desire for anything except a bottle of high-quality liquor¡­ His deduction was spot on. [Hoo¡­ liquor you say? Well, I was just about to run out of it anyway. I was starting to wonder how human-made liquor would taste like too. Alright, I will enter into a contract with you if you let me drink as much high-quality liquor as I want.] Kajikar said. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. [Kekekeke¡­ Don¡¯t resent meter on.] Kajikar said whileughing with a sinister look. ¡°?¡± Han-Yeol did not really understand what the demon meant, but he was still happy that he was able to enter into an agreement with him. That was how Han-Yeol sessfully entered into a contract with his third demon. Han-Yeol sent an emergency request for an RV truck to the Hunters¡¯ Association and paid the extra fees to transport the mountain of Orc corpses to the factory. Of course, the factory that he went to was none other than the factory he was a frequent customer of, and the ce was coincidentally owned by the father of his old friend, Sung-Jin. It was a bit burdensome when he had found out that the elderly man who did not spare words of ttery toward him turned out to be his close friend¡¯s father, but he could not afford to stop dealing with them just because things felt awkward. He clearly knew that the factory was going through rough times and was depending solely on him and a handful of other Hunters. However¡­ ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered when he saw that there was a ruckus at the factory entrance. Looking at the numerous luxurious cars and a few vans parked in front of the factory, he thought, ¡®Now that I look closely¡­ ¡®Don¡¯t tell me?¡¯?he thought with a sense of urgency. ng! Han-Yeol¡¯s sensitive ears picked up the sound of something breaking. He drove his vehicle as fast as he could toward the sound. Soon, he saw the scene of twenty rough-looking men wearing ck suits in a standoff with the factory employees. Thud¡­ Han-Yeol came down from the RV truck. ¡°A-Are you here, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± Director Han, who usually came to greet Han-Yeol whenever the factory manager was busy, hurriedly came and greeted him while profusely sweating. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah¡­ That is¡­¡± Director Han muttered hesitantly. ¡°Director-nim?¡± Han-Yeol asked once again. ¡°T-That is actually¡­ the bank¡­ those bastards sold our debt to loan sharks, and those guys are asking us to fork out the money right now. They are threatening that they are going to turn the ce upside down and break all of our machinery if we do not pay up,¡± Director Han exined. Han-Yeol was a very important client to the factory, but it was understandable if he was to stop all business with them now that he had personally seen the mess the factory was in. ¡°Hey, Mr. Lee. I¡¯m telling you to pay up now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you hear what hyung-nim is saying? Ha?¡± The twenty loan sharks had their typical rough faces on as they pressured the factory employees. The factory employees were winning in a contest of numbers, but there was no way that these ordinary people could win in a contest of wits against these loan sharks who basically did this for a living. Han-Yeol was bbergasted at what he was seeing right now. ¡®Is this really happening in this day and age¡­?¡¯? It did not make sense that a bunch of gangsters coulde to a business establishment and spew out threats as if this was a scene from the movie Nameless Gangster or New World. After all, South Korea still hadw and police enforcement no matter how corrupted it had be. Just as Han-Yeol was astounded by what he was seeing, his ears picked up a strange conversation. ¡°Manager Moon, what about the police?¡± ¡°I did call them but¡­ they said that their response will be dyed since they have a lot of ongoing cases right now,¡± Manager Moon replied. ¡°What? Does that even make sense? Is this not a priority for them? Twenty gangsters barged into a factory and are causing a ruckus right now!¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­ I told them about it, but they just kept repeating the same thing over and over again¡­¡± Manager Moon replied. He hung his head low even though he was not the one at fault to begin with. ¡®Tsk¡­ This is a mess. I have no idea who is behind this, but to think that they would extend their hand to the police just to pressure a factory¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. However, it did not take long for him toe to a conclusion, since this was a familiar repertory often shown in movies. Anyone who has been abused by big corporations would instantly understand what was going on at the factory right now. Han-Yeol slowly walked toward them and called out to the factory manager, who was also the CEO and the father of his close friend. ¡°CEO-nim?¡± ¡°Ah! Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. What brings you here today?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father nervously asked. ¡°What do you mean? I hunted some Orcs so I came to sell them to you,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ah! I-I see,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father muttered in response. His bold demeanor in front of the loan sharks suddenly disappeared at Han-Yeol¡¯s appearance, and he seemed to have been severely taken aback by Han-Yeol showing up. He could hold out till the end and refuse to pay the loan sharks, and they were bound to leave at the end of the day. However, it was going to be fatal for them if Han-Yeol was to stop dealing with their factory after witnessing what happened today, and that would be akin to taking off the oxygen mask that was supplying them with the little oxygen that barely managed to sustain them. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this? There¡¯s still someone dumb enough to deal with a factory like this?¡± ¡°Hey, Mr. Hunter. I¡¯m not sure what has gotten into you, but I suggest that you stop dealing with this factory. This factory is going to go under soon, so I advise that you save yourself the trouble since this owner might end up running away in the middle of the night sooner orter.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just go for now boys.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± These gangsters might be ballsy and tough toward everyone else, but a Hunter was still burdensome to them. It was a severe crime for a Hunter to hurt a civilian, but they still avoided any confrontations with a Hunter because they were certainly going to lose whether it was a contest of money or power. After all, society would ce more value on the Hunters rather than them, who were just a bunch of thugs and gangsters. They could have just feigned ignorance and continued causing a scene, but they were not stupid enough to pick a fight with a Hunter simply because a big corporation was backing them up. 1. Both were famous gangster genre movies in Korea. and for those of you interested. Chapter 57: Demon Drill Sergeant (3)

Chapter 57: Demon Drill Sergeant (3)

Ptui! ¡°Lucky bastards.¡± ¡°I know right.¡± The loan sharks grumbled while walking away. Then, one of them growled at a factory employee who was in his way, ¡°Move!¡± The situation was somehow defused in an instant. ¡°T-Thank you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. Anyway, please calcte the Orc corpses I brought today,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes, I understand. Director Han, get to it immediately,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father instructed. Director Han sprung into action as soon as Sung-Jin¡¯s father gave the order, and he called the employees to start weighing the Orc corpses that Han-Yeol had brought. ¡°I am really sorry that you had to see such an unsightly scene,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said while bowing. ¡°Ahjussi,¡± Han-Yeol said softly. ¡°H-Huh?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father muttered in surprise. ¡°Please speak to me casually. You are Sung-Jin¡¯s father, after all,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°B-But still¡­ How can I do that when our factory¡¯s survival is thanks to you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about that. I will continue dealing with your factory and I will increase the number of monster corpses I supply from now on, nothing will change. We should keep our personal lives and business separate, but I won¡¯t befortable if you keep speaking to me with honorifics when you are Sung-Jin¡¯s father. So please, just think of me as your son¡¯s friend and speak casually,¡± Han-Yeol said. The man was his precious friend¡¯s father, so how could he just stand and continue to listen to the man speaking to him with honorifics? That was only something a sociopath would do unless that friend had done something to him when they were younger and he was exacting sweet revenge on him right now. ¡°¡­¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father was speechless. ¡°Ahjussi,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°A-Alright. Haha¡­ S-So, you are friends with Sung-Jin. I guess Sung-Jin found himself a really good friend,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said as he struggled to drop the honorifics from his words. However, the fact that he was speaking to the friend of his one and only son made it easier for him to befortable around Han-Yeol. ¡°But ahjussi,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°What is it?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father asked. ¡°The big corporations are aiming for your factory, right? Which exact corporation is it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself. I can only guess that it¡¯s either one of the S Group, L Group, or H Group, but nothing is going to change just because I know who is behind all of this,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said. Sung-Jin¡¯s father was right. The factory he ran, Sung-Jin Factory, was quite small and new. They were able to recently develop their own technology, but a big corporation caught a whiff of it and immediately sprung into action to prevent them from making any money out of it. It was a scheme to prevent them from growing. The fact that they were able to stay afloat by making small transactions was, as repeatedly mentioned, all thanks to Han-Yeol. ¡°Are there any other Hunters that you are dealing with aside from me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Sung-Jin¡¯s father¡¯s face suddenly darkened at that question. He then said, ¡°We were dealing with six Hunters until a few days ago, but all of them served us a notice saying that they¡¯re going to stop dealing with us¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do anymore, to be honest.¡± Han-Yeol might have continuously supplied the factory with monster corpses, but it was difficult to call it a huge amount. It was also difficult to create anything highly valuable because the monsters that Han-Yeol usually hunted were the lower leveled ones. ¡®Hmm¡­ Then should I give Sung-Jin a token of my apology?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did sin against his friend for suddenly disappearing without a word after all, and he had incurred various debts to him during his school days as well. Han-Yeol had just been a poor high school boy back in the day, so he had no way of repaying his friend, but he was more than able to repay that debt now. *** ¡°Uhmm¡­ Kajikar-nim?¡± Han-Yeol called while obviously perplexed. [What is it?] Kajikar asked. Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Slurp¡­! The demon paid little attention to Han-Yeol¡¯s perplexed call. He was busy gulping down the luxurious liquor Han-Yeol had brought. ¡°Are we going to train here?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He was perplexed because of the ce Kajikar had brought him to train in ordance with their contract. He expected the demon to bring him to a secluded area, deep in the mountains, or somewhere near the shore to train. However, the ce that Kajikar had chosen was the hunting ground where the monster Crazy Cow, which strangely resembled the demon¡¯s head, inhabited. [Kekeke! Of course! Did you really think that we will sit down and meditate like fools and I will teach you movements one by one?] Kajikar asked while bursting out inughter. ¡°Of course¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He certainly thought that was how the training was going to be, since that was how basics were trained in the movies. [Kekeke! Then you got the wrong person, no, I mean, demon. I am the famed demon drill sergeant, Kajikar. I¡¯m not a martial arts master, but a drill sergeant! Wee to hell, greenhorn.] Kajikar said with a sinister smile. ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol felt that a tidal wave of hardships was soon going to crash down on him. ¡®Damn it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly¡­ While Kajikar let out a sinister evilugh. [Kuahahahahaha!] *** The training with Kajikar was hell itself. ¡°Mooooooo!¡± The monsters in this hunting ground, the Crazy Cows, were known as the strongest monsters among the low-ranking ones. The Orcs were the most difficult to hunt since they usually traveled around in groups, but the Crazy Cows were a step above the Orcs when only taking into ount their individual strength. They wererger than that of a buffalo while their horns were asrge and sturdy as a buck¡¯s, and their Toro instinct made them relentlessly rush toward their target with an absurd speed. The main reason why these Crazy Cows were so difficult to deal with was that a bull had a hard time changing directions when a Matador dealt with them. However, these Crazy Cows ignored allws of physics; they were able to turn not only at ny degrees but even at seventy degrees, and they were able to smoothly make this turn without a loss in momentum at all. On top of that, their reaction speed was so fast that it was practically impossible to avoid their horns at thest minute and attack them like how a Matador would do to a bull. Lastly, their horns were sorge that they could scoop up their target with their horns and drag them along while running around in a frenzied state. [It¡¯s just the right opponent for you. They are near perfect since they do resemble me, but they are weak and simple-minded, so this is the perfect opponent for you to train with.] Kajikar said. ¡°Weak and simple-minded you say¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief. Of course, Han-Yeol could take full advantage of the fact that they were monsters that walked on all fours and hunt them down with different tactics, but the problem was that he did note here to hunt. [What? Do you feel like giving up now?] Kajikar asked with a mocking smile. ¡°Ah, not at all. I have never thought of giving up on anything even once in my life,¡± Han-Yeol confidently replied. [That¡¯s a very admirable thing to say since I had no intentions of letting you give up in the first ce.] Kajikar said with a sinister smile. ¡®Keu¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was feeling even more nervous now after seeing the demon¡¯s smile. With that, his hellish training had officially started. *** Bam! Kwachik! ¡°Keuuuk!¡±? Han-Yeol blocked a Crazy Cow¡¯s charge head on with his Mana Shield, but it was crazy of him to directly face a Crazy Cow which rushed toward him with all of its strength, speed, and skillbined. His Mana Shield shattered while his arm broke from the impact of the Crazy Cow¡¯s charge. ¡°Kuheok!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in agony after being thrown back by the monster. He was able to stop the monster¡¯s charge, but this only enraged the Crazy Cow even further. He muttered, ¡°Keuk¡­?R-Restore¡­¡± Woooong¡­ Han-Yeol immediately used the little time he had to heal his broken arm. An ordinary healing skill was effective when treating minor injuries, but it was not suitable to be used duringbat since it required a long time to fully heal an injury. However, the Restore skill Han-Yeol had obtained possessed the ability to almost instantaneously heal an injury, and it only took ten seconds for it to mend a broken bone. ¡°That hurt,¡± Han-Yeol groaned. He mended his broken arm instantly, but the painful sensation from the impact still lingered in his joints. Kajikar was observing the entire thing from atop a tree. He shouted. [Stupid fool! There¡¯s no way you will be able to match that thing¡¯s strength no matter how strong you think you are! Don¡¯t face it head on, but try to flow away from it like water!] ¡®I know, damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He heard the same thing over and over again from the demon until his ears could start bleeding from it, but the problem was that his body was not moving how he wanted it to move. The monster¡¯s movement slightly slowed down thanks to Sixth Sense, but the skill could not slow things down by a huge margin and neither could it reduce the impact. Thus, it was still difficult for Han-Yeol to urately grasp the timing where he had to make things flow smoothly like water. [Focus! You will be able to see it if you focus. Keep looking till the end. Take a deep breath and focus your senses on your surroundings. Your innate talent is almost on par with a high-ranking demon after all.] Kajikar said. The demon was always rough with how he trained Han-Yeol, but he was actually holding his talents in high regard. ¡®That¡¯s an ability that I have never seen in my life, and even I can¡¯t seem to see the depths of his ability. Let¡¯s see how far up this kid can climb. Watching him is certainly going to be fun, hehe. As expected of Astaroth-nim, she really knows how to find interesting things,¡¯?Kajikar thought. The demon¡¯s training style was to give a carrot for every hundred whippings. [Focus more!] Kajikar shouted. ¡°Haaaap!¡±? Bam! Kwachik! ¡°Keuuuk!¡±?Han-Yeol was blown back by the Crazy Cow because he missed the timing to parry its charge, and the impact crushed his arm and flung him backward like a ragdoll. [Tsk tsk¡­ You still have a long way to go.] Kajikar said while clicking his tongue. ¡°Damn it!¡± Han-Yeol cursed out loud before he cast Restore on his arm and stood up once again. His eyes were still full of spirit despite having broken his arm twenty times now. In fact, it seemed that he was getting grittier the more he broke his arm. Steeling his resolve, he thought, ¡®I will master the shield now that I¡¯vee this far.¡¯ Han-Yeol did use a shield all this while, but he only knew how to use Shield Bash and a few motions he had seen from videos. The skill that he was learning from Kajikar right now was the most basic fundamental of the shield which was to block an opponent¡¯s attack before parrying it, thereby reducing the amount of burden he would feel from the impact. [Even textbooks were written through numerous experiences of trial and error. You will be able to master the basics as long as you remember what I taught you and apply it inbat!] Kajikar shouted. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Crazy Cow was madly rushing toward Han-Yeol once again. ¡°Kruuuwaaaaah!¡±?Han-Yeol let out a roar as he prepared to face the monster with all of his senses focused on it. Then, the Crazy Cow crashed into Han-Yeol¡¯s Mana Shield once more. Bam¡­ Seuk¡­! Just when the monster connected with his Mana Shield, Han-Yeol suddenly felt something, and he immediately twisted his Mana Shield before sessfully parrying the monster¡¯s charge in a fluid movement without receiving any impact. It was a perfect parry that even a Crazy Cow, which had the ability to freely turn seventy degrees, could not react in time to. ¡®I did it!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. [Hooo¡­ Interesting.] Kajikar thought as he was slightly impressed by the human. He was expecting Han-Yeol to take at least a month to learn this basic skill, since hecked any form of basic training. The fact that he managed to learn how to do it in just two weeks, even though it was still a bit awkward, was enough to impress him. [Is this kid¡¯s talent even higher than that of a high-ranking demon?] Kajikar wondered. Kajikar had trained numerous demons in the demon world, but even the high-ranking demons could not learn this shield skill in less than a month. This human had broken that record with sheer willpower and stubbornness. [This is going to be interesting.] Kajikar thought. Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Gulp¡­ Slurp¡­! The demon drank the expensive liquor Han-Yeol had gotten him, and the liquor tasted even sweeter now that he was in a good mood. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Mana Shield¡¯ has risen from (B) to (A).] [The rank of ¡®Mana Shield¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] ¡®Huh? It went two levels at once?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in surprise. That was not the end of it. [¡®Mana Shield¡¯ has reached Master-Rank.] [The skill has started to evolve.] ¡®Oh, it¡¯s evolving?¡¯?he muttered inwardly. [¡®Mana Shield¡¯ has evolved into ¡®Force Shield¡¯.] [A new skill has been created: ¡®Force Shield¡¯.] Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 60 Points: 0 STR: 107 VIT: 103 AGI: 100 MAG: 150 LCK: 10 Invoke: 60 Skills: Dismember (D), Sword Mastery (A), Walking (B), Mana Control (B), Mana Mastery (C), Power Strike (A), Sixth Sense (C), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (B), Jumping (A), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (C), Fire Attribute (C), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (E), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E), Force Shield (F). It was exactly as the message said. Mana Shield had disappeared from Han-Yeol¡¯s skill list, and Force Shield (F) was added at the bottom of the list. Han-Yeol moved his finger toward Force Shield on the list and tapped it. [Force Shield (F)] Type: Active Description: The evolution of the skill Mana Shield. The user may summon a shield made out of the same mana as Mana Shield, and 5% of the damage dealt by the enemy to this shield will be reflected back to them; another 5% of the attack will be absorbed by the user, and replenish the user¡¯s mana. The percentage will increase the higher this skill¡¯s level is. ¡®Wow¡­ This is amazing¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in amazement. His ordinary defensive skill ¡®Mana Shield¡¯ had been reced with a new skill that could only be described as the best defensive skill ever. The reason why Mana Shield¡¯s rank was so low despite it being his main defensive skill was not only because of hisck of skill in handling a shield, but it was also because there were no huge merits in using it in the first ce, aside from blocking the enemy¡¯s attack. However, his new skill, Force Shield, was a different story altogetherpared to Mana Shield. ¡®Alright! Let¡¯s keep this momentum going all the way!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as a newfound vigor filled his spirit. Chapter 58: Demon Drill Sergeant (4)

Chapter 58: Demon Drill Sergeant (4)

¡°Moooo!¡± a Crazy Cow cried out angrily. Han-Yeol might have parried the Crazy Cow¡¯s attack, but the monster was still alive and well¡ªand angry. He wanted to capitalize on the momentum and pick up the pace but¡­ Swooosh¡­ Sukeok! Someone suddenly interfered and beheaded the Crazy Cow before he could test the technique out again. Bam¡­! The now headless Crazy Cow fell dead on the floor, and a ck magic circle suddenly appeared underneath its corpse. It was quickly absorbed into the magic circle. [That will be all for today.] Kajikar said. The one who killed the Crazy Cow was none other than the demon drill sergeant, Kajikar. ¡°Oh, time passed by so fast¡­ I did not notice it,¡± Han-Yeol muttered. Han-Yeol did not spend the entire day only training. In fact, he equally divided his time in a day into training and hunting so that he would not lose his edge in actualbat. In fact, Kajikar had advised that training all day was not going to speed up his growth. He stated that effort needed to be supported with efficiency for optimal growth. ¡®Ah right¡­ Today¡¯s the day that I¡¯m supposed to go on a hunt with Yoo-Bi,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. These days, Yoo-Bi was busy doing housework and looking after her mother, and that was why they did not have time to go out on hunts together these days. Well, it did not really bother Han-Yeol much, since he could just hire another Porter on the days that Yoo-Bi was not avable. That was why he decided to be understanding and not tell her off since she was busy working on her house and spending time with her mother. Ding dong! Han-Yeol received a message on his smartphone. [Oppa, I rented the RV truck. Where should I go and meet up with you?] ¡®She really picks up quite fast, as I expected,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Yoo-Bi got sharper and sharper the more hunts she went out on with Han-Yeol, and she now knew Han-Yeol¡¯s likes and dislikes quite well. She did not treat Han-Yeol lightly and maintained her respect toward him no matter how close they had be. It had been quite a while since they went out together on a hunt, so Han-Yeol thought that it would be good to go out and hunt with Yoo-Bi once again. Han-Yeol replied to her message, [Come to the entrance of the Crazy Cow hunting ground. We will be hunting Crazy Cows today.] Only six and a half seconds passed before Yoo-Bi¡¯s reply came in. [Yes! I understand!] That was how Han-Yeol decided to hunt the Crazy Cows with Yoo-Bi, and Kajikar, who no longer had a reason to stay in the mortal world since Han-Yeol¡¯s training was over for the day, went back to the demon world. [Hehehe. I don¡¯t have to worry about running out of liquor for a while thanks to you.] Kajikar said with a beaming smile before going back to the demon world, and the demon drill sergeant was holding an armful of expensive liquors Han-Yeol had imported from all over the world for him. Yoo-Bi soon arrived at the Crazy Cow hunting ground¡¯s entrance with the RV truck, and she parked near Han-Yeol when he waved his hand to g her down. As Han-Yeol ced his equipment in the truck¡¯s trunk and sat on the front passenger seat, Yoo-Bi asked, ¡°Oppa, you will ride on the passenger seat?¡± The front passenger seat of the RV truck was hard and ufortable, since the truck was designed for optimal efficiency and notfort. ¡°I¡¯m feelingzy to drive today,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ah, alright then,¡± Yoo-Bi said before driving the truck deeper into the Crazy Cow hunting ground. Vrooom¡­! *** Bam! ¡°Keuk!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned. He was trying out his new shield technique against a Crazy Cow, but he used it sparingly and did not focus on only using it as he did during training. This was because it was a new technique and he still had quite a big chance of failing to use it properly. Also, he was not training right now but hunting, so he was more reluctant to try things out. Han-Yeol immediately threw his chain as soon as he parried the Crazy Cow¡¯s charge with the shield technique he had learned from Kajikar. He used his chain skill. ¡®Restrain!¡¯? Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain bound itself around one of the Crazy Cow¡¯s hind legs. Thud¡­! ¡°Moooooooo!¡± The Crazy Crow cried out when the chain wrapped around one of its hind legs. It helplessly crashed to the ground. ¡®Jumping!¡¯?Han-Yeol kicked off the ground. Tak! Han-Yeol jumped high off the ground with Jumping before activating Sword Breath on his descent, aiming for the Crazy Cow¡¯s blind spot. Then, he stabbed his ming sword deep into the Crazy Cow¡¯s neck. Puuuuk! ¡°Mooooo!¡± The Crazy Cow cried out in agony when it felt the hot sword pierce through its neck and burn it from within before plopping dead to the ground. The Crazy Cows might possess higher strength and a powerful charge, but their level was still below that of an Orc, so they were not that difficult of an opponent to Han-Yeol. The reason why Han-Yeol was hunting them instead of the Orcs was to further test his new shield technique. He wanted to master the timing. *** ¡°Mooooo!¡± Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­!? The Big Boss Crazy Cow was the boss of the Crazy Cow hunting ground that spanned acres and acres. It was five timesrger than the average Crazy Cow, its thick hide in bright red. ¡®Come, bring it on,¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve while in a standoff against the Big Boss Crazy Cow. The Big Boss Crazy Cow was a boss monster that numerous parties hunting in this area had to join forces to even have a chance at hunting it down. A hunting ground¡¯s boss monster could also be considered as the dimensional gate¡¯s gatekeeper. No one knew exactly why, but monsters stopped appearing from the gate whenever the boss monster was killed. Kill orders for the boss monsters had been issued to the Hunters when people had first found out about the fact that monsters would stop appearing for a while when the boss was gone. However, this soon stopped when the industries depending on monsters'' by-products went through a boom. In fact, the hunting grounds¡¯ boss monsters soon became a target that nobody should kill at one point, and that was precisely because the monsters, which were nothing but a source of ie for the Hunters and raw materials for various industries, would stop appearing if the boss monster died. However, Han-Yeol no longer had a reason to stay in this Crazy Cow hunting ground since he had to move on to another hunting ground with more powerful monsters, so he decided toe and hunt the boss monster down. ¡®Come and take me on!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he prepared to fight against the Big Boss Crazy Cow. He wanted to test out the limits of the new skill he had acquired after Mana Shield¡¯s evolution. He readied his round shield made out of mana and activated Sixth Sense while waiting for the Big Boss Crazy Cow to ram into him. Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­!? It was that nerve-wracking moment Han-Yeol was about to collide with the Big Boss Crazy Cow! ¡®Shield Bash!¡¯?Han-Yeol used his skill. He mmed his round shield made out of his mana into the Big Boss Crazy Cow¡¯s side after sidestepping. Only 1mm remained between them before the frontal impact from the charging boss monster. Bam! ¡°Moooooo!'''' The Big Boss Crazy Cow cried out when it fell down sideways after being smashed by a powerful force. ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced when his attack worked as nned. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Shield Bash¡¯ has increased from (C) to (B).] ¡®It¡¯s finally B Rank,¡¯?he muttered inwardly. Han-Yeol¡¯s shield-rted skills did not really get the chance to level up as much as his other skills since his main style ofbat was to shoot from a distance with his rifle before switching to his chain when the enemy came closer, and then dealing the final blow with Sword Breath when the enemy had finallye in front of him. That was the reason why Shield Bash was still only B Rank despite it being one of the first skills he had obtained. ¡®Sword Breath,¡¯ Han-Yeol muttered before a me engulfed his sword. Then, he stabbed his sword deep into the Big Boss Crazy Cow¡¯s neck to deal the finishing blow. Puuuuk! ¡°Mooooo!¡± The Big Boss Crazy Cow let out a cry in agony while struggling for about five minutes. Unfortunately, it could not break free from Han-Yeol despite its intense struggle. It remained bound up by his chain, and it soon rolled its eyes back and plopped dead to the ground. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Hoo¡­ my level finally went up,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after checking the message. His level rose only now despite him hunting for such a long time in this hunting ground because the monsters¡¯ level was much lower than Han-Yeol. ¡®Well, I didn¡¯t reallye here to raise my level in the first ce,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. While he was cooling down from the fierce yet one-sided battle, Yoo-Bi extended something toward Han-Yeol. ¡®Hmm?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. Then, he muttered in confusion, ¡°Yoo-Bi?¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work today, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a bright smile. She extended a cute towel with a pink teddy bear embroidered on it toward him. Han-Yeol looked back and forth between Yoo-Bi and the towel for a while before he smiled and took the towel to wipe the sweat on his forehead. The Crazy Cows were not really an opponent that Han-Yeol had to struggle against, but he did end up sweating after exerting a lot of force to fight against those monsters¡¯ ridiculous strength. Yoo-Bi was staring at Han-Yeol while he was wiping his sweat with the towel. ¡°Why? Why are you staring?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hehe, I wonder as well. Maybe because oppa looks so sexy wiping his sweat right now? I don¡¯t know, hehe,¡± Yoo-Bi cheekily said. ¡°Hahaha! Don¡¯t banter with me now,¡± Han-Yeol replied whileughing out loud. ¡°It¡¯s true, hehe,¡± Yoo-Bi said while sticking her tongue out. Yoo-Bi no longer felt awkward around Han-Yeol and was now able tofortably talk to him, and Han-Yeol found this side of her to be very cute and humorous. This girl, who possibly told the truth or was just joking around with him, was like a ray of light or an oasis in the desert to him, who at one point had lived a harsh life trying to make ends meet. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get to work instead of loitering around, Porter-nim?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes! I understand, Hunter-nim!¡± Yoo-Bi enthusiastically replied while sarcastically saluting him before she took out her power tools and got to work. The small girl walked toward the Big Boss Crazy Cow¡¯s corpse, which was multiple timesrger than her, and proceeded to dismember it into parts. Brrrrm¡­! Whiiiiiing! Whiiiiing! Whiiiing! Yoo-Bi diligently dismembered the gigantic Big Boss Crazy Cow into parts and loaded it into the RV truck one part at a time, and of course, Han-Yeol helped her out as well. *** Vroooom¡­! The hunting ground seemed lifeless after the Big Boss Crazy Cow¡¯s death, and this was because it became dormant after the boss guarding the dimensional gate was dead. A single truck passed through the now lifeless hunting ground. Most people would have carefully navigated through the hunting grounds, but that was no longer necessary since this hunting ground had recently lost its boss monster. ¡°Oppa, are we going straight to the factory instead of the association?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Yeah, we will be going to the factory first,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Alright,¡± Yoo-Bi responded while proceeding to drive in the direction of the factory. ¡®Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll go and sell off the monster corpses at the factory and go change my equipment first. It¡¯s about time that I upgrade my equipment to proper ones, and I also need to go and restock on the high-quality liquors and appetizers for Kajikar-nim. Then, should I go and have some fun with Yoo-Bi after that?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. It was now time for them to spend the money that they had worked so hard to earn. The issue with Sung-Jin Factory was still unresolved, but that was not really something Han-Yeol should personally get involved with and resolve. The factory¡¯s owner might be his friend¡¯s father, but it would be rude of him to barge into the situation when the person did not even ask for his help. Also, he could not simply go and cause a ruckus since this was a country that had a rule ofw after all. ¡®I might have stopped it once, but that doesn¡¯t mean those guys are simply going to give up,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He had felt this numerous times when he had been an insignificant poor child trying to make ends meet: there were more rich people who were greedier for money than poor people. The avarice of the wealthy was no different from a lump of sticky, dirty corruption. That was why there was no way that those people were simply going to stop because they had failed once. ¡°Oppa, what are you thinking about? You have been sighing since a while ago,¡± Yoo-Bi asked. She was curious about what Han-Yeol was thinking about, since he kept sighing while looking out the window. ¡°Nothing much¡­ I just have a few things on my mind, that''s all. Come to think of it, it would be good if you could Awaken as well soon,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Che! Did it only ur to you now? Did you know that I did not manage to shoot my gun even once this time?¡± Yoo-Biined while puffing her cheeks. Yoo-Bi spoke the truth. Han-Yeol had called her out, but he had been busy practicing his shield technique and hunting the Crazy Cows that he hadpletely forgotten about letting Yoo-Bi attack the monsters to increase her chances of Awakening. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry, Yoo-Bi!¡± Han-Yeol apologetically cried out. ¡°Hmph! You should not do this next time, alright?¡± Yoo-Bi grumbled cutely with her puffed cheeks. She was indeed disappointed that Han-Yeol hadn¡¯t paid any attention to her in this hunt, but she just pretended to be upset as a joke since he had already done so much for her. Also, the one that benefited the most from the exclusive contract was none other than herself. ¡®I might not have been able to properly hunt this time, but I¡¯m getting so much from oppa. I¡¯m just joking around, but I want to see you feel sorry as well, hehe¡­¡¯?Yoo-Bi thought before she stuck her tongue out in a joking manner while Han-Yeol was not looking. She was not upset with Han-Yeol at all, since she knew how big of a help he had been to her, and she was also well aware that this was a blessing and a privilege that did not present itself to a lot of people. Needless to say, there was no way that she was going to be upset with him just because she did not get to hunt once, and she was not that kind of a narrow-minded woman. She might havee from a poor background and had lived a harsh, difficult life, but she was raised in a way to know how to appreciate people and to live life with a healthy conscience. It seemed that her mother did a great job raising her with basic manners and etiquette from a young age. That was how Yoo-Bi and Han-Yeol managed to reach Sung-Jin Factory after bantering and joking around with each other in the RV truck, which was filled with the body parts of the monsters they had hunted together today. Chapter 59: Demon Drill Sergeant (5)

Chapter 59: Demon Drill Sergeant (5)

Creak¡­ ck! Han-Yeol opened the door and got off. ¡°Wee, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. We have been expecting you.¡± ¡°Hello, Manager Han. How is the factory these days?¡± Han-Yeol greeted. ¡°We are doing fine, thanks to you,¡± said Manager Han. It was embarrassing that an outsider would ask about the factory¡¯s state, but it could not be helped because of their current situation. That was why they did not have the luxury to feel shame or anything at the moment despite the embarrassing situation. Manager Han nced slightly at the truck¡¯spartment. When he saw what was inside the truck, he was surprised and asked while stuttering, ¡°Huh? T-Those are?¡± ¡°Oh, I brought a different kind of monster today. I tried hunting the Crazy Cows today. I cut out the bones, horns, and tendons, and collected about 2.5 tons worth of their parts,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°S-Something this valuable¡­¡± the Manager stuttered. Even though the Crazy Cow¡¯s mana stone was not that high quality, their horns, tendons, and skull fetched quite a hefty price tag. However, the factory manager was most shocked by the fact that the two-and-a-half tons did not include the Crazy Cows¡¯ flesh, muscles, and organs. The weight purely included the valuable body parts extracted from the monster. Hence, if you considered the value of having only two and a half tons worth of those valuable parts then the factory manager¡¯s was absolutely normal. These types of materials were good to have but not that important forrger, more established factories, but these were like a ray of light from the sky for a small factory like the Sung-Jin Factory. ¡®I knew that you would like it,¡¯ Han-Yeol proudly thought. This was all within Han-Yeol¡¯s calctions. Based on his previous experience as a porter for four years, he had tried to think which monster would be required by a small factory in their current predicament, and the answer that he came up with was the Crazy Cow. ¡°A-Are you selling all of these?¡± Manager Han asked. He could run the factory for two months with these materials alone, and he could even export these at a high price. All of Sung-Jin Factory¡¯s domestic distribution channels were blocked and the only option that the factory had was to export overseas. However, they could not export these directly overseas because of some pressure from the customs department. All they could do right now was to sell these to an Americanpany incorporated in South Korea. Luckily enough, thatpany recently made an inquiry to Sung-Jin Factory if it was possible for the factory to manufacture weapons and armor out of Crazy Cow materials with their technology and supply these manufactured products to them. Whether it was a stroke of luck or just pure coincidence, Han-Yeol then appeared with the Crazy Cow materials just in time, since Manager Han was about to turn down the offer from the Americanpany since the factory had no way to source the materials in South Korea. ¡°Of course, I brought them here to sell them. You can buy everything, right?¡± said Han-Yeol. ¡°O-Of course!¡± Manager Han eximed as he quickly pulled out his smartphone and made a phone call. He spoke quickly into his smartphone. ¡°Yes, sir. Yes, yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim brought a total of 2.5 tons of Crazy Cow skulls, horns, and tendons. Yes, yes, yes, sir, I understand.¡± Manager Han immediately instructed the factory employees to drive the truck to the factory to weigh the haul. At his order, the factory employees immediately took the wheel from Yoo-Bi and did as they were instructed. ¡°Oppa, what is going on?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. She was confused by the factory workers busily working. ¡°I have no idea. They must have urgently needed those materials from the Crazy Cow,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He also had no idea what was going on, and the only reason he had brought the materials from the Crazy Cow was simply because of the fact that these were valuable materials. A momentter, an employee came running in a hurry while shouting, ¡°Manager-nim!¡± ¡°So, did you finish weighing the materials?¡± Manager Han asked the employee. ¡°Yes, the materials weighed 2.51 tons,¡± the employee answered. ¡°Good, so when will the estimates for the materials be ready?¡± Manager Han asked. ¡°It should not take that long since there are only three products to deal with. I think I can get the estimates in about two hours,¡± the employee replied. ¡°I see¡­¡± Manager Han muttered before he turned to Han-Yeol and said, ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, I am told that the estimate will be ready in two hours¡­¡± Most of the inexpensive monster corpses were instantly calcted as a lump sum to reduce hassle, but the high-value materials from monsters were all separately ssified into individual products and priced ording to the weight of each part. It would usually take half a day to just finish weighing monster parts that were made up of seven to eleven materials, but it only took two hours to finish the entire process for what Han-Yeol had brought since there were only three materials and he had already done the trimming for the unnecessary parts. ¡°We will go and grab a bite, thene back, if that is the case,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Is that alright with you?¡± Manager Han asked. ¡°Yes, that is not a problem at all,¡± Han-Yeol answered. ¡°I know a delicious restaurant nearby, I will ask one of my employees to guide you,¡± Manager Han said. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to trouble yourself. I already looked up a ce online,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol originally nned to go out to eat with Yoo-bi after finishing the transaction, but it looked like they had to go and eat a little bit earlier than nned. ¡°I understand. Then I shall see you in two hours,¡± Manager Han said. ¡°Alright then.¡± Han-Yeol nodded at the manager and left the factory. ¡°Oppa, are you buying me food?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Yeah, and I also have to apologize to you as well,¡± Han-Yeol said.?He felt bad that Yoo-Bi hadn¡¯t been able to attack even once in today¡¯s hunt, and he felt apologetic about it since he would never want to go on a hunt with that hunter ever again if that had happened to him. ¡°I already told you that it was alright¡­¡± Yoo-Bi muttered in response. Deep inside, however, she was actually looking forward to having a meal with Han-Yeol that he paid for. When they got into the RV truck and were driving to the restaurant, they turned into a secluded spot on the way. This street was once quite lively with various small and medium factories in the past, but all of them had closed down after not being able to withstand the pressure therge corporations had mounted on them. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought when something caught his attention. Swoooosh¡­ Kabooom! Something suddenly flew toward their RV truck and exploded, causing the truck to flip upside down and the truck¡¯s roof skidded across the ground. The truck was set aze by a huge ball of fire so fierce that the fire was seemingly dead set on not letting anything escape from its grasp alive. Step¡­ Step¡­ Two figures appeared from a distance with a great view of the zing wreckage. One of them was a yellow-haired man, who was wearing a white shirt, ck suit, and ck sunsses. ¡°What? That¡¯s it?¡± the yellow-haired man said. ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down¡­ The opponent is still a Hunter,¡± the other figure, who was a short woman with the same outfit and red hair, said. The yellow-haired man was holding a rocketuncher, as if publicly advertising that he was the main culprit behind the explosion. Heughed out loud. ¡°Kekeke! Nobody, not even a Hunter, can survive after being hit by my rocket containing my mana!¡± ¡°You idiot! You didn''t hit him! You only hit his truck despite using that much explosive power. A Hunter who¡¯s good at handling mana can withstand that force as long as they are able to react to it,¡± the red-haired woman scolded the man. ¡°Kekekek! He is free toe crawling out! I will just rip his limbs off instead then!¡± the yellow-haired man shouted while his sadisticugh reverberated across the street full of abandoned factories. *** Fwaaa¡­! ¡°Ugh!¡± Han-Yeol groaned. Han-Yeol managed to survive the explosion even though everything had happened so suddenly and he had been caught off guard. He had barely managed to react in time to activate Mana Shield and protect Yoo-Bi because Sixth Sense had only kicked in just a split second before the explosion. He could have avoided and gotten out of danger as soon as possible if he had been alone, but he had no choice but to tank the damage to protect Yoo-Bi. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were currently within the barrier he had created afterbining Mana Shield and Mana Control. He started to process what just happened when things calmed down a little, ¡®Damn it¡­ Now there are killersing after me¡­¡¯ He had no idea whether the attackers were professional killers or just a person carrying out a job, but if there was one thing that he could be certain of right now, it would be the fact that they were after him. Sensing the two figures loitering around the truck trying to check if he was dead or alive, Han-Yeol wondered, ¡®Are they sent by therge corporations?¡¯? Although he could only specte, he was certain that if someone was willing to openly attack him at this time and ce then it was most likely that someone was trying to get back at him for previously chasing those gangsters away from the factory. On top of that, they were probably trying to get rid of the annoying pesky little Hunter who was getting in the way of their ns by sending these killers. ¡®Is it possible for me to win against them¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered. There was no way for him to grasp his opponent''s abilities as of now, so it was difficult for him to judge if he would be able to win against them or not. ¡®They would have sent killers?who can?easily dispose of an E rank Hunter if they were smart enough¡­¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol came to this conclusion because of the fact that hisst rank update on the Hunters¡¯ Association database had him listed as an E Rank Hunter. Thus, he expected them to know that much, since they probably had ess to that information. On top of that, they had probably seen all of thebat records registered under his name as well. ¡®This means that they have only seen records of me hunting trolls,¡¯ he thought. He had been hunting alone most of the time after the Troll hunt, so that was probably the only record they had avable to them to gauge his strength. ¡®This freaking sucks though¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly.?He had been prepared for therge corporations to retaliate at some point, but he did not expect them toe at him this aggressively. Just then¡­ Pat! The two people?jumped on the ruined truck and looked down into it. ¡°What the hell? Why are you hiding in here like a rat if you are still alive? That''s not fun, bro,¡± the yellow-haired man said. ¡°Keuk!?Damn it,¡± Han-Yeol muttered under his breath. ¡°See? I told you Hunters don¡¯t die so easily, right?¡± the red-haired woman said. ¡°They are just Hunters in the end!¡± the yellow-haired man shouted before he aimed his rocketuncher at Han-Yeol. ck! ¡°There¡¯s nothing a direct hit won¡¯t be able to solve!¡± the yellow-haired man shouted as he pulled the trigger. Fwaaa¡­ Bam! Han-Yeol was able to evade the rocket after using Jumping immediately. ¡°Where do you think you''re going?¡± the red-haired woman said. She suddenly appeared next to Han-Yeol as if to emphasize that she was working with the man as a team. She was holding a dagger in a reverse grip, and the weapon was coated with a purple liquid. ¡®That¡¯s poison!¡¯?Han-Yeol recognized it immediately. He could instinctively tell that it was poison even though he did not have much knowledge about poisons. Then, he instantly activated his skill. ¡®Shield Bash!¡¯? Bam! ¡°Tsk!¡±?the red-haired woman clicked her tongue. She did not get the opportunity to use her poisonced dagger, since Han-Yeol reacted so fast by instantly using Force Shield and following it up with Shield Bash to push her away from him. Tap! Tadak! The three of them were now in a stand-off. ¡°Hey, you''re pretty good bro. I''m sure themission said you were an E-rank Hunter, but you don''t seem like an E Rank Hunter at all. I think you¡¯re a C Rank based on your movements,¡° the yellow-haired man said. ¡°I agree. I think we will have to revise the fee once weplete this task,¡± the red-haired woman added. Han-Yeol had no room to rx while the two assassins were leisurely chatting with each other. That was because Yoo-Bi was unconscious in his arms. He thought, ¡®I have no other choice¡­¡¯? Shik! Han-Yeol cut his fingertip and drew blood from it. Then, he muttered, ¡°Summon Demon, Kajikar.¡± The blood from Han-Yeol¡¯s fingertips fell to the ground and created a pattern, and the Demon drill sergeant, Kajikar, whom he managed to sessfully summonst time, appeared from the pattern. Kajikar had the flushed red face of a drunk, and he did not have any presence at all as opposed to what Han-Yeol had expected. He eximed. [Hup, I¡¯m getting drunk... W-What is this, Human? It¡¯s not training time yet!] ¡°I-I apologize Kajikar-nim, but I am under attack right now. I cannot fight while protecting myrade. May you please at least protect her even if you won¡¯t participate in the battle?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The contract he had with Kajikar stated that their rtionship was going to be strictly about training, and there was nothing in the contract that mentioned anything about the demon having to assist him inbat. That was why Han-Yeol came up with the idea to request Kajikar to protect Yoo-Bi, since he knew that the Shadow Demon was not going to be of much help. The demon did not possess enough intellect to think for itself. [Hmm, that will be one hundred liters of expensive alcohol.] Kajikar stated his price. The demon was not the typical closed-minded demon, so it was easy for Han-Yeol to have his request granted. After all, the demon was not going to be participating inbat at all and he was only going to have to protect the human his contractor had requested him to protect. ¡°That sounds good,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Hup! Alright then. Now go and fight to your heart¡¯s content!] Kajikar eximed. ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied before he left Yoo-Bi beside Kajikar and walked toward the killers. Shwiik¡­ ¡°Well, well, that chain¡­ I thought it was a decoration, but it turned out to be a weapon. Kekek! Fun, how fun! This is why I can¡¯t stop being a killer! I¡¯m already feeling hot from excitement!¡± the yellow-haired man yelled in excitement as he licked his lips. ¡°Calm down. He¡¯s not an opponent you can beat by getting overexcited,¡± the red-haired woman said. She wasposed, unlike the yellow-haired man who was about to blow up from excitement. She could immediately tell that Han-Yeol was not going to be an easy opponent even though they had only shed once. However, the possibility of the two of them losing to their target never crossed her mind at all. The only thing that changed was the fact that the job had be a little bit more difficult than they expected it to be, and that they were going to get paid more because of that. Whoosh¡­ As the wind blew and swept away the leaves on the ground, they stared at each other. The atmosphere slowly started to get tenser by the second. ¡°Hahaha! Die!!¡± Just as expected, the yellow-haired man was the first one to attack. Once again, he fired the rocketuncher at Han-Yeol. ¡®It¡¯s that rocketuncher again¡­ It¡¯s a shame that I lost my rifle a while ago¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The M4A2 rifle had been destroyed in the truck explosion. It was a sturdy weapon specially manufactured to be used by Hunters, but the rocket that hit them was not an ordinary rocket but one infused with mana. In the end, the rifle ultimately got destroyed. ¡®Jump!¡¯?Han-Yeol used his skill. Tak! Han-Yeol jumped into the air and dodged the iing rocket. Whoosh! The red-haired woman jumped into the air along with Han-Yeol, who expected her to do so. He thought, ¡®Perhaps you¡¯re expecting an opening, but not a chance in hell.¡¯ It seemed that they nned toy a trap for Han-Yeol to catch him off guard the moment he tried to run away from the yellow-haired man¡¯s rockets, which packed quite a destructive power, but there was one thing that they had greatly miscalcted¡­ Their abilities were not that superiorpared to Han-Yeol, and neither were they stronger than him. There was no reason for Han-Yeol to panic at the iing rocket, since he had a cheat skill called Sixth Sense. Han-Yeol thought as he prepared to use Sword Breath to finish off his enemy, ¡®I will finish you two in one shot.¡¯? However¡­ Chapter 60: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon’s Eye

Chapter 60: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon¡¯s Eye

[Focus.] Kajikar¡¯s voice suddenly rang inside Han-Yeol¡¯s head. ¡°Kajikar-nim?¡±?Han-Yeol muttered in response. [Since I am already here, I might as well provide you with some additional special training. The opponents this time aren¡¯t monsters but humans, so I will teach you some defensive and offensive techniques that you can use against humans,] Kajikar said. ¡®Heok!¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked. His opponents this time were professional killers, and he had no idea if he was going to be able to win against them even if he fought with his life on the line. However, the demon drill sergeant was now asking him to use this predicament to train, and this greatly confused him. [You are forbidden from using Sword Breathe. You are only to use Force Shield when blocking the enemies¡¯ attacks and you are only to use your sword inly to attack,] Kajikar said. ¡®I-I understand,¡¯ Han-Yeol begrudgingly answered. He really did not want to follow this crazy demon¡¯s instructions, but he had to follow Kajikar¡¯s orders since he had already promised that he would do whatever he was told. ng! Han-Yeol used Force Shield to block the red-haired woman¡¯s poisonced dagger, then¡­ [Stop being a coward and use your sword to block simple attacks like that!] Kajikar¡¯s angry voice boomed in his head. ¡®Y-Yes!¡¯ Han-Yeol panicked and replied. He quickly swung his sword to create some distance between himself and the red-haired woman. The woman spun in mid-air and did a somersault when she faltered after getting pushed back by Han-Yeol¡¯s shield. Looking at that, the yellow-haired man began to mock her by saying, ¡°What? You can¡¯t even finish him off?¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± the red-haired woman said. Her expression did not change despite her attack failing, but unbeknownst to those around her, she was burning with rage inside. ¡®He blocked my coup de grace?¡¯?she was perplexed. The red-haired woman was the type of person who only fought the battles that she knew she could win. The fact that she was not able to kill her opponent, whom she had assumed would be an easy game, was a massive blow to her pride. ¡®Phew¡­ I managed to get out of that just in time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he gathered himself together and raised his sword. [You have good eyes and that strange ability of yours, which lets you read your enemy¡¯s movements, is indeed fantastic, but watch your enemy¡¯s movements until thest second and use your judgment to make the best possible move based on it. Humans have the peculiar characteristic of being very rigid when ites to swordsmanship and martial arts, but you don¡¯t need that. You should just focus and think, but more importantly, you have to be quick,] Kajikar instructed. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡°Ah, this is getting boring¡­ Let''s get this over with! I¡¯m getting hungry now. Bazooka!¡± the yellow-haired man hollered before he fired his rocket at Han-Yeol. Booom! ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. He could have sworn that the rocket looked normal, but he had this strange feeling that the rocket itself was focusing on him. Han-Yeol used Mana Eyes, and his suspicions proved to be correct as the rocket was infused with mana that was directed toward him. He thought, ¡®So?it has homing abilities. I¡¯m bound to get caught by that red-haired woman if I keep fighting like this.¡¯ It was not difficult to avoid the rocket, but its power was undeniably strong. However, Han-Yeol was bound to get caught by the red-haired woman¡¯s poisonced dagger if he only focused on avoiding the rocket. Han-Yeol concentrated and infused his mana into his sword. Step! Then, he rushed forward. ¡°Foolish! Do you think you can hold my rockets back!¡± the yellow-haired manughed, mocking Han-Yeol¡¯s reckless behavior. However, Han-Yeol simply shouted, ¡°Haaap!¡±? Sukeok! Han-Yeol ran forward and sliced the entire rocket in half in one fluid motion. Kabooom! Arge explosion urred. Han-Yeol cut the rocket in half, and both halves of the rocket flew past him before exploding behind him. Everything happened so fast that the rocket only managed to explode after passing him, and Han-Yeol came out unscathed from the explosion. The only effect the explosion had on him was that his shirt fluttered from its wind st. ¡°W-What the?¡± the yellow-haired man muttered in surprise after seeing what just urred right in front of him. ¡°Tsk!¡±?the red-haired woman clicked her tongue before she dashed forward and swung her poisonced dagger at Han-Yeol. She had to hurry up and end this, since this type of chaotic disturbance was very unfavorable to them. [Try to remember the feeling of what you did just now. Make your next move after focusing all of your senses on your surroundings,] Kajikar¡¯s voice rang inside Han-Yeol¡¯s mind. ¡®Time to focus¡­!¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he immediately activated his Sixth Sense and Mana Eyes, and cranked them up to the maximum. Then, his senses were so heightened that he could feel the air caressing his skin and every single droplet of moisture in the air. ¡®Now it¡¯s time for me to act.¡¯ ng! Puuuk! ¡°Kuheok!¡±?the red-haired woman groaned. Han-Yeol did not use Sword Breath, relying only on his sword and his judgment. He gracefully moved his wrist and parried the poisonced dagger, and then he immediately shuffled his feet to close the distance with his target. Finally, he stabbed her in the neck. Blood started to gush out from the woman¡¯s neck. Seuk¡­ Sukeok! ¡°W-What?¡±?the yellow-haired man muttered in shock. Han-Yeol pulled his sword out of the red-haired woman¡¯s neck and immediately swung his sword horizontally to behead the woman. Tuk¡­ He did not stop there. He immediately rushed toward the yellow-haired man, who was still in a state of panic. ¡°D-Don''t! Come near me!¡± the yellow-haired man screamed. He started to panic the moment he saw his colleague getting killed in an instant, and he fired a rocket toward Han-Yeol without even aiming properly. ¡®These will be difficult to cut in half,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Indeed, it was a bit of a stretch to attempt to cut the rocket in half as he did a while ago, since he was in extremely close proximity to the rocketpared to the previous one. That was why Han-Yeol chose to use his shield instead of his sword this time. He instantly activated Force Shield and raised it at the iing rocket. ¡°Kyahaha! Do you think your measly shield can stop my rocket?!¡± the yellow-haired man eximed whileughing in delight. He might have lost hisrade just moments ago, but the sheer bliss from the thought of emerging victorious due to the Hunter¡¯s na?ve action was more than enough to make himugh ecstatically. ¡°Heup!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned just before the rocket was about to hit his shield. Just when the rocket was about to make contact with his shield, he suddenly used another skill. He gathered his mana and channeled them into his shield as he activated his shield skill, ¡®Shield Bash!¡¯ Bam¡­ Swhooooo¡­ Kabooom! ¡°H-Huh?¡± the yellow-haired man muttered in confusion. He was expecting a huge explosion that would devour Han-Yeol and turn him into ashes once his rocket collided with the shield, but that did not happen at all. Han-Yeol had used his shield to redirect the rocket just split seconds before it exploded and sent it flying behind him. The yellow-haired man was speechless. Swhiiik¡­ Han-Yeol closed the distance between him and the yellow-haired man while the man was still in a state of disbelief. He said coldly, ¡°It''s over.¡± ¡°N-No¡­!¡± the yellow-haired man muttered as if he was about to beg for his life any second now. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s sword prated his heart even before he got the chance to mutter anything else. The heart was the second most critical part of a human¡¯s body after the brain, and there was no way that anyone would be able to withstand having a sword pierce through their heart unless they were not human. Puuuuuk¡­! Han-Yeol pulled his sword out, and blood started to gush out from the yellow-haired man¡¯s heart like a fountain. Thud¡­! The yellow-haired man, who was now as pale as a ghost, knelt on the floor and died in that position. ¡®Phew¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh. [Good job,] Kajikar said after everything was over. Han-Yeol closed his eyes at the demon drill sergeant¡¯s words and felt the stinging pain in his heart that lingered after the battle ended. *** At an office on the top floor of a tall ss building. Bam! ¡°What did you just say? What? You failed?¡± a man asked angrily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know that the target was such a strong Hunter. I was certain that the information from the Hunters¡¯ Association said that he was an E Rank Hunter, so I sent a group of D Rank killers¡­¡± the man on the receiving end said. ¡°Do you call that an excuse? Do you think that money was the only thing that we spent hiring those killers? Are you not aware of how risky it is to hire killers in any country these days? But you failed on top of that?!¡± the man shouted. ¡°I''m sorry, Soo-Hyuk,¡± the man who was being berated replied. ¡°Do you think an apology will solve this?!¡± the man named Soo-Hyuk screamed. Soo-Hyuk was a young man, but he was berating a man in histe thirties. The middle-aged man was in front of Soo-Hyuk with his head hung down. There was a que on the table Soo-Hyuk was sitting on. [Executive Director Kwon Soo-Hyuk] ¡°Hyung, you are aware that my brothers and I are currently in a fight over the session rites, and the family is in a mess, right?¡± Soo-Hyuk said. ¡°Of course I do,¡± the middle-aged man replied. ¡°If my brothers find out that I couldn¡¯t even take care of a small factory and was instead humiliated in the process¡­ do you think they will leave me alone? They will probably see it as an opportunity to finish me off. Then, I will really be finished. Then what will happen to you, hyung, if I¡¯m finished? Do you think you can peacefully sleep at night without worrying about your job if that happens?¡± Soo-Hyuk said with a grimace. ¡°...¡± Director Kwon Soo-Hyuk stood up from his seat and approached the middle-aged man, and then he ced his hands on the man''s shoulder before he said, ¡°Director Lee, you¡¯re older than me. You can''t just be forever stuck as a manager, right? You should try to at least be the executive director and maybe even the president of thispany someday. Now, let me ask you. What should you do to achieve that?¡± ¡°S-Soo-Hyuk, you should take over thepany for that to happen,¡± Director Lee immediately replied. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct! But how pathetic is it that the future leader of thispany can''t even take care of a small factory?¡± Soo-Hyukmented. ¡°O-Of course, I understand what you are trying to say,¡± Director Lee said while his forehead was covered in cold sweat. Director Lee had grown up together with Soo-Hyuk, but Soo-Hyuk was still nerve-wracking and difficult to deal with despite him being younger. He was very unpredictable, and he could do anything on impulse. ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the acquisition of this factory?¡± Soo-Hyuk asked. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Department Head Jung Seok-Won. He has been a manager for two years now,¡± Director Lee replied. ¡°Tell Department Head Jung toe into my office,¡± Soo-Hyuk said. ¡°A-Alright,¡± Director Lee replied. Director Lee could have asked one of the employees to go and call Department Head Jung, but he did it himself. After all, he wanted to leave Soo-Hyuk¡¯s office as soon as possible. ¡°Hey! Hey! Where is Department Head Jung?!¡± Director Lee shouted. No longer trembling while covered in cold sweat, he turned into apletely different person from a while ago upon arriving at the office where the employees were at. Then, one of the managers immediately ran to Director Lee before he bowed his head and replied, ¡°D-Department Head Jung is out on business right now.¡± ¡°What? Out on business?¡± Director Lee replied while grimacing. ¡°Y-Yes,¡± the manager replied. ¡°That crazy bastard! Can¡¯t he read thepany¡¯s atmosphere right now?! How can he even think of leaving the office at this time?!¡± Director Lee yelled angrily. ¡°W-What you said is correct, sir,¡± the manager said as he tried to appease the furious manager. Director Lee pointed his finger at the manager and said, ¡°Call Department Head Jung this instant and tell him toe to my office immediately!¡± ¡°Y-Yes, I will do it at once, sir,¡± the manager said as he bowed over and over again to the point that his back could break any moment now. Director Lee clicked his tongue after hearing the manager¡¯s response and went to his office. On the way there, he nervously fiddled with his necktie and grumbled, ¡°Tsk¡­ young people these days are so useless. All of them are.¡± It was not until Director Lee left for his office that the manager finally stood up straight and spat out curses behind his back, ¡°Wow, that crazy bastard. How can he act so high and mighty when he is so young, damn it!¡± The manager continued to curse Director Lee under his breath for a good five minutes before he turned around and called a woman, ¡°Hey! Assistant Manager Lee!¡± ¡°Yes, manager-nim,¡± a woman in a suit came running in a hurry when her superior called. ¡°Call Department Head Jung and let him know that Director Lee is looking for him, and tell him toe as soon as he can, because the director is quite in a foul mood right now,¡± the manager said. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± answered the female employee. ¡°Damn it¡­ I am going to smoke for a while. Assistant Manager Lee, you take special care so that the office mood doesn¡¯t sour any more than this, alright?¡± the manager grumbled. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the female employee answered before she hurriedly went to do what she was told. The office atmosphere was once again a mess today, and it wasmon knowledge for employees to work overtime whenever the office atmosphere was bad. However, the employees here tended to think of ways to kill time and look busy instead of finding actual work to do, since there was no reason for them to work hard in the first ce. The present-day society was one where everything was based on connections, and it was impossible for anyone to be promoted unless they were either very talented or very well connected. That was why most people aimed to just fill the hours and collect their paycheck until the day they retired, and then they would start collecting their retirement paycheck. Assistant Director Lee called Department Head Jung, who seemed incapable of sitting still at his desk today. Ring... Ring¡­ Ring¡­. Ring¡­ Ring¡­Ring¡­? The line was ringing, but Department Head Jung was not answering his phone. ¡°Sigh, this bastard is not answering the phone again¡­¡± Assistant Manager Lee grumbled. Department Head Jung was a delinquent when it came to going out of the office for business. It was actually quite difficult for thispany¡¯s employees to have to conduct business outside of their office due to the nature of their work, but he seemed toe up with all sorts of reasons and excuses to go out all the time. However, the fact that he came up with these excuses and skipped work was not even the worst part, because he would usually leave the office to go to saunas, inte cafes, or even brothels. The reason why Assistant Director Lee knew about Department Head Jung¡¯s escapades was simply due to the fact that he would alwayse back to the office looking like a triumphant generaling back from war while bragging about his endeavors. Department Head Jung was obviously doing something wrong, but nobody really reprimanded him for his behavior. That was because his title as the department head made him the highest-ranking person among the regr employees, and Department Head Jung was one of Executive Director Kwon¡¯sckeys. This meant that he was technically, but not officially, the highest-ranking department head among all of the others in a simr position. ¡°Hey, intern!¡± Assistant Manager Lee shouted. ¡°Yes, Assistant Manager-nim!¡± a male intern, who joined thepany not too long ago during the recent open recruitment, answered as he came running. The male intern was quite humble and motivated, and he was eager to learn as he held great ambitions for his career. However, he now spent most of his time praying every day hoping that he could pass the day without having any problems so that he could end up being hired as a full-time employee. That was how the male intern started his career, just like anyone else in this South Korean society. 1. This is a Korean idiom that means that someone continuously bows to someone over and over again, hence breaking the back, but not actually breaking the back. Chapter 61: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon’s Eye (2)

Chapter 61: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon¡¯s Eye (2)

Ssh¡­ Ssh¡­ Inside the bath of a famous spa, Department Head Jung, who was a delinquent out-of-office worker, was rxing in pure bliss. He had used hispany card to treat himself to a rxing hot bath at a famous spa. He moaned in satisfaction, ¡°Yeah, that never fails to hit the spot.¡± He had originally wanted to go to a more expensive massage parlor, buttely, thepany¡¯s atmosphere had been on the rocks. That was why the best he could do to not stick out like a sore thumb at the moment was to go to a cheaper spa during office hours. ¡°Tsk¡­ I was looking forward to seeing that voluptuous new face that they said wasing in today. That damn Hunter had to intervene and ruin everything¡­ What a damn mess this is...¡± he grumbled with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Department Head Jung was not happy with how things were going. There were not a lot of opportunities for him to im first dibs on the new faces who came into the brothel he frequented, which was known for having a high standard and services, but his hope and expectations were dashed when that good for nothing Hunter stepped in and ruined the perfect n he had created. Now, he had to be content lounging in the spa hot tub instead of enjoying a different ce with added services that he felt he was deserving of. ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s that pesky Hunter. I will finish him and the Sung-Jin Factory together all at once,¡± he said with a sinister look on his face. Ssh¡­! Ssh¡­! He smacked the water''s surface just as he usually did. Fortunately, he was the only male consumer inside the bath since it was still early in the morning on a weekday. He was enjoying his hot bath at the spa as per usual when a chill suddenly went down his spine. A cold chill filled the entire spa, and goosebumps started to rise all over his body. ¡°Aaaahk!¡±?Department Head Jung screamed the moment he opened his eyes. A ck figure was standing in front of him, and it was difficult to tell if the figure had ck skin or if it was simply a figure made out of darkness itself. The ck figure only had a pair of red eyes, which contrasted with its body. It was what one would normally call a¡­ ¡°D-Demon!¡± Department Head Jung screamed. Upon seeing the demon, he immediately recognized what it was from the horns on its head, which was a stereotypical description of what a demon looked like. [Look into my eyes,] the demon said as it opened its red mouth. ¡°Heok!¡± Department Head Jung screamed. He had heard stories of how making eye contact with a demon would take the person¡¯s soul away, and that was why he desperately tried not to make eye contact with the demon in front of him. The shadow demon might be?a low-grade demon, but it was more than capable enough to deal with a human with no capabilities to use mana. Department Head Jung had no choice but to make eye contact with the demon eventually, since the demon¡¯s pressure forcefully made him look at its eyes. The moment he locked eyes with the demon, he gasped loudly, ¡°Heok!¡± [Weakness,] the Shadow Demon cast. This was the second Shadow Demon summoned by Han-Yeol, and the demon had learned a curse skill called Weakness, unlike the first Shadow Demon which had learned Shadow Concealment instead. The Shadow Demonmanded Department Head Jung to look into its eyes, but this was actually something that Han-Yeol hadmanded the demon to do. Weakness was a skill that could be cast on a target as many times as the caster wanted. This was as long as the target was near, and Han-Yeol hadmanded the Shadow Demon to cast this skill on Department Head Jung first since he wanted to amplify the fear that the man felt. ¡°M-My body¡­¡± Department Head Jung muttered as he continued to stare at the demon. [You¡­ Will¡­ Die¡­ Slowly¡­] the Shadow Demon said ominously. ¡°F-Forgive me, please s-spare me,¡± Department Head Jung begged pitifully. [Kuhaha!] The Shadow Demon let out a wickedugh before it slowly disappeared. ¡°N-No, please don¡¯t!¡± Department Head Jung screamed. Ssh! Department Head Jung tried to hold on to the disappearing Shadow Demon, but his physical body was already in a weakened state because of the Weakness curse the demon had cast on him. He fell forward when his weakened body could not handle his sudden movements. ¡°H-How can this be?¡± Department Head Jung muttered in disbelief. He was devastated that his body did not feel like his own and that he had been cursed by a demon. ¡®I-I got cursed, and to make matters worse, it was done by a demon¡­¡¯?Department Head Jung thought as he despaired. Han-Yeol watched from the dressing room as he looked at the despair on Department Head Jung¡¯s face before leaving the ce. There was no reason for Han-Yeol to show himself and attract attention since it was a weekday morning and there were no other male patrons in the spa. ¡®This should be enough of a warning to him,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. To be honest, Han-Yeol had wanted to kill Department Head Jung for sending the killers after him, but he had refrained from taking such a drastic action since the other party was arge corporation capable of somehow twisting things to turn the situation in their favor. Still, he had decided to send a stern warning since they could send another batch of killers toe and make an attempt on his life in the future, and that was the reason for him doing what he did today. He was frustrated at himself for being able to retaliate by only this much, and he felt how powerless he was after this incident since he was now more aware of how the world worked. With a bitter taste in his mouth, he thought, ¡®This time, it ended with a simple Weakness curse, but that won¡¯t be all the next time.¡¯ It was not easy for Han-Yeol to spare the life of somebody who had tried to kill him since he was someone who bore grudges and had to pay them back an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ¡®But of all the people who would want to take over Sung-Jin Factory¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he felt a migraine slowly creeping in. Things were much moreplicated than he had expected because the corporation that tried to take over the Sung-Jin Factory was a much bigger entity than he had initially thought it would be. Han-Yeol went back to the factory after taking care of the killers and asked the Sung-Jin Factory¡¯s manager to find out the culprit behind the assassination attempt on him, and he could not help but grimace the moment he heard the name that came out from the manager¡¯s mouth since they were quite a big shot in this industry. He thought, ¡®Ugh¡­ What should I do? I can¡¯t just ignore this issue¡­ I can''t do that to Sung-Jin.¡¯ Han-Yeol would have distanced himself from this issue if Sung-Jin was just another friend, since his opponent was not just another neighborhood delinquent, but he had to stick it out since Sung-Jin was the friend who had been by his side and had helped him out when he had a rough time during his school days. There was no way he could turn a blind eye when his friend was in trouble. ¡®Looks?like I have no other choice but to power level from now on,¡¯ he thought. Han-Yeol was sitting outside when he saw Department Head Jung, who was under the Weakness curse, pass by. ¡°Ugh¡­ Ugh¡­¡±?Department Head Jung moaned while staggering. He groaned when his legs almost gave out, ¡°Euk¡­!¡± He was having a hard time walking because of the curse, and Han-Yeol even saw tears welling up in Department Head Jung¡¯s eyes. ¡®Well, I would have felt horrible for what I did, but he should know that no matter how many tears he shed, there were many more tears that have been shed because of him,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as there was not an ounce of pity in his heart. This was because Han-Yeol knew to some extent the tyranny of therge corporation that Department Head Jung worked for, and he knew even when he had been working as a Porter that this specificrge corporation was the number one entity that people did not want to be involved with. In fact, this corporation was growing quite rapidly and was very sessful. ¡®Serves you right,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not expect the skill to be this useful and effective when the Shadow Demon had learned the Weakness curse, but he changed his mind after seeing the skill¡¯s effect on Department Head Jung. Han-Yeol used Jump and jumped into the air. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a hunter,¡± a passerby said. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m jealous,¡± the person next to him said. The average person would look at Han-Yeol right now and be green with envy just because of the fact that he was a Hunter. *** Time passed and tomorrow soon came, and there were no reports of two bodies being found on the news. Noticing that, Han-Yeol thought, ¡®Well, I guess it¡¯s because killers are a subject of elimination from the Hunters¡¯ Association.¡¯ It was highly likely that someone had found the body and had reported it, and the police had been called, and the police must have also reported it to the association thinking that the bodies were Hunters since the police had to report to the Hunter¡¯s Association whenever a Hunter''s body was found. ¡®From?what I know it is amon policy of the association to dispose of the killers quietly,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. This was something he had found out by chance while he had been working as a Porter. ¡®Executive Director Kwon¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. His small revenge incident made Department Head Jung incapable of having a normal life, but he knew all too well that Executive Director Kwon was the one pulling the strings from behind. He thought, ¡®They said he was the third son of the TK Group.¡¯ He discovered that TK Chemicals was thepany aiming to take over Sung-Jin Factory, and it was an affiliate of the entity in charge of manufacturing anything rted to mana stones under TK Group. Han-Yeol was still too weak andcking to directly challenge the TK Group to a fight, but he nned to challenge them in the near future when he was strong enough to not have to worry about any killers being sent after him. ¡®An individual can¡¯t continue to get pushed around by a corporation, right?¡¯?he thought. Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Han-Yeol¡¯s phone rang. ¡®Hmm¡­? Who is it?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought before he looked at his phone to see who was calling him. [Sung-Jin] The phone screen showed the name of his hardworking friend, and of course, Han-Yeol answered the phone, ¡°Hey, Sung-Jin.¡± . [Hey!] Sung-Jin shouted from the other end of the line. The sudden loud noiseing from the smartphone made Han-Yeol grimace, since his hearing became more sensitive upon awakening as a Hunter. It was so loud that even Han-Yeol, who did not usually react to anything, jumped up in surprise. He yelled back even louder, ¡°What?! Why are you shouting so early in the morning?!¡± However, Sung-Jin seemed to not care about it. Han-Yeol, who had spent most of his school days fighting or being in a brawl, was more hot-headed than the studious Sung-Jin, who had been an honor student and a role model. [Hey, are you a Hunter?] Sung-Jin asked directly, just like how a man should be. ¡°Huh? Did I not tell you?¡± Han-Yeol replied. He obviously knew that he did not tell Sung-Jin, but he wanted to further annoy his friend by feigning ignorance. [You crazy bastard! You should¡¯ve told me earlier! Why did I have to hear from my father that you are a Hunter?] Sung-Jin shouted in annoyance. ¡°Well, how does it feel to hear that your friend is a Hunter? Does it make you feel proud?¡± Han-Yeol said jokingly. [You crazy bastard¡­] Sung-Jin muttered. His voice was full of envy as opposed to the words that came out of his mouth. In fact, it was apletely normal reaction. Why would it not be? Hunters were the object of envy and it was the most sought-after job for most men of their age. A Hunter got to look cool, be stronger, and most importantly, be rich. It was basically the best job that could provide what all men ever dreamed of. It was possible for any Hunter to earn more than a sports superstar as long as they managed to awaken as a Hunter. In fact, an E Rank Hunter, which was not that high ranked among the Hunters, could earn hundreds of millions of won annually as long as they hunted diligently. ¡°So, is that why you called?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [No, you crazy bastard,e out, let''s have a drink.] Sung-Jin replied. ¡°Now?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in surprise as he looked out of his window. The sun had just risen, and it was still so early that even the birds seemed to be still fast asleep as they were nowhere in sight. [Come on, man, let¡¯s have a morning drink. It has been a while since we had a drink in the morning,] Sung-Jin said. ¡°You crazy bastard¡­ Hey, are you not going to work?¡± Han-Yeol asked worriedly. He was perplexed when the guy that dressed up in a suit and worked at a bank was asking him for a drink so early in the morning. [I quit,] Sung-Jin replied. ¡°What? Why?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡®Is he going to go help his father?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He thought that perhaps Sung-Jin came to realize a lot of things from the recent events. [I took this opportunity to apply to be a Porter,] Sung-Jin said. ¡°What¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief as he was startled by what Sung-Jin said. Han-Yeol had heard stories of men with nice decent jobs quitting and bing Porters. He always found it ridiculous that some people would risk theirfortable high-paying job to work as a Porter, but it seemed all the more absurd now that someone he personally knew had made the exact same decision for himself. There were two types of Porters in this world. Most people who chose to be a Porter were from poor backgrounds and they aspired to be Hunters as they did not have any special skills or talents that they could use to make a living, and they would choose to risk themselves and their lives to make it since that was the only thing they had in the first ce. The other group would be the Elite Porters, those who had been trained physically and in extreme survival since they were very young and were aiming to be a full-fledged Hunter one day. It was rare for anyone who had a normal, stable, and well-paying job to suddenly quit one day and say ¡®I¡¯m going to be a Porter!¡¯. There were very few cases of people doing this, and the statistics speak for themselves. These were the people who could be called the one percentile, which in this case, was nothing more than a minority of rare cases. ¡°Are¡­you sure that you can handle it¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked worriedly. He did not want to nag Sung-Jin about his decision on bing a Porter, since he felt that he would be overstepping his boundaries if he meddled in his decision by telling him things like how difficult the job could be or howfortable and safe it would be to continue working as a banker. In fact, it was not really Han-Yeol¡¯s style to meddle in other people¡¯s affairs in the first ce. [I have to,] Sung-Jin replied calmly, showing his determination on the matter. ¡°Did you tell your father about this?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Yeah¡­ He strongly objected, but I¡¯ll have to keep trying and convince him,] Sung-Jin replied. ¡°Where do you want to meet up?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Where else can we meet aside from the usual ce?] Sung-Jin replied. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol said before he hung up. Beep! He hung up after setting the time and location for the meeting with Sung-Jin before he made his way out. There were not a lot of people outside as it was still early in the morning on a weekday. Ring! Ring! ¡°Wee¡­ Oh? Han-Yeol, what brings you here so early in the morning?¡± the pub owner asked. ¡°Sung-Jin wanted to have a drink early in the morning,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°You boys aren¡¯t that young anymore, you need to take care of your bodies. I know that it¡¯s going to be a loss for me if I tell you not to drink, but I don''t think daytime drinking is a good idea,¡± the pub owner said. ¡°Well, it wasn''t me who wanted to drink,¡± Han-Yeol shrugged his shoulders and replied with a smirk. Then, he ordered, ¡°Give us the usual please.¡± ¡°Okay, fine,¡± the pub owner replied. Han-Yeol used to drop by and secretly drink alcohol when he was in high school. It was the perfect ce to skip school and kill time since this ce also served breakfast menus, and since the shop owner was a former gangster, it was a ce where loyalty was more important than thew. He opened a bottle of Soju and began drinking when the food he ordered was served. Ring! Ring! ¡°Hello, boss,¡± Sung-Jin greeted as he came into the pub. 1. Sshing the water in a public bath is frowned upon in Korean culture since it is considered rude to the other patrons. Chapter 62: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon’s Eye (3)

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 augh in disbelief before he went back inside the kitchen. ¡°Yo,¡± Sung-Jin greeted Han-Yeol. ¡°Yo,¡± Han-Yeol weed 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 ss to receive the drink before they made a toast and brought the ss 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 ss,¡± Han-Yeol said as he held out a bottle of soju. ¡°Pour me a ss,¡± Sung-Jin requested as he lifted his ss. The amount of alcohol they drank increased from one ss 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 exined. 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''splicated internal affairs, but Han-Yeol disposing of the killers likely was a factor that put a stop to their ns. ¡°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, bing a hunter is the best possible job one could ever dream of, '''' Sung-Jin exined. 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 exined as he downed his ss. ¡°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 be a Porter for money or to look cool or because he wanted to take revenge against his enemies. He had no ns 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 notst 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 ss. ¡°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 yed until the morning before they separated. The reason Sung-Jin had partied so hardst 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 ce?¡± 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 higherpared 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. Thismon 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 shorings. 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 vige 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 ce 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 ws, 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 ce where it appeared and its resemnce to the monsters from ancient folklore. ¡°This ce has a really creepy atmosphere¡­¡± Yoo-Bi said with a hint of fear in her voice. This was her first timeing here. ¡°I also get a bad feeling whenever Ie here,¡± Han-Yeol said.?It was his third timeing to this ce. The Dokkaebi Field was a ce that had a thick fog covering it, giving whoever entered it limited vision. These kinds of natural phenomena did not usually ur 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 muscr 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. ¡°Wee, Kajikar-nim,¡± Han-Yeol greeted as he politely bowed his head. Anyone who saw the rtionship 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 thest 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 killersst time and trained me how to fight,¡± Han-Yeol exined 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 apetent 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 be 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 w 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 anotherbat style to the multitude avable to him. However, Kajikar¡¯s order wasw, since Han-Yeol¡¯s rtionship 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 w.] 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 exined, ¡°Ah, Kajikar-nim told me to use only my sword and the w 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 stillcking whenpared 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 limbspared 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 willmonly 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 trantion in English was going to be a goblin, but it might cause confusionter on when a goblin monster appears. For more information, refer to this link Chapter 63: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon’s Eye (4)

Chapter 63: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon¡¯s Eye (4)

[Let me exin the basics to you. Thebat style that I rmend to you is for you to have a sword in one hand and your chain¡¯s w on the other, so that you can use your restraining skill in closebat. This will allow you to get out of most sticky situations, and it can end up saving your life. Your left hand will be in charge of defending you and keeping your enemies at bay while using your right hand to attack. A chain is a very versatile weapon that you can use to immobilize the enemy or take their weapons away from them,] Kajikar said. The demon drill sergeant had a way of saying things in a very nonchnt way, but his knowledge regardingbat was top-notch. Kajikar finished exining how Han-Yeol should fight from now on. Han-Yeol immediately prepared forbat as soon as the demon drill sergeant¡¯s instructions were over. He steeled his resolve before he looked at a Dokkaebi. Swooosh¡­ ¡°Sniff¡­ Sniff¡­ Kueeeek!¡± Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were looking down at the Dokkaebis from atop a hill. However, a breeze blew from behind them, carrying their scent toward the Dokkaebis. Catching a whiff of their scent, the Dokkaebis started to react one by one. ¡°Oppa, the Dokkaebis areing,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Alright, I see them too. Let it rip,¡± Han-Yeol replied and gave themand for Yoo-Bi to shoot. ¡°Okay,¡± Yoo-Bi replied before pulling her rifle¡¯s trigger. Ratatatatata! The most basicbat strategy was for the Porters to shoot first before the monsters could approach so that the Hunters could get a grasp of how strong and fast the monsters were. This was a crucial step when it came to hunting monsters, since the Porters could awaken just by shooting at the monsters. ¡°Kueeeeek!¡±?The Dokkaebis screeched as they were unfazed by the bullets. Then, they rushed toward Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi. [Remember, you will defend with your chain¡¯s w and attack with your sword. That will be your basic foundation from now on,] Kajikar said. ¡°Yes, Kajikar-nim,¡± Han-Yeol replied before he used his skill, ¡®Jumping.¡¯ Tak! Han-Yeol recklessly jumped toward the iing Dokkaebis despite Yoo-Bi still firing at them. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! However, there was nothing to worry about, since Han-Yeol could urately grasp the bullets flying toward him from behind and avoid them. This feat was only possible since his Sixth Sense had leveled up to B Rank. Perhaps it was because of Sixth Sense¡¯s effectiveness, but Han-Yeol only just managed to level it up to B Rank despite him using this skill in every single battle. However, difficult things were usually worth the effort as the now B Rank Sixth Sense not only slowed everything down for Han-Yeol, but the skill also made it possible for him to feel the trajectory of any ranged attacking his way. ¡®This is really good¡­ I love it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while feeling greatly satisfied at his skill¡¯s new effect. With it, he managed to avoid all of the bullets in mid-air before running toward the Dokkaebis while shifting his body once in a while when he sensed a bullet flying toward him. ¡°Kueeeek!¡±?the Dokkaebis aggressively screeched at Han-Yeol. Whooosh! Han-Yeol and the Dokkaebis came into contact in no time, since both of them were running at full speed. The Dokkaebi at the vanguard raised its mace before swinging the weapon at Han-Yeol. [Lock your chain¡¯s w on the mace handle,] Kajikar instructed. ¡®Heup!¡¯?Han-Yeol threw his chain. He focused so hard that he could feel the sensationing from every single one of his pores, and then his chain¡¯s w locked onto the Dokkaebi¡¯s mace. [Now, use the shield technique you have been training to parry the mace!] Kajikar eximed. Han-Yeol did exactly as he was told. He used the shield technique that was ingrained into him. He used the Dokkaebi¡¯s strength against it by pulling his chain¡¯s w and flicking the mace out of the Dokkaebi¡¯s hand in one fluid motion. ¡°Kireuk?¡±?The Dokkaebi was perplexed when the human easily managed to take its weapon away, and the cost of it being perplexed was expensive. Sukeok! Han-Yeol shed his sword at the Dokkaebi¡¯s chest. ¡°Kiek!¡±?The Dokkaebi cried out in agony as it sustained heavy damage, but it did not die. A Dokkaebi possessed thick skin, and it was being protected by the barrier that all monsters innately possessed. However, it was going to take time to recover from the damage. After all, the monster had been caught off guard by Han-Yeol, who did not give it any time to shift into a defensive posture. Two Dokkaebis immediately rushed out and swung their maces. They were trying to cover for the injured Dokkaebi. [You will always be at a disadvantage when facing more than one enemy in closebat. Try to make it into a one-on-one situation if possible,] Kajikar said. ¡®That is my specialty,¡¯?Han-Yeol confidently replied through his mind. He was especially confident about this, since hisbat style consisted of him doing hit and runs to iste enemies and fight them one on one. He did possess an AoE skill which was Mana Explosion, but it was a severely limited skill in terms of usage. That was because he needed an explosive material as a catalyst to activate the skill. This was why he preferred to fight one on one instead, and he was also used to isting enemies and forcing fights to be one on one battles. ¡®Both of them are right-handed¡­ If that¡¯s the case, then¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He kicked off the ground and moved quickly to his right side. One of the two Dokkaebis suddenly became confused and was at a loss at the human¡¯s sudden movement, but the other Dokkaebi managed to react in time as it swung its mace at Han-Yeol. Whoosh! The monster swung its mace as hard as it could. It moved without an ounce of hesitation. ¡®Jumping!¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately used his skill and kicked off the ground. His movement sped up even more after he used Jumping to propel himself. Then, before throwing his chain¡¯s w, he cast, ¡®Enchant, Fire.¡¯ Shwiiiiik! The chain¡¯s w, which was enchanted with fire, smacked into the Dokkaebi¡¯s chin. The chain that Han-Yeol currently used was not an ordinary weapon, but an expensive one that cost nearly three billion won. The chain was fashioned with a w at the tip, and the w was meticulously crafted, so the Dokkaebi received quite a lot of damage from it. Puk! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain smashed the Dokkaebi¡¯s lower jaw. ¡°Kueeeeek!¡±?the Dokkaebi cried out in agony when its lower jaw was crushed. It was excruciatingly painful for the sturdy Dokkaebi to experience such bad damage to one of its body parts, especially since it was a pain that it had never experienced before in its life. [Not bad, but you need to move faster. Also, try to aim more urately and kill the enemy in one shot,] Kajikarmented. The demon drill sergeant was stingy with his praises while benevolent with his criticism, and the demon continued to criticize Han-Yeol¡¯s movements while teaching him at the same time. ¡®Is he teaching me or just nagging at me¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling his usual sense of confusion. [Don¡¯t let your mind wander! Focus!] Kajikar scolded. ¡®Yes, yes,¡¯?Han-Yeol nonchntly replied, just like a kid who was tired of being scolded. The three Dokkaebis in front of Han-Yeol were still alive, and they all red at him with a hint of rage in their eyes. One of them roared in anger, ¡°Kaaaooooo!¡±? The two Dokkaebis that Han-Yeol had injured quickly retreated behind the still able-bodied Dokkaebi, and this Dokkaebi was currently in an enraged state. After all, its pride was hurt by the fact that they were being toyed around by an insignificant weak human. ¡°Bring it on, Dokkaebi! I¡¯ll be the one to attack if you don¡¯t feel like it,¡± Han-Yeol confidently said, taunting the monster. Boom! The Dokkaebi angrily stomped its foot and left a footprint on the ground, as if it understood what Han-Yeol was saying. Then, it charged toward Han-Yeol. However, its movement was so fast that it was hard to believe that a creature three meters tall could move so quickly. [Now, it¡¯s a real one-on-one situation. Finish it off in a single blow! Remember this, you can execute the perfect offense and defense if youbine your sword and chain,] Kajikar said. A chilling gaze suddenly shed across Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes as he looked at the iing monster. *** The Dokkaebi swung its mace. Whoosh! [Finish it in one blow!] Kajikar eximed. Han-Yeol reflexively reacted to Kajikar¡¯s words as he locked his chain¡¯s w around the Dokkaebi¡¯s mace and followed it up with Sword Breath to cut the monster¡¯s neck. He could feel his muscles twitch after demonstrating such explosive power. Thud¡­ Roll¡­ The Dokkaebi¡¯s head fell to the ground and rolled to Han-Yeol¡¯s feet. At the same time, the now headless monster iled its arms around while spurting blood all over the ce before losing its bnce and fell to the ground. ¡°Kueeeeek!¡±?The two remaining Dokkaebis cried out in excitement when the scent of blood filled the air. The Dokkaebis did not really have strong camaraderie, so they did not really mind the fact that one of them was killed just now. The only reason they were starting to get both excited and enraged was purely because of the scent of blood that filled the air. Now, they wanted to see more blood. [These guys have a very basic movement pattern, and that is because they possess low intellect. Observe their movements before you make any decisions. You need to train yourself to do that, so that you can start acting instinctively before you even think from now on,] Kajikar said. ¡®Jumping,¡¯?Han-Yeol used his mobility skill and kicked off the ground as soon as the demon drill sergeant finished speaking in his mind. Tak! He jumped toward one of the remaining Dokkaebis, and his jump was so high that he was now looking down at the three-meter-tall Dokkaebi. The Dokkaebi tried to swat Han-Yeol away, but Han-Yeol kicked the Dokkaebi on the neck before the monster could raise its weapon. Then, he used the monster¡¯s chest as a foothold and kicked off of it before spinning in mid-air andnding on the other Dokkaebi¡¯s neck. Whoosh! The Dokkaebi immediately reacted by swinging its mace at Han-Yeol. Tak! When the Dokkaebi was about to swing its mace toward Han-Yeol, he switched the weapons in his hands. He used the chain¡¯s w, which was now on his right hand, to restrain the Dokkaebi¡¯s mace before he stabbed it on the head with his sword, which was now on his left hand. Puk! ¡°Kieeek!¡±?the Dokkaebi shrieked in agony when Han-Yeol¡¯s sword prated all the way down to its jaw. Then, it died on the spot. Han-Yeolnded on the ground and dashed toward the remaining Dokkaebi. He severed its head in one fell swoop. He sessfully took care of three Dokkaebis at the same time! Ding! [Your level has risen.] [The rank of ¡®Jumping¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Jump¡¯ has reached Master Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Jumping¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [Jumping (M) has disappeared.] [A new skill has been created: Cat Walk (F).] ¡®Cat Walk¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was confused by the skill¡¯s name before he decided to read its description. [Cat Walk (F)] Type: Passive Description: The next level of the skill ¡®Jumping¡¯. This passive skill makes the user move more agilely and discreetly. The user will be more adept at hiding their presence and they will be able to suffer reduced damage when falling from high ces. The user may also track the sound of footsteps while they are in the dark. ¡®Oh, this is a jackpot,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he nodded with satisfaction. He recently had a lot of stress because of his level and skills not having any changes in recent days, but he was very happy and satisfied when one of his skills evolved and turned into a very useful skill. The evolution of each of his skills was bound topound and snowball in the future, which would allow him to reach a different level of power. Han-Yeol received all of Kajikar¡¯s criticism and devoted himself to his harsh training with renewed vigor. The demon drill sergeant did not let Han-Yeol sit around and rest during his break time. He taught him the body-strengthening method used by the demons. Thanks to that, Han-Yeol experienced a massive stat boost after his STR rose by 15, AGI rose by 5, and VIT rose by 20. *** ¡°Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­¡±?Han-Yeol exhaled deeply while he was drenched in sweat. There were more than twenty Dokkaebis dead around him, and they were all killed in various ways. Han-Yeol was now strong enough to take on twenty Dokkaebis at once. Recognizing that, he wondered, ¡®Is this how it feels to be powerful¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol did not really feel that he was getting stronger all this while when he used to train alone since he just thought of himself as a game character that leveled up and grew stronger, and he could not be med for thinking that way since everything seemed surreal to him. However, it was different from now on. ¡®I can feel every cell in my body react to my movements,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was on cloud nine at the thought of growing stronger. [You still have a long way to go, so you can save your arrogance forter,] Kajikar reprimanded Han-Yeol. ¡®Yes, yes,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied. Just when Han-Yeol was distracted by relishing in his newfound strength, a shadow suddenly rose up from the ground. Fwaaa¡­ A Shadow Demon appeared by itself. [I havee¡­to collect my share¡­] the Shadow Demon said. Han-Yeol could now clearly understand the demons as their telepathy grew stronger, and this was thanks to him spending a lot of time together with Kajikar and having his Telepathy skill level up in the process. ¡°You can take your share, Shadow Demon,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [I shall take it then¡­] the Shadow Demon said. Fwaaa¡­ The Shadow Demon took five Dokkaebi corpses, and there were now only fifteen Dokkaebi corpses left. Then, just as Yoo-Bi took out her equipment and was about to dismember the monster corpses, Kajikar suddenly blocked her path. Seuk¡­ ¡°?¡± Yoo-Bi tilted her head in confusion. ¡°What is the matter, Kajikar-nim?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Let me ask a favor this time, human,] Kajikar replied. ¡°What is the favor you want to ask?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The demon drill sergeant had never asked for any favors during the time he was with Han-Yeol, and that made Han-Yeol all the more curious as to what the demon¡¯s favor was, since he learned that the demons did not really deviate from how they usually acted. [There is a big demand for monster corpses in the demon world. I want you to provide me with as many monster corpses as you can. In return, I will give you a gift after you have satisfied my needs,] Kajikar said. ¡°A gift?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. [Yes, it is a gift that will certainly be of big help to you,] Kajikar added. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol said as he agreed to the deal. [Thank you,] Kajikar replied. Han-Yeol and Kajikar made a simple contract regarding the demon¡¯s favor. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened,¡± Han-Yeol said as he exined the situation to Yoo-Bi. ¡°Really? Awesome! Then I do not have much to do then, right?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Y-Yeah, that¡¯s right. The demons take the entire corpses anyway,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Heehee,¡± Yoo-Bi giggled while smiling brightly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you making it too obvious?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ¡°Hey,e on oppa. When did I make it so obvious?¡± Yoo-Bi cheekily said. ¡°You are a fox, I tell you, a nine-tailed fox,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Hihi,¡± Yoo-Bi giggled in response to his banter. [Then, I shall take these now,] Kajikar said. ¡°Please, go ahead,¡± Han-Yeol replied. That was how the demon drill sergeant, who did not really want anything aside from alcohol, ended up taking five Dokkaebi corpses as his share of the loot. Han-Yeol continued to diligently hunt after that, since he had to make up for the unexpected ¡®taxes¡¯ he had to pay to the demons. Chapter 64: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon’s Eye (5)

Chapter 64: I Was Forced To Eat a Demon¡¯s Eye (5)

¡°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¡­ [What useless thoughts you are having,] Kajikar thought after reading Yoo-Bi¡¯s mind. 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 unting 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. ¡°Wee, 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 eximed, 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 y with, except that they had a dark red hue to them. Han-Yeol could feel a sinister energying 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 contemted 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¡ªthey were items from the demon world, after all. The biggest problem for Han-Yeol was that he could not feel any particr powering 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. 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 exined. ¡°Then that means¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. [You will need to summon an intellectual demon instead of abat-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 be 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 exined. ¡°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 be 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 intoughter. ¡°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 boisterousugh, 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 be 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 aplishment that came from proudly standing toe to toe with the monsters. The Hunters looked very cool in her eyes, and the desire to be just like them started to well up from within her. ¡®I want to be a Hunter, specifically one like Han-Yeol oppa,¡¯ Yoo-Bi thought. She wanted to be 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¡ªshe 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 ept 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 ce. 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 hade 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 ce, since he came from a dirt poor background, so this kind of fancy restaurant was not a ce that he could have ever dreamt ofing 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 ced great importance on the dress code, so there were ces 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 hade here on his own, but he felt that his pride would be hurt if he were to turn back now when a pretty dongsaeng 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 toe to this restaurant in the first ce. 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 ce now that he was a Hunter. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡®I¡¯m noting 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 ce 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 tranting 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. Chapter 65: A Thorough Deal (1)

Chapter 65: A Thorough Deal (1)

Han-Yeol turned toward where the voice came from and saw a man wearing a tuxedo briskly walking toward where they were at. He wondered, ¡®Do they have a policy of not being able to run inside or what?¡¯ The man seemed to be in a hurry as he had an urgent look, but he also looked quite awkward; he was trying hard not to run at the same time. Then, he asked Han-Yeol, ¡°Phew¡­ Thank you for waiting for me. Pardon me, but are you Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim by any chance?¡± ¡®What is going on?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was confused about what was going on, and he could not help but wonder, ¡®And how the hell does?he know my name all of a sudden?¡¯ ¡°Yes, I am Lee Han-Yeol Hunter, and who might you be?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. ¡°Ha! That¡¯s a relief. Hello, I am this restaurant¡¯s manager Lee Tae-min,¡± the man introduced himself. The manager named Lee Tae-Min introduced himself as he held out his hand, and Han-Yeol also reached out and shook hands with him. Tae-Min then asked, ¡°Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim may not remember me, but do you remember the crayfish-like monster from the dimensional gate earlier this year?¡± ¡°Oh, you mean that monster? Of course, I remember that thing,¡± Han-Yeol replied. . He could never forget that incident. It had been a hectic day where he had almost died because of a monster, who had been pissed off because of some irresponsible Hunters, and he had even been taken in by the Hunter¡¯s Association for an interrogation regarding that incident. However, the reason why Manager Lee Tae-Min introduced himself to Han-Yeol was not only because he recognized him because of the incident. ¡°The truth is, you saved me in the middle of all that chaos. Before I could express my gratitude, you immediately disappeared because you were being chased by that crayfish monster.? When I heard that you, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, were the one who saved my life back then, and I have always wanted to personally repay you for saving my life. It seems like I have gotten my chance today. Pleasee in, there is a room that I can give you to enjoy your meal,¡± said the restaurant manager. ¡®Oh, jackpot!¡¯ Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as his face brightened. He was worried about having to return empty-handed and endure humiliation in front of Yoo-Bi, so it was a huge relief that he no longer had to thanks to some random encounter from the past. In fact, today¡¯s events did the exact opposite of what Han-Yeol was worried about. After what just happened, he now probably seemed much cooler in front of Yoo-Bi¡¯s eyes. Han-Yeol stole a nce at Yoo-Bi from the corner of his eyes. He saw that her eyes were sparkling with admiration toward him. Feeling satisfied by Yoo-Bi¡¯s expression, he thought, ¡®Cool, this is more than enough for today.¡¯ He intended to take things slow, one step at a time, so she wouldn¡¯t be scared away. ¡°Wow¡­¡± the two of them muttered in awe the moment they were in the hotel restaurant. ¡°Is it all right for you to give us such a room?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The room where Tae-Min, the restaurant manager, had guided Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi to was a room with a tall and wide ss window that showcased a clear view of the Han River. This was a view that most people would only be able to see on TV. ¡®Well, not bad for my first time at a hotel restaurant,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡°How do you like the room?¡± Tae-Min asked. ¡°I-Is it okay alright for you to treat us so nicely?¡± Yoo-Bi asked while looking at the restaurant manager. Yoo-Bi was initially too busy to think about anything as she was dazzled and mesmerized by the luxurious atmosphere. Still, she soon started to feel burdened by the VIP room upon realizing what was going on. However, Tae-Min, the restaurant manager, simply smiled and replied, ¡°Of course, it is not like you are going to eat for free, right? I am just doing the best that I can to amodate you and Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.¡± ¡°I guess you are right in that case. Thank you. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we would have no choice but to turn around and leave,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I am ashamed to admit that this is as much as I can do for you since I do not have much power, and I am only a manager at this ce. It is truly a regret that I can only do this much for someone who saved my life,¡± Tae-Min said regretfully. Tae-Min¡¯s sry was not that big even though he was a luxurious hotel restaurant¡¯s manager. His sry was just a drop of water in an ocean whenpared to Han-Yeol¡¯s vast wealth. ¡°Not at all! This is more than enough for us. Thanks to you, Manager Tae-Min, we will now have good memories of this restaurant,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was now thinking ofing to this restaurant more often from now on, if it meant that it would help Tae-Min in his career. ¡°Thank you for your understanding. Shall I take your order now?¡± Tae-Min asked as he extended the menu to both of them. ¡°Hmm, is there a chef¡¯s rmendation?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, there is,¡± Tae-Min replied. ¡°We will have that, then,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I understand,¡± Tae-Min replied before leaving with their orders. The wait staff came in to set up their table and prepared their meal. The menu they ordered was a course meal, so the food came out in sequence. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi found the food to be very delicious, and they were able to have a dinner that both of them thoroughly enjoyed. After some time had passed, Han-Yeol said to the staffers, ¡°Thank you for your hard work, here are your tips.¡± ¡°Thank you very much,¡± the staffers replied. Tipping was still an awkward culture in Korea, but Han-Yeol thought tipping looked cool from all the western shows he had watched, so he took out a few hundred thousand won checks from his wallet and distributed it to the restaurant staffers. ¡®I¡¯m at a hotel, so I might as?well flex?a little bit,¡¯?Han-Yeol proudly thought to himself. Some would say that he was wasting money just to flex, but he just got a call from Sung-Jin Factory a while ago informing him that the five ton of Dokkaebi body parts had fetched a price of 1.28 billion won. He had just earned 1.28 billion won from selling monster corpses and this excluded the money from selling the mana stones. Therefore, calling what he did just now of distributing a few hundred thousand won checks a flex was an understatement. ¡°Ah, I almost forgot. Yoo-Bi, I haven¡¯t paid your wage for today, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Oh, right, I almost forgot about it too,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Hold on for a moment,¡± Han-Yeol said as he pulled out his smartphone. ¡°Okay,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. Han-Yeol tapped on his smartphone and calcted Yoo-Bi¡¯s daily wage for the day, then sent it to her ount. Yoo-Bi was due nine hundred thousand won an hour, which was a total of 7.2 million won from eight hours of work. Yoo-Bi could be considered as earning one of the highest wages among the Porters, since a porter¡¯s average daily wage was only 1.4 million won, but it was not a burdensome amount to Han-Yeol at all. After all, it was an amount that would not even make a dent in his bank ount. While Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were enjoying their desert, the people around them started to murmur noisily. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? Han-Yeol could hear somemotion going on outside. He wondered, ¡®What is going on?¡¯ Just as Han-Yeol was wondering, the restaurant manager, Tae-Min, opened the door and came inside. He bowed his head apologetically and said, ¡°I am very sorry. We have a valuable guest who just arrived, so I would like to ask for your kind understanding even if it is going to be noisy for a while.¡± ¡°Well, I don''t really mind, but who is this special guest?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°All I know is that they are businessmen from Egypt, but I do not know their identities. Only the general manager knows the VVIP guests¡¯ identities,¡± Tae-Min replied. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes,e to think of it, you seem to have finished your meal. If you have anyints, please let me know without any hesitation. I will do my best to make sure that it will not happen the next time you dine in our establishment,¡± Tae-Min said. Han-Yeol thought that Tae-Min was a very service-minded person who paid very close attention to detail, but he could not help but wonder if this wasmon for every upscale restaurant manager or if it was just this guy being very attentive. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t usuallye to a fancy hotel like this, but I feel the service today was perfect,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol needed to know something to point out if something was wrong or not. He in fact thought that he had received too much service to the extent that he felt ufortable epting some of the services today, even though he was paying for whatever he received. ¡°Thank you. Please enjoy your time and let me know if you need anything,¡± Tae-Min said before he respectfully bowed once more. ¡°Yes, I understand manager-nim,¡± Han-Yeol said in response. The restaurant manager smiled, closed the door, and left. ¡®Businessmen from Egypt, you say¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Today¡¯s event bothered him for some reason. ¡°I had fun today thanks to you, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said. A date would usually end with the man apanying the woman home, but that was not the case with these two. Han-Yeol used his mana to purify the alcohol in his system, which was a perk of being a Hunter, while Yoo-Bi was not a drinker so she could drive herself home without any problems. He did not have to take Yoo-Bi home, since both of them had their cars and could drive themselves home. Aw that allowed Porters who were over the age of sixteen to obtain their driver¡¯s license was passed just a few years ago. There had initially been a lot of bacsh before thisw was passed, and there had even been a lot of heated discussions about whether minors should be allowed to work as a Porter or not in the first ce. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was the fiercest opposition to thew. They argued that allowing minors to work as porters should be banned byw as it is a vition of the Child and Youth Protection Act. However, the Hunter¡¯s Association and the teenagers themselves fiercely opposed the ban and demanded the decision to be made by themselves. The court was too busy walking on eggshells to not get on the bad side of the Hunters¡¯ Association, so they ruled that not allowing teenagers to work as porters vites the right to freedom and the right to choose their career. However, a use was added that minors were to receive eight weeks of education as opposed to the regr four weeks for adults. They were to receive regr refresher education and special care until they reached adulthood.?It was also specified that you needed to be at least 15 years old and above to apply as a Porter officially. Numerous teenagers whose dream was to be a Hunter or those who simply came from a poor background started to apply as Porters as soon as thew was passed, and that was how more and more kids started to jump into the Hunters¡¯ world where they could either obtain fame or lose their life in return. There were some teenagers who were able to awaken earlier in life and receive a rank higher than most adults, so the nurturing of teenagers into Hunters attracted the attention of some experts and investors as a lucrative business. Han-Yeol had something to say to Yoo-Bi before they separated. ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi,¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Yes?¡± Yoo-Bi responded. ¡°Is it possible for you to go hunting again tomorrow?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He nned to go hunting once again tomorrow, because he thought of summoning the demon that could help him absorb the demon¡¯s eyes just as Kajikar had said while hunting at the same time. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry oppa, I already made ns with my mother tomorrow,¡± Yoo-Bi replied apologetically. Although she rejected Han-Yeol, Yoo-Bi did want to go as well. This was because she could earn a lot of money and have a higher chance to awaken if she went hunting, especially with Han-Yeol, but her mother was her life¡¯s priority. She had been lost and rebellious when she had gone through difficult times at a young age, but she soon understood after growing up just how difficult life was for her mother, who worked day and night just to make ends meet. That was why she wanted to make up for the suffering her mother had gone through just to provide for her now that she was able to earn a lot of money. ¡°Oh really? Well, I guess there is no helping it if it¡¯s because of your mother,¡± Han-Yeol said. He was assuring Yoo-Bi that he had no hard feelings at all and understood her reason, just in case she would feel anxious about rejecting him. Of course, Han-Yeol perfectly understood Yoo-Bi¡¯s situation as he had been just like her. He would also choose to spend time with his father and dy the hunting schedule for another time if he was in her shoes. ¡®My father alsoes first,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡®Hmm¡­ Then should I hire another porter for tomorrow?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought about it before he shrugged and decided to think about the detailster. ¡°Take care and see you next time,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I-If there is another hunt nned other than tomorrow, please let me know,¡± Yoo-Bi said nervously. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll let you know,¡± Han-Yeol replied reassuringly. That was how the two parted ways in front of the Hunters¡¯ Association and headed home. Actually, Han-Yeol stood there a little longer and watched Yoo-Bi drive away in her car, and it was only after she waspletely out of view that he got in his van and went on his way home. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ ¡°I¡¯m home,¡± Han-Yeol said as he entered his house. It was already past ten in the evening, and Han-Yeol could hear his father sleeping inside the room. ¡®He must have been tired,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. His father seemed to be much more invigorated these dayspared to when he had been younger when it came to running his billiard business. Oddly enough, his father ran the ce with an entric concept that focused on different kinds of services, events, and tournaments that attracted a huge crowd. On top of that, there was a sudden increase in billiard-rted TV programs that revived the poprity of billiards once again, which made his father¡¯s business exponentially grow. He even recently told Han-Yeol that he had to recently hire another staff to help out. Han-Yeol could feel a corner of his heart warm up whenever he saw his father working so hard while enjoying what he was doing. ¡®I shouldn¡¯tze around as a son when my father is working so hard. I will have to work harder tomorrow,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he switched on hisputer. He essed the demon encyclopedia website, which was now saved as a favorite, and browsed through it. He wondered as he scrolled, ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ which demon would be suitable for me right now¡­?¡¯ What Han-Yeol needed right now was a demon that could help him, who was a human, to absorb the Demon¡¯s Eyes. ¡®I¡¯m certain that a normal demon would not know the method to help me absorb it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with confidence. He was searching for a method that even Kajikar was not aware of, even though Kajikar was an intermediate demon and the drill sergeant of the Demon Army, and he was also a demon who had ess to a variety of knowledge in the demon world. ¡®In that case, what if I look for a demon that is in charge of knowledge?¡¯?After thinking that, Han-Yeol searched the keyword ¡®knowledge¡¯ in the search bar, and he saw some of the seventy-two demons appear at the top of the search result. One of the demons that caught his eye was Astaroth, but Han-Yeol immediately scrolled down the search results. ¡®I must be crazy to even think that I am going to summon one of the?seventy-two?demons with my current power,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought while feeling stupid. Then, he scrolled down and passed the high-ranking demons as well. Kajikar was only an intermediate-ranking demon, but he was already much stronger than Han-Yeol, so it was aughable thought if Han-Yeol even dreamt of summoning a high-ranking demon itself. It was obvious that he would be lucky if he was not immediately devoured by the demon he summoned in the first ce. One demon stood out when Han-Yeol scrolled down the high-ranking demons and reached the list of intermediate demons. [The merchant of the demon world that deals with everything and anything, Dellchant.] ¡®Merchant? Could it be possible that this demon also trades knowledge?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Han-Yeol was intrigued by the concept of a demon merchant, so he continued to read the demon¡¯s description. [Dellchant is a demon merchant who deals with everything and anything in the darkness. However, he is well known to set the price of whatever he sells under his terms and does not permit any haggling to be done. One must be certain to pay the price the demon merchant requests or else be prepared to pay an even bigger price as the demon merchant is known to take the soul of his customers should they fail to pay up. It is known that no human has been able to pay the price that Dellchant has requested, and ended up losing their souls to the demon merchant.] ¡®Wow¡­?What a ruthless guy¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The demon merchant would give the item that the person desired first and then ask for the paymentter judging from the exnation, but the description also clearly mentioned that the demon was going to take away his customer¡¯s soul if they failed to pay the price that the demon had set. ¡®This guy should be able to do the job then,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. 1. People do not usually tip in Korea except for ces where people drink. It is actually considered rude to tip in Korea and there were cases of people getting scolded by restaurant owners because of it. 2. The legal age for someone to drive in Korea is when they turn neen as opposed to most western countries where teens can drive as soon as they turn sixteen, that was why the author was pointing out that there was a debate whether sixteen is a young age or not for someone to drive in Korea. Chapter 66: A Thorough Deal (2)

Chapter 66: A Thorough Deal (2)

Han-Yeol would have preferred to summon abat-type demon that can assist him inbat, but he already had two shadow demons on top of Kazikar, who was technically just training him on how to fight, so he did not really feel that he wascking when it came tobat. However, he was certain that a merchant that sold anything and everything would definitely be a big help. Even if the merchant did not possess the secret that would allow him to absorb the jewels from the demon world, he could simply purchase other stuff from him instead. ¡®Let''s see¡­ the sigil is¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he scrolled through the webpage. Dellchant¡¯s sigil had arge tree in the middle and the branches did not have leaves. Instead, the branches were lined with what appeared to be gold bars. ¡®Don''t tell me it¡¯s going to ask for gold¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Well, it did not really matter to him since his bank ount contained a huge sum of money and his ount bnce was soon going to hit a billion won. There were also plenty of ways to buy gold with money. ¡®Then?the location of my next hunting ground is decided¡­?I guess I will have to do my best again tomorrow,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he steeled his resolve. Then, he washed up and went to bed shortly after. The next day, Han-Yeol woke up early in the morning and essed the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s website. He clicked on the website¡¯s Hire a Porter menu, and wrote a post with the title ¡®Looking for a porter who is willing to go hunting at 9 o¡¯clock today.¡¯? He also paid the additional fee to put up an urgent banner on his post. By paying an additional fee, his post would be highlighted with a different color from the other posts. This would help all the Porters on the bulletin boards to see it quickly. Han-Yeol¡¯s expectation was spot on. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Four notifications came just within thirty seconds of his notice getting posted. Han-Yeol checked the four applicants and immediately closed the post, since he thought that he had found the right people for the job. Recalling an old saying, he thought, ¡®Life is all about timing.¡¯ He carefully examined the responses that had the two Porters'' profiles attached. He then sent a message to each of the two porters, writing, ¡®Let¡¯s meet in front of the Hunter¡¯s Association at 9 o¡¯clock¡¯ after thoroughly examining their profiles. The current time was 05:44 pm. Han-Yeol made his way to the Hunter Mall, which was open for twenty-four hours a day, after taking a quick shower. He was looking for a new weapon to rece his M4A2, which had been destroyed during the fight against the killers. ¡®It¡¯s a shame that there are master craftsmen for swords and other simr types of weapons, but there are no master craftsmen for firearms and explosives,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was a given that these craftsmen were all awakened individuals. They had the ability to produce weapons, armor, and other misceneous goods, but none of them awakened with the ability to produce any type of firearm weapons. ¡®It would be much more convenient for me if such an awakened person appeared,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The firearms created these days were made by awakened beings called Enchanters. These people enchanted the materials used to manufacture firearms, and their enchantment helped the firearm nullify the barriers that all monsters innately possessed. There were no Enchanters who personally manufactured the firearms and infused their mana into it just like how the other awakened craftsmen did. ¡®I don¡¯t mind going all out and investing in my equipment this time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol¡¯s skills were much more diversepared to other Hunters, and he possessed ten skills when an average Hunter possessed three. He had some skills that went well with firearms, but he was not able to utilize his skills¡¯ full potential due to the fact that the firearms avable in the market were not good enough. ¡®It¡¯s disappointing no matter how much I think about it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol arrived at the Hunter Mall¡¯s entrance and left his car with the valet parking attendant before he went inside. The Hunter Mall itself was open twenty-four hours a day. However, the shops located within the mall had their own schedules and opened based on their schedule, irrespective of the mall¡¯s timing. The shops that had good business employed more people in shifts to operate for the entire day while the shops that were not as financially capable did not. The mall¡¯s shop owners were free to decide their own timing based on how their business was doing. Han-Yeol saw that the store where he had bought his M4A2 riflest time was closed today. Nowadays, it was possible to find out the location of the shop you were looking for, whether they were open for business or not, and even who was working at the store as of present in the lobby on the first floor. This service was an expensive state-of-the-art technology only provided at the Hunter Mall and it was not seen in general department stores. Han-Yeol decided to go to thergest gun store in the mall, since the store he used to go to was already closed. ¡°Wee to the Big Gun Shop,¡± the store clerk greeted Han-Yeol. The store clerk was a very beautiful woman, as expected of a popr shop. She was a tall, slender, and big-breasted natural beauty that had no traces of having done stic surgery anywhere. ¡®Just how many beauties are there in our country?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He noticed that every store he went to had a beautiful working staff, and he found it to be a nice yet mysterious thing. ¡°Are you looking for a specific model?¡± the store clerk asked. ¡°Oh yes, do you have the HSK-447P model?¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol had just bought whatever the shop owner had rmended thest time he had gone to buy his M4A2 rifle, since he did not know anything about guns at that time. However, he had meticulously collected information online and hade prepared with the exact model that best suited him. ¡°Hmm¡­ Can I suggest that you consider this model?¡± the shop clerk asked. Han-Yeol had no idea what kind of training the store clerk had received, but the beauty was suggesting an entirely different model even though she had clearly heard what he was looking for. ¡°This is¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡°This is the G-N7 model by the subsidiary of S Group, S Defense, which is manufactured by one of the best weapons manufacturers in our country. It uses 7.76mm mana-infused bullets and can alsounch a grenade through the grenadeuncher attached to it. In addition, it also has aser sight that can automatically assist your aim. On top of that, it has an anti-recoil function as well as excellent waterproofing,¡± the store clerk exined. Han-Yeol frowned when he saw the gun that the store clerk had brought out and given as a suggestion. He asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the model that was on the news not long ago because of the explosion caused by the?electronic system battery?¡± It was a model that caused a lot of controversy in the news, and Han-Yeol was well aware of its problems. They had done a massive marketing campaign to promote the model and had even exported it to the United States, which was considered as the hometown of all firearms for Hunters. There had also been quite a lot of fuss about South Korea¡¯s defense industry finally standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the world thanks to this gun. However, those dreams and hopes were dashed when all of it had to be recalled due to battery malfunction, and South Korea¡¯s defense industry was back to square one once again. *** ¡°That is correct. The older model was recalled due to battery problems, but this newer model ispletely free from the battery problems as it has been fully resolved. Also, its safety is 100% guaranteed by the S Defensepany so you may be rest assured and use it with confidence,¡± the store clerk said reassuringly. ¡®She¡¯s been thoroughly trained to sell mainly domestic firearms,¡¯ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. What he wanted was the newlyunched HSK-447P produced by H Defensepany, a German-based defensepany that was also a powerhouse for manufacturing products for Hunter use. The gun might not be made with advanced technologypared to the G-N7 model rmended by the store clerk, but it was a reliable and sturdy gun with far fewer chances of it breaking down. In addition, it was also a model assembled by an A Rank Enchanter, so Han-Yeol could not help but trust it more than the domestic firearm suggested by the clerk. Lastly, it was impossible for South Korea to manufacture this type of weapon since they did not have an A Rank Enchanter yet. ¡°No, thank you, I''d like the HSK-447P model,¡± Han-Yeol said. The store clerk was slightly taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s response, but she instantly rmended the G-N7 model once again. She reasoned that the HSK-447P model was expensive due to high import taxes and theck of functionspared to the G-N7 model for its price, but the clerk had no choice but to bring out the HSK-447P model with tearful eyes when she saw that Han-Yeol was slowly starting to get annoyed. ¡®Drop the pitiful act. I can¡¯t take a loss just so that you can benefit from it, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. The store clerk was seemingly going to get quite an incentive if she sold the domestic firearms instead of the imported ones, since it did not make sense for anyone to stubbornly suggest to their customer, again and again, to buy the domestic firearm just because they were told to by theirpany. It was a different story if the store owner was nearby watching the store clerk, but Han-Yeol did not see anyone else aside from the beautiful clerk at the store. Han-Yeol wouldn¡¯t simply throw money and get done in just because the seller was a beautiful woman. He was a Hunter that valued his money more than anything else. The store clerk finally started to take out the firearm that Han-Yeol requested, and then she asked if he needed anything else. ¡°Please give me ten thousand bullets as well,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°T-Ten thousand¡­?¡± the store clerk muttered in surprise. ¡°Oh, and give me three of those rifles instead of one,¡± Han-Yeol added. ¡°Ah, I understand,¡± the store clerk replied. She was not able to sell the firearm that she had intended to, but she did not suffer any losses in the end since the rifle that Han-Yeol bought was quite an expensive one and he purchased an additional ten thousand bullets on top of it as well. Han-Yeol, with the mall employees¡¯ assistance, loaded the guns and ammunition he had purchased in his van, and then he went to a nearby caf¨¦ and killed time until it was time for him to make his way to the Hunters¡¯ Association for his appointment. There were two trucks already parked at the meeting spot when Han-Yeol arrived, and the two Porters were on the bench waiting for him. One of the Porters tapped the other sitting next to him when he saw Han-Yeol approaching, and the pair quickly got up from their seats and stood up straight. ¡°Do you two happen to be Joo-Hyung and Young-Jin, the two Porters that I hired for today?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Y-Yes, hello, Hunter-nim! My name is Shin Joo-Hyung!¡± Joo-Hyung said. ¡°Hello, my name is Choi Young-Jin!¡± Young-Jin said. They both greeted Han-Yeol with a bow that was almost like a ny-degree right angle, and anyone who passed by would think that they were new recruits joining the army or something. However, their actions were a given, since they were technically beneath Han-Yeol, who was a Hunter. ¡°Yes, it is nice to meet the both of you. My name is Lee Han-Yeol, and I am the Hunter you will be working with today,¡± Han-Yeol introduced himself. He shook the two Porters¡¯ hands after their brief introduction. One of the Porters named Joo-Hyung raised his hand and said, ¡°I-I have a question, Hunter-nim.¡± ¡°Yes, feel free to ask me anything,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Are we really going to the Gold Mine with just the three of us?¡± Joo-Hyung asked. The two of them applied for the job even though they knew that it was a solo hunt, since the pay was really good and that the Hunter was probably confident enough to hunt solo. However, they could not help but be concerned since the Gold Mine that they knew of was not a ce that one could underestimate. In fact, Gold Mine was considered to be one of the mostplicated ces to hunt in the country. A Hunter could escape from dangerous situations if they had escape skills like camouge or such. However, it was not the same for the Porters, who would surely die if they were to be in a dangerous situation since a normal human cannot outrun the speed of a monster. This was why it was only natural for Joo-Hyung and Young-Jin to feel anxious about this hunt. Han-Yeol fully understood their worries, because he too had worked as a Porter for four years. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about it. I will take responsibility and protect you guys. Should I sign a guarantee or something if you can¡¯t trust me?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°We would very much appreciate it if you could do that¡­¡± Joo-Hyung said. It was umon for a Porter to ask for a guarantee from a raid party that they frequently worked with, since a guarantee was basically a promissory note that the Hunter agreed to providepensation in the event of the Porter¡¯s death, and this could sour the mood of the Hunter since it could be taken as that the Porter had no faith in their skills. However, it was quitemon for a Porter to ask for a guarantee from a Hunter who they were working with for the first time, since it forced the Hunter to offer more protection for them during the hunt. ¡°Don''t worry, I will protect you guys,¡± Han-Yeol said confidently as he dly filled out the guarantee and gave it to the porters. ¡°T-Thank you,¡± the Porters said. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Han-Yeol replied. They made their way to the southern part of Gangwon-do, where Gold Mine was located, after they finished their introduction and signed the guarantee. Gold Mine was a dungeon-like hunting ground located around two kilometers away from the point where Mount Sobaek and Mount Taebaek met in Gangwon-do. This was an unusual case of a dimensional gate appearing underground. The monsters that appeared inside the mines were called golems, and they were unusual creatures that contained gold inside their bodies. The normal golems were made out of soil and stone, and more powerful golems made out of all sorts of metal appeared the deeper one ventured into Gold Mine. Gold Mine was a hunting ground inhabited by all sorts of golems, so it was suitable for E Rank Hunters all the way up to C Rank Hunters. The golems became more powerful the deeper down the mine, and they possessed more gold the deeper they were found. Vrooom¡­! Han-Yeol and his party drove fast on the threene road. The road conditions in Gangwon-do were not that good in the past, but the road conditions started to get betterpared to other provinces when the Hunters¡¯ Association started to actively support its development. This was mainly due to the fact that Gangwon-do had thergest number of dimensional gates and hunting grounds in South Korea, therefore the province received a lot of financial support from the Hunters¡¯ Association. Thirty years ago, Gangwon-do¡¯s local economy waspletely destroyed after the dimensional gate appeared, but some considered it as a blessing in disguise since the province was able to be one of the wealthiest areas in the country thanks to the support from the Hunters¡¯ Association. Psshh¡­! The walkie-talkie that Han-Yeol shared with his party rang. [We are ten minutes out before arriving at the Gold Mine.] Joo-Hyung, who was a year older than Young-Jin, was chosen to be the leader between them. He was also the one who just gave Han-Yeol a report. Psshh¡­! ¡°Roger that,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Soon after, Han-Yeol and his party arrived at the Gold Mines¡¯ entrance. Whoosh¡­ ¡°Hmm, this ce is empty as usual,¡± Han-Yeol said. The only people at the Gold Mine¡¯s entrance were just a bunch of soldiers aside from Han-Yeol and his party, and even the merchants who were usually found loitering around the entrance to sell goods to Hunters could not be found anywhere in sight. Chapter 67: A Thorough Deal (3)

Chapter 67: A Thorough Deal (3)

¡°The dimensional hole raid is almost over, but this ce is as empty as usual,¡± one of the Portersmented. Those who had no clue would be exhrated and scream jackpot at the fact that they struck gold, but Gold Mine was not a very popr hunting ground among the Hunters. There was a nationwide gold rush when Gold Mine had first be a hunting ground, but the price of gold soon crashed after numerous hunting grounds like this one had appeared all over the world. Gold was no longer the preciousmodity it had once been, and its value had dropped so much that it was now treated as amonly traded metal. In addition, the rich had stopped collecting gold to preserve their wealth as all of them shifted to collecting mana stones instead. This further dealt a blow to gold¡¯s title as the most valuable metal in the world. That was why this hunting ground, which gave nothing but mana stones, gold, dirt, rocks, and scrap metals, was so unpopr with Hunters these days. Not to mention, the monsters that spawned here were golems, which were quite a difficult bunch of monsters to fight against. The only Hunters who ever set foot in this ce were the ones sent by the Hunters¡¯ Association to clean up the hunting ground once in a while and prevent too many monsters from overcrowding it. ¡°How long has it been since we¡¯ve seen a normal Hunter in this area?¡± a soldier said. ¡°Tsk¡­ I¡¯m not sure if they are stupid or just ignorant,¡± another soldier said as he clicked his tongue. The soldiers guarding the entrance to Gold Mine clicked their tongues and looked at Han-Yeol¡¯s party. This hunting ground was so useless and bad that even the soldiers at the checkpoint seemed to look down on Han-Yeol foring to this ce. ¡°But Sergeant Kim, we are not in a position to look down on Hunters¡­ Right, sir?¡± one of the soldiers asked. ¡°Tsk¡­ Yeah¡­ You¡¯re right,¡± the soldier named Sergeant Kim replied. The most useless concern anyone could have for someone in the world was not for celebrities, rich people, or sports stars. The main concern was about Hunters since even an E or F Rank Hunter could earn hundreds of millions of won just because of the fact that they were Hunters. ¡°We will now equip our equipment,¡± one of the Porters said. ¡°Yes, please go ahead,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The two Porters with Han-Yeol equipped their equipment as soon as they entered Gold Mine. ¡®Hmm¡­ I guess these guys are just average Porters at an intermediate level,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Porters¡¯ equipment was not on the same level as the equipment belonging to Ah-Ri and Sung-Beom, both of whom Han-Yeol previously used to hunt with. Still, they were using better equipment than the ones that Han-Yeol had received from the association when he had been working as a Porter. ¡°Then I should get ready too,¡± Han-Yeol said. He went to a secluded area away from the two Porters, who were busy equipping their equipment, and took out a paper that he had already printed in advance that had Dellchant¡¯s sigil. Han-Yeol ced the sigil on the ground and dripped his blood on it. Then, he muttered the chant that he had previously used to summon the other demons, ¡°Lord Satan¡­ Dellchant¡­ to manifest¡­ This I respectfully¡­ Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father!¡± Fwaaa¡­.! A cloud of dark smoke rose up from the sigil after the chant was done. It carried the distinct mana of a demon and it spread out on top of the sigil. [Kihihihihi!] A sinisterughter filled the entire area, and the surrounding area¡¯s atmosphere suddenly turned eerie. It was as if a ghost had shown up. Boom! A light explosion urred on top of the sigil before a demon jumped out of it. [Kihihihi! To think that I will get toe to the human world once again! How long has it been since I have been here?] The demon that popped out had a white painted face that resembled a clown. It had a long yet slender face, skinny body, pointy ears, and a long purple take. It was carrying arge object that resembled a backpack on its back, and was wearing arge circr object on its body. ¡°It is nice to meet you, Dellchant. My name is Han-Yeol, and I am the human summoner that summoned you to the human world,¡± Han-Yeol greeted and introduced himself to the demon. [Kihihihi! It¡¯s lovely to meet you! It will be even lovelier if you were a customer too!] Dellchant eximed. ¡®Ugh¡­ His voice is too loud¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced and thought. Han-Yeol was currentlymunicating with Dellchant through telepathy, but the demon¡¯s voice was so loud that he could feel his head ringing whenever the demon spoke. [I buy and sell anything in the demon world! Human! Tell me, what do you need from me? Kihihihi!] Dellchant eximed. Hisughter was exactly the stereotypicalugh that humans would expect of demons. Gulp¡­ Han-Yeol could not help but nervously gulp at the sight of the demon excitedlyughing upon being summoned. *** [Now human! Tell me what you need! I will procure whatever it is that you want! Kihihi! However, you will have to be prepared to shell out quite a lot if you wish to get your hands on the stuff the celestial beings use, since they are quite expensive. Kihihihi!] Dellchant said whileughing eerily. The demon was trying to disorient and prevent Han-Yeol from thinking by being loud, but Han-Yeol knew exactly what he wanted from the demon. ¡°I want to know the secret of how a human can absorb a Demon¡¯s Eye,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Huh? Why do you want that of all things? That¡¯s useless if you don¡¯t have a Demon¡¯s Eye, you know? Oh, don¡¯t tell me¡­] Dellchant said in surprise before trailing off at the end. ¡°No¡­ I just need the secret for some personal reasons¡­ Can you get it for me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Kihihihi! I smell something fishy, but business is business so¡­ Alright! You are in luck since I have that secret with me right now!] Dellchant eximed. ¡®That¡¯s a relief.¡¯? Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief before he said, ¡°I will make a trade with you, then.¡± [Hmm¡­ It¡¯s quite boring for a first trade. There¡¯s no impact at all! It¡¯s too nd! I can¡¯t believe you asked for something so basic and worthless for our first business transaction¡­ Well, I¡¯ll give you a pass since it is our first deal after all. Kihihi! The fee will be 100kg of gold. I¡¯m willing to let you payter as well, but when can you give me the payment?] Dellchant asked as a light shed in his eyes. ¡°I will give it to you within the day,¡± Han-Yeol confidently replied. [Kihihihi! Sounds good to me! It¡¯s even better for me the sooner I can receive the payment. However, I will be taking your soul if you fail to pay me within the day. Mark my words!] Dellchant said with a hint of seriousness in his voice. ¡°I am well aware of that,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Kihihihi!] Dellchant let out an eerieugh before he extended his hand. Ding! [A new skill has been created: Mana Absorption.] ¡®Mana Absorption¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he decided to check the new skill¡¯s description. [Mana Absorption (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill that allows the user to absorb all types of mana. However, the user will suffer a penalty if they absorb mana that is ipatible with their body. ¡®Ugh¡­ These descriptions are always so vague and unhelpful¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. [How is it? Do you like it?] Dellchant asked with a smirk. ¡°Yes, I love it,¡± Han-Yeol replied politely. [Kihihi! Then do you have anything else to say?] Dellchant asked with a sheepish smile. ¡°No, I do not,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Then, call me once you have the gold ready!] Dellchant joyfully eximed. ¡°Yes, I will,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Kihihi! Kihihihihi!] Dellchant let out his eerieughter before disappearing. Han-Yeol waited until Dellchantpletely disappeared before he took out the Demon¡¯s Eyes from his backpack. The jewels that had a dark red glow to them exuded the same sinister aura that he had felt upon first receiving them. When Han-Yeol grasped the two red jewels in his hand and was about to absorb them, Karvis suddenly said, [Please wait a minute, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Huh? Karvis?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in surprise. Usually, Karvis stayed silent until Han-Yeol spoke to her first. Han-Yeol stopped for a second and did not use Mana Absorption the moment Karvis surprised him. [Please wait a moment,] Karvis said. ¡®Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [You were about to absorb that jewel with Mana Absorption, were you not?] Karvis asked. ¡®That¡¯s right, why?¡¯?Han-Yeol replied. He tried to rack his brains to see if he could figure out what was wrong, but he momentarily could not really think of anything that was off. That was why he found Karvis¡¯ sudden interruption to be even stranger. [I might just be a bit too paranoid, but may I suggest that you first increase the level of Mana Absorption before using it to absorb that jewel right now?] Karvis suggested. ¡®Hmm¡­ Wait a minute¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered for a moment before he realized that there was some truth to Karvis'' suggestion. [The mention of a penalty is bugging me. That jewel called the Demon¡¯s Eye is not an object from the human world, and neither is it something that a human should possess. Don¡¯t you think that the penalty use will definitely apply to the Demon¡¯s Eye since it states that the user will suffer a penalty for absorbing mana that is ipatible with their body? It is logical to try and reduce the risk as much as possible if there are no given measurements to gauge the risk in the first ce,] Karvis exined. ¡®That sounds right. Ah! Karvis, thanks for helping me out after a long time,¡¯?Han-Yeol said. [Please do not mention it,] Karvis replied. She was still as cold and as direct as ever. However, she was an ego that existed solely for the benefit of Han-Yeol. ¡®Then¡­ Would I be able to absorb mana stones¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [I think that¡¯s a possibility. I am not certain what kind of effect it will have, but I suggest that you give it a try. I do not think that it is a bad idea, after all,] Karvis replied. ¡®Alright,¡¯?Han-Yeol said. He ced the Demon¡¯s Eyes inside his backpack once again. He had prevented any unforeseen dangers thanks to Karvis since he almost absorbed the Demon¡¯s Eyes without giving it much thought. ¡®There¡¯s no reason for me to take a risk when nobody knows what¡¯s going to happen,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not like the idea of taking risks and gambling with his life when he could just take a roundabout way that was safer and had more certainty. This was the reason why Han-Yeol did not purchase a single lottery ticket nor did he go to Gangwon Land even though he had grown up dirt poor, and he did not spend even ten won on sports betting when most of his peers had been doing it for fun. He was not the type to gamble in hopes of turning his life around. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± one of the Porters called out from a distance. Han-Yeol went back to where the Porters were. ¡°Hunter-nim?¡± the Porter asked with a confused look. ¡°Ah, I had to attend to nature¡¯s call,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Ah I see¡­ Then, are we going to enter the Gold Mine now?¡± the Porter asked. ¡°Yes, of course. There¡¯s no reason for us to waste time loitering around out here,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes, I understand, Hunter-nim,¡± the Porter replied. The two Porters inspected their guns for thest time before starting the hunt. It was then that Han-Yeol suddenly thought of something. He motioned for the two toe over to his van while asking, ¡°Ah right, can you twoe over here for a moment?¡± ¡°Y-Yes?¡± the two Porters muttered in confusion. Joo-Hyung and Young-Jin went over to where Han-Yeol had called them over with a baffled look. Then, when Han-Yeol passed the HSK-447P and three cartridges that he had bought earlier to them, they muttered in surprise, ¡°T-This is¡­?¡± ¡°This is a new rifle manufactured by H Company from Germany. I am lending these guns to you two for self-defense since I am hunting alone. I am not giving these to you, but you may use them for free as long as you are hunting with me,¡± Han-Yeol said. Any man would feel greedy to get their hands on thetest equipment. The two Porters¡¯ eyes sparkled the moment they saw the new shiny ck rifle that was extended toward them. They naturally knew quite a lot about guns since they were men after all, and they were well aware that the guns manufactured by the H Company from Germany, which was also a veryrge conglomerate, did not fall behind in terms of quality whenpared to the A Company or R Company from the United States. The two Porters were excited and honored just by the fact that they could hold the new model rifle that such a famouspany had just released. ¡°T-Thank you very much, Hunter-nim,¡± Joo-Hyung said. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Please use it to your heart¡¯s content,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes! Please do not be worried at all! I will do my best to assist you, Hunter-nim!¡± Young-Jin enthusiastically eximed. ¡°Haha! I will be in your care then,¡± Han-Yeol replied after letting out a heartyugh. Han-Yeol and his party finished their preparation, and then they drove his van along with two trucks into the mine. Gold Mine was called a mine, but its entrance wasrge enough for twenty trucks to simultaneously enter side by side. Its ceiling was also more than ten meters high. ¡°We are entering!¡± Joo-Hyung said. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. They entered Gold Mine, which did not have a dark interior. The mine was not dark because the Hunters¡¯ Association had installed electricity and lighting in it, but the mine also had a natural blue glow to its walls that further illuminated its interior. Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ However, its floor was rough and not leveled so the truck shook quite often while driving through it. It could not be helped since the mine floor was a natural ground not paved for vehicles. Psshhht! [Hunter-nim, there is a mana reactioning from three hundred meters in front of us,] Joo-Hyung, who was driving the truck at the forefront, said through the walkie-talkie. The golems were difficult to find since they seldom reacted and mostly spent their time hibernating within the ground. Psssht! ¡°Roger that,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He used his skill, ¡®Mana Eyes.¡¯?He concentrated his mana into his eyes upon activating the skill and observed the flow of mana in their surroundings. ¡®So it¡¯s hiding over there,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he spotted a lump of mana. The mana detection device only gave a rough location of where the mana wasing from, but Han-Yeol did not have to rely on the device. He could roughly guess where the golem was at since he had his trusty Mana Eyes skill. The mana detection device was simply an rm to him. Bam! Bam! Han-Yeol tapped the roof of the truck twice. It was the signal they had agreed on to stop the vehicles. Then, Han-Yeol got off the truck first, followed by Joo-Hyung and Young-Jin. ¡°It is thirty meters in front of us,¡± Joo-Hyung said. ¡°Everyone, prepare to fire,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°P-Prepare to fire,¡± the two Porters stuttered as they acknowledged themand. They were slightly taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯smand the moment he asked them to prepare to fire, since they did not even identify where the monster was. However, they had no choice but to obey themand and switch their gun¡¯s safety to burst fire since they had to listen to a Hunter. ¡°Fire at the spot that I fire at,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the two Porters replied. ¡°Fire,¡± Han-Yeol said. He activated his skill at the same time, ¡®Power Strike.¡¯ Ratatatatatata! Han-Yeol made the first move as he fired his HSK-447P rifle at a specific location, and then the two Porters followed suit as they fired at the exact same spot that he was firing at. The bullets armed with Mana Enchant on top of Power Strike flew toward the target that Han-Yeol had spotted with Mana Eyes, and then they urately hit just what he wanted. Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! The bullets were seemingly hitting nothing but rocks, so the Porters could not believe their eyes when they saw that the bullets had urately hit a golem in its head. They wondered, ¡®H-How the hell did he know that there was a golem hiding there¡­? And he also hit it with such uracy¡­?¡¯ The disy of uracy that Han-Yeol had shown was so unbelievable that the two Porters could not help but wonder the exact same thing at the exact same time. 1. Gangwon Land is a famous casino in Korea. Chapter 68: A Thorough Deal (4)

Chapter 68: A Thorough Deal (4)

The normal way to hunt golems was to cast an AoE attack on the area that the mana detection device pointed at, and most Porters knew about this method even though golem hunts were rare these days. After all, this was a question that popped up quite often in their theory tests at the academy. It was difficult for any Porter to forget anything about golems since the theories on how to deal with one were quiteplicated, and most would find themselves losing marks on their tests because of it. Thus, it is safe to assume that most Porters would thoroughly study the golems just so that they would not fail the tests. Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­? A period of time went by after they shot at the same spot. Then, the ground suddenly started to shake. ¡®Wow, there really was a golem there? I wonder what kind of detection skill Hunter-nim has¡­?¡¯?Joo-Hyung wondered to himself, since there was no way that anyone would be able to urately hit a golem like Han-Yeol did unless they possessed a detection skill. ¡®Or¡­does he have one of those mana detection devices made from the United States¡¯ highly advanced technology¡­?¡¯?he wondered once again as that was the only other possibility aside from the fact that the Hunter possessed a detection skill. Just as Joo-Hyung was engrossed in his thoughts, the ground split apart and a Sand Golem rose up from the crevice. Woooooong¡­! The golem let out a deep reverberating sound. A golem was not a creature, but rather, something that was simr to a robot that moved with mana. ¡®Now, shall we get serious and slice it up?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Shwiiik! Han-Yeol extended his chain, preparing for realbat. At the same time, he thought, ¡®They say that the way to hunt these guys is to destroy or pull out their core, right?¡¯ Han-Yeol realized that mana stones and scrap metals were not the only things that he could obtain from golems. He could also obtain the core, which was the main thing that enabled the golems to move. The golems relied on mana stones to give them power, but it was the core that was in charge of their mobility. It was possible to be quite handsomely rewarded if Han-Yeol sold the golem cores to the Hunters¡¯ Association, but it was not easy to remove them from the golems in the first ce. The core was hidden somewhere in the golem¡¯s body and surrounded by its thick hard skin. Finding it and destroying it was already difficult enough for an average Hunter to achieve. Taking it out without destroying it was even more difficult, or even impossible, to achieve. ¡°Keep firing!¡± Han-Yeol ordered. ¡°Y-Yes! Roger that!¡± the two Porters replied. The Porters were slightly taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s order, but they decided to follow it nevertheless. It was their duty to execute whatever the Hunter they were with asked them to. The two Porters continued firing a barrage of bullets at the golem without ceasing. ck! They immediately changed magazines as soon as they ran out of bullets before they continued firing once again. Ratatatatata! The bullets flying from behind Han-Yeol were not a threat at all ever since his Sixth Sense had reached the B Rank. He could easily avoid the bullets, since his skill allowed him to see the bullets¡¯ trajectory. Woooong! The golem did not move an inch despite being rained down by a barrage of bullets. ¡®I figured as much,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. A golem was a very sturdy monster that did not feel pain. ¡®Mana Explosion!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he activated his skill. Plop¡­ Kaboooom! He fired a grenade from the grenadeuncher attached to his HSK-447P at the golem¡¯s face, and he increased the grenade¡¯s firepower by infusing it with Mana Explosion. Arge explosion rocked the mine when the grenade urately hit the golem¡¯s face. ¡®How does my heartfelt greeting taste like?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. *** Fwaaaa¡­ The explosion¡¯s smoke cleared away to reveal the golem that was still standing in the midst of it all. Upon seeing the golem, the two Porters cried out, ¡°H-Hunter-nim!¡± The explosion looked quite powerful in their eyes, so they were terrified by the sight of the monster withstanding that powerful explosion without taking any damage while only shedding sand from its body. ¡®Well, I already knew that golems are tenacious sturdy bastards,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Everything was within his calctions. His previous use of Mana Explosion was to signal the start of his hunt and to test how sturdy the golems really were. However, the Porters, on the other hand, could not read minds. Therefore, they were not aware of what Han-Yeol was thinking right now. ¡®W-We are in trouble¡­!¡¯?the two Porters thought. The Porters were frozen in fear. They stopped firing their guns despite Han-Yeol ordering them to continue firing without ceasing, and slowly started to retreat backward as if they were ready to make a run for it any second now. Han-Yeol could not help but react when the sound of gunfire stopped ringing throughout the cave. ¡®Hmm¡­ They can keep firing¡­ Why did they stop? Ah¡­ Did I buy too few bullets? Well, I guess it does make sense since I only bought ten thousand bullets and that will only be three thousand three hundred each if we divide it among the three of us.? ¡®If a magazine can hold thirty bullets at once, then they will have around a hundred and ten magazines to work with on this hunt. But since they already used up three magazines just for this one golem¡­ that means they are only left with a hundred and seven magazines for the remainder of the hunt. Hmm¡­ It does seem like a stretch. As expected of these Porters! I knew I made the right choice hiring them!¡¯? Han-Yeol, who was stuck in his own delusion, thought with a satisfied look as hepletely misunderstood what was going on. ¡®How stupid can I be? I guess I will have to order at least a hundred thousand rounds next time¡­¡¯?he thought as he noted it for his next hunt. A Hunter possessed the right to purchase as many firearms and bullets as they wanted. South Korea used to be a gun-free society, but the appearance of the dimensional gates changed all of that as the order of society was thrown into chaos. That was why the country had no choice but to change thew and abolish the ban on firearms, allowing the Hunters to possess the purchased firearms as long as they registered them. There were a couple of reasons for abolishing the ban on firearms, but the main reason was due to the fact that the Hunters were already much more dangerous than firearms themselves. Therefore, there was no point in banning them. In fact, the ban on firearms only made it much more difficult for the Hunters to hunt monsters, and that was why there was no reason for the government to continue banning firearms while being at odds with the Hunters¡¯ Association. It made no sense to keep firearms away from the Hunters¡¯ hands when it made hunting monsters much easier and more convenient. However, some unstable countries were thrown into further chaos when a group of vigntes armed with firearms had joined forces with Hunters to conduct terrorism. Fortunately, there were no such issues as of yet in South Korea so far. Thud¡­! Now, back to reality. The four-meter-tall giant golem slowly started to move after absorbing the brunt of the impact dealt by Han-Yeol. The Sand Golem was considered to be the weakest monster in Gold Mine, but its size and brute force should not be underestimated. ¡®That doesn¡¯t matter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he jumped. Tak! He flew through the air and found something glowing with a bright blue hue embedded within the golem¡¯s body. ¡®My eyes can,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he spun in mid-air to close the distance with the golem. He threw his chain while using Restraint to immobilize one of the golem¡¯s arms. The golem possessed quite arge build, which made its movement slow and dull. The golem flinched and wobbled when the chain restrained its arm, since its size also made it difficult for it to maintain its bnce while standing up. It might be a monster being supported by the power of mana, but it was still made out of sand which was not a very tensile material in the first ce. ¡®See everything!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Puuuuk¡­ Pukeok! Han-Yeol fell near the staggering golem¡¯s side and stabbed his sword into the golem. Then, he felt the sensation of digging through the sand before the tip of his sword hit something and broke it. Guoooh! The golem staggered for a while more before the light on its eyes went away. It slowly started to crumble. The golem could no longer maintain its form after its core was destroyed. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has reached Master-Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ has created a sub-skill instead of evolving.] [A new skill has been created: sh Strike (F).] ¡®sh Strike¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [sh Strike (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill created by a swordsman who wanted to strike at the speed of light. It is a skill that strikes faster than light. The user may deal 300% additional damage if they hit their target¡¯s weak spot, and deal 150% additional damage if they do not hit the target¡¯s weak spot. ¡®Oh, this is the first time that I¡¯m getting a proper sword skill,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Most of the skills that Han-Yeol used were just skills that indirectly helped out whenever he swung his sword. He never had a proper active sword skill to inflict damage. However, he now had one to add to his arsenal of skills. ¡®But¡­most of my skills will be limited to stabbing from now on¡­ Do I have to go and buy a rapier instead¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Just when Han-Yeol was deep in thought, the two Porters, who were scared witless a while ago, were now flustered and dumbfounded. They initially thought ¡®what kind of mixed hybrid is that?¡¯ when they saw Han-Yeol take out his sword right after shooting at the golem from a distance, but they never imagined in their wildest dreams that they would see him dispatch the golem in one strike. They had heard rumors of Hunters who enjoyed solo hunting, but they never thought that a solo-hunting Hunter would be this powerful. They simultaneously thought, ¡®But I¡¯m sure that he is an E Rank Hunter!¡¯ Most Porters weed the fact that the Hunter they worked with were strong, since that reduced the chances of them dying along with them. However, that did not mean that they could simply ept the ridiculous disy of strength that Han-Yeol had shown just now. These two were experienced enough as Porters to tell how strong a Hunter was simply from observing them. ¡®What the hell is that Hunter¡­?¡¯?Joo-Hyung thought as he looked at Young-Jin. ¡®How the hell should I know?¡¯?Young-Jin replied to Joo-Hyung¡¯s incredulous look. ¡°Can you guys please collect the mana stones and the gold?¡± Han-Yeol said. Most of the time, the Porters would immediately collect the spoils as soon as the Hunters were done hunting. However, the two of them simply stood and watched as they were still stunned by what they were seeing. That was why Han-Yeol had to nudge them into taking action, since they seemed to have momentarily forgotten what to do. ¡°Y-Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± Joo-Hyung replied. ¡°I-I am sorry!¡± Young-Jin replied in a hurry. The two started to move as soon as Han-Yeol finished speaking. ¡®Hmm¡­ They seemed like veteran Porters a while ago, but now they are acting like a bunch of newbies¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He could not understand why the Porters were acting this way, since he had been leisurely hunting without any worries. He did notice, however, that the two had been frozen with fear the entire time. Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion when he could not figure out why the Porters were so disoriented. The two collected the mana stone and gold under the pile of sand left behind by the Sand Golem. ¡°How much gold is there?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°We have to weigh it to be certain, but there seems to be around five hundred grams,¡± Joo-Hyung replied. ¡°Ah, really?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. He thought, ¡®Ughh¡­ When am I going to collect a hundred kilos of it¡­?¡¯ Of course, Han-Yeol had the option of buying a hundred kilos of gold since the price of gold had plummeted and it was now slightly more expensive than a normal metal. In fact, he had enough money in his bank ount to purchase a hundred kilos of gold in one single transaction. ¡®Why would I spend money when I can just hunt for it?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The gold that he obtained from golem hunting could only be sold at the same price as scrap, but Han-Yeol intended to kill a few birds with one stone by hunting the golem to gain experience points for his level and skills while collecting the gold to pay the demon merchant. This made much more sense to a scrooge like Han-Yeol, who would rather go through difficulty than spend money unnecessarily. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get moving. Why don¡¯t we hunt properly now since we have already started the hunt?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, yes, Hunter-nim,¡± the two Porters nonchntly replied. These two did not really think much of it, but they were in for a world of surprise. *** ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± ¡°E-Enough¡­ Please¡­!¡± ¡°W-Water¡­!¡± Joo-Hyung and Young-Jin were severely disoriented and in an extremely exhausted state. They had hunted for eight hours straight, collecting mana stones and gold without rest. They had repeated the process of moving, hunting, and collecting over and over again. The only time that they had been able to rest was when they were seated in the truck while on the move. Thud! Their twelve hours of intense hunting came to an end when they loaded the core of the Metal Golem, which was the final monster of the day. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. I will certainly pay you more for working really hard today, so please don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­?T-Thank you, Hunter-nim,¡± Joo-Hyung replied. At the same time, he thought, ¡®I¡¯m never going to work with you ever again.¡¯ ¡®Ugh¡­ I think I¡¯m going to go insane from exhaustion¡­¡¯?Yong-Jin grumbled inwardly. These two were severely exhausted after experiencing Han-Yeol¡¯s tight hunting pattern, which they had never experienced before. After all, most Hunters preferred to hunt in a rxed manner. While the two Porters were too exhausted to do anything, Han-Yeol went to a secluded area. Gold Mine consisted of numerous mine shafts with pockets here and there, so there were plenty of ces that he could go to be away from the Porters¡¯ eyes. ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­? Then, Han-Yeol ced the mana stones he just collected on the floor. He asked, ¡®I can absorb these and increase my skill level, right Karvis?¡¯? [That is correct. There is a limit to how much you can raise your skill level at a single time, but I think absorbing that jewel called the Demon¡¯s Eye or whatever it is called after increasing your skill level is the right decision,] Karvis replied. ¡®Alright, then shall we get started?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he extended his right hand toward the pile of mana stones.?Then, he used Mana Control to assist him in synchronizing his mana with the manaing from the mana stones. When Han-Yeol felt the mana stones¡¯ mana rise up like air, he immediately used the skill he had bought from the demon merchant for a hundred kilos of gold. He cast, ¡®Mana Absorption!¡¯? Wooooong! Then, the mana stones¡¯ mana reacted to his skill. It started to seep into Han-Yeol¡¯s extended hand. ¡®Haap!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned inwardly. Badump¡­ Badump¡­ Badump¡­ Badump¡­! His heart wildly reacted to the absorbed mana, beating faster and faster. ¡®W-What is this sensation I¡¯m feeling¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as his heart started to beat even faster. He wondered if this was how it felt to be under the influence of illegal drugs. An unexinable sensation spread throughout his body while his heart continued beating faster and faster. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Mana Control¡¯ has risen from (B) to (A).] [The rank of ¡®Mana Mastery¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] When two of his skills leveled up at the same time, Han-Yeol thought with a satisfied look, ¡®Heh, it finally reached A Rank.¡¯? One of the first skills he had obtained upon awakening with his growth-type ability finally became A Rank. Mana Control was a basic skill that controlled the assisted flow of Han-Yeol¡¯s mana so it took quite a while for it to level up. ¡®This is just the start,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clenched his fist while feeling his newfound power. Chapter 69: The World Has Started To Look Different (1)

Chapter 69: The World Has Started To Look Different (1)

There was still a pile of mana stones in front of Han-Yeol, and he immediately grabbed and absorbed them one by one. When he absorbed the fifth mana stone, a message suddenly popped up. Ding! [You have obtained enough mana from external sources.] [Your MAG stat has risen by 1.] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in confusion when he read the message that appeared in front of him. He absorbed the mana stones because he wanted to increase his Mana Absorption skill level, but he never expected his MAG stat to increase as well. ¡®So this is how it works?¡¯? Han-Yeol¡¯s passive skill, Body Strengthening, increased his STR, AGI, and VIT stats whenever he trained his physical body. This meant that he could increase his MAG stat whenever he absorbed mana from external sources. ¡®Jackpot¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. He wondered if this was how the researcher who developed Viagra had felt when he had identally stumbled upon it while trying to develop a drug for heart diseases. His heart beat faster as the ecstasy of his newfound jackpot only pumped his adrenaline further. Then, after absorbing five more mana stones¡­ Ding! Ding!? [You have obtained enough mana from external sources.] [Your MAG stat has risen by 1.] [The rank of ¡®Mana Absorption¡¯ has increased from (F) to (E).] Han-Yeol¡¯s MAG stat increased by one and his Mana Absorption skill level ranked up after he absorbed the tenth mana stone. ¡®Status window,¡¯?Han-Yeol called up his status window. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 64 Points: 0 STR: 122 VIT: 123 AGI: 105 MAG: 170+2 LCK: 10 Invoke: 60 Skills: Dismember (D), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (F)], Walking (B), Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (B), Power Strike (A), Sixth Sense (B), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (B), Fire Attribute (C), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E), Force Shield (F), Cat Walk (F), Mana Absorption (E). ¡®Huh? The absorbed mana shows as a + instead?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after observing his status screen. He noticed that his Mana Absorption was now E Rank. Then, he wondered, ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I increase it to C or at least D in one go?¡¯? *** Han-Yeol loved the strange sensation he felt when he used Mana Absorption, and he loved the fact that his MAG stat increased when he absorbed a mana stone. He continued to absorb the mana stones¡¯ mana like he was in a trance, and he soon finished absorbing all of the sixty-four stones that he had brought with him. The result was astonishing. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 64 Points: 0 STR: 122 VIT: 123 AGI: 105 MAG: 170+12 LCK: 10 Invoke: 60 Skills: Dismember (D), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (F)], Walking (B), Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (B), Power Strike (A), Sixth Sense (B), Restrain (B), Body Strengthening (C), Mana Eyes (B), Stab (C), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (B), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (B), Fire Attribute (C), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (B), Marksmanship (C), Martial Arts (D), Enchant (E), Sword Breath (D), Restore (E), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (E), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (D), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E), Force Shield (F), Cat Walk (F), Mana Absorption (E). His MAG stat increased by an astonishing +12, but Han-Yeol was still not satisfied. His Mana Absorption skill did not level up further from E Rank. Han-Yeol went back to the truck where the two Porters were after absorbing all of the mana stones, and there he found the two soundly sleeping. Snore¡­ Snore¡­ Snore¡­ Snore¡­!? ¡®Was I a bit too harsh on them¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He was well aware that his hunting pace was a bit too fast for normal Porters to keep up with, since he had once been a Porter as well, and that was the reason why he was willing topensate them with a higher wage. He initially thought that it was fine to up the pace since the Porters did not have to dismember anything, but it seemed that he had been mistaken about it and he had gone a bit overboard this time. ¡®Was I being insensitive¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He realized that even though he had been aware that the Porters couldn¡¯t keep up with his pace, he had decided to turn a blind eye to it since he wanted to hunt more and more golems. Further reflecting on his actions, he thought, ¡®Well, it¡¯s not that important to cater to the needs of others in this day and age where most people are self-centered, but I guess I shouldpromise a little bit in the future.¡¯ Han-Yeol reflected on his own actions so much because he had been a Porter once, and he knew very well how difficult and tiring the job was. ¡®Hmm¡­ Then should I hire four Porters instead in the future¡­?¡¯?he pondered. Money was not an issue for Han-Yeol when it came to hiring Porters, because hiring two or four did not really make a huge difference to him, but he realized that he could further increase the pace if he brought four Porters next time. By doing that, he could make them work in shifts, thus increasing his hunting efficiency. Of course, he could also hunt in a party, but he was morefortable working alone since he did not have to be conscious of others. There was also the added advantage of not having to discuss things with others before making a decision and not having to share the profits from the hunt. Besides, there was no reason why he could not hunt alone when ¡®soloism¡¯ was a trend these days, where people ate alone and drank alone at restaurants and bars. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered for a moment as he pondered what to do. Han-Yeol decided to wake the Porters up. As much as he wanted to let them rest, it was not appropriate to sleep in this ce. Then, he told them that they were free to go home and that he would personally return the truck to the Hunters¡¯ Association. He also transferred five million won to each of their ounts, as their wages for today. ¡°I-Is it alright for you to p-pay us so much¡­?¡± the two Porters asked in surprise when they saw their wagese in. They had initially expected Han-Yeol to pay them two million won each. Hunters usually earned quite a lot, but they were often stingy when it came to paying Porters. That was the reason why the two Porters had assumed that Han-Yeol was going to be no different from the others. In fact, there was nothing they could do but to receive whatever amount Han-Yeol chose to pay them. There was no way for them to lodge a formalint as long as he paid them the minimum wage stipted by the rules of the Hunters¡¯ Association. However, Han-Yeol paid them a whopping five million won, more than double the amount that they had expected him to pay, for a single day¡¯s work. ¡°Of course, the two of you worked really hard today. I think that you have done more than enough to deserve getting paid this much,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°T-Thank you very much!¡± the two Porters eximed at the same time as they bowed toward Han-Yeol. The Porters were very grateful for Han-Yeol¡¯s generosity; five million won was a sum that they could only earn after going on three hunts. In turn, this meant that they were able to rest for three hunts without any hitch on their finances. The Porters, who were now very touched by Han-Yeol¡¯s generosity, offered to return the trucks to the Hunters¡¯ Association, and Han-Yeol gave them the other emptied truck and sent them on their way. Han-Yeol had more urgent matters to attend to now that the Porters were gone. Cutting the back of his hand now that he was alone, he muttered, ¡°Summon Demon.¡± [Kihihihi! Amazing! I never thought that you would call me so quickly,] Dellchant said as he appeared with his eerieughter. ¡°Here is the hundred kilos of gold that you have requested. Well, it is technically more than a hundred kilos, but I will not ask you for the change,¡± Han-Yeol said respectfully, with just a hint of arrogance. [What an arrogant human! Kihihi! However, I love arrogant humans like you. The customer is always king as long as you don¡¯t run off with my payment!] Dellchant replied as he floated in mid-air. He went to the truck where the gold was, and after weighing the gold, he eximed, [It is a hundred kilos, like you said! Excellent!] ¡°Of course,¡± Han-Yeol said. [The transaction has beenpleted! Feel free to call me anytime if you need anything else! Kihihihi!] Dellchant eximed before waving his hand and shoving the pile of gold into the backpack-like round thing that he carried on his back. ¡®So that¡¯s a bag,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he observed the thing on the demon merchant¡¯s back. Whoosh! Dellchant immediately disappeared after he collected his payment. ¡°Hoo¡­ Well, that¡¯s one thing done,¡± Han-Yeol muttered to himself. He had paid the price for the Mana Absorption skill that he had bought from the demon merchant, and he no longer had to worry about his soul being taken away by the demon. ¡®Dellchant¡­can be quite a useful demon, but I could end up losing my life if I use him too recklessly,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, realizing that the demon merchant was a demon that he had to deal with carefully. Han-Yeol ended his hunt with zero financial gains, albeit having increased his skill and level. This was the first time ever since he had awakened that he had ended a hunt without making any money, but it did not bother him that much. He still felt good. *** Three months had passed since the Gold Mine hunt had ended. A monster was recklessly charging toward Han-Yeol, who jumped and twisted in mid-air before delivering a powerful high kick to the monster. Whoosh¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The monster let out a shriek. Han-Yeol¡¯s kick was so powerful that it twisted the monster¡¯s neck and flung it to the ground, and the monster was no longer able to get up. Han-Yeol was currently at a mudt on the west coast. A dimensional gate had appeared on this mudt, and the government had immediately responded by erecting a barrier around it, thus turning it into a hunting ground. This mudt was home to the Lizardmen, which were the weakest among the intermediate-ranking monsters. The Lizardmen hadrge builds, walked on two legs, and were very adept at handling weapons. They were able to freely walk around the mud thanks to their feet, which were typical of amphibians, so they were very difficult to deal with in the mudt. That was why most Hunters steered away from hunting them even though they were weak. However, this terrain was not a problem for Han-Yeol at all. [Kuhahaha! That Cat Walk skill of yours is really amazing. It¡¯s amusing that you can move just like those Lizardmen in this muddy terrain,] Kajikar said with augh. ¡°I know, right,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol?had spent the past three months training under Kajikar, and the demon drill sergeant had trained him so ruthlessly that he felt as if he had been training in hell. It had been a hellish period where he did not think about anything else other than training, and the result of that was simply amazing. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 85 Points: 0 STR: 148 VIT: 150 AGI: 135 MAG: 235+52 LCK: 10 Invoke: 100 Skills: Dismember (D), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (E)], Walking (B), Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (B), Power Strike (A), Sixth Sense (B), Restrain (A), Body Strengthening (B), Mana Eyes (A), Stab (B), Dagger Mastery (F), Chain Mastery (A), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (B), Fire Attribute (B), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (A), Marksmanship (B), Martial Arts (B), Enchant (D), Sword Breath (C), Restore (D), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (D), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (C), Power Meditation (E), Psychokinesis (E), Force Shield (E), Cat Walk (E), Mana Absorption (D). Han-Yeol¡¯s status window had gone through a lot of changes. His level had increased by a whopping 20, and most of his skills had also increased by a level each. It would not have been possible for him to evenly level up his skills like this if not for his meticulous personality. He paid attention to leveling up the skills he frequently used instead of focusing on and relying on a single skill. In addition, he had asked Karvis if there was anything that he did not understand and sought Kajikar¡¯s advice whenever he needed it. ¡®I¡¯m quite grateful that I have someone to ask?about?the things I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m really fortunate to have these two to turn to,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He finally understood what his teachers had meant back in his school days when they had told the students to ask if there was anything they did not understand regardless of whether it was during sses or after sses. St¡­ St¡­ St¡­? ¡°Ughh¡­¡± On the other hand, Yoo-Bi was struggling to move around the mudt unlike Han-Yeol, who had Cat Walk to assist his movement. This was the main reason why the Lizardmen were not that famous and not frequently hunted unless the Hunters received a quest to hunt them. Even though the Hunters themselves sometimes had a skill that assisted their movement, as Han-Yeol did, the Porters struggled. Han-Yeol had not chosen this hunting ground because it was deserted; instead, he had specifically chosen the Lizardmen because they were able to help to his goal of strengthening himself, as they gave quite a lot of experience points. It just so happened, by sheer coincidence, that the sweet leveling spot he had found turned out to be a deserted one. ¡°Be careful, Yoo-Bi. It¡¯s going to hurt real bad if you fall down and identally cut yourself with the saw,¡± Han-Yeol warned. Han-Yeol could easily patch Yoo-Bi up no matter how seriously injured she was, as long as she was still alive. However, he continuously asked her to be careful; such excruciating pain could leave her traumatized for life, and it could even affect her career in the future. ¡°Please do not worry, I have been doing this for quite a while now, you know?¡± Yoo-Bi replied, pouting. ¡°Well, I guess you are right. This is going to be your second month now,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Hmph!¡± Yoo-Bi scoffed and pouted because she felt that Han-Yeol was looking down on her. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I just teased you a little bit since you are doing such a good job,¡± Han-Yeol said with augh. ¡°Forget about it,¡± Yoo-Bi replied, switching on her electric saw. Whiiiiiing! Yoo-Bi was now quite the veteran Porter, disying skillful movements in dismembering the Lizardmen. She split the monster parts into the ones worth something and those worth nothing, just as she had learned from Han-Yeol. Then, she loaded them up on a sled. It was impossible for a vehicle to run on this mudt, so they had to make do with a seven-hundred-kilo sled that was specially designed for mudts. Han-Yeol grabbed a mana stone and used his skill. ¡®Mana Absorption.¡¯ Whooooong! He has done this a hundred times now. ¡®Ugh¡­?How much money did I throw away because of this crap I¡¯m doing¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He had been easily and thoughtlessly absorbing the mana stones for the past three months, but he soon realized that he was literally absorbing an astronomical amount of money. In addition, the number of mana stones that he had to absorb increased the higher his bonus MAG stat got. Just as he hadpletely absorbed the mana stone in his hand, a message popped up. Ding! [You have obtained enough mana from external sources.] [Your MAG stat has risen by 1.] [The rank of ¡®Mana Absorption¡¯ has increased from (D) to (C).] ¡®Finally!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. The skill that he had poured tens of billions of won into had finally reached the level that he desired. [Kuhahaha! So you can finally use the jewel that I gifted you!] Kajikar eximed. ¡°Yes, I can finally use it,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Congrattions, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said. She was roughly aware of what was going on since Han-Yeol had exined the situation to her, and that was why she was able to sincerely congratte him on his achievement. ¡°Thank you, Yoo-Bi,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He took out the red jewels that he kept in his backpack¡ªthe Demon¡¯s Eyes. He gripped them tightly in his hand and he eximed inwardly, ¡®Mana Absorption!¡¯ Chapter 70: The World Started To Look Different (2)

Chapter 70: The World Started To Look Different (2)

[You are absorbing a jewel from the demon world.] [A penalty has urred during the absorption process as the Demon¡¯s Eye contains mana from the demon world.] [Mana Absorption (C) has reduced the penalty from absorbing the demonic mana.] A red glow surrounded Han-Yeol, unlike the blue glow that usually urred when he absorbed mana. His hair and clothes were fluttering even though there was no breeze blowing. *** Wooooong! The red glow surrounded Han-Yeol, sending a strange sensation throughout his entire body. [The first human to obtain a demon¡¯s power is being born,] Kajikar said as he observed the birth of a new species. ¡°Hap!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in pain. He suddenly could not breathe and his body started to twist and squirm on its own, and then his eyes slowly started to glow red. Ding! [You have absorbed a jewel from the demon world.] [You have absorbed the Demon¡¯s Eyes through Mana Absorption.] [The power of demons is not something that a human can dare to have.] [However, you are able to obtain their power through your skill.] [A new skill has been created: Demon Eyes.] Ding! [The skill Demon Eyes and Mana Eyes have started to conflict with each other.] [Demon Eyes has absorbed Mana Eyes!] [The rank of ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] [The rank of ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] Fwaaaa¡­ Steam started to rise from Han-Yeol. Then, he sighed. ¡°Phew¡­¡±? It was not that difficult for Han-Yeol to absorb the Demon¡¯s Eyes, but he felt exhausted after experiencing this strange sensation that he had never felt before. ¡®Demon Eyes¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he checked his new skill¡¯s description. [Demon Eyes (D)] Type: Active Description: A skill created by absorbing the Demon¡¯s Eyes, which is a jewel from the demon world, through an absorption skill. The user may select three modes when activating this skill. A Mode allows the user to scan for mana within a 10km radius, B Mode allows the user to quantify the target¡¯s mana and see it in figures, and C Mode allows the user to see the profile of whatever they are looking at. Gulp¡­ Han-Yeol was speechless. He could not help but swallow his saliva after reading the new skill¡¯s description, and that was because this new skill was simply an amazing one. ¡®Is this really a skill that I now possess¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He could not believe what was happening as the skill that he just obtained was truly an astonishing one. He pinched his cheek, then pped himself to make sure it wasn¡¯t a dream. p! [Have you gone insane by any chance?] Kajikar asked. He suspected that Han-Yeol had lost his sanity as a side effect of absorbing the jewels. ¡°I-I am alright¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. He went on to perform all sorts of stunts by himself before he was finally able to calm down. Then, he went over to Yoo-Bi, who had just finished handling a Lizardman corpse. ¡°Oppa, what was that red glow a while ago? I could not really pay attention because I was busy dismembering this Lizardman,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. It¡¯s your first time seeing red mana, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I met quite a lot of Hunters while training to be a Porter, but I remember all of them had blue mana¡­¡± Yoo-Bi replied. She was correct. Most of the Hunters¡¯ mana was blue in color, and Han-Yeol¡¯s mana color momentarily changed after he absorbed the Demon¡¯s Eyes. In fact, all of his skills exuded the same blue mana whenever he used it. ¡°Do you remember that I summon demons?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°I¡¯m just borrowing their power for a bit, that¡¯s all,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°You are borrowing the demons¡¯ power¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi asked with a hint of surprise and nervousness in her voice. ¡°Just for a moment. I was shaking off their mana just now, that¡¯s why my mana was red a while ago,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah¡­ I see,¡± Yoo-Bi muttered in response while nodding. However, she thought to herself, ¡®Liar.¡¯? Yoo-Bi did not really have a grasp of what was going on, but she could clearly tell that Han-Yeol was lying right now. She had told him that she did not manage to get a clear view of what was going on since she was distracted with her work, but she had, in fact, managed to look at what happened with Han-Yeol. She could confidently tell that Han-Yeol¡¯s squirming motion had not been to simply shake the mana off. In fact, she thought that it was more appropriate to describe it as him epting the mana instead. ¡®I¡¯m certain that oppa has a secret that should not be revealed to others¡­ I¡¯m certain of it,¡¯?she thought. She was very curious as to what Han-Yeol¡¯s secret was, but she also sensed that it was not something that he was easily going to tell her. [Human, you don¡¯t have the luxury toze around right now,] Kajikar said. ¡°Ah, you are right,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He turned around to Yoo-Bi and said, ¡°Alright Yoo-Bi, keep up the good work!¡± ¡°Alright, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. That was how the demon drill sergeant¡¯s words signaled the start of the next round of hunting. *** A month had passed since Han-Yeol had absorbed the Demon¡¯s Eyes, and winter was now here. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Finally¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered as he looked up at the sky, taking in the ecstatic feeling. He thought triumphantly, ¡®I have finally reached Level 100¡­!¡¯ [So it¡¯s finally over,] Kajikar said. Nothing much had changed when Han-Yeol had reached Level 100. There were no congrattory messages that popped up, but he was still incredibly proud of the fact that he was at Level 100. Anyone who yed a game in their life would know the exhrating feeling of reaching Level 100. [This is as far as our contract goes,] Kajikar said. They had not decided on a particr time when their contract was going to end, but wherever there was a beginning, there was bound to be an end. Therefore, they had agreed somewhere along the way to set the limit at Level 100 for the duration of the contract, and today was that day. ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work, and thank you very much for your teachings,¡± Han-Yeol said respectfully. [Hehe, don¡¯t mention it. It was quite fun for me as well, this is the first time that I taught a human,] Kajikar replied. ¡°You also managed to stock up on alcohol,¡± Han-Yeol added. [Kuhahaha! That is a given!] Kajikar replied with a heartyugh. The alcohol that Kajikar had demanded in return for his teachings was more than enough to buy a house in Gangnam, and the kind of house that could be purchased with that sum was not an ordinary one either, but the kind that the rich Hunters preferred to buy. Of course, Han-Yeol had earned quite a hefty sum while being trained by the demon drill sergeant, but it was also true that he had spent quite a fortune in keeping his end of the bargain¡ªkeeping Kajikar happy. [Well, I doubt we will be seeing each other again, since I¡¯m a very busy demon, but make sure that you don¡¯t go around getting beaten up and bullied. It¡¯s going to be very embarrassing if someone who has learned from me ends up a punching bag,] Kajikar said. ¡°Yes, I understand, Kajikar-nim,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Then, I bid you farewell! Kuhahaha!] Kajikar said. He let out his trademarkugh before diving back into his sigil and returning to his hometown, the demon world. ¡°Phew¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief. He could not help but feel a bit empty after hispanion, whom he had spent quite a bit of time together with, had suddenly disappeared for good, but the emptiness did notst long. Han-Yeol had been a loner when he had worked as a Porter, since he did not have time to socialize with people, but it was different now, as he had Sung-Jin, whom he had reconnected with recently. He also had Yoo-Bi with him. Also, his father, who was the most important person to him, was now healthy and doing well. Thinking about his father¡¯s recovery, Han-Yeol felt grateful, and he thought, ¡®That is the most important thing to me.¡¯ This was the one thing that brought him joy and the one thing that he would never trade for anything. Han-Yeol stretched as he renewed his resolve, thinking, ¡®I finally became stronger after going through all sorts of hardships¡­ I should at least aim to be the best hunter in South Korea¡ªno, the entire world, right?¡¯ This was Han-Yeol¡¯s new goal in life after aplishing his first one, which had been to treat his father¡¯s illness, and he was ready to put everything on the line to achieve his newfound goal. *** ¡°Lla~ Lla~¡± Han-Yeol hummed a tune. It had been quite a while since he hadst managed to take a break, and he was finally enjoying his well-deserved break after reaching Level 100. He was wearing a luxurious silk bathrobe and drinking an expensive beer that was flown in from Germany. At the same time, he was searching some stuff online on his new 42-inch UHD TV, which acted as aputer and could be controlled with his hand motions. Swipe¡­! Swipe¡­!? This product was not released in South Korea yet, but Han-Yeol had managed to purchase it from overseas. Then, he had sent it to a technician whom he had gotten to know during his Porter days and asked him to change thenguage pack to Korean. A few windows appeared and disappeared at Han-Yeol¡¯s hand motions. Slurp¡­! He did not forget to sip on his expensive beer once in a while too. Han-Yeol lived a pretty modest lifepared to his earnings, but that all changed when he stumbled upon a talk show program on TV that showcased the lives of the rich people around the world. He then thought, ¡®A person has to spend as much as he earns to contribute to the economy.¡¯ Han-Yeol had the ability to rake in an astronomical amount of money as long as he did not lose his ability or die, and that was why he decided to stop living with his poor self¡¯s habits. He justified his new philosophy by thinking that money should not be hoarded, but instead used so that it could circte back to the economy. That was why the first thing Han-Yeol had done was purchase the high-end appliances that he had always wanted to buy and fully renovate his bathroom. He had initially felt awkward seeing expensive things in his house, but he had soon gotten used to them and thought that spending money was not a bad feeling at all. ¡®There¡¯s a reason why expensive things are expensive,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol finally had a taste of what spending money felt like through this experience. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was watching a video of a raid party hunting in a hunting ground that housed intermediate-rank monsters considered to be much stronger than the Lizardmen. He thought, ¡®It¡¯s time for me to increase the difficulty now.¡¯ It was better for Han-Yeol to start creating his own team instead of solo-hunting if he were to increase the difficulty. However, most of the parties that hunted intermediate-rank monsters were not ragtag groups, but proper raid parties that had been together for a long time. This was unavoidable, since the difficulty of an intermediate hunting ground went up substantially if the monsters inhabiting it were at the middle rank of the intermediate level, and the reason for the sudden increase in difficulty was that the monsters inhabiting these kinds of hunting grounds, unlike the lower-rank ones, had their own skills. It was definitely going to send a chill down anyone¡¯s spine if they were to imagine a few or even a few dozen intermediate-rank monsters firing their skills toward them at the same time. Han-Yeol did feel proud at the fact that he was now Level 100, but he was not brave or stupid enough to simply rush into an intermediate-rank hunting ground all on his own, and the video that he was currently watching confirmed that his gut feeling was correct. Baaam! Baaam! Baaam!? Perhaps it was because the TV was worth eight hundred million won, but the sound effects were very realistic. Han-Yeol actually thought that the explosion was urring right in front of him. [Hey, Dealers! What the hell are you guys doing?] One of the Hunters in the video had almost been swept away by the explosion. He shouted, [Shut up! We can¡¯t use our skills properly because you guys are doing a poor job at the front!] The Dealers did not back down, and they retorted at the Hunter. ¡®Tsk tsk¡­ I know I purchased a cheap video, but isn¡¯t this too much¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol was currently watching a live video broadcast by the Forum Guild. There were quite a bit of other videos being broadcast live, but Han-Yeol had decided to go for the cheapest one since he was not looking for anything in particr. Viewers had to pay a t fee to connect to the guild¡¯s broadcast, and they needed to pay extra if they wanted to watch the live broadcast as well. It was not cheap at all and it could even be considered to be extortion, but the live hunting broadcasts were quite popr on the guild¡¯s website. . ¡®There are more normal people tuned in than Hunters,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he browsed through the viewers who tuned in. The poption of those who awakened was less than 0.1% of the whole, so the rest of the 99.9% were normal civilians. However, there were quite a lot of civilians out there who enjoyed watching the Hunters¡¯ videos, and they treated the Hunters like celebrities in this day and age. That was why it was normal for arge guild to have its own broadcasting channels. Han-Yeol continued watching the broadcast for five more minutes before he clicked his tongue and grumbled inwardly, ¡®Tsk¡­ I just wasted my money.¡¯ The entire raid was a mess. They had no teamwork even though they had made quite a name for themselves. Han-Yeol was about to switch off the broadcast when the livements section suddenly caught his eye. Reading the livements section, he muttered inwardly, ¡®Hmm?¡¯? [Hahaha! This is way too funny!] [As expected of the Forum Guild, they are showing why they are famous, or rather¡­ infamous.] [This is the reason why I can¡¯t stop watching this guild¡¯s broadcasts!] [Boooo!] ¡®So this was it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he finally understood what was going on after reading the livements. The Forum Guild was not a guild famous for its good qualities, but rather infamous for itsck of teamwork and its messed up hunts. ¡®This is crazy¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he shook his head, ¡®To think that they will toy around with their lives like this¡­¡¯? It was basically game over the moment they died, so why were they messing around with their lives just to try and make a video out of it? Han-Yeol thought that perhaps these kinds of boneheads were the reason why there had been a rise in Hunter deaths recently. ¡®This is frustrating¡­ It really is frustrating¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he judged the Hunters¡¯ ipetency. He felt that the world looked different after he had absorbed the Demon¡¯s Eyes, but that was only his delusion and arrogance speaking, since he hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to use it properly yet. Han-Yeol pondered for the next ten minutes before suddenlying up with a brilliant idea. He thought, ¡®Hmm¡­ should I start my own channel too¡­?¡¯ 1. Gangnam is one of the most prime real estate areas in all of South Korea. Chapter 71: Getting Ready To Film (1)

Chapter 71: Getting Ready To Film (1)

¡®Hmm, should I give it a try and run my own channel?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol preferred to join a temporary party to go hunt the intermediate-rank monsters, but it was difficult to find a temporary party for monsters at a higher level. This was because the monsters at a higher level were much stronger and more difficult to huntpared to the low leveled ones. Most parties hunting at intermediate hunting grounds were all permanent ones that had worked together for a long time, and the parties usually held tryouts at lower leveled hunting grounds to gauge thepatibility of potential new recruits if a vacancy appeared for whatever reason. Also, in the event that a new recruit joined a party, the party would only hunt at lower leveled hunting grounds for quite some time. This was to build their teamwork in a rtively safe environment. As a result of this unofficial system, Han-Yeol would be required to search for an established party with a vacancy and go through all sorts of tryouts before being picked. Also, in most cases, a majority of the vacancies would be filled within a matter of days as most established parties gave priority to those with connections to them. A well-organized party that had hunted at the same high-level hunting ground more than ten times usually had a long line of Hunters wanting to join in. The raiding party would be a popr one. Huntersprised only 0.1% of the entire poption, and this meant that there were only a limited number of permanent parties. Needless to say, even skilled Hunters had a hard time finding one that was suitable for them. However, Han-Yeol had an easy way to join any party he wanted. He had two instant healing skills in his possession. Every single guild in the country would try to recruit him by any means necessary if Han-Yeol advertised himself as a Healer. But he did not like the idea of being tied down to any guild at the moment. He also did not want to give himself to any guild at such a cheap rate when he had more room to grow and be even more powerful. ¡®If I were to join a guild¡­ that guild should have my name on it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol was a very independent individual, so he would rather be the leader than follow the orders of someone else. ¡®First of all, it¡¯s better for me to raise my name value before creating a guild. In that case, I should make a quick visit to the Hunters¡¯ Association and test my mana again,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was now time for him to stop hiding in the shadows ande out to the surface. ¡®I¡¯m not some sort of dark horse, so there is no reason for me to move around while keeping a low profile, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Having made the decision to start his own broadcasting channel, Han-Yeol¡¯s first course of action was to go to the electronics department store and buy the necessary equipment for broadcasting. He nned to buy not only the cameras but also every single other piece of equipment needed. And while he was at it, he was going to get the best ones. Han-Yeol walked into the electronics store and simply said to the store clerk, ¡°Give me the best equipment you got for broadcasting.¡± ¡°Yes, right away, sir,¡± the store clerk immediately replied. Han-Yeol was immediately treated as a VIP customer. He was assigned two employees who guided him and exined the specification of each type of equipment. The assigned employees would exin the specification inyman''s terms if Han-Yeol as much as grimaced or frowned for a moment because of howplicated the technical jargons were. The broadcasting equipment was very expensive, but the stores did not have the same luxury they previously had to stereotype or be picky with their customers. Beep! Han-Yeol used his smartphone to scan the QR code given to him by the employee, and the detailed information on each product such as distribution channels, production date, and regional pricing appeared for him to see. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered. This was a mandatory process to prevent fraud, because every product would be scanned for their information. The employee also inspected each and every product purchased by the customer as well. There were many attempts to forge the QR codes and create counterfeits, and these cases have been reported on the news several times. However, there have not been any cases of fraudsters being able to sessfully forge the QR code as of yet. Han-Yeol thoroughly checked through every detail before he said to the employee, ¡°I will buy them.¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± the employee said. After purchasing the cameras and broadcasting equipment, Han-Yeol went online and posted an ad on a job site. [I am looking to recruit a camera and production crew for my personal channel. The pay offered will be the industry average with monthly and annual paid leave guaranteed. The term of the contract will be for one year, and I am willing to raise the pay of anyone who works hard. P.S. I will be providing the best equipment avable on the market.] A personal channel was usually done by a single person sitting in front of hisputer to film or, in the case of outdoor filming, the person would use their mobile phone attached to a selfie stick to film. However, this was not how a Hunter would typically film their videos. A Hunter already moved with a party, so it was difficult for them to film themselves while hunting. After all, it was possible for the Hunter who was filming to bring irreversible harm to the entire party if their filming distracted any of their party members. A hunt was a matter of life and death, so all members should be fully focused at all times. Of course, there were some Hunters who attempted to record alone through a body cam, but the image quality of a camera directly strapped to the Hunter, who usually moved a lot, was not suitable to be broadcasted. The footage would not look very good or clear. In fact, the Hunter¡¯s rigorous movement tended to break the image or make the camera go out of focus. On top of that, there would be a lot of noises mixed into the video, so viewers tended to steer away from those. A small group of Hunters noticed such a problem and formed their own production team, live-streaming high-definition professional quality videos. They gained a lot of poprity, and it did not take long for everybody to begin to copy them and create their own production team to start running their own personal channels. That was why Han-Yeol chose to officially set up his own production crew and run his personal channel. Han-Yeol went online afterying the groundwork of starting his new channel. He browsed the inte and thought, ¡®Let¡¯s see which tform looks weing.¡¯ Before the Dimensional Gate incident, BJs had once enjoyed their heyday as female cam channels and gaming broadcasts garnered a lot of fame. However, after the Dimensional Gate incident, the number of viewers plummeted due to the catastrophic change in society. But not long after, the broadcasting tforms were revived due to the Hunters¡¯ personal broadcast. In fact, revived was an understatement. The Hunters¡¯ broadcasts were generating such an overwhelming amount of revenue that was way more significant than the revenue the tforms earned before the Dimensional Gate incident. This caused evenrge corporations to contemte whether they should enter the broadcasting market themselves or not. Even CK group, one of thergest corporations, was already in discussion with a medium-sized broadcastingpany for mergers and acquisitions. ¡®Isn¡¯t it better to be on the best site?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The broadcasting market has changed a lot over the years, but one thing remained the same. That was America TV still the number one broadcasting tform. America TV withstood the decline of fame through online broadcasting after the Dimensional Gates appeared. They also implemented numerous quality control and changes to female cam and game channels to maintain their spot in the industry. In fact, they were the most innovative among all tforms, being the first to experiment with Hunters broadcasting their hunt. This meant that they were the industry pioneers when it came to Hunter TV. ¡®On second thought, there¡¯s too muchpetition on that tform. All the prestigious guilds have a tight grip on it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he changed his mind. America TV was apany shared by various prestigious guilds.?Lee Myung-Soo, who was the CEO of America TV, had thergest single equity of thepany. However, his equity in thepany was absolutely dwarfed when the equity owned by various prestigious guilds werebined together. As a result, the front page of America TV was always showing the prestigious guilds first before anyone else. Swipe! Swipe! Han-Yeol closed the streaming tforms ranked first to third with a few swipes of his hand. This atrocious bias was not something that only urred in America TV. The problem persisted on Next TV, which ranked second, and Damoim TV, which ranked third. ¡®I should look for a suitable tform instead. I¡¯m sure a tform that is more inclined to stream raid parties rather than guilds would be better suited for me,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he browsed further. He decided to skip the top-ranking tforms as he himself was more interested in raid parties than the guilds. Just as he was browsing through the list of tforms, one site caught his eye. [Golem Mania TV] The tform that caught his eye had a rather unusual name, and its overall number of viewers was nothing to rave about. However, the tform had a lot of loyal viewers and a decent number of raid parties broadcasting their hunts. Han-Yeol immediately called the number at the bottom of the homepage. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­? He thought someone had finally answered the call when the ringing stopped, but he was connected to an automatic response system instead. The automatic response system asked about the field of customer support he needed. Han-Yeol pressed the number to connect to a customer support agent, and it was only then that he was finally connected to a real person. [Hello, my name is Han Mi-Joo, a customer support agent for Golem Mania TV. How may I help you?] A female customer support agent answered the phone, and as usual, her voice possessed a very pleasant quality like every customer support agent at the customer support center. This was usually true for all customer support agents regardless of their gender. ¡°Hello, I would like to open a personal broadcasting ount,¡± Han-Yeol said on the phone. [Ah¡­ Sir, you do not have to call us to open a broadcasting ount. You can do everything over the inte if you go and click on the ¡®Golem Workshop¡¯ button. There, you can find instructions on how to establish your own channel¡­] the customer support agent replied. ¡°No, I want to open a Hunter channel, not a regr channel,¡± Han-Yeol said as he interrupted the customer support agent. The broadcasting tforms treated ordinary people and a Hunterpletely differently, and this applied to all of the tforms out there. For example, America TV¡¯s popr BJs usually had around two to three thousand viewers, but a Hunter channel was considered dead if it had the same number of viewers. It was normal for a Hunter channel to have fifty thousand viewers, and sometimes the viewing numbers would go up to a hundred thousand if word spread that they were hunting rare monsters or hunting at a high leveled hunting area. The scary part was that the personal broadcasting of Hunters grew more and more by the day, and every broadcast became increasingly realistic and more spectacr than any high-budget movie ever made. [A-Ah! I-I apologize, Hunter-nim. My supervisor wishes to talk to you directly. May I transfer the call?] the customer support agent said. ¡°Yes, please go ahead,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Please wait a moment,] the customer support agent said before she transferred the call to her supervisor. Han-Yeol¡¯s conversation with the supervisor went on for about 10 minutes. Han-Yeol was asked which raid broadcasting team he was part of, and when he answered that it was a personal broadcast, there was a brief silence on the call¡­ But the supervisor immediately brightened his voice again and went through the steps with him. ¡®I bet he was about to look down on me when I said it was going to be my personal channel, but he snapped out of it just because I am still a Hunter nevertheless,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. His spection was spot on, because even a personal channel run by a Hunter would garner more viewspared to a normal person broadcasting. Han-Yeol, who was sessful in creating his personal channel, sat on the sofa and was deep in thought for a while. He wondered, ¡®Hmm, what should I show on the screen?¡¯? His usual self? Himself as it is? Or his honest unfiltered day-to-day life? All of these words used by the broadcasting stations were just nonsense buzzwords. Han-Yeol had searched for one recording of a reality show program where idols appeared on a regr basis to watch female idols when he had been in high school, but that was when he had learned that there was nothing realistic about it. Rather, it was more befitting to say that everything on camera was staged. The director would go nuts and berate the cast if one of them went off script for a moment, and the same cast that made a mistake would be berated once again by their manager. However, none of those moments would be broadcasted on TV even though everything would have been perfectly caught on camera. It was all just a heavily edited and heavily scripted show. ¡®Of course, I will show people my cool and ¡°real self¡± on-screen,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He then pondered deeply on what he should show to gain a lot of viewers and garner a lot of interest from other raid teams, and he finally got a marvelous idea after thinking for a long time. ¡®Healer and Support.¡¯? It was previously mentioned that whether it was pure coincidence or an act of god, there were an overwhelming number of Dealers. However, the number of Tankers, Healers, and Support was significantly smallerpared to those that awakened as Dealers. Thanks to that, most of the small raid parties were made up of damage dealers only. This fact made hunting all the more dangerous, which in turn, made a normal party¡¯s hunting speed to be very slow. The slow hunting speed of a normal party also meant that their growth was going to be equally slow, and this in turn also meant that they were not going to be earning as much money as the others. That was the reason why most Hunters were so desperate to join a guild where Healers, Supports, and Tankers existed. ¡®I can take on all three roles, but I should focus on showing my Healer and Support skills first,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, finally deciding on the concept of his channel. There were still quite a lot of Tanks avable in the marketpared to Healers and Supports. The Off-Tank role was one of the most popr roles for those who have recently awakened. In fact, the Off-Tank role could be divided into three different types. These were the DPS Tank, which referred to Tanks with powerful offensive skills, Heal Tank, which referred to Tanks that were able to use healing skills limited to themselves, and Summon Tank, which referred to Tanks that possessed weak physiques but had the ability to call upon their summons to act as a Tank for their summoners. Most raid groups began to use the method of using two Tanks instead of the traditional one Tank setup as various types of Tank types appeared, and surprisingly enough, most found it to be more effective than the traditional setup. Also, there were a lot of people that awakened as low-rank Tanks, which the guilds were not particrly interested in, and this in turn freed them up to be picked up by the smaller parties. That was why most of the parties these days were no longerposed of only Dealers, and they had at least one or two Tanks in them. However, Healers and Supports were still raremodities in the market. ¡®That is why the best thing I can do is show people that I am a Healer and a Support,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. With that, he decided and finalized his concept for his streams. *** The next day, Han-Yeol was busy trying to prepare for his stream. The search for a production crew was not difficult due to the recent increase of personal streams by Hunters. Broadcasting schools were now a promising school of choice for ordinary people who hoped to be hired one day as one of the production crew members of a Hunter¡¯s private stream. It was still a dangerous career, but it paid handsomely in return. A lot of experienced people applied even though Han-Yeol was a Hunter without any reputation yet, since most of them were lured in by his offer to provide industry average pay and guaranteed paid leaves. Thanks to that, Han-Yeol managed to pick the staff members ording to his needs. It appeared that his initial worry of having no one apply for the positions was unfounded. ¡°I am looking forward to working with you, Hunter-nim!¡± the production crew applicants sent a message to Han-Yeol. On the day of the group meeting, Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi arrived at the meeting ce slightlyte. The production staff members all got up from their seats, gathered together, and greeted them with a deep bow. Yoo-Bi red at Han-Yeol the moment she saw the production crew members. She called out with great hostility, ¡°Oppa-nim?¡± ¡°Ahaha, it just so happened to turn out this way,¡± Han-Yeol replied nervously. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Yoo-Bi let out a deep sigh. She shook her head at the sight of Han-Yeol just awkwardlyughing. It just so happened that the production staff members that Han-Yeol had selected were all females. To be honest, Han-Yeol felt wronged, but he did not try to exin himself further. He felt that he would just be seen as a pervert the more he tried to exin himself. ¡®I swear all the applicants with good specification and a passion for the job were female¡­ I did not pick them just because they are female¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself, feeling wronged. He never chose anyone just because of their gender, and this was just a mere coincidence. But of course, it was also true that because of this coincidence, Han-Yeol was very pleased by the sight that greeted him. 1. This is a jab at the electronic industry in Korea where the vendors were very rude to customers, but they started crying and acting nice when people started to import their own equipment online. True story happened in Korea. 2. BJ refers to Broadcasting Jockey, which is the Korean term for a streamer. Why is it called that? It¡¯s another case of misused/outdated English words in Korean. Chapter 72: Getting Ready To Film (2)

Chapter 72: Getting Ready To Film (2)

¡°Alright, we will start the meeting,¡± Yoo-Bi said. Yoo-Bi had been recently promoted to the role of manager and was no longer a Porter. When she did not hunt with Han-Yeol, she used that time to study hard and gain experience, which resulted in her being skilled enough to be promoted to a manager. ¡°Yes!¡± the production crew answered as they all shifted their focus to Yoo-Bi. ¡°The channel that is being created is Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡¯s personal Hunter channel,¡± Yoo-Bi exined. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ The production crew was fully aware that the job they had applied for was for a personal channel, but they came today with a hint of skepticism that somebody would actually run a channel alone. However, they could not help but be taken by surprise after hearing it themselves during the team meeting. It was only natural for the production crew to be concerned for their safety because they had to go inside the hunting ground along with the Hunter to film the hunt. The production crew obviously had insurance, but the insurance payout was not worth more than their lives no matter how big it was. ¡°I know what everyone is concerned about, but I have gone on numerous hunts with Han-Yeol Hunter-nim for more than six months, and I can assure you that you do not have to worry about your safety,¡± Yoo-Bi said confidently. The production crew still found it hard to fully trust a single Hunter to protect all of them, but they were no longer at the point of refusing the job when they heard that there was not a single incident for more than six months. ¡®There is no way they would try something impossible right?¡¯?the production crew members all thought. Hunters and ordinary people alike valued their lives, and it was only natural for them to be worried about their own well-being. Rather, it was safe to assume that the Hunters were more?concerned about their own well-being than an average person was. All humans were created equal, but the difference in social contribution and value could not bepared between a Hunter and an average person. The meeting ended with Yoo-Bi informing the production crew of a couple of precautions and the schedule for the future. ¡°Hmm,¡± Han-Yeol muttered while staring at the monitor, seemingly in deep thought. Staying behind to clean something up, Yoo-Bi asked, ¡°Oppa, is something bothering you?¡± ¡°I really think we should either rent or purchase our own office space,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Well, I think that is not a bad idea,¡± Yoo-Bi said. The current location where Han-Yeol and the production crew were holding the meeting was not actually his office but a gathering caf¨¦. A gathering caf¨¦ was a new kind of trendy caf¨¦ that rented out rooms for people to hold meetings at an hourly rate. It was not particrly inconvenient or ufortable, but Han-Yeol wanted his production crew to have their own office where they could work at ease. ¡®With all the best equipment and the best?welfare benefits¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol secretly fantasized about stuff like this. He dreamt of bing a sessful CEO or chairman of some foundation that provided a great work environment and benefits to his employees. He could not exin why, but he was fond of these kinds of stories. Han-Yeol knew nothing about running apany, he did not have the ability to start one, and most importantly, he did not have the time to run one. However, he decided that it would not be so bad to fulfill his dream through his channel since he was going to operate a broadcasting channel anyway. ¡°Yoo-Bi, where do you think is a good location for an office?¡± Han-Yeol asked Yoo-Bi. ¡°Hmm¡­ I think Hongdae is a good location,¡± Yoo-Bi answered. ¡°Hongdae?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, I think Hongdae will be suitable since it is famous among young people, and it is also easy to ess since it is located in Gangbuk as well. Also, there are plenty of new buildings being built at Hongdae, so it will be easy for us to find an office as well. ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. Han-Yeol also thought that it was a good idea. He had been to Hongdae a couple of times himself, and it was really a famous ce among young people. Also, the fact that it was located in Gangbuk was quite appealing to him as well. ¡°Okay, then I guess I should start looking for a real estate agent?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I suppose so?¡± Yoo-Bi replied. Yoo-Bi did not really know what to suggest, since she was only an eighteen years old girl¡ªlegally seventeen, actually, since her birthday had not passed yet. She was still learning about the world and adapting to society, even though she was working as a Porter to make ends meet. Han-Yeol had no idea how to manage his money properly, even though his financial and social status had improved a lot, because he came from a poor family and he had never had a lot of money. ¡®Money will find its way in if it wants toe in,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he recalled his view on money. This exact attitude he had toward money was the main reason for him having poor management of his finances, but it did not seem to really bother him all that much. ¡°Oppa, why don¡¯t you hire a professional to manage your assets for you?¡± Yoo-Bi suddenly said. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Maybe I should do that,¡± Han-Yeol said as he seriously considered Yoo-Bi¡¯s suggestion. ¡®Well, most of my money is just sitting in my ount since I¡¯m spending way less than what I¡¯m earning right now...¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Yoo-Bi¡¯s suggestion made him realize that it would be good to have somebody manage his money in a more systematic way and make investments here and there. ¡°Ah, now that I think about it,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°What is it, have you thought of a good idea?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Yes, I have a friend named Sung-Jin. He started working as a Porter not too long ago, but he used to be a banker. He probably knows a thing or two about it,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol could have searched online for ways to manage his finances or just outright hired a financial manager, but he was well aware from his own experience that the sources from the inte were not very reliable. Most of the results he got online were always promotional posts, even though he was using South Korea¡¯s main search engine run by N Company. He used to depend on the Q&A section of themunity board for information, but that had been invaded by the promotional posts as well in recent days and most of the posts that could be found there were ads for products orpanies. Han-Yeol picked up his phone and pressed the number two on his speed dial. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­? [What?] ¡°Are you busy?¡± Han-Yeol said. [No, why?] ¡°Let¡¯s meet, I need to ask you something,¡± Han-Yeol said. [I don''t feel like going.] ¡°Drinks are on me,¡± Han-Yeol said. [See you there.] It was a rule among men to keep phone calls short. That was how Han-Yeol set up an appointment in record time without even setting a meeting ce as they both seemed to already know where they were going to meet. Han-Yeol looked at Yoo-Bi after he hung up the phone and asked, ¡°Yoo-Bi, do you want toe along?¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± Yoo-Bi asked while she tilted her head in confusion. She did not understand why she had to go meet somebody that she had never met before. ¡°W-Well That¡¯s¡­¡± Han-Yeol stuttered as her blunt response made him feel embarrassed. He asked her to go with him without giving it much thought, but her direct response left him speechless. ¡°J-Just because?¡± Han-Yeol continued to stutter. ¡°Stop saying nonsense. I¡¯m going home now, have a nice day,¡± Yoo-Bi said in response. ¡®Ugh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned inwardly in embarrassment. Yoo-Bi stretched her arms. This was a habit of hers whenever she was about to go home after finishing work. ¡°I-Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol stuttered. ¡°Yes, I am a very busy person,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°O-Okay, well thank you for your hard work today,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes oppa, thank you for your hard work today as well. Call me when we¡¯re ready to go hunting,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Okay¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was still embarrassed about what had happened so he wanted to quickly send Yoo-Bi home. Then, he also left the meeting room since the rental time was almost over. ¡®Ughh¡­ That was embarrassing,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought inwardly. He just wanted to be with Yoo-Bi, so he made the offer to go out for drinks, but he could not help but feel bitter by getting rejected so directly. The current time was 4:48 pm. He had about three hours to spare, since he was supposed to meet Sung-Jin at eight. ¡®There¡¯s not enough time for me to go home ande back out again, but there¡¯s too much time to just wait it out¡­ What should I do to kill time¡­?¡¯?he wondered. Han-Yeol walked down the road, but he noticed that everybody was looking at him. That was because Han-Yeol had been bringing his HSK-447 rifle and his sword with him at all times ever since he was attacked by the killers. ¡°Look, it''s a Hunter,¡± one of the people on the street said. ¡°Do you think he''s a high-rank Hunter?¡± another asked. ¡°Hey, c¡¯mon. Do you really think those high and mighty high-rankers will breathe the same air as us? They think so highly of themselves that they would not step a single foot in our neighborhood. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a low-rank Hunter,¡± the passerby said. ¡°I guess you have a point,¡± the other person replied. In the past, the caste system was legally abolished, but then a capitalistic society took over dividing the society into three sses¡ªthe poor, the middle ss, and the one percentile of the world. However, a small number of people started awakening as Hunters after the dimensional gates appeared, and the fourth ss in society was added. This new ss was none other than the Hunters. The Hunters were considered as a walking weapon of mass destruction, and they were the only ones capable of killing the monstersing out from the dimensional gates. This made them feel superior to themon people, and they demanded their own residential areas to be erected so that they could be segregated from themon folks. The chance of someone awakening was a game of chance, and the chance of a person awakening as a Hunter was the highest among the poor people, since theyprised most of the fifty million poption of South Korea. This social ss also had the highest number of people applying to be Porters, since they had to make ends meet. That was why the social standing of a Hunter coupled with the inferiorityplex of the poor made them want to openly brag about their new social status as an important pir of the new world. It initially started with the abuse of power by the Hunters, and now it was at the point of segregating neighborhoods between ordinary people and Hunters. The segregation made things easier for the government to manage both neighborhoods, but the social atmosphere between the neighborhoods was not doing as well as the government hoped it would. ¡°Sigh¡­ I still envy him even if he is just a low-rank Hunter¡­ He lives in a world where we can¡¯t even dream of living and he probably makes a lot of money¡­ I wish I was a Hunter too,¡± the passerby said. ¡°Stop it, do you even have what it takes to handle the life of a Porter?¡± the other man asked. ¡°Sigh¡­ I would¡¯ve been a Hunter a long time ago if I did,¡± the passerby said. The government desperately wanted to increase the number of Hunters in the country, but they did not wish for young people, who were the driving workforce of the country, to all rush toward bing a Porter. The government only wanted those with the determination required to survive the harsh industry to apply for this job, and that was why they produced several documentaries that explicitly showed the real life of a Porter. These documentaries aired during the prime time hours, and as a result, a lot of young people gave up on bing a Porter. Also, the fact that there were some live broadcasts of a party being wiped out did not help convince those who were thinking otherwise, and this helped push the government¡¯s agenda of bncing the workforce. ¡®Yes, just keep on living like that,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He heard everything that they were saying, but he did not really mind it since he understood that they were only saying these things out of envy. Numerous people looked at Han-Yeol with eyes full of envy and jealousy as he walked down the road. As Han-Yeol was proudly walking down the road, the ground suddenly started to shake. Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­! Rumble¡­!? ¡°Kyaaaahk!¡± ¡°E-Earthquake!¡± the people shouted, startled by the sudden earthquake. There were news reports that thend underneath some portions of Gyeongju was in a severely weakened state, but that was not supposed to trigger such a strong earthquake that people would start wobbling on the streets. The earthquake that urred in Gyeongju only affected it and the areas around it. The people were panicking at the slight tremor since South Korea was believed to be an earthquake-free country, and the recent earthquake in Gyeongju, which was only 5.8 magnitude, made people think that the country was no longer safe from earthquakes. Just when the tremor had subsided, another tremor was triggered that made some people wobble andnd on their butts. Fortunately, the earthquake stopped after a while. ¡°I-It stopped,¡± one person said. ¡°Phew, that''s a relief,¡± another person said. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± one person asked with a confused look on their face. The people breathed a sigh of relief as they all took out their phones to check if there was anything special on the news. They all heard the news reports about the earthquakes happening in Gyeongju, but they were trying to find out why a tremor was so strong that it reached all the way to Seoul. Everyone had just calmed down when another event sent them into a panic once again. . Baaaaaaam! A powerful explosion suddenly urred in a nearby building. ¡°Kyaaaah!¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s an explosion!¡± a panicked voice said. ¡°W-What the hell?¡± another said. Chaos iparable to the one the earthquake had caused erupted throughout the area. An entire floor of the building was engulfed in mes caused by the explosion, and anyone who was remotely familiar with this kind of urrence could recognize what had happened. ¡®T-That¡¯s not a natural explosion,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡®I-It¡¯s a bomb.¡¯? ¡®I-It¡¯s a terror attack.¡¯ The people were at a loss for what to do, because this was the first time that they had experienced such a thing. Whiiiing¡­! Whiiing¡­! Weewoo! Weewoo! Surprisingly, a police car was seen speeding toward the building in record response time. However, Fwaaaaa! ¡®Watch out!¡¯ Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. A powerful me shot out from the floor where the explosion urred, and the mes flew toward the police car so fast that they hit it before the police car was able to react. Baaaaam! ¡°Kyaaaaah!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± The police car exploded, causing additional casualties as people were caught up in the st. ¡®It¡¯s an awakened being,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he immediately activated his skill. ¡®Demon Eyes.¡¯ In the midst of all the chaos, Han-Yeol kept his uniquely calm demeanor and used the Demon Eyes to scan the ce where the me wave came from. Han-Yeol thoroughly scanned the burning floor, and he saw three people standing inside the burning building. ¡®Are they strong?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered. He was standing quite a distance from them, so he could not properly gauge their strength, but he could tell from the attack just now that they were not average awakened beings. ¡®Should I get involved in this situation?¡¯ Han-Yeol pondered for a moment. It was pretty obvious that the current situation was not to be taken lightly. A vicious terrorist attack has just urred in South Korea, which was known to be a terror-free country. Chapter 73: Getting Ready To Film (3)

Chapter 73: Getting Ready To Film (3)

¡®Is it North Korea?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought upon hearing the explosion. North Korea was the only usible cause of the terrorist attack if this was before the Dimensional Gates appeared. However, North Korea did not really disy any act of hostility toward South Korea ever since the Dimensional Gates appeared, and this was due to the shift of energy dependency from fossil fuels to mana stones. The emergence of mana stones as an alternative energy source enabled North Korea to be self-sufficient. They no longer needed to threaten the United States and the United Nations by developing nuclear weapons just so that they could get some food or supplies in return. They also no longer had any intentions of provoking the entire world by threatening an attack on South Korea, since they now just focused on protecting the seat of power of the Kim family. ¡®I don¡¯t know who''s doing?this is, but I can¡¯t simply turn a blind eye after what they did,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Once he made his decision to intervene, he made his move. Tak! Han-Yeol¡¯s skill, Cat Walk, which was D Rank now, opened the skies to him as he jumped from one building to another at an incredible speed. ¡°L-Look over there!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Hunter going over there!¡± Of course, it was impossible for Han-Yeol to not stick out like a sore thumb as he jumped from one building to another, and the onlookers all took out their mobile phones to film him. Thud...! Han-Yeolnded on one of the floors of the building where the explosion urred. [What the hell? Is that a Korean Hunter?] [Who cares, I was getting bored of killing civilians and destroying buildings anyway. Let¡¯s kill at least that Hunter before we fall back. I won¡¯t be satisfied if we go back like this.] ¡®Arabic...? So they are from the Middle East then,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought the moment he heard them speak. Then he gritted his teeth as he thought, ¡®These sons of bitches. They weren¡¯t satisfied doing their crazy stuff in their own country so they came all the way to Korea to cause a scene?¡¯ There was no way that Han-Yeol would not recognize these people when he spent most of his time watching the news. Of course, he could not be certain of their identities, but he was certain of one thing. Recalling a recent news story, he thought, ¡®Terrorists.¡¯? The terrorists were threatening South Korea for carrying out relief efforts and missionary work in the Middle East. They threatened that South Korea was not going to be safe from terrorism, but the majority of the people were not concerned about their threats since there had been no cases of terrorism happening on South Korean soil before and after the Dimensional Gates appeared. The people were thinking that it was impossible for terrorism to ur with how secure the country was, but they realized today that it had all been a delusion. ¡®Tsk... It would¡¯ve been safer if I brought my chain with me,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clicked his tongue in regret. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol¡¯s chain was still in his van. However, that did not mean that Han-Yeol was currently weak or anything. The only reason why he thought of his chain was that it was a very efficient tool to use. Swoosh! [Goodbye, kiddo,] said one of the terrorists with a raised hand. He spoke in Arabic, anguage that Han-Yeol could not understand. Fwaaaaa! The fire that was devouring a police car suddenly rose up and threateningly looked down on Han-Yeol, who could feel the heat right in his face. But surprisingly, Han-Yeol simply smiled and pulled his sword out. *** Murmur... Murmur...? A Hunter had gone into the building where the explosion urred, so the crowd gathered outside started to murmur while expectantly waiting for what was going to happen next. The crowd started to get louder when another explosion urred and the fire started to grow stronger. ¡°What? What the hell is going on?¡± ¡°Is it a terrorist attack or an ident?¡± ¡°Crazy, do you still think that it¡¯s just an ident after seeing fire being shot at that police car?!¡± ¡°S-Still...¡± Weewoo Weewoo...! Fwaaaa...! The firemen who just arrived at the scene immediately moved to douse the burning police car. However, they could not carelessly approach the police car since the fire was too strong and the gasoline in the fuel tank might catch fire and cause another explosion. The entire area was cordoned off by the police, but the problem was that these perpetrators were suspected to be awakened beings. Needless to say, the police could not carelessly rush in. The entire police force and fire department were currently waiting around for a team of Hunters to be sent before they could proceed any further. ¡°What did the Hunter¡¯s Association say?!¡± the police in charge of the scene asked. ¡°They say that they currentlyck manpower because of the chain of explosions that urred in Gangnam, so they told us to conscript Hunters ourselves by using the association¡¯s name...¡± his deputy replied with grim news. Bam! Lieutenant Cha Seung-Im, who was in charge of the scene, mmed his fist on his vehicle¡¯s hood. He shouted angrily, ¡°Is that something those bastards sittingfortably in their offices should say?!¡± ¡°I apologize, sir...¡± his deputy replied apologetically. He wasn¡¯t at fault, but he did not want to incur any further wrath from his enraged lieutenant. ¡°Hoo... So, are there any Hunters that we can conscript right now in the area?¡± Lieutenant Cha asked. ¡°Uhmm... That is... I don¡¯t know where the rumor spread from, but there were no Hunters in the vicinity when we checked. There are only civilians in this ce except for the single Hunter who went into the building twenty minutes ago, sir,¡± the deputy replied. ¡°What did you say?! Ugh...!¡± Lieutenant Cha groaned as a headache struck him. Lieutenant Cha has observed the Hunters for the past twenty years, and he was well aware of how selfish they were. His observation and bias toward them proved to be right once again as the Hunters seemed to have fled the area in fear of being conscripted when they were needed the most. ¡±So the only Hunter we can trust is the one who went up there a while ago...¡± Lieutenant Cha muttered. ¡°I am afraid to say this, but I believe that you are correct, sir,¡± the deputy replied. ¡°Damn it!¡± Lieutenant Cha shouted in frustration. The police became utterly useless whenever these kinds of incidents happened, and Lieutenant Cha could not help but feel his pride as a policeman shatter whenever he was in this position. However, he could not simply stand around and do nothing. ¡°Make sure to cordon off the scene, keep the civilians away, and thoroughly check to see if there are any civilians trapped inside the building. Also, let the people in the nearby areas know that it¡¯s dangerous and tell them to evacuate for the time being until the situation is under control!¡± Lieutenant Cha ordered. His subordinates immediately got into action as soon as he gave themand. ¡°Damn it... I should also awaken or something rather than rely on these good-for-nothing Hunters,¡± Lieutenant Cha grumbled. Just as Lieutenant Cha was distracted by his own resentful thoughts of what he could do if he were a Hunter... Bam! Crack... ng! ¡°Keuk!¡±? Another explosion urred as the window of the office on the ground floor shattered, and a person suddenly fell from the higher floors of the building. Looking at the person who was falling from the building, the onlookers screamed in horror. ¡°Kyaaaaah!¡± The person was falling at an incredible speed, and it was impossible for anyone to survive a fall from thirty stories up. However, ¡°Keuk!¡±?Han-Yeol let out a groan beforending on the ground and rolling a few times to absorb the impact. He then stood up without suffering any injuries. ¡°Huh? Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± When somebody suddenly called out his name, Han-Yeol turned around in surprise and saw that the one who called him was carrying a camera. However, what surprised him even more was the fact that he recognized the person and the group who stood with them. They were none other than the production crew that he recently hired. ¡°Huh?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in surprise when he saw his production crew by pure coincidence. ¡®What a strange turn of events...¡¯?he muttered inwardly. It felt as if someone had set the stage for him and let everything fall in ce, but Han-Yeol was aware that such a thing was not possible. ¡®Ah, I can do that instead,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as a brilliant idea suddenly popped up in his mind. He called over his production crew and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start working from today.¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that...?¡± Moon Soo-In said. The production crew did not have a leader yet, but Moon Soo-In, who was the eldest among them, assumed that role for now. However, the entire production crew was surprised when Han-Yeol suddenly told them that they would be starting their work from today. Of course, it was a given that they should do as they were told since they were now employed by Han-Yeol, but they were taken aback due to the abruptness of his schedule. In fact, they were at a loss since they had no idea what they were going to do today. ¡°Do you have an action camera with you by any chance?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I always carry one around with me, but... Don¡¯t tell me?!¡± Soo-In eximed in surprise all of a sudden. Han-Yeol smiled in response and said, ¡°You catch on quite quickly.¡± ¡°H-Han-Yeol Hunter-nim... Are you by any chance...nning to record this...?¡± Soo-In asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Han-Yeol shrugged before he said, ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with it, right? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s illegal or something. I¡¯m just starting out my channel, so I need something big to attract a lot of attention, right? Well, there might be some sensitive parts, but we can always edit after we record it. I will get the approval from the government and the association, so please just focus on recording it for now.¡± ¡°Yes... I understand,¡± Soo-In replied. That was how they ended up deciding to film the entire thing, and Han-Yeol took two action cameras from Soo-In and ced one on each shoulder. He thought, ¡®It¡¯s not a special camera...¡¯? The Hunters usually used cameras that were coated in mana so that they would not get destroyed by the rough fighting that Hunters usually engaged in. Of course, some cameras still ended up breaking even after being coated with mana, but the coating reduced the chances of that happening. ¡®Well, I don¡¯t have a choice now, do I? I will just have to be careful not to break it while fighting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. While Han-Yeol was still concerned about his cameras, the terrorists finally started to make a move. ¡°O-Over there!¡± one of the onlookers eximed while pointing toward the building. Everyone looked up and saw three people jumping down from the building. [Damn it, kill that bastard!] [Gwaaaah!?That bastard is making me mad!] [I will rip him to pieces!] Han-Yeol might have fallen from the building first, but the three terrorists were in a worse shapepared to him. They had burn marks all over their bodies, and their clothes were in tatters from being cut by Han-Yeol. Tak... Chwaaak! Han-Yeol grabbed his shirt and ripped it apart. His shirt was in tatters after being burnt by the fire-casting terrorist, so he found his shirt to be a hindrance. His perfectly sculpted body appeared the moment he took his shirt off. His body was a testament to the effort he put into working out at the Hunter Gym whenever he had time, since it was impossible for anybody to have such a perfect physique unless they put a great deal of effort into exercising. ¡®Omo...¡¯?Soo-In thought while being slightly flustered. In fact, the entire production crew blushed the moment theyid their eyes on Han-Yeol¡¯s body. This was unsurprising, since most of them might have seen such a body on TV before, but none of them had actually seen one in real life and at such a close distance. Han-Yeol was currently shirtless with one action camera on each of his shoulders. Then, he activated his skill, ¡®Sword Breath.¡¯ Fwaaaaa! Han-Yeol was finally going to fight seriously as he activated his main melee skill, Sword Breath. Then, he immediately drew his newly purchased handgun, the MP0-113K, and shot multiple rounds aimed at the terrorists'' faces. His Marksmanship skill was enhanced thanks to Demon Eyes, and he was now able to clearly read his opponents¡¯ movements. ¡®Power Strike,¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly before letting the bullets fly. Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang!? The terrorists somehow managed to deflect Han-Yeol¡¯s bullets, but they were not able toe out of it unscathed. The sheer force behind the Power Strike reinforced bullets was astonishingly powerful. [What kind of ability does that bastard possess?!] [How the hell is his gun so strong?!] The terrorists gritted their teeth while barely managing to survive Han-Yeol¡¯s attack. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Power Strike¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Power Strike¡¯ has reached Master-Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in confusion. It had been quite a while since Power Strike reached A Rank, but it showed no signs of having any more progress, so Han-Yeol figured that it was the end of the line for it. However, he was quite surprised to see that the stagnating skill finally leveled up, and the skill was starting to evolve as soon as it reached Master Rank. [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Power Strike¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [Power Strike (M) has disappeared.] [A new skill has been created ¨C Mana Strengthening (F).] [A new skill has been created ¨C Mana Bullet (F).] ¡®Wow... I have no idea what these skills are...but I think I hit the jackpot!¡¯?Han-Yeol inwardly rejoiced and eximed, since he kind of got the gist of what these skills did based on their names alone. Just as Han-Yeol was distracted for a split second, due to his skill leveling up and evolving, one of the terrorists cast his mes, which Han-Yeol was sick and tired of by now, toward him. The terrorist yelled, ¡°Fire Storm!¡± [The civilians are right behind him! Let¡¯s see how he handles this!] The terrorists said with a triumphant smile. Han-Yeol was forced into a situation that was highly favored by all terrorists. The three terrorists expectantly watched as they wondered if Han-Yeol was going to sacrifice himself to block the fire or save himself and sacrifice the civilians behind him. This was an exhrating moment that they could not get enough of. [You are really an evil bastard.] [I¡¯m just living up to our titles, kekeke.] [Kekekeke!] Mahmoud, who was also an awakened being known as the me of Terror, was the most evil one among the three terrorists. He had no interest in the ideology or beliefs of the terror organization he was currently affiliated with, and the only reason he was working together with them was solely due to the fact that he was just a madman with great bloodthirst. In short, he joined the terrorists so that he could freely enjoy taking the lives of innocents. He was a terrorist who mainly operated in the Middle East, where high religious and geopolitical tensions always sparked various conflicts. However, he immediately volunteered for this mission the moment he heard of the opportunity to paint South Korea, which was a country that had never experienced a terrorist attack before, with blood. Chapter 74: Getting Ready To Film (4)

Chapter 74: Getting Ready To Film (4)

? ? Fwaaaaa! ¡°Kyaaahk!¡± ¡°Euaaaak!¡± An enormous me shot out from the terrorist and flew toward Han-Yeol and the people behind him. Those who valued their lives immediately ran away from Han-Yeol, but it was toote. ¡®These guys are really the worst evil bastards...¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly as he gritted his teeth. Even a five-year-old kid would know that a terrorist was a bad person, and the fact that the one in front of Han-Yeol intentionally aimed at the civilians only proved that stereotype true. Some people might give the terrorists the benefit of the doubt when they carried out their acts because of their hatred for the United States or to bring attention to their causes, just like how the Koreans acted under the Japanese upation, but their actions this time were nothing of that sort. These terrorists were only using the cover of their beliefs as a pretense to fulfill their hideous desires. However, Han-Yeol did not seem to be taken aback even though the me was right in front of him. In fact, he had an angry look instead of a nervous one. He muttered inwardly, ¡®Force Shield.¡¯ Bzzt! Arge shield made out of mana appeared on Han-Yeol¡¯s left hand, and that was not all. ¡®Heup!¡¯?he let out a groan as he gathered his mana from all over his body and infused it into his shield. [¡®Mana Strengthening¡¯ has been activated.] [The effect of ¡®Force Shield¡¯ has been amplified.] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in surprise at the sudden message that popped up. He did not expect his new skill, Mana Strengthening amplifying Force Shield, to activate. Also... Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped toward the me. [How foolish! You can¡¯t block my mes with cheap tricks like that!] the terrorist shouted with a hint of arrogance in his voice. He had just used one of his three skills, Fire Storm, and his two other skills were passive skills that amplified the firepower of Fire Storm. Numerous Tankers in the Middle East had tried to face his Fire Storm head-on, and the number of Tankers he had burnt to a crisp for their arrogance was enough to circle a football field three times over. ¡®What the hell is that bastard saying?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He could not respond to what the terrorist was saying since he did not understand Arabic. Han-Yeol raised his Force Shield, which was quite erged now, and faced the Fire Storm head-on. Just as Fire Storm was about to collide with his shield, a thought suddenly crossed Han-Yeol¡¯s mind, ¡®Will it be possible for me to absorb this with Mana Absorption...?¡¯ He was suddenly curious. Han-Yeol was the type of person who needed to satisfy their curiosity the moment he felt it, and that was why he decided to change his n at thest second when the Fire Storm was right in front of his face. ¡®Mana Absorption!¡¯? Han-Yeol instantly activated his skill, which he previously used over and over again to absorb the mana stones and the Demon¡¯s Eyes. Force Shield suddenly started to shine brightly. [W-What the hell?!] [What the hell did that bastard do this time?!] The three terrorists grimaced at the same time when the Korean Hunter¡¯s shield started to shine. A normal person might think that the shield was simply shining, but it was different in the eyes of the awakened. The victory or defeat in a battle between the awakened could be decided based on a minuscule difference in the amount of mana, mana control, or skills used, and that was the reason why the awakened were very sensitive to small changes that urred while inbat. [Still! Nothing can stop my Fire Storm!] Mahmoud shouted with confidence. Baaaaaaam! ¡°Kyaaaahk!¡±? The civilians in the area screamed in horror when a loud st thundered in the surroundings the moment the terrorist¡¯s Fire Storm and Han-Yeol¡¯s Force Shield collided. They were in despair, feeling certain that the Hunter was burnt to a crisp by the explosion. However, Fwaaaaaa! ¡°L-Look over there!¡± one of the civilians shouted while pointing toward where the st had urred. Han-Yeol was standing with a barrier protecting him, and the brightly shining barrier around him had seemingly absorbed the mes from the terrorist. [H-How is this possible?!] Mahmoud eximed in disbelief. The terrorists were baffled when their most powerful skill had been absorbed by the Korean Hunter, and the fact that it happened right in front of them made them doubt their own eyes. [T-This is impossible!] Mahmoud shouted from anger and surprise. There were plenty of awakened who had managed to avoid his attack, but none of them had faced it head-on like what the Korean Hunter did. Mahmoudpletely trusted that nothing could stop the destructive power of his Fire Storm, so he could not help but feel despair when his belief was shattered in an instant. [Mahmoud! Mahmoud! Damn it!] the other terrorist called out. It was normal for a person to be disoriented once a strong belief of theirs had been shattered so suddenly. Mahmoud, who was a psychopath, could not recover from the shock. His skill, one that he thought was the most powerful skill in the world, was useless in front of the Korean Hunter... Hispanions tried to make hime back to his senses, but he was no longer responding to their words. While the terrorists were trying to regroup themselves, a message popped up in front of Han-Yeol. Ding! [¡®Force Shield¡¯ has sessfully absorbed ¡®Fire Storm¡¯ with the help of your other skills.] [The absorption efficiency has been reduced since the skill contained the mana of another being.] [However, you may infuse your own mana andunch an even more powerful version of the skill you have absorbed.] [Do you wish to proceed?] [The rank of ¡®Force Shield¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] ¡®Huh? Why is it even asking me? Of course it¡¯s a yes,¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately thought. [You are returning ¡®Fire Storm¡¯ to your attacker.] The Fire Storm skill that Han-Yeol¡¯s shield had absorbed suddenly reappeared as soon as the message ended. The new me, much more powerful than the one before, flew toward the terrorists. Fwaaaaaaaaaa! [Huh?! Huh?! What the hell?!] The terrorists were taken aback when their most powerful skill was reflected back to them. They were so flustered that they forgot to take Mahmoud with them as the two others immediately dodged to save their own skin. [That¡¯s right,e to daddy Fire Storm! You are mine!] Mahmoud eximed, having lost his mind from the shock. Han-Yeol¡¯s version of Fire Storm, which was greatly amplified with his mana, swallowed the insane terrorist whole and did not even leave a bone behind. [Gwaaaaaaaaaah!] Mahmoud screamed for the final time before disappearing without a single trace. [H-How is this possible?!] [M-Mahmoud is dead...!] The remaining terrorists, Jebreel and Hussain, were stupefied at the sudden turn of events. They always faced quite a lot of Hunters while operating as terrorists in the Middle East, but this was the first time that they were so helpless against one. Of course, most of the strong Hunters in the Middle East had been poached away by developed countries, so the ones who remained in their part of the world were the unskilled ones. Nevertheless, the three of them had been up against a single Hunter, who they initially did not feel was strong at all. In fact, they would have immediately run away with their tails between their legs, like they always did in the desert, if they had sensed that the Korean Hunter was stronger than them. However, Mahmoud had been helplessly killed by the Hunter who they initially thought was weak. [Damn it!] Jebreel and Hussain cursed at the same time. The two terrorists were busy doing their own thing when Han-Yeol read the description of his new skill. He was in awe. [Reflect (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill created bybining Force Shield and Mana Absorption. It enables the user to absorb an enemy¡¯s attack made out of mana and amplify it with the user¡¯s own mana before reflecting it back to the attacker. The user may reflect much more powerful attacks the higher this skill¡¯s level is. ¡®So I can create this kind of skill too...¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in awe. He felt that the newly obtained skill was the same as the skill the protagonist from one cartoon that he had watched when he was younger had used. Anyway, Han-Yeol was on cloud nine after obtaining a cheat skill. ¡°Wow...¡± ¡°Did you see that? Did you see that just now?¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s production crew could not help but exim at what they were witnessing and filming just now. They had filmed numerous things in their career, but this was the first time that they were filming something so amazing and awe-inspiring. In fact, they could not believe what they were seeing with their own eyes. A lot of things might have changed after the Dimensional Gates appeared, but the lives of the normal people did not really change except for the fact that they had to be nervous about the possibility of a Dimensional Gate appearing where they were at. The war against the monsters was the responsibility of the Hunters and the Porters, so it did not really concern civilians. The normal people lived just as they historically did. They lived normal lives, going about their mundane days. The production crew that Han-Yeol hired this time studied really hard with dreams of bing a producer in their respective fields one day. They had been enticed by Han-Yeol¡¯s offer to provide them with lucrative pay and a new experience when they had applied for the position, and they were selected after emerging victorious from the fiercepetition. They were currently filming their first project after being hired. ¡°Awesome!¡± ¡°Kyaaah! This is really awesome!¡± ¡°How did he evene up with the idea to film this?¡± ¡°I know right?¡± The videos that Han-Yeol transmitted to the production crew through the action camera blew them away. The part where he had emerged unscathed from the terrorist¡¯s attack covered in his blue barrier was a beautiful sight that would surely garner a lot of attention. The production crew might have applied because of the lucrative pay and working conditions, but all of them possessed a burning passion for making a good film. They could not help but be excited when the first video that they captured as soon as they started working was such a beautiful and cool one. Just as the production crew were thinking that they made the right choice working for the Hunter, Han-Yeol himself thought, ¡®Shall I wrap it up now?¡¯ Han-Yeol made a move to dispose of the other two terrorists after he had sessfully neutralized the main Dealer. It was not difficult for Han-Yeol to deal with the two remaining terrorists, who did not possess a shy skill like Fire Storm. The only skill they possessed was to tie down their opponent or attack them in closebat. It was then. Swooooosh... Bam! [Gwuaaaah!] [Y-You are!] Something suddenly flew from the sky and smashed one of the terrorists into a bloody pulp. Then, the remaining terrorist seemed to exim something as he trembled in fear. ¡®That is...?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought the moment he saw the thing that smashed the terrorist. It was a being dressed in a suit that resembled Horus, the mythical ancient Egyptian god. However, something else was on Han-Yeol¡¯s mind as he wondered, ¡®What the hell are Egyptians doing in our country...?¡¯ South Korea did not have a close-knit rtionship with African countries. Of course, there were a lot of efforts, such as the Korea ¨C Africa International Conference, to build stronger ties between the two, but most African countries were more inclined toward building a rtionship with either Japan or China. That fact only puzzled Han-Yeol even more when he saw an Egyptian warrior on Korean soil. [Damn it! What the hell are you doing here?!] thest remaining terrorist eximed before he pulled out his Shamshir and charged toward the Egyptian warrior. However, the Horus Warrior extended its right arm and said, [Die.] Fshwooo... Bam! [Kwuaaak!] The terrorist screamed in agony when a burst of light shot out from the Horus Warrior¡¯s right hand and hit him in the chest before triggering an explosion. Baaaam! A corpse with its chest burnt to a crisp was lying on the ground. ¡®It¡¯s strong...¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Of course, Han-Yeol was strong enough to get rid of the two remaining terrorists after killing the stronger one among them, but he could tell that the Horus Warrior was quite strong from the short disy of power it showed. Dudududududududu...! The sound of helicopters and sirens ring filled the air when the terrorists were finally neutralized. The government officials were just arriving after everything was over. The Horus Warrior turned around and looked at Han-Yeol for a while. At the same time, Han-Yeol looked back at the suit-wearing warrior. They made eye contact before the Horus Warrior activated its booster and flew right beside Han-Yeol. When the suit-wearing warrior took off their helmet, Han-Yeol was surprised. He thought, ¡®Huh??It¡¯s?a woman?¡¯? To Han-Yeol¡¯s surprise, the person who emerged from underneath the suit was not a man but a woman. She was a beautiful dark-skinned woman with tattoos of ancient Egyptian texts on her face. Han-Yeol was not sexist. He was only taken aback because he expected the Egyptian warrior to be a man, just like the ones he had seen in the movie, ¡®The Mummy¡¯, where ancient Egyptian men wielded their Shamshi while wearing just an undergarment covering the lower half of their body. The Egyptian beauty extended her hand and said, [It is nice to meet you, Korean Warrior. My name is Tayarana, I am a proud warrior and guardian Hunter of Egypt.] ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t speak Arabic,¡± Han-Yeol replied. There was no way that Han-Yeol could speak Arabic since it was a very difficultnguage to learn, and he had not been the studious type back in his school days. In fact, there were plenty of Koreans out there who could not speak English, which was amonly usednguage all over the world. So, how many people would actually think of learning Arabic when it was anguage only spoken in the Middle East? Of course, that excluded those people who had some sort of connection to that specific region. However, Han-Yeol shook her hand nevertheless, since a handshake was amon greeting both in Korean and in Arabic. Chapter 75: Ready, Action! (1)

Chapter 75: Ready, Action! (1)

Han-Yeol slowly introduced himself to the Egyptian beauty in English. ¡°Hello, my name is Han-Yeol, Han-Yeol.¡± He slowly emphasized his name syble by syble. Han-Yeol chose to introduce himself to her since they were already sort of acquainted with each other, even though they had a hard timemunicating. [Tayarana, my name is Tayarana,] said the Horus Warrior whose stiff expression gradually softened. She also repeated her name slowly so that Han-Yeol could understand her. ¡°Ah, Tayarana, Tayarana,¡± Han-Yeol proceeded to repeat her name. The woman confirmed her name with a nod. ¡®She¡¯s pretty,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he looked at Tayarana, who was slightly smiling. The goddess of beauty was seemingly following Han-Yeol around and blessing him, since every single woman that he came across was very beautiful. His eyes were very happy at what greeted them. ¡®Although it¡¯s a shame that we can¡¯tmunicate with each other¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly in disappointment. However, Han-Yeol would not have understood her even if she spoke in English, since Han-Yeol¡¯s English proficiency was that of a seventh grader. Order was restored when the team sent by the Hunter¡¯s Association and the rest of the fire department finally arrived at the scene. However, Han-Yeol did not immediately leave the scene just because the terrorists had been eliminated. Addressing the captain of the fire brigade, he said, ¡°I will also help with the rescue efforts.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± the captain asked Han-Yeol in surprise. The terrorists might have been subdued and neutralized, and the emergency responders were already rushing to the copsed building, which had been destroyed by the terrorists and the earthquake, to rescue the survivors... But the entire rescue operation was very frustrating. The earthquake that had shaken the city was at a magnitude of 6.5 ording to the Department of Meteorology and Weather, and such a magnitude could be regarded as a strong one for the Korean Penins. The already difficult and frustrating rescue efforts were further made difficult by the idents urring all over Seoul. After all, the emergency response personnel were already shorthanded. Seoul would usually ask for assistance from Gyeonggi-do or the other nearby regions during such a crisis, but it was difficult for the other regions to provide additional manpower since the earthquake that had urred affected the entire nation. Asking the Hunters for assistance would have been the best decision in such a situation, but the arrogant and selfish Hunters did not sell their services for cheap. As a result, the government found it burdensome to forcefully deploy the Hunters for these kinds of rescue operations. The chief of the fire department had repeatedly called upon the government to create an emergency procedure manual to mobilize Hunters in case of a national emergency, but the government did not prepare such contingency ns. In turn, they only raised the fire department''s budget by a small margin as a symbolic token, and they cited theck of budget for their inability to draft a n and deploy the Hunters. ¡°W-We do appreciate your help, Hunter-nim¡­ but...¡± the captain said as his voice trailed off. ¡°It is an emergency, and I am not doing this purely out of goodwill. I am currently filming for my channel, so please do not try and stop me,¡± Han-Yeol further exined. ¡°Oh¡­ I see¡­¡± the fire captain was left speechless. Vroooom¡­! A drone equipped with a camera had already been deployed by Han-Yeol¡¯s production crew, and the women-only production crew were gathered behind Han-Yeol armed with their high-tech camera equipment. Han-Yeol went to his car and retrieved a new shirt. He changed into a fresh shirt before cing the action camera back on his shoulder. ¡°T-Then we will be in your care,¡± the fire captain said to Han-Yeol. ¡°Yes, I will be in your care as well,¡± Han-Yeol said. That was how Han-Yeol ended up joining the rescue operation. ¡°Tsk, what difference will one Hunter make in this operation?¡± a young fireman said disdainfully. ¡°It should help a little bit,¡± another fireman said. ¡°What can a non-professional do? He doesn¡¯t even know what he¡¯s doing,¡± the young fireman said. He continued toin, ¡°Just look at those cameras! He¡¯s just pretending to help for now, but I bet you that he is just going to disappear and hide when we need him to actually do some work.¡± The veteran firefighters were very grateful for Han-Yeol''s offer to aid them in the rescue operation. However, the newly recruited firefighters were not too happy about him offering his help because of their deeply rooted antipathy towards the Hunters. This type of antipathy towards the Hunters was not only present in the young firefighters,?but it could also be seen in various parts of society. The civilians¡¯ hatred toward the Hunters deepened as the Hunters started to grow further apart from them. The younger generation could not do anything directly against the Hunters due to the now-existing social difference between them, but they utilized social media to still express their hatred toward the Hunters. ¡°Hey, even that Hunter, who¡¯s not even a firefighter, is willing to help. Move your asses, youzy youngsters,¡± a senior firefighter reprimanded the younger firefighters. ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± the young firefighters replied. After getting scolded, the young firefighters turned around and clicked their tongues behind their senior. ¡°Tsk, they can''t even clean up their own mess,¡± the senior firefighter said. He was worried about the future of the country¡¯s firefighters. ¡°Heave, Ho.¡± The firefighters struggled as they removed the rubble with their hands. It was very difficult and risky to deploy heavy machinery to a copsed building as even the slightest mistake could risk the lives of the people trapped underneath the rubble. That was why the firefighters had to manually go through the wreckage as much as they possibly could. The higher-ups continued to push the firefighters to hurry up with the rescue efforts, but the firefighters could not carelessly speed up their work and jeopardize the trapped survivors under the rubble. ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the captain asked the firefighters when he saw them standing around. Approaching a spot where quite a significant amount of rubble was copsed on, he found a dozen firefighters struggling to remove arge debris. ¡°Sir, this debris is holding this ce up, but it is not stable. We will have to carefully move this debris slightly. However, it is too heavy to move with manpower alone. It is also not an option to deploy heavy machinery here,¡± one of the senior firefighters said, making the report to the captain. ¡°Ughh¡­?Then what should we do?¡± the captain asked. Just as the captain frowned while racking his brains to think of a feasible method, Han-Yeol suddenly walked up to him and volunteered. He said, ¡°I will do it.¡± ¡°Ah, Hunter-nim, are you saying that you will personally give us a hand?¡± the captain said with a hint of surprise in his voice. He also thought that Han-Yeol was only going to pretend to help and be busy showing off when he first mentioned the cameras, so he was very delighted to hear Han-Yeol volunteer to help from the beginning. ¡°Yes, I reckon that this is the time for me to step in,¡± Han-Yeol said confidently. ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to admit it, but I¡¯m indebted to you,¡± the captain said. What mattered more to the captain, a veteran firefighter, was to rescue the survivors than his own pride. He wanted to save at least one more life, and that was more important to him than worrying about lowering his head to someone else in these kinds of situations. ¡®Demon¡¯s?Eye,¡¯ Han-Yeol used his skill. Woooong¡­! When noticing that Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes had turned red, the captain was surprised. ¡®Huk!¡¯ Then, Han-Yeol raised his right hand and thought, ¡®Psychokinesis.¡¯ It had been a while since Han-Yeol utilized this skill, which allowed him to move objects remotely with his mana. This was actually a skill he asionally used only when he was at home and could not be bothered to get the remote while sitting on the sofa. He never imagined that this skill was going to be so helpful in an emergency rescue situation like this. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? The wreckage, which did not budge an inch even with a dozen firefighters exerting their full strength against it, moved with Han-Yeol¡¯s casual hand gesture. ¡®H-How could this be?¡¯?the captain was shocked by the sight. ¡°What should I do with this?¡± Han-Yeol asked the captain. ¡°A-Ah,¡± the captain, who was dumbfounded, returned to his senses. He quickly exined, ¡°P-Please do not fully remove it, and just move it slightly so that a person can pass through it. The rubble might copse if you fully remove it, since there is nothing else supporting the debris above.¡± ¡°Roger that,¡± Han-Yeol said before moving his hand again. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? Han-Yeol moved the wreckage slightly to the right side just as the captain instructed and made a hole that was just enough for people to pass through. He then asked, ¡°Is this enough?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, thank you very much,¡± the captain replied with a delighted expression. The rescue operation gained traction thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s active participation. Of course, everyone kept a cool head just in case another case of emergency urred, but their hearts were burning hot with the desire to rescue as many people as they could. Creak¡­! ¡°Ooh!¡± the firefighters eximed. Han-Yeol was easily moving therge debris that the firefighters had found impossible to move and would usually require the deployment of heavy equipment. The firefighters were most shocked by the fact that he was doing it so effortlessly with his psychic-like powers. ¡°Hey! Put your backs into it!¡± a senior firefighter shouted. ¡°There was a sounding from here!¡± one of the firefighters eximed. Tang! Tang! Tang! ¡°¡­¡± A person was silently watching Han-Yeol and the firefighters giving their best to rescue the survivors from the roof of a nearby building. It was none other than the Egyptian Hunter, Tayarana. She continued to watch Han-Yeol expressionlessly, watching him sweat and toil away at the rescue site. A woman came to Tayarana¡¯s side and asked in Arabic, [Tayarana-nim, are you noting back?] [That Hunter is the one who killed Mahmoud, the person we were after,] Tayarana said. The woman then looked toward Han-Yeol, but she showed no further interest after that. She said, [Is that so?] [That Hunter is doing a civilian¡¯s job as if it were his duty,] Tayarana said while seemingly amused by Han-Yeol. A Hunter''s arrogance and selfishness were not just a problem present in the Korean Hunters. Whether it was human nature or an issue caused by societal greed, it was amon phenomenon around the world that the Hunters wanted to stand apart from ordinary civilians. There were numerous developed countries that were making great efforts to narrow the societal gap between the Hunters and ordinary civilians. However, the lesser developed countries were on theplete opposite end of the spectrum, promoting and encouraging these differences. Egypt, in particr, had been under a dictatorship before the Dimensional Gates appeared and it had a very unstable government. The politicians had hailed the Hunters as people belonging to a higher social standing, and they had made close-knit ties with the Hunters to further widen the gap between them and ordinary civilians. As a result, most of Egypt¡¯s wealth was controlled by a small minority, and Hunters in their country rarely meddled in the affairs of ordinary civilians. However, the assistant beside Tayarana showed no changes in her expression unlike Tayarana herself, who seemed to be quite astonished and fascinated by the Hunter working hard for the rescue efforts. [That is a lowly act, Tayarana-nim. You are of noble blood and with noble powers. Please leave such lowly things for the peasants to do,] the assistant said. The countries with unstable politicalndscapes, such as Egypt for example, tried to return to the Middle Ages by introducing a new ss system. As if having entered a new renaissance era, the Middle East became even moreplicated as their socio-political situation plunged into chaos. However, Tayarana, who was staring at Han-Yeol, opened her mouth and said, [Something about it looks cool.] [W-What?!] the deputy was taken aback by Tayarana¡¯s words. She collected herself before calling out worriedly, [Tayarana-nim?] Fshwoooo! Tayarana suddenly activated her propellers instead of responding to her assistant. She flew toward where Han-Yeol was busily working. Han-Yeol suddenly felt something flying toward him while he was using psychokinesis. He turned and saw the Egyptian warrior flying in his direction. He wondered, ¡®What¡¯s going on? Does she still have anything more to say?¡¯ Unable to understand why the Egyptian warrior wasing back to him when they could notmunicate properly in the first ce, Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion while looking at Tayarana. He gestured to ask if something was wrong. Han-Yeol had decided to use bodynguage, which was a universalnguage that everyonemonly understood since spokennguage was not a viable option for him. Floating in mid-air, Tayarana pointed at the rescue site and tapped her chest before pointing back at the rescue site. ¡®Don''t tell me¡­?She''s trying to say that she wants to help as well?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while being confused. After he finished moving arge piece of debris with psychokinesis, Han-Yeol went to the captain and said, ¡°Excuse me, captain.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, Hunter-nim?¡± the captain replied in a kind voice. The captain¡¯s attitude towards Han-Yeol could not be more hospitable and amicable. This was because Han-Yeol¡¯s ability was equivalent to having five heavy pieces of equipment simultaneously working together. His ability could also be used anywhere at any time, unlike the heavy equipment that could cause a copse when carelessly used in these kinds of precarious situations. ¡®Ah, I wish I?could?work with a Hunter like this for the rest of my life,¡¯?the captain wished. He knew very well that it was nothing but a dream that would nevere true. Still, he was content with only living that dream for now. ¡°Do you know anyone who can perhaps speak¡­Arabic?¡± Han-Yeol asked the captain. ¡°Huh? Why Arabic all of a sudden¡­?¡± the captain asked while seemingly confused. He was taken aback by Han-Yeol suddenly looking for someone who could speak Arabic. Then, he looked in the direction that Han-Yeol was pointing and fell speechless. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°That person over there is a Hunter from overseas, and she was the one who helped me catch the terrorists. It seems that she wants to help us with our rescue efforts, but it would be very dangerous for us if we do not understand each other in this kind of situation. We can have one more Hunter help us with the rescue efforts if we can find anyone who speaks Arabic, and that will help us get things done much faster,¡± Han-Yeol exined to the captain. Han-Yeol¡¯s suggestion was indeed tempting for the captain. ¡°P-Please wait just a moment!¡± the captain said before he quickly ran towards somewhere. Then, Han-Yeol looked at Tayarana and gestured for her to wait for a while. Nod. Tayarana nodded in response. Ten minutester, the captain somehow managed to bring someone who could speak Arabic and interpret on behalf of Tayarana. [What should I do and where should I go?] Tayarana asked in Arabic. ¡°She is asking what she should do and where she should go,¡± the interpreter tranted for them. ¡°Ah, please ask her to clean the debris up there since she has the ability to fly, and please tell her to be careful because everything might copse all of a sudden,¡± the fireman told the interpreter. ¡°Okay,¡± the interpreter said before proceeding to trante the fireman¡¯s request in Arabic. Tayarana nodded before taking out the debris one by one and throwing them to an empty space. Bam! Bam! Bam!? ¡®S-Such monstrous strength,¡¯?the fireman thought while seemingly surprised at Tayarana¡¯s strength. Tayarana was nonchntly throwing therge debris, which wasrge enough to send a reverberating sound throughout the air, like she was tossing pebbles for fun. ¡°W-Wow¡­¡± the fireman muttered in awe. He knew that gaining monstrous strength is one of the abilities a Hunter obtained when they awakened, but seeing it in person was even more shocking to him. In all honesty, he found the fact that someone could leisurely throw thoserge pieces of debris as if they weighed nothing even more shocking than seeing Han-Yeol lift the wreckage with psychokinesis. In addition, Tayarana was not wearing her helmet while working, so it was an even greater shock for him to see such a beauty in person. The young firefighters, who had been against Han-Yeol''s participation in the rescue efforts just because he was a Hunter, seemed to have had a change of heart at Tayarana¡¯s participation in the rescue efforts. Chapter 76: Ready, Action! (2)

Chapter 76: Ready, Action! (2)

Tarayana¡¯s soldiers rushed to where she was while shouting, [Tayarana-nim!] [Tayarana-nim, how could this be?!] the soldiers could not believe what they were witnessing. The Tarayana that they knew was an honorable warrior and a noble by birth, so how could such a person, who was born a noble, do such a lowly task? However, the words that came out of their noble warrior shocked them even further. [You guys help out as well. Let us finish the rescue efforts as soon as possible,] Tarayana said. [B-But!] the soldiers eximed in disagreement. However, the soldiers had to obey Tarayana¡¯s order at all costs no matter how much they hated the task. No one among them could dare disobey Tarayana¡¯s order. [These are Tarayana-nim¡¯s orders. Besides, our enemies came after us all the way to this country, and they caused such a mess here. So, do not dare to dirty the name of our noble warrior and get to work no matter how lowly you think the job is. Pay extra care not to cause us trouble by disrespecting our host country,] the assistant said. [Yes, we shall follow the orders!] the soldiers replied in unison. They had no choice but to follow the orders since Tayarana was considered a noble in their country, and she was going to be a strange noble who acted like a lowlymoner if they continued to refuse her orders. The Egyptian soldiers, who hade to subdue the terrorist, joined the rescue efforts. Thud¡­! ¡°There is a survivor over here!¡± one of the firefighters shouted. ¡°Medic!¡± another urgently called for help. An hour had gone by since the rescue efforts first started, and they were starting to find survivors buried under the rubble one by one. The first person they had found was already dead, and this made the firefighters tear up in despair. Thankfully, the second one they had found was still alive, even though the survivor¡¯s condition was not looking good at all. ¡°Medics! What the hell are you doing?!¡± the?captain shouted with obvious anger in his voice. ¡°T-There are three congressmen who got injured nearby, so the medics are making their way over there,¡± one of the firefighters answered the captain. ¡°What? Why the hell would three teams go there when only three people are hurt?¡± the captain asked furiously. ¡°W-We were told to bring all three teams to assist the three injured congressmen,¡± the firefighter said with a hint of nervousness in his voice. ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?!¡± the captain shouted as he lost his temper. ¡°I am sorry, sir,¡± the firefighter said. ¡°Aaaaaahk!¡±?The captain shouted in frustration before he kicked a nearby table, causing the items on top to scatter to the ground. Bam! ¡°Are those bastards seriously hurt?¡± the captain asked. ¡°N-No sir, all three are said to have only suffered minor injuries¡­¡± the firefighter replied. ¡°DAMN IT!¡± the captain cursed out loud. It was the same every single time. There was already a huge shortage of medical personnel for the emergency response department, but the higher-ups would always make a huge fuss and take the medical teams away whenever awmaker or a minister got sick. It was the same even when arger emergency was going on. This in turn caused the death of patients and survivors that could have otherwise been saved if they were able to get medical help in time. . However, the worst part about this was the fact that all me and responsibility fell on the captain¡¯s shoulders and not the higher-ups who caused the mess if there was a public bacsh. ¡®Sigh, looks like I¡¯m going to lose my job this time,¡¯?the captain thought as he sighed at his impending fate. The survivor who required immediate emergency treatment would most likely die without even being able to get medical attention, and the captain would most likely take all the me and be held responsible for the survivor¡¯s death. The captain was about to resign to his fate when Han-Yeol suddenly asked, ¡°Did you just say that there is a survivor?¡± ¡°Oh, Hunter-nim, you are here,¡± the captain said in surprise. Han-Yeol approached the captain and asked, ¡°Where is the patient?¡± ¡°O-Over there, but¡­¡± the captain muttered hesitantly with his words trailing off. He pointed in a certain direction. Even before the captain could finish speaking, Han-Yeol was already running in the direction that he was pointing toward. The paramedics were doing their best to administer first aid to the survivor, but the survivor was in a critical state and needed to be treated right away. However, there was no medical team to be found anywhere near the survivor. ¡°Damn it!¡± the paramedic cursed in frustration. The survivor had to be immediately rushed to the hospital, but the injuries were too severe. He might not make it if he were carelessly moved without being administered any treatment at the site. Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­? The patient was quickly attached to a respirator to keep his breathing stable, but his injuries were too severe for the paramedics to do anything about them. Just as the paramedics were in despair and were losing hope in saving the survivor, Han-Yeol arrived at the scene and approached the patient. He said firmly, ¡°Please move aside for a moment.¡± ¡°Ah, Hunter-nim¡­ This patient is in a critical state, you can¡¯te here¡­¡± the paramedic carefully said. The paramedic was not a doctor or a medical professional, but he knew that it would be crazy to touch someone in such a critical state. A single mistake could immediately result in the survivor¡¯s death. If that were to happen, the paramedic himself would have to take the me and be held responsible. It had always been this way. The paramedic reached out his hand to prevent Han-Yeol from touching the patient. Tak! ¡°?!¡± Someone grabbed the paramedic¡¯s hand and stopped him. He turned to see who was stopping him and saw that it was the foreign Hunter, who shook her head and gestured for him to not interfere with Han-Yeol. ¡°B-But¡­¡± the paramedic stuttered. He waspletely stunned speechless by the beautiful obsidian-like eyes of the woman. Han-Yeol ced his hand on top of the patient¡¯s chest. Then, he cast his healing skill, ¡°Restore.¡± Woooong¡­! ¡°Heop!¡±?Han-Yeol eximed as a blue light emitted from his hand. The warm blue light enveloped the patient, who was in a critical state. ¡°!!¡± ¡°W-Wow!¡±?the people at the rescue site eximed in awe when the blue light spread across the entire area. Everyone dropped what they were doing to focus on the source of the light. The body of the patient, who was struggling to breathe, began to change bit by bit. The twisted bones returned to their ce and blood began to circte again in the lower half of the body, which had turned blue due to theck of blood. On top of that, the patient''s lung, heart, stomach, and liver which had been crushed by the copsed structure, started to recover too; they were just not visible to the naked eye. ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± the patient coughed, finally released from the death¡¯s grip. ¡°H-He¡¯s alive!¡± the paramedic shouted in surprise. ¡°I-It''s a healing skill!¡± another person shouted. ¡°How is this possible? He can even use healing skills!¡±?another eximed in surprise. People started to gather around the critically wounded patient who had miraculously recovered. It was not easy to witness such perfect healing skills in person, since such an ability was rare. The guilds also thoroughly managed and prevented such skills from being exposed to the public. However, everybody had just witnessed the miracle happen right before their very own eyes. For reference, the three medical teams each had one Hunter with F Rank healing skills. The three Hunters were F Rank awakened, only capable of using one healing skill. Thus, it should have been impossible for them to officially work as a Hunter. However, thanks to the one healing skill they had, they could work as medical Hunters and make a fairly decent sry. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of F Rank Hunters who had a healing skill working under medical agencies. The F Rank recovery skill was not so effective and did not treat much of the injury, but the effectiveness of an E Rank healing skill was on par with the treatment received from doctors. ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡± the survivor muttered. He gasped out his breath before falling unconscious. He had to sleep to recover his exhausted stamina, as the Restore skill did not recover one¡¯s exhausted stamina. ¡°Now this patient just needs to focus on recovering. Let¡¯s keep moving! There are still more people in need of rescue!¡± Han-Yeol said to the crowd. ¡°Y-Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± the crowd yelled together. It wasn¡¯t just a single person¡¯s life that Han-Yeol had saved, but rather, he had saved the morale of everyone at the rescue site itself. What was the point of working hard to save someone if they just died on the spot due to the medical teams¡¯ absence? It was just suffering with no reward. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s Restore skill had prevented that suffering from happening. Every person they rescued from the wreckage could now be saved by using Han-Yeol¡¯s Restore skill, and even the ordinary civilians understood how great Han-Yeol¡¯s healing skill was. [¡­] Tayarana was at a loss for words when she saw the scene that had happened in front of her. Tayarana¡¯s assistant, who was right next to her, said in disbelief, [Tayarana-nim, that man¡­] [Yeah, he is as strong as I am, and has an A Rank healing skill that can save someone even on the brink of death within five minutes.] Tayarana said. [It is absurd to say he is as strong as you, Tayarana-nim. He is definitely not as strong as you,] her assistant insisted. [Yeah, I know, but he will soon be as strong as I am,] Tayarana said. [What?] her assistant muttered in disbelief. Egypt was not a country that had a developed political or socialndscape. With the money they earned from exporting mana stones, they heavily invested on their Hunters. That was why Egypt did not fall behind when it came to the research and development of their Hunterspared to the developed nations, and they were well aware that a Hunter had a limit to how strong they could grow. That was the reason why Tayarana¡¯s assistant could not understand what she was saying. [It¡¯s just a feeling that I have,] Tayarana said nonchntly. [Tayarana-nim¡­] her assistant muttered. [Let¡¯s wrap this up and head back,] Tayarana said. [Yes, I understand,] her assistant replied. She quickly stood up and followed Tayarana. *** Han-Yeol had helped out with the rescue efforts for twelve hours, using all of his abilities. Even then, the operationsted for another three days and two nights after that. The damage caused all over Seoul had stretched the manpower of the emergency response department too thin, but fortunately, there hadn¡¯t been that much destruction in the city despite the earthquake¡¯s strong magnitude. Of course, that did not excuse the government¡¯ste response which had incurred both social and political rebuke. ¡®As always, the world will return to how it was,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Sigh¡­ So, were you the Hunter who was recently all over the news?] Sung-Jin asked over the phone. ¡°Of course, did you think I deliberately set up an appointment with you and not show up?¡± Han-Yeol said. [Tsk, I¡¯ll let it slide just this once,] Sung-Jin said. ¡°Shut up,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol had been so caught up in the rescue efforts that he had totally forgotten about his appointment with Sung-Jin. It had even slipped his mind to give Sung-Jin a call because of all the chaos that had happened around him. Thankfully, they were good friends, so Han-Yeol apologized over the phone and Sung-Jin forgave him right away. Their conversation over the phone ended quickly. Han-Yeol looked at the token of appreciation that was on the other side of his room. It had been given to him by the Ministry of Public Safety and Security for his help with the rescue efforts. However, he did not receive any marypensation. Of course, Han-Yeol did not take that to heart, since he did not volunteer to help to receive any financial reward. Besides, he had aplished everything he wanted to achieve by helping out with the rescue efforts. ¡®But that?beautiful woman?really did?turn?out to be an Egyptian warrior,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol had arge TV in his living room as well as a wall-mounted TV in his room, and he saw a familiar face on TV. [One of the Egyptian Hunters, Tayarana, has attended the South Korea-Egypt Hunter forum. Her beauty further brightened the forum¡¯s atmosphere. The forum aimed to promote partnership on the research of mana stones between South Korea and Egypt, and another topic discussed at the forum was the exchange of Hunters so that they could share their knowledge and culture between the two countries.] The representatives of the Hunters¡¯ Association from both countries could be seen smiling brightly on TV. Looking at them, Han-Yeol thought, ¡®Hmm, a cooperation between the Korean and Egyptian Hunter Association.¡¯ Han-Yeol knew that there were quite a few cultural and economic exchanges with Egypt, but it was the first time that he had heard of such a rtionship being formed between the Hunters¡¯ Associations. He looked at the TV screen and thought, ¡®It¡¯s strange to see such a sudden development between the two Hunters¡¯ Associations when they previously had no rtionships with each other.¡¯ The mana stones, which reced fossil fuels as an energy source, could be found anywhere as long as there were monsters present. This was one of the reasons why the import and export of mana stones were not pursued by most countries. In short, the Hunters¡¯ Association did not encroach on each other¡¯s territory since it was possible for all of them to sustain themselves. Most Hunter Associations did not interfere with other countries¡¯ business nor did they want to be interfered with, except for the United States and China who both liked to interfere in other countries'' business since before the appearance of the Dimensional Gates. However, the Hunters¡¯ Association of South Korea and Egypt were agreeing to sign into an alliance. They even agreed to swap A Rank Hunters ording to the alliance agreement. ¡®Politics is all about the secret?backroom?deals,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was not mentioned in the news about why the South Korean and Egyptian Hunter Association had signed such a treaty. The news simply focused on the fact that the Egyptian Hunters had joined in the rescue efforts while visiting and the video of the rescue site where Han-Yeol had participated was yed across the news channels. Of course, the video was centered around Tayarana. ¡®She is without a doubt gorgeous,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while looking at Tayarana on TV. Han-Yeol was not attracted to Middle Eastern women. He did not feel anything whenever he looked at the women who popped up online under the keywords Middle Eastern beauty, Arab beauty, or Egyptian beauty, and he did not particrly find them to be attractive¡­ However, Tayarana was an exception to that. ¡®Tsk¡­ There¡¯s no way that someone like me can end up with her,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clicked his tongue. Tayarana was introduced as the Egyptian president¡¯s daughter on the news, and was revered by her people to the extent that she was called the living image of the goddess Isis. Chapter 77: Ready, Action! (3)

Chapter 77: Ready, Action! (3)

¡®I shook hands with someone that famous?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in disbelief as he looked at his hand. Then, he shrugged and thought, ¡®But is it alright if she appears on my video when she is so famous¡­?¡¯ The production crew that Han-Yeol recruited, which he had decided to call Mn, was currently at a temporary office he was renting. They were busy editing the clips of his battle against the terrorists that they had recently taken, and they were also working on Han-Yeol¡¯s personal channel which would broadcast his videos from now on. Mn was basically in charge of editing the videos and managing the channel, since they were all experienced in the broadcasting industry. ¡®Tsk¡­ Do I have to consult with awyer or do I have to ask the Egyptians themselves¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. However, he soon set aside his dilemma and headed out, since he was supposed to visit a real estate agent today. He was going to look for a ce that Mn could use as their permanent office, and he had to personally go and meet with the real estate agent since he did not have anyone whom he could entrust the issue with. ¡®It¡¯s a bit awkward to hire a manager just to handle such matters¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Of course, he was not referring to a manager who went on hunts and managed the Porters. He was talking about managers who managed the assets and day-to-day things on a Hunter¡¯s behalf. Han-Yeol was quite free whenever he was not out at the hunting grounds, since all he did was workout or go equipment shopping in his free time. He was also not losing out on anything by running those errands on his own, since his situation was differentpared to people who considered their time to be equivalent to gold. Han-Yeol drove to a famous real estate office in Hongdae. Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­!? ¡°Wee, how may I help you?¡± the receptionist at the office asked. The real estate agency¡¯s office was quiterge, unlike the average ones out there, and it had a very professional yet luxurious interior. ¡°I have a meeting with your president at three. Can you call him for me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The receptionist scanned Han-Yeol, who looked quite ordinary, from head to toe, and thought, ¡®He does not look like someone the president will schedule a meeting with, no matter how much I think about it¡­¡¯ The receptionist had spent seven years working at this ce, ever since she had been twenty years old. Having developed quite an eye when it came to scanning people based on their looks, she could immediately tell that Han-Yeol was a fail based on her scan. Just as she was about to ask Han-Yeol to wait while she ced a call, a middle-aged man suddenly walked out and said in a delighted voice, ¡°Haha! You must be Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, who called a while ago.¡± The receptionist turned around to find that her employer, who was also the president and owner of this real estate agency, was walking toward Han-Yeol with a bright look. When she heard that the man whom she had deemed a fail turned out to be a Hunter, she waspletely shocked. ¡®H-Hunter?! What the? How can a Hunter walk around without even a single branded item on them? What kind of a Hunter wears those cheap clothes bought from those cheap discount shops?¡¯? Needless to say, the receptionist was bbergasted. The clothes that Han-Yeol currently wore were either bought at cheap discount shops or on sale online. Looking at him closely, the receptionist thought, ¡®He must be very stingy¡­¡¯ She could tell that Han-Yeol was not aplete nobody, judging from the fact that the agency owner himself hade out to greet him. ¡®But still¡­ Even those useless F Rank Hunters earn at least ten million won a month¡­ Gosh¡­ I guess there are all sorts of people out there¡­¡¯?she thought. While the receptionist was distracted by her own thoughts, the agency owner suddenly said, ¡°Ms. Lee, please bring two cups of coffee to my office.¡± ¡°Yes, president-nim,¡± she replied. Tap¡­! Han-Yeol saw the agency owner casually pat the receptionist¡¯s butt. It was a subtle and sneaky movement, but there was no way that an ordinary person¡¯s actions could avoid the eyes of a Hunter, whose eyesight became greatly enhanced the moment they awakened and had mana flowing through their bodies. Also, a Hunter¡¯s awareness of their surroundings grew as their experience battling monsters increased. This real estate agent dealt with a lot of Hunters, so it seemed that none of them had bothered to call him out for his actions. ¡®Well¡­ A Hunter wouldn¡¯t really care if a normal person is sexually harassing someone or is having an affair with their receptionist¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He eventually decided to ignore the agency owner¡¯s perverse action as he thought, ¡®That¡¯s their business, after all.¡¯ All he wanted to do today was to find a suitable office space for himself. Han-Yeol sat on the sofa in the agency owner¡¯s office. Tak! The agency owner pped his hands and said, ¡°Now, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, what do you need from our Hongdae Real Estate Company?¡± Han-Yeol ced his briefcase, which looked like the one a certain British spy from a movie carried around, on the table. ¡®I really wanted to try this at least once ever since I was young,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Ever since a young age, he had fantasized about withdrawing a lot of fifty thousand won bills from the bank and filling up a briefcase just like a movie sequence. ¡°Hmm¡­ It seems to be around five hundred million won, but why are you giving this to me?¡± the agency owner asked. The agency owner was not surprised or swayed by the massive amount of cash being ced in front of him. This was because he owned thergest real estate agency in town, and he regrly dealt with cash worth more than a billion won. He was a greedy man, but his constant exposure torge sums of cash allowed him to learn how to tame his greed. ¡®Sigh¡­ This guy is no fun...¡¯?Han-Yeolmented inwardly. He was expecting the agency owner to give some sort of reaction, so he was disappointed by the middle-aged man¡¯sck of a reaction. Well, it did not really matter that much, since Han-Yeol got to do the briefcase move that he always wanted to do. Still, he could not help but feel disappointed when he did not get much reaction from doing it the first time. Anyway, that was the end of that story. ¡°I want to get an office space in Hongdae,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Hmm¡­ What kind of office are you looking for?¡± the agency owner asked. He appeared to have lost interest in Han-Yeol when he heard what he was looking for. ¡®I should¡¯ve just asked Manager Kim to handle this¡­¡¯?the agency owner thought. To the agency owner, there was no need for him to personally assist a Hunter who was looking to rent an office. He would not have minded personally assisting Han-Yeol if he nned to purchase a building or rent an entire floor for himself, but renting an office space was not something that required his assistance at all. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s next wordspletely caught the agency owner by surprise. ¡°Hmm¡­ I would prefer to build my own building, but that will take a long time before I can use it, right? So I wanted to ask you to do two things for me. First, find me an office space that I can rent for now, and make sure that it will take up the entire floor. Second, find a suitable building for me in Hongdae that I can purchase, and make sure that I will be purchasing the entire building. After all, you cannot help me build a building, right?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ehem! Ah, no, that is not true! We realtors are not only about helping our clients buy and sell properties these days. In fact, I also possess a construction license, so it is not illegal for you to get a consultation from me. There are plenty of buildings being built around this area these days, so you cannot make a living if you do not have one of these licenses! Hahaha!¡± the agency owner replied with a burst of boisterousughter. The agency owner¡¯s attitude made an abrupt shift. He finally caught the scent of money from this poorly dressed Hunter, and he could immediately tell from Han-Yeol¡¯s words that he was a loaded Hunter even among the Hunters. ¡®That¡¯s right¡­ There are people like him as well. They act and dress like poor people, but they are actually loaded with cash,¡¯?the agency owner thought. However, there were only a handful of them, so it never crossed the agency owner¡¯s mind that Han-Yeol could possibly be one of them. The agency owner was delighted; it had been quite a while since such a big fish came looking for him. He had made a lot of money by working with the Hunters back when they had lived harmoniously with the civilians, but that all changed when the government and the Hunters¡¯ Association had made a new city exclusively for Hunters, most of whom had relocated over there. Thanks to that, the real estate agency had not had any Hunter customers for a long time. ¡®Alright¡­ This is a jackpot! A jackpot! I should just shut mypany if I let such a big fish slip through my fingers!¡¯?the agency owner thought as he steeled his resolve to close the deal with Han-Yeol. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Han-Yeol said with a hint of surprise in his voice. He always thought that he had to go look for a constructionpany instead of a real estate agency if he wanted to build his own building, so he had only mentioned it to the agency owner as a passing joke. However, it all somehow worked in his favor, since the agency owner just said that he could take care of the construction part as well. This reduced the amount of work and running around Han-Yeol had to do. ¡°Then, do you have a budget or any floor levels in mind for your building?¡± the agency owner asked. He was acting very carefully, so every single wording out of his mouth oozed with respect toward Han-Yeol. ¡°Budget? Hmm¡­ Maybe around fifty billion won? I am nning to construct a building of around six floors,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. ¡®Heok! F-Fifty billion won?!¡¯?the agency owner eximed inwardly in surprise. The price that came out of Han-Yeol¡¯s mouth was not an amount that could be found in Hongdae, and the agency owner was certain of this. He was well aware of the transactions in this neighborhood, with him usually closing most of the expensive listings here. Han-Yeol could actually buy a building in Gangnam with that budget. ¡®He¡¯s the real deal¡­ He is really a jackpot¡­!¡¯?the agency owner thought. In fact, Han-Yeol was such a big fish for him that he was nning to stop whatever other work his agency was doing and put all hands on deck on Han-Yeol¡¯s project. Han-Yeol¡¯s request was no different than a goose thatid golden eggs since the amount ofmission he would get frompleting each step of the process was going to be astronomical. ¡°Pleasee over here, Hunter-nim. Let me serve you with a service that you deserve,¡± the agency owner said with his glib tongue. ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. Han-Yeol was secretly feeling delighted ever since he saw how the man¡¯s attitude made a hundred-eighty-degree reversal the moment he had mentioned his fifty billion won budget. He knew that having someone suck up to you was a good feeling, but he had no idea that it was going to be this pleasing. ¡®I will be using quite a lot of cash on this project, so I¡¯ll just have to diligently hunt a few times,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he shrugged. Of course, spending fifty billion won in addition to the fees that he would have to pay for purchasing the building was not a small amount. However, it was not enough to make a dent in Han-Yeol¡¯s fortune, which was close to hitting one trillion won mark. That was how Han-Yeol ended up spending a few hours at the real estate office. He resolved the issue of him getting his own building as well. *** ¡°Hey! Director Lee! What happened to the cameras? Are they ready yet?!¡± ¡°They are almost ready!¡± ¡°What about the audio team?¡± ¡°We are ready!¡± ¡°Lighting team?!¡± Tak! A woman from the audio team raised her hand and gave a circle signal above her head. ¡°Alright, this is our first filming of the day, so make sure you guys do not lose your focus. Do not be too nervous! Let¡¯s wrap this up without any incidents. Got that?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the members of the production crew, Mn, enthusiastically replied. They were all visibly nervous despite their enthusiastic response, and this could not be helped as this was the first time that they wereing out to the hunting grounds with a Hunter. Their nervousness only increased upon knowing that the Hunter they were with was hunting solo. They had seen records of Hunters hunting solo, but this was their first time seeing a Hunter solo hunting in person. The fact that they were apanying him also made them even more tense and nervous. ¡°Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­¡± Even Soo-In, who was the one in charge of the entire filming, could not hide her nervousness. She was the only one among the twenty production crew members who had previously filmed Hunters at the hunting grounds, but those times had more than twenty Hunters in a party. That was why she could not help but be very anxious and nervous about following a single Hunter to the hunting ground. The production crew were not the only ones feeling nervous about this hunt. ¡°What? Is he really going solo¡­?¡± ¡°This is driving me nuts¡­¡± ¡°I have a feeling that we are walking to our deaths¡­¡± These were the Porters that Han-Yeol had hired for this hunt. Han-Yeol had a lot of luggage for this hunt, since he had to bring an entire production crew and had ns to hunt a bit longer this time. That was why he had decided to hire a team of Porters for this hunt. The team wasposed of five Porters, all of whom had refused toe when they heard that Han-Yeol was hunting solo. However, they instantly changed their minds and came without a fuss when Han-Yeol offered them five times the normal wage. Still, they could not help but be nervous when they personally saw that Han-Yeol was indeed going to be hunting alone. The only reason they stayed was that Han-Yeol had already paid them half of their daily wage in advance. ¡°Haa¡­ Well, I don¡¯t think that Hunter is an idiot to simply throw money away like that. There¡¯s no way that he is going to run with his tail tucked between his legs when he brought such a big group with him and invested everything, right?¡± one of the Porters said. ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡± another Porter replied. Then, the Porters turned their gazes to the production crew. ¡°Hehehe¡­ They are so pretty¡­¡± ¡°I know, right¡­¡± The Porters seemed to be very interested in Han-Yeol¡¯s production crew. ¡°Did that Hunter pick his production crew based on their body and face?¡± a Porter grumbled. ¡°I know right? They are all so busty and beautiful that they can pass as celebrities,¡± another agreed. ¡°Ahh¡­ I¡¯m so jealous¡­¡± another muttered in defeat. ¡°I hope that I can be a Hunter soon and have those kinds of women in my life too!¡± another Porter eximed with a burning desire to awaken. The Porters were all dreaming that they could live in a huge mansion with a swimming pool while surrounded by beautiful women in bikinis. They also hoped to get to spend the night with those women to their hearts¡¯ content, just like the Hunters that they see on social media or TV. This was a definite possibility as long as they managed to awaken and be Hunters themselves. Well, they were free to imagine whatever they wanted since they were currently free. A Porter would usually be very busy before a huntmenced, but Han-Yeol was hunting solo and he had his personal Porter, Yoo-Bi, with him. That was why the only thing they had to do was to check the equipment they were going to use before the hunt started. Yoo-Bi perfectly executed her role as Han-Yeol¡¯s personal Porter by taking care of everything he needed even before the others could do anything. The other Porters were now gathered around her since she was designated as the leader among them. ¡®Wow¡­ She¡¯s a beautiful Porter¡­¡¯ ¡®I wonder how perverted that Hunter is¡­?¡¯ The Porters wondered. It was obvious that their imaginations would run wild. If they excluded the five of them, then Han-Yeol was the only male among the twenty-two people at the party. However, they did not think ill of him at all, since this was the life that they were dreaming to have one day. ¡®I¡¯m so jealous!¡¯?the five Porters thought in unison. Again, they were free to imagine whatever they wanted. 1. One trillion won is approximately around $700m USD in today¡¯s conversion rate, for those who are curious but toozy to look it up. Chapter 78: Ready, Action! (4)

Chapter 78: Ready, Action! (4)

¡°Alright, please listen up everybody. The monsters we will be hunting this time are the Land Stalkers. These monsters resemble arge snake,¡± Yoo-Bi briefed. The Porters that Han-Yeol hired this time were all veteran Porters, and they were very well aware of what the Land Stalkers were. However, it was a ritual among Porters to hold a briefing before a hunt so that they could exchange information and review their knowledge about the monster they were hunting. That was why nobodyined when the briefing started. ¡°As you may be very well aware, there are three types of Land Stalkers. One type shoots poison, another injects poison into its prey after biting them, and thest type has no poison but will constrict its prey to death. We are going to hunt all three types this time,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Huh? All three types?¡± one of the Porter muttered in surprise. ¡°Yes,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Haha!¡± the Porterughed out loud. The Porters were taken aback and baffled. The parties that came to the Snake Den to hunt mostly chose which type of Land Stalker they would hunt depending on theposition of their party. The fact that a solo Hunter was going to hunt all three types of Land Stalkers without even making any preparation could only be seen asughable. ¡°Do you think that you are making any sense right now?¡± the Porter asked with a hint of hostility in his voice. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. She feigned ignorance even though she was fully aware of what the Porter meant. ¡°The Land Stalkers possess highly venomous poison except for the anaconda-type that does not possess poison, and the fact that the poisons differ ording to their type makes them even more lethal. It ismon knowledge not to carelessly challenge these monsters without preparing an ample supply of antidote. ¡°Of course, I am aware that the leather and poison that you can get from the Land Stalkers are highly valuable, but they are not worth you gambling your life away. I noticed that you did not prepare any antidote, but you are telling us that we are going to hunt the Land Stalkers. This is akin to telling us tomit suicide. We cannot understand what you are thinking,¡± the Porter exined. Nod¡­ Nod¡­? The other Porters silently expressed their agreement with firm nods. The Porter who spoke up had said nothing wrong, and it could be argued that he was the logical one right now. Yoo-Bi smiled and shrugged her shoulders before she replied, ¡°Well, technically¡­ You are not wrong.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Yoo-Bi suddenly cut the Porter off and said, ¡°That is, of course, within your own boundary of logic.¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that?¡± the Porters asked in unison, feeling confused. ¡°Hmm¡­ I did exin this yesterday. You are all aware that this hunt is going to be symbolic since this is tomemorate Han-Yeol Hunter-nim starting his own channel, right?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Yes, you did mention that, and we have not forgotten about it,¡± the Porters replied. The teaser video for Han-Yeol¡¯s channel was still not ready. The edit had already been done by the production crew, but they had to check if there were any legal problems with the Egyptian Hunter being included in the video or not. In fact, Han-Yeol had consulted the matter with a famousw firm regarding the issue. It was difficult for them to postpone theunch of the channel just because their teaser and promotional video were not ready. That was why they were nning to go ahead with theunch without releasing any teaser or promotional video at all. Also, the Land Stalker hunt today was going to be a live broadcast. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim ns to showcase all of his abilities in today¡¯s broadcast, and one of them is his ability to heal anything,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°H-Heal?! He has healing abilities too?!¡± ¡°What the hell?!¡± The Porters were in an uproar. The public was not yet aware of Han-Yeol¡¯s healing ability as the promotional video of him helping at the rescue scene was still unreleased. The Porters were struggling to recover from Yoo-Bi¡¯s shocking revtion. ¡®To think that he has the ability to heal everything¡­¡¯ ¡®It all makes sense now. That means that the poisons are not a threat at all¡­¡¯ ¡®The Land Stalker¡¯s poison does not instantly kill the target too¡­¡¯ ¡®Now it all makes sense¡­¡¯ The Porters were all deep in thought. The Land Stalkers, except for the anaconda-type, were dangerous because of their poison, but they were not threatening once their poison was neutralized. That was why the Snake Den was a very efficient and famous hunting ground if a party had a member with the ability to neutralize poison. It would be unwise to hunt here without such a member, because the prices of antidotes on the market were ridiculously high. Thanks to that, this hunting ground was rated as [Average] when it came to its poprity, and not a lot of Hunters frequented it. However, the parties that possessed a member who could neutralize the monsters¡¯ poison tended to stay for quite a long time in this ce to hunt. Here, most of the lucrative hunting spots were all under the control of the big guilds, and the regr Hunters were forced to hunt somewhere secluded. Of course, Han-Yeol was forced away from the lucrative hunting spots and was forced to hunt somewhere far away just like the other regr Hunters. Vrooom! One would never imagine that Han-Yeol¡¯s party was a solo hunting party due to the sheer number of vehicles moving in a convoy. The seven-vehicle-long convoy consisted of five trucks driven by the Porters, a moderate-sized bus for the production crew, and a truck carrying all of the filming equipment. In addition, the whole convoy was being filmed from the sky by a drone. They finally arrived at their hunting spot, which they had already surveyed prior, after thirty minutes since they passed the military checkpoint. ¡°We will be setting up our base camp over here,¡± Yoo-Bi said. She had already gathered information that there were no Land Stalkers spawning in this ce, and this was also a spot frequently used by other Hunters as well. ¡°This is the first time that so many people are present for your hunt, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bimented. ¡°I know right,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°I think I prefer this overst time,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a smile. ¡°Really?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. Han-Yeol nodded in agreement, and he felt that the money he had invested was not wasted after hearing Yoo-Bi¡¯s words. While the others finished setting up their base camp, Han-Yeol was getting ready for the broadcast. ¡°Hunter-nim, we have finished our preparations,¡± Soo-In said. ¡°Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. He looked around the production crew and saw that they were all equipped with their gear. Most Hunters needed to be on the move unless they possessed one of the lucrative spots that were always monopolized by the big guilds. That was why the filming gear was all made out of special lightweight material so that the crew could easily carry it around with them. Some might criticize them for opting to use expensive equipment that needed to be carried around when a smartphone or a small filming camera would have sufficed. However, these were important decisions that had been made to satisfy the viewers¡¯ endless desires. The viewers did not want pretty women or shy effects to be shown in the videos; the one thing that they would neverpromise on was the quality of the videos. That was the reason why Hunters tended to invest a lot in their equipment to deliver crystal clear high definition videos to their viewers, especially now when thepetition among Hunter channels was bing fiercer by the day. In fact, the channel rankings heavily depended on how well the video quality could be transmitted to their viewers. For example, there was a time when a server error had led to America TV¡¯s video quality dropping. That incident had been enough to push them down to second ce in the industry for a whole week. Of course, they then invested an astronomical sum of money to remediate the error, and they reimed their spot as the industry leader in no time. The tform that Han-Yeol registered with, Golem Mania TV, was a tform well known for its good video quality. However, not a lot of Hunters were registered with them since they were a young tform and their budget constraints made it difficult for them to entice the Hunters to join them. ¡°Alright, we will start filming now!¡± Soo-In, who was the overall director for this filming, announced. Then, she raised her hand and signaled the start of the filming. ¡°Ready¡­ Action!¡± The banner of Han-Yeol¡¯s channel was uploaded to the top of Golem Mania TV¡¯s website as soon as he started broadcasting. It was not often that a new channel¡¯s banner was uploaded on the main page, but it had been a while since a Hunter opened a channel with them. On top of that, Han-Yeol¡¯s channel was not a normal raid channel, but it was a rare solo hunting channel. That was why Golem Mania TV¡¯s management decided that it was worth giving it a chance to promote Han-Yeol¡¯s channel and, in turn, gain more exposure for the tform. However, the biggest reason as to why the management had agreed in the first ce was that Han-Yeol had paid quite a hefty sum in marketing fees to the tform. Viewers started to enter Han-Yeol¡¯s channel when his banner was uploaded on the main page along with the keywords ¡®solo hunting¡¯ and ¡®free for today¡¯. [Hello!] [Wow, a new channel is on the main page?] [Is it true that this is a solo hunting channel?] [I stopped by out of curiosity.] The chatroom started to get busier and busier. ¡°Yes, wee everyone to Hunter-nim¡¯s newly opened Level Up TV! My name is Han Yoo-Bi, and I am the personal Porter of Hunter-nim, as well as the main MC for this channel. I am pleased to meet all of you!¡± Yoo-Bi greeted the viewers. At the back of her mind, she thought, ¡®Wow¡­ It feels like I¡¯ve be a celebrity¡­¡¯ There had been a point in time when Yoo-Bi wanted to be a celebrity since she was tall, beautiful, and even sang well. In fact, a lot of people had told her that she should try and audition to be a girl group member, and watching the girl groups on TV did make her want to be one as well. However, her dreams had been shattered by ruthless reality. She had to give them up to make ends meet. Nevertheless, bing the MC of a channel was like a constion to her since she still felt like she was living her dreams of bing a celebrity. [Wow, you are damn pretty.] [Cute!] [You look so cute and beautiful!] [Is this a female cam room?] The MC of a Hunter channel was usually the Hunters themselves, since Hunters were hungry for fame. However, Han-Yeol was running this channel so that he could make a name for himself as a Hunter and raise his value in the process, and he was not interested in bing a celebrity or anybody famous. He only wanted to be a celebrity Hunter known for his abilities if ever he were to end up bing famous. Yoo-Bi continued, ¡°Hunter-nim¡¯s hunt this time will of course be a solo hunt, and the party isposed of Hunter-nim, six Porters including myself, and twenty production staff. Say hello everyone!¡± The view broadcast suddenly shifted to the drone capturing them from above. The production crew would shift the view to different cameras whenever it was necessary to match the atmosphere. The five Porters hired for the day excitedly waved when they were shown on the broadcast while some of the production crews blushed shyly. [What¡­ Is that a flower field¡­?] [Wow¡­ This Hunter is a pervert¡­] [The production crew is entirely made up of women¡­] [They are all beautiful too¡­] [I think a lot of us will be saving this channel as a favorite¡­] [They are more than enough for me to watch this channel!] [I¡¯m so damn jealous of that Hunter¡­] ¡°Hmm¡­ Of course, we will have to introduce Hunter-nim to all of you since he is the owner of this channel, but we will be skipping the introduction for now. All of you can then decide for yourselves as to what kind of a Hunter he is,¡± Yoo-Bi teased before she paused for a moment and continued. ¡°The monster we will be hunting today is none other than the Land Stalkers. I¡¯m certain that most of you who frequently watch hunting broadcasts would be familiar with where we are today. However, I will briefly exin for those who are not familiar with the Land Stalkers and this ce. This hunting ground is the habitat of the Land Stalkers, and there are three types of Land Stalkers living here. There are two types that use poison to kill their prey while thest one is an anaconda-like monster that constricts its prey to death. It is very difficult to hunt the Land Stalkers without any antidotes on standby.¡± [Yes, yes, I know about that.] [I¡¯ve been a viewer for seven years now. That¡¯s basic knowledge.] ¡°Hehe, I will skip over the details since you are all veteran viewers, and we will go straight to the hunting part. We were actually supposed to have a professional MC for our channel, but our channel is not that rich as you can see¡­¡± Yoo-Bi said as she made a sad gesture. ¡°That is why I became the MC due to theck of budget¡­ I wish to ask for your understanding, since I will have to participate in the hunt because I am a Porter as well.¡± [I love you, Yoo-Bi!] [Just leave it to oppa! I will make sure to fund you really well!] Perhaps it was the effect of having a young and beautiful MC like Yoo-Bi, but the channel¡¯s chat room reacted explosively. The effect of a beautiful young girl like Yoo-Bi being a damsel in distress triggered the viewers, who were mostly men, to react strongly. Of course, there were still a lot of people who posted sexualments on the chatroom, but they were able to restrict them in time thanks to the manager sent by Golem Mania TV. ¡°Oppa, there are two Land Stalkers three hundred meters in front of us,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He activated his skill, ¡®Demon Eyes.¡¯ His eyes started to glow red, and that sight was broadcasted live on his channel. [His eyes turned red.] [Is it a vision enhancing skill?] [It looks different from a normal skill.] [Maybe it¡¯s a unique skill?] [I don¡¯t think it simply enhances his vision¡­ I¡¯m certain that it has another function as well.] [Ohhh! This channel is getting interesting!] The experts, who were actually the viewers that watched quite a lot of Hunter broadcasts, analyzed Han-Yeol¡¯s skill, and this coupled with the fact that the hunt was about to start further increased the influx of viewers to the channel. One distinct difference that a Hunter¡¯s channel had over normal channels was that the channel¡¯s name on the main page turned red while they were hunting, and this was one of the main reasons that there would be an increase in viewers whenever a huntmenced. After all, the viewers were looking for action-packed scenes to watch. The shy action scenes that the Hunter¡¯s delivered to their viewers were something that no other normal BJ could ever deliver. Just as Han-Yeol was about toe into contact with the two Land Stalkers, his channel¡¯s name turned red, and a huge influx of viewers came pouring into his channel. This was all thanks to him and his production crew¡¯s n to bait the viewers intoing in by offering free streaming for today. Chapter 79: Ready, Action! (5)

Chapter 79: Ready, Action! (5)

¡°Wow¡­ This is a jackpot.¡± ¡°This much is a given since they spent so much money just to advertise their channel.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I guess you¡¯re right.¡± The two managers sent from Golem Mania TV to join and oversee Han-Yeol¡¯s party were conversing as they watched the viewer count increase explosively. Well, they might have said that this was due to the amount of cash that Han-Yeol had spent to promote his channel and the concessions their tform had made for him, but Golem Mania TV was a small tform and it was rare for them to see so many viewers flock into a single channel. The feat that Han-Yeol¡¯s channel achieved was simply amazing. [Current Viewers: 42,111] The viewer count passed the forty thousand mark. There were even foreigners who tuned into Han-Yeol¡¯s channel since Golem Mania TV not only had servers in Korea but in other countries as well. A trantion system was not supported on the tform, but there was no big need for it; there was not much talking on the stream and most of the things shown were action from the hunting. ¡°Hiss¡­!¡± ¡°Monsters right in front of us, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Yeah, I see them too. It¡¯s a pair of Land Stalker Cobra,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Two Land Stalkers that shot out poison appeared in front of them. The snake-like monsters that could sense heat aggressively hissed at Han-Yeol and his party. Hiss¡­! Hiss¡­! Han-Yeol was also prepared forbat. He unsheathed his sword on his waist and took out his chain with his other hand. ¡°Porters, prepare to fire,¡± Yoo-Bi ordered. Click¡­ ck¡­! The group of six Porters, including Yoo-Bi herself, immediately loaded their guns and aimed at the monster at hermand. ¡°Fire!¡± Yoo-Bi shouted. Ratatatatatatatata! The six rifles simultaneously unleashed a barrage of bullets at the Land Stalkers. ¡°Kyaaaaah..!¡±?The Land Stalkers shrieked angrily after being showered with bullets. They were not really injured by the bullets, but the prickling sensation got on their nerves. They immediately dashed and rushed toward the Porters. Tak! Just as the Land Stalkers were about to rush toward the Porters, Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped into the air before he used his skill, ¡®Chain Smite.¡¯ Shwiiiiik! His chain flew toward one of the Land Stalkers slithering on the ground as he used one of his trademark skills, Chain Smite. Shwiiiik¡­ Puk! Puk! Puk! The Land Stalker staggered for a moment after it was hit by Han-Yeol¡¯s chain, but it soon recovered. This showed just how tenacious of a monster it was. ¡°Hiss!¡±?The Land Stalker hissed threateningly. Bam! Bam! The Land Stalker was advancing despite being beaten up by Han-Yeol¡¯s Chain Smite. The Land Stalker might look like a monster with a small brain, but a research study published by the monster experts stated that monsters possessed intelligence greater than most animals and that they usually seemed to contemte how they could efficiently kill the humans they were attacking. The Land Stalker tenaciously endured Han-Yeol¡¯s chain as it measured the distance between itself and the human. It looked for an opportunity to shoot its poison. ¡®That¡¯s right, get closer to me,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Attacking from a range with his chain was not the only strategy that Han-Yeol had nned for these monsters, and it seemed that he was also measuring the distance between himself and the Land Stalker. ¡°Hiss¡­!¡±?The Land Stalker hissed when it finally reached its desired distance between itself and the human. It raised its head before spreading out its hood. This was its usual stance before it shot out its poison. ¡®Now¡¯s my chance!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Tak! When Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped, the Land Stalker Cobra stayed stationary for two seconds after it spread out its hood, preparing to shoot its poison at its target. Han-Yeol knew the Land Stalker Cobra¡¯s moves based on the information that he had gathered from the archives of the Hunters¡¯ Association, and the records suggested that this was the exact moment where the Land Stalker Cobra was most vulnerable. This was his best time to attack it. ¡°Hiss!¡±?The monster hissed as it did not seem to be bothered by Han-Yeol¡¯s actions. The monster fully spread out its hood and opened its mouth wide. Paaaat! Then, it fired its poison just two secondster. A stream of greenish liquid shot through the air as if it was fired from a powerful water gun, and flew toward Han-Yeol. ¡°Heup!¡±?The Porters tensed up as they watched the poison fly through the air. Yoo-Bi did not express it, but she was also worried about Han-Yeol for a split second. She was worried that Han-Yeol was nervous about the broadcast and would make a mistake which was unlike him. It was normal for them to worry since the Porters and the twenty production crew members were all going to be obliterated if Han-Yeol died. However¡­ ¡®Force Shield,¡¯?Han-Yeol cast his most powerful defensive skill. A white barrier in the shape of a kite covered him entirely the moment he activated his skill. Looking at it, he thought, ¡®Huh? The shape of the shield changed?¡¯? His Force Shield had leveled up to C Rank after he fought against the terrorists, but he did not get the chance to use it after that. This was why he had no idea that the shield¡¯s shape had changed. However, those thoughtssted for only a moment. He had to focus on the battle against the Land Stalkers for now. The fight had just officially started since Chain Smite was only his way of greeting to the monsters. ¡®Restrain!¡¯?Han-Yeol used his signature skill. His chain flew through the air and bound itself on one of the Land Stalkers. Then, perhaps the instincts of the snake-like monster kicked in, because it twisted and bound itself around the chain as well. Afterwards, the monster attempted to constrict the chain. ¡®How stupid,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. A monster was no different from an animal regardless of how high its intelligence was, and as such, they were bound to be faithful to their instincts. ¡®Alright, it¡¯s a one-on-one fight from now on,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. However, he could not leisurely take his time. He expected the other Land Stalker to be able to break free from his chains quite soon. ¡®Sword Breath,¡¯?Han-Yeol used his offensive skill. Fwaaaaa! A white-goldish me engulfed his sword. The image of Han-Yeol using a shield covered in a white light and a sword engulfed in a white-goldish fire did not really suit him, since he was someone who summoned demons and was even an apprentice under a demon. However, those kinds of things were not important when it came tobat. Slither¡­ The Land Stalker bided its time before it took aim at Han-Yeol and spat its poison toward him. Paaat¡­! Paaat¡­!? The monster repeatedly spat out its poison, which traveled through the air at a really high speed. However, Han-Yeol could clearly see the iing poison thanks to his Sixth Sense, and he was able to nimbly avoid it like an acrobat thanks to Cat Walk. He avoided the first shot of poison by turning and twisting in mid air, and he avoided the second one by blocking it with his shield. Pssshhht¡­! Smoke rose from his shield once the poison hit its surface. ¡®Force Shield is made out of my mana, so the shield will stay intact as long as I don¡¯t run out of mana,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He could feel his mana being significantly reduced whenever the monster¡¯s poison hit his shield, so he decided to avoid the poison that he could avoid. Meanwhile, he closed the distance between himself and the Land Stalker. The Land Stalker was not weak in closebat just because it spat out its poison from a range. It wouldn¡¯t be ssified as a difficult monster to hunt if it was only strong with long-range attacks but weak in closebat. Tak! The Land Stalker used its spring-like flexibility to suddenly spring up toward Han-Yeol. It tried to bite him the moment he got close enough after enduring its endless poison attacks. However, it failed to inflict any damage to Han-Yeol, whose Force Shield was blocking its advance. The Land Stalker coiled its body as it prepared tounch another strike after its first one failed to deal any damage. ¡®Now¡¯s my chance!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Tak! He took advantage of the moment that he had been waiting for, kicking off the ground and charging at the monster. Han-Yeol and the Land Stalker were already in close proximity. They stood eye to eye when he kicked off the ground and nimbly moved with Cat Walk. Hiss¡­! The Land Stalker hissed and tried to constrict its approaching prey. At the same time, Han-Yeol avoided it by jumping up before he used his new skill, ¡®sh Strike!¡¯ Chwaaaak¡­ Puuuuk! It had not been long since Han-Yeol first gained the skill, but he was able to effectively use sh Strike to pierced through the Land Stalker¡¯s thick skull and crush its brain. A snake might possess a small brain, but the brain was amon weakness among most living creatures. It was impossible to recover from any damage to the brain unless it was an undead. Thud¡­! The Land Stalker spat out its poison for thest time before it crashed to the ground. Clearly, its brain was mashed up. ng¡­! The other Land Stalker finally returned to its senses and freed itself from the chain. Then, it rose up from the ground and started to vibrate its hood. ¡®That is?!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. He suddenly remembered the information he had read on the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s website, which had an online archive. He immediately covered himself with his shield. Then, he linked it up with another defensive skill, ¡®Reflect!¡¯ Woooong! His defensive skill that reflected all damage was activated. Hiss¡­! The Land Stalker started to vibrate its hood before its eyes glowed bright red. Dudu¡­ Crack¡­ Then, the monster started to slowly petrify in ce. ¡®Hoo¡­ I made it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he let out a sigh of relief. A Land Stalker would use one of its unique abilities whenever it was enraged, and that was its ability to petrify any creature that looked into its eyes. It was an ability that even the Land Stalker itself could not control, but there were quite a lot of Hunters who had gotten done in by this ability that the monster could not use at will. It was not a very threatening skill to a raid party since they wereposed of many Hunters, and one Hunter getting petrified did not really mean that much in the first ce. However, it was a different story for Han-Yeol who was hunting solo. Him being incapacitated forbat would mean that the almost thirty people who had tagged along with him for this hunt could be annihted as well. ¡®Hoo¡­ That was a close call¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out another sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was able to see the specific movement that a Land Stalker would do before using its unique ability, Snake Eyes. Because of that, he could take preventative measures for it. The Land Stalker ended up being the one petrified by its own skill because of Han-Yeol¡¯s new ability, Reflect, which reflected all abilities or damages flung to him back to the caster. Tak! Sukeok! Han-Yeol immediately jumped up and cut off the monster¡¯s head just in case it would instantly be freed from its petrification and could cast the skill once more. Thud¡­! The Land Stalker¡¯s head fell to the ground. That was how Han-Yeol¡¯s first hunt on live broadcast ended. [Wow¡­ What did we watch just now¡­?] [Did he really kill the Land Stalker in a blink of an eye¡­?] [Isn¡¯t he just a high-ranking Hunter fooling around in a lower leveled hunting ground?] [That is indeed possible, since he is hunting solo after all.] [That¡¯s still amazing¡­] [But is there really a need for a high-ranking Hunter to solo hunt? I mean, it doesn¡¯t make sense even if you argue that he is doing it for his stream.] The chat room was in an uproar at what they had just witnessed. The battle might have ended really quickly, but it was a fierce action-packed one that seemed really cool on screen thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s overpowering strength. The hunting style that was widely used by the Hunters these days was to form a party and hunt monsters a step weaker than them. It was a safe and easy method that did not put them at any unnecessary risk. However, most viewers were already bored of these kinds of hunting methods since there was no suspense or thrill in them. Of course, this did not mean that nobody watched them. Those videos were still more interesting than a normal person¡¯s streaming channel. However, the viewers were still on the lookout, moring for something fresh and different. This was the main strength of Han-Yeol¡¯s channel. There were a lot of other Hunters who hunted solo, but Han-Yeol was the only one who had opened his own channel and live streamed his hunts. The Lone Hunter, known as the strongest solo hunting Hunter, was only known because of the news about him. Nothing else was known about him since he did not open his own broadcasting channel. Needless to say, Han-Yeol¡¯s channel was blowing a new breeze throughout the Hunter industry. ¡°Hoo¡­¡± Han-Yeol breathed out. His breathing started to beborious as green air started toe out from his mouth. [He is poisoned.] [This is the scariest part about the Land Stalkers.] [You can get poisoned just by being around them, even if their poison does not hit you directly.] [Hurry up and drink an antidote!] [Yoo-Bi will die if you die! You selfish bastard!] Han-Yeol had already won quite a lot of fans among the viewers, judging by how immersed they were. ¡°Alright, watch closely everyone. A new legend is about to be born,¡± Yoo-Bi suddenly said into the camera. Yoo-Bi did not join in on the dismemberment process as she was tasked to be the MC for the broadcast. Also, the other five Porters were more than enough to work on dismembering the Land Stalkers. There were no problems even if Yoo-Bi did not lend a hand. [Huh? What do you mean?] [A new legend? What kind of cringey phrase is that?] [Yoo-Bi! You shouldn¡¯t say cringey stuff like that!] [You sound like an old man!] The viewers were all expecting Han-Yeol to take out an antidote from his backpack. However, contrary to their expectations, Han-Yeol raised his hand to his chest instead. [What the hell is he doing?] The viewers were confused. ¡®Restore,¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly. Woooong¡­! It had been a while since Han-Yeolst used Restore at a hunting ground. A warm bluish light surrounded Han-Yeol before seeping into every corner of his body. It detoxified the poison out of his system in a mere instant. ¡®Hoo¡­ This Restore skill is a cheat skill no matter how I look at it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Well, most of Han-Yeol¡¯s skills were considered cheat skills if hepared them to an average Hunter¡¯s skills. However, Restore could be considered as the biggest cheat whenpared to his own other skills. Healing and recovery skills were already quite rare, but the ability to recover from any status ailments was a very powerful and rare skill that only a handful of Hunters possessed. It was a skill that Han-Yeol had gained through painstaking efforts, but others would simply think that he was lucky enough to awaken with such a good skill. Everything went just as Han-Yeol expected it to be. The chat room was in an uproar, and it was going to erupt at any moment now. Chapter 80: Special Member of A Raid Party (1)

Chapter 80: Special Member of A Raid Party (1)

[W-What the hell is this?!] [I-It¡¯s a healing skill!] [H-How does abat Hunter have a healing skill¡­ It can even detoxify poison!] [T-This is impossible!] The viewers on Han-Yeol¡¯s channel went wild. Some viewers on his channel were avid viewers who have been watching Hunters¡¯ channels for the past ten years. . Most of the Healers possessed all three skills rted to healing, and there were some who possessed evasion or support skills on top of their healing skills. The term ¡®Battle Healer¡¯ existed in Hunter terminology, but there were no actual Hunters who were capable of it. However, Han-Yeol just used a healing skill not only to heal himself but to detoxify the Land Stalker¡¯s poison from his surroundings as well. Yoo-Bi, who was watching over Han-Yeol, suddenly said, ¡°Porters, Hunter-nim has detoxified the poison in his surroundings.¡± ¡°Yes, we will get to it at once!¡± the Porters replied as if they were new recruits at a boot camp. Han-Yeol¡¯s overwhelming disy of strength had silenced all doubts they had toward him. Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­ Han-Yeol confidently walked over toward his party as he waved at the camera after finishing his hunt. [A-Awesome!] [He didn¡¯t do anything, but he looks so damn cool!] [T-This is really the start of a legend!] [Current Viewers: 95,147] No one knew if it was because word of his hunt had spread, but his viewership had explosively increased by the time Han-Yeol finished hunting the Land Stalkers. ¡°This is amazing, oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed with a smile. She gave a thumbs up. *** Han-Yeol and his manager, Yoo-Bi, sessfullypleted their week-long hunt that took ce to showcase his abilities. Of course, they did not broadcast for twenty-four hours a day. The broadcast onlysted for four out of twelve hours, with Han-Yeol hunting in peace for the remaining eight hours. Did that mean that the viewers were disgruntled with Han-Yeol only showing a third of his hunt? That was not the case at all. In fact, he was the main topic on the evening news and inte news, and he was also the most trending search keyword on the search engines of N Company and D Company. The Hunter, Lee Han-Yeol, was finally making his presence known to the world. Some might call it his initial stroke of luck, but the viewer count for his channel remained at ny thousand for the entire week, and this was a figure that Golem Mania TV could only dream of reaching even if theybined their entire viewer base. The abrupt rise in viewers was caused by numerous viewers from other tforms rushing to Han-Yeol¡¯s channel when news of his hunt had spread. However, Han-Yeol did not earn a lot from his channel since it was a free channel for now, and he did not ce any ads in it as well. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol still managed to earn quite a hefty sum just from hunting the Land Stalkers for the entire week, so it did not really bother him. [12,210,200,000 Won] This was the amount that Han-Yeol had earned after selling a week¡¯s worth of mana stones and monster corpses. Of course, that amount was slightly reduced after he paid Yoo-Bi and the other Porters, but he still managed to earn more than a hundred billion won in a week. Han-Yeol had no ns to make any money out of his channel. ¡®Well, I won¡¯t refuse any money that I earn after bing a superstar,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol was not the type to refuse free money given to him, so he would be d to ept any money thrown his way. *** Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­? ¡°Humm¡­ hum¡­ hum¡­¡±?Yoo-Bi hummed cheerfully while tapping away at herptop. She was sitting in afortable seat at a quiet caf¨¦ and working on her report paper for the Manager course she was taking at the Porter Department. She was already a manager, so she did not need to take any more special education or courses. However, she had already resolved to be the best manager out there, and that was why she was putting in the extra effort. Frankly speaking, Yoo-Bi was now earning an hourly wage of 1.2 million won after bing Han-Yeol¡¯s personal manager. She did not need to work harder. In fact, the amount she had earned from a week of hunting the Land Stalkers was a whopping two hundred million won, and this amount was iparably higher than an average manager¡¯s wages of around two million won for a week¡¯s work. Nevertheless, she still put in the effort time and time again to improve herself. ¡®There was a rumor that my daily habits and work ethic could decide what kind of ss I will get once I awaken,¡¯?Yoo-Bi thought. This was a theory that one schr hade up with, and this theory was known as ¡®Awakening Based on Habits¡¯. Unfortunately, it was only a theory with no facts to back it up, and that was why it was not widely received by people. However, Yoo-Bi wanted to believe in the theory. She was not confident to be as strong as Han-Yeol or be of any help to him even if she awakened now, and that was why she thought of making up for herck of physical prowess by studying and growing her mind in hopes that it wouldpensate for her shorings. ¡°Ugh¡­?It¡¯s too hard¡­¡± she groaned while stretching her arms. She was doing her best to study something that was difficult for her age, and there were a lot of volumes to study, so it was inevitable for her to struggle with it. On top of that, she had to make up for her week-long absence by submitting a report. That was why her workload had doubled during this time. On the other hand¡­ ¡°Hummm¡­ Hum¡­ Hum¡­¡±?Han-Yeol leisurely hummed away while wearing sunsses and lyingfortably on a soft couch with his legs up on the table. He was spending his time ying a game on the newly released HVR, which was a hyper realistic virtual reality game. The HVR was a device that the user could connect to their smartphone and use. It could be used while the user was staying still, but the user would still feel like they were moving in real life thanks to the virtual reality device. The HVR was an expensive device, but Han-Yeol was able to reserve one for himself and pay for it. Its price was now simply spare change to him. While Han-Yeol was enjoying the game, the screen suddenly turned pitch ck. Beep¡­! ¡°Huh? What the heck?¡±?Han-Yeol muttered in surprise. He took off the VR device and checked his phone to find an iing call from a number he was not familiar with. He wondered, ¡®Who¡¯s this¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol tapped on his phone and answered the call. ¡°Hello?¡± [Ah, is this Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡¯s phone by any chance?] ¡°Yes, that is correct, but how did you get my number?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He had no recollection of giving his phone number out to someone he did not personally know, and the only ones who knew of his phone number were his father, Sung-Jin, or the ones who he had some work with. ¡®Is it a leak from someone I worked with¡­?¡¯?he thought. It was not that difficult to find someone else¡¯s phone number in this digital age, and the only issue would be how fast they could find it and how much money they would put into finding it. Han-Yeol thought about it for a moment and realized that there could have been various channels for his phone number to be leaked out. He thought, ¡®Hmm¡­ I will need separate phones for my work and personal life from now on.¡¯ [Ah, my name is Paragon, and I am the leader of the Paragon Raid Party. I enjoyed watching your broadcast on your Level Up channel, and I wanted to ask if you would be interested to meet for a while,] the man on the other end of the line said. ¡°Paragon Raid Party?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. [Yes, that is correct,] Paragon replied. Han-Yeol grimaced as he tried to recall details about the Paragon Raid Party. It was a familiar name to him, but he could not recall much about them since they were not that big to start with¡­ He decided to mute the call for a moment and ask Yoo-Bi when he could not recall anything about them. ¡°Yoo-Bi, what kind of a raid party is the Paragon Raid Party?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Asking was the most convenient method if one had no idea what to do. ¡°Paragon Raid Party?¡± Yoo-Bi repeated the name. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol confirmed. ¡°The Paragon Raid Party¡­ Hmm¡­ They first established five years ago as a raid party, and they usually hunt in low level hunting grounds despite being called a raid party. Their leader died two years ago and Choi Tae-Wook, one of their new recruits, forcefully took over the party. They are now hunting at intermediate level hunting grounds after the takeover. There are plenty of rumors about them, but their overall impression in the industry is not that good. Some of the rumors that contributed to their infamy are that they purposely decimated three parties hunting and that they frequently used their Porters as bait. Of course, nothing has been proven since there was no proof of it,¡± Yoo-Bi exined. ¡°Ah, I remember them now,¡± Han-Yeol said. He now remembered the stories he had heard about Paragon Raid Party when he had been working as a Porter. He still could not remember everything about them, but he remembered one thing for sure. It was a resolve he had made back then. ¡®I told myself not to work for Paragon no matter what happens,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡°Sorry, but I have no ns to work with your Paragon Raid Party,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [Huh? Hey, isn¡¯t it customary to at least meet and hear the other party out?] the man said. ¡°No, I am not that free of a person, and I have nothing to discuss with someone from a party that I have no intention of joining. I will be hanging up now since I am busy,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Hey! W-Wait¡­!] the man shouted. Beep! Han-Yeol ended the call and tapped a few times to block the number. He then thought, ¡®With what I offer, I can enter the best raid party with the best treatment. What the hell are they thinking, expecting me to join their dirty weak party? No way.¡¯ He was thankful whenever any party had called him to work back when he had been a Porter, but he was now the hottest Hunter in all of South Korea. Just as he was about to get rid of the sour taste in his mouth and was about to get back to his game, his phone started to ring again. Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­!? ¡°Ugh¡­ It must be another raid party¡­¡± he grumbled. Han-Yeol had no ns to enter a party in this fashion. He was nning to officially put up a notice for his services with the Hunters¡¯ Association and go through the due process to join a raid party, but it seemed that there were a few impatient ones who had scoured around for his contact details and were trying to poach him away before that. Beep beep¡­ Han-Yeol no longer entertained any of the iing calls and switched his phone off. He hated it when his ns got disrupted, and that was why he had no ns to entertain anyone regardless of what kind of offers they made. ¡°How dare they try to poach me away by dealing under the table,¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ck¡­ Han-Yeol walked over to join Yoo-Bi and threw his phone on the table. Meanwhile, Yoo-Bi was eating a delicious and sweet strawberry parfait beside him. ¡°This is all because you, oppa. You caused too big of a scene. I initially had no idea, but you told me that the healing and chain skill you have is a big deal, right? Do you know how surprised I was when I did an in-depth research on your skill?¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°R-Really¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯ve worked only with you ever since I became a Porter, and all of mymon sense about a Hunter has been set to you. I struggled so much just to adjust to how regr Hunters are!¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Han-Yeolughed awkwardly while scratching his head in embarrassment. He was worried that he might have badly influenced Yoo-Bi in some way. ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing bad about it since I was able to see an even bigger world thanks to you, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi added. ¡°Really?¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s face brightened at Yoo-Bi¡¯s words. Just then, the waitress brought the rest of their order over and said, ¡°The cheese smoothie and double ster parfait you ordered are here.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you very much,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were currently upying three tables in the caf¨¦. They could be considered rude customers, but Han-Yeol had ordered a hundred twenty thousand won worth of coffee and desserts to prevent any talk about them. The owner of the caf¨¦ did not re at them or anything despite them upying three tables for four hours. In fact, the owner was contemting whether to provide them with some freebies to appeal to the two or not. They thought, ¡®I won¡¯t have to worry about my sales as long as I can turn those two into regr customers!¡¯ This caf¨¦ was not located in the city and neither was it a famous brand, and that was why it had a hard time making sales. Its average daily sales were only around two hundred thousand won. Needless to say, the caf¨¦ owner could not help but see Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi as a pile of cash when they had spent a hundred twenty thousand won in a matter of four hours. On the other hand, Han-Yeol was currently thinking, ¡®Ugh¡­ This is so ufortable¡­ I should get my own office as soon as possible or something¡­¡¯ He was discontent with the fact that he had to hang out at a caf¨¦ instead of his own office, since he was ufortable here and wary of the other people looking over at him. Han-Yeol was someone with an obsession of having his own ce, after all. *** Han-Yeol quickly went to the real estate agency as soon as he received the agency owner¡¯s call. ¡°Wee, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim,¡± the agency owner greeted while rubbing his hands. ¡°Have you found an office?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Of course! Fortunately, I was able to find a ce that was willing to lease the entire floor, so it was not that difficult finding a ce that suits your needs¡­ But¡­¡± the agency owner said. ¡°But?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°They are asking a bit too much for the rental,¡± the agency owner said. ¡°How much are they asking?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°The ce used to have an inte caf¨¦ that did quite well, and it is located right in the center of Hongdae, surrounded by clubs, so there is a lot of foot traffic in the area. They are asking for a deposit of three hundred million won, monthly rent of thirteen million won, and maintenance fees of two million four hundred thousand every month,¡± the agency owner exined. ¡°Is it for the third, fourth, and fifth floor connected internally?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, that is correct, Hunter-nim,¡± the agency owner replied. ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Huh? Ah, yes, certainly, Hunter-nim,¡± the agency owner said as he rubbed his hands together. Han-Yeol hopped into the agency owner¡¯s car, and they drove toward the building that the agency owner had mentioned just a while ago. Chapter 81: Special Member of A Raid Party (2)

Chapter 81: Special Member of A Raid Party (2)

¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he looked around. ¡°How do you like it? Isn¡¯t it neat and tidy? In fact, there is no other ce in this area that can satisfy your needs, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. It was amon trend to split the space into smaller rooms and rent it out parcel by parcel, which makes it very difficult to find a ce with this amount of space,¡± the agency owner said. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. Han-Yeol followed the agency owner around, looking at every nook and cranny of the office. He liked that the office was spacious, but he did not like the ce itself. The ceiling was too high and the silver cylinder-like vent was too noticeable, and he did not like that the bathroom walls were made from cement walls. ¡®I can always just renovate the interior of this ce,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not like the ce a hundred percent, but he still had to make his decision soon. After all, the agency owner had told him that it was not easy to find these kinds of ces. ¡°By the way, did you say that the deposit of this ce is three hundred million won?¡± Han-Yeol asked the agency owner. ¡°Ah yes. Let me exin once again, the deposit for the space is three hundred million won, the monthly rent is thirteen million won, with an added utility fee of around two million four hundred thousand won. That is the original price, but the owner of the building is asking for a deposit of five hundred million, not three hundred million won, just because business was good this past year¡­¡± the agency owner exined. It was ridiculous for the building¡¯s owner to raise the deposit by an additional two hundred million won from the original three hundred million won just because business was good the past year.?Unfortunately, it was quitemon to findndowners pulling these kinds of stunts. ¡°Then, please proceed with that,¡± Han-Yeol said nonchntly. ¡°What?¡± the agency owner blurted out. It was a good thing for him, since he was going to close the deal immediately. He just could not help but be taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s cool response. Curious if he had heard Han-Yeol properly or not, the agency owner stuttered and exined everything once again. ¡°T-The owner of the building is not asking for two hundred million won. The owner is asking for five hundred million by adding two hundred million won on top of the three hundred million won.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand. I know that the deposit is five hundred million won,¡± Han-Yeol replied, confirming what the agency owner said. ¡°A-Are you sure?¡± the agency owner asked again. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡®H-Hunters sure are generous with their money,¡¯?the agency owner thought to himself. The real estatepany president was surprised by Han-Yeol¡¯s calm demeanor toward the huge sum, but to Han-Yeol, two hundred million won was just Yoo-Bi¡¯s weekly sry. ¡®I¡¯m going to get the money back anyway, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The reason why he did not bat an eye at the increase was that he was going to receive the deposit back anyway. ¡°Then, let us proceed on making a contract with these conditions¡­¡± the agency owner said. ¡°By the way.¡± Startled by Han-Yeol¡¯s sudden interruption, the agency owner said, ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°Do you know any interior designpany?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The agency owner¡¯s eyes shed when he heard Han-Yeol¡¯s question. Han-Yeol had decided to entrust everything to him, since he was now asking about an interior designpany on top of erecting a building. He did not really have to meet every single one of Han-Yeol¡¯s demands, but a customer was still a customer in the end, so he tried his best to satisfy the Hunter¡¯s requests. ¡°Of course, Hunter-nim. I have been working in this industry for nearly twenty years, so I have connections within that field too! Haha! I can get a draft design ready and send it to you if you tell me what it is that you are looking for,¡± the agency owner confidently said. ¡°What I want is¡­¡± Han-Yeol said before he proceeded to exin. Han-Yeol spoke enthusiastically about his ideal type of office for nearly thirty minutes on the spot. The conversation was not boring or difficult at all for him, because it was to create the dream office that he had been thinking about until now. Rather than being bored, it made him exin more and more passionately in order to design the most stylish and the most beautiful office he could imagine. The agency owner carefully recorded everything Han-Yeol said in order to make the final product reflect Han-Yeol¡¯s criteria as much as possible. The agency owner was able to take the top spot in the fiercelypetitive Hongdae real estate market thanks to his diligent attitude towards his work. He left the small dealings to his employees when hispany grew, but he personally handled high-value clients himself. ¡°Hmm, I see¡­ Then, firstly, I will hand this over to the interior designpany and create a draft with everything Hunter-nim asked for. We can talk again after you have seen the draft,¡± the agency owner said. ¡°Yes, I understand,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol did not expect everything he had said to be reflected in the interior designpany¡¯s draft, just like how one¡¯s ideal type for a woman would be different from the woman who would eventually be one¡¯s wife. ¡°I will leave everything to you,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Are we not going to leave together?¡± the agency owner asked. He thought that they were going to go back to the office in his car since they hade together. ¡°No, I need to go somece else,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah yes, I understand. Then, goodbye, Hunter-nim,¡± the agency owner said while bowing his head toward Han-Yeol. ¡°Thank you for your hard work,¡± Han-Yeol thanked the agency owner. His business with the agency owner had finished anyway, so there was no reason for him to return to the agency. Then, Han-Yeol went to a nearby phone dealership and bought another mobile phone under his name. In the past, it would take more than a day to get a new phone. But now, one could get a new phone almost immediately thanks to the advancement in IT technology. Han-Yeol got his new cell phone within an hour, and the first thing he did was to open the K-Talk app and contact the few people around him whom he personally knew. He told them about the situation and gave them his new phone number. [Wow, you have be quite famous, Han-Yeol. I could not watch your live broadcast since I was busy, but I watched the recorded one. Geez¡­ I never knew that you are such an amazing Hunter. Watching you really motivated me. I would love to have a drink with you, but I¡¯m going out on a hunt soon so I won¡¯t have the time to do that. Let¡¯s definitely catch up and have a drink next time,] Sung-Jin said. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡®Tsk, I wanted to go out for drinks with Sung-Jin,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. He was slightly disappointed, since he wanted to stop by and have a drink with Sung-Jin. He wanted to talk about his problems and share stories of what had happened during the filming before going home. Unfortunately, it seemed that Sung-Jin was very busy. ¡®Figures. I heard that the bastard¡¯s running two to three jobs at the same time,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. It was a difficult and dangerous thing to do, but it was a surefire way to quickly be a Hunter. ¡®It¡¯s just like him to do?such a thing?though,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought about the most amusing quality of his friend. Sung-Jin had always been a very goal-oriented person ever since his schooling days. He never looked back or got distracted after he had set a goal for himself. He also never once cked off before reaching his goal. That was the reason why he was the only one among Han-Yeol¡¯s friends, which had been a bunch of disinterested students, who had gotten into university and had worked in the finance industry. ¡®If it¡¯s that guy, he will awaken very soon. Who knows¡­?He might be a stronger Hunter than me when he awakens into one¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. That was a possibility, since Sung-Jin possessed an incredibly strong will and luck. Besides, a Hunter¡¯s abilities were decided at random, and Sung-Jin¡¯s luck was bound to help him out one way or another. ¡®Hmm, so what should I do now?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered. He had nothing to do after finishing most of the things that he had to do. After his ns to have a drink with his friend had fallen through, he thought, ¡®I don''t want to go home yet¡­¡¯ He did not have much to do even if he went home, so he decided to go for a stroll instead. At first, he just tried to walk around aimlessly, but he soon had many thoughts in his mind. Thankfully, the thoughts he had were positive ones. ¡®Hmm, I almost forgot that I have to hire a financial manager now that I''ve almost reached a trillion won in my ount,¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered while he was walking. Yoo-Bi had advised that it was necessary for Han-Yeol to hire a financial manager, because his assets would keep growing until it went beyond his control. ¡®I think I should also?hire my?own personalwyer as well,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol realized that the more he thought about it, the more people he needed to hire. It was going to cost a lot of money, but that did not bother him at all, since he could recoup all of his costs by going out to hunt. In fact, he could earn hundreds or even thousands of times more than his cost if he went out hunting. ¡®I need to increase the amount of money I spend,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. He initially thought that he was already spending a lot of money, but he was actually living a very simple life whenpared to the amount he was earning. His main problem was that he did not know how to simply waste money on extravagant things because he never once had money to waste in his life. ¡®Hmm¡­?That¡¯s right¡­ I should spend money on what a Hunter can easily spend money on. I should go and upgrade my equipment,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Just as he was about to move, a message suddenly popped up. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Walking¡¯ has risen from A to M.] [¡®Walking¡¯ has reached Master-Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Walking¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [¡®Walking¡¯ has created a sub-skill instead of evolving.] [A new skill has been created: Mana Pouch (F).] ¡®Huh? Why is the reward for mastering the Walking skill the Mana Pouch skill?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in confusion. Han-Yeol opened his status window. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 103 Points: 0 STR: 177 VIT: 164 AGI: 151 MAG: 275+71 LCK: 10 Invoke: 150 Skills: Dismember (C), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (D), Head Cutter (F)], [Walking (M) : Mana Pouch (F)], Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (A), Sixth Sense (B), Restrain (A), Body Strengthening (A), Mana Eyes (A), Stab (A), Dagger Mastery (E), Chain Mastery (M), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (A), Fire Attribute (A), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (A), Marksmanship (B), Martial Arts (A), Enchant (C), Sword Breath (B), Restore (D), Healing Bullet (E), Enhance Healing (D), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (B), Power Meditation (D), Psychokinesis (D), Force Shield (C), Cat Walk (D), Mana Absorption (C), Demon Eyes (C), Mana Strengthening (F), Mana Bullet (F). ¡®It certainly seems like the reward for mastering Walking¡­ Hmm¡­?Let''s see¡­ Mana Pouch,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he looked at the skill''s description. [Mana Pouch (F)] Type: Active / Passive Description: The excess mana produced by ¡®Walking¡¯ will not be dispersed into the air when the user¡¯s mana capacity is maxed out. Instead, this skill will store the excess mana. The stored mana may be given to another person or used by the user to activate a skill in case of emergency. The mana stored by this skill will be up to two thousand, and its capacity will increase by an increment of two thousand whenever this skill levels up. ¡®Wow, is this for real?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in amazement. Looking at its name alone, he initially thought that the skill was not going to be a big deal. After all, its name ¡®Mana Pouch¡¯ didn¡¯t make it sound too valuable, but he soon changed his mind after he read the skill¡¯s description. ¡®Storing?the excess mana is one thing, but I can give the mana to someone else?¡¯?he thought in astonishment. This was basically a way to cheat when hunting. It was not a skill that directly benefited Han-Yeol, but he could give his mana to a Porter, who had no mana capabilities to use mana attacks, or even a party member, who was unable to use their skills due to running out of mana. The potential that this skill had¡­made it an understatement to even ssify this as an S Rank support skill. ¡®If I continue at this rate, it may not be just a dream to be the best hunter in Korea or maybe even in the entire world¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. Han-Yeol was easily motivated to go out and hunt, since he grew stronger the more effort he put into himself. It was quitemon to see Hunters ending up in a rut, bing selfish, and losing passion for bing stronger these days. When one would ask them for the reason why they turned out like this, they would reply by saying that it was because every day was just an endless repetition of the day before. After all, it was not that they would get stronger just by working hard like Han-Yeol did, since they had awakened with three predetermined skills that would remain until the day they died. It was unavoidable for someone to end up in a rut and lose passion if there was no progress in whatever they were doing. This was true no matter how passionate someone was about their upation. That was why it was quitemon to see Hunters lose their passion for hunting and work just to make a quick buck, and they would avoid risking their lives. This exined why no Hunters would be present when there were disasters happening in civilian areas. ¡®Well, that has nothing to do with me,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he shrugged his shoulders. Han-Yeol was proud of the fact that he had grown stronger even though the skill he just got was not abat skill. ¡®But first¡­ let¡¯s fill Mana Pouch with Mana,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he immediately started to make a move. Step¡­! Step¡­! Step¡­!? Han-Yeol began to walk at a brisk pace. He was not going to gain more mana or quickly gain mana the faster he walked, but his quicker speed was his way of expressing the happiness and joy he felt at the moment. ¡°Humm¡­!?Hummm¡­! Humm¡­! Humm¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol hummed as he walked in a good mood. Ding! ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in surprise at the system notification. [Happiness has increased.] [A new skill has been created: Amplify.] ¡®Again?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise. This was his first time learning two skills in a row in this manner. ¡®Amplify¡­?¡¯?he thought as he checked the skill description. [Amplify (F)] Type: Active Skill Description: The user may temporarily amplify their mana or skill. However, the user will have to offer one mana stone as an offering, and the amplification rate will be 40% the offered mana stone¡¯s purity. The amplification rate will increase by 10% every time this skill increases in rank. ¡®What does this even mean?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered as he was confused by the description. The skill seemingly worked in a simr fashion to a certain once popr card game that required the user to sacrifice their mana stone to amplify their mana. ¡®It will be difficult to frequently use this skill,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was already stomach-churning to waste the mana stones by absorbing them, but the thought of using it to amplify his mana made it even worse. In fact, he was starting to think that his skills were getting more demanding as they appeared. Leaving those thoughts at the back of his mind, Han-Yeol made his way toward Hunter¡¯s Workshop street and invested fifty billion won at the Dwarf''s Workshop to craft another sword and chain. He then went to the Hunter Mall, where he brought protective equipment for the first time since bing a hunter. He purchased a set of equipment to protect his chest, arms, legs, and neck. That was how Han-Yeol had spent the entire day alone. Time passed, and it was finally the day that not only he but even the public long awaited for. It was the day for Han-Yeol to publicly choose his raid party. Chapter 82: Special Member of A Raid Party (3)

Chapter 82: Special Member of A Raid Party (3)

¡°The selection meeting is today, right? Was it at three pm?¡± Yoo-Bi asked Han-Yeol. ¡°Yes, it''s at three pm,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Yoo-Bi was currently at Han-Yeol¡¯s house. She was in charge of the raid selection meeting that would be held via video conference, since she was Han-Yeol¡¯s personal manager. ¡°The response is starting to get really intense,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°I know right,¡± Han-Yeol said. It was currently one-twenty pm. The website where the video conference would take ce was already full of the raid parties¡¯ IDs even with an hour and forty minutes left to go. ¡°Wow, all the famous raid leaders like Hike, Porine, Kakasro, and more have gathered. It really is amazing to be both healer and supporter at the same time,¡± Yoo-Bi said while seemingly fascinated by the situation. ¡°Keke! Exactly,¡± Han-Yeolughed leisurely. Han-Yeol had worked as a Porter for four years, so he was already quite experienced with raid groups and guilds to the point that he was sick of them. He had also seen firsthand how much they were obsessed over Healers, so that was why he was able to gauge how valuable he was going to be when he first gained his Restore skill. That was why he was not impressed with all these raid parties and guilds gathering here today; he had already expected this to happen. ¡®They were bound to get riled up since I explicitly mentioned that I will be joining a raid party and not a guild,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. There were going to be a lot of raid parties that were affiliated with a guild trying to scout Han-Yeol, but there were bound to be even more raid parties that were not affiliated with any guilds. These raid parties without any guild affiliations were bound to be even more riled up than the others, since scouting a Healer to join was already a difficult thing for them to do, and most of the Healers they did manage to scout usually ended up turning out to be ¡®fake¡¯ Healers. ¡®They?will absolutely?go crazy if they found out about my Healing Bullet skill as well,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while grinning. He did not get the chance to show off his Healing Bullet skill during his Land Stalker hunt live stream, which had been a solo hunt with no party members to use the skill on. The Healing Bullet skill was a long-range healing skill, and it was going to be an incredibly efficient skill to have in party hunts. The raid parties were already in an uproar simply because Han-Yeol possessed Restore, but he was certain that even the guilds, who initially showed disinterest, would jump into the fray as well if they found out that he possessed Healing Bullet too. ¡®Ah, I have to go to the Hunters¡¯ Association and update my rank,¡± Han-Yeol thought. He hadpletely forgotten about it since it was not an urgent matter, and he did not pay much attention to it. Han-Yeol had visited the Hunters¡¯ Association twice at the beginning of his awakening. The Hunters¡¯ Association did not care or intervene in what Hunters did, but it was going to intervene if a Hunter was doing something illegal or if a fight broke out between Hunters or if there was a murder of a civilian by a Hunter. They were already raking in a huge sum of money without having to intervene, and the guilds usually kept the Hunters in line, so none of them ended up causing a mess that required the association¡¯s intervention in the first ce. The main task of the Hunters¡¯ Association was to protect the interests of the Hunters whenever the government or the congress tried to meddle in their affairs. ¡°Oppa, there¡¯s only ten minutes left before the meeting starts,¡± Yoo-Bi alerted Han-Yeol, who was immersed in ying his phone game, that the event was about to start. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol shut down his mobile game and went out to his living room. Then, he turned on his camera and logged in to the website of the Hunters¡¯ Association, and essed the public video conference room. He greeted, ¡°Hello.¡± His face appeared on the screen once he connected to the video conference room, and his video conference room was posted on the main page of the association¡¯s website since he was the main star for today. Thanks to that, everyone immediately knew that he had logged on for the meeting. [Oooh, hello!] [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!] [Kyaah! I am a fan!] The video conference¡¯s chat was very hot with reactions andments zing in. The video conference was conducted in an open conference room, and that was why even the people who were not directly participating in the conference could take part through the chat. The raid selection meeting was usually kept away from the public¡¯s eye and conducted behind closed doors, with only a few invited individuals or entities taking part. However, this meeting was made public since Han-Yeol had requested it to be made public, and the association had no choice but to agree to his demand. Then, Yoo-Bi stepped forward and brought the microphone toward her. She began calmly reciting the lines from a script she had memorized. ¡°We will soon begin the raid party selection of Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. The exnation of this meeting¡¯s rules was supposed to begin ten minutester, but I will start exining now since the representatives of the raid parties that signed up are all present. We will start the raid party selection meeting ten minutes after the exnations have been provided.¡± Han-Yeol had told Yoo-Bi to read from the script since it was not even an official broadcast, but she had chosen to memorize the entire script. She did not want to look ipetent by reading from a script in front of so many people. ¡°Most importantly, it is forbidden for raid leaders to criticize or argue with each other. We will force you to leave the meeting if you cause trouble or start a fight with one another. Please keep in mind that this is a public broadcast for everybody to see and not a private meeting,¡± Yoo-Bi said. Han-Yeol possessed quite a unique set of abilities, which were mostly growth-type, but there had been others who had awakened with outstanding abilities and received quite the exposure to numerous raid parties and guilds. However, this was the first time that someone had ever held a raid party selection meeting that was open to the public. Theyid out the rules of no fighting while the raid party selection was going on because Han-Yeol was also well aware of the rumors going on between the raid parties and the guilds. Their rtionship was like that of oil and water, and it was practically impossible for them to get along and mingle with each other. ¡®My name, Lee Han-Yeol, will now be a luxury brand among Hunters, and the days of me being just another ordinary person will be long gone. My brand has to be more famous and stylish than any other celebrity out there, and it has to make an unforgettable?mark on history,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he steeled his resolve once again. It was incredibly difficult for someone to build up a good image, but it took way less effort to destroy someone¡¯s imagepared to the effort needed to build it up. Han-Yeol could not afford to be humiliated from the beginning by the raid parties and guilds quarreling among themselves in the event where he was officiallyunching his brand as a Hunter. ¡°Second, please wait for your turn to talk during the raid party selection meeting. It will be very noisy and chaotic if you do not wait for your turn, since there are many participants in the meeting. You will be issued two warnings before you are forced to leave the meeting, so we hope that you keep this in mind,¡± Yoo-Bi continued, using the ten minutes to exin what not to do during the raid party selection meeting. She did not really have to exin the other rules of the selection process since everyone would already be familiar with it. ¡°Thirdly¡­¡± Yoo-Bi continued talking as she exined the other rules. Ten minutes quickly passed, and it was now exactly three pm. That was the moment Yoo-Bi announced, ¡°Then, we will start the raid party selection meeting.¡± [Wow!] [Just watching this selection meeting is making me nervous.] [Who will take Hunter Lee Han-Yeol?] [The Falcon raid party? Or the Brown Bomber? Or maybe the Bear Trap?] [I don¡¯t care who takes him! I only want to look at Yoo-Bi!] [Yoo-Bi, this oppa loves you so much!] Yoo-Bi had a lot of fans blowing up the chat. This was unsurprising, since she, at the young age of eighteen, exuded youthful beauty on-screen. The viewers, who were mostly male, went crazy over her. Han-Yeol read the intense reaction on the chat window and thought, ¡®Yoo-Bi really is growing up and bing a beauty.¡¯ Perhaps she was eating well after bing a Porter, or maybe it was her constant exposure to mana, but Yoo-Bi was indeed getting prettier by the day. ¡®They say that girls are all grown up when they reach high school, but Yoo-Bi is still?blooming,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. It was a bit strange, but Han-Yeol felt proud of the fact that he was working with her. The meeting had already begun while Han-Yeol¡¯s mind was drifting elsewhere. [First, I will speak on behalf of the Hike raid party. As you may all know, Hike raid party has a lot of top-end equipment thanks to our huge financial power, and we have a few secret items as well. We are willing to rent him one of these secret items for free if Han-Yeol Hunter-nim joins our raid party until he decides to leave our group,] the representative for Hike proposed. [¡­] There were no further words. ¡®That¡¯s it?¡¯ Yoo-Bi thought as she was dumbfounded by the representative¡¯s words. It was true that the representative did not personally stand to gain anything from recruiting Han-Yeol, but his demeanor was basically akin to him saying that their raid party was not interested in scouting Han-Yeol at all. ¡®Well,?it''s still too early to tell, since that¡¯s only the first person,¡¯ Yoo-Bi thought as she shrugged it off. [I am the representative of the Eight Crown raid party, as all of you may be aware; Eight Crown has a lot of top-end equipment thanks to our huge financial power¡­] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Yoo-Bi was shocked by what she just heard. After the Eight Crown raid party finished their statement, the Falcons, the Brown Bombers, and Bear Trap raid parties all just repeated the same statement all over again. Han-Yeol, who was watching from behind, could not help but click his tongue in frustration. He thought angrily, ¡®They are colluding with each other.¡¯ Inmercial terms, the raid parties were forming a cartel to purposely drop Han-Yeol¡¯s value. ¡®Ha! Are they looking down on me? Or are these raid parties stupid? Or was my calction wrong?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while being bbergasted by the situation. It was now the turn of the twenty-second raid party to make their proposal. They were not included in the cartel since the conditions they proposed were entirely different from the previous raid parties. However, the problem was that the previous twenty-one raid parties were the so-called prestigious ones, and the fact that the twenty-second raid party proposed something of better value meant that the rest of the raid parties after this were bound to be the lesser-known ones. In other words, the raid parties starting from the twenty-second one were all small fries. ¡®Hmm, what should I do with these bastards?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought angrily. Han-Yeol did not show any emotions on his face, but he was incredibly angry on the inside. To be honest, he could just go ahead and hunt alone at the intermediate hunting grounds if he wanted to. It was going to take a lot more effort from his end, but it had the advantage of being able to monopolize all of the mana stones and monster corpses for himself. However, he had created this event because he wanted to experience something new. He also wanted to be famous¡­ He just never imagined that the raid parties were going to collude with one another and stab him in the back like this. [W-What?] [What the hell is going on right now?] [Tsk¡­ Tsk¡­ The raid parties are colluding among themselves.] [Then, what is going to happen?] [Is the raid party selection meeting ruined?] [I hate everything those raid parties do.] Han-Yeol was not angry at the fact that the raid parties were colluding with each other to lower his value, since he could just hunt solo if he did not like any of them. However, what infuriated him was the fact that they were making a public spectacle out of him by humiliating him in front of the entire nation. ¡®Damn it, they dare to ruin my debut and humiliate me in front of the whole nation?¡¯?Han-Yeol angrily thought. Just as he was gritting his teeth and was about to explode, thest participant to make the proposal spoke up and made him hold his temper. [I wish to ask all the Hunters in this room how stupid you guys can be. You guys are so stupid that I found it unpleasant to watch you,] the woman, who was thest to make a proposal, said. The woman¡¯s words changed the entire atmosphere of the raid party selection meeting as she sessfully managed to incite most of the other participants. [Who are you?!] one of the raid party representatives retorted in anger. [Just who do you think you are? Which raid party are you from?!] another representative said. Angry shouts from the first twenty-one raid parties, who colluded with one another, came from all directions. They could not help but be triggered by the woman, since they had agreed to y roulette to have Han-Yeol decide which one of them he would be joining without them having to enter into a bidding war. ¡®It¡¯s true that his ability to heal and support at the same time is very desirable, but the price he is demanding for himself is too burdensome for a greenhorn. Let¡¯s remember that we are established and prestigious raid parties. We are not?the?ones that?need?him, but he is the one that needs us. He will definitelye crawling even if we lower his value.¡¯ This was the mentality of the prestigious raid parties that valued their pride and ego above everything else, and this made it easier for them to collude together. In fact, they wanted to teach Han-Yeol a lesson since they hated the fact that he had called for a raid party selection meeting and had made it a public one on top of that. Until recently, they had been participating in these meetings to scout the best Hunters for themselves. However, they soon realized that they were the best raid parties around and they had no reason to grovel for the greenhorn Hunters to join them. They hade up with this n to put Han-Yeol in his ce and let it serve as a warning for any other upstart greenhorn Hunters of the consequences of trying to pull a fast one on them. [I am from the Horus raid party, which is thest one in line to make a proposal. Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, please do not settle or even entertain the joke of an offer these clowns are offering you, and pleasee and join us instead. We are willing to offer you special treatment if you be a member of our raid party. We are going to guarantee your absolute independence and freedom to do whatever you wish, and we will provide you with all of the unique items that we have for free. Of course, we will not be renting these equipment to you, but we are going to give it to you as a gift. Last but not least, we are willing to increase your dividend of the spoils by 2.2 from the normal dividend usually offered,] the woman said. The entire raid party selection meeting was in an uproar from thest raid party¡¯s proposal, and it seemed that the atmosphere suddenly took a drastic turn from a while ago. Chapter 83: Special Member of A Raid Party (4)

Chapter 83: Special Member of A Raid Party (4)

[Wow! Amazing!] [As they say in baseball, the game is not over until the ninth inning with two outs.] [But who is the Horus raid party? Anybody knows?] [Speaking of unique items, are there any raid parties in the country that possess unique items other than guilds?] [I have no idea?] [It doesn¡¯t matter. It''s just so awesome! They''re not just lending him a unique item, but they are giving it to him for free! This is so crazy that I can¡¯t believe it!] [There are also not that many of them in Korea!] The number of viewers that had drastically dropped due to the prestigious raid parties ruining the atmosphere began to slowly rise again thanks to the Horus raid party¡¯s jaw-dropping offer, which included unique items being mentioned. ¡®H-Horus raid party? Just who are they?¡¯?the raid party representatives were shocked when they heard the offer. ¡®Hoo¡­ Who is this Horus raid party?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he felt his mood brighten up. His mood had initially plummeted to the depths of the world as he had been prepared to unleash hell against the raid parties, but he soon rxed when he saw the rapid influx of viewers that had gathered after hearing the rumors of unique items being offered to him. In fact, Han-Yeol himself was curious about the unique items as well. The other raid parties did not matter to him anymore. He thought, ¡®They were just pawns that I was willing to sacrifice anyway.¡¯ Han-Yeol did not act up sooner not because he was folded to the prestigious guilds trying to teach him a lesson, but because he was thinking about how he was going to overturn this situation to increase his brand value which had been stagnant up until this point. He certainly did not expect that the person who would provide him with the solution was also among the representatives. The sudden game-changing offer from the Horus raid party caused an uproar among the raid parties that were colluding with each other to reduce Han-Yeol for cheap. [H-Hey you! Just who do you think you are to say such nonsense in here?!] one of the raid party representatives angrily yelled out. [Are you making a mockery out of this sacred event?!] another raid party representative shouted. [Who the hell are you people?! Who invited them here?!] another raid leader yelled out in anger. Embarrassment, annoyance, and anger could be heard from the voices of the raid party representatives who had tried to collude together. However, the game was almost over. ¡°Oppa,¡± Yoo-bi said as she slightly tilted the microphone down and looked at Han-Yeol. When Yoo-Bi gave the signal and wondered what she was supposed to do next, Han-Yeol gave her a smile and nodded firmly. Yoo-Bi, seeing Han-Yeol¡¯s signal, nodded in response to say that she understood what he meant. She quickly returned to the microphone and announced, ¡°Thest raid party has submitted their proposal. It was originally nned that a few days would be taken to carefully discuss and weigh each and every one of the proposals, but Han-Yeol Hunter-nim has decided to make his decision right now. The raid party that has been selected from this raid party selection meeting is the Horus raid party! Congrattions!¡± The chat room erupted as soon as Yoo-Bi¡¯s announcement was done. [Wow! I knew it!] [Serves those arrogant raid parties right!] [Screw you!] [HAHAHAHAHA!] [It¡¯s been a while since I saw these arrogant raid parties get humiliated! This feels great!] [Yoo-Bi! This oppa loves you so much!] There were a few strange chats mixed in between, but the overall reactions were favorable to Han-Yeol. The prestigious raid parties always had an air of arrogance around them, and the general sentiment toward them was not favorable. Many people were sick of their arrogance. That was why the viewers rejoiced when they saw these arrogant people suffer a blow. [W-Wait! Our Hike raid party will raise the dividend for Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim to 3.0 and rent three special items for free whether he is in our raid or not! We will loan it for three years!] the representative of the Hike raid party said while panicking. [Our Falcon raid party will also raise the dividend to 3.1 and loan our special items for free for five years!] the Falcon representative quickly interjected. [Our Destino raid party will¡­!] another raid party quickly joined in. The representative of each raid party started to panic when they realized that the tides had turned on them, and they hastily tried to raise their offers. The raid parties that had colluded among themselves to try and scoop up Han-Yeol for cheap were now starting to enter into a bidding war in ast-ditch attempt to appeal to him. However, the damage had already been done and the situation could no longer be reversed no matter how much they tried, and there was no way that they could ever outbid the offer that had triggered this bidding frenzy in the first ce. [Tsk tsk¡­ Do they think that they can beat the offer of free unique items?] [Tell me about it! I would choose the proposal that¡¯s offering to guarantee my freedom to do whatever I want even if the dividend is a bit lower! Not to mention, they made sure that it was going to be a no-brainer the moment they threw in the unique items as a gift!] [I always say that our nation¡¯s raid parties are all stupid.] [How can they be so simr to politicians? Tsk tsk¡­] Most of the viewers of the raid party selection meeting were from small or medium-sized raid parties and some temporary parties, so the flurry of criticism the prestigious raid parties suffered ended up bing even harsher. The average Hunter was often subjected to power abuse and being looked down on for being weak or having no backing by the members of the prestigious raid parties. This was why the viewers were relentless and merciless when it came to dishing out their criticism against these prestigious raid parties. The naturalw of this world dictated that the weak had to keep their mouths shut in public and keep their opinions to themselves. However, times have changed and the advancement of the inte granted people the gift of anonymity and the right to criticize along with it. The pent-up anger that the ¡®weak¡¯ people felt had reached a tipping point long before, and Han-Yeol¡¯s raid party selection meeting was the trigger that burst open the floodgates of criticism. The raid party selection moderators were watching the situation unfold right before their very eyes, but they could not do anything about it. The torrent of maliciousments flooding in was too much for them to moderate. ¡®Heh, they look like zombies chasing after a prey,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while being amused at the situation. Han-Yeol could not listen to anything the raid party representatives were still shouting into their microphones as they tried to grab his attention, and this was because Yoo-Bi had already muted the broadcast from their side. However, she kept their side unmuted so that they could still hear Han-Yeol give a final closing speech. Han-Yeol got up from his seat and went towards the microphone that Yoo-Bi had left for him. He said, ¡°I would like to express my deepest gratitude and sincere apologies to all the viewers who watched my raid party selection meeting. I wanted to show you some thrilling and intensepetitive bidding, and I also wanted to show off my cool side. Unfortunately, things did not go as I expected due to some unforeseen circumstances. That is why I am giving everyone who tuned in to the broadcast a one-time coupon to use on my channel for free as a token of my apology.¡± [Oh wow! That is so cool!] [Sweet!] [I love you!] [As expected, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is extremely generous!] [God Han-Yeol!] [Kyaah, I''m getting drunk from the euphoria!] [So cool! Unlike a certain type of people!] [Kukuku!] By promising to give every single one of the viewers a free channel ess coupon, Han-Yeol caused the chat room to erupt once again. The viewers were absolutely thrilled when he announced that he was giving away channel ess for free, since a Hunter¡¯s channel was always operated under a pay-per-view scheme. However, Han-Yeol did not stop there. ¡°Lastly, I would like to thank the twenty-one raid parties that proposed their offers first. I was able to choose a raid party to join without having to contemte on it too much thanks to all of you! I was originally nning to take around three days to consider every single offer proposed, but you people have helped me save three days of my time. Once again, I thank you for saving me those three days which I can now go and use to earn billions of won,¡± Han-Yeol said. He explicitly directed his words toward the prestigious raid parties that had colluded against him. The raid party representatives seemed like they were still trying to say something to grab his attention, but Han-Yeol could not hear them at all since they were muted. He also had no ns to listen to them any longer. ¡°I owe a big debt to all of you, and I will slowly pay it back someday. Once again, I would like to thank everybody who participated in this raid party selection meeting, and I hope all of you will have a wonderful day,¡± Han-Yeol greeted the participants for the final time before logging off. Beep¡­! Then, Han-Yeol pressed the button to end the broadcast. He did notpletely terminate all connections, keeping his connection with the Horus raid party¡¯s representative, who was presently still on his screen. Then, he turned on his audio and greeted, ¡°Nice to meet you, representative of the Horus raid party.¡± [Nice to meet you too, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, and thank you for choosing our Horus raid party,] the Horus raid party representative replied. The Horus representative was extremely polite, just like how they were a while ago. ¡°How about we stop talking here and actually meet in person to continue our chat? After all, we are going to be a family now,¡± Han-Yeol said. [I apologize. We would love to meet just like Hunter-nim suggested, but our master has requested us to invite you to a meeting, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. I hope that you will ept our master¡¯s invitation,] the representative said. ¡®I can¡¯t refuse such a polite invitation,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. ¡°That would be great. I can expect the ce to be nice, right?¡± Han-Yeol lightly joked, trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere. The representative smiled slightly in response to Han-Yeol¡¯s attempt, then said, [Of course, we cannot invite a person like you, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, to a shabby ce. You do not have to worry about it at all. Ah, the ce that we are going to invite you to is not far from where you are currently at. It is a small mansion near Seoul. We are not sure if it will be to your liking, but please forgive us if it does not live up to your expectations.] ¡®Well, I don¡¯t really have a specific ce I want to go to anyway,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol did not think that there was any reason for a raid party that had gone through all the trouble of recruiting him to suddenly turn around and attack him without any reason. Besides, South Korea had one of the best security among the countries prior to and after the Dimensional Gate crisis. ¡°Can I bring my manager with me?¡± Han-Yeol asked the Horus representative. [Of course, your manager and anyone else who you would like toe along are most wee,] the Horus representative assured Han-Yeol. ¡°I see, then when should I go there?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [You maye at any time that is convenient for you. We will prepare for your arrival if you contact us with the number we¡¯ve provided,] the Horus representative exined. ¡°Hmm, I understand,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Then, goodbye,] the representative said before hanging up. After the video call with the Horus representative ended, Han-Yeol rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. He began to wonder, ¡®Something is strange¡­?It''s already unusual for anyone to give away a unique item, but why?are they?being?so?polite?on top of that?¡¯ Han-Yeol was well aware that his abilities were rare and that everyone wanted him to be a part of their group, but he had only shown a sliver of what he was really capable of. In fact, the ability he had showcased was not so amazing that it had given the prestigious raid parties the idea to collude against him. However, this raid party was being very humble toward him. ¡®Well, I guess I¡¯ll find out soon enough when I go there,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he decided to push the matter to another time. It did not matter if the Horus raid party turned out to be a farce, since he was not in dire need of a raid party anyway. ¡®If that is the case, I can just go alone.¡¯ Han-Yeol decided to just take it easy and go with the flow. He asked Yoo-Bi, ¡°Yoo-Bi, you¡¯reing with me this time right?¡± ¡°Of course, this is work after all,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Hehe, okay,¡± Han-Yeolughed at Yoo-Bi¡¯s response. Hearing the name, Horus raid party, suddenly made Han-Yeol feel confused. He could not help but feel like he had heard of the name before. He thought, ¡®Where?did I hear?it?before¡­? I can¡¯t remember all of a sudden.¡¯? *** Han-Yeol got into his van and drove towards the address that was on the message sent by the Horus raid party representative. ¡°I should be the one driving,¡± Yoo-Bi said from the passenger¡¯s seat, feeling ufortable. Yoo-Bi was Han-Yeol¡¯s personal manager and Porter hired for his convenience, and it was unimaginable in a normal employer-employee rtionship for a Porter to befortably sitting in the passenger seat while the Hunter was driving. However, the rtionship between the two was not just work-rted anymore. They had been spending a lot of time together and their rtionship was now also on a personal level. Han-Yeol considered Yoo-Bi as his own sister, and that was why he did not intend to make Yoo-Bi drive. ¡°Well, it''s really not that far, and I can drive too,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol knew that he was now in a different social bracket, but he did not really care about that. This was just the sort of man that he was. Also, the address provided by the Horus raid party was not that far away. The address was located at Gapyeong, a ce where people often visited for vacations, and this ce was famous for having a lot of country houses. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi naturally assumed that they were going to the standard pretty brick houses that lined up the area, since a raid party could afford to purchase one of those without any difficulty. However¡­ ¡°...¡±?Han-Yeol, who arrived at the address, could not help but be surprised. ¡°O-Oppa¡­¡± Yoo-Bi muttered in shock. Her eyes darted between the front of the van to Han-Yeol as if asking for an exnation. Han-Yeol could note to his own senses, so he was not in a position to respond. He simply shouted, ¡°W-What the hell is this?!¡± In front of Han-Yeol was a massive fenced-offnd with a sign ¡®private property¡¯ in front of the main gate. The sign also had the address that was written on the cell phone message. As they stared nkly from the middle of the road, two men wearing suits and sunsses who were on guard at the entrance approached them. Knock Knock¡­! The two men knocked on the window of the van, and Han-Yeol lowered the window. One of the men in sunsses asked, ¡°This is a private prop¡­ Oh, are you perhaps Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°Yes, i-is this perhaps where the Horus raid party is at?¡± Han-Yeol asked the man in sunsses. ¡°Yes, that is correct. You arrived exactly on time for your appointment. Pleasee in, our master is waiting for your arrival,¡± the man said. ¡°Ah, o-okay,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol was trying to put up a front so that he would not look small in front of the imposing property, but he could not help but stutter while speaking. He did not really have the best pronunciation, but it got considerably worse now that he was nervous. ck¡­ Creak¡­! The guarded iron gate swung wide open, and Han-Yeol took a deep breath before slowly driving the van inside. While still seemingly shakened, he wondered to himself, ¡®Just who the hell is this Horus raid party?¡¯ Chapter 84: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (1)

Chapter 84: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (1)

"Ah... The ce is so huge that we still have a bit further to go till we reach our destination." "Y-Yeah.." There was still quite a distance until their final destination, ording to their navigation. ''Hmm... Are they a personal raid party of some rich person?who¡¯s not known to the public...?''?Han-Yeol wondered. He had heard rumors of these kinds of raid parties, but he had never personally seen one before. It was said that everyone had an equal chance of bing a Hunter, and this meant that even the rich had the chance to be one. However, the super-rich that were already on a whole different scale usually created their own private raid parties with their massive wealth when they awakened as a Hunter, and they tended to be in an entirely different leaguepared to a normal party when it came to their members, party size, equipment, staffs, and so on. These kinds of secretive unknown raid parties were also known as the ¡®secret raid party¡¯ to people who knew of their existence, since even those that heard of them knew nothing about them. ¡®Ah¡­?Everything is going to finally make sense if that¡¯s the case¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he finally managed to make sense of the situation. ¡®I guess that must be the reason why they promised to give me a unique item.¡¯ The rich had too much money on their hands anyway, so throwing a few bucks here and there was not going to make a dent in their pockets. ¡®Well¡­?I''m?fine with anything as long as they are not rted to the TK Group,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Of course, Han-Yeol had not made any promises of joining the Horus raid party and he still nned on conducting a final interview with them before signing the contract and officially entering their ranks. He had no ns on epting the offer even if the TK Group kowtowed to him, since there was bad blood between them and the history with Sung Jin Factory too. ¡®Although, it would be best if they are affiliated with the S group,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The S Group was the most appealing conglomerate for Han-Yeol among all of thepanies in Korea, but of course, he was only going to find out their identity after meeting them. Han-Yeol was lost in his own thoughts when arge mansion finally came into view in front of him. He was shocked. ¡®T-They said it was only a small house!¡¯ He found it absurd to refer to arge mansion that resembled a medieval-age castle as a modest small house even though he already knew that the rich had a totally different sense of real estate spaces. Han-Yeol, whose assets were yet to exceed 1 trillion won, felt like he had entered a different country the moment he approached the gates. He thought in amazement, ¡®So this is the ss of the super-rich¡­¡¯ ¡°Wow, this house is so beautiful!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed with sparkling eyes. Yoo-Bi fell in love with the architectural design of the humongous mansion while Han-Yeol felt slightly intimidated by the size of it. Architecture was something that Yoo-Bi had always been interested in even before bing a Porter, and she would have chosen to study architecture at university if her family¡¯s situation had allowed her to. In fact, her love for architecture remained even while she had been hopelessly wandering around aimlessly or had already changed her career path to a Porter. Han-Yeol saw Yoo-Bi¡¯s reaction and said, ¡°That¡¯s true, it really is a beautiful mansion that can only be seen abroad or on the inte.¡± His reaction was a bit milderpared to Yoo-Bi. He might be interested in beautiful houses, but he wasn¡¯t interested enough to look them up during his free time. Vroom¡­! ck¡­! The mansion¡¯s gate opened automatically as Han-Yeol¡¯s vehicle approached it. It seemed that the people from the initial entrance had already informed them of their arrival. ¡®Hmm, but that¡¯s weird¡­?A?rich person with a mansion andnd of this size should have appeared on the inte or the news at least once,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Critics might say that Korea had low freedom of press to report on wealthy and influential people, but the new outlets made sure to pounce on juicy gossip stories, such as humongous mansion for example, like a group of hungry hyenas. Han-Yeol was up to date with any kind of rumor or news in the country, but he did not recall hearing of a person wealthy enough to possess a mansion of this scale in Gapyeong. ¡®I wonder, is he some rich man working in the media industry?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Han-Yeol thought that there was a possibility of the person being some kind of media conglomerate. However, after giving it some more thought, that did not make much sense. The person could not have possibly stopped every news article about him no matter how influential he was in the media world. However¡­ ¡®W-W-What?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was astounded by the scene that greeted him next. He could see the rows of bodyguards and attendants who were lined up near the entrance of the mansion. Han-Yeol nced at Yoo-Bi, who was still oblivious to what was going on since the mansion had already fully captivated her. ¡®T-They¡¯re all foreigners?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. On top of that, most of them seemed to be of Middle Eastern descent, and the theories lingering in Han-Yeol¡¯s mind instantly disappeared the moment he saw them. ¡®Wait a minute¡­?The two bodyguards at the entrance were Koreans, but¡­?Even though the rest of them are wearing?sunsses,?they definitely look like foreigners without a doubt. If that is the case, it seems like the owner of this ce is a foreigner, and Horus is the name of the raid party!¡¯?Han-Yeol deduced, finally thinking in the right direction. However, Han-Yeol was running out of time. ¡°Oh? Oppa, everyone here are foreigners?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. As Han-Yeol parked ording to the instruction of one of the attendants, Yoo-Bi finally noticed the people around her after she was done admiring the mansion. ¡°Y-Yeah, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either,¡± Han-Yeol said. He kept analyzing the situation even though he had no idea what was going on. He thought to himself, ¡®Horus is the name of an Egyptian god... Which means all these people are likely to be Egyptian, but why would an Egyptian raid party choose me?¡¯ It was indeed strange that an Egyptian raid party was in Korea in the first ce. As mentioned earlier, the Dimensional Gates that had appeared all over the world created a whole new meaning to ¡®Earth¡¯ that aimed to unite all countries under its banner. Most countries did agree to cooperate with one another in the end. However, this movement had gone in another direction entirely when the countries found out that they could achieve self-sufficiency through the mana stones generated from their own countries. This actually minimized trade and even contact in some extreme cases to a minimum. Because of that, it was quite difficult to run into foreigners these days, and it was also safe to say that it was even rarer to run into Hunters mixed among them. ¡®Oh, perhaps they came here for the Korea-Egypt Hunter Cooperation Forum?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Contrary to the current international trend, Korea and Egypt maintained a very good rtionship with each other. It would appear that their amicable rtionship had brought these people here. ¡®Ah! It seems that their raid party is here, but their Healers and Supporters probably decided to stay behind,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as a light bulb lit up in his head. Healers and Supporters were quite scarce all over the world, and that was the reason why they were treated with respect wherever they went. There was no reason for them to travel all the way to a foreignnd where they did not speak thenguage and were not ustomed to the food when they were practically treated like royalty back home. That was the reason why it made perfect sense that only the other sses hade to Korea this time. ¡®I see now, that has to be the case,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while being fully convinced of his theory. At the end of the day, however, all of that did not matter to him. He would be happy to join them as long as he could receive the unique item he had been promised and they helped him hunt more efficiently. Just as Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi got out of their car, a group of people approached them. ¡°Wee, my name is Mariam. We sincerely wee you, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim,¡± Mariam introduced herself. ¡°Wee,¡± the other attendants greeted. The woman in traditional Egyptian attire who introduced herself as Mariam in fluent Korean bowed, and all the attendants behind her followed suit. ¡°Ah, nice to meet you. You look like a foreigner, but how are you so fluent in Korean?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Mariam only stood upright after Han-Yeol finished speaking. ¡®She''s beautiful,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while looking at her face. Middle-Eastern women were not really Han-Yeol¡¯s type, but Mariam was a woman who even he had to admit was beautiful. ¡°I have been studying for the past three years in hopes ofing to Korea someday ever since the Korea-Egypt cooperation agreement took ce. Please forgive me if mynguage iscking in any way,¡± Mariam said. ¡°Haha¡­ You are better than most Koreans,¡± Han-Yeolplimented Mariam. Mariam was so fluent in the Koreannguage that she did not hesitate nor stutter even when speaking in long sentences. ¡°Thank you for thepliment. Please,e this way. Our master has been looking forward to meeting you, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim,¡± Mariam said. ¡®She even knows how to be?courteous?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while being impressed by Mariam once again as it seemed that Mariam had studied a lot. ¡®Phew, well, at least, it looks likenguage won¡¯t be an issue,¡¯?Han-Yeol was relieved that an Egyptian was so fluent in Korean, since he was initially worried how a Korean was going to trante in the first ce. ¡°Oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi called Han-Yeol, who was still standing in the same spot. ¡°Ah, alright,¡± Han-Yeol snapped out of his own thoughts and followed the two women. Step¡­ Step¡­ Mariam led Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi to arge living room in the mansion. [Tayarana-nim, I am here with Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim and his manager.] Mariam said in Arabic before entering the living room. She then bowed her head toward the person looking out the window. Mariam had spoken in Arabic since Egypt was an Arab country. ¡®Who¡¯s that?¡¯?Han-Yeol curiously thought before he stuck out his head to get a good look at the person who was looking out the window. Noticing that it was a woman, he then thought, ¡®At least it¡¯s better than working with a man.¡¯ Han-Yeol definitely preferred to work with a woman instead of a big brawny man since he was going to enjoy his work better that way. The woman who was looking out the window slowly turned toward them after hearing Mariam¡¯s announcement. ¡®W-W-What?!?T-This can¡¯t be!¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked when he saw the woman¡¯s face. ¡°Y-You are?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in surprise. He had briefly met the woman at the scene of the terrorism and had thought that he would never get to see her again. [Who is the goddess of Egypt, Tayarana?] [The Noble Lady of Egypt, Tayarana!] [Her followers alone make up one-third of Egypt¡¯s poption!] [The spiritual pir of the whole African continent.] Various news agencies continued releasing information about Tayarana with all sorts of eye-catching headlines, and Han-Yeol, who was curious about her, had faithfully read everything about her. He was only curious since they had already met once, and that was why he tried to learn more about her. The articles about Tayarana were only filled with praise. Perhaps it was written upon Egypt¡¯s request or the journalists were just huge fans of hers, but every single article about her was positive. Of course, some onlinemunities criticized her out of envy of the attention she was getting from the media, but those online nders failed to influence the public¡¯s opinion of her even for a bit. In fact, there were some cases of the online nderers who had been doxed after posting malicious things about her, but nobody really paid any attention to them. ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Lee Han-Yeol,¡± Han-Yeol introduced himself. ¡°My name is Han Yoo-Bi,¡± Yoo-Bi introduced herself. Then, Han-Yeol approached Tayarana to offer a handshake. Step¡­ Step¡­? The two female bodyguards beside Tayarana flinched the moment Han-Yeol approached and they immediately tried to unsheath the swords on their waists, but Mariam quickly stopped them. [Do not interfere!] A powerful telepathic wave hit the two bodyguards in the head. ¡®Euk!¡¯ ¡®Keuk!¡¯ The bodyguards had instinctively unsheathed their swords even though they had been instructed not to interfere because of their loyalty toward Tayarana. They were also in a foreignnd, so the tension within them was at the max. The bodyguards straightened their posture after recovering from the mental shock. [I apologize.] [I am sorry, Mariam-nim.] They acknowledged their mistakes, bowed their heads, and stepped back to their original positions. The entire thing had transpired in just a few seconds amongst themselves, but Han-Yeol, who had telepathic skills of his own, had overheard everything the moment Mariam used telepathy on the bodyguards. His telepathic skill had leveled up to B Rank through hismunication with the demons, Kajikar in particr, so he was able to easily intercept other telepathicmunications. ¡®These people are weird¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Nevertheless, he ignored what happened and extended his hand toward Tayarana to request for a handshake. Tayarana stared at Han-Yeol¡¯s extended hand before she extended hers and gently shook his hand. ¡®So soft¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while admiring the sensation on his hand. He was aware that Tayarana was a Hunter just like him, but her hands were so soft that it felt like he was touching a cup of pudding. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with me?!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in surprise as he quickly got rid of the strange thoughts in his mind. It was uneptable for him to have such weird thoughts of her, since she was not just another ordinary person but Tayarana, a revered international goddess as well as the Princess of Egypt. There were numerous men who would cry themselves to sleep at the thought of Han-Yeol having a one-to-one meeting with Tayarana, and they might start terrorizing him if they found out that he even shook her hand on top of his meeting. ¡°Please, have a seat,¡± Mariam said. She stepped forward and rmended Han-Yeol to have a seat after the two shook hands. ¡°Ah, okay,¡± Han-Yeol muttered in reply. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi sat on a very soft and luxurious sofa at Mariam¡¯s beckoning. Tayarana sat on the seat of honor while Mariam sat across from them. [First of all, I apologize for hiding my identity when I approached you,] Tayarana said. ¡°Tayarana-nim would like to apologize for lying about her identity and participating in the public raid party selection meeting,¡± Mariam tranted. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s all right. It does not matter whether you keep your identity private or public anyway, since you have been officially selected¡­ As long as you keep what you promised during the open selection,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He did not really care whether he was working with an Egyptian raid party or a Korean raid party. 1. The original actually says ¡®she even knows the four-character idioms?¡¯?since she used that in the previous sentence, but it does not make sense in English so it has been substituted. Chapter 85: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (2)

Chapter 85: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (2)

Disimer: The plot, characters, and opinions presented in this novel are purely fictional and do not necessarily represent the views of Wuxiaworld, our trantors or partners. Han-Yeol could be branded as a traitor in this day and age where countries had closed off their borders, but he did not really care about all that. ¡®Being patriotic is also a mental disease¡­¡¯? This was Han-Yeol¡¯s honest opinion. He believed that a Hunter was already doing everything for their country if they did not try to evade taxes and faithfully paid it. Everything else after that was up to the individual¡¯s personal beliefs, and nobody could say anything about that. Mariam tranted Han-Yeol''s words to Tayarana. [Of course, I will give you the unique item, and grant you the special member status that gives youplete freedom,] Tayarana said. ¡°Tayarana-nim said that she will give you the unique item and grant you a special member status that grants youplete freedom,¡± Mariam tranted. ¡°Haha, then the conditions are not bad for me at all. When should we sign the contract?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Go through the rest of the details with Mariam instead,] Tayarana said. ¡°You may discuss the rest of the details regarding the contract with me,¡± Mariam said. [Mariam, call me when you are done,] Tayarana said. [I understand, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam said. After leaving the rest of the work to Mariam, Tayarana got up from her sofa and left the living room. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi also stood up from their seats. It was customary in Korean culture to stand up from one¡¯s seat when an elderly person or a person of higher status got up from theirs. Tayarana might only be twenty years old, but she was still a charismatic princess who carried an air of dignity around her. People would automatically acknowledge her status. Han-Yeol knew that Tayarana was the same age as him, but he found it hard to believe. The two of them carried themselves so differently. ¡®As expected¡­?Royalty?have a different air around them,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He could not use Demon Eyes because of its distinct characteristics that made his eyes glow red, but he could tell that she was at least two levels stronger than him. He had seen her fight against the terrorists, after all. ¡®Well I¡¯m certain that Tayarana isn¡¯t a Master Rank Hunter, but she did mention that she¡¯s an S Rank Hunter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while recalling the information he knew about her. An S Rank Hunter was already in a position where they could easily obtain whatever riches and treasures they wished to have. In fact, the S Rank could be seen as the pinnacle of the Hunters since the Master Ranked Hunters could be considered an anomaly. Not to mention, Tayarana was considered the noblest person in Egypt, a country where the caste system was reenacted. She was revered by the Egyptians as a child from heaven. This made it all the more of a mystery that someone of her status would personallye all the way to Korea, and it was an even bigger mystery that she would recruit Han-Yeol to her raid party. The negotiations between Han-Yeol and Mariam regarding the contract finally began after Tayarana left the room. Horus was the correct name of the private raid party that Tayarana owned and used to enter Korea, although they did lie about their identity prior to this negotiation. ¡°We, the Horus raid party, hold Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s abilities in high regard. Of course, we do value your various healing and support skills highly, but the Horus raid party holds thebat sense and prowess you disyed when you hunted the Land Stalkers alone even higher. That is why we, the Horus raid party, have decided to not restrict you to a solely healing or supporting role, but to allow you to roam and do whatever you want in a hunt. We are also offering to let you have the freedom to do whatever you want during the time you do not have any scheduled hunts with us,¡± Mariam exined. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. Han-Yeol pretended to act cool on the surface, but he felt a bit surprised inwardly. He had thought that the Horus raid party only offered to recruit him because of his healing and supportive skills, which he had focused on showing off. However, they were valuing him on a much higher level than what he initially expected. Han-Yeol, who was a little shocked by the unexpected offer, asked, ¡°Can you tell me more?¡± ¡°This is a personal offer made by Tayarana-nim, so please consider it as a formal offer. Our Horus raid party wishes to recruit Han-Yeol Hunter-nim as the Vice Commander and Special Operator for the raid party,¡± Mariam said with a serious look. ¡®Vice Commander?!¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but feel shocked. Then, Mariam continued, ¡°And the dividend for the mana stones and monster corpses will be raised to 2.8 times. On top of that, I have exined earlier that we will not interfere with your personal activities aside from the regrly scheduled raid hunts. Furthermore, we will grant you the authority to select anyone from the raid party to bring along for your personal hunts. Please rest assured about their skills. They are all great Egyptian warriors, so they will not becking in their ability.¡± ¡°A-Are you serious? Is this really a valid offer?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in surprise. He could not believe the conditions that the Horus raid party was offering him, even though he was listening to them with his own two ears. Their offer was totally unheard of in the industry. ¡°Heh, you are surprised as expected,¡± Mariam said with a smile. Snap! Mariam snapped her fingers before a woman wearing a traditional Egyptian attire came in and handed a yellow envelope to her. Then, she handed the yellow envelope to Han-Yeol and said, ¡°This is our official contract, please have a look.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied before he opened the yellow envelope that Mariam had handed over. The yellow envelope contained three contracts, each of which were ten pages long. One contract was written in Korean, one in English, and thest one was in Arabic. English was still the universalnguage of the world despite the drastic changes the world had gone through over the years. That was because the United States was still the most powerful country in the world, even though it had lost most of its past influence and its ideals had changed to a more conservative nationalistic ideology. The United States used to police the world, expanding its influence by stationing its armies in numerous countries, but they were also the first to instantly change and take up a more conservative stance when the emergence of mana stones made oil obsolete and put an end to the oil era. They were the first to develop technology to refine mana stones and nurture outstanding Hunters to position themselves as the most powerful nation while China was struggling with its own internal affairs. Currently, the United States was even more terrifyingpared to their past self because Made in the U.S.A. was the industry standard for all Hunters¡¯ equipment that utilized mana stones. In fact, the rest of the world followed the industry standard that had been set by them. This was a testament to the superior technology of the Americans. The Americans, armed with their newfound technological superiority, progressed from policing the world to monopolizing the big markets by making sure that no trade could ur between other countries if they were not involved. The United States started to exercise even more influence around the world than ever before now that China and Russia were faltering, thus leaving the Americans unchecked. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while going over the contract. Naturally, he was only looking at the contract written in Korean. He did not speak English properly, let alone Arabic, so they did not have to prepare three different contracts. ¡®I guess I have no choice but to study English and Arabic from now on,¡¯?he thought. English was the universalnguage, so learning it was bound to be an advantage for him. As for Arabic, he had to study it since he was going to be spending time with Egyptians from now, and his pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to rely on trantors all the time. ¡°Hmm¡­ The conditions are exactly as you said they would be. By the way, when you said that I could take any Egyptian Hunter from the raid party¡­ Does that mean that I can run my own raid party with them¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked. It was a very sensitive topic, so Han-Yeol wanted to get this part right. ¡°It is as you said. Tayarana-nim is extremely busy so she cannot hunt that often, but that does not mean that you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, should be associating with other imbeciles¡­ Especially those Korean Hunters, who are untrustworthy,¡± Mariam said. ¡®Haha¡­ I hate myself for not being able to?refute that¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was a fact that even he did not trust Korean Hunters as well. He could tell at a single nce that the Hunters guarding this mansion alone were more than enough to form multiple raid parties. ¡®To think that she is able to treat Hunters like her personal attendants¡­ Is Tayarana that amazing or is it just because of their culture?¡¯? Han-Yeol could not help but wonder, since even the lowest ranking F Rank Hunters had to be paid a sry of at least a hundred million won to be hired as a personal bodyguard. Yet, the Egyptian Hunters guarding this ce seemed to be at least C Rank, based on the amount of mana they were exuding. ¡®Amazing, just simply amazing¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in admiration. Han-Yeol would not have batted an eye if they had tried to control him through force, since he was going to grow stronger anyway. However, them treating him with respect and shoving money down his pockets made him ridiculous docile. Han-Yeol began to think that he should not be satisfied with his current wealth, which was about to hit 1 trillion won, and that he should be aiming for more. Gaining a newfound ambition, he thought to himself, ¡®Instead of just bing the best hunter in Korea¡­ I should also try aiming at bing the richest man in Korea as well.¡¯ He steeled his resolve to achieve his new goal, since a man should at least try to keep their word if they said that they would do something. He felt excited at the idea of bing not only Korea¡¯s best Hunter but also the richest man when¡­ Mariam suddenly said, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot thest part of the deal.¡± Snap! Mariam once again snapped her fingers and gestured for the two attendants to bring in a heavy wooden box that looked quite luxurious. Han-Yeol¡¯s sensitive ears caught the sound of clinking whenever the box moved, and he could tell that it was the sound of metal hitting the corners of the box. He wondered, ¡®What is that?¡¯ Kwang! The wooden box let out a loud sound when the two attendants ced it on the table, and the sound alone showed how heavy it was. Han-Yeol immediately expected that the box was probably filled with all sorts of unusual items. He quickly asked, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°This is the unique item that we¡¯ve promised to give you. Giving this item to you will be a big blow to our raid party, but this proves how highly Tayarana-nim values you, Han-Yeol-nim. Also, this unique item seems to be a perfect match for Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s fight style. It might be a loss for us, the Horus raid party, to lose this item, but it is not a burden that Tayarana-nim would be affected by, so please ept our gift without worries,¡± Mariam exined in response. Gulp¡­! With a loud gulp, Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, ¡®I-It¡¯s a unique item!¡¯ He had heard several stories about the existence of unique items when he had been working as a Porter, but they were so rare that he had never seen one in person before. In fact, it was a well known fact that only four of the six Master Rank Hunters in Korea were in possession of such an item because of how rare and difficult it was to obtain one. Of course, only a few select people were really aware if only four of the six Master Hunters were really in possession of unique items or if there were more than the general public was actually aware of. ¡°Please open it. A treasure must be opened by its rightful owner before bing a true treasure,¡± Mariam said. ¡°Right,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he nervously lifted the heavy lid of the wooden box. Creak¡­ The lid opened to reveal¡­ ¡°Whoa?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. ¡°Wow! This is amazing!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed in amazement. Han-Yeol was so surprised that his mouth was left wide open. It was true that the unique item suited him perfectly. Yoo-Bi had also learned about unique items, so she was well aware that they were incredibly valuable items. However, she did not feel particrly envious nor greedy. It was an item that was out of her league, so she only felt happy for Han-Yeol. ¡°Are you really giving this to me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, please consider it as a down payment for joining our Horus raid party. Please do not feel too burdened by epting it. After all, only Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is allowed to use this unique item,¡± Mariam said. ¡°Well¡­ I guess you are right,¡± Han-Yeol said. Han-Yeol looked at the unique item that looked like a chain, which exuded a blue hue that seemed to be calling out to him. It felt as if it was calling for him to quickly use it. ¡°Incredible¡­ Where did you find this?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Mariam looked extremely proud before answering, ¡°Heh... I wish I could tell you the story from the very beginning, but I will have to summarize it since we are short on time. That treasure was found in the pharaoh¡¯s room of the thirteenth pyramid, but only a few people were proficient enough in using a chain. It only felt like a heavy burdensome tool when we got someone proficient with the whip to try and use it. We judged that it must be a rare treasure when we saw the subtle mana emitting from it.¡± ¡°Ah, that is a possibility,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He thought, ¡®As expected, Egypt is a paradise for unique items.¡¯ Egypt was one of the few countries that had been well off before the Dimensional Gates appeared. They failed to flourish despite being an oil-producing country mainly due to their political instability, enduring unending external and internal conflicts. In the end, the country was held back by its problems. It turned into a third-world country even though it was the country that was the cradle of the rich history of the ancient Egyptian civilization. However, everything changed after the Dimensional Gates appeared. ¡°There are hunting grounds in every single pyramid in Egypt. The hunting grounds that formed from Pyramid 1 to Pyramid 112 alone are quite valuable, and these are quite lucrative hunting grounds that still hold secrets and mysteries that are yet to be unraveled. That is why it will not be long until Egypt shall regain her former glory,¡± Mariam proudly dered. It was exactly as Mariam said. There were a total of 112 pyramids in Egypt, and surprisingly, a hunting ground formed in every single one of these pyramids. Chapter 86: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (3)

Chapter 86: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (3)

It was surprising because the pyramids in Egypt did not have the barrier specially made by the aliens, like the ones in other normal hunting grounds, but the monsters inhabiting it could not escape even without such a barrier. It was still a mystery why this was happening and why this was possible in the first ce. In short, Egypt was a country that had its own hunting grounds in addition to the pyramids which were also separate hunting grounds. On top of that, the purity and density of the mana stones found within the pyramids were much more valuablepared to the difficulty of the monsters possessing them, and these same monsters provided highly valuable monster parts that could be sold off for a hefty profit. Not only that, but numerous items and treasures were also said to have been found within the pyramids as well. The Egyptian government managed to quickly stabilize their internal affairs by rallying the Hunters after this incredible discovery, and they adopted a policy of secrism that alleviated the anxiety and dissatisfaction of their own people. ¡°Well, I did hear that the treasures in Egypt are incredibly famous,¡± Han-Yeol said. He was well aware of the various treasures in Egypt, since he had read about them in books. In fact, there had been so many treasures unearthed from the pyramids that there were numerous volumes of books dedicated to introducing all of them. The pyramids soon became an object of envy for other countries. China, especially, was the first to react when the news that treasures and hunting grounds had been discovered inside the pyramids. They dug up the Tomb of their Ancient Emperor in hopes of discovering simr treasures and hunting grounds, but it remained just an ordinary tomb in the end. ¡°Please try it on. It will be Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s item from now on, and I was tasked to find out what unique effect the item has and report it to the researchers,¡± Mariam said. ¡°Ah, is that so?¡± Han-Yeol said. In that case¡­ ck¡­! ck¡­!? Han-Yeol wrapped the chain around his left arm, as he usually did with the chain he used. Getting a sense of it, he thought, ¡®This chain feels great.¡¯ The chain emitted a subtle hint of mana, giving a cool and refreshing feeling when it came in contact with Han-Yeol¡¯s skin. Mana originally had a positive effect on improving a person''s mood, and that was why the subtle mana emitted from the chain improved Han-Yeol¡¯s mood. After wrapping the chain around his arm, Han-Yeol tried injecting a small amount of mana as a test. Woooong¡­! The chain had a far better reactionpared to the chain he currently used. ¡°Oh, this feels incredible. It feels light to hold, and I can also feel that it has arge amount of mana stored inside it, and¡­¡± Han-Yeol said before he stopped mid-sentence. Woooooong! The chain suddenly started to react violently. ¡°W-W-What!?¡± Han-Yeol was startled by the chain¡¯s sudden violent reaction. He tried to control the chain by injecting his own mana, attempting to counter whatever was going on. He groaned, ¡°Keuk!¡±? He desperately thought, ¡®C-Calm down, will you?!¡¯ ¡°Oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi yelled out. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± Mariam shouted. Mariam and Yoo-Bi tried to help Han-Yeol, but there was nothing that they could do to help him. They had no choice but to stand still and helplessly watch Han-Yeol writhing in pain. They needed to know what was going on for them to be of any help, but¡­ Han-Yeol spent a while struggling against the chain. Then, he could finally feel the chain¡¯s strength gradually getting weaker. ¡®Good, I just have to seal it all at once,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he concluded that a dangerous situation could ur if the chain was left to act however it wanted. He decided to inject his mana to seal the chain and force it to obey him. ¡®One¡­ Two¡­ Three!¡¯ Woooong! Han-Yeol injected an enormous amount of mana into the chain to seal it in one go. Ding! [The unique item, Enkidu, has epted its new owner.] [Enkidu is a living mana chain, and you may grant new powers to it.] [Do you wish to grant it new powers?] ¡®W-What''s going on?¡¯?Han-Yeol was confused by the message that suddenly appeared in front of him. He was caught off guard entirely. A chain was just a chain, but what was up with the name ¡®Enkidu¡¯? And what did it mean by granting it new powers? It was something that Han-Yeol could not make heads or tails of, but he was already a veteran when it came to handling this game-like system. He had already experienced all sorts of things, so he wouldn¡¯t remain taken aback for too long. ¡®From my experience, it is always beneficial in such cases to press ¡®YES¡¯ whenever the system offers you such an option.¡¯ Without hesitation, Han-Yeol pressed ¡®YES¡¯ since he thought that nothing bad was going to happen. [You have granted new power to Enkidu.] [Enkidu will randomly absorb one of your abilities.] [The Ego system, Karvis, has been absorbed by Enkidu.] ¡®Wait, what?¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked by the most recent notification. Shwaaaaaa¡­! ¡°!!¡± Surprisingly, the chain called Enkidu suddenly changed its original form and seeped itself into Han-Yeol¡¯s skin. It turned into a tattoo. ¡°O-Oppa?!¡± Yoo-Bi cried out. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, just what on earth happened just now?¡± Mariam asked. Both Mariam and Yoo-Bi could not make sense of this whole situation. It was beyondmon logic for a chain to suddenly enter a Hunter¡¯s skin and turn into a tattoo no matter how unique their ability was. It was something they had never heard or seen before. Some might argue that it was possible since it was a unique item, but Mariam had seen a lot of unique items. She had never witnessed something like this happening in any of those cases. When the two women were still baffled by what was going on, a message popped up in front of Han-Yeol. Ding! [The Ego system, Karvis, has been absorbed by Enkidu.] [Karvis is now able to check not only the user¡¯s physical condition and abilities but the status of items as well.] [A new skill has been created through Enkidu¡¯s influence: Item Appraisal.] ¡®Item Appraisal?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he immediately checked the skill¡¯s details. [Item Appraisal (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill created after the Ego system, Karvis, was absorbed by an item. This skill allows the user to not only check their status and abilities, but also the information of any object they touch. The user will be able to see more detailed information the higher this skill¡¯s level bes. ¡®Wow¡­?This is really starting to feel like a real video game,¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise. He shook his head, then thought, ¡®More importantly¡­?Just how the hell am I supposed to exin this situation to them?¡¯ Han-Yeol, who had no intention of revealing the game-like system ability he possessed, was left with the headache of exining this bizarre situation to Mariam and Yoo-Bi. ¡®Well¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just wing it and make it work somehow.¡¯ Han-Yeol shrugged his shoulders casually, since he was in a good mood and did not want to stress over the small things. Han-Yeol began by exining that the chain was called Enkidu and that it was indestructible since it harbored its own mana, but it could also siphon away the mana of the target it was binding. However, he purposely excluded any exnation rted to the game-like system that he possessed. Both of them seemed to be convinced by Han-Yeol¡¯s exnation. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were invited to have dinner with Tayarana and Mariam at the mansion after the incident, and it was only after they had dinner that they were finally able to escape from that ce. ¡°Ahh, today was so tiring¡­¡± Yoo-Bi whined as she buried herself into the passenger seat and let out a sigh. The mansion owned by the Egyptian princess, Tayarana, was a tremendous culture shock for Yoo-Bi, who had lived her entire life below the poverty line. Spending all that time in the extravagant mansion had really stressed her out. ¡°But it was fun, wasn''t it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Han-Yeol had lived in a somewhat simr environment as Yoo-Bi, but he had a different take on the matter. It was mainly because of the difference in their present circumstances; Han-Yeol was able to realistically dream of bing as rich as Tayarana after witnessing her wealth. In short, the way they saw the entire experience today had been affected by the difference between a person who had hopes of achieving the same status and someone who could not. ¡°Hmm¡­ Well¡­ That is true¡­ The mansion was incredibly beautiful and I did enjoy looking at its design, but the other things that happened were just too tiring,¡± Yoo-Bi replied with a smile. She was indeed tired and stressed from what had happened today, but she did not want to worry Han-Yeol. ¡°Really? Then, I¡¯ll drive you home today. You should get off work early and get some rest.¡± ¡°Oh, can I really do that?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to let it slide for today.¡± ¡°Wow, oppa is the bomb!¡± ¡°Haha! But isn¡¯t the word ¡®bomb¡¯ a little old-fashioned?¡± ¡°But oppa, you are an old man, right? You always make those boring dad jokes,¡± Yoo-Bi teased. ¡°When did I?!¡± Han-Yeol retorted. ¡°Every time!¡± Yoo-Bi retorted back. ¡°Ugh... I can never beat you when ites to words,¡± Han-Yeol said as he admitted defeat. ¡°Hehe, of course. A man can never beat a woman when ites to words.¡± Han-Yeol felt a lot closer with Yoo-Bi than before, since they were spending more time with each other. However, it was more of a rtionship between brother and sister than a rtionship between a man and a woman. He would have preferred if their rtionship did develop into that of a man and a woman, but he instinctively felt that¡­ ¡®Yoo-Bi probably doesn¡¯t see me as a man,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought bitterly. He believed that a man should not be so dense as to not catch how a woman saw him and end up crossing the line, and he could tell that Yoo-Bi did not see him as a man. ¡®Ha¡­ I guess I just have to ept my fate,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he sighed inwardly, epting his fate and deciding to give up on pursuing Yoo-Bi. He then thought, ¡®I don¡¯t want to lose such a capable manager just because I did something stupid like confessing my feelings.¡¯ Han-Yeol did not believe Yoo-Bi when she initially confessed to her ns to betray him. He had learned quite a bit about Yoo-Bi by watching her from the sidelines, such as how she studied hard to be the best possible manager and did not ck off on trying to awaken as a Hunter too. ¡®Yoo-Bi is a very diligent person.¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but admire Yoo-Bi. Han-Yeol knew that their rtionship would not further progress from where it was now as long as he put his feelings on hold. Their rtionship might not blossom into one between a man and a woman, but he was certain that Yoo-Bi was going to be a very dependable ally if she awakened one day. Screech! They chatted all the way until they finally reached near Yoo-Bi¡¯s house. This was the furthest Han-Yeol went whenever he dropped her off. ¡®There?is always this small distance between us,?now that I think about it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought bitterly. ¡°Wow, we already arrived? Oppa''s driving skills are the best!¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Stop ttering me and go home. Your mother must be worried sick since it''s gettingte.¡± ¡°Looks like my mom has not left work yet.¡± ¡°What? Why is your mother still working when her daughter is making so much money?¡± Han-Yeol asked while seemingly surprised. Yoo-Bi red at Han-Yeol, then she angrily puffed her cheeks and said, ¡°Hmph! This is all because you gave your father a billiard room! I had to open a cleaningpany my mom always wanted because of that! She yelled at me for forcing her to retire, because she still feels young enough to work!¡± ¡®So cute,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as his face turned red from seeing Yoo-Bi¡¯s cute outburst. Han-Yeol might have given up on his feelings for Yoo-Bi, but he could not stop himself from appreciating her beauty. He decided to be content with the fact that he could see her from so close. Yoo-Bi was the type of girl who lowered her guard and acted cute the closer you got to her, so it was worth continuing the current rtionship they had. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I''m really sorry.¡± ¡°I won''t be so forgiving next time, so watch it, and please drive home safely,¡± Yoo-Bi said before she stretched out her arm and waved in a cute manner. Han-Yeol also smiled and waved his hand to send her off. Whooosh¡­! Fall wasing to an end and the weather was starting to get chilly. Hunters were not particrly bothered by the cold weatherpared to ordinary people since the mana within their bodies regrly circted and kept them warm, but the change of seasons still affected them mentally. ¡®Phew¡­ I should go home and get some rest too,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Even though he was a Hunter, Han-Yeol was exhausted after going through so many things recently. The fatigue he felt was not the physical kind but the mental kind. He decided to call it a day, since he would probably feel much better after a good night''s sleep. *** Five days flew by. ¡°Hunter-nim, long time no see!¡± Su-In greeted Han-Yeol. ¡°Hello!¡± the Mn team members greeted. ¡°Hello, have you all been well?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Eh, of course, we are not doing well!¡± Su-In said. ¡°We were working day and night for a week editing videos, managing our website, and managing the outsourced image files thanks to a certain famous person. Do you not see how dry and haggard our faces are because of all the work we did?¡± Su-In grumbled. She then pouted andined, ¡°Hiing¡­?It¡¯s going to take quite a while to restore my skin to how it was before¡­¡± It was said that even ss would not be able to handle the noise once a woman started nagging, and Han-Yeol gained firsthand experience after being barraged withints from the entire Mn team. They all generously unloaded their stress at him. They were currently standing in front of the Hunters¡¯ Association because today was going to be their very first hunt with the Horus raid party. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. Hunter-nim,¡± Su-In called out. ¡°Yes, Ms. Su-In?¡± Han-Yeol responded. ¡°Is that lie actually true?¡± This was one of Su-In¡¯s absurd paradoxical questions: A lie that was actually true? ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°You know¡­ That lie we posted on ThinkBig¡­ They say that we are hunting with the goddess of Africa who is also the princess of Egypt, Tayarana, today. We posted it since you told us to and even attached the video from the rescue site that day, but it sounds too good to be true¡­ I mean, she could have helped out at that time because of the terrorists and all, but I don¡¯t think Hunter-nim has what it takes to be associated with a goddess like her¡­ ¡°Have you heard of that rumor? One of the Korean Master Hunters tried proposing to her, but she shot him down almost instantly. So¡­how does it make sense that she is going to be hunting with us? It doesn¡¯t make sense! It has to be a lie!¡± Su-In was having a hard time believing whether what Han-Yeol said was true or false¡­ Chapter 87: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (4)

Chapter 87: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (4)

A party had been hosted the evening after the Korea-Egypt Cooperation Forum concluded, and the party had been attended by the top-ranking Hunter in Korea alongside a Master-Rank Hunter. He was known as the Hasan Monster, but his real name was Kim Tae-San from Jeju Ind. Kim Tae-San had asked Tayarana out on a hunt together with his raid party without any romantic intentions or inclinations. He had believed that if her raid party and Tamra, which was Korea¡¯s top raid party, joined forces, then they would be an unstoppable force. Tae-San had been confident that the Egyptian Princess would immediately ept his offer. After all, a Hunter was instinctively inclined to surround themselves with the strong and they naturally preferred to work with powerfulrades. In the end, it was inevitable for Hunters to be instinctively attracted to those stronger than them. Tae-San was not a rash or arrogant person, but he was well aware that he was the strongest in Korea. Everyone in Korea already knew about that fact too, so he did not bother to try and hide it. However, the answer Tae-san had gotten from Tayarana was not what he had expected at all. In fact, Tayarana had refused his proposition right from the start. [I refuse,] Tayarana said bluntly. ¡°Tayarana-nim said that she refuses your offer,¡± Mariam said. ¡°But why?!¡± Tae-San retorted while seemingly?shocked by the rejection. Tae-San had struggled to understand. He had asked Tayarana to hunt with him since he was well aware that she had a noble status in Egypt and he had naturally thought that she would want the best Korean Hunter to apany her. Why did she refuse his offer, then? [Tayarana-nim, Tae-San Hunter-nim wishes to know the reason for your refusal,] Mariam conveyed. [I just don¡¯t want to,] Tayarana said nonchntly. ¡°She said that she just does not want to,¡± Mariam said. ¡°W-What?!¡± Tae-San eximed in disbelief. Tae-San had been furious from the exchange, the anger boiling inside of him had slowly turned into rage. If Tayarana was treated like a noble princess in Egypt, then Tae-San was considered a living god among the Hunters in Korea. He was known for using his bare fists as his choice of weapon, and his fists were so powerful that he could send most Hunters flying with a single blow. . There was nobody in Korea in their right mind that could possibly reject his offer, but Tae-San had just been tly rejected without a thought by the guest from Egypt. This exchange had caused cracks in his pride. Tremble¡­?Tremble¡­ [I¡¯ll excuse myself,] Tayarana said without a hint of emotion. ¡°I will excuse myself,¡± Mariam tranted. After Tayarana and Mariam left, the furious and humiliated Tae-San had been left all alone, shaking in anger and embarrassment. [Yawn.] Tayarana had let out a yawn as the party had been starting to bore her. Although it had been an ordinary yawn, it had been beautiful enough to mesmerize all of the men around her. [Tayarana-nim, is it really fine to just refuse the offer of the Hunter called Kim Tae-San so easily? I heard he is the strongest Hunter in Korea,] Mariam asked while seemingly worried. Mariam had interpreted every word without fail as it was her duty. However, she had concerns after Tayarana had rejected the offer too nonchntly. Mariam had expected Tayarana to reject the offer since she knew her personality very well, but she had not expected her to reject Tae-San in such a blunt and straightforward manner. Mariam had concerns, because this was not Egypt where Tayarana¡¯s noble status could be used to shield her from any criticism or retaliation. The fact that the other party was the strongest Hunter in Korea had made her even more worried too. ¡®Was it really necessary to antagonize the strongest Hunter in Korea¡­?¡¯?Mariam anxiously thought. She had no need to bat an eyelid if this was Egypt, but she had concerns as they had been invited here as guests. [Hmm¡­ It¡¯s going to be fine,] Tayarana reassured Mariam. [Yes, I understand,] Mariam replied. It was clear that Tayarana did not care at all. *** ¡°Hunter-nim! The inte is in aplete uproar after the news of your coboration with the goddess¡¯ raid team broke out. The inte is demanding us to start broadcasting this instant!¡± Su-In frantically said. The inte chat room was indeed going crazy right now. Han-Yeol had exchanged contact information with Mariam instead of Tayarana since she was still not proficient in Korean. He had also discussed the copyright issues with the video that had been taken at the rescue site, to which she had easily given him the approval to use it. Only then did he immediately release the first promotional video that he had prepared in advance as a teaser. That video alone had created a ton of interest in their joint hunt. Han-Yeol had told Mariam about the Mn film crew, and had even exined various reasons and justifications to allow them to film the hunt. This discussion had taken ce two days, when the cooperation hunt with the Horus raid party had been set. [Is that really a thing?] Mariam asked while seemingly surprised. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Han-Yeol replied. [How interesting¡­ I¡¯m interested in it, and it seems to have piqued Tayarana-nim¡¯s interest as well. She has given her permission,] Mariam said. ¡°Ah,?t-thank you very much,¡± Han-Yeol stuttered in response. After he had managed to somehow easily get their permission to broadcast the hunt live, Han-Yeol had informed the Mn film crew so that they had the time to immediately create a publicity video with the footage from the rescue site. Han-Yeol and the Mn film crew had posted the video in hopes it would create some kind of buzz to garner attention to their hunt. The video was part of their noise marketing campaign; they already expected that not a lot ofizens would believe the ims they were making in the video. In short, they had posted it in hopes of stirring up a bit of publicity, but they did not expect theizens to believe everything that was on that video. At that moment¡­ Dudududu! When the sound of propellers was heard from a distance, Han-Yeol looked up and saw two huge transport helicopters flying toward the association. ¡°N-No way, is that?!¡± Su-In yelled out. ¡°Well, it looks like it, right?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°I-It¡¯s really true¡­ The lie was actually true!¡± Su-In said excitedly. ¡°I kept telling you that I never lied!¡± Han-Yeol retorted in his defense. ¡°W-Wow,¡± Su-In said in awe. Han-Yeol shook his head, no longer trying to convince the film crew. It was because the Mn film crew was no longer paying any attention to him. Instead, their eyes were glued to the transport helicopters which were currently making theirnding. ¡®Now that I think about it, Tayarana is a goddess among women as well,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he watched Tayarana get off the transport helicopter with her attendants¡¯ guidance. Tayarana was wearing the Horus armor that she had worn when they had first met, and not the traditional Egyptian attire Han-Yeol had seen her in five days ago. Tayarana looked around for a while, searching for someone after getting off the helicopter. When she finally found Han-Yeol, she approached him before anyone else. She held out her hand and said, [Good to see you again.] ¡°Tayarana-nim said that it is good to see you again,¡± Mariam tranted for Tayarana. ¡°Ah, it is also good to see you again,¡± Han-Yeol said as he carefully held Tayarana¡¯s soft hands and shook them slowly. ¡®So soft,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Tayarana¡¯s hands were so soft that they did not seem to belong to a Hunter, which was an upation that lived a rough life of hunting monsters. Han-Yeol could not help but feel disappointed when it was time to let go of Tayarana¡¯s hand. He enjoyed the soft sensation of her hand during that brief handshake. Dudududu! The second helicopternded after the first helicopter, which was the one where Tayarana, Mariam, and the attendants had been on. The people who got off the second helicopter were Egyptian Porters, support crew, and armorers judging by the fact that they immediately started equipping themselves afternding. Each and every piece of equipment they used were high-end equipment of extremely high cost. ¡°Wow! Perhaps it is because this is the princess¡¯ party, but all of their equipment are excellent!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. ¡°Of course, the leader of this raid party is none other than Tayarana-nim, so even the slightest bit of imperfection will not be tolerated. Anything that will inconvenience her is a direct insult to Egypt, as she is Egypt and Egypt is her,¡± Mariam proudly exined. ¡°R-Right,¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. He thought, ¡®Wow, they really do act like a cult over there¡­¡¯ A third party, who had no clue who Tayarana was and was hearing their conversation for the first time, might think that the Egyptians were going overboard with how much they were worshiping her. However, anyone who knew of Tayarana¡¯s status in Egypt would probably understand that all of their actions were within the bounds of reason. As a matter of fact, Egypt had undergone numerous changes ever since the Dimensional Gates appeared, and there had been many developments in terms of the country¡¯s GDP along with a plethora of other things that could measure their growth. The country developed so quickly that most would say it was iparably richer than it had been before. However, Egypt was a country that still experienced internal strife both politically and religiously. The terrorist group that had flown all the way to Korea to cause terror was a perfect example of them hating the current Egypt for adopting secrism when they had originally been a religious state in the past, and this was one of the main reasons why the country had faced multiple terrorist attacks in recent years. In addition to that, there had been multiple politically charged attacks orchestrated by the opposition party, which were centered on religious doctrines. They continued to incite violence against the ruling party by using the growing wealth gap between the rich and the poor as their slogan. The increasing propaganda incited by the opposition parties had plunged the country into a chaos that resulted in multiple protests and terrorist attacks. In fact, the country was seeing an increase in suicide bombings carried out by ordinary citizens in recent years because of these subterfuge methods. Despite all of these obstacles, Egypt was still able to remain as the leader of Africa by establishing a society based on lineage. They also used something close to idtry where Tayarana was at the core of it all. In other words, Tayarana was no different than the very pir upholding modern Egypt. With Tayarana being the pir of the entire country, to possibly inconvenience her with the subpar equipment of her raid party members was truly an inexcusable thing that would offend the entire nation of Egypt. ¡°By the way, I still have not been informed what monster we are hunting today,¡± Han-Yeol said. He had only been told toe to the heliport near the association at this time today, but he did not hear exactly where they were going to hunt. ¡°Oh? Did we not tell you?¡± Mariam asked in response. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Today¡¯s hunt is tomemorate Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡¯s inauguration as a special member of the raid party, so we wanted to go to a hunting ground of your choice. There seems to have been some sort of mimunication in the process, and I deeply apologize for that,¡± Mariam apologized before ring at the person beside her. [I-I apologize!] an Egyptian man bowed ny degrees and apologized. [Unbelievable, you dare call yourself a follower of Tayarana-nim when you can¡¯t even take care of such a simple task?] Mariam said angrily. [I-I have no excuses,] the Egyptian man said while trembling and looking absolutely terrified at Mariam¡¯s infuriated gaze. He could not help but tremble in fear because he knew very well how Mariam could be when she was angry. Before the atmosphere was about to hit a tipping point, Han-Yeol quickly intervened. ¡°It is fine. As a matter of fact, there is a hunting ground that I have always wanted to go hunt at. I never attempted to hunt there alone as I am not strong enough. Why don¡¯t we go there?¡± ¡°Ah, that is great. We wanted to arrange Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡¯s first hunt to your preference as much as possible, and it is indeed delightful news that you already have a hunting ground in mind. I believe that our thoughts and yours are aligning from the start,¡± Mariam said while seemingly relieved. She nodded with a smile. The Egyptian man let out a sigh of relief after seeing Mariam¡¯s reaction, but¡­ [Your punishment will be decidedter,] Mariam said as she red at the man. [Y-Yes I understand,] the Egyptian man said while seemingly dejected at the thought of his suffering only getting started. ¡°Then, which hunting ground does Han-Yeol Hunter-nim have in mind?¡± Mariam asked. ¡°It is a hunting ground called Paradise Field within Bundang,¡± Han-Yeol replied with the name of the hunting ground he had been aiming for quite a while now, but had never had the opportunity to visit as a solo Hunter. ¡°Paradise Field?¡± Mariam repeated the name of the hunting ground. The Paradise Field within Bundang was one of the most important hunting grounds Han-Yeol was ultimately aiming for. ¡®I am certain the monster there possesses Angel Shards,¡±?Han-Yeol thought. Aside from being correct about that fact, Han-Yeol was trying toplete the task Astaroth had given him. It was the task to collect Angel Shards, which he had received a long time ago when she had bestowed him with Kajikar¡¯s seal. Han-Yeol was nning toplete that exact task through this opportunity. Upon receiving the quest from Astaroth, Han-Yeol had immediately gone to search for information on which monsters dropped the Angel Shards. Unfortunately, to his dismay, he had failed to find a single monster with any rtion to an item or even anything that was remotely associated with the Angel Shards. However, he had relentlessly continued searching for information, and he had one day stumbled upon a piece of information that one of the Dimensional Gates that opened within Bundang, called Paradise Field, had urred at one of thergest cathedrals in South Korea called St. John¡¯s Cathedral. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure there will be some corrtion between the two of them. I have to go and hunt there and see for myself,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡°The Paradise Field inside Bundang¡­ Understood, please give me a few minutes to find out more about the ce, and then we can mobilize with our helicopters right away,¡± Mariam said. ¡°But we won¡¯t be able to collect and retrieve the monster corpses if we go by the helicopters, right?¡± Han-Yeol asked while tilting his head. ¡°Oh, I have already sent an official request to the Hunters¡¯ Association, so their trucks will be ready at the hunting ground by the time we arrive there,¡± Mariam reassured him. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡®The rich really do spend money?on a?different scale,¡¯?he thought to himself. He decided that he could also use this coborative hunt with the Horus raid party to learn how to spend money properly like an influential person. ¡®This is going to be an interesting hunt,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought excitedly. He might have ended up joining the Horus raid partypletely unexpectedly, but he had a good feeling about the things that were toe for some reason. And knowing himself, he knew that his gut feeling was correct most of the time. *** [Is this?really a ce called ¡®Paradise Field¡¯?] Tayarana asked Mariam, her most trusted deputy. [Yes, it is correct. I checked with Han-Yeol Hunter-nim and also checked with the public official who works for the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association. This ce is indeed called the Paradise Field located within Bundang,] Mariam replied. The reason that Tayarana had asked Mariam one more time just to rify was that... Kyaaahk! Euhehehe! Kieeeeek! She distinctly remembered being told by her deputy that they were headed to a hunting ground called ¡®Paradise Field¡¯ located within Bundang. However, the scenery that appeared in front of her when she arrived at the so-called ¡®Paradise Field¡¯ did not look anything remotely resembling a paradise, but rather, the entire surroundings looked much closer to hell on earth. Chapter 88: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (5)

Chapter 88: Tayarana, Princess of Egypt (5)

Screams that seemed to condemn the weak to eternal suffering could be heard at the entrance of Paradise Field, where there were no monsters. These screams of agony seemed to point out that this hunting ground was a ce where the souls of sinners had been sent to suffer for eternity. [What a nice ce,] Tayaranamented. [Do you think so?] Mariam asked. [Yes,] Tayarana said. Of course, Tayarana did not even blink an eye after witnessing such a terrifying event. ording to the hunting ground report submitted to her by Mariam, she knew that the level of this field was not dangerous enough to threaten her. In fact, she viewed this ce as the optimal hunting ground to host a warm weing party for Han-Yeol. The Paradise Field had a difficulty level of high intermediate to low advanced, and this could be seen judging by the soldiers who were guarding its entrance. The soldiers guarding the Paradise Field¡¯s entrance were not ordinary conscripted soldiers but F Rank Hunters. They had to station Hunters instead of ordinary soldiers at this ce because of the chilling aura the hunting ground was emitting, which would prove detrimental to normal people if they were exposed to it for a long period of time. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were busily running around in preparation for the hunt, while Tayarana and Mariam were just rxing and taking their own sweet time as their attendants carried out all the necessary preparation. First on Han-Yeol¡¯s list of things to do was to hand out special bracelets to the Mn film crew. ¡°Please, wear this,¡± Han-Yeol said as he extended a bracelet to Su-In. ¡°W-What is this?¡± Su-In asked while anxiously fidgeting. The Mn film crew members were struggling to maintain their sanity because of the chilling aura being emitted from inside the Paradise Field. It was said that weak people would start hallucinating and bing hysterical from long exposure to the Paradise Field¡¯s chilling aura. It was fortunate that none of the Mn film crew members were that weak. Regardless, Han-Yeol knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before the chilling aura got to them. To safeguard them from it, he had made some necessary preparations. ¡°This is a special bracelet enchanted with a protection spell. You will not be affected by the chilling aura in the area if you wear this at all times,¡± Han-Yeol exined. ¡°Wow, are you giving this to me?¡± Su-In asked. ¡°No, I¡¯m only lending it to you,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Eh? Why not just give it to me for free¡­?¡± Su-In asked. ¡°These are not mine to give. The association lent it to me for free because of the chilling aura that the Paradise Field emits. I think you are well aware of what the aura can do to ordinary people who don¡¯t possess mana, and these bracelets were created by the Enchanters. Each of these probably costs around 1.1 billion on the market¡­? That is¡­ If they can find one¡­¡± Han-Yeol exined. ¡°Wow¡­ Really?¡± Su-In asked while seemingly surprised at the bracelet¡¯s astronomical price tag. ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Su-In looked at the bracelet, which had a beautiful blue jewel, she was wearing. She did not think that this piece of jewelry was going to be that expensive. Yes, it looked quite pretty, but it was nowhere near the same quality as the ones being sold in jewelry stores. However, this piece of jewelry had a hefty price tag that made her doubt her ears for a second. ¡°W-What would happen if it breaks?¡± Su-In asked nervously. Shudder¡­ ¡°Well, I am sure that won¡¯t happen, but if it does break¡­ Then, I will have to pay for it,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly said. ¡°Heok!¡± Su-In gasped in surprise. It went without saying that the equipment being lent out by the association for free was uninsured. In truth, there was no insurancepany in their right mind that would insure it. The Hunters and Porters would be taking the equipment to the hunting grounds, where they would hunt powerful monsters that were strong enough to destroy these equipment in one hit. That was why no insurers wanted anything to do with these items; they had no reason to be involved in business practices that were unprofitable to them. They were not phnthropists. ¡°That is why, please be careful while wearing it,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Y-Yes I will,¡± Su-In stuttered in response. It was only right for Han-Yeol to pay for the damages. The safety of his film crew was his responsibility, and the only event where the bracelets could get damaged was when they were attacked by monsters. His failure to keep them safe from any monster attacks would result in the bracelets being damaged. Thus, it was only natural that he would have to shoulder the expenses topensate the association for these kinds of events. Han-Yeol began distributing the bracelets to the remaining members of the Mn film crew first. Then, he informed Mariam to make sure that the Porters would be wearing them as well. [Okay, we are going in.] ¡®Huh?¡±?Han-Yeol looked around in confusion when Mariam¡¯s voice rang inside his head. [There is no need to panic. Let me introduce myself once again. My name is Mariam, I am a B Rank Hunter, and my ability is telepathy. I am also in charge of the overall coordination of the raid party, and I can mentally attack the monsters when required,] Mariam introduced herself again. ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ Mariam¡¯s ability was simply amazing. Han-Yeol already knew about the existence of such an ability. It was a rare ability, so it was well-known that such ability users belonged to big and famous guilds. They were also only active in raid parties that were directly operated by the guilds¡­ The fact that he was not only acquainted with someone with such a rare ability but was also going to be hunting with them made him starstruck. [From now on, I will be in charge of coordinating everyone¡¯s actions. Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, you may follow my instructions from now on,] Mariam telepathically conveyed. ¡®Yes, I got it,¡¯ Han-Yeol said. [Thank you,] Mariam said. ¡°W-What?!¡± The entire Mn film crew and Yoo-Bi were startled by Mariam using her ability to speak directly into their minds. ¡®It would have been less annoying if they had told me in advance,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. [I apologize, and also, I can hear that,] Mariam said. ¡®Haha, I was only kidding. However, please refrain from reading my thoughts when?we are?not in abat situation,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [I apologize once again. I do not usually act this way, and I made a grave mistake today. I will not overstep my boundaries ever again,] Mariam frantically apologized. Han-Yeol did not press the topic once Mariam admitted and apologized for her mistake. ¡°¡­¡±?The group continued moving in silence. Nobody felt like chatting with each other at all because of Paradise Field¡¯s eerie atmosphere and the chilling aura that filled the ce. While the group continued to walk in silence, Mariam¡¯s voice rang inside Han-Yeol¡¯s head. [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, Tayarana-nim wishes to see you,] Mariam said. ¡®Okay, I am on my way,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied in his mind. He then excused himself from the group and made his way toward the front, where Tayarana was waiting for him. Han-Yeol was positioned at the rear since he was currently ssified as a Healer and Support. Well, there was also his personal reason for wanting to be close to Yoo-Bi and the Mn film crew just in case anything happened. He also wanted to be surrounded by people who he was familiar with instead of the unfamiliar Egyptian Hunters. ¡°Ah, Hunter-nim, you have arrived,¡± Mariam greeted Han-Yeol when he reached the front. ¡°Yes, but for what reason did you call me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, the thing is¡­¡± Mariam muttered. She then asked, [Tayarana-nim, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is asking why you called for him.] [Tell him what I said earlier,] Tayarana replied. [Ah, I understand.] Mariam slightly bowed her head and looked towards Han-Yeol. Then, she proceeded to exin. ¡°Tayarana-nim wishes to convey that, as a Special Member and Vice Commander of the Horus raid party, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim should walk with her. Even though you are ssified as a Healer and Supporter. I might have mentioned this before, but I think it is only right to let you know once again that, Hunter-nim, you also have the freedom to operate in any role you wish, so you can participate in the hunt to your heart''s content.¡± ¡°Ah, is that so?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. He did not fully understand the reason why he had to join the front even after listening to Mariam¡¯s exnation. Nevertheless, he epted it, because Tayarana had told him to do so. Han-Yeol then radioed Yoo-Bi and the Mn film crew to move closer to the front, but not too close to the forefront, as there was always the risk of being attacked by monsters. That was why he told them to be at the front, albeit, at a safe distance where he could reach them at a moment¡¯s notice should anything go south. Beep! Beep! Beep! The monster detector began to beep wildly all of a sudden. [Mariam-nim, five monsters are rapidly approaching from 1.3 km ahead. We estimate that we are going to make contact in fifty seconds,] one of the porters reported urgently. [What? It was only detected after it got this close to us?] Mariam asked in shock. The conversation between Mariam and her subordinate was in Arabic, but she continued to ry the entire conversation in Korean to everybody telepathically. ¡®Mariam-nim, the monsters inside Paradise Field are?ghost-type?monsters. They are able to enter a zero-mana state and?hibernate?to avoid detection, and they only be active when they sense an enemying?within their detection range,¡¯?Han-Yeol ryed. [Understood. Everyone, prepare for battle!] Mariam ordered. Mariam¡¯s telepathic ability was simply exceptional. She had already given numerous orders with rity and precision to each and every one of the raid party members simply with her ability. She had no need to raise her voice. It was truly a very convenient ability that allowed the user tomunicate without the need for a radio. . [Prepare for battle!] the Hunters from the Horus raid party shouted in unison. At longst, it was finally the first battle of the hunt. The Hunters under the Horus raid party drew their weapons and the Porters also readied their guns as they waited for their targets to appear. [It¡¯s about time. I was starting to get bored,] Tayarana said. Shiiik¡­! Tayarana unsheathed her golden sword from her waist with a bored look on her face. There was probably nobody crazy enough to forge an entire sword out of pure gold, but the gold-made sword suited her very well. It did look quite bizarre, though. Kieeeeee! Kihihihihi! Keheheheeee! The monsters that the device had detected finally appeared in front of them. There were five evil spirits, covered in cloth from head to toe and blood dripping from every part of their body,ing at them from the front. These ghosts were not transparent or anything simr to the portrayals by the mainstream media, but rather, they possessed a physical body and used physical abilities. Each of these ghosts held a saw called a ¡®hacksaw¡¯, and these weapons were much more durable than a regr saw. [Porters, open fire!] Mariam ordered. Interestingly, it seemed that Mariam was also in charge of the Horus raid party¡¯s managerial duties. The Egyptian Porters affiliated with the Horus raid party opened fire at Mariam¡¯smand. Yoo-Bi, who had been demoted to a Porter for this raid since Mariam had taken on the role of manager, started firing at the evil spirits as well. Ratatatata! Bullets rained down upon the evil spirits, but they were not effective at all. [This is a real-time briefing. The evil spirits up ahead are called Banshees, and their special ability is called ¡®Blink¡¯. Theirbat style consists of teleporting a short distance every thirty seconds. You will have to pay special attention to your rear while fighting them,] Mariam exined. ¡®Yes!¡¯?the raid party replied in unison. Han-Yeol was already well aware of what monsters inhabited this hunting ground, so his mind was wandering somewhere else. ¡®Do these monsters really have something to do with the Angel Shards¡­?¡¯ The evil spirits resembled demons at a nce, and it was unlikely that they would have anything to do with something that was called an ¡®Angel Shard¡¯ judging by their appearances. However, Han-Yeol had scoured for information all over the ce, and this was the only ce he could find that had the potential to have what he was looking for. sh! Five Banshees simultaneously used Blink and appeared in front of the Hunters before swinging their hacksaws. Whoosh! ng! [Argh!!] [These bastards are fast!] a Hunter from the Horus raid party shouted. Thus, the sh between the evil spirits and the Egyptian hunters had begun. [Mariam, takemand,] Tayarana ordered. [Do not worry Tayarana-nim, and I pray for your safety,] Mariam replied. [Okay,] Tayarana said. Shwaaaa! Tayarana handed over themand of the entire operation to her most trusted deputy, Mariam. Then, she spread open the wings of her Horus armor. She gathered her mana andunched herself into the air. Shwooong! She flew at a ferocious speed toward the Banshees, swinging her sword and maneuvering herself around them. ng! ng! Sukeok! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?one of the Banshees cried out in agony. The single Banshee was cut deeply in the chest by Tayarana¡¯s golden sword, but that was not the end of it. Tayarana made a huge turn and dove toward the Banshees once again. The Banshees seemed to have realized by now that Tayarana was a very dangerous opponent. They started to show signs of being wary of her. ¡®I¡¯m here too,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly after feeling ignored by the evil spirits. Shwiiiiiik! Since the Banshees were so busy being wary of Tayarana, Han-Yeol did not let the window of opportunity slip by. He tied up one of the Banshees by materializing and throwing the chain that was sealed inside his tattoo. ¡°Kiek?!¡±? Then, Tayarana did not give the Banshee time to react. She immediately swooped down and cut the tied-up Banshee¡¯s neck in one fluid motion. Sukeok! The Banshee that Han-Yeol had chained up was decapitated in a single blow. ¡®As expected, the ability of an S Rank hunter is on a whole different level,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while being amazed. To Han-Yeol, Tayarana was a very powerful Hunter who was not only strong but stylish in the way she fought as well. It was not an easy feat to cleanly decapitate a monster in a single blow, no matter how defenseless the monster was. Shwaaa¡­ The Banshee¡¯s decapitated body disappeared with a puff of smoke. Thud¡­ Han-Yeol saw something drop right where the monster''s corpse had been. He wanted nothing more than to rush over and check if what the Banshee had dropped was the item that he was looking for, but he had to hold his horses as there were still four Banshees remaining. Now, the Banshees were not only wary of Tayarana but also of Han-Yeol. It might have been Tayarana who had decapitated the Banshee in a single blow, but they judged that she had been able to do that because of the male Hunter who had restricted its movement. The Banshees were possibly higher-leveled monsterspared to Han-Yeol, but his Restrain skill reinforced with his new chain proved to be quite effective against them. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± sh! One of the Banshees let out a shriek and used Blink once again after the thirty-second cooldown was up. It appeared right in front of Han-Yeol as it brandished its hacksaw. It seemed to have judged that he was an easier targetpared to Tayarana, and it nned to eliminate him first. ¡®Not so fast!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ng! Han-Yeol easily blocked the Banshee¡¯s attack as he showcased the swordsmanship skills he had learned and honed under Kajikar¡¯s tutge. He might have been using the chain as his primary weapon, but Han-Yeol was a jack of all trades who was able to use most weapons and learn all skills rted to them. ng! ng!? The Banshee tried to kill him as quickly as possible by swinging its hacksaw toward him, but Han-Yeol dodged the quick and powerful attack without much effort. ¡®Its attack pattern is quite simple,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Banshee¡¯s attack was quite fast and powerful, but it was not a threat at all to Han-Yeol, who possessed a cheat skill called Sixth Sense. The skill allowed him to see the Banshee¡¯s attack in slow motion, making it quite easy to avoid. Not only that, but there were also many other Hunters around him who covered for him. [Die!!] one of the Egyptian Hunter yelled. Shwoooosh¡­?Puuuuk! The Hunter threw a spear at the side of the Banshee that was aiming for Han-Yeol. Puuuuk! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Chapter 89: Angel Shard (1)

Chapter 89: Angel Shard (1)

The Banshee looked at the Egyptian Hunter who had thrown the spear with a confused look on its face as if to ask ¡®what are you doing?¡¯ when the spear hit its clothed body. Only when the spear tip suddenly exploded after a short dy did the Banshee stagger backward from the agonizing pain it felt. [How do you like my Time Bomb skill that causes a dyed explosion?!] the Egyptian Hunter proudly shouted and let out a burst of boisterousughter after seeing that the Banshee was in pain. The Horus raid party was actuallyposed of powerful Hunters who would not be weaker than other Hunters from established guilds, but they were just simply being overshadowed by Tayarana. It was rather difficult for the Horus raid party to be the best raid party in the world, since they prioritized hiring Hunters based on their personality and loyalty toward the government rather than their own individual skills. However, they managed to be a raid party that was on par with the best out there since Tayarana and Mariam made up the core of their raid party. Thus, it was safe to say that they were the strongest raid party in Egypt, and one of the best in their region. ¡®All of them are quite strong,¡¯??Han-Yeol thought in admiration for the Egyptian Hunters¡¯ skills. He found each and every one of them to be skilled and talented, and not inferior to him in any way. ¡®This is fun,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he started to swing his chain. Shwiiik!?Shwiiik!?Shwiiik!? [Aim twelve degrees to the left. The target is at eleven o¡¯clock,] Karvis guided. ¡®Okay!¡¯ Han-Yeol replied. How to actively use Karvis inbat had been one of the biggest dilemmas Han-Yeol had been having for the longest time, but that dilemma was now solved thanks to the chain that he had received from the Horus raid group as a gift. The unique item, Enkidu, hadbined itself with the Ego System Karvis, and thus resolved the main issue Han-Yeol initially had. Karvis was a precise, quick, knowledgeable, and incredibly smart Ego System, and she was able to actively participate in battles and assist Han-Yeol with quick decisions after fusing herself together with the chain. Not only that, but Enkido also possessed the ability to morph the tip of its chain into any shape desired by Han-Yeol as long as he injected his mana into it. It could turn itself into numerous things such as a hook for grappling, a heavy ball-shaped weight for smashing, or a sharp object for striking. ¡®I can feel the difference in mybat power. Fighting has be much easier now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Until recently, Han-Yeol had thought that it did not matter what item or equipment he used as long as the equipment was durable enough and that he was using it correctly. To him, the idea that items and equipment made a huge difference in his ability was the same as being a wallet warrior who simply spent money to level up in games. ¡®Things feelpletely different now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. If the unique item did not end up being a chain, he could have ended up selling it. After all, anything other than a sword, chain, or gun would not have been useful for him. However, the unique item he had received was a chain, which was what he needed the most, and using this unique chain made him realize just how much difference items and equipment could make in a hunt. ¡®Sigh¡­ I was quite ignorant¡­¡¯?Han-Yeolmented. Grip¡­ Han-Yeol tightened his grip on the chain and reprimanded himself, ¡®One mistake is enough for me to die, and there are no second chances!¡¯ Shwiiiik¡­! He immediately threw his chain and used Restrain, as if trying to shake off the embarrassment he felt from his foolishness. ¡°Kyaaaaaak!¡± The Banshees were powerful monsters that floated in the air and used their teleportation Blink skill to viciously attack their prey, but they were powerless against the Horus raid party. Tayarana, in particr, was flying around freely in the air and cutting down the Banshees one by one until they werepletely annihted. Wooong! Mariam ced a finger on the side of her forehead and used her ability after the five Banshees were annihted. She was using her telepathic ability to scan the surrounding area to see if there were any remaining monsters in the vicinity. ¡®As expected, telepathy is an incredible ability. You can?instantly be a B Rank Hunter if you possess that ability,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling envious of Mariam¡¯s ability. As mentioned earlier, the monsters that inhabited the Paradise Field went into a zero mana state whenever they were sleeping to avoid getting detected. They would only immediately awaken when a human ventured too near to them, which was the only time the mana detection devices would pick up their presence. In fact, even Han-Yeol¡¯s Demon Eyes could not detect the Banshees and the evil monsters while they were dormant in the zero mana state. However, Mariam was not trying to detect the monsters¡¯ mana. She was looking for the mental energy that the monsters emitted while dormant. [The area is clear. All Porters, get moving,] Mariam ordered. [Roger!] [Yes ma¡¯am!] The Horus raid party members responded in unison. *** Mariammanded the Porters with her mass telepathy ability, her voice ringing in their heads. [Ah, you do not have to do anything because the Banshees are not monsters that can be dismembered. You can sit still for now, Yoo-Bi-nim. Please, leave this one to our Egyptian Porters.] ¡®Oh, okay. I understand,¡¯?Yoo-Bi replied. [Thank you for your understanding,] Mariam said. Mariam¡¯s manner of speech was always polite to everyone, but she was no pushover. She spoke with a voice thatmanded respect. Now, Yoo-Bi was left with nothing to do. On the other hand, Han-Yeol approached the Egyptian Porters, who were busy at work collecting the loot from the Banshees. Then, a shiny object caught his eye. It was a fragment of a glittering object on the ground, but none of the Egyptian Porters paid any attention to it. ¡®What is going on?¡¯? Han-Yeol was confused. He had no idea what the object was, but a Porter was absolutely supposed to retrieve all objects that were a part of the hunt¡¯s loot. However, it seemed that nobody was even sparing a nce at the glittering object. ¡®Were?they given some sort of special instruction¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Knowing that it was highly unlikely, he tilted his head in confusion before making his way toward the object and picking it up. No one was paying any attention to him. The Egyptian Porters only spared him a nce at most before going about their duties. ¡®Huh¡­? Wait a minute¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­ They can¡¯t see this¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered while looking around his surroundings. It seemed that nobody had noticed him picking up the glittering object, and nobody was looking at the glittering object in his hand. This made him certain that whatever he was holding right now was not visible to the others. ¡®In that case,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he picked up the glittering shard on the ground and tried using the skill he recently obtained. ¡®Item Appraisal.¡¯ Ding! [Angel¡¯s Shard] Type: Material Item Description: A fragment of the soul of an angel who descended from the heavenly realms that were corrupted by evil spirits. Not a lot of people are able to craft this material. ¡®I finally found it!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced. He could not help but feel ecstatic after finally finding the item he had been aimlessly and cluelessly searching for. He might have only found three fragments, but the hunt had just begun; he knew that he was going to be able to obtain as many as he wanted from now on. ¡®Wait a second¡­ Only three fragments?came?from the five dead Banshees, and I was involved in killing only three of them¡­. Does that?mean?that these things will only drop if I¡¯m involved in the kill¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. At this point, Han-Yeol now had another reason to be more enthusiastic and actively participate in the hunt from now on. ¡®Alright! Let¡¯s have some fun!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. The Horus raid party started moving again after the Porters finally finished collecting the loot from the Banshees. They were traveling by foot instead of using a vehicle as the hunting grounds in Bundang were more crowdedpared to others, and the crowd here meant that there was a higher density of monsters and not Hunters. The higher density of monsters made hunting in this ce much more lucrative, but moving on foot with ordinary people in tow significantly slowed down the raid party¡¯s progress. [Please move faster, we still have a lot of monsters to hunt,] Mariam transmitted it to everyone. ¡®Hehe.¡¯?Han-Yeol grinned as he went over to the Mn film crew and gave them permission to start filming. ¡°Finally! At longst!¡± Su-In rejoiced. Her eyes twinkled when the permission to film was finally given. ¡°Haha! I will feel burdened if you keep looking at me like that,¡± Han-Yeol said while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. ¡°Alright! We will start filming right away!¡± Su-In eximed. ¡°Okay,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Su-In immediately ran to the film crew with all her might, even though no one was chasing her down and they were not short on time or anything. Han-Yeol could not understand why the Mn film crew was so excited when it came to filming and broadcasting, because he did not really see huge benefits from it. He was happy to earn additional profits from broadcasting, but he could earn much more easily by solo hunting anyway. Still, he could not help but admit that their passion for their job was a joy to watch nevertheless. It went without saying that people who did their best in their work were bound to be favorably looked on by others. ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi,¡± Su-In called. ¡°Yes, unni?¡± Yoo-Bi responded. ¡°We will be in your care once again today,¡± Su-In said. ¡°Oh, please don¡¯t mention it. I was actually starting to get bored when Mariam-nim told me that I don¡¯t have to do anything in today¡¯s hunt. I mean, I cannot just sit still and do nothing while being here, right? I am thinking of hosting the broadcast today, since I am not going to be on Porter duties¡­ Do we have an in-ear mic set?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Oh my! Are you willing to do that?¡± Su-In asked while seemingly surprised. ¡°Yes, I will give it a try,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°I won¡¯t say no to that! I¡¯ll take you up on your offer!¡± Su-In eximed. ¡°Hehe, you don¡¯t have to mention it, unni,¡± Yoo-Bi replied with a cute look. She smiled adorably while sticking out her tongue. This was a habit of hers whenever she felt embarrassed after being praised. Yoo-Bi might have received a lot of praise in her life thanks to her beauty and big breasts, but she was quick-witted enough to notice if the other person harbored any malice toward her or not. That made her all the more aversive toward other people¡¯s praises, and that was the reason why she could not help but feel embarrassed whenever someone sincerely praised her. ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin right away,¡± Su-In said excitedly. ¡°Yes,¡± Yoo-Bi enthusiastically replied. ¡°Let¡¯s get ready for the show!¡± Su-In shouted. ¡°OKAY!¡± the entire film crew shouted in unison. The entire Mn film crew, who were busy chatting with each other, immediately sprung into action and prepared for the broadcast as soon as Su-In gave the order. It did not take long for them to finish their preparation for the broadcast. Su-In started the countdown. ¡°Three¡­¡± ¡°Two¡­¡± ¡°One¡­¡± ¡°ACTION!¡± Tak! Their broadcast was now live. Yoo-Bi waved with a big smile as soon as the red light on the portable camera was illuminated. She said, ¡°Hello, everyone! Wee to Han-Yeol Channel! This is your main MC for the channel, Yoo-Bi! Nice to meet you!¡± Since she was not a professional MC, her diction, pronunciation, and facial expressions came across as slightly awkward. She could not help but feel more nervous and awkward than usual, because she was not streaming from a small webcam like how a regr streaming session would be done. Today, she was surrounded by professional-grade cameras as if she was a real celebrity. However, she did her best to look as cheerful and bright as possible despite feeling nervous from the pressure. [Wow! First!] [Finally, I got in!] [Phew, what a relief. I thought I was almostte.] [Hoho! Being a VIP is definitely worth the money.] [Is there a spot for Guan-Yu and Zhang-Fei?] Golem Mania TV introduced a new system after they became famous, and that was the VIP Ticketing System. This upgrade was all thanks to sessfully recruiting Han-Yeol to their tform. The other tforms had simr VIP Ticketing Systems. For example, there was the Q Ticket that allowed users to enjoy their favorite broadcasts without having to watch any advertisements in between, or the W Ticket that gave users direct ess to the major broadcasts on the tform. However, the VIP Ticket or V Ticket, in short, issued by Golem Mania TV worked differently from the other VIP Ticketing Systems. A regr viewer could watch the broadcast in real-time through the screen shown by the Mn film crew, but the viewers who had purchased the V Ticket were given the freedom to choose from ten different camera angles at any given time. This was a truly revolutionary system that had been solely created for Han-Yeol¡¯s channel. This was no exaggeration as he was probably the only Hunter who used ten different camera angles in his broadcast. The reason why Han-Yeol was the only Hunter who used multiple camera angles among the streamers on Golem Mania TV was that the tform did not have that many Hunter channels yet, and the few Hunters who did stream on their tform were small-time Hunters who participated in small hunts only. It was not that they did not employ the same multiple camera angles as Han-Yeol did for his channel because they werecking budget or anything, but they did not see the need to have the system in the first ce since they were not that famous, to begin with. ¡°Hello to all of our dear viewers! It is really good to see you again! I¡¯m sure that all of you have been getting tired of waiting for us, right?¡± Yoo-Bi asked with a hint of cheekiness. [Not at all! How can I ever get tired of waiting for Yoo-Bi?!] [Heok!?Aren¡¯t you going to show us the Egyptian goddess-nim?] [Heok!?The¡­ The drone is filming the Egyptian goddess-nim right now!] [Where? Where?!] The viewers who had purchased the V Ticket immediately went to the screen menu and clicked on screen number five, which was the scene being filmed by the drones. They zoomed in onto the image being shown on the screen and¡­ [I-I can¡¯t believe it!!] [S-She¡¯s a real goddess! It¡¯s the real Egyptian goddess!] [Oh my God!] [She¡¯s really beautiful.] [It was not a lie.] The V chat room was in an uproar. It was almost impossible to find a proper picture of Tayarana on the inte since she always wore the Horus armor during hunts or her traditional attire with a face veil during formal international events. Her country, Egypt, might have be secr now, but it did not mean that they hadpletely abandoned the religious aspect of it. That was why the traditional attire that Tayarana wore had a veil that was simr to the face scarf used by women. It was a fact that Egypt might have changed its political stance to be secr, but the majority of its people were still religiously inclined. Despite the odds, there were some rare pictures of Tayarana on the inte, and she became revered as a living goddess from just those few photos alone. The several pictures that circted the inte were already earning her the reverence of an Egyptian Goddess worldwide. But for a goddess like Tayarana, who had been hidden behind a veil this entire time, to be live on camera¡­? This was more than enough to make news of the broadcast spread like wildfire. 1. This is a pun (a bad one¡­) since Yoo-Bi is actually the Korean form of Liu-Bei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga, so the author made this pun of Guan-Yu and Zhang-Fei¡­ Ba Dum¡­ Tss! Chapter 90: Angel Shard (2)

Chapter 90: Angel Shard (2)

[Is this for real? Is that really the Egyptian Goddess?] [Are you telling me that I can see her if I buy the V-Ticket?!] [Aaaah! Should I buy it or not?!] [This is driving me crazy!] [What is money when I can actually see the goddess?! It¡¯s definitely worth it! It¡¯s a no-brainer!] The general chat room was heating up. Yoo-Bi was the only one shown on the regr viewers¡¯ main screen, but those who had purchased the V-ticket were able to enjoy various camera angles and could change their screen views at will. Not only that, but the biggest merit of purchasing the V-Ticket was also the fact that they were going to be able to see the Goddess of Egypt. Then, one of the screens began showing a scene that was definitely going to cause an upheaval in the chat room shortly. ¡°Tayarana-nim is very satisfied with your performance, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. Although there are still a lot of shorings, we believe that, with practice and hard work, you will definitely reach your fullest potential,¡± Mariam said. ¡°Hahaha! Thank you for thepliment,¡± Han-Yeol replied while letting out augh. Suddenly, Tayarana approached Han-Yeol and held out her hand without waiting for Mariam to trante for her. She said, [Let¡¯s do our best together from now on, you are the best.] Of course, Han-Yeol did not understand what Tayarana had said due to thenguage barrier. However, he understood her intentions. Shaking her hand, he replied with a smile, ¡°I look forward to working with you too.¡± Then¡­ Ding! ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol flinched at the sudden notification that popped up. [Your repeated actions have created a skill.] [A new skill has been created: Trante.] ¡®W-What?¡¯?Han-Yeol waspletely dumbfounded by the skill that had suddenly been created. He thought to himself, ¡®T-Trante?¡¯ [Trante (F)] Type: Passive Description: Ability to directlyprehend and speak variousnguages. The number ofnguages that can be interpreted will automatically increase by one each time the skill level increases. [Current Interpretable Language (1): Arabic.] ¡®N-No way,¡¯??Han-Yeol thought. The new skill he had just obtained was not an activebat skill, passivebat support skill, or a skill that allowed him to buff or support his allies. However, this simple skill that could only improve his quality of life was the skill that he needed the most in his current situation. Han-Yeol was delighted at the skill, but slightly taken aback at the same time. He could not help but wonder if it was alright for such a skill to even exist in the first ce. Gulp! Han-Yeol nervously gulped before slowly trying to speak. Arabic words suddenly started to appear in his head as he was about to speak. The skill worked in quite a straightforward manner as whatever word he thought of in Korean would suddenly pop up in his mind in Arabic, even though he had never learned thenguage. [Y-You look beautiful as always, Tayarana,] Han-Yeol said. [!] [Huh? You knew how to speak in Arabic all along?] Tayarana asked. Mariam, who stood next to Tayarana and was about to trante for her, was surprised by the fluent Arabicing out of Han-Yeol¡¯s mouth.?Tayarana was also surprised, but for a different reason entirely. If Mariam waspletely taken aback by the sudden turn of events, then Tayarana was just genuinely surprised and interested by this entire situation. [H-How are you suddenly able to speak Arabic?] Mariam asked. [T-That is because of one of my skills. It is kind of like telepathy, but it also trantesnguages. It took me a while to analyze the Arabguage¡­] Han-Yeol lied. [Oh¡­] Both of them seemed to be convinced by Han-Yeol¡¯s exnation. It was easy to convince them as long as he mentioned that it was a skill, since the appearance of superhumans called Hunters and the unpredictable nature of mana made it seem like there was nothing impossible in the world anymore. [Allow me to introduce myself to you once again. My name is Lee Han-Yeol. Nice to meet you, Tayarana.] [Hmm¡­ You don¡¯t have to address me so formally, you can just talk to me more casually. I heard that we are of the same age, am I right?] Tayarana replied. [B-But you have a much higher social status than I do,] Han-Yeol said. He was not just referring to the social hierarchy thatmonly differentiated the nobles from themon folks in Egypt. After all, he knew that Tayarana was the daughter of Egypt¡¯s president, and she was also the firstdy of Egypt after her mother had passed away when she had still been a child. Therefore, how could he speak so casually and nonchntly to a person like her? However, Tayarana shook her head in response and said, [Han-Yeol, you need to learn how to cherish yourself first. Although I was born a noble, you possess the power that can rival a noble. You are an equal being to me and I respect you as such, so I hope you can speak to me morefortably from now on.] [T-That¡­] Han-Yeol was conflicted. Meanwhile, the scene of them tightly holding each other¡¯s hands was being captured by a camera drone and broadcasted live to the viewers who had purchased the V-Ticket. [T-T-That bastard!] [H-He is holding hands with the Goddess!] [Unbelievable!] [Huh? There are other foreigners too. Look over there!] [That¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now!] [H-How can he do this?] [This is sphemy!] The scene of them holding hands was the final trigger that made the chat room explode into a flurry of messages. However, the person at the receiving end of all of their hate seemed to bepletely oblivious to what was going on. Han-Yeol was only interested in the results gained from the livestream, and he was not really interested in the production process or what was going on in the chat during the livestream. [Sigh¡­?I understand. I will speak more casually with you if you insist, Tayarana,] Han-Yeol said after letting out a sigh. [Tara,] Tayarana said in response. [Pardon me?] Han-yeol tilted his head in confusion. [Call me Tara. You are allowed to call me by my nickname from now on. You have earned the right,] Tayarana replied. ¡®Hmm¡­ This rtionship is progressing a bit too fast¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while at a loss for words. To be frank, he was feeling a bit ufortable with how things were progressing as this had only been their third in-person meeting. ¡®There is a saying that it can be considered as fate if a coincidence repeats itself three times.¡¯? Han-Yeol had such nonsensical thoughts, but he figured that it worked out for the better since it was not a bad thing to be acquainted with the princess of Egypt and expand his social circle. In the end, Han-Yeol and Tayarana, who he now called Tara, were able to be closer than before. This was all thanks to him suddenly being able tomunicate in the samenguage. They continued chatting for a while before Han-Yeol excused himself by saying that he had something to do. Then, he went back to his group. [That Hunter is both amazing and suspicious at the same time. It seems that his skills are not limited to only three like us,] Mariam said while seemingly amazed by Han-Yeol. [Do you think so as well, Mariam?] Tayarana asked in response. [Yes, I believe that is the case with him,] Mariam replied. [He would be of great help if he was toe with us to Egypt¡­ He is far too desirable¡­] Tayarana said. Tayarana did not grow up like a pretty flower inside a greenhouse just because she was the princess of Egypt. In fact, she was probably the most patriotic person in Egypt and had contributed the most in building her country to its current glory. A lot of people had mistaken her as some sort of princess in distress at times due to her beauty, but almost all of them had ended up regretting looking down at her sooner orter. [You will get your chance sooner orter, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam said. [Yes, I definitely will,] Tayarana agreed. Meanwhile, the battle of the Horus raid party was just starting. Ratatatatata! The Porters were unleashing a barrage of bullets at the Banshees, who still relentlessly used Blink to close the gap between them and the raid party. The Banshees¡¯ fighting style revolved around blinking behind their enemies and causing mayhem with their hacksaws. Their element of surprise was one of the reasons that normal raid parties found them difficult to handle, because themonly used strategy of Tanks tanking at the front while the DPS, Healers, and Support stayed safely behind the Tanks was rendered useless by their Blink ability. However, the raid party that the Banshees were up against this time was not a normal raid party, but rather, one of Egypt¡¯s most renowned raid parties. [All forces! Attack! Wipe them out!] Mariammanded. [Yes, ma¡¯am!] the raid party members shouted in unison. The Hunters of the Horus raid party wereposed of mostly All-Rounder members, and their hunting speed was not that fast. After all, they were not the ones who possessed special or outstanding skills. However, they were capable of adapting to any situation and hunting safely without putting themselves in danger. Besides, the Banshees were on a much lower levelpared to the monsters that the Horus raid party usually hunted. [Lightning Storm!] Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!? [Sand Storm!] Whooosh! The two magic-wielding Egyptian Hunters who were equipped with mana-enchanted equipment quickly showed off their AoE magic skills. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The six Banshees shrieked in agony. ¡®Now¡¯s my chance,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he dashed toward the Banshees who were momentarily in disarray after being hit by the Egyptian Hunters¡¯ AoE skills. Tak! He sessfully covered a huge distance in a split second without even using Jump by injecting mana in his lower body. Then, he activated his skill and set his sword aze. ¡®Sword Breath!¡¯? He did not simply stop at showcasing Sword Breath, but he took out his newly obtained unique chain as well, wielding both weapons at the same time. ¡®Shall we join in on the fun?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while getting riled up. He initially nned to take things easy and not show every card he had hidden up his sleeves as he could not fully trust the Horus raid party, but he soon changed his mind after seeing Tayarana¡¯s sincerity toward him. He was convinced that he was not going to be treated as a mere disposable pawn. Besides, he felt that he had nothing to lose but everything to gain under the current circumstance if he showed his full capability. Han-Yeol proceeded to mercilessly cut up a Banshee. ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯? Han-Yeol was able to move without reservation as he had already gauged how strong the Banshees were during the first hunt. Not only that, but the Horus raid party Hunters also possessed outstanding skills, which reassured him to entrust his back to them. In addition, he was now able to directlymunicate with them in case of any emergency thanks to his newly acquired Trante skill breaking down thenguage barrier that initially existed between them. Shwiiiik¡­ Puk! Puk!? The unique item Enkidu could change the shape of its head at will with the mana infused into it, so Han-Yeol morphed the end of it from a hook that was specialized in binding down enemies into a spherical mace with spikes that specialized in dealing blunt damage. ¡®This is awesome!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in delight. He had been using his chain up until now to restrain monsters and keep them in check, since it was not so efficient to use Chain Smite with it. It was possible to increase the efficiency of Chain Smite by using a chain with a blunt-shaped tip, but it was far more logical to use a hook-shaped end to restrain enemies than deal damage with it. However, the unique item Enkidu¡¯s ability made it possible for him to unleash his true potential with the chain as he was now able to interchangeably use Restrain and Chain Smite to their full potential without having to switch chains. Shwiiiik¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡®This feels great!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he listened to the Banshees¡¯ shrieks of agony. The feeling of the mace-like spiked ball striking his target whenever he swung it gave him a surge of adrenaline that made him feel ecstatic. Han-Yeol usually limited himself to being a Supporter by only using Heal and Restrain whenever he had joined a party as he had wanted to keep his abilities under wraps, but he finally lifted the restriction he had imposed on himself after finding a raid party thatpletely trusted him. However, this did not mean that hepletely abandoned his role as a Healer. The Banshees might be weaker than the monsters that the Horus raid party usually hunted, but it did not change the fact that monsters of any kind were still stronger than humans. The Banshees¡¯ Blink ability that allowed them to freely traverse across the battlefield and cut down their enemies from behind every thirty seconds also caused casualties to pile up on the Horus raid party¡¯s side. The Egyptian Hunters might be experienced veterans, but they were only human in the end. It was unavoidable for humans to make a mistake or have an error in judgment during a prolonged battle. Puuuk! ¡°Kuheok!¡± When one of the Hunters was struck in the back by the hacksaw, he fell down to the ground while sttering blood all over the ce. ¡®Healing Bullet!¡¯?Han-Yeol, who was somehow aware of the situation, shot the wounded Egyptian Hunter urately with his Healing Bullet skill. This was Han-Yeol¡¯s first time using the skill in a real battle. ¡°Huh?¡± the wounded Egyptian Hunter was surprised by how he had healed instantly. ¡®This skill is pretty useful,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in surprise as he was satisfied with the ability¡¯s effectiveness during realbat. The Egyptian Hunter who had been mercilessly hacked down by the Banshee was able to quickly retreat and avoid suffering any fatal damage thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s quick action. ¡®Phew¡­ That was a close call¡­¡¯?the Egyptian Hunter let out a sigh of relief after realizing that he had almost died just now. Then, he could not help but wonder, ¡®Just who the hell is that Hunter?¡¯? Most of the Egyptian Hunters, including the Hunter just now, had not been so fond of the news that a Korean Hunter was going to join them in their hunt. They were not discriminating against Korean Hunters because of their race or anything, but paying 2.8 times the original loot distribution to a foreigner was simply insane; even after taking into consideration the fact that they had no Healers or Supporters with them, due to the Egyptian Law forbidding them from having Healers and Supporters apany them to Korea. Not only that, but they had even gifted Han-Yeol a rare and priceless unique item on top of the already ridiculous condition, and this unique item was something that most of them had not even onceid their eyes on despite having been a part of the raid party for years. All of the Egyptian Hunters in the raid party had been talking and cursing the upstart Korean Hunter behind his back because of how crazy and absurd everything sounded. However, this particr Egyptian Hunter¡¯s life had just been saved by the same Korean Hunter who he had cursed so much. ¡®I should probably apologize to himter¡­¡¯?the Egyptian Hunter thought as he bitterly bit his lip. Mustafa was an Egyptian Warrior and Hunter who was not the petty type, and he was someone who knew that credit should be given to those that deserve it. ¡®I need to acknowledge someone?who?deserves to be acknowledged,¡¯?Mustafa thought. He observed Han-Yeol closely from the sidelines after having had his life saved by him, and he noticed that the Korean Hunter not only used healing and supporting skills but he was also a great fighter. In fact, he could dare say that the Korean Hunter was probably stronger than him, and he knew very well that he himself was not a weak Hunter by any means. Then, Mustafa shook his head andughed in disbelief. He thought, ¡®It looks like we got ourselves another monster besides the princess¡­¡¯ Chapter 91: Angel Shard (3)

Chapter 91: Angel Shard (3)

Han-Yeol turned and saw the beautiful warrior, Tayarana, showcasing her swordsmanship amongst the group of Banshees. Whoosh! Sukeok! Sukeok! Tayarana gracefully wielded her sword, cutting through the Banshees with both grace and viciousness. She relied solely on her brute strength to charge through the monsters, not using a single special skill. It was as if she found the Banshees to be enemies unworthy of her skills. There were a total of twenty Horus raid party members who had entered the Paradise Field located in Bundang, but only the shy movements of two individuals were being captured by the camera drones. When the scene being captured by the camera drones was transmitted to their screens, the viewers¡¯ reactions were simply¡­ [W-Wow¡­] [T-This is not CG right?] [Is that really the skill of a D-Rank Hunter?] [On top of that, he is a Healer and a Supporter?] [What I¡¯m seeing right now is an All-Rounder, right?] . [Not just an ordinary hunter, but an All-Rounder Hunter...] [Is that really possible?] [No way¡­] The VIP chat room was in a frenzy as usual. The viewers had the freedom to choose the camera view of their preference, which allowed them to thoroughly enjoy the battle scenes between Han-Yeol and Tayarana. It was unfortunate that they were not able to see Tayarana¡¯s face due to the helmet she was wearing, but her fluid and graceful swordsmanship was a stark contrast to the rough and unsophisticated fighting style of the Korean Hunters. This fact made her battles an even more beautiful sight to behold. [Wow¡­ This is amazing.] [As expected from the Goddess of Egypt! Her fighting skills are as beautiful as her appearance.] [Indeed, how happy would I be if I could marry a woman like her?] [Dream on! Do you really think a Goddess like her would even spare you a nce?] [If that¡¯s the case then¡­ Did that Hunter Han-Yeol guy save his country in his previous life or what?] [I¡¯m so damn jealous.] The chat room was flooded with envy toward the lucky man who had saved his country in his previous life. The inte was bound to be filled with spiteful and enviousments if an ordinary person went on a date with a celebrity in a reality TV program, but thements on the channel were on a whole different level. After all, Tayarana was not just a regr celebrity but someone regarded as one of the goddesses of the world. The spiteful and enviousments continued to flood the chatroom, but Han-Yeol continued to swing his sword and mace whilst remaining oblivious to the online activity. Puuuk! ¡°Kieeeek!¡± The Banshees were unable to withstand Han-Yeol¡¯s relentless attacks. They fell one by one like dead leaves falling off trees. Puuuk! ¡°Kiek!¡± The final Banshee fell to the ground as its head was severed by Tayarana¡¯s sword. Fwaa¡­ The final Banshee turned into a cloud of smoke as it vanished, leaving behind a spirit stone and an Angel Shard in its ce. Of course, the Angel Shard was only visible to Han-Yeol. ¡®Hohoho! Great! Excellent!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought excitedly. Han-Yeol had done his best to attack as many Banshees as possible even if he hadn¡¯t been able to kill them all, and his efforts brought about huge returns. Eleven Angel Shards had been dropped by the eleven Banshees he had attacked and killed. Han-Yeol quickly nced around to confirm that nobody was watching him, and then he used his Psychokinesis skill to collect all eleven shards. At that moment, he suddenly wondered, ¡®Hmm, I¡¯m not sure how many more I''ll need, but I hope I¡¯ll be able to collect all of them by the end of this hunt.¡¯ It was something Han-Yeol had to take seriously. After all, this specific contract was something that involved a devil. *** ¡®Hmm, Status Window,¡¯?Han-Yeol called up his stats. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 105 Points: 10 STR: 177 VIT: 164 AGI: 151 MAG: 275+71 LCK: 10 Invoke: 150 Skills: Dismember (C), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (C), Head Cutter (E)], [Walking (M) : Mana Pouch (E)] Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (A), Six-Sense (B), Restrain (A), Body Strengthening (A), Stab (A), Dagger Mastery (E), Chain Mastery (M), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (A), Fire Attribute (A), Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (A), Marksmanship (A), Martial Arts (A), Enchant (B), Sword Breathe (B), Restore (C), Healing Bullet (D), Enhance Healing (D), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (B), Power Meditation (D), Psychokinesis (D), Force Shield (C), Cat Walk (D), Mana Absorption (C), Demon Eye (D), Mana Strengthening (E), Mana Bullet (E), Enhance (E), Item Appraisal (F), Trantion (F). Han-Yeol carefully looked over his status window. His skills had be so much moreplex and diversepared to when he had first awakened, so he had to carefully study each and every one of his skills to understand and maximize their capabilities. ¡®As expected, the leveling speed has really slowed down after I reached?Level 100,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Horus raid party, which had been hunting for nearly twenty-four hours, was now taking a break at the safe zone. This was after they had hunted ten more times and had taken down nearly one hundred monsters. However, Han-Yeol had only managed to increase his level by two. This could not really be counted as gaining two whole levels, since his experience bar had been almost full and he had leveled up on the third hunt, and the second level up had required almost eighty monsters, which had been around the seventh hunt. Woooong¡­! This hunting ground¡¯s safe zone was a safe zone only by name as the evil aura that affected one¡¯s mental state persisted even within it. Ordinary people like the Mn film crew and the Porters would have descended into madness andmitted suicide a long time ago if it was not for the special earplugs and bracelet Han-Yeol had borrowed from the association. ¡®Something feels off about this hunting ground¡­ Why is it emitting such a powerful and evil presence despite being only rated as intermediate to high in difficulty?¡±?Han-Yeol wondered. It was quite rare for a hunting ground to be filled with such intense and malevolent energy even at the higher levels, and it seemed as if there was an intangible force preventing both the public and Hunters from entering it. ¡®The only reason for preventing outsiders from entering this area with such aggression must mean that there is something worth protecting here,¡¯?Han-Yeol concluded after much contemtion. He then thought, ¡®I wonder if there is a valuable treasure being guarded somewhere around here¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol¡¯s conclusion that there was a force protecting this hunting ground due to the presence of a treasure was quite usible. There had been precedents of hunting grounds hiding treasures within them being found all over the world and more were still being uncovered to this day. A prime example of these kinds of fields was found in Egypt, the home country of the Horus raid party that Han-Yeol had recently joined. Egypt heavily relied on its oil revenue and geographical advantage to boost its GDP before the Dimensional Gates appeared. However, the country rapidly rose among the ranks of countries despite still facing political and religious turmoil. It even surpassed other developed nations after the Dimensional Gates¡¯ appearance thanks to the countless unique items discovered in their hunting grounds. ¡®But hasn''t this field already been thoroughly searched?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he doubted his own conclusion. The discovery of various treasures from regions where ancient civilizations once thrived such as Egypt, Greece, Babylon, the Inca Empire, and others sparked a worldwide modern-day ¡®gold rush¡¯ to uncover hidden riches as people from all over the world were eager to dive into these once ancientnds in pursuit of valuable treasures and riches. Of course, Korea was not left behind as it also conducted various explorations within its own borders. ¡®Well¡­?They did find numerous unique items in ces like the Baekje Historic Areas?and Gyeongju,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Master Hunter Hee-Yeon, one of Korea¡¯s top Hunters, carried three des, and one of these des was known to be a unique item called Chil-Jido, which had been discovered in the Baekje Historic Areas. Unfortunately, only a small number of treasures had ultimately been discovered in Korea, and the trend eventually fizzled out. This did leave many Korean Hunters disappointed. ¡®But could there really be a possibility for such a treasure to be in here?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Most of the hunting grounds had already been searched as far as he knew, and it was unlikely that any unique items were going to be found in moremon areas such as this ce. Still, he thought, ¡®Well¡­?I¡¯ll have to search alone the next time I pass by?this ce.¡¯ Of course, it was not going to be feasible for him to conduct a search at the moment. It was not that Han-Yeol was patriotic and did not want to share the potential treasure with the Egyptian hunters. It was just that he had no justification for requesting their assistance without any information or evidence of a treasure given the potential dangers and risks involved. Han-Yeol thought it would be wise to wait until he had raised his level a bit more before going on a treasure hunt. While Han-Yeol was sitting on the rubble of a destroyed building while being lost in his thoughts, Yoo-Bi approached him and asked, ¡°What are you doing here, oppa?¡± ¡°Oh, hi Yoo-Bi,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Yoo-Bi then poured a hot cup of coffee for Han-Yeol. She said, ¡°Here, take this.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he gratefully epted the hot cup of coffee. It was a chilly autumn day, and the strange noises filling the Paradise Field made the ce feel even colder than usual. That was why Yoo-Bi had brought the hot coffee in a mana-coated thermos container to keep it warm. Slurp¡­ Han-Yeol drank the coffee and eximed, ¡°Ahh~ That feels really good.¡± Han-Yeol was no longer susceptible to hot or cold temperatures after awakening as a Hunter, since his mana helped regte his body temperature. Still, he appreciated the warm sensation of the hot coffee as it flowed down his throat and spread warmth throughout his body. ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work today,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Not at all. You worked harder than me today, Yoo-Bi. You worked as a Porter and as the MC of the broadcast,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he spared no praise for Yoo-Bi. He then chuckled. ¡°It is not a big deal, you know¡­ I mean, I had a lot of fun too, thanks to our viewers. A childhood dream of mine was to be a famous architect and a celebrity. I am just d that it came true even if it is just going to be for a little while,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a smile as she held onto the hot cup of coffee with both hands. Han-Yeol might have no problem with the weather, but Yoo-Bi was just an ordinary person who did her best to assist the hunt as one of the Porters. This hunting ground was a vicious and cold ce filled with evil spirits, so she was severely affected by the cold chilling atmosphere. In fact, most of the ordinary people who hade along to assist the Hunters had to sleep with a heater inside their tents. They had to warm themselves at night due to the cold climate of the hunting ground, and this was one of the main reasons why they did not hunt at night and instead took a break at the safe zone. The harsh cold night of the Paradise Field was difficult for ordinary people to endure. Not only that, but the viciousness of the evil aura also grew much stronger at nightpared to during daytime, and the bodies of the Porters and the film crew grew visibly sluggish even with the bracelets¡¯ protection. In fact, some of the weaker ones among the crew had started to disy signs of hallucinations because of the amplified evil aura at night. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol thought for a moment before he used his Psychokinesis skill. Whoosh¡­! Tak! Tak! Han-Yeol used his skill to gather dead wood from the surrounding area, then he stacked them on top of each other. He used his Enchant skill to set the stack of firewood aze. He did all of this because he noticed Yoo-Bi was shivering from the cold. ¡°Wow!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed in amazement. She had only seen Han-Yeol use his skills while hunting, so she was surprised to see him using them in such a practical way up close. ¡°It¡¯s nothing special. I do this all the time,¡± Han-Yeol muttered in embarrassment while awkwardly scratching his cheek. He rarely utilized his Psychokinesis skill in his daily life despite having it as he had not developed the habit of using it. However, he had been trying to practice using it as often as he could in recent days. Some might call him out for beingzy, using his ability to move objects a short distance away without moving an inch himself, but regrly using his skills was one of the fastest ways he could increase their proficiency. In the end, the termzy was not something that could be used tobel Han-Yeol, who constantly faced death during his hunts. Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi were able to have a pleasant conversation after a long time thanks to the campfire that not only warmed their bodies but also provided a cozy atmosphere. ¡°One of your viewers was really envious and asked how you could be with both the princess and me at the same time. They even jokingly said that you must have been General Lee Sun-Shin in your past life to be so lucky,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a chuckle. ¡°Oh, really?¡± Han-Yeol replied in amusement. ¡°Yes, aside from that, there were numerous absurd and funnyments as well,¡± Yoo-Bi added. There were a lot of things that Yoo-Bi wanted to share regarding the various funnyments she had received from the viewers while working as the main MC for Han-Yeol¡¯s channel. In fact, there had been a broadcast where she had failed to hold herughter in and had ended up bursting intoughter. That was because the viewers had kept posting joke after joke in the chat room. ¡°Hehe, there were so many funny people watching,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a giggle. Han-Yeol was able to keep the conversation alive and interesting. This was thanks to his entric sense of humor that came out after he had decided to not pursue his romantic feelings toward Yoo-Bi, and they were able to have a hearty andfortable rtionship because of it. As a result, their rtionship deepened even further, but it was the type where anyone who saw it would probably mistake them as close siblings instead. Thus, the night of the Horus raid party came to an end. *** The next morning, the Horus raid party started taking down their base camp within the safe zone as soon as dawn broke and the vicious evil spirits had dissipated. There was no time to mess around as they were here to hunt and not y. [Come on, people! Move it!] Mariam ordered. [Yes, ma¡¯am!] Mariam sent mental messages to every single one of the Horus raid party members through telepathy, and her tone was quite aggressive. This time, her telepathy was seemingly striking them right on the head. However, Han-Yeol and his party had been left out of this telepathic ¡®attack¡¯. Mariam was the unofficial second-inmand of the raid, but Han-Yeol was still higher in rank as the official Vice-Commander of the current Horus raid party. Also, there was no longer a need tomunicate with him telepathically as he could now speak Arabic, and it was going to be rather rude for Mariam tomunicate with him in that manner. Of course, Mariam had tomunicate with him through telepathy duringbat as every second counted in those kinds of situations, but she was smart enough to know that she had to be courteous toward someone superior in rank during nonbat situations. And in this case, Han-Yeol was ranked higher than her. 1. The term ¡®save one¡¯s country in their previous life¡¯ is a Korean saying to refer to a person who bes unbelievably lucky. It is believed that good deeds from one¡¯s previous life will build up karma for their next life. 2. Baekje Historic Areas is a cluster found in three cities, and these were the remnants left behind by the ancient kingdom of Baekje. Baekje is one of the three kingdoms of Korea. More information here: 3. General Lee is the national hero of South Korea that protected the country against hundreds of enemy fleets with only seven boats. More info here: Chapter 92: Angel Shard (4)

Chapter 92: Angel Shard (4)

[Han-Yeol-nim, is everyone ready?] Mariam asked. [Yes, we are all set to go,] Han-Yeol replied. [Wow¡­! That¡¯s quick¡­] Mariam eximed. [Haha! It¡¯s unexpectedly fast after I used some of my abilities,] Han-Yeol exined. The process of dismantling the base camp and packing everything into the truck had been quite efficient, and without much hassle, thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s Psychokinesis skill. ¡°Ugh¡­ It''s so cold.¡± ¡°You still have gunk in your eyes.¡± ¡°Kiyaak!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even get to poop properly today.¡± ¡°Eww¡­ You¡¯re nasty.¡± The Mn film crew was quite tired as they had stayed up all night chatting with each other. However, that was unavoidable. They had been feeling uneasy and had difficulty sleeping in a new and unfamiliar environment. As a result, every single one of them looked quite haggard and their hair was disheveled. They did not even manage to wash their faces before moving out. ¡°Gosh! I¡¯m so relieved we only have women in our crew.¡± ¡°Exactly, we can skip the hassle of putting on heavy makeup every day.¡± ¡°Can you imagine if there were some men among us? Although it would be nice if a few handsome ones join¡­ it would definitely add to our stress, having to keep up with our appearances.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ Just imagining it already drains me out...¡± The women in the Mn film crew were very pleased with their current working situation. The film industry was a very small one where rumors spread quite quickly, so they knew that the others in the same industry were suffering at their jobs. The top issue that most film crews faced was the fact that the raid parties or guilds they were hired by would meddle in their work quite a lot. They would bber on and on about what they thought the broadcast concept should be, nag about the speed of the editing work, or ask the film crew to increase their personal air time. There was nothing wrong with asking if they asked nicely, but most Hunters, if not all, were known to force their way to get what they wanted by ¡®threatening¡¯ people. That was why almost everyone in the film industry suffered quite a lot as they were caught between a rock and a hard ce. After all, they could not simply disregard the requests of the Hunters. Unfortunately, by not doing so, the quality of their final product would be significantly affected. ¡®These girls probably have no idea how ridiculously fortunate they are,¡¯?Su-In thought. She considered herself to be a very fortunate person because she knew very well and had experienced firsthand the horrors of the film industry. First and foremost, her employer, Han-Yeol, gave herplete control over the creative aspect of their broadcasts and had not even once interfered with her work. At times, she would even wonder if he was interested in their broadcasts at all. But of course, Su-In knew that Han-Yeol was interested in the work. He would give a thumbs-up and scratch his head in embarrassment while looking happy whenever she approached him first to give a report. Just like now. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± Unlike the normal crew members who were toozy to put on makeup, the three youngest crew members were already fully dressed as they flocked toward Han-Yeol, who was still yawning. When they started to talk about the broadcast like baby birds chirping, Han-Yeol simply looked embarrassed and scratched his head the entire time. ¡®Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is definitely not?an easy?person toprehend,¡¯?Su-In thought. Han-Yeol was like a Yaksha or an unforgiving berserker during battles, but he would suddenly turn into a friendly and docile person when dealing with other people. Su-In, who frequently filmed and saw Han-Yeol on-screen, had always found him to be a strange and peculiar person. [Alright, if everyone is ready to go, let¡¯s move out!] Mariam ordered. ¡°We are moving out soon!¡± one of the crew members announced. Mariam¡¯s instruction was conveyed?by one of the Mn film crew members, who was fluent in Arabic. The crew would often hear Mariam¡¯s telepathic messages ringing in their heads, but they were unable toprehend them as they could not understand what she was saying. When they found out that one of them was proficient in Arabic, they asked her to trante the messages for them. When the hunt resumed early in the morning, the Egyptian Hunters gathered once again. This time, Han-Yeol stood in the middle of the group of Hunters. [The monsters we are going to be hunting today are called Trappers,] Han-Yeol said, then went on to exin in fluent Arabic. Everyone was taken aback when Han-Yeol, who used to need an interpreter, suddenly started speaking Arabic fluently. However, they were all convinced when Mariam revealed that it was due to one of Han-Yeol¡¯s abilities. With their confusion over Han-Yeol¡¯s sudden proficiency resolved, it was now his words that bothered them. [Trapper?] Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at the unfamiliar monster''s name. Most of the countless hunting grounds across the globe had simr monsters inhabiting them. This was one of the reasons why it was not really necessary for Hunters to travel abroad to hunt unless a special circumstance called for it since most of the monsters were simr in rank anyway. However, the Egyptian Hunters had never encountered a hunting ground such as the Paradise Field, and that was why the potential to encounter a new unique monster was one that intrigued them. It was simr to how the Korean Hunters would react whenever they heard about the mummy-type monsters that inhabited the pyramids, which were now converted into hunting grounds in Egypt. [They are literally trappers, just as their name suggests. If the Banshee''s skill is teleportation, then the Trapper¡¯s skill is setting up traps. They do not respond to a Hunter¡¯s presence, and they are known to only wait patiently in their territories and let their preye and fall into their traps. [Not only that, but they also spend the majority of their time in hibernation, which conceals their mana from most detection skills and devices. They are quite tricky to deal with. I am going to tell you now that just because you do not see or sense anything does not mean that you can let your guard down and carelessly take a step forward,] Han-Yeol briefed the Egyptian Hunters. One of the Egyptian Hunters had a question. He eagerly raised his hand as soon as Han-Yeol finished speaking. [Yes?] [Are there any special ways to deal with the traps?] the Egyptian Hunter asked. For every problem, there was bound to be a solution. The Horus raid party was bound to end up in a very precarious and dangerous position if the Hunters were to trigger a trap by ident. [The traps they install are high-level traps, so you won¡¯t be able to detect its mana. The only way to avoid falling into the trap is to be cautious with where you step,] Han-Yeol exined. [Won¡¯t that be too dangerous then?] the Egyptian Hunter said. Under such conditions with unavoidable traps, it seemed like hunting would be nearly impossible. [Ah, I think you are misunderstanding something. I told you that the traps are undetectable, but that does not mean that they are invisible. In fact, there¡¯s nothing special about their traps¡­ It¡¯s more like a snare that just snaps your ankle into two. They also tend to be quite sloppy when setting up their traps, so you will be able to notice the ground being raised unevenly if you look close enough,] Han-Yeol rified. Han-Yeol then handed over a stack of paper to Yoo-Bi, who began distributing it among the Hunters. On each piece of paper was a picture resembling a small grave. [What is this?] the Egyptian Hunter asked. [As you can see from the picture, these are the traps set up by one of the Trappers. The Trappers have a unique ability to target Hunters using these traps. Fortunately, they are not very intelligent, and the traps they set up are quite noticeable. They are physically simr to the Banshees, but they don¡¯t have the ability to Blink, so these monsters shouldn¡¯t be a threat as long as you watch out for their traps,] Han-Yeol exined. [Hmm¡­ I see¡­] The Egyptian Hunters nodded in understanding as they carefully studied the Trappers¡¯ information that was provided to them on the A4-sized paper handed out by Yoo-Bi. [Alright then, let¡¯s move right away,] Han-Yeol said. [Roger!] the Egyptian Hunters responded. The members of the Horus raid party all got into their vehicles and drove toward the Trappers¡¯ territory. They pulled over at a safe distance from their destination and continued on foot, since the Trappers¡¯ territory was fixed and they did not tend to move around much. But of course, all of them proceeded with utmost caution as soon as they stepped inside the territory. They moved cautiously through the field and carefully dismantled every trap they came across as they slowly advanced toward their destination. They had chosen to proceed by foot instead of using their vehicles as the Trapper¡¯s snares could possibly explode when triggered by a vehicle and harm the passengers in it. Click¡­ ck! Han-Yeol had just sessfully disarmed the ankle trap. While dismantling it, he thought, ¡®This is annoying.¡¯ He could not detect the traps with his Demon Eyes since they did not possess any mana. This made it quite tedious and time-consuming for him to spot the traps as he had to look for them only using his naked eye. Booom! ¡°Arrrgh!¡± ¡°Hakim!¡± The process of disabling and dismantling a trap was a rather difficult and sensitive task. After all, there was always the risk of the trap exploding or triggering if someone who was not familiar with handling one carelessly touched it. One of these traps was capable of triggering a devastating st that could severely wound or even kill a Hunter despite it not harboring any mana within it. ¡°Tsk, I told you to be careful,¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. He quickly approached the wounded man, then extended his hand toward him to heal him with his Restore ability. [Argh¡­!] [I told you to be careful, these are sensitive explosives,] Han-Yeol grumbled in Arabic. [I-I apologize,] Hakim apologized while grimacing in pain. The Egyptian Hunters were not that fond of Han-Yeol yet, since he was a foreigner to them, but they had to reluctantly recognize his abilities in moments like this when they were injured and had to turn to him for help. Han-Yeol¡¯s healing skills, after all, could be considered to be quite potent, and that was why it was inevitable for the Egyptian Hunters to acknowledge his abilities. Han-Yeol immediately went over to Mariam after tending to Hakim¡¯s injuries. He said, [Mariam-nim, the explosion from the trap should have alerted the nearby Trappers. They are going toe rushing to this ce. We must quickly disarm the remaining traps and prepare ourselves for battle.] [Yes, I understand,] Mariam replied in agreement with Han-Yeol¡¯s suggestion. She proceeded to use her telepathic abilities to ry hermands to the entire raiding party to quickly disarm the remaining traps and ready themselves for battle. Han-Yeol then quickly approached his party and instructed them to prepare themselves for the uing conflict. The broadcast had not started yet, because Han-Yeol concluded that it was too early to start the broadcast as they had not dealt with the Trappers yet. He decided it would be better to turn on the broadcast after a test run to ensure a higher-quality broadcast. ¡®Now that I think about it¡­ I think he does care a lot about the broadcast,¡¯?Su-In thought. Han-Yeol might havee across as a bit too indifferent and slightly disinterested in the broadcast, but he showed remarkable dedication and judgment in ensuring a high-quality product whenever they started filming. He might have rarely interfered, if at all, in any matters rted to the broadcast, but his talent for creating breathtaking and captivating scenes had to be acknowledged. ¡°Alright everyone, even though we won¡¯t be broadcasting live, we¡¯re still going to be recording. Let''s all take a moment to check our equipment and make sure everything is functioning properly,¡± Su-In instructed the team. ¡°Yes, Team Leader-nim!¡± the film crew enthusiastically responded. The Mn film crew did not do things half-heartedly just because they were currently not live. Their jobs demanded them to always give their best as they received a substantial sry, but of course, most of their pay was due to the high risk and dangerous nature of their work. Well, to be fair, their sries could be considered to be a bit on the higher end of the pay scalepared to other film crews working the same risky jobs. When the film crew finished their preparation to start filming¡­ [Here theye!] [Trappers!] [Prepare for battle!] The Horus raid party could no longer afford to waste time on dismantling the traps even though there were still quite a few remaining. The Trappers were already right around the corner charging toward them. ¡°Kihihih!¡± The Trappers shrieked out a burst of eerieughter as they charged toward the Hunters, and their eerieughter echoed throughout the field. [What is this noise?] Mariam asked while seemingly taken aback. Han-Yeol, Mariam, and Tayarana were standing together at the front when they heard the Trappers¡¯ eerieughter. [It is the Trappers¡¯ughter. It does not have any special abilities and does not cause negative effects, but the sound of theirughter is unsettling enough to confuse the Hunters who are encountering them for the first time,] Han-Yeol exined. The hunting ground had an ominous aura, and as a result, people often misunderstood the Trapper¡¯sughter as possessing some kind of effect capable of causing visual or even auditory hallucinations. The Trapper¡¯sughter itself was not a threat, but it would prove to be quite effective whenbined with the ominous and sinister aura of the hunting ground. In other words, the Trappers were monsters that fully knew how to maximize their territorial advantage against the invaders. Ratatata! The Porters unleashed a barrage of bullets at the approaching Trappers. The Trappers did not look much different from the Banshees as they were also three meters tall with blood smears all over their bodies, and they also wore white creepy masks that covered their faces. Well, their overall appearance kind of made them look like walking egg ghosts in some way¡­ ¡°Kihihihi!¡± [Stay focused! Theirughter has no actual power, so do not be afraid and fight bravely!] Mariam encouraged the members of the raid party. [Yes, ma¡¯am!] the members replied in unison. The Trappers were not the only ones trying to plunge the Horus raid party into confusion and chaos as the Paradise Field itself unleashed numerous waves of psychological attacks against them. Fortunately, none of the psychological warfare they used proved to be effective. The main reason the Horus raid party members were able to remain steadfast without being affected by the mental attacks was all thanks to Mariam, who was a talented psychic and was recognized as an expert in the field of mental affairs. Mariam was holding the entire raid party together and preventing them from plunging into chaos. In short, she was skilled enough to be able to block any psychological attacks targeting the raid party members, and in return, all of them hadplete faith in her. [The goddess is with us!] [For the glory of Tayarana!] [For the glory of Egypt!] The Hunters in the Horus raid party may not be the strongest or most skilled, as mentioned earlier, but they were all warriors who had undergone intense education and training. Each and every one of them was also deeply patriotic toward Egypt. Most importantly, they held unwavering loyalty to their goddess, Tayarana, and that was why these kinds of underhanded and petty psychological tactics had no effect on them. ng! ng! ng! The Horus raid party engaged inbat with the Trappers. The Trappers attacked the Hunters with massive swords in both hands, hacking and shing away. However, they were rtively easier to deal withpared to the Banshees that had used Blink every thirty seconds to move around the battlefield. After all, it was not that the Horus raid party would lose in a battle of strength in the first ce; the Banshee¡¯s mobility was the thing that made them difficult to fight against. ng! ng! Kwachik! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± After being struck in the face by a mace, one of the Trappers was in intense pain. Han-Yeol and Tayarana did not have any room to showcase their skills this time around. Most Hunters usually found it more difficult to deal with the Trapperspared to the Banshees due to variousplex reasons, but the Horus raid party found it easier to handle the Trappers thanks to having dismantled their pesky tarps earlier on. [What¡¯s going on? Aren¡¯t they just aplete joke?] [Why are they so weak?] [Eliminate them all!] [Hiyaaaaah!] ¡°D-Damn it¡­!¡± Han-Yeol eximed after being caught off guard¡­ ¡­by how easily the Egyptian Hunters were overpowering the Trappers unlike when they had fought the Banshees. Han-Yeol needed tond at least a single strike on the monsters to be able to obtain an Angel Shard, so he quickly grabbed his sword and chain as he rushed into the battle. On the other hand, Tayarana did not take part in the battle this time around. [Tayarana-nim, are you not going to participate in the fight?] Mariam asked. [Yeah, these Trappers are too boring for me. I¡¯d rather just observe how much the boys have improved,] Tayarana replied. [Ah¡­] Mariam said. Tayarana was not someone who loved to fight all the time. She did enjoy fighting, but she also had a keen eye for judgment and was able to distinguish between when it was appropriate for her to fight and when it was not. That was why she had decided to leave Egypt ande to Korea for the future of Egypt when most Hunters had stayed put in their countries. Chapter 93: Angel Shard (5)

Chapter 93: Angel Shard (5)

Egypt was currently without a doubt the economic leader of the African continent. The ability of African countries to sustain themselves took a massive blow, and their economic state deteriorated quite quickly, when the value of underground resources dropped significantly after the Dimensional Gates had appeared. That was why the African continent was entirely dependent on Egypt right now. In short, the hope and future of the entire continent of Africa solely relied on Egypt¡¯s sess. Sukeok! ¡°Kieeeek!¡± After getting used to dealing with the Trappers, the Egyptian Hunters began to shred through them like monsters. The trapsid out by the Trappers were now nothing but mere annoying distractions, and theirughter, which they used to confuse their prey, was rendered ineffective thanks to Mariam¡¯s mental support. [Phew, that wasn¡¯t so hard?] [Yeah, it is a lot easier than dealing with the Banshees.] [That Hunter, Han-Yeol, turned out to be a much stronger Hunter than I expected.] [Yeah, I mean, I know the monsters this time around are easy to deal with, but¡­ He shoots those strange healing bullets whenever someone is in danger, immediately binds the monster if anyone is in danger, and¡­! Do you know how difficult that is? That is some crazy decision-making ability!] The Egyptian Hunters shook their heads in disbelief. They could not really tell if Han-Yeol was stronger or weakerpared to them based onbat ability alone, but they could tell that he was strangely able to use a wide variety of skills. The general knowledge was that every Hunter awakened with three abilities, but that did not seem to be the case with Han-Yeol. They could tell from their observation alone that he probably possessed at least five skills in his arsenal. Meanwhile, it seemed that the Egyptian Hunters were not the only ones who hade up with the same conclusion. [Wait a minute¡­ Don¡¯t tell me that Hunter is a multi-ability user?] [I thought of the same thing as well!] [We have so far seen him use skills while handling his chain, setting his sword on fire, and even healing his party members. However, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the end of it. If you look closely at his eyes, then you will notice them turning red from time to time, and this can only mean that he has some sort of detection-rted ability too!] [Not only that! I think he has a mobility-rted ability too! You can see him suddenly go blurry when he moves sometimes!] [A single skill could give numerous effects and that is why Hunters are known to only have three skills, but that Hunter looks like he is still hiding some of his abilities¡­ Therefore, it is reasonable to say that he probably has at least five abilities!] [Wow! Just how many skills does he have then?] [It should be just five right?] [It could be way more than that.] [Does that mean that he is the first multi-ability user?!] [He would be the first multi-ability person to be known to the public!] [Woooaaahhh!] The V-Ticket holders watching Han-Yeol¡¯s channel were in an uproar. That was because they knew what kind of an issue this was going to be if they spread the word on social media and variousmunity forums regarding Han-Yeol. In fact, there were already numerous people who had another screen readied just so they could record the livestream and edit it in real-time, and then they would write a caption on it before spreading it all over social media. Thanks to them, the V-Tickets were sold out in an instant. Even the general chat room of Han-Yeol''s broadcast was packed as people began flocking to watch the channel after hearing news of his exploits on social media. ¡°Unni!¡± one of the Mn team members shouted. ¡°I know, Hye-Jin. How is the server management going from your end?¡± Soo-In asked in response. ¡°I¡¯m working on it together with Golem Mania TV. We decided to expand the server and increase the capacity of the broadcast channels,¡± Hye-Jin replied. ¡°Okay! Everybody listen up, the most crucial part is justing up now. We have installed a special mana antenna at the entrance of the hunting ground, so we should take extra caution not to let the server get too congested with high volume traffic. The antenna is going to go down and the show will be ruined if that happens. Do you understand?!¡± ¡°Yes, team leader-nim!¡± ¡°Alright, you guys better keep that in mind. Then, it¡¯s now up to the server management team to figure things out from here,¡± Su-In said with a mischievous smile. ¡°Huh? Unnieeeee?!¡± Hye-Jin protested. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Don¡¯t get too worked up,¡± Su-In said with a grin. ¡°Okay¡­¡± The sudden surge of viewers was a good thing for the broadcaster, but the number of things to handle and take into consideration for the film crew also exponentially increased whenever the viewer count rose. Not only that, but they also had to use the special mana antenna installed at the entrance of the hunting ground to act as a ry station. It was true that the whole broadcast coulde to a stop if the special mana antenna got overloaded. The mana antenna was not yet a perfected technology, so there were many unknown factors that the Mn film crew had to prepare themselves for. The Mn film crew busily ran around trying to keep the broadcast up while Han-Yeol was fully focused on hunting down the Trappers. Whooosh! A Trapper swung its bloodstained meat cleaver at Han-Yeol. The monster¡¯s weapon had been bloody from the start, and it was not from any of the raid party members getting wounded. The meat cleaver was swung in one quick motion, but the attack was simply too slow for Han-Yeol. He managed to avoid it by taking a single step back thanks to his Sixth Sense skill. Tak! Then, he took a step forward and ced his weight on his knee before kicking off the ground andunching himself toward the Trapper that was still in the process of swinging its meat cleaver again. ¡®Head Cutter.¡¯ Shwiiiik! Head Cutter was the sword skill that Han-Yeol often used these days. Han-Yeol was already standing behind the Trapper in a blink of an eye as his skill activated almost instantaneously. Then, not even bothering to finish off the Trapper, he immediately ran toward another one and engaged it in battle. The Egyptian Hunters were going to finish the first monster off anyway, so Han-Yeol decided that it was going to be more beneficial for him to engage as many monsters as he could so that he would be able to maximize his chances of gaining Angel Shards. Han-Yeol nimbly moved around the battlefield like a cat thanks to his Catwalk skill, and he really looked like a cat from a third party¡¯s point of view. *** [Your level has risen.] ¡®Phew¡­!¡¯? The intense hunt finally came to an end after ten long days. The Horus raid party preferred to take short breaks and hunt hard for longer periods of time, unlike how the average Korean raid parties would hunt, so they were a perfect match for Han-Yeol¡¯s preference. Thanks to this high-paced hunting, he was able to gain five levels despite the atrocious experience points he had gained from the monsters. Han-Yeol proceeded to invest all of the bonus stat points he had gained into his MAG and INV stat. [Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­] [Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­?] Han-Yeol¡¯s two Shadow Demons nked him while letting out their distinctive breathing sound. Han-Yeol usually alternated between his Shadow Demons when summoning them, but the second Shadow Demon had learned a new skill called ¡®Surveince¡¯ that allowed him to have a real-time view of the target it was tasked to protect. This allowed Han-Yeol to have an urate grasp of what was happening around his father and the ability to instantly teleport over to him through the Shadow Demon if anything happened. Thanks to this, Han-Yeol was now able to confidently deploy both of the Shadow Demons into the hunt without having to worry about anything. Then¡­ Ding! [Both Shadow Demons have reached Level 100 at the same time.] [You have achieved the level requirement for the intermediate evolution of the Shadow Demons.] ¡®Achieve intermediate evolution?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered as he read the message. [You may now choose between evolving or transforming your Shadow Demons.] 1. Intermediate Shadow Demon. (Evolution) 2. Lesser Void Demon. (Transformation) 3. Lesser Void Fiend. (Transformation) A screen appeared in front of Han-Yeol as soon as the Shadow Demons reached Level 100, and the screen was simr to the one that had showed up when they had reached Level 50. ¡®I¡¯ll definitely go for the Intermediate Shadow Demon,¡¯ Han-Yeol decided while recalling Kajikar, who was an incredibly strong intermediate-level demon. Han-Yeol had high expectations that the Shadow Demons were going to disy the same prowess that Kajikar had disyed once they evolved into Intermediate Shadow Demons. Han-Yeol tapped the first option without any hesitation. But then¡­ [Both Shadow Demons have refused to evolve to the intermediate level.] ¡®W-What?¡¯?Han-Yeol was taken aback. Refuse? What did it mean that they had refused? Han-Yeol was so bbergasted by the system message that he stood dumbfounded for quite a while. He was unable to process what was going on, because he had never imagined in his wildest dreams that something like this was even possible in the first ce. Regardless, he got a grip and decided to think about what his next move was going to be. He was left with no other choice but to choose between the second and third options, because he couldn¡¯t force the Shadow Demons to evolve. After all, the Shadow Demons had already expressed their refusal to. The nature of their contract also did not allow him to force them to do something by force. ¡®Hmm¡­ If that¡¯s the case, then¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol contemted whether to pick the second or the third option. Both of Han-Yeol¡¯s Shadow Demons were lesser demons. It was going to be helpful if they could assist Han-Yeol during hunts, but the most important thing for him was for them to be able to protect his father in case of an emergency. The Shadow Demons were excellent bodyguards, because they could freely and discreetly move within the shadows. However, Han-Yeol had no idea whether the Void Demon or Void Devil was going to be more suitable for the job. Han-Yeol sat on the floor and red at the two choices, contemting just which one to pick. He had to make his choice within the hour as the raid party¡¯s break and mealtime was going to be over soon. [Hmm¡­.] Tayarana observed Han-Yeol from a distance. [What do you think he is doing while sitting over there?] Mariam asked. Mariam was standing right next to Tayarana and attending to her despite still havingmand of the entire Horus raid party and giving out orders through telepathy. Mariam was a B Rank Hunter with telepathic abilities, so there were a lot of raid parties in Egypt with hopes of recruiting her. It was quite normal for her to be bombarded with recruitment offers from other raid parties both domestic and international, and some of them were far superior to the Horus raid party. In fact, Mariam had received a phone call just a few days ago from Egypt asking her to reconsider their offer. However, her answer was always the same. ¡°I refuse.¡± Mariam was born as the daughter of a maid who worked at the Presidential pce of Egypt, and the Egyptian president himself had visited, personally given her the blessing of the pharaoh, and bestowed her the name Mariam when he had heard the news of her birth. She had been privileged to live in the presidential pce ever since she was born, and she even had the honor of serving as Tayarana¡¯sdy-in-waiting and loyalpanion. Mariam had sworn in the name of Ra that she would serve Tayarana and only Tayarana as her master for the rest of her life even if it meant she had to risk everything she had, including her life, for Tayarana¡¯s sake. She had sworn this after having heard the entire story of her upbringing from her mother. This decision was as good as Mariam staking her entire life on Tayarana, so something materialistic like money or a special item was nowhere near enough to make her break the oath she had made. [Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure, but it might have something to do with his abilities,] Tayarana deduced. [Ah¡­] Mariam said. Both Tayarana and Mariam had already given up on trying to understand Han-Yeol thoroughly. They had already long decided to just ept whatever he did every time he disyed a different set of abilities, and they also had given up on trying to analyze him. [Perhaps one day¡­he will reveal his true powers to me when Ipletely win over his heart,] Tayarana said. [I am sure that he will, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam said. [Let¡¯s go,] Tayarana said. [Yes,] Mariam said. Tayarana and Mariam then returned to the Horus raid party and ordered them to take a break. ¡°Ugh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol groaned in frustration as it had been almost twenty minutes since he first started staring at the second and third options. Scratching his head in frustration, he grumbled inwardly, ¡®Argh!?This damn indecisiveness of mine!¡¯ It was difficult to say that Han-Yeol was being indecisive, because this was more of a case of having to make a choice without much information on which one would give him the result he wanted. ¡®I saw on the TV that I should be prepared to suffer some?losses?as a consequence of my choices, but I can¡¯t simply take that risk?when my father''s?safety is at stake¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol covered his head in frustration and started to rack his brains. However, he soon raised his finger and tapped on a selection. ¡®Screw this! A man should be resolute when making choices!¡¯ Ding! [You have selected Void Devil.] [The Shadow Devil has transformed into a Void Devil.] [The Void Devil¡¯s level has been reset.] [The Void Devil¡¯s skills have been reset.] [The Void Devil has learned new skills.] ¡®Oh? Demon Status,¡¯?Han-Yeol scanned the newly summoned demon. [Void Devil Lvl. 2] Rank: Low Experience: 10/222 Skills: Void Wave, Void Strike, Void Shift [Void Devil Lvl. 1] Rank: Low Experience: 1/111 Skills: Void Storm, Void Mind, Void Space ¡®T-This is awesome!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought excitedly. It was a shame that the level of the demons that Han-Yeol painstakingly raised by sharing his own experience points from hunting had been reset back to Level 1. This was especially true when the demons that should have been upgraded to the intermediate level were back down to being lesser demons. However, the Void Devils possessed quite a powerful set of skills that Han-Yeol was able to ignore all of the losses he suffered. The number of skills that the demons possessed decreased to three, but each of the demons had their own unique skill sets. The skills also looked even more powerful than their previous skill sets. ¡®Does Void Space mean that they can move directly to where father is at?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered. It was a shame that only one of the two Void Devils possessed a teleportation skill, but it was still better than nothing. One drastic change from the Shadow Demons transforming into Void Devils, however, was their appearances. Chapter 94: A Date with the Goddess (1)

Chapter 94: A Date with the Goddess (1)

The Shadow Demons underwent a dramatic transformation after evolving into Void Devils. Fortunately, their appearances changed for the better. Not to say that their grotesque and terrifying appearance as demons had suddenly changed, but they lookedpletely different from their previous slightly transparent form. They used to be rooted to the ground as they came out from the shadows, but theirtest evolution now had them floating off of the ground. Their body color had also changed from jet-ck to indigo, and their semi-transparent body had be more materialized and defined now. They possessed a body that looked simr to that of a dinosaur, with an armor-like bone growing from their head, razor-sharp talons, and bodies emitting light from all over. It was truly a strange form. ¡®Oh, are they finally going to look cool?¡¯? Han-Yeol was excited at the idea of his demons starting to be more presentable. He did not really have much dissatisfaction with his Shadow Demons, but he did have a problem with how they looked. However, the Void Fiends, on the other hand, had more thanpensated for those shorings as they now emanated a far more fearsome and formidable presence. On top of that¡­ ¡®Their abilities are quite interesting¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he checked the Void Demons¡¯ skills. [Void Devil Lvl. 2] Rank: Low Experience: 10/222 Innate Ability: Invisibility Skills: Void Wave, Void Strike, Void Shift [Void Devil Lvl. 1] Rank: Low Experience: 1/111 Innate Ability: Invisibility Skills: Void Storm, Void Mind, Void Space The skills looked quite powerful, but Han-Yeol would have to test them in an actualbat situation to verify their effectiveness. However, he could sense their incredible power just by reading the names of the skills alone. ¡®Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know how powerful the Intermediate Shadow Demon is, but the Void Fiends don¡¯t seem that bad. Not to mention, its unique set of skills is quite impressive as well. I guess a ranking exists even among lower-rank demons,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. They were not going to remain as low demons forever and would someday evolve into higher-ranking ones, and Han-Yeol could tell that they were already much stronger than their previous form as Shadow Demons. Han-Yeol was quite satisfied with the Void Demons. ¡®Alright, shall we test them out?¡¯?he thought just before someone interrupted him. [Han-Yeol, who are those two creatures?] The voice belonged to someone who Han-Yeol was now all too familiar with, Tayarana. [Oh, these are the creatures that I¡¯ve summoned. I also have the ability to summon demons,] Han-Yeol exined. [R-Really?!] [Yeah.] Initially, it was quite awkward for Han-Yeol to speak to Tayarana so casually, but he slowly got used to it after a while. After all, she did give him permission to be on equal terms as her. In return, Han-Yeol decided to show her eighty percent of his abilities. Han-Yeol had hidden his abilities all this while since he had been alone and needed to protect himself, but he was no longer alone with the Horus raid party of the Egyptian Goddess now protecting him. However, he still kept a fifth of his ability hidden since it was difficult to trust anyone from the get-go. Anyway, the protection offered by the Horus raid party gave him enough confidence to disy his abilities even though the cameras and the microphones were rolling. However, Han-Yeol had no idea that the words he had nonchntly said were going to cause huge ripples. [W-Wait a minute, am I hearing things correctly?] [W-What nonsense is he saying? What does he mean by summoning skill?] [You need to be at least a B Rank Hunter to have a summoning skill, and on top of that, it¡¯s a demon summoning skill, which is a high-ranking skill!] [Just who in the world is that Hunter?] [How many skills does he possess?] [He¡¯s overpowered. A truly overpowered person has appeared!] [A huge change is about to take ce in the Hunter Ecosystem¡­] ¡®This isn¡¯t going to be a huge issue, right¡­?¡¯?thought the Mn team. They were a bit nervous after seeing the flurry of messages on the chat. The Mn team already knew that their employer was an exceptional Hunter, but they slowly started to realize the longer they stayed around him that he was someone who could potentially stir up a storm in the world. ¡®Well, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is my employer, and he is the one paying me. I shouldn¡¯t care what other people say.¡¯ To alleviate their concerns, they ended up focusing on the money that Han-Yeol was paying them. In fact, the Mn team was not the only ones with such thoughts. ¡®I was correct. Oppa doesn¡¯t only possess three skills.¡¯?Yoo-Bi confirmed her suspicions through this opportunity. She already had her suspicions since the first time she went hunting with him, but seeing the viewers analyze Han-Yeol¡¯s skills gave her further confidence that her suspicions were indeed correct. ¡®I knew I made the right choice to stick with oppa! I should be able tond a main host position for a respectable Hunter¡¯s broadcast channel in the event that I can¡¯t stay with oppa anymore.¡¯? Yoo-Bi could feel her market value as a Porter and Manager significantly go up thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s revtion. She had already made ns to shift her career trajectory toward the broadcasting industry if she failed to awaken as a Hunter. A celebrity did not make as much money as a Hunter, but at least there was no risk of dying in the line of work. Of course, what she wanted the most was to hunt with Han-Yeol for as long as she could and awaken as a Hunter. Then, she was going to be able to proudly stand beside him and fight alongside him from then on. However, she knew very well that life did not always go ording to what you wanted. She was making contingency ns just in case her first choice did not work out. And while Yoo-Bi was lost in her own thoughts... [Amazing¡­ It is truly amazing that you possess that rare summoning ability. I would never have dreamt that you would have that ability!] Tayarana eximed in amazement. She could not help but be in awe of Han-Yeol¡¯s ability, which was rare not only among the Horus raid party but in the entirety of Egypt as well. Summoning skills were not as valuable as support skills or healing skills, but a Summoner possessing high-ranking summoning skills had the potential to be really powerful. Not to mention, most Summoners tended to possess other unique skills on top of their summoning skills, so they were automatically considered to be B Rank Hunters. Of course, the reality was that there were some who managed to be ranked as B Rank Hunters but failed to pull their weight. These people were the ones who only got their ranking because of their skills. [Then, can we increase our hunting speed?] [Of course, I¡¯m itching to go all out from now on.] [Alright,] Tayarana replied with a nod before walking toward Mariam and giving her some instructions. After Mariam gave them amand, the Egyptian Hunters simultaneously red at Han-Yeol. Stomp! Stomp!? The Egyptian Hunters angrily stomped away while ring at him. ¡®W-What¡¯s wrong with them?¡¯?Han-Yeol scratched his head in confusion. He did not hear what Tayarana and Mariam had told them as he was too preupied with his Void Demons. The Horus raid party¡¯s hunting speed dramatically increased after Tayarana¡¯s discussion with Han-Yeol. Whoooosh! [Ack!?Tayarana-nim is on the move again!] [Kuheok!] [T-This is hell!] ¡®What¡¯s wrong with them, seriously¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered why the Egyptian Hunters were overreacting as he could not be more satisfied with the current situation. The Horus raid party did not venture far from their camp as they hunted down the Paradise Field monsters. [I-Is it really possible for someone to hunt like this?!] [M-Monsters! They are monsters!] [Wow¡­ I think they will be on the news tomorrow¡­] [Oh, it¡¯s already 11:30 pm?] [Damn it! I have to sleep!] [Keke! Poor little boy! I, on the other hand, have been jobless for two years so I have all the time in this world! Mwahaha!] [Is that something to be proud of? Dumbass¡­] [??] Themon strategy in this hunting ground was to hunt the Trappers, Banshees, and Phantoms, which was the final monster here, one by one without venturing far from the ¡®golden zone¡¯, the area where it was most convenient to hunt them. This meant that there were already predetermined spots used by famous guilds to hunt in the Paradise Field. However, the Horus raid party was able to hunt these monsters simultaneously without having to venture far from their camp in pursuit of these ¡®golden zones¡¯ thanks to Tayarana. [The princess has used herself as bait!] [This can¡¯t be!] The one revered as a noble figure not only in Egypt but in all of Africa with multiple titles, such as the leader of the Horus raid party, Princess of Egypt, Goddess of Africa, and so on, was using her flight skill to lure the monsters toward the raid party. Mariam had initially opposed the n, but she knew all too well how stubborn Tayarana could be. In the end, she had no choice but to agree and do her best in leading the Hunters. ¡°Kiek! Kiek! Kiek!¡± [It¡¯s the Phantoms this time.] ¡®Excellent,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he materialized his chain to have a mace attached at the end. He spun it around to warm up his wrist. He was ready to hunt much more proactively than anyone else in the Horus raid party. He could simply hunt in a rxed manner as he was a special member, but he wanted to live up to his title as the Vice Leader for this raid. Not only that, but he also wanted to thoroughly enjoy the rush of excitement he got from being able to fight side-by-side withrades. After all, this was a thrill he rarely got to experience. ¡®I might put a limit to how many abilities I show, but I never said I¡¯m going to hold back! Let¡¯s have some fun!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he finished warming up. ¡°Kiek! Kiek! Kiek!¡± Thest monster of the Paradise Field, excluding the boss monster, was the Phantom. The Phantom used its one-meter-long nails as its primary weapon, and it was much stronger than a Banshee or a Trapper. Not only that, but its innate ability was also ¡®Self Division¡¯ which allowed it to split into two Phantoms after being killed. The fact that it could divide into two after being killed made the Phantom quite difficult to deal with. It was already strong to begin with, so the Hunters technically had to kill it three times due to its innate ability. ¡®I choose you!¡¯ As expected, Han-Yeol made the first move before anyone else could. Shwiiik! He threw his chain, the mace ripping through the air and urately striking a Phantom in the face. Puk! ¡°Kieeek!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s attacks no longer dealt physical damage as every single one of his chain attacks carried powerful mana behind them. Whoosh! Whoosh!? ¡°Kiek! Kiek! Kiek!¡± The Phantoms identified Han-Yeol as a threat and surrounded him. However, he looked quite rxed and was even smiling despite his current predicament. ¡®This might have been dangerous if I was hunting alone, but¡­¡¯?he thought with a confident smile. [Assist the Vice Leader-nim.] [Waaaah!] The Horus Hunters joined the fray after arriving a step behind Han-Yeol. They could not immediately reach Han-Yeol as there were twelve Phantoms surrounding him, but he was skilled enough to hold the monsters off until the Horus Hunters made their way toward him. ¡®I can¡¯t let such a fun hunt simply end like this! Chain Smite!¡¯?Han-Yeol activated one of his favorite attack skills. Wooong¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kiek!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s mace struck another Phantom in the face and sent it flying back. His attack was not powerful enough to kill the monster in one hit, but it was more than enough to push it back. Still, his attack just now could be considered quite strong when considering the fact that he had used his left hand just now. ¡®I wish I could obtain more skills I can use with my chain¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol greedily thought. He already possessed numerous cheat skills, but he still wanted more whenever he noticed somethingcking in him. Well, he was human, after all, and a human¡¯s greed was never going to be satisfied. He wished for a chain skill that would allow him to fight more efficiently in one versus many situations. This was because he felt that his chain was far more effective in such situationspared to the sword. ¡®I?can use my chain from a safe distance and use my sword?on?those that?get close to?me.¡¯? Han-Yeol knew that he was going to waste a lot of stamina jumping around just to get close to his enemies and cut them down with his sword. He was also aware that ¡®Walking¡¯ was going to replenish his mana whenever he walked, but he knew from experience that the skill did not work when he was running. Just as Han-Yeol was lost in his thoughts and showed an opening, a Phantom charged at him with its razor-sharp ws. ng! Han-Yeol easily blocked the monster¡¯s ws with his sword. However, the monster had two hands, which basically meant it had two weapons, so it simply used its other hand to attack him. This was a dangerous situation! At least that was what others might be thinking, but¡­ ¡®Void Demon!¡¯?Han-Yeol called out. [Void Storm!] The insignia of the Void Demon appeared beside Han-Yeol before a Void Demon rushed out from it with both of its hands wielding blue mana. Then, the Void Demon gathered its hands together and shot thebined mana into the Phantom¡¯s chest. Crackle¡­ Kabooom! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The powerful burst of mana shot by the Void Demon flung the Phantom quite a distance back. The powerful attack had torn off two of the Phantom¡¯s ws, which were locked against Han-Yeol¡¯s sword. The Void Demon let out a low growl after sending the Phantom far back, [I can¡¯t help¡­ but feel¡­ this ce feels familiar... in both a good and bad way¡­] ¡®Is it because it is a paradise?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked in response. [¡­] Chapter 95: A Date with the Goddess (2)

Chapter 95: A Date with the Goddess (2)

The Void Demon did not respond any further after that. Han-Yeol only summoned the Void Demon specialized in range attacks for now. Oddly enough, both of the Void Demons possessed multiple skills, but the one that specialized in range attacks only possessed one attacking skill, which was ¡®Void Storm¡¯. Its other two skills were a debuff and a defensive skill. Anyway, the second half of the battle started after the Void Demon made its appearance. The twelve Phantoms fell one by one, quickly splitting into twenty-four. Now, the raid party had to fight against a total of thirty-six Phantoms in one battle. Puk! Puk! Kaboom! Han-Yeol and the Void Demon disyed abo that would have been unimaginable when it had been a Shadow Demon. Maybe a ranking existed among demons of the same rank, but Han-Yeol had found it difficult to coordinate with the Shadow Demon inbat as itcked battle IQ. On the other hand, the Void Demon possessed higher intelligence and a better understanding of tactics. It was able to follow whatevermand Han-Yeol gave it duringbat, and it even moved on its own to cover and protect whatever exposed opening he had after using his chain. ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯ Pukeok! Han-Yeol threw his chain and killed one of the two remaining Phantoms after hitting it in the face. Meanwhile, the other remaining Phantom was killed by the Void Demon¡¯s ¡®Void Storm¡¯. Thebat prowess Han-Yeol disyed was so different from what he had initially shown that the Egyptian Hunters found it absurd. [Wow, that¡¯s really awesome¡­] [Why does it feel like the Vice Leader-nim is getting stronger the longer we hunt?] [What if that is indeed the case? What if he does get stronger over time?] [No way, do you really think that¡¯s possible?] In the end, the Egyptian Hunters decided to think that they were probably just mistaken and Han-Yeol was only showing his full ability now. That was probably the most logical exnation for them as Han-Yeol¡¯s growth was something that transcended what the world knew about Hunters. *** The Horus raid party¡¯s hunting speed explosively increased after Han-Yeol proactively started to hunt, and they hunted for a week with only minimal rest in between. Most of the Egyptian Hunters cursed and grumbled at the increased intensity of the hunt, but they held their tongue and toughened it out by focusing on the profit they were going to gain at the end of it. It had been a long time since they hunted this intensely. Of course, Tayarana was someone who enjoyed fighting, so her raid party was already known for going on intense hunts. However, this was still the first time that they hunted so quickly and intensely. It would not have been an issue if the Horus raid party took adequate rests in between their hunts like they were used to, but Tayarana was basically pushing them to their very limits by significantly cutting their breaks short. It was such a drastic change that the Egyptian Hunters could not help but wonder if their leader had caught some kind of a bug or something. There were many factors that contributed to their increased hunting speed, but the fact that they did not have to wait for the Porters to dismember the monster corpses in this specific hunting ground was the biggest factor of them all. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± When the Horus raid party was getting quite exhausted, Tayarana stopped luring monsters and descended to the ground. Well, the reason she stopped luring monsters was only that they had already massacred the monsters in their surroundings and there were no more monsters to lure¡­ [Thank you for your hard work,] Mariam said as she ran up to Tayarana with a towel. [Thanks,] Tayarana replied nonchntly while taking off her helmet. Mariam had prepared the steam-disinfected pure cotton towel for Tayarana to wipe her sweat as flying in the Horus Suit consumed a tremendous amount of mana and stamina. By the way, the used towel would immediately be given to a servant to dispose of as letting someone of her stature reuse a towel should not ever happen. In fact, the only thing that Tayarana probably reused in her life was her hunting gears. [Please have a refreshing drink,] offered the Egyptian Porters, who looked quite free on this particr hunt, as they handed out chilled drinks to the Hunters. Han-Yeol watched the Egyptian Porters hand out drinks before he looked up at the drone flying overhead. He thought, ¡®The Korean Porters will probably be expected to start handing out drinks more often from now on¡­ It¡¯s probably going to be tiring for them.¡¯ Han-Yeol could not help but feel apologetic toward the Korean Porters as he had been a Porter in the past. He was probably going to one day slowly be indifferent toward the plight of the Porters, but his memories and experiences from being a Porter were still fresh in his heart. [Is that the end of our hunt?] Han-Yeol asked Tayarana and Mariam. [Ah, yes, this is the end. The promised seven days have passed and the other Hunters are starting to reach their limits, so it is probably better for us to let them rest than continue hunting.] Mariam gave a response that was befitting of her position as Tayarana¡¯s trusted adjutant. She not only concerned herself with strategizing andmanding the raid party, but she was also hands-on when it came to maintaining the raid party¡¯s condition and efficiency. In fact, the only reason the Horus raid party probably grew this big while having an impressive track record of zero casualties, despite having abat-loving leader like Tayarana, was all thanks to Mariam. Of course, most people praised her for being the pir of the Horus raid party, but she would always deflect such praises and give credit to Tayarana instead. [Ughh¡­?I guess that¡¯s understandable¡­ I¡¯m slowly starting to get exhausted as well¡­] Han-Yeol grumbled. [I¡¯m surprised you managed to fight for so long. You basically ran around the entire battlefield and fought harder than anyone else,] Tayaranamented. [Hahaha! I had my reasons for doing that,] Han-Yeol replied with augh. Actually, the reason that Han-Yeol had run around so diligently was purely out of his own interest. He had noticed in their previous hunts that he was not gaining much experience points, but he had identally stumbled upon the fact, while testing out his skills, that he gained much more experience points the more actively he participated in the hunt. He immediately understood that, despite his ability being simr to that of a game system, this was the real world and not a game. There was no such thing as experience points being shared among party members. The only thing that mattered when calcting the experience points he gained was how active he was and how much he contributed to killing the monster. In the end, he could not sit still and rx after understanding how his ability worked. After all, he wanted to level up as fast as he could, which in turn motivated him to push himself to his limits and actively participate in the hunt. ¡®I guess the only upside in hunting with a party is that I can go after stronger monsters¡­ Well, there¡¯s also the part that it¡¯s more fun¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol thought that while solo-hunting and monopolizing all of the profit was nice, it was also good for him to hunt with a party and go after stronger monsters that he would otherwise not dare to hunt alone, which in turn would offset whatever reduction in the experience points he would gain. ¡®Oh¡­ right¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered something. [Tara, I have a favor to ask.] [What is it? Ask me anything you need,] Tayarana coolly replied. [You do know that¡¯s quite a dangerous thing to say, right?] Han-Yeol joked in response. He had somehow managed to get close enough to the Egyptian Princess that he could joke with her. Tayarana remained expressionless while listening to Han-Yeol¡¯s banter, and this scene was live broadcasted by the main camera not only to the V Ticket viewers but also to the normal viewers. The pair might have been speaking in Arabic, but the chill vibe between them was easily picked up on by the viewers. [H-He is chatting with the goddess-nim as if they are acquainted¡­] [AAGHHHH! I¡¯M SO JEALOUS!] [I wish I could get a whiff of the goddess-nim¡¯s scent¡­] [Get lost, you pervert!] [No! I would make the same wish if it¡¯s the goddess-nim¡¯s scent!] Han-Yeol¡¯s stream had gone live for all seven days, and even the part where they were camping at the safe zone with a few of the Egyptian Hunters standing watch had been broadcasted around the world through the special antenna. Surprisingly enough, word seemed to have somehow spread as there were quite a lot of Arabs joining the chat. Egypt was far more developedpared to the rest of Africa, thanks to them catapulting themselves into the ranks of first-world countries. Their inte was also quite excellent thanks to their partnership with South Korea and importing its IT technology. In addition to that, all eyes were already on South Korea the moment Tayarana had set foot here, so it was only a matter of time before the Egyptian viewers were going to find Han-Yeol¡¯s broadcast. It was quite challenging for the Egyptian viewers to watch Han-Yeol¡¯s stream as there was ag with the live broadcast coupled with the time andnguage barrier. However, that did not stop them from forking out money just to get a firsthand glimpse of their goddess, Tayarana. Needless to say, all eyes in Egypt were always focused on where and what their goddess was doing or something close to that. Anyway, Han-Yeol asked the favor that he had already prepared to ask Tayarana, [I was hoping that you could pay my share of the hunt with the loot and not with money.] [Isn¡¯t it going to be a hassle?] [Still.] Tayarana could not understand why Han-Yeol was making such a request despite its troublesome nature. After some thought, she asked, [Do you have a factory to sell the monster parts by any chance?] [Yes, I do.] Tayarana somehow suspected that Han-Yeol was probably making such a request to sell his share of the loot to his choice of factory instead of selling it to whichever factory the raid party dealt with. However, she decided to not pry further into his affairs since it did not matter to her whether she paid him with the loot or in cash. [Alright, I will ask Mariam to make arrangements for you.] [No need to trouble yourself. I will go and speak to her.] [Alright then.] Han-Yeol then went over and exined to Mariam after receiving Tayarana¡¯s permission. As expected, Mariam immediately agreed after hearing that Tayarana had given her permission. Shemanded the managers in charge of the Porters to prepare Han-Yeol¡¯s share of the loot. [How should I pack it?] [Oh right, may you please tell Yoo-Bi to bring a bag for the mana stones using your telepathic ability?] Han-Yeol asked. Strangely enough, he spoke quite formally to Mariam despite speaking informally to her master, Tayarana. [As you wish.] Han-Yeol also possessed a telepathy skill, but he could only use it exclusively tomunicate with demons. In short, he did not have the ability to speak directly into a human¡¯s mind like Mariam did. ¡®Who knows? Maybe my skill?will?one day evolve to be like Mariam¡¯s skill¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol wished, but he did not really expect it to happen since telepathy was quite a useful and powerful skill. Mariam instructed Yoo-Bi through telepathy just as Han-Yeol had requested, and Yoo-Bi immediately came over with a bag to store his share of the mana stones. ¡°Here you go, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said as she extended the bag toward Han-Yeol. ¡°Ah, thank you, Yoo-Bi.¡± ¡°But why do you need this?¡± ¡°Ah, I asked for the mana stones and monster parts instead of cash.¡± ¡°Ohh, do you n to sell it to Sung Jin Factory?¡± ¡°Yeah, I probably should since I have an exclusive agreement with them, right?¡± ¡°I guess¡­¡± Yoo-Bi did not really mind if Han-Yeol received his share in loot or cash as long as she got paid for her work. Mariam waited until Han-Yeol was finished talking to Yoo-Bi before she voiced out her curiosity. [Do you n to sell the monster parts to the factory you are dealing with?] [Yes, that is correct.] [Then there should not be any problems. We ourselves do not have a particr factory we deal with here. In fact, we were hoping that the association would introduce us to a suitable factoryter on since we do not really care who we deal with. However, it is now a different story if you already have a factory you deal with, since they are probably more than qualified if someone like you has been dealing with them.] [Oh, is it really alright for you?] [Certainly, but under the condition that I personally go and negotiate the sale myself.] [Yes, you may do that. What matters to me is selling the monster parts to that particr factory, so it does not matter if you or I go there.] [Please provide me with the factory¡¯s name and address once we leave the hunting ground.] [Alright.] In the end, Han-Yeol collected only his share of the mana stones after somehow bridging the Horus raid party and the small Sung Jin Factory. Dddruuk! The amount of mana stones that Han-Yeol received after intensely hunting for seven days was not a joke. ¡®Ah¡­ How cruel can life be¡­? Why do my stats and skills have to use these precious mana stones instead of something else¡­? How much are all of these worth¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeolmented inwardly at the sight of the motherlode. In fact, this was a feeling that he was probably not going to get used to anytime soon. Chapter 96: A Date with the Goddess (3)

Chapter 96: A Date with the Goddess (3)

Chapter 96: A Date With the Goddess (3) Dudududu! After wrapping up the hunt and packing their equipment, the Horus raid party boarded the helicopter that was waiting for them at the entrance of the hunting ground. Then, the helicopter flew toward Seoul andnded at the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s helipad. Everyone got off the helicopter uponnding. Crack! ¡°Euuk!¡± ¡°It¡¯s finally over!¡± ¡°Phew!?I can finally rx now!¡± The Mn crew members stretched their tired and rigid bodies from the seven days of marathon filming. Most of the work had actually been done by the Hunters, but this was only their second time joining a hunt and the fact that they had to film for a whole week was quite tiring for them. In addition to that, most of them were not used to living in tents for seven days, which added to their level of fatigue. Han-Yeol did not show it outwardly but he was quite tired as well. He could not wait to go home and take a hot bath. A Hunter replenished their body through their mana so they physically recovered after a while, but they were still humans. It was unavoidable for them to umte mental fatigue during long periods of consecutive hunts. Han-Yeol tried using Restore on himself just in case it would work, but unfortunately, it did not have any effect in alleviating his mental fatigue. Tayarana approached Han-Yeol and said, [Thank you for your hard work. The hunt was made quite easy thanks to your efforts.] Han-Yeol could tell that Tayarana¡¯s praises had no hidden agenda behind them. Scratch¡­ Scratch¡­? He awkwardly scratched his head as he did not know how to respond to her praises. He might be on speaking terms with her, but he did not forget to not overstep his boundaries as she was someone of a higher stature than him. [No, it¡¯s all thanks to the strength of the Horus raid party that I was able to fight to my heart¡¯s content. Besides, I was only noticeable since you held back, Tara.] It was exactly as Han-Yeol said. He had fought as hard as he could so that he could gain at least one more experience point from the hunt, and he knew very well that he was not in a position to carry a raid party when there was someone more powerful than him. [I n to host an after-hunt party four dayster, after we all have rested enough. You cane, right?] Tayarana asked. [A-After-hunt party¡­?] Han-Yeol was taken aback at the mention of a party he had never heard of before. This was the first time in his life. [Why? Is there a problem?] Tayarana asked while staring at Han-Yeol with her same expressionless face. Her face was not particrly expressive, but Tayarana exuded a charisma that was more than enough to draw most people toward her. Coupling that with her mesmerizing beauty, Han-Yeol wondered if he was dreaming whenever he spoke to Tayarana face to face like he was doing right now. ¡®She is really overpowered in her own ways¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Who would have imagined that the most beautiful woman in the world as picked by an American magazinepany would be speaking face-to-face with a no-name Hunter in such a friendly manner? [N-No, not at all. I will see you at your mansion in four days'' time then.] [Alright, see you then.] Tayarana turned around and left for the parked vehicle waiting for her after receiving a satisfactory response from Han-Yeol while Mariam politely bowed to Han-Yeol before going after Tayarana. ¡°Phew¡­?She isn¡¯t very good for my heart¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while shaking his head. ¡°You must be so happy that you are able to be friends with Tayarana,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°I won¡¯t deny I¡¯m happy, but I thought my heart was going to explode the whole time.¡± ¡°Haha! Do you know how jealous all of the men watching our stream were? I think your heart should be the least of your worries¡­¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that?¡± Han-Yeol might be the owner of his broadcast channel, but he was not that interested in it. He found filming and broadcasting live to be fun, but he would usually only check on how many viewers there were and not bother himself with the rest of the details. Well, that was why he had hired the Mn Crew in the first ce after all. That was why the Mn team members usually went to Yoo-Bi to provide updates orin whenever something happened instead of going to Han-Yeol, who was still their employer at the end of the day. They found it slightly difficult to discuss serious things with him. ¡°Oppa shaking hands with the goddess-nim and nonchntly chatting with her was broadcast all over the world. You basically bragged to everyone that you are friends with her, so how can you not be worried?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m screwed, right?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he finally realized the situation he was in. His whole head had been filled with thoughts of hunting and the Angel Shards, so he hadn¡¯t had the luxury to think about anything else during the Paradise Field in Bundang. He only realized what he had done after finally cooling down from the thrill of the hunt. [The Hasan Monster, Kim Tae-San, confessed but was rejected by Tayarana?] A tabloid newspaper spread some gossip on the inte. However, that was far from the truth as all Kim Tae-San had wanted to do was forge an alliance with the Horus raid party. He had wanted to form a Korean-Egypt raid party that was both strong and could further bolster diplomatic ties. Who knows? Perhaps he had some hidden motives as well toward her, but one thing that was clear was the fact that he had been trying to create a powerful ally. What was important in the end was the fact that Kim Tae-San had been rejected despite what his intentions were, and a journalist lurking near them had caught that specific moment and published an article about it. Han-Yeol had also read about that article. ¡°Wow, I think the Tamra raid party might try and do something to you. Korea¡¯s top Hunter was rejected by her, but she epted your advances? This can only mean that you one-upped Kim Tae-San, right? Wait¡­ Does that mean oppa is Korea¡¯s top Hunter now?¡± Yoo-Bi sarcastically joked. ¡°Oh¡­ What should I do now¡­?¡± Han-Yeol replied with a hint of nervousness in his voice. ¡°Haha! Come on, you¡¯re not even dating, so do you think Kim Tae-San will really try and do something to you? Hmm¡­ Although, I think he might express his distaste toward you¡­¡± Yoo-Bi was obviously just teasing him for fun, but Han-Yeol could not help feeling nervous about the whole thing. He grumbled, ¡°Ugh¡­?I won¡¯t be able to hunt in Korea anymore if the Hasan Monster has his eyes on me¡­ I guess I should continue sticking to the Horus raid party for now¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend that wasn¡¯t your n from the start. You nned to use the Horus raid party¡¯s name to solo hunt so nobody would bother you, right?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­?You¡¯re too sharp for your own good, my dongsaeng¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied with a bitter smile. Of course, nothing had happened so far, so they were technically putting the cart before the horse. The tabloid newspaper that published the news article about Kim Tae-San¡¯s rejection was a very small ce. It closed down not long after publishing that news article, and Han-Yeol was not so free to concern himself with some news from a tabloid newspaper. Everything he said just now was to banter with Yoo-Bi, and that was it. ¡°Oh, thanks for your hard work today,¡± Han-Yeol said. . ¡°You too, oppa.¡± ¡°Then, see you next time.¡± ¡°Alright, let me know if anythinges up, and don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m your exclusive Porter as well as your manager, okay?¡± Yoo-Bi made sure to emphasize her role as she did not get to participate in this hunt and was afraid that Han-Yeol might forget what her original role was. There was no other Hunter she would prefer to work with other than Han-Yeol as he treated her quite well, and she wanted to stay with him for as long as it was going to be possible. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to forget about that,¡± Han-Yeol reassured Yoo-Bi while walking her to her car. Yoo-Bi got into her car and drove home first. The leader of Mn, Soo-In, who was packing their broadcasting equipment, then approached Han-Yeol. ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work, Hunter-nim.¡± ¡°Ah, you too, Soo-In.¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± ¡°Do you still have a lot of things to do?¡± ¡°Yes, we have to go over the tapes and make some edits even if we were broadcasting live.¡± The Mn filming crew¡¯s work did not simply end just because the live stream was over. Han-Yeol¡¯s broadcast channel, Level-Up TV, grew much faster than expected, so they were practically the same as a small broadcasting station. This meant that they also had the same workload as one. In fact, their workload had grown exponentially. They were left with a mountain of work that would make them wonder when they would be able to finish it. The Mn crew members greeted Han-Yeol one by one as they prepared to go back to the office. Looking at how tired they were and feeling bad about it, Han-Yeol decided to let them go home for the day. He said, ¡°Please go home and rest for today.¡± ¡°Oh, but we have a mountain pile of work to do. We will have to pull an all-nighter just to keep up with it¡­¡± Soo-In replied. Koreans were well-known workaholics. In fact, they were ranked second after Mexico among OECD countries and were known to be hardworking people whether they liked it or not. As expected of Koreans, the Mn crew members were volunteering to work overtime just to finish their work without even being forced. However, Han-Yeol was quite flexible when it came to such things. He shook his head and replied, ¡°No, please go home and get some rest for today. I won¡¯t say anything even if there¡¯s some dy with your work, so please go and get some rest. They say that the body has to befortable for the mind to work better, right? There¡¯s nothing urgent with the broadcast and your health is much more important to me than anything else. Besides, it will be very easy for you to get the flu if you push yourself too hard when you¡¯re tired. So once again, please go home and rest. Oh also, take this¡­¡± When Han-Yeol took out a white envelope and passed it to her in front of the Mn crew members, Soo-In asked, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°I prepared some allowance for you and the girls to dine out. Feel free to use it whenever you guys are free,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Y-You didn¡¯t have to¡­¡± Soo-In muttered before she took a peek into the envelope. In the envelope was a stack of cheques that was probably going to sum up to be quite a handsome figure. ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s only normal for me to take care of the team I created, right? I mean, who else is going to take care of you guys? Also, please feel free to go all out and use all of that. Don¡¯t try to save and contribute to your operation costs. You know I¡¯m fully supporting you for that too, right?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, Hunter-nim.¡± Although Soo-In was still looking lost, the Mn crew members looked rejuvenated by Han-Yeol¡¯s unexpected show of generosity. They were craving for alcohol after the long hunt, so they wanted to rejoice at the fact that their employer had just given them a big fat allowance to spend. ¡°Then, I will be going now,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work, Hunter-nim!¡± ¡°Please rest well!¡± ¡°We love you, employer-nim!¡± The Mn crew members shrieked out in joy as they bowed toward Han-Yeol. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought he had heard wrong, but he decided to ignore thest bit and hop into his van to drive toward the association. ¡°Unni! Unni! How much is it?¡± The Mn crew members gathered around Soo-In as all of them were curious how much their first-ever dinner allowance was going to be. ¡°H-Hold on¡­¡± Soo-In stuttered after feeling pressure from the twenty pairs of eyes staring at her intensely. When she opened the white envelope and checked how much was in it, she gasped in surprise. ¡°Heok!¡± ¡°Why? How much is it, unni?¡± ¡°Do you think we can eat pork belly to our heart¡¯s content?¡± The Mn team did not really expect a lot as mostpanies gave allowances in the range of one hundred thousand won, and that was already more than enough to offset the amount that each of them had to contribute to foot the bill. ¡°F-F¡­ F¡­ F¡­¡± Soo-In stuttered. ¡°Five hundred thousand?¡± ¡°Wow! He is really quite generous!¡± ¡°Yeah! I expected it to be around one hundred thousand won, but five hundred thousand won is quite a lot!¡± Hunters were quite rich, but they were known to be stingy at the same time. Besides, was it really proper to call someone stingy when they were giving their own money away? That was the reason that the Mn crew members did not really expect much from Han-Yeol in the first ce. ¡°T-That¡¯s not it¡­!¡± Soo-In eximed. ¡°What do you mean by that, unni?¡± ¡°F¡­ F-Five million won! He gave us five million won!¡± ¡°WHAAAAT?¡± ¡°Are you serious? Did he really give us five million won?¡± ¡°Yes! Look!¡± Soo-In showed the stack of cheques in the white envelope to the other crew members. There were fifty cheques worth one hundred thousand each for a total of five million won. Han-Yeol was a much more generous person than the Mn team initially thought him to be. In the end, they thought of him as a very generous employer who had gone home after leaving a huge allowance that was more than enough for his staff to eat steak a few times over. ¡®Ugh¡­ I¡¯m going to sleep as much as I can once I get home¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. However, a Hunter¡¯s body was able to recover almost instantaneously, so they only needed to sleep for five hours. It was a truly blessed body that allowed one to save a lot of time on sleeping, but it was also a curse on these kinds of days when one wanted to do nothing and sleep the whole day. ¡®Well, I guess I¡¯ll be rolling around in bed doing nothing then¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve to not do anything for the entire day and justze around. To be frank, it did not sound like a bad n at all¡­ 1. Younger sibling in Korean. 2. Fun Fact: A cultural exnation here. Most bosses/employers will only give a huge budget forpany dinners IF THEY ARE GOING AS WELL. Not only that, they tend to act quite burdensome by unting how much they are spending, which nobody really likes. So Han-Yeol giving them such a huge budget without attending was amazing because of Korean cultural norms. Chapter 97: A Date with the Goddess (4)

Chapter 97: A Date with the Goddess (4)

¡°Aarghh!¡±? Han-Yeolzed around the whole day and finally decided to get up only two dayster. It was still early in the morning when he let out quite a loud sound while stretching, but he had already spent a fortune on his house¡¯s interior so his soundproofing was quite excellent. ¡°Lla~¡± Han-Yeol hummed a tune while taking a shower. Then, he picked a nice outfit, styled his hair, and prepared to go out. Unfortunately, Yoo-Bi was usually busy with her own things after a hunt and his only other friend, Sung-Jin, was currently busy working as a Porter. Needless to say, Han-Yeol did not have anyone else to spend the day with. However, he had recently picked up a new hobby, and that was none other than shopping. In the past, he would have never dared to even look at the shops selling luxury branded goods from a distance due to his impoverished background. But now, he could freely buy whatever he wanted. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ I¡¯ll go and shop a bit, then head over to the Hunters¡¯ Association to update my rank. Then, I could probably drop by to check on the office¡¯s construction progress. Hmm¡­ I probably need to drop by the Mn office too¡­ Wow, it¡¯s a busy day for me.¡¯ Han-Yeol realized that he had a lot of work piled up after being upied by the hunt for seven days. His father usually took care of whatever had to be done for the house, so he did not have to concern himself with that. However, he still had to take care of whatever personal affairs he had as that was his sole responsibility. He did not feelfortable asking Yoo-Bi to do things for him, since she was his manager and not his personal assistant. He suddenly thought, ¡®I think I need to hire a trustworthy personal manager¡­ and it probably has to be a guy this time, right¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol decided to look for a male who he could talk freely with instead of a female as all sorts of emotions could blossom between himself and someone of the opposite gender. Still, that was a task he would have to take care ofter on. What he had to focus on right now was to enjoy his shopping time. Vroom! Han-Yeol drove his van to the Hunter Mall, which had Hunter goods for sale and a whole separate building that could be enjoyed by civilians. The Hunter Mall might have a section for civilians to purchase everyday goods, but the items on sale were usually very expensive there. The reason for that was the fact that most people who came to the civilian section of the Hunter Mall were either high-worth individuals or people rted to Hunters or the industry. Sparkle! Sparkle!? Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes were sparkling with excitement at the thought of shopping. He wondered, ¡®Let¡¯s see, what should I buy today?¡¯ He could buy anything and everything he wanted. In fact, he had been collecting game consoles these days, but he had already purchased so many of them that his house was already full. ¡®Should I move to a bigger ce¡­?¡¯ His solution to his dilemma was simply to move to a bigger house. He had more than enough money to live in whichever house he wanted, after all. However, for some odd reason, he had this unexinable burden that was making him hesitate on moving houses immediately. Han-Yeol had very sharp instincts that were mostly correct, and thanks to that, he had developed a habit of relying on his instincts a bit too much. Anyway, Han-Yeol stepped into the mall. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? He felt a powerful surge of mana instigating his instinct, and he could hear the crowd slowly getting noisy behind him at the same time. ¡®This mana is¡­?Don¡¯t tell me?!¡¯?Han-Yeol turned around the moment he recognized the mana. Then, his eyes shot wide open from surprise upon confirming the owner of the fragrant mana he was sensing. [T-Tara?!] [Han-Yeol?] [Hello, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.] [Ah, hello, Mariam.] The leader of the Horus raid party, Tayarana, and the brains of the raid party, Mariam, were behind Han-Yeol, and there was a group of Korean and Egyptian bodyguards forming a barricade around them to prevent others froming near. [Oh right, please speakfortably to me from now on, Han-Yeol-nim.] [W-Why?] [It is uneptable for someone on equal speaking terms with Tayarana-nim to speak formally to me, who is her subordinate. I hope you will understand that that is something I cannot ept as her servant.] [T-That is¡­] Han-Yeol muttered with a perplexed look on his face before he stole a nce at Tayarana, who simply nodded in response. Feeling Tayarana¡¯s charisma from that slight movement alone, Han-Yeol had to wonder, ¡®Is this the authority of a ruler?¡¯ This charisma was probably something Tayarana innately possessed and not something that had to do with her being an S Rank Hunter. There were a lot of S Rank Hunters in Korea as well, but not all of them had the same aura as her. Also¡­ [Oh¡­ Both of you are wearing civilian clothes today.] Han-Yeol was not wrong. He had only seen Tayarana and Mariam in either theirbat gear or traditional Egyptian dress, so this was his first time seeing them in casual wear. Both of them looked like normal women in their outfits. Of course, anyone could probably tell that their clothes were recently purchased and luxury branded, and the price of their outfit was probably going to send a shiver down peoples¡¯ spines. Mariam blushed at Han-Yeol¡¯s straightforwardment, but it was so subtle that nobody probably noticed it. She then asked, [Ah, does it not suit us by any chance?] [It¡¯s not good?] Tayarana asked. It was quite interesting how their personalities were basically pr opposites. Tayarana looked Han-Yeol straight in the eyes while Mariam blushed, avoided his gaze, and fixed her clothes. Han-Yeol was extremely happy to be able to look at these two beauties as much as he wanted. Tayarana was already a well-known beauty. She was so beautiful that she overshadowed anyone around her. Mariam was also a very beautiful woman whenpared to any other woman except Tayarana, and the fact that she was always standing right next to Tayarana made her go unnoticed by most men, who were always focused on the goddess alone. However, her beauty did not go unnoticed in the eyes of Han-Yeol, who had seen quite a lot of beauties in recent times. [No, both of you look great. You look as beautiful as always, Tara, and you look quite cute too, Mariam.] [Thank you.] [¡­thank you.] They responded in different ways, but both of them smiled at Han-Yeol¡¯spliment. Then, the three of them leisurely chatted for a bit, but their surroundings were far from ¡®leisurely¡¯. ¡°E-Excuse me, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! What are you talking about with the goddess-nim?¡± ¡°P-Please give us the chance to know what she said!¡± ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± The crowd that luckily managed to spot Tayarana getting down from her limousine desperately screamed and pushed their way to get a closer glimpse of the goddess. However, the only thing they could do was to take photos and videos of Tayarana as the bodyguards were forming a solid human barricade around her. Then, they spotted Han-Yeol, who was an up-and-rising Hunter and a fellow Korean, leisurely chatting with Tayarana in Arabic. This triggered the typical Korean mindset of ¡®acting close¡¯ as they started shouting and asking all sorts of favors from him. ¡®Sigh¡­ Do we even know each other to ask favors?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled and shrugged his shoulders. He had no problem ignoring the crowd¡¯s pleas as he was already used to his ¡®my way or the highway¡¯ mentality. [What brings the both of you here? I don¡¯t think you really need toe to a ce like this, right?] Han-Yeol asked as he could not understand why they would bothering all the way here when they had a horde of servants who could bring them whatever they wanted with just a snap of their fingers. [I was curious about what South Korea looks like. I will be living here for a while, and our countries will probably grow closer to each other from now on, so I wanted to see how life in this country is,] Tayarana replied. [Ah, as expected of a princess, you really are different from ordinary people,] Han-Yeol responded in awe of Tayarana¡¯s mindset. They said that a position shaped a person, but whether Tayarana was born with her mentality or her position had given it to her did not matter to Han-Yeol. The only thing that mattered to him was that her mentality was quite cool and it was something he wanted to learn from. [Are you teasing me?] Tayarana asked. [Haha! No way, I¡¯m genuinely surprised, that¡¯s all,] Han-Yeol replied while waving his hand. [Hmm¡­] Tayarana looked at Han-Yeol with eyes full of skepticism, but he continued to feign ignorance until the end. She then said, [It¡¯s hard to believe, but I guess I can only choose to believe you.] [Thanks.] Han-Yeol still found it hard to believe that he was able to chat freely with Tayarana like he was doing right now. This was definitely a benefit he had gained from awakening as a Hunter. He probably would not have been able to say a single word to Tayarana if he had met her before he awakened. Yes, the old Han-Yeol was a pathetic loser after all. He had worked harder than anyone else, which was something he could be proud of, but the poverty he had faced at that time had dragged his self-esteem through the mud. That was also the reason why he had spent most of his youth as a delinquent with Sung-Jin and the others. Back then, doing whatever he wanted had made him forget about his pathetic circumstances. [Also, it must be fate that we met like this, so you should join me,] Tayarana said. [Huh?] Han-Yeol muttered in confusion as he had expected them to chat for a bit before going their separate ways. He did not imagine that she would ask him to join her. Mariam stepped in when Han-Yeol was dumbfounded by the whole situation. She exined, [Han-Yeol-nim, you are the Vice Leader of our raid party. You are also the closest Korean Hunter to Tayarana-nim. Tayarana-nim is currently in a foreignnd at a foreign mall, so I would be grateful if you may kindly assist her.] [Oh, okay. Alright then.] It was a bit burdensome for him to join them, but Han-Yeol immediately agreed to join them as being with a beautiful woman was going to make shopping even more fun. He thought to himself, ¡®I¡¯m not going to lose anything by bing closer to Tayarana and Mariam.¡¯ The crowd got even rowdier the moment Han-Yeol started walking alongside the two beauties, and there were even a bunch of reporters who had appeared out of nowhere as well. ¡®Why is this even newsworthy?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a grimace when he spotted the reporters. It was clearly visible in his expression that he did not really like reporters. However, there was no way that a reporter was going to back down just because of the look on someone¡¯s face, right? ¡°Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! Is it possible to have a short interview with Tayarana? The people have the right to know!¡± ¡°Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! You should do an interview with her!¡± As expected, the reporters were as shameless as they could get, demanding Han-Yeol for an interview even though there was no reason for him to agree to it in the first ce. ¡®It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t know how shameless those guys can get. Let¡¯s just ignore them.¡¯? Han-Yeol chose to ignore the parasites that used the people¡¯s right to information as an excuse to viciously invade another person¡¯s privacy. However, he could not fault them in the end, since they were just working hard in their own ways. [Han-Yeol, what are those people crying about?] Tayarana asked. Tayarana¡¯s innocent question made Han-Yeol burst intoughter, and the fact that she had said ¡®crying about¡¯ in Korean made it even funnier. [Haha! Where did you learn that?] Han-Yeol asked. [Tayarana-nim! W-Where did you learn such vulgar words? Please mind your manners when there are others around!] Mariam reprimanded Tayarana while being surprised herself. [Is it vulgar?] [Yes, it is.] [But they seem to use it quite often in Korean dramas?] [S-Still¡­ those are only shows. You must understand that those kinds of TV programs are bound to use such vulgar words. I hope that you would be more selective of what you watch from now on so that you would only learn elegant words.] [But those kinds of shows are no fun.] ¡°Haha!¡± Han-Yeol could not help but burst out intoughter once again after listening to the two bickering back and forth in their own manner. The crowd around them grew more desperate after seeing the exchange between the three. Well, not that those three cared about those around them anyway. Chapter 98: A Date with the Goddess (5)

Chapter 98: A Date with the Goddess (5)

Fortunately, the bothersome crowd was not able to enter the mall with them¡­ Not that the trio cared. Of course, the crowd vehemently protested against the mall staffers. ¡°Hey, this is a public area open to everyone! Why are you stopping us from entering? You are trampling on our rights as consumers! Are you looking down on us?!¡± The reporters were even louderpared to the others, screaming at the top of their lungs like a horde of frenzied monsters. It was understandable that they would be so worked up and not back down without a fight asnding an interview with the goddess was going to boost their career. Also, they were technically not in the wrong, as it was unheard of for mall staffers to prevent people from entering a mall due to the presence of a VIP. However, the mall security manager did not budge an inch as he deployed even more security staff just in case a riot urred. ¡°We apologize for the inconvenience but our mall will be closing for today,¡± the security manager said. ¡°What bullshit is this?¡± the crowd protested. ¡°The Horus raid party has rented the entire mall as their personal space for the entire day, and they have requested that anyone not a member of their raid party be barred entry.¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± The crowd was bbergasted at the fact that the Horus raid party was able to rent out the entire shopping mall. It was a testament to how wealthy they were. As the entire crowd watched the trio disappear further into the mall with desperate eyes, one of the reporters spotted other customers shopping in the mall. He pointed at them and protested once again, ¡°What about them?! They don¡¯t look like members of the Horus raid party! Aren¡¯t they civilians just like us?!¡± The security manager nced at the people in the mall and nonchntly replied, ¡°The restriction only applies to people entering after the Horus raid party entered. Those customers will not be disturbed as long as they do not disturb anyone from the raid party. The Horus raid party decided that there is no need to kick out the customers who were already in the mall before them.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°Damn it¡­¡± ¡°Why did I leave¡­?¡± There was no way that the reporters were going to try and force their way into this specific shopping mall no matter how shameless they were. After all, this ce was under the influence of the Hunters¡¯ Association. Reporters were known to pull all sorts of stunts just to get an exclusive scoop, but there were certain taboos for them as well. The taboo that sat on the top of the list was to not mess with the Hunters¡¯ Association. Anyway, the crowd ended up having to watch the goddess disappear right in front of their eyes. ¡°Damn it, I thought I was going to be able to get an exclusive scoop¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that bastard Lee Han-Yeol is a bit too much?¡± The reporters slowly started to direct their anger toward the Korean Hunter with the goddess, who was definitely an easier target. ¡°Yeah, how can he do this to his fellowpatriots? He should be helping us instead!¡± ¡°Is he now an Egyptian just because he¡¯s joined the Horus raid party? He only got lucky because he is a Healer, right? He is going to be left all alone in Korea once the Horus raid party goes back to Egypt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! It seems like he doesn¡¯t know how to socialize at all!¡± ¡°Ha! Just wait and see! I¡¯m going to chase him to the depths of hell once he slips up and does something!¡± The reporters did not watch Han-Yeol¡¯s broadcast, Level-Up TV. They were too busy chasing after the top guilds and raid parties, so they would not have time for someone like Han-Yeol no matter how much he promoted his channel. After all, someone small like him was never going to be of interest to them. Some reporters had watched his broadcast after hearing that the goddess was featured in it, but most of them only watched a part of it, and their entire focus was centered on her. That was the reason why none of them had any idea what role Han-Yeol had in the Horus raid party. *** Han-Yeol started shopping with Tayarana and Mariam. The bodyguards were no longer surrounding them, but they were at a distance to stop others from approaching the trio. The bodyguards were used to ward off people rather than for the trio¡¯s protection because the Korean bodyguards were ordinary people while the Egyptian bodyguards were FRank Hunters. All of thembined would not even be able to make a scratch on Mariam, who was the weakest one in terms ofbat strength among the three. In short, these three did not really need protection to begin with, and only needed the bodyguards so that they could shop in peace. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol was having the time of his life being sandwiched between two beautiful roses. [What do you say? Is there anything you want?] he asked. [I think it¡¯s true that your country is more developed than mine. There are a lot of luxury goods that I have never seen in Egypt.] [I agree. The mall facilities are quite excellent. In fact, we do not have such facilities back home, and it feels as if every single product in the world has gathered here.] Most Koreans, even the not-so-patriotic ones, would suddenly feel patriotic whenever they heard foreigners praising their country. Han-Yeol was no exception as he could not help but feel proud. [Well, our country¡¯s economy has been suffering in recent times, but the fact that we are one of the trendiest markets in the world has not changed. Some say that whatever works here will work anywhere else in the world too, so most western countries tend to test their product¡¯s market reception by selling it here first,] Han-Yeol proudly exined. [That¡¯s amazing,] Tayarana replied in awe. [I cannot help but feel envious of your country¡¯s sess,] Mariammented. Tayarana and Mariam were extremely wealthy individuals, but even people like them seemed to have fun window shopping. [Is the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association managing this mall?] Tayarana asked. [Yeah, but they aren¡¯t managing it alone. Rather, they have teamed up with various conglomerates to manage it,] Han-Yeol replied. [Hmm¡­ I should meet with the Chairman of the Hunters¡¯ Association. I think it will be a good idea to recreate a mall like this in Egypt too.] [Really?] [That is an excellent idea, Tayarana-nim.] [Ah, I¡¯m going to buy everything here as well.] [R-Really?] [Yes.] Han-Yeol could not help but be bbergasted at Tayarana¡¯s extravagant shopping, but he soonposed himself and calmly tranted what she had just said to a staffer. The staffer¡¯s reaction? It was quite obvious. ¡°H-Heok!?A¡­ Are you serious?!¡± Aside from the staffer at the luxury goods section, even the manager sent by the mall¡¯s management was shocked by what Han-Yeol was saying. They were somewhat aware that the S Rank Hunter in front of them came from a very wealthy family and that she herself was quite wealthy as well, but they never imagined in their wildest dreams that she was going toe and buy everything up. She did mention that she hade to sightsee around the mall, but the mall¡¯s management never imagined that they were already going to strike the jackpot from the first section. ¡®J-Jackpot!¡¯?the manager eximed inwardly. The Hunter section of the mall was seeing an increase in revenue day by day, but the normal section of the mall was seeing a decrease in revenue due to the country¡¯s economic decline. Of course, the higher management did not see that as an excuse and continued berating the ones in charge of the normal section. Needless to say, this was a godsend opportunity for the normal section to not only hit their sales targets but to achieve their sales quota to get their bonus incentive as well. [Where do you want these to be delivered, Tara?] Han-Yeol asked. [Delivery?] [Yes, why?] [They deliver things aside from food too?] [Of course, why wouldn¡¯t they?] [Excuse me, Han-Yeol-nim,] Mariam interrupted. [Yes?] [I think Tayarana-nim is surprised that all of these can be delivered as not many ces can pull this off.] [Oh, really?] [Yes.] [Ah, I¡¯m sorry for the misunderstanding, Tara.] [¡­] Han-Yeol might have been imagining things, but he felt that Tayarana was sulking right now. He wondered, ¡®Come on, I must be seeing things.¡¯? He soon shrugged off the thought. There was no way that a person of Tayarana¡¯s caliber was going to sulk so easily in the first ce, right? ¡°Please deliver the goods to this address. Oh, please make sure all of it gets delivered to the doorsteps, okay?¡± Mariam said as she extended her business card to the manager. ¡°Y-Yes! I understand!¡± the manager eximed. Their first purchase was done, but these two were only getting started. Tayarana and Mariam did not shop in an average way where they would buy individual things they liked. They would walk into a shop and ask for everything between point A to point B, then pay for it with their credit card. ¡°How much is it?¡± Mariam asked. ¡°That will be 158 million won, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Here you go, please charge it in full.¡± ¡°I-I understand.¡± They spent 158 million won in the blink of an eye at a luxury bag shop, and proceeded to spend more than one billion won in just three hours. Of course, this was a huge figure to spend in such a short period of time, but that was only from Han-Yeol¡¯s point of view as Tayarana and Mariam seemed to be only getting started. In fact, they looked like they were not satisfied at all. As the shopping continued without showing any signs of ending, Han-Yeol groaned inwardly, ¡®Ugh¡­ I¡¯m a Hunter and I can say my stamina is quite good, but¡­why am I so tired?¡¯ It was at this moment that he realized that he still had a long way to go despite thinking that he was an avid shopper himself. He never imagined that he was going to get tired from shopping since he was now a Hunter and his stamina was quite good, but his delusion had instantly been shattered in three hours. The feeling of fatigue and exhaustion that he did not feel even while working out overtook his body. ¡®What the hell¡­? Why do I feel so tired?¡¯?he wondered. They said that even an athlete was going to get tired if they were dragged around in a shopping mall, and this saying seemed to apply to Hunters as well. The trio soon arrived at the men¡¯s corner. Tayarana and Mariam then looked at each other before they turned their gaze to Han-Yeol. [Why? What¡¯s wrong?] Han-Yeol asked. The two looked at each other again and nodded. [Han-Yeol.] [Han-Yeol-nim.] [Yes? Why?] Han-Yeol looked at them while tilting his head in confusion. He was already exhausted from being dragged around, so he wondered what they wanted this time¡­ *** ¡®Ugh¡­ I¡¯m so tired¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned inwardly while lying on a bench at the center of the mall, and with him were more than twenty shopping bags littered on the ground. He grumbled, ¡®That damned duo¡­ What right do they have toment on my fashion sense?¡¯? He had thought they were only going to pass by the men¡¯s corner. However, his expectations had been way off the mark as the two forcefully dragged him around and did a whole fashion show with him as their model for nearly two hours. The shopaholic duo had simply waltzed into a shop and pointed from point A to point B before buying all of it. Then, they had moved on to the next shop, forcing Han-Yeol, against his wishes, to try on every single piece of clothing they could find and buy for him. Of course, they had paid for it as well and forced him to take it. ¡®I¡¯m rich too, you know?!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in frustration after being forced to be a mannequin for nearly two hours. His fashion show had drained all of his energy, and the women seemed to have gotten bored of him as they abandoned him at a bench to resume their shopping. ¡°Haa¡­¡±? Just as Han-Yeol was tasting the sweet nectar of this gift called ¡®rest¡¯, two beautiful women carefully walked up to him. ¡°E-Excuse me¡­¡± ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He could tell from a single nce that they were not working with the mall. Shwik! They extended a pen and a piece of A4 paper to him and asked, ¡°Can you please give us your autograph?!¡± ¡°Huh? My autograph?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°We are huge fans of yours, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! We watched all of your live streams for the entire week! We also bought V Tickets just to watch you! You¡¯re so cool!¡± ¡°Kyahk!¡± The two women eximed. Han-Yeol was taken aback by the sudden autograph request. He did hear from Yoo-Bi and the Mn team that the broadcast was a huge sess, but he thought that the sess was all thanks to Tayarana so he did not really bother himself with it. However, he could not help but be surprised and amazed at the same time now that someone was asking him for his autograph. Han-Yeol took the ballpen and paper before signing it with a signature that he practiced just for fun from time to time. He then asked, ¡°Your names?¡± ¡°Ah, my name is Yoo-Ri, Seo Yoo-Ri.¡± ¡°Hehe, my name is Yi-Bi, Shin Yi-Bi.¡± ¡°Your names are really nice,¡± Han-Yeol said while writing their names on the paper. ¡°Kyahk!?Thank you very much!¡± The two screamed in joy after receiving Han-Yeol¡¯s autograph. Then, they asked him if they could take a selfie together, to which he readily agreed. The two beautiful women, Yoo-Ri and Yi-Bi, smiled brightly and left after taking a selfie with Han-Yeol. Chapter 99: The True Path to Wealth (1)

Chapter 99: The True Path to Wealth (1)

There were other people in the mall aside from Tayarana¡¯s subordinates. There were people who were fans of Han-Yeol, who had be an overnight celebrity thanks to his Level-Up TV. There were fans of Mariam as well, surprisingly. However, Han-Yeol had been left all alone to fend against not only his fans but even the fans of Tayarana and Mariam as well. After all, he was the only one without a bodyguard among the three of them. Nobody dared to approach Han-Yeol when he had been shopping with them, but they saw an opportunity to ambush him when he was resting all alone on the bench. The fans approached him to get his autograph while not forgetting to ask a few questions regarding the goddess as well. ¡®What am I? Her high priest?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled as he could not help but feel that he was a servant of the goddess at this point. The reason was that the fans were passionately asking things about Tayarana, and their passion was even hotter than the ones of religious fanatics. Of course, there were some who asked about Mariam as well, but most of the questions were focused solely on Tayarana. In the end, after being chased around by the horde of fans, Han-Yeol was forced to seek refuge under the wings of Tayarana and Mariam once again. [Oh, right. Han-Yeol.] [Yes?] [You are living in an apar¡­ What was that again?] Tayarana could not remember the word so she had to ask Mariam halfway through her sentence. [Yes, the word you are looking for is ¡®apartment¡¯, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam replied. [Thank you. Anyway, I heard you live in an apartment, is that right?] [I have no idea where you heard that from, but yes, you are correct.] [I see¡­ Then, what is the area of that apart¡­ment you live in?] [My apartment?] [Yes, your apartment.] Han-Yeol was confused, not understanding why Tayarana would ask something like that in the first ce. He also did not understand what she meant by ¡®area¡¯. He wondered, ¡®Is she talking about the apartmentplex¡¯s area¡­?¡¯? He tried to recall theplex¡¯s area that he had heard from the realtor when he had purchased his apartment. He then said, [The area should be around 2,306 pyeong¡­ That is around 7,600 square meters¡­] [Hmm¡­ That doesn¡¯t sound too bad.] Han-Yeol did not bother to correct Tayarana or anything as he did not particrly think his apartment was small. He only lived with his father, after all. However, he did not have enough space for his game console collection at his current apartment. [Pardon me, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam interrupted. [What is it, Mariam?] [I believe that Han-Yeol-nim is referring to the entire area of the apartmentplex where numerous people live and not his house¡¯s area.] [Huh? How can people live together in such a small space?] Tayarana tilted her head in confusion. It was something unimaginable by her standards as she found the ce too small for numerous people to share together. [That is how it works here,] Mariam replied. When Tayarana looked at him with a confused look on her face, Han-Yeol asked, [Wasn¡¯t that the area you were asking about?] [I believe Tayarana-nim was asking how big Han-Yeol-nim¡¯s house was,] Mariam interrupted. [Ah, you should¡¯ve said so. My house is around thirty-eight pyeong. That¡¯s around 125 square meters.] [¡­] When Tayarana¡¯s face stiffened at his response, Han-Yeol suddenly felt nervous. ¡®Did I say something wrong¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol knew that he was on friendly terms with Tayarana since she allowed it, but she was a Hunter on an entirely different levelpared to him. In short, he might actfortably around her, but that did not mean that he could be toofortable with her. That was the reason why he could not help but feel nervous after seeing her expression just now. He would have normally felt offended after seeing someone react this way toward him, but he could not help but be on his toes since the other person was Tayarana. Just as Han-Yeol was still feeling nervous, Tayarana walked toward him and gently grabbed both of his hands. [T-Tara?!] Han-Yeol eximed in surprise. However, Tayarana did not say anything as she quietly looked at him with sadness in her eyes. ¡°Heok!¡± ¡°What in the world?!¡± Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? The people not too far away from the trio were able to witness the goddess holding the Korean Hunter¡¯s hands. They wanted to capture this moment and post it on their social media ounts to get likes, but they knew very well that they were going to get kicked out and cklisted from the mall if they so much as took out something that looked remotely simr to a camera. Besides, Mariam was able to intercept anyone trying to capture this moment even if they braved the risks of being kicked out and cklisted from the mall. ¡°Awesome¡­¡± ¡°Is that for real? Did the goddess-nim really grab Han-Yeol Hunter¡¯s hands first?¡± ¡°Wow¡­ I¡¯m so jealous¡­¡± The people could not help but be extremely jealous of Han-Yeol. They were forced to only watch the goddess from a distance, but he was walking alongside her, chatting with her, and even holding her hands right now. ¡®Should I try to be a Hunter¡­?¡¯ ¡®Will I be able to hold the goddess¡¯ hands if I be a Hunter too¡­?¡¯ ¡®I heard Lee Han-Yeol was a pathetic poor guy before he awakened as a Hunter¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol unintentionally inspired the people around him to be a Hunter. However, he had no time to care what the people around him thought as he was too surprised by Tayarana¡¯s sudden action. [W-What¡¯s wrong, Tara?] [I¡¯m sorry¡­] [Huh¡­?] Han-Yeol wondered what Tayarana was apologizing for all of a sudden. [I had no idea that you were living in the slums¡­ I was toocent¡­ I will be more mindful of your situation next time¡­] [W-What¡­?] ¡®Why is she talking about the slums all of a sudden?!¡¯ Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in confusion. Not understanding why Tayarana would suddenly think of something like that, Han-Yeol looked at Mariam with a pleading gaze. He needed help, and he was certain that Mariam could help him get out of this mess of a misunderstanding since she was good at Korean. He thought that Mariam was probably well aware of how things worked here too, but that turned out to be a huge miscalction on his end. [I apologize. I should have been more mindful of your circumstances. I deeply apologize for my oversight once again¡­] Somehow, it seemed that Mariam was having an even greater misunderstandingpared to Tayarana for some reason. [N-No! That¡¯s not it!] Han-Yeol retorted before he exined in detail to resolve this misunderstanding. He proceeded to exin to them how things normally worked, and he even emphasized that he had almost one trillion won in his bank ount to prove that he was not poor. [Oh, is that so?] [Yes. I did live in something simr to a slum before I awakened as a Hunter, but I¡¯m no longer living in poverty after bing a Hunter. I think I will be able to officially cross the one trillion mark after my next hunt.] One trillion won was a mythical figure for Han-Yeol. How much was one trillion won? Picture this, if someone spent six hundred thousand won every day since Dangun founded the first Korean Kingdom 4,327 years ago, then they would still have forty-eight billion seven million won remaining. That was why Han-Yeol was quite proud of the fact that he was able to umte such astonishing wealth. However, that did not seem to do the job of improving the current circumstances. [Mariam, what can you buy with one trillion won?] Tayarana asked. [It is an amount that you would be able to carry out your hobbies, Tayarana-nim. You will be able to purchase houses or buildings, but you will not be able to do anything significant with that amount,] Mariam replied. [I thought so.] [Indeed.] Tayarana continued looking at Han-Yeol with a pitiful gaze as she continued holding onto his hands. Han-Yeol could not help but feel burdened by Tayarana¡¯s hands, eyes, and the eyes of the crowd around them. He felt conflicted. ¡®I-It feels good, but this is getting too burdensome¡­¡¯? Of course, Han-Yeol had no ns to stop making money after crossing the one trillion won threshold. Not even a year had passed since he became a Hunter, so he was quite proud to have amassed such a fortune, and he was certain that he was going to be able to earn much more after a while. Not to mention, he was getting stronger by the day, and this meant that the amount and quality of mana stones he could sell was going to improve as well. [Let¡¯s hunt more diligently from now on. You might not be able to earn a lot from it, but it should be enough to cover your living expenses. Also, feel free to take my subordinates out with you whenever you need to hunt.] [A-Alright¡­] Tayarana still seemed to be misunderstanding the whole situation, but Han-Yeol decided to concede defeat and ept the misunderstanding for now. He did not see any way to convince her that he was also rich judging by how she viewed money. ¡®I think I read somewhere that the Egyptian president¡¯s fortune was estimated to be around thirty or forty quadrillion¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Of course, this was only an estimate as the real figure was only known to the president himself and the one managing his wealth. Egypt referred to their leader as the ¡®president¡¯, but he was closer to the ¡®pharaoh¡¯. Also, they were not a normal democracy where people voted their leader in, but rather, they voted for their leader from the ones who had inherited the pharaoh¡¯s blood. The reinstatement of the pharaonic bloodline was celebrated by most Egyptians as it signaled the resurrection of their great empire. However, the opposition frowned at it as a desecration of their modern religious belief. Thanks to this, Egypt was facing political and religious turmoil, and there were numerous cases of terrorist attacks being carried out by religious fanatics all over the country. [ce your trust in me, Han-Yeol. I will do my best to salvage you from poverty!] Tayarana said with a rather determined gaze. Her resolute look was so cute that the crowd around them gasped in awe. The people who wanted to catch a glimpse of the goddess swept all of the binocrs for sale in the mall, and the binocrs were sold out in an instant. It might be called a waste of money to buy a binocr regardless of its price just to see someone¡¯s face for a few seconds, but most of the people who came to shop here were wealthy people. They had no problem investing in it as long as they could catch a glimpse of the goddess¡¯ face. In fact, some of the extreme ones considered it an even bigger loss to not be able to see Tayarana¡¯s face in person. [Alright, I¡¯ve made my decision.] [W-What is it¡­?] Han-Yeol could not help but feel nervous about what Tayarana was going to say next, and the reason was that he could no longer fathom her scale when it came to money. [We are going to shop for something else,] Tayarana said. [S-Shop for something else?] Han-Yeol muttered. [Excellent idea, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam added. [Right?] [Yes, Tayarana-nim.] [Let¡¯s go.] [W-Wait a minute!] Han-Yeol cried out as he was dragged along by Tayarana to somewhere. He was not pretending to be dragged off by her just because she was a woman, but rather, he was being dragged around like a ragdoll by her as she overpowered him with her strength. He tried to resist by trying to hold his ground, but he found out almost immediately that resistance was futile. ¡®Sigh¡­ Today¡¯s quite a long and tiring day¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly. He could not help but feel exhausted after being dragged in all directions by Tayarana and Mariam since morning. Just a note, it was only 12:30 pm right now. Yes, it was only lunchtime. Just as Tayarana dragged Han-Yeol out of the mall¡­ sh! sh! sh! sh! sh!? The exit was flooded with a wave of people trying to get a glimpse of the goddess after hearing that she was there. There were rumors of her appearing at the Hunter Mall¡¯s normal section all over social media, so a horde of people had run over there just to get a glimpse of her. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± ¡°Please! Do a short interview with us! I beg you!¡± ¡°Tayarana!¡± [Tayarana! Please do an interview with us!] 1. One trillion won is one billion USD. 2. Founder of Korea More info here: Chapter 100: The True Path to Wealth (2)

Chapter 100: The True Path to Wealth (2)

The news outlets went all out just to score an interview with Tayarana, urgently deploying reporters who were fluent in Arabic to the mall. However, that was nowhere enough to make her budge an inch. [Mariam.] [Yes, Tayarana-nim.] Mariam took a step forward and controlled the consciousness of the Korean bodyguards. Ziiiing! The Korean bodyguards¡¯ eyes suddenly changed after being dominated by Mariam¡¯s ability. Some might find what Mariam did just now to be hical, but this was something that had been pre-agreed between them, so there was no problem with it. It was illegal for a Hunter to use their ability on ordinary civilians, but there was no issue if both parties hade to an understanding prior to it. Mariam also used her telepathic ability to issue amand to the Egyptian bodyguards. [Open a way for Tayarana-nim.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] There were already police deployed on the site, but they could not exert physical force on the crowd who was not illegally protesting or anything of that sort. It was not a crime to gather around just to see someone, after all. Gulp¡­! ¡®I need to endure this!¡¯ ¡®I will endure this!¡¯ ¡®I will definitely get a chance as long as I endure it!¡¯ The reporters were prepared to hold their ground until the very bitter end of their own volition. This was so they stood a chance to get a bit closer to the goddess and snap up a photograph of her or ask her a question. They knew very well from experience that they were going to be pushed quite far back by the bodyguards if they let them, and the difference in the quality of photographs being taken from a distance and from close-up was like heaven and earth. In the end, the reporters gritted their teeth and steeled their resolve to not budge a single inch from their current spot. They linked their arms together and formed a human chain when the bodyguards were making their way toward them¡­ However, they had grossly miscalcted who they were up against. Thud! ¡°W¡­ W-What¡­?¡± The reporters held on for dear life as they stood their ground, but the bodyguards easily pushed them out of the way as if they were a bunch of five-year-olds. ¡°Eeek!¡± ¡°Hold your ground!¡± ¡°Push back! Push harder!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t falter! Push!¡± After being easily pushed back, the reporters unlinked their arms. They tried to rely on their own personal strength to push the bodyguards back. However, there was no way that a bunch of ordinary reporters was going to be able to push back the Egyptian bodyguards, who were awakened Hunters. The Egyptian bodyguards might just be F Rank Hunters and not that helpful when it came to hunting monsters, but they still possessed far superior physical abilitiespared to ordinary people. Not only that, but anyone who awakened with skills that buffed their physical abilities would be far stronger than a bunch of ragtag reporters. ¡°Crazy! Why are they so strong?!¡± ¡°Euaaaak!¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t budging an inch!¡± ¡°Hey! Look here, we are both Koreans so shouldn¡¯t we be helping each other?¡± Some of the reporters tried to negotiate with the Korean bodyguards after confirming that they were Koreans as well. However, they were not aware of the fact that the Korean bodyguards were currently under the influence of Mariam¡¯s mind control and were unable to hear them. On top of that, Mariam¡¯s ability greatly amplified the Korean bodyguards¡¯ physical abilities as well. This made them even harder to deal with. [A path has opened for you, Tayarana-nim,] Mariam said while still maintaining control of the Korean bodyguards. ¡°Hey! Aren¡¯t you being too stingy?!¡± ¡°Do you know who I am?!¡± ¡°Ha! Do you really think you can be safe in Korea after making the media your enemy?!¡± ¡°Hey, you bastard! Which school did you graduate from?!¡± ¡°How old are you?!¡± The Korean reporters hurled all sorts of insults, further embarrassing their country in the presence of numerous international journalists. However, the Korean bodyguards did not even respond to them as they were currently under Mariam¡¯s control. Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­ Step¡­? Tayarana nonchntly dragged Han-Yeol into her car after a path opened. sh! sh! sh! sh! sh! sh!? The foreign journalists and some of the Korean ones gave up on pushing through the bodyguards. They turned their focus toward snapping up as many pictures as they possibly could albeit from a distance. ¡°Oh! This is going to be huge!¡± ¡°The goddess has fallen for Korean charms!¡± ¡°The goddess loves Korea!¡± ¡°A Korean man¡¯s persistence managed to seduce the goddess!¡± ¡°A romance between a god and a mortal!¡± ¡°Ah! I can feel my patriotism rising today!¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The reporters started conjuring up all sorts of click-bait headlines that were far from true. The fact was not important to them, since they only cared about generating as many views as possible while using all sorts of vague and shady methods to avoid legal liability. In the end, these people were not interested in what was the truth or not. The only thing they cared about was their own careers even at the expense of others. The reporters were in a frenzy until Tayarana, Mariam, and Han-Yeol got into the car and drove away. Of course, them leaving the scene did not mean that things would calm down. ¡°Follow that car! Don¡¯t lose it no matter what!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± One of the basic requirements to be a reporter was tenacity, and no reporter was going to give up on a potential exclusive scoop just because their target had taken off in a car. However¡­ ¡°Sir¡­¡± ¡°Ah, fuck this! How are we supposed to follow them if they¡¯re taking a helicopter?!¡± ¡°How will wepete with that¡­?¡± ¡°Ha¡­¡± ¡°Our manager bastard is going to berate us again¡­¡± ¡°Are they going to punish us for this¡­?¡± ¡°I hope not¡­¡± The reporters ran through several red lights, went past the speed limit, and even almost got into traffic idents just to chase after the car. Unfortunately, they eventually lost them after Han-Yeol and the women got off at a helipad and took off in a helicopter. Technically, their news station owned their own helicopters as well, but it was not something that they could hail down from the air like a taxi. They needed to get numerous pre-authorizations, but that would take time. Also, no one was going to simply allow them to use a helicopter just because of one scoop. ¡°What are we going to do now¡­?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I have no idea¡­ Just shut it, will you?!¡± ¡°Why are you taking it out on me¡­?¡± The reporters eventually gave up despite their best efforts. *** Dudududu! Meanwhile, Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mariam, all of whom the reporters were chasing after, currently flew two thousand meters above the ground. [Hey, Tara,] Han-Yeol called out. [Yes?] Tayarana replied. [Where are we going?] [Shopping.] [No, I mean, what kind of shopping are we going to do for us to require taking a helicopter?] [You will find out soon enough.] [Tayarana-nim is right. You will find out soon enough, Han-Yeol-nim,] Mariam added. ¡®Not that I have a choice now, right¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. There were numerous kinds of shopping out there. The first and foremost was the traditional style where one would visit a brick-and-mortar shop to see, feel, and test a product before purchasing it. The second was to look up a product on the inte and order it online. The third one was to watch a shopping channel on TV and ce an order through the phone if whatever product the show host was promoting caught one¡¯s eye. However, Han-Yeol never heard of shopping from a helicopter in his life, and this was something that he could notprehend no matter how hard he tried. Meanwhile, the helicopter had already passed Central Seoul and was headed toward the city¡¯s outskirts. ¡®Hmm¡­ This direction is heading toward Tara¡¯s mansion. Oh, maybe there¡¯s a special ce to shop over there?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he finally came up with a logical conclusion. Unfortunately, his conclusion was off the mark. The helicopter was indeed heading toward the direction of Tayarana¡¯s mansion, but it was not really heading toward that specific ce. [Here it is,] Tayarana said. [What kind of shopping are we going to do here?] Han-Yeol asked. [Look down.] [Down?] [Yes.] Han-Yeol looked down the window, but all he saw was pieces ofnd with luxurious mansions built on them. All of the mansions looked as expensive as the one next to it, and this ce appeared to be where most of the rich people in the country lived. Han-Yeol finished looking around before looking back at Tayarana. He asked, [What about it?] [Pick one,] she replied. [Pick what?] [House.] [House?] [Yes.] [¡­] ¡®What did she just ask me to pick?¡¯? Han-Yeol doubted his ears and his brain stopped working for a second. He turned his gaze from the goddess of beauty toward the goddess of answers, hoping that she would be able to enlighten him of what Tayarana was talking about. [Tayarana-nim wishes to purchase a house for you, Han-Yeol-nim, as a gift. Of course, she understands that you have your own reasons for living in that apart¡­ment¡­ However, her pride will not allow the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party to live in a chicken coop. Also, you living in a chicken coop will also tarnish the reputation of the raid party. I hope you would take into consideration Tayarana-nim¡¯s prestige as well as the reputation of the raid party and ept this gift,] Mariam exined. Then, she quickly added, [Tayarana-nim is notmanding you to ept this gift, but she is requesting you to ept this as her friend.] [Ugh¡­] Han-Yeol groaned at Mariam¡¯s quick follow-up. He was about to immediately refuse the gift Tayarana had prepared for him, but Mariam¡¯s quick-witted thinking made it difficult for him to refuse it. ¡®Isn¡¯t this a bit too extravagant of a gift to give to a friend¡­? Will it even be possible for me to adapt to her standard of living¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. They said that the oil tycoons from the Middle East spent their money in such a manner prior to the dimensional outbreak, and Han-Yeol could not help but assume that what Tayarana was doing was probably the same as what they used to do. Of course, the oil tycoons were nothing but middle-ss people nowpared to the new wealth of this generation, which were the mana stone tycoons. Dudududu! The helicopter remained hovering in the air without moving, and Han-Yeol was forced to pick a mansion under the burdensome gazes of Tayarana and Mariam. ¡®A-Alright¡­ There¡¯s no need to refuse a present, right¡­?¡¯ In the end, Han-Yeol decided to ept the gift. He might have been skeptical enough to refuse the offer if someone he did not trust had offered it, but Tayarana was someone who fought alongside him on the battlefield. Not only that, but she was now the trustedrade whom he would be relying on from now on. They were also going to be looking out for each other with their lives on the line. Han-Yeol started to seriously pick a mansion from the ones beneath him. He activated his skill, ¡®Demon Eyes.¡¯? After his eyes turned red from his skill activation, Han-Yeol decided to go all out in picking the ¡®gift¡¯ by using his surveince skill as well. [You will have to see the interior too, right?] Tayarana said. The mansions were spacious enough that all of them possessed their own helipad, so it was possible tond the helicopter to have a tour of them one by one. However, Han-Yeol shook his head in response and said, [No, I can roughly make out what it looks like inside with my skill.] [I see¡­ That looks like a very convenient skill to have.] [I suppose it is.] This was the reason that any surveince or observation skill was quite handy to have. They were not only useful inbat, but they were very useful in everyday life too. It had been thirty minutes since Han-Yeol started picking his ¡®gift¡¯. Only until the helicopter continued to hover in ce and almost ran out of fuel did he finally make his choice. [I¡¯ll go with that one.] [That one?] . Han-Yeol pointed at a modern-looking mansion situated on top of a hill. It was quite big and had a hugewn surrounding it, and there were numerous stand-alone buildings around the main building too. In fact, even the stand-alone buildings were spacious enough for anyone to use as their home. To be honest, the mansion was too big for Han-Yeol and his father to live in. He was initially quite burdened by having to choose a mansion, but he slowly started to feel greedy after browsing through the numerous houses beneath him. Well, it was understandable, since he could freely pick anything he wanted without having to worry about the price tag, right? [Excellent choice, I must say,] Mariamplimented. [Yes, I was thinking that house was going to be perfect for you,] Tayarana added. [Haha! Does that mean I have what it takes to be rich?] Han-Yeol joked. [I apologize, but I don¡¯t think you are at that level yet,] Mariam shot him down. [I agree,] Tayarana concurred. [These women are so¡­] Han-Yeol grumbled. He was not sure if they had pre-agreed on it or if it had just happened this way, but they were having fun ganging up on him. [Mariam,] Tayarana called out. [Yes, Tayarana-nim. I will immediately contact the realtor and have it ready by tomorrow,] Mariam replied. [Good.] [Tomorrow?!] Han-Yeol eximed. [Why? Is there a problem?] Tayarana asked. [No¡­ Not at all¡­] Han-Yeol replied. He thought to himself, ¡®Wow¡­ These guys are really on a whole different level¡­¡¯ Chapter 101: The True Path to Wealth (3)

Chapter 101: The True Path to Wealth (3)

Han-Yeol immediately scrapped all delusions that he had what it took to be rich. After seeing Tayarana, he realized that he had to have a bit more experience and work harder to be able to truly say that he had the potential to be rich. In the end, being rich was not all about having a lot of money. It was also a matter of howfortable their life was, how gutsy one was, and how used to the money one was. Han-Yeol immediately realized that he had none of these right now. [I will be sending you some helpers too,] Tayarana said. [Helpers?] Han-Yeol asked in response. Mariam was the one to answer his question. [The mansion will be too big for just you and your father to manage. Also, I do not believe that Han-Yeol-nim has the ability to hire a good helper, and that is why we will be sending you two helpers who know how to speak Korean and five helpers who do not but are very good at what they do. We will be paying for them, so please do not be burdened by them.] [T-That is¡­] [Why? Is it not enough?] [N-Not at all! Thank you!] [Good. Don¡¯t be burdened by it.] [T-Thanks again, Tara.] Tayarana turned her face away after Han-Yeol sincerely thanked her. She did not know how to react as this was her first time being sincerely thanked by someone. In the end, she decided to act indifferent. [Don¡¯t worry about it. I just didn¡¯t want the Vice Leader of my raid party to live in such a shabby ce.] [Shabby¡­ Anyway, thank you, Tara.] Han-Yeol sincerely thanked Tayarana once again. The gift was a bit burdensome since he got something so expensive that he would have probably thought twice before even buying it with his own money for free. [Also, I think you need to study a bit about what being rich is, Han-Yeol.] [Huh¡­?] *** After the helicopternded at the mansion¡¯s helipad, the group walked in to see the interior. Han-Yeol was able to roughly check theyout with his skill, but it was still better to check it with his own two eyes just in case there were some damages or repairs needed. [Well, I think it looks good,] Tayarana said. [I agree, Tayarana-nim. The interior is quite well done and it does not require a lot of repairs. Not to mention, there are numerous buildings outside so it is not going to feel too crowded. On top of that, there is a swimming pool, tennis court, and other spaces for outdoor activities. It won¡¯t be boring living here,] Mariam added. Tayarana and Mariam diligently looked around the house as if they were going to be the ones living in it. [Excuse me,dies? I think this is my house, but why are you guys so much more excited¡­?] Han-Yeol asked. [That is because you cannot be trusted, Han-Yeol-nim,] Mariam replied. [Hey¡­ Aren¡¯t you being too mean? Anyway, how much does this house cost?] [I have no idea, but I don¡¯t think this is going to cost much, so I didn¡¯t bother looking into how much it is,] Tayarana replied. [Oh¡­really?] [Yes.] Han-Yeol could not help but shake his head in disbelief. He no longer felt like discussing anything rted to money with Tayarana from now on. [Oh, I have something I wanted to ask,] Han-Yeol said. [I will answer your questions,] Mariam replied. Tayarana was not someone who concerned herself with minor details, so answering mundane questions was Mariam¡¯s job. [There are a lot of mansions in Seoul too, but why do we have toe all the way to the outskirts? I think most chairmen of conglomerates already live in mansions in Seoul¡­?] Han-Yeol could not help but question their decision. There were plenty of mansions in Cheongdam-dong or Itaewon, which was currently an up-anding hot ce, so he did not understand why they woulde all the way out here where a helicopter was required. [Ah, I apologize, but¡­] Mariam hesitated. [Yes?] [Do you call those houses mansions too¡­?] [Oh¡­ That is¡­] Han-Yeol was rendered speechless at Mariam¡¯s response. [I had no idea that they would call those small houses as mansions in this country. I think the people of this country have not been exposed to what true wealth is¡­ Oh, I think I learned this while studying Korean. Your ancestors practiced something called Confucianism, so minimalism has been ingrained in you? I did not expect that culture to be still practiced.] [I¡­ I guess¡­?] Mariam managed to instantly downgrade the seventeen billion won mansion of the S Group chairman into a normal house. Han-Yeol decided to zip his mouth from now on. He felt that he was the one who was going to turn into an oddball in their eyes if he continued talking about money. He grumbled inwardly, ¡®Today is a very long day¡­¡¯? *** The realtor came huffing and puffing to the mansion twenty minutes after the helicopter hadnded, and they smoothly finished all of theplex processes required thanks to him. Han-Yeol felt a bit uneasy by the fact that everything seemed to have been rushed, but he did not really see anything that might be a cause for concern. After all, he did have the experience of buying his own apartment, so he sort of knew how things worked. Right after all of the processes were finished, Tayarana and Mariam stood up from their seats. [We¡¯ll get going now.] [Oh, are you going already?] Han-Yeol asked. He could not help but feel disappointed that it was now time for him to say goodbye to the two beauties. At the same time, another part of him wanted nothing more than to roll around in bed and sleep due to the amount of stress he had received today. [We have no reason to stay anymore.] [Tayarana-nim is correct.] [Well, I guess you¡¯re right, Tara. Thank you very much once again.] [I only acted ordingly and treated you as befitting of our raid party¡¯s Vice Leader.] [Yeah, I¡¯m thanking you for that.] [Ehem¡­] Tayarana seemed to be slightly shy from Han-Yeol¡¯s sincere gratitude, but she did not even take a single second topose herself and straighten her posture. Then, she walked out of the mansion. Mariam bowed toward Han-Yeol before following after her master. Thud¡­! Han-Yeol sat back down on the sofa. The house had not been used for a long time, but the original owner had built it with the intention of using it as his vacation house. Thanks to that, most of the furniture in the mansion was high-end, and they were in tip-top condition due to someone having consistently taken care of them. From where he sat on the sofa, Han-Yeol looked around his new home. He asked himself in disbelief, ¡®Is this really my house¡­?¡¯? Everything felt so surreal to him right now. It only felt like yesterday when he had spent hundreds of millions of won to buy his own apartment, but who would have known that someone was going to gift him a mansion? Not only that, but this was not a mansion simply due to itsrge area. It was a proper mansion built atop a huge plot ofnd that was going to fetch at least tens of billions of won just from thend price itself. Pinch! Han-Yeol pinched his cheek to check if he was dreaming or not¡­ It hurt. ¡®This is real¡­ I¡¯m not dreaming right now¡­ This is reality! I should let father know about this right away!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, feeling rejuvenated just from looking at his new house. He finally felt that he had entered the ranks of wealthy individuals. He still saw his bank ount filling up like how game money would steadily increase, but it felt entirely different now that he was able to live in a house that he used to only see on the TV. ¡®I wasn¡¯t properly using my money all this while¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while looking down at his hand. He originally nned to set up his own raid party after his contract with the Horus raid party expired. However, the terms offered to him were not bad at all; he was able to act independently, hunt on his own after whatever hunts were nned by the raid party, and even use the Egyptian Hunters on his own ord. Ding¡­ Dong! ¡®Hmm? Who¡¯s that?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered when the doorbell rang. He did not really feel like getting up right now, so he used Psychokinesis to open the door instead. He marveled, ¡®Wow¡­ that¡¯s convenient¡­¡¯? It was his first time trying it, and he found it to be surprisingly convenient. The door opened and a middle-aged couple walked in. They walked toward Han-Yeol and greeted him with a bow. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked. ¡°Ah, hello, sir. We have been the ones maintaining this mansion, and we came here after hearing that the mansion has been sold.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Please have a seat. I apologize for not being able to serve you anything. As you can see, I just bought the ce, so it¡¯s still quite empty.¡± ¡°W-We are fine! Thank you!¡± the couple waved their hands before sitting down on the sofa that Han-Yeol had motioned them toward. ¡°So, why did you want to see me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Actually, we have been managing this mansion all this while. However, our contract onlysted until this mansion was sold to a new owner. We were wondering what we should do now that you have purchased this ce, Hunter-nim¡­¡± ¡®What are they talking about¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered, not understanding why they woulde to him with this concern. ¡°Both of you may leave the mansion now. I will be getting my own people to maintain it,¡± he nonchntly replied with a hint of irritation in his voice. He could not help but feel annoyed that someone was going to ask him such an obvious question especially after he had a long tiring day. Han-Yeol might be someone who strove to be fair andpassionate to others, but he was not a fool who would thoughtlessly take strangers into his own household. He knew himself very well. He was someone who would not hesitate to take the shorter end of the stick for his trusted friends, but he was quite indifferent to people who had no ties to him. This could be considered a good or bad thing by others, but Han-Yeol liked the way he was. ¡°S-Sir!¡± ¡°Where will we stay if we get kicked out of this ce? Please! I beg you! Please let us continue working here!¡± Thud! The couple got down on their knees and begged Han-Yeol. Looking at this sight, others might feel bad for the couple. Unfortunately, what they were doing now only further annoyed Han-Yeol. ¡°I have no reason to hire the both of you. First of all, I don¡¯t trust strangers. Please leave the premises if your contract has expired,¡± Han-Yeol said in a stern voice. He had no reason to hire them as Tayarana had already arranged for seven people to maintain his new mansion on his behalf. ¡®Besides, how can I trust them when I don¡¯t know them at all?¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol was the type to wholeheartedly trust someone once he decided to trust them, but it was going to take a very long time for him to give his trust to someone. The middle-aged couple begged Han-Yeol a few times in hopes of convincing him. However, in the end, they had no choice but to leave the mansion after he gave them the cold shoulder. ¡®Tsk¡­ so annoying¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly after sending the couple out. After some time, he then asked himself, ¡®But how am I going to go home¡­?¡¯ His van was at the association, and this mansion was on the outskirts of the city, so hailing a taxi was going to be impossible. ¡®Well, I doubt a taxi is going to refuse?toe?here despite the distance if I offer them?four times?the normal rate, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol nonchntly thought as he called a taxipany to request for a taxi. Everyone was working to earn a living, so nobody was going to refuse such a good deal in the first ce. But surprisingly, the taxipany sent him a message that a taxi had been assigned to him even before he was able to propose quadrupling the rate. ¡®Wow¡­ Taxis have be much better now¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was amazed at how convenient hailing a taxi had be. Anyway, he took the taxi all the way to the Hunters¡¯ Association and drove his van back home. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep! ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Why are you sote?¡± his father asked. It was currently 8:30 pm, which was not thatte at night, to be honest. ¡°Ah, how was business today, father?¡± ¡°Haha! It was quite good! Don¡¯t you know how good your father is?¡± His father was quite lively recently. It was understandable that he would feel rejuvenated after seeing his business do so well, since it had been his lifelong dream to have his own business since the day that he worked for someone else. Han-Yeol went straight to the point after greeting his father. ¡°Father.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do you want to move somece else?¡± ¡°Why are you talking about moving all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Ah, actually, it is not sudden. I felt that the house is a bit small, so I recently bought a house since there was a good one on the market.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that there is a good house on the market, but there was?a good house on the market and you bought it already?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of asking me then?¡± ¡°Just for formality''s sake?¡± The father and son duo were quite straightforward with each other, and other people might misunderstand that they were arguing with each other or something based on how rough they spoke. However, others would not understand that this was just how they showed affection to each other. Han-Yeol¡¯s father grimaced for a while before he asked, ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°It¡¯s damn good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± ¡°Shall we go have a look tomorrow?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± *** Han-Yeol woke up quite early in the morning to take his father to their new ¡®house¡¯ on the outskirts of Seoul. ¡°H-Hey¡­ D-Don¡¯t tell me this house is¡­our house¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct, father.¡± ¡°Are you lying right now? Is this a prank?¡± ¡°No, I am not lying.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father had his mouth agape as he stared at the mansion for quite a while, and it seemed that his mouth was not going to close anytime soon. Chapter 102: The True Path to Wealth (4)

Chapter 102: The True Path to Wealth (4)

Han-Yeol dragged his shocked father, who was standing at the entrance, into their new house to give him a tour. Whiiiing! ¡®Hmm?¡¯? Noticing the sound of power toolsing from the garden, Han-Yeol went over to the garden and found a few people working on it. There was an old man who looked to be in his sixties wearing a necktie on top of a tuxedo. When he spotted Han-Yeol, he walked over and greeted him with an elegant bow. ¡°Hello, are you Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°Yes, I am, but who are you?¡± ¡°My name is Albert, and I am a butler hired by Tayarana-nim. If I may provide a brief introduction of myself, my parents are Korean but I was born in the United States. I worked as a butler there before my savior, Tayarana-nim, asked me for a favor, and that favor is the reason why I am here to serve you today, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Han-Yeol realized that these people were probably the helpers who Tayarana had promised to send yesterday. After hearing that they were sent by her, he could finally rx around them. ¡°Nice to meet you, Albert.¡± ¡°It is an honor to serve you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.¡± Han-Yeol acted quite casually around Albert, but that was not the case for his father, who was still stunned with his mouth agape. ¡°Father?¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Ah, ahem ahem¡­ I am Han-Yeol¡¯s father,¡± his father introduced himself to Albert. ¡°It is an honor to serve you as well,¡± Albert said as he elegantly bowed toward him as well. Han-Yeol¡¯s father could not believe this whole thing was actually happening even though Han-Yeol had already introduced this as their new home. He knew that his son earned a lot of money after recently awakening as a Hunter, but it had not been a full year since then, which was why he was confused as to how his son was able to buy such a luxurious mansion. Han-Yeol might be quite well-aware of what was going on around the world as he always watched the news, but his father was theplete opposite of him in this regard. Needless to say, he had no idea how sessful his son was. Not to mention, this whole Hunter thing was not something that most elderly people took interest in, so it was only natural that he would be unaware of Han-Yeol¡¯s sess. ¡°What do you think, father? Do you like our new house?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ This is an awesome house¡­ And what did you say a while ago? I can choose which building I want to live in? Are you sure it¡¯s not a room I should be choosing?¡± ¡°Yes, just think of it this way. A single standalone building in this ce is a room, so you may freely choose which ¡®room¡¯ you would want to use from now on. All of them have excellent soundproofing and instion so you will befortable in them.¡± ¡°Hohoho! Then I guess you won¡¯t be scolding me even if I bring over all of my friends and drink all night.¡± Han-Yeol shrugged his shoulders and replied, ¡°Well, something like that.¡± ¡°Hoho! I love that part the most!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father was technically not supposed to be smoking or drinking as he had just recovered from a serious illness. However, Han-Yeol was a Hunter who possessed the ¡®Restore¡¯ skill, so his father could abuse his body as much as he wanted to. This was provided that he frequently had Restore cast on him. Of course, Han-Yeol had been diligently using Restore on his father so the man¡¯s body was almost as good as new. Not only that, but he had also been scanning his father¡¯s body with Demon Eyes whenever he got the opportunity, so there was no chance that an illness could make his father fall sick once again. In short, his father was on the receiving end of an Ultra S Rank medical service right in thefort of his own house. ¡°You¡¯re making me see you in a different light again, Han-Yeol. How is it possible that I had no idea what you have been up to while you were bing so sessful?¡± ¡°I already told you that you should watch the news sometimes. Did you know that I was on the evening newsst time? How is it that other people are more aware of what is going on in my lifepared to you, father?¡± Yes, Han-Yeol did appear on the evening newsst time. He did not only appear once, but he appeared twice on two separate asions. The first news had been about him being the first Hunter who possessed more abilities than others, and the second news had been about his personal rtionship with the goddess, Tayarana. That was why the Hunters¡¯ Association wanted to¡­ ¡®Oh right¡­ The Hunters¡¯ Association¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered what he initially wanted to do, which he hadpletely forgotten after getting abducted by Tayarana. Today was almost going to be the second time that he had forgotten what he was supposed to do. ¡®Ah, I shouldn¡¯t dy it before I forget it again. I should go right now.¡¯ After making his decision, Han-Yeol called his butler, ¡°Albert.¡± Albert showed how experienced he was as a butler, suddenly appearing out of nowhere when Han-Yeol called for him. ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°I will be going out for a bit, so please take care of my father.¡± ¡°Please do not be worried about him. I will serve him to my utmost capabilities.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied before turning to his father to say, ¡°I have to go to the association for a while and sort out some stuff there, father.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± ¡°Okay, I will be backter.¡± Han-Yeol resolved to visit the Hunters¡¯ Association today and renew his rank no matter what happened. Just as he was driving through the city¡­ ¡®Hmm?¡¯? Screech¡­ Bam! The car in front of Han-Yeol turned its blinker on and changednes, but it ended up crashing into his van. Han-Yeol did not even need Sixth Sense as he saw the car iing, but the problem was that he had nowhere to go to avoid it. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly as his spotless driving record was tarnished today. He had always been very proud of the fact that he did not have a single car ident¡ªuntil now. He got out of his car to assess the damage. ¡°Ouch¡­ Ouch¡­¡± the other middle-aged man got out of his car while holding onto the back of his neck, a gesture often seen in TV shows or movies. The middle-aged man was wearing a suit, had a pot belly, and had a receding hairline. In short, he looked like every other middle-aged office worker in South Korea. Of course, that was the first impression he gave off as Han-Yeol had no idea who the guy really was. ¡®Crazy bastard¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol scoffed inwardly in disbelief after seeing the assant pretending to be the victim. ¡°Hey, you bastard! Do you have a death wish?! Why the hell are you driving so recklessly?!¡± the middle-aged man screamed in anger. There was a saying in Korea that the one who threw the first punch already won half the battle, and the other half was won by having a louder voice. The middle-aged man yed by the textbook and started screaming at the top of his lungs before Han-Yeol could react. ¡°What will you do about this? Do you know how much this car is? Huh?!¡± The middle-aged man yed the next trick in the book, which was to threaten the other with the cost of his car. ¡®What should I do?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He wanted nothing more than to punch the guy in the mouth and shut him up, but he knew very well that he should not do that. He might be a Hunter, but that did not mean he was above thew. However, the fact that he was pissed off did not change. ¡°Tsk¡­¡±?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. He decided to approach the situation in a rational manner as he knew that nothing was going to happen if he raised his voice. And by raising his voice, the whole situation would only escte further. Han-Yeol decided to ignore whether the man was screaming his lungs out or not. He called 112 instead. [112, what is your emergency?] ¡°Ah, hello. I want to report a traffic ident,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The middle-aged man initially expected Han-Yeol to call his insurancepany, so he was taken aback when he called the police instead. If he came out screaming, most people preferred to call their insurancepany instead to try to resolve things in an amicable manner. However, this young man had the balls to call the police first. The middle-aged man decided to teach this arrogant young man a lesson. ¡°Hey, you fucker! You should apologize if you did something wrong! Who the hell taught you to call the cops first before apologizing? Ha?!¡± Han-Yeol furrowed his brow and red at the middle-aged man. ¡°W-What?! Wow! Look at this arrogant bastard. Why? Do you want to hit me? Ha! You should be saying ¡®I¡¯m sorry, I will call my insurancepany to settle it¡¯, you ignorant little fuck!¡± the middle-aged man screamed. He even threw his necktie to the ground as he put on his best performance. Clearly, he had only been acting the whole time, but he slowly started to get angry when Han-Yeol did not show any particr reaction. It was as if the whole situation was going to soon grow out of control and break out into a fight. However, Han-Yeol could not care less about what the man said. Once he finished filing a report to the police, he called his insurancepany next. Then, he was distracted by a sudden thought, ¡®Hmm¡­ I technically saved money by not paying for my house and I have a huge garage that¡¯s empty¡­ Should I start collecting cars this time?¡¯? There was apletely empty garage the size of 1,100 square meters in the mansion, which he thought was perfect to house a car collection. ¡®I can¡¯t keep driving a van all the time, right? I mean, this looks so not cool¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. The ident with the pot-bellied middle-aged man was the least of his concern right now as he thought to himself, ¡®This is why I buy insurance in the first ce, right?¡¯? Han-Yeol was registered with a premium insurance package for Hunters that cost ten million won a month, and this was a special kind of insurance where the insurancepany did all the work in the event of an ident. ¡°Hey, mister. You can speak to my insurancepany, so will you shut it?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ¡°W-What did you just say?!¡± the middle-aged man eximed in shock. The middle-aged man then thought, ¡®Why is he not budging an inch?!¡¯ Most people would be scared or confused after an ident, and they were bound to be even more flustered if the other car was an expensive luxury car that cost hundreds of millions of won. ¡°Where the hell are your manners?! Hey, you punk. Do you think you can get away scot-free just because you called the insurancepany? You should apologize first! Apologize! How dare you go running to the police and the insurancepany when you should be apologizing?! Do you want to die? Ha?! Do you know who I am? I can make one single phone call and get you fired from wherever you are working!¡± The middle-aged man used a bunch of clich¨¦ phrases that were all toomon in Korea. However, the problem was that he was saying these without even analyzing his current situation. He was too worked up right now to even realize that he had caused the ident in the first ce. On the other hand, Han-Yeol was slowly running out of patience but could not directly hit the man or inflict harm on him. It was then that a small rock the size of a golf ball caught Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes. Then, he saw an empty can of c around five hundred meters away from him. ¡°Fuck!¡± Han-Yeol cussed as he kicked the rock. Whooosh¡­ Kwachik! It was a very childish thing to do, but he wanted to at least vent his anger on the rock since he could not hit the man. The rock flew in a strange trajectory, avoiding the cars and pedestrians before urately hitting the empty can. The force behind the rock was so powerful that it ripped the empty can into half before digging itself into the pavement. ¡°Hii¡­?Hiiik!¡±?the middle-aged man shrieked in horror. He was horrified by what the rock did just now, but what truly mortified him was the fact that the young man who he was berating at the top of his lungs just now turned out to be a Hunter. He screamed inwardly, ¡®He?is a Hunter?!¡¯? He never imagined in his wildest dream that a Hunter was going to be driving such a crappy van. After all, Hunters were more ustomed to driving sports cars or super luxury sedans. It was at this moment that the middle-aged man realized, ¡®I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fucked¡­¡¯ When the insurancepany arrived, Han-Yeol left the mortified man alone and went to talk to them. ¡°Hello, my name is Choi Chi-Won, and I am a manager at S Insurance,¡± said the manager from the insurancepany before bowing toward Han-Yeol. A Hunter was a customer who they would not hesitate to bow their heads to. There were only fifty thousand Hunters in the country, ording to the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s statistics, but there were a lot ofpanies after them. This was the reason that any service or business that dealt with Hunters did its best to maintain top-quality services all the time. ¡°Yes, hello. I got into an ident just now. Will you go take a look for me?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Certainly, I will handle everything here. Please rest assured, Hunter-nim.¡± Then, the police arrived shortly after to start looking into the ident. Han-Yeol watched them work before deciding that there was not going to be any problems. Then, he took a taxi and went to the Hunters¡¯ Association. This happened after Han-Yeol had left the scene. After sensing that he was in deep shit when the police arrived, the middle-aged man hurriedly called his insurancepany. The insurance agent soon came and was mortified after seeing the ident. The insurance agent quoted that the middle-aged man would require around forty million won to rece his front bumper, and the middle-aged man was quite satisfied with the quoted amount. However, what came next almost gave him a heart attack. Han-Yeol¡¯s car was a Hunter specification van from Germany, and this model could not be fixed in Korea, so it had to be sent to Germany. The van was going to take a long time to fix and a lot of money as well, and the amount quoted totaled to one hundred twenty million won just for the repair itself. Not only that, but Han-Yeol was also due to receivepensation for the period he was not able to use the van. For this, the rental fee the middle-aged man had to fork out amounted to ny million won. All in all, this ident was going to cost him two hundred ten million won. The middle-aged man was indeed driving a luxury branded car, but he had bought it off the used market, so his insurance premium only covered up to one hundred million won. This meant that he had to fork out the remaining one hundred ten million won from his own pocket. The middle-aged man begged for Han-Yeol¡¯s contact details as he desperately tried to find an amicable solution with him. However, the police and S Insurance manager would not budge an inch, because giving out someone¡¯s contact details was illegal. 1. 112 is the 911 of Korea. Chapter 103: The True Path to Wealth (5)

Chapter 103: The True Path to Wealth (5)

Han-Yeol shook his head after leaving the scene of the ident. He grumbled, ¡°Ah¡­ Do I have a grudge with the Hunters¡¯ Association from my previous life or something¡­? Why do things keep happening whenever I¡¯m about to go there?¡± He had already failed to visit the Hunters¡¯ Association two times now, and that was the reason he hadposed himself throughout the ident and called the police and insurancepany instead. Otherwise, he would have crushed the middle-aged man¡¯s car like a tin can and thrown some money aspensation. What if he got into trouble? Simple, he was going to use his position as a Hunter to get out of it. However, going to the Hunters¡¯ Association was his top priority for today. ¡®You better not show up in front of me ever again¡­ or I¡¯m going to bash your head in,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled while drinking the soft drink he bought from a vending machine. Grip¡­! Then, he crushed the coin he got as change from the vending machine to the size of a booger. The taxi driver instantly tensed up after witnessing what Han-Yeol just did through the rear-view mirror. The poor driver had to drive as carefully as he could to not get on the Hunter¡¯s nerve. Of course, Han-Yeol did not notice how nervous the taxi driver was as he was still enraged by the middle-aged man. The tense ride continued until they reached the Hunters¡¯ Association. ¡°Ahh! Finally!¡± Han-Yeol eximed after finally arriving at the Hunters¡¯ Association. He finally made it here after being sidetracked time and time again. It was not that he was particrly busy today, but what was important was the fact that he had made it. Han-Yeol looked around his surroundings just in case there was anything else that was going to get in his way, but he didn¡¯t find anything in particr. Whiiing¡­ The automatic sliding doors opened and Han-Yeol finally stepped foot into the association building. Most business establishments that Hunters frequented had a row of employees standing in front of the doors just to greet them, but this was the Hunters¡¯ Association, which was known for being very proud even to Hunters. There were no such services in this ce, and even the ordinary people here earned far more than others earned elsewhere. Han-Yeol went to the receptionist on the first floor and told them that he was there to have his rank adjusted. ¡°A readjustment of your rank?¡± the receptionist asked to be sure. ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡± ¡°Ah, not at all. Please wait a moment.¡± A well-dressed staffer appeared and took Han-Yeol¡¯s documents to a room. A while passed before a man, who looked like he was in his thirties, with a strange-looking mustache came out from the room to greet Han-Yeol. ¡°Oh, you are Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, right?¡± the mustache man asked. ¡°Yes, that is me.¡± ¡°I apologize for our rudeness for making someone like you stand outside and wait for us.¡± ¡°Ah, not at all, I¡¯m fine with it¡­¡± Han-Yeol said. Before he could finish speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by the mustache man¡¯s outburst. ¡°Not at all!¡± Han-Yeol was a rising star who had turned the arrogant Hunters¡¯ Association upside down. Of course, most people were busy focusing on Tayarana as she was the one who was far more famous than him, but anyone who had a deep understanding of Hunters or worked in the industry was more interested in Han-Yeol. In fact, even the Hunters¡¯ Association were anxiously waiting for the day that Han-Yeol was going to visit them. This was because there was a rule that they were not allowed to force a Hunter to do anything without probable cause. Anyway, even the chief of the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s Gangbuk Branch moved his heavy butt down to the first floor just to shake Han-Yeol¡¯s hands. ¡°Pleasee this way. I will personally assist you in readjusting your rank.¡± What was even more amazing was that the Gangbuk Branch¡¯s head researcher personally offered to readjust Han-Yeol¡¯s rank. The association researchers were very proud people who would not budge an inch unless there was anything special, and the fact that their head personally attended to Han-Yeol was a shocking thing. Han-Yeol followed the researcher. Noticing the ce they went to was not the same ce he had been thest time, he wondered, ¡®Hmm? This isn¡¯t the same ce asst time.¡¯ That ce was located above ground, but they were currently heading underground to the basement. ¡°Excuse me, I think I did my rank test upstairsst time. Why are we going to the basement this time?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, I forgot to exin to you beforehand. Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is the first Hunter who possesses multiple abilities, right?¡± ¡°Well, I guess?¡± ¡°Then it will be impossible to gauge your rank with a normal machine. We will need to use the more advanced machine at theb if we want to urately gauge your rank.¡± When Han-Yeol stopped in his tracks, the head researcher called out to him with a perplexed look on his face. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°I decline to have any tests carried out on me. I will just stick to being tested by the previous machine. I didn¡¯te here to waste my time with this nonsense,¡± Han-Yeol said sternly. He thought, ¡®You think I will be fooled? I know you¡¯re just trying to find out the secret behind my precious ability.¡¯ Han-Yeol no longer nned to hide his abilities from others, and that was the reason that he had broadcasted his entire hunt live without editing it. However, that did not mean that he was alright with the association dissecting his abilities. ¡®Who do they think they are?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. The Hunters¡¯ Association might seem like an omnipotent organization, but that was not the case at all. They were able to stand toe-to-toe with the government of the Republic of Korea thanks to the support of the Hunters. This meant that they were going to crumble the moment the Hunters withdrew their support. The Hunters supported the association because the association guaranteed them freedom as long as they obeyed certain rules, and this ¡®freedom¡¯ they offered to the Hunters was the main catalyst that allowed the association to be what it was today. ¡°H-Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± The head researcher was shocked at Han-Yeol¡¯s refusal to cooperate. Han-Yeol might be the first Hunter of his kind, but the head researcher never imagined in his wildest dreams that a mere Hunter would dare to go against the wishes of the association. The researcher was a scientist who was only interested in his research. He did not care about the rtionship between Hunters and the association, and that was also the reason why hecked understanding of the ¡®freedom¡¯ the association guaranteed. The Gangbuk Branch was turned upside down once again at Han-Yeol¡¯s refusal, and this made the director of research from the main branche running to this branch. ¡°L-Look here, Han-Yeol, what do you want? What will make you cooperate with us and let us scan you?¡± the director asked. Han-Yeol might be the first Hunter of his kind, but the higher-ups at the Hunters¡¯ Association were not that interested in him. Yes, his ability was quite amazing, but thebat prowess he had shown in the live stream was something that most A Rank and even some B Rank Hunters were capable of doing. Yes, Hunters who were at the level of B Rank or A Rank were quite useful, but they were not that useful to stir up trouble with whatever organization they were affiliated with. In short, Han-Yeol did not have enough merit for the association to raise an issue over him. ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like it. Go get a warrant from the association if you want to force me. The fact that you even tried to scan me without my consent is already pissing me off,¡± said Han-Yeol who openly expressed his anger. The researchers might be an important pir of the Hunters¡¯ Association, but they were nothing other than old men in white gowns to Han-Yeol. Needless to say, he had no reason to give in to their demands. ¡®I would have tried at least negotiating some tax benefits if it was the Hunters¡¯ Association dealing with me, but I don¡¯t see any benefit for me if it¡¯s just these old men showing interest in me,¡¯ thought Han-Yeol as he recalled the thirty percent tax that he always had to pay. The government did mention that quite a lot of European countries were levying a fifty percent tax on Hunters, but the European countries worked closely with their Hunters and made sure that there were near-perfect facilities and benefits that they could use. For example, the United Kingdom made it possible for Hunters to hire their soldiers as mercenaries to assist them in hunts. The soldiers were not extremely helpful against monsters, but the fact that they were hunting with battle-hardened war veterans greatly increased the efficiency of the hunt. In short, the European Hunters enjoyed better support from their government and association. On the other hand, the Korean soldiers had been busy guarding the north-south Korean border before the dimensional gates appeared. After they had appeared, they were busy guarding the perimeters around the hunting grounds. ¡°Haa¡­ Let¡¯s do it like this,¡± the research director said after an hour of going back and forth. Of course, the winner was obviously Han-Yeol, and the research director ended up having to sweeten the deal. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You may take three things from our research center if you agree to let us conduct research on you. The value of what you take does not matter since we will not be able to pay you in cash. We are just researchers getting budgets from the higher-ups, after all¡­ However, you will find quite a lot of things that will be helpful inbat in ourboratory. So, what do you think?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ That offer is a hundred times better than you trying to scan me without my consent,¡± Han-Yeol replied. The director of research bowed his head in embarrassment after getting caught by Han-Yeol, and he started to worry that this was going to escte into an even bigger issue. *** After much difficulty, the director of research had managed to convince Han-Yeol to agree to the scan. They went to the research center at the Hunters¡¯ Association headquarters in Gangnam. The agreement was to do a scan of Han-Yeol¡¯s body and test some of his abilities. The result of the test was¡­ ¡°Congrattions, your rank came out as the upper echelon of B Rank. You are the first one to jump from E to B in a single attempt. I suspect that you started off with three skills, but gained new skills over time¡­ However, that is the surprising part. There has been no instance of a Hunter possessing more than three skills, and I think you are the first of your kind,¡± the director said. ¡°Haha! It feels good to be the first, I guess?¡± Han-Yeol replied. Being the first in anything was always something to feel good about. Han-Yeol knew he was the first Hunter to possess such an ability, but it did feel good to have it officially acknowledged. ¡°Alright, shall I go take what I want now?¡± Han-Yeol said as he rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. Gulp¡­! The researchers nervously gulped and prepared themselves after hearing about the arrangement between Han-Yeol and their director, which was for Han-Yeol to take three pieces of equipment in exchange for allowing them to scan his body. Having a single equipment breakdown was already painful for them, since they were working with a budget. Needless to say, the fact that Han-Yeol was going to take three pieces of equipment was going to be a huge blow for them. Of course, they did discover a lot of new things thanks to scanning Han-Yeol, but they could not help feeling the pain now that he started choosing. ¡°What do you think? Feel free to pick anything you like,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Wow! Can I really do that?¡± eximed Yoo-Bi, who appeared out of nowhere. Han-Yeol had called Yoo-Bi over when he was moving from the Gangbuk Branch to the main branch in Gangnam. ¡°Yeah, I made a deal with them to take three pieces of equipment in exchange for letting them scan me. I kept my end of the bargain, so you can go ahead and choose whatever that might be helpful for you in hunting.¡± None of the equipment in the research center really caught Han-Yeol¡¯s eye. It would have been a different story if this was a ce researching Hunter equipment worth billions of won, but this was unfortunately not such a ce. However, that did not change the fact that they had a lot of equipment that would be useful for a Porter like Yoo-Bi. This research center developed mana detection devices, mana shbangs, and other equipment that Porters used, and that was the reason why this ce was no different from a shopping center for Yoo-Bi. Han-Yeol could not help but give this opportunity to Yoo-Bi. After all, he had witnessed how hard she was working for him all this time. Who would not want to reward such a hardworking staff? ¡°Hmm¡­ Which one should I choose?¡± Yoo-Bi wondered aloud while browsing through the list on the tablet PC, which housed the entire database of equipment avable in the research center. She soon eximed, ¡°Wow! There¡¯s a goggle with both thermal and mana detection functions?¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± Han-Yeol muttered while looking at the list. He could not help but be instinctively interested as he had been a Porter as well. Most Hunters who had worked as Porters for only a short while would not feel the same, but the ones like Han-Yeol, who had worked as a Porter for quite a while, were likely to have the same reaction. Yoo-Bi carefully picked three items from the research center, and she made sure to maximize the opportunity by picking the most valuable and useful things. ¡°What a haul! Who would have thought we could get these precious equipment for free?¡± Yoo-Bi eximed in delight. ¡°Keke! Right? You can continue using them until you awaken, as long as you are contracted with me. You know that, right?¡± ¡°Of course! I will continue my contract with you just for these babies! Not that I don¡¯t want to awaken as soon as possible, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, your first priority as a Porter should be to awaken and awaken alone.¡± This was something that Han-Yeol knew very well as he himself had waited four years and worked in the worst working environment just to awaken as a Hunter. Chapter 104: Balrog the Fire Shield (1)

Chapter 104: Balrog the Fire Shield (1)

The next day, Han-Yeol went to the Horus raid party¡¯s mansion to attend the after-hunt party. The media spected that it was probably going to be a huge and extravagant event, but Tayarana had instructed the party to be modest and only the raid party members to be invited. Han-Yeol enjoyed the party to his heart¡¯s content before he went home without any incidents. *** Four dayster. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? Han-Yeol¡¯s phone rang for the first time in a long while. The caller was Sung-Jin¡¯s father. ¡°Hello? Yes, ahjussi?¡± Han-Yeol answered the call. [H-Han-Yeol! A-Are you acquainted with the Horus raid party by any chance? They want to do business with us, and they¡¯re telling me your name. Did you refer them to us by any chance?] ¡°No.¡± [N-No?!] ¡°No, I did not refer them to you. I am actually working with them, and I am the Vice Leader of that raid party.¡± [V-Vice Leader?!] ¡°Yes, the Vice Leader. I think they should have arrived today since I gave them the addressst week.¡± [I-Is that so¡­? Someone calling herself the advisor of the Horus raid party came. I think her name¡¯s Mariam? She is currently going over the exclusive contract with Manager Han.] ¡°Exclusive contract? Do you sign those as well?¡± Han-Yeol was a bit surprised as he had never heard of such a contract before. He thought, ¡®Was there something like this too?¡¯ [Ah, it¡¯s unsurprising for you not to be aware of it. Factories like us don¡¯t usually sign exclusive contracts with Hunters, but we do sign those with guilds or raid parties. It¡¯s business between organizations, after all, so both parties tend to make it more legally stringent.] ¡°Oh, I see. Then, you can just proceed with it, right? Why did you call me, ahjussi?¡± [I wanted to thank you.] ¡°Come on, we are not strangers, so you do not have to thank me. Sung-Jin is my best friend, and I have been quite satisfied doing business with Sung Jin Factory. I would not have told them to deal with your factory if I was not satisfied with the quality in the first ce, so please do not worry about it.¡± [¡­Thank you.] ¡°Hahaha!¡± Han-Yeol might have saved the Sung Jin Factory from the TK Group¡¯s devious ns, but that did not mean that their financial situation had drastically improved after that. Rumors of the TK Group being at odds with the factory had spread throughout the industry, so mostpanies avoided doing business with them. After all, no factory was going to risk losing any business with the TK Group no matter how advanced the Sung Jin Factory¡¯s technology in refining monster parts was. That was the reason why the Sung Jin Factory was forced to do business only with foreignpanies, and that in turn affected their cash flow. No, rather, the factory would have closed down a long time ago if it was not for the foreign clients they had. [Also¡­] ¡°Is there something else?¡± [They say that Egypt is going to start cingrger orders for us.] ¡°What?! Did she really say that?!¡± Tak! Thud! Han-Yeol suddenly stood up, pushing his seat to the ground. [Yes, she did. She initially wanted to sell us the monster parts, but there¡¯s no way that our factory was going to be able to handle that much volume, so I told her that we were only going to take 10% of it. Then, she asked if she could see our products, and of course, I immediately showed them to her. She said she liked our quality, so she immediately instructed ten Egyptianpanies to ce a total order of one hundred tons worth of our products.] ¡°Wow¡­¡± [We just received the MOU a while ago and signed it. I¡¯m really grateful to you, Han-Yeol! Our factory will finally make it thanks to you!] The Sung Jin Factory really had it rough in recent times. They had barely managed to escape from the TK Group, but they immediately faced financial problems so bad that they actually had to consider selling the factory. Han-Yeol suddenly came in clutch for Sung Jin Factory by introducing the Horus raid party, which ced a huge order that was going to eventually resolve all of the factory¡¯s financial problems. How big was the ¡®huge order¡¯? The single order ced by Mariam was double the amount the Sung Jin Factory had sold since its establishment. In fact, the order was so big that they would have to immediately halt all other orders to solely focus on this one. This was obviously a huge win for the Sung Jin Factory as they only had to focus on manufacturing the products from the raw materials that the Horus raid party would bring. It seemed that the only thing left for the Sung Jin Factory to do was to grow from now on. ¡°You did great holding on for so long, ahjussi. Now, you only have to focus on growing your business.¡± [I can¡¯t find any words that could describe how thankful I am, Han-Yeol. This might not be the best way to repay you, but would you be interested in investing in our factory?] ¡°Invest?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. He wondered, ¡®Why is he bringing up investment all of a sudden?¡¯ [Yes, I¡¯ll be aiming to publicly list thispany. I will need a lot of capital to properly do business with the Egyptians, but I don¡¯t have much funds to expand the factory. I would have to turn to others for investment to kick-start things, but I¡¯d prefer to have you as our major shareholder, Han-Yeol.] ¡°Hmm¡­ Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as his interest was greatly piqued by the offer. It was going to be extremely easy for the Sung Jin Factory to grow as long as they continued doing business with the Egyptians, no, as long as Han-Yeol was with the Horus raid party. In short, this was an investment where the ROI was as clear as day. [Yes, I will have to start paying dividends to whoever I borrowed money fromter on, so why not let it be you? You are our greatest benefactor, after all.] ¡°That sounds great. There will not be any problems with the Horus raid party as long as I am with them, so the factory¡¯s business is as good as guaranteed. Around how much do you need, ahjussi?¡± ¡®Is he going to ask for around five hundred billion won¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He was a ssic case of learning about money through books or TV shows. In short, he had no idea how much money was worth since he had no real-life experience with it. [Hmm¡­ The more you invest the better, but I think around fifty billion¡­ No, ten billion will suffice.] The Sung Jin Factory needed at least fifty billion won to proceed with its expansion ns. Sung-Jin¡¯s father knew that Hunters made a lot of money, but he expected Han-Yeol to not have that much money to invest, so he immediately lowered the amount to ten billion won. ¡°Please wait a minute¡­¡± Han-Yeol said before he sat in front of hisputer and logged into his bank ount online. Then, he wired the investment to the Sung Jin Factory¡¯s ount and said, ¡°Ahjussi, I wired the investment to you, so please check it and give me the necessary paperworkter.¡± [¡­! Fifty¡­ Fifty billion won?!] Han-Yeol could hear Sung-Jin¡¯s father shouting on the other end of the line. ¡°Yes, fifty billion won is not that big of an amount, so why would I be stingy in investing in the factory? Anyway, how much share will I be getting with that amount?¡± [T-Thank you¡­ Ah, your share will be around¡­ Let¡¯s make it fifty-fifty. You and I will have an equal stake in the factory.] ¡°Oh, is that alright?¡± [Y-Yeah. I will be sending you the documents through my staff tomorrow. Thank you very much once again, Han-Yeol.] ¡°Keke! You just have to work hard and repay me with results, ahjussi!¡± [I will do my best. I promise.] The deal with Sung-Jin¡¯s father proceeded smoothly as he was quite a straightforward businessman, and Han-Yeol could feel the man¡¯s experience of having done business through the years. ¡°Then, I will be hanging up now.¡± [Alright, let¡¯s have a drink with Sung-Jin next time.] ¡°Yes, ahjussi.¡± Beep! Once the phone disconnected, Han-Yeol thought, ¡®Phew¡­ Mariam is really good at what she does.¡¯ Mariam might appear to be cold and indifferent, but she actually had a very warm personality on the inside. She might have been overshadowed by Tayarana all this time, but she was fine with it as she had made it her life¡¯s purpose to live for her master. Han-Yeol switched off hisputer before going up to the building¡¯s rooftop. Click¡­ ck¡­! He opened the door and was immediately greeted by a scenery that he only saw on TV the moment he stepped out to the rooftop. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!? He could hear the sparrows chirping in the distance. This ce was not that far away from Seoul, but he felt like he was in a quiet countryside surrounded by nature. Of course, the fact that most of the properties here were mansions owned by wealthy individuals made it far from a countryside, but it was still a very quiet and serene environment. This was something Han-Yeol never got to feel in Seoul. His younger days in Seoul had been quite a tumultuous one, and this was probably the first time in his life that he felt such peace and tranquility. Sukeok! Sukeok! Sukeok! Sukeok!? He could also hear the Egyptian helpers trimming the garden withrge shears. The garden had been a messpared to the mansion¡¯s neatly maintained interior even though the previous owner had hired two people to manage this ce. ¡®Tsk¡­ How could they brazenly ask me to hire them when they did such a lousy job in maintaining this ce?¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled inwardly. He recalled how brazen the couple had been when they first approached him. ¡®I would probably have fired them not long after. Yeah, it¡¯s the right choice even if I think about it a hundred times¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol justified his decision as he found it quite difficult to trust irresponsible people. *** The next day, Han-Yeol brought Yoo-Bi and the Mn team members to Bundang. Vrooom!? ¡°Are you going to hunt alone today, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Mariam told you that you can use the Egyptian Hunters anytime you wish, right? Why not bring a few of them with you?¡± Yoo-Bi was currently very worried. This hunting ground was the same ce they had hunted in a few days ago, but they had hunted with the entire Horus raid party back then. The fact that Han-Yeol wanted to solo-hunt in this ce was more than enough to make her worried and scared. ¡°Are you worried?¡± ¡°Of course I am! It was not that long ago since we hunted in this hunting ground with the entire Horus raid party! How can someone not be worried in this circumstance?!¡± ¡°Well¡­ I guess you do have a point¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered nonchntly. ¡°Oppa! This isn¡¯t about someone else! You are going to be directly affected by this as well!¡± ¡°I know, and it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not going to go all out as we did with the Horus raid party. I¡¯m going to take it slowly and hunt them one by one.¡± Han-Yeol had decided to pass on using the Egyptian Hunters for his own personal hunts for now because he still felt awkward with them. He was not that close to any of them aside from Mariam and Tayarana, so he preferred toe and hunt alone instead of having an awkward atmosphere with the Egyptian Hunters he was not close with. Pssht! ¡°How¡¯s the filming preparationing along, Soo-In?¡± Han-Yeol asked through the walkie-talkie. Actually, he was just changing the subject to avoid Yoo-Bi¡¯s nagging. Pssht! [We are good to go. We just have to install the ry antenna at the entrance.] ¡°Alright, roger that.¡± A banner of Han-Yeol¡¯s n to solo-hunt in the Paradise Field was already posted on the Golem Mania TV¡¯s main page. Thanks to the banner, the Golem Mania TV¡¯s lobby was full of people demanding for the Level Up TV to start streaming. [Ah! When will it start?!] [I¡¯m going to die from waiting!] [The suspense is killing me!] [Hey! Start already!] [Is he really going to hunt solo today? I wonder if I¡¯ll get to see Yoo-Bi today¡­] [I hope we will be able to see her¡­] Most of the viewers who subscribed and donated to Level Up TV were Yoo-Bi¡¯s fans. The fact that a beautiful girl like her was shooting guns in the hunting ground seemed to have attracted a horde of people. A whileter, the Level Up TV finally started its main countdown. There were thirty minutes left before the stream was going to go live. [Oh! It¡¯s finally here!] [Mwahahaha!] [I bought a V Ticket! Bring it on!] A horde of viewers braced themselves in front of their screens, impatiently waiting for the thirty-minute timer to finish. Chapter 105: Balrog the Fire Shield (2)

Chapter 105: Balrog the Fire Shield (2)

¡°Ready?!¡± shouted A-Reum, the youngest of the Mn crew, as she prepared to close the te while surrounded by all sorts of highly advanced technical equipment. Closing this ck-and-white object was like the symbol of the film industry, so it would not be reced no matter how much technology had improved. The te had always been used to signal the start of filming. ¡°Action!¡± Tak! The te let out its distinct sound as it was closed, signaling the start of the livestream broadcast. Then, Yoo-Bi, who was the main MC of Level Up TV, spoke into her microphone with her bubbly tone and stole the hearts of her viewers. ¡°Hello, everyone! I am your host, Han Yoo-Bi, and wee to Level Up TV!¡± The rm started ringing like crazy as viewers flooded into the live stream. The viewer counter went up so fast that it was impossible to keep track of it with their eyes. In fact, the counter rose so rapidly that it was clear that the main channel¡¯s traffic was going to be full soon and thete entrants would be sent to the sub-channel. [Yes! I got into the main channel!] [Hohoho! The main channel is the most prestigious spot for a poor person like me!] [I¡¯m really jealous of those who can afford a V Ticket¡­ ??] [Hehehe!] [It¡¯s alright as long as I get to see Yoo-Bi.] [Hi, Yoo-Bi!] The chat was on fire, just as expected, and Yoo-Bi smiled into the camera as if she was repaying the viewers for their passion. She said, ¡°Thank you, everyone, for showing so much love to our live stream! I love you all!¡± Yoo-Bi had gotten so used to broadcasting that she now had the leisure to do all sorts of ¡®fan service¡¯ to the viewers, and she was sincerely having so much fun right now. When Soo-In gave a signal to him that the broadcast was live, Han-Yeol nodded in response and activated Demon Eyes. [It¡¯s here! Those red eyes!] [So cool!] [I¡¯m really curious¡­ I wonder what that skill¡¯s effect is¡­?] [It should be a unique skill with an awesome effect, right?] The viewers suspected that Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes turning red was rted to an observation skill, but none of them knew what its actual effect was. In fact, nobody was going to find out its true effect as long as Han-Yeol kept his mouth shut. The only people in this world who probably knew what Demon Eyes did were Han-Yeol and his Ego system, Karvis. Han-Yeol was using a gun after a long time. He pointed it up in the air at a forty-five degrees angle and pulled the trigger. ¡®Mana Explosion!¡¯ Puk¡­ Whiiiiing¡­ The grenade he shot flew in an arc beforending on the ground. Kaboom! Then, a powerful explosion urred right where itnded. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Mana Explosion¡¯ has risen from (B) to (A).] ¡®Excellent,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after checking the notification informing him that ¡®Mana Explosion¡¯ had reached ¡®A¡¯. All that was left was for the skill to reach M Rank before it could evolve or produce a sub-skill. Also, the explosion triggered by the skill seemed to have grown even more powerful after leveling up. [W-What was that?!] [That¡¯s not an ordinary explosion!] [That¡¯s a ranged explosion skill!] [He had more skills?!] [Wow! Awesome!] Han-Yeol frequently used skills when using a gun, but this was the first time he was showing it on stream. Of course, the viewers were in awe after finding out that Han-Yeol had another skill hidden under his sleeve, and they instinctively felt that this solo hunt was going to be a historic one. The explosion sent a powerful shockwave to its surroundings, kicking up a dust storm. However, Han-Yeol did not shoot his gun there because he was stupid or perhaps he wanted to show off. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± A ferocious shriek resounded from where the explosion had urred before the surrounding temperature drastically dropped. ¡°Euk¡­!¡± The Mn crew and Yoo-Bi covered their ears and groaned in agony. They were affected by the negative effect despite wearing their protective bracelets, and the reason for that was because the Horus raid party¡¯s Hunters were absent this time around. Previously, the concentration of Hunters around them had emitted mana from their bodies, which ovepped with each other, and had formed a natural mana barrier that protected them from the negative effect. However, their agonysted only for a while as Han-Yeol took out a rtively decent-sized mana stone from his pocket. Gripping the mana stone, he cried inwardly, ¡®It hurts having to use these like this but¡­ I will have to increase my skill¡¯s level¡­ ¡®Enhance!¡¯?he used another skill. Woooong! ¡®Oh?¡¯?Han-Yeol noticed that the mana concentrated in his HSK-447P¡¯s grenadeuncher was acting up as if it was going to explode any second now. The mana started to condense even more as the gun started vibrating, but Han-Yeol calmly aimed his gun toward the sky at an angle once again. He was preparing to shoot another grenade out. He could not see the Banshees¡¯ mana a while ago even with Demon Eyes as they were lying dormant, but he could see it clearly now after they have be active from the first st. Then, he aimed with the help of his skill ¡®Marksmanship¡¯ and, without having to calcte anything, he could see the most ideal spot to shoot at to deal the most amount of damage against the monsters. ¡®Thirty-three degrees and then¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he aimed twelve degrees lower than a while ago. Then, hemanded, ¡®Mana Explosion!¡¯ Pfft¡­! Han-Yeol had activated his skill, but all he heard was the sound of air passing. His grenade did notunch this time. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s going on¡­?¡¯?he wondered while being perplexed at the sudden unexpected situation. He waited for a while, just in case, before he finally decided to lower his gun. Krrr¡­ Krrreuk¡­ Krwaaaaaang! Just as he was about to lower his HSK-447P, a loud sound thundered from his grenadeuncher and ferociously shot a grenade in an arc once again. The force was so powerful that Han-Yeol himself had to nt his feet to the ground. However, he still could not help being slightly pushed back. Whiiiish¡­! ¡®Euk¡­! What was that?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while watching the grenade whistle through the air. When the grenade finally touched the ground, thend started shaking before a powerful heat wave spread across the surroundings. Then, a mushroom cloud appeared from the distance before sending powerful shockwaves around it. Crackle¡­ Crackle¡­ Kabooooooom! ¡°Hiiiik!¡±?The Mn crew members shrieked in horror at the powerful force that they had never witnessed before. Then¡­ Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Huh? What¡¯s going on¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was confused after seeing the notification that he had leveled up after shooting one grenade. He decided to scan the area where the explosion had urred with Demon Eyes. As expected, there were three mana stones and what seemed to be the monsters¡¯ remains littered across the ground. In short, he had one-hit-KO¡¯ed the monsters. Ding! [The skill level of ¡®Enhance¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] On top of that, his skill had leveled up as well. ¡®Status window,¡¯?Han-Yeol called up his stats screen. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 121 Points: 5 STR: 197 VIT: 174 AGI: 161 MAG: 300+71 LCK: 10 Invoke: 200 Skills: Dismember (C), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (C), Head Cutter (E)], [Walking (M) : Mana Pouch (E)] Mana Control (A), Mana Mastery (A), Six-Sense (B), Restrain (A), Body Strengthening (A), Stab (A), Dagger Mastery (E), Chain Mastery (M), Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (A), Fire Attribute (A), Mana Explosion (A), Chain Smite (A), Marksmanship (A), Martial Arts (A), Enchant (B), Sword Breathe (B), Restore (C), Healing Bullet (D), Enhance Healing (D), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (B), Power Meditation (D), Psychokinesis (D), Force Shield (C), Cat Walk (D), Mana Absorption (C), Demon Eye (D), Mana Strengthening (E), Mana Bullet (E), Reflect (F), Enhance (D), Item Appraisal (F), Trantion (F). Han-Yeol shook his head and wondered, ¡®Is it because I used an expensive mana stone that I was able to do something like that?¡¯ It was difficult for an individual to buy a mana stone from the market, so Han-Yeol had invested one of the mana stones that he had obtained from the Paradise Field to activate Enhance. Perhaps it was because he had used a very good mana stone, but the effect of Enhance exceeded his expectations as he had gained three mana stones after using one just now. However, it could not be said that he had made a profit of two mana stones. After all, he could have easily killed the monsters and obtained three mana stones without having to invest a single mana stone. Han-Yeol checked his stats before investing five bonus stat points into Invoke to make it 205. Then¡­ Ding! [Your Invoke stat has reached 205. You may now summon an additional demon.] ¡®Alright! This is what I have been waiting for!¡¯?Han-Yeol balled his fist and eximed inwardly in delight. Then, he turned around toward Yoo-Bi and gave a thumbs-up. There were two meanings behind the thumbs-up. The first one was that Han-Yeol was in a good mood right now, and the second was to signal the end of the live stream. ¡°Did you see that just now, everyone? Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim annihted the monstersing toward him in a single hit!¡± Yoo-Bi unleashed a bombshell of her own. [W-What?!] [Lies!] [Didn¡¯t he have a hard time hunting herest time?] [I saw it live! I saw it with my own two eyes!] [What did we witness just now¡­? Is this the same Level Up TV I watchedst time?] [I¡­ I think so¡­?] [Jesus Christ!] [I think I¡¯m still half-asleep¡­ But I¡¯m sure mom woke me up a while ago for breakfast¡­?] The current viewers were the same ones who had witnessed Han-Yeol hunting with the Horus raid partyst time. There were visibly fewer viewerspared to that time, but most of the viewers this time were Han-Yeol¡¯s or Yoo-Bi¡¯s fans. After all, most of the viewers in thest live stream were Tayarana¡¯s fans¡­ Han-Yeol ced his HSK-477P on his shoulder and walked toward Yoo-Bi with an apologetic look. He said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yoo-Bi. I never imagined that they were going to die in one hit, and I ended up taking away your chance to hunt.¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t mind it, oppa. You put on quite a show, so it¡¯s fine,¡± she coolly replied. ¡°Ah, thanks. You are a really kind person, Yoo-Bi.¡± Han-Yeol was as carefree as he always was, not even realizing what he had done just now. The viewers, the Mn crew members, and even Yoo-Bi were currently busy doubting their eyes. They wondered if what they had witnessed just now was even real or not. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get moving! We have to go collect our loot!¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly said. ¡°Ah, yes!¡± Everyone replied in unison. They were able to finish the hunt without any specific trouble. Yoo-Bi and the others collected the mana stones and monster body parts while Han-Yeol ndestinely moved to collect the Angel Shards with Psychokinesis. He had collected more than one hundred fragments by now, and he was almost going to reach the two hundred mark. However, there was still no reaction from it or anywhere else. ¡®Do I have to summon Astaroth again¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered before he decided to give it more time. When everyone was busy doing their own tasks, Han-Yeol took out a piece of paper from his pocket. Looking at it, he grinned. ¡®Hehehe¡­ I scoured through all avable demon archives just to find this guy.¡¯ Han-Yeol did not search real books, but rather, had scoured the inte to find clues about this demon. However, he did not search the records avable on the Korean web. Instead, he had gone to the source of every demon¡¯s myth, which was Vatican City in Europe. He scanned through every avable data for nearly a month until he finally found the sigil of the demon he was looking for. Han-Yeol bit the tip of his finger and drew the sigil on the paper on the ground with his blood. Using his blood did not really make the summoning process more efficient, but demon summoning was all about how desperate the summoner was, and using one¡¯s own blood was probably the best way to do it. Closing his eyes after drawing the sigil, he then chanted the spell while mana flowed out from his mouth, ¡°Lord Satan¡­ Balrog¡­ to manifest¡­ This I respectfully and humbly ask in your name¡­ Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father!¡± 1. The fan service here does not carry any dirty or lewd meaning. This is akin to when athletes sign jerseys or take selfies with their fans. Chapter 106: Balrog the Fire Shield (3)

Chapter 106: Balrog the Fire Shield (3)

Han-Yeol was trying to summon an intermediate-ranking demon named Balrog, who was a servant of the highest-ranking demon among the seventy-two demons, Baal. Balrog was a very useful shield demon that stood at the frontlines and protected the demon army of Baal. Of course, the demon army meant the lesser-ranking demons and not Baal¡¯s officers. Anyway, Han-Yeol felt, time and time again whenever he went hunting, that it would be great if he had someone dependable acting as a shield in front. That was when he had decided tob through the inte in search of a suitable demon. Wooong! The sigil drawn with Han-Yeol¡¯s blood glowed bright red before mes started rising out from it. Fwaaa! However¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Contrary to Han-Yeol¡¯s expectations, no demon emerged from the sigil. Instead, a small ember that did not look particrly special was in its ce. ¡®What¡¯s that? Don¡¯t tell me the summoning failed¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered when he had unexpectedly failed to summon the demon. He was quite perplexed and embarrassed after nothing appeared from the sigil. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? ¡°What is Han-Yeol Hunter-nim doing?¡± ¡°Is he lighting a campfire?¡± ¡°Shh!?Hunters have great hearing! He can hear you!¡± It was unavoidable for the Mn crew to start whispering among themselves anxiously after seeing Han-Yeol standing there in a daze. This hunting party was formed with only one Hunter, which was Han-Yeol, and anything happening to him was akin to the entire hunting party being wiped out. In short, the Mn crew members could not help but feel anxious at the death sentence approaching them. Fortunately, Han-Yeol was not as affected as he appeared to be. While regaining hisposure, he decided to let the matter go. ¡®Haa¡­ I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I might have failed this time, but next time I¡¯ll definitely¡­¡¯ Then, just as he was about to turn around and walk away from the signal, he heard the sound of something cutting through the air. Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s sensitive ears immediately picked up where the sound wasing from, and it wasing from¡­ ¡®Above!¡¯? Shiiing! Whoosh! Shwiiiik! Han-Yeol immediately reacted to the danger he sensed from above. He pulled out his sword while materializing his chain with the mace attached at the end, which was the form he regrly used these days. Then, he prepared to sh against whatever wasing from above. He activated Demon Eyes to inspect the identity of the threat from above but¡­he ended up muttering without even realizing it. ¡°Huh?¡± Yoo-Bi and the rest of the Mn crew members panicked at the sight of the threat from above. ¡°Kyaaaahk!¡± ¡°M-Monster!¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°E-Everyone! Run away!¡± They started screaming after seeing a monster flying down from above. It was a totally unexpected situation and Han-Yeol seemed out of it, and this caused widespread panic the moment they spotted the monster. ¡°Calm down, everyone!¡± Yoo-Bi shouted as she tried her best to calm the panicking girls. However, there was no way that they would be able to calm down so easily. After all, panic and fear were the most instinctive and difficult emotions for humans to control, especially when they felt their lives were in danger. However, Han-Yeol continued staring at the monster with his mouth open despite the widespread panic spreading throughout his party. Crash! The monsternded on the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust around him. [Kwahahaha! Who dares to call this old veteran?!] Shwaaaak! The monster spread out his wings and stood in an imposing manner. His presence alone was more than enough to overwhelm everybody else. Han-Yeol knew very well who this monster was. ¡®Balrog.¡¯ [Is it you? Are you the human who summoned me?] ¡®Yes, that is correct. I have summoned you to the human world in hopes of entering into a contract with you,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied. [I see. However, you will need to know that I will only enter into contracts that arebat rted. You better send me back right now if you¡¯re going to ask me to do something silly. Don¡¯t waste my time. Mark my words.] Balrog started off by sending a stern warning to Han-Yeol. Nothing else mattered to Balrog. In fact, his entire life revolved aroundbat even in the demon world, and he was always the vanguard of Baal¡¯s demon army. However, this was also the reason that Han-Yeol was able to summon him luckily. ¡®Ah, that is a relief then. I summoned you, Balrog-nim, withbat in mind. I would like to request you to be my shield.¡¯ [Oh! That sounds good! I like your request! I like it! Kwahaha! I shall be your shield and protect you from every attack aimed at you!] The reason that Han-Yeol had summoned Balrog was solely because of the fact that the demon was a Tanker with powerful defensive skills. Han-Yeol did not initially search with Balrog in mind, but he knew that this was the demon he needed the moment he read about him. Balrog was a demon that used fire. He carried a spear formed out of a fire in his right hand and carried nothing in his left hand. However, a huge rectangr shield would form from his mes once he activated his ability. The Fire Shield Protector of the Demon Army was Balrog¡¯s other nickname. ¡®Will you be willing to enter into a contract with me?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [Yes, I think it will be fun to fight in the human world and not in the demon world for a change. I can already feel my body itching! Human! Where are your enemies?!] Fwaaaa! The mes surrounding Balrog did note from his spear or his left arm, but rather, he was more like a me demon that was conjured out of mes himself. Ding! [You have sessfully contracted with the me Demon, Balrog, who thirsts for blood and battles.] ¡®Alright! I did it!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. He was initially troubled when nothing came out from the sigil. Now, he could not help but be relieved after Balrog had emerged from it and he had sessfully contracted him. ¡®Oh right, what should I offer you in exchange, Balrog-nim?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [Hmm¡­ Ipletely forgot about that¡­ I have to ask for something in return, right? Kwahaha!] ¡®Ah¡­hahaha¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out an awkwardugh while feeling slightly worried that Balrog might be a bit cking¡¯ somewhere. [Alright, let¡¯s set it as mana stones. I will continue to be your shield as long as you consistently offer me a certain amount of mana stones.] ¡®Yes, I understand. I will be offering you mana stones in return.¡¯ [Sounds good! Great!]?Balrog let out a burst ofughter as he frivolously nodded. For him, the mana stones were just a means of maintaining the contract. What was important to him was the fact that he was going to be able to get a taste ofbat in the human world. He could not be happier about being summoned to the human world and being given the chance to fight to his heart¡¯s content as he was slowly starting to get bored of the demon world. ¡°What the heck? Did Han-Yeol Hunter-nim summon another demon?¡± The fact that Han-Yeol had the ability to summon demons was already widely known. However, everyone witnessing him summon a demon in front of their eyes could not help but be shocked once again. ¡°Wow, I think I¡¯ve seen that demon somewhere before¡­?¡± ¡°I think I saw him in the Lord of the Rings?or some other movie¡­¡± ¡°I think he appears in the game Maple Story,?right?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Balrog was a very famous demon that appeared in numerous movies and games, so it was unavoidable for them to feel some sense of familiarity with him. Also, it went without saying that the livestream chat was currently in an uproar. [W-What the hell?!] [What did we witness just now¡­?] [Did that Hunter really summon a demon in a live stream¡­?] [Wow! Amazing!] [That¡¯s awesome! Has there ever been a Hunter that publicly disyed the summoning process?] [No, I can¡¯t think of anyone.] [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim has graced us once again!] Most viewers had to watch edited versions of live streams by other Hunters or guilds, all of whom tended to edit out the ¡®sensitive secrets¡¯ before airing it. Technology had made such advancements that it was now possible to edit things while live on air. It was while everyone else was in an uproar that Balrog decided to ask the most important question. [Tell me, human! Are we able to fight right now?!] ¡®Most certainly, Balrog-nim. In fact, we are currently in the middle of a warzone.¡¯ [Kekekeke¡­ Kwahahaha! Excellent! I like it! Come and fight me! This Balrog will crush every single one of you!] Balrog was as energetic as the first time he appeared. ¡°Listen up, everyone! Let¡¯s get moving! Yoo-Bi, have we finished all preparations?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, oppa. We are ready to go,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. She had already finished collecting the mana stones and the Banshees¡¯ remains, and had loaded them up in the truck with the help of the Mn crew. Everyone hopped into the bus and truck as they moved toward their next destination with the newly summoned demon in tow. While they were on the move, Balrog suddenly transmitted, [Stop here.] ¡®Yes, Balrog-nim.¡¯ Han-Yeol immediately ryed Balrog¡¯s order through the walkie-talkie, and the bus and truck immediately stopped at hismand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, oppa? This was just an emptynd when we came herest time with the Horus raid party, right?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°No, just give me a moment,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Then, he asked the demon, ¡®Why did we stop here, Balrog-nim?¡¯ [I can feel it. There¡¯s a horde of enemies hiding nearby.] ¡®Pardon me¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol could not understand what Balrog was talking about. He had already carried out plenty of research beforeing on this solo hunt, scouring through the numerous records he had purchased from other raid parties. None of the records mentioned anything about any monsters lurking in this part of the hunting ground. ¡®But the records say that there is nothing here, Balrog-nim?¡¯ [Kekeke! You humans are truly foolish. Haven¡¯t you heard that there is always more than what meets the eye?] ¡®I do not think that is what is important right now¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol could not understand why the demon was acting this way. [Follow me.] ¡®Haa¡­ Yes, Balrog-nim.¡¯ Han-Yeol hopped off the bus and walked alongside Balrog after he instructed the rest of the party to slowly follow him. Step¡­ Step¡­? Vroom¡­ Vroom¡­ They walked quite a distance, but there were no signs of any monsters around them. The only things in Han-Yeol¡¯s surroundings were a bunch of abandoned buildings, half-destroyed buildings, burnt cars, and debris. Whooosh¡­ Kiiiik¡­ Kiiik¡­ Also, there was the eerie sound of the wind blowing. ¡®Are we still far from where we are going?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [We are almost there. In fact, it¡¯s right over there.] ¡®Here¡­?¡¯? [Seongnam City Pangyo Library] Han-Yeol looked up and saw a big signboard. He muttered inwardly, ¡®A public library?¡¯ Han-Yeol spent quite a lot of time reading these days, so the signboard was all too familiar to him. After all, the ce he frequented to read books was a public library too. However, that was not what was important right now. Based on the map he had created from the records, this area was void of monsters; it was a pseudo-safe zone that was suitable to be used as a camp. In fact, he could not find anything suspicious even after activating Demon Eyes. Well, the monsters in this ce were a bit tricky to spot as they were very good at hiding their presence. However, this area was void of any signs of monster activity in the first ce, so it was difficult to believe that there was anything here. ¡®Are you certain that there are monsters here, Balrog-nim?¡¯ [Yes. I can feel it! Can¡¯t you smell the stench of blood and war?!] ¡®Haha¡­¡¯ Frankly speaking, Han-Yeol was quite perplexed right now. He could not help but wonder, ¡®Maybe there¡¯s a hidden entrance somewhere¡­?¡¯ However, the reason that he had followed Balrog all the way here despite knowing that it was going to be futile was solely because of one reason¡­ Demons didn¡¯t lie. Still, he could not deny that he was starting to get frustrated and tired from the wild goose chase. Just as he was getting tired, Balrog said something that instantly woke him up. [It seems that there is a secret door beneath the ground. You mortals might not be able to feel it, but I can definitely feel it! This ce is a battlefield! It¡¯s filled with monsters!] ¡®Heok! A secret area! This is a jackpot!¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but be shocked at the demon¡¯s words. The value of a secret area was immense, and a prime example of this was the pyramids. Most African countries had suffered catastrophic damage when the dimensional gates appeared, but the sole reason that Egypt was able to bounce back and be a developed country was all due to the secret areas. The secret areas of Egypt were all concentrated in their pyramids, which were now ranked as the top holiday destination for Hunters. Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes started sparkling uncontrobly. ¡°Oppa¡­ What¡¯s wrong with you¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi asked on behalf of the entire party. ¡°Yoo-Bi¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Yes, oppa?¡± ¡°Tell everyone to inspect their equipment and get ready. Something amazing is going to happen soon.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, okay. I will tell them that.¡± Yoo-Bi tilted her head in confusion, but she still ryed Han-Yeol¡¯smand to the Mn crew members. Chapter 107: Balrog the Fire Shield (4)

Chapter 107: Balrog the Fire Shield (4)

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at Han-Yeol¡¯smand, but they decided to follow it nevertheless. Soo-In walked up to Han-Yeol. ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol muttered when he noticed Soo-In walking toward him while he was busy talking to Balrog. He could not think of a reason for Soo-In to approach him right now. Yoo-Bi was doing a talk show on the livestream, so he was not needed there. Han-Yeol might be the protagonist when he was hunting, but Yoo-Bi was hands down the center of attraction when a hunt was not going on. Besides, she was really good at managing the viewers, so he was not really needed. ¡®Hmm¡­ I can¡¯t help but be really grateful for Yoo-Bi. Bing a celebrity might¡¯ve been her dream, but it¡¯s still my channel, after all¡­¡¯? Of course, it was not that Yoo-Bi did not benefit from it at all. In fact, she was starting to get popr enough for some people to recognize her on the street. She would even get interview requests, get scouted by talent agencies, and even get offers to film an advertisement. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Soo-In?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, I wanted to ask¡­ Are we going underground by any chance?¡± Soo-In asked. ¡°Why are you asking that?¡± Han-Yeol asked in surprise. He did not mention anything else aside from asking them to check their equipment, so he thought that Soo-In¡¯s intuition seemed quite sharp. ¡°I had a feeling that we were going to go somewhere closed and narrow like a basement for some reason. Anyway, we will have to install another mana antenna if we are going underground, so that¡¯s why I am asking.¡± ¡°We need to install another mana antenna?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion before Soo-In exined how the mana antenna worked. He did not particrly care how the broadcast worked, but Soo-In always insisted that he listened to her exnations as they were using his money, after all. That was the reason why he was aware of what the mana antenna was and what it did, but he had no idea why they had to install another one. ¡°Yes, we will have to install another one. It is not so often that we will have to install another antenna, but there are cases where we will have to if we are moving to another ce. You do remember that we purchased two mana antennasst time, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I remember, but we bought that as a backup just in case something happened to the one we¡¯re using, right?¡± It might be quite obvious, but Soo-In made sure to report any expenses above a certain amount to Han-Yeol whenever she made a purchase. Han-Yeol emphasized that she did not have to do that since she was in charge of the Mn film crew, but she insisted on providing detailed ounts and reports to him. Han-Yeol¡¯s memory dramatically improved after awakening, so he remembered all of the reports Soo-In had made. ¡°Yes, that was our original intent as mana antennas are quite fragile equipment and they break down quite frequently. However, we may use them as a ry point as well. Most hunting grounds are open-type ones, so we do not really need to use another antenna, but it is a whole different story if we are going underground,¡± Soo-In exined. ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡± Han-Yeol nodded in amazement, and then he said, ¡°Yes, we are going underground, so please install the ry point.¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± Soo-In saluted as a joke before she sped toward the rest of the Mn crew and instructed them to install a mana antenna. The Mn film crew immediately installed the mana antenna after hearing that they were going to be venturing underground. ¡°Hurry up! We are going underground!¡± ¡°What?! Underground?! That¡¯s making me nervous¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I never imagined the Paradise Field had an underground space as well¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite amazing¡­¡± The girls had fully adjusted to their new job after leaving the safety of their regr job, where they did not have to risk their lives. It was most likely that they were going to find a job at another guild or raid party in the event that they were fired from their current one. However, to do that, they had to not only umte enough experience but also possess quite a lot of knowledge about Hunters. This was the reason that they had been diligently studying about the Hunter industry. The only thing required for them to join the Mn crew was for them to have skills and a good personality, but they soon found out that it was not that easy for them to join other raid parties or guilds. After all, those ces tended to be quite picky with hiring people. The hiring requirements of other guilds or raid parties were so absurd that they even expected whoever they hired to have a good TOEIC score. ¡®I can only get these kinds of shots working for Hunters!¡¯? Working in the film industry was all about filming boring things andyering them with CG to make the various scenese to life. However, working with Han-Yeol had opened up a whole new world for them where all sorts of shy things happened without having to use CG, and they could not help but feel addicted to it. ¡®We are quite lucky to be able to work here¡­¡¯ Quite a lot of their peers were already asking them how they had managed to join the Mn film crew and if they could help them join the crew as well. However, a lot of their peers found it hard to believe that all they had done to join the Mn film crew was to take a personality test and show their portfolio. ¡®I only did an interview and I passed.¡¯ ¡®I really didn¡¯t do anything much, why are they talking as if I have a secret that I¡¯m not sharing?¡¯ It was a given that they could not say much about the hiring process as there had really been nothing special about it. Click¡­ ck! ¡°It¡¯s finally finished!¡± The mana antenna instation was finallypleted. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! The instation is finished!¡± Soo-In shouted loudly. Han-Yeol nodded in response before he stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get moving now. Our destination is the library¡¯s basement. Bring only the equipment you can carry and leave the rest here, but make sure to put a camouge cover over it so nobody steals it.¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± Everyone helped Yoo-Bi ce camougeting over the truck. This technology had been developed thirty years ago, but its energy requirements made it difficult tomercialize. However, the appearance of mana stones as an energy source had made it possible for this technology to finally bemercialized. The emergence of mana stones made it possible for technology that would otherwise only be seen in sci-fi movies to be used in real life, and the camougeting was a prime example of it. ¡°That¡¯s perfect. Anyway, it¡¯s officially known that there¡¯s nothing in this ce, so I doubt anyone is going toe and steal these.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± Han-Yeol sounded quite nonchnt about it, but Soo-In could not help but feel anxious about leaving all of these expensive equipment behind unattended. All of these equipment were extremely expensive. She would not be able to afford a tenth of it even if she worked for her entire life. ¡°These equipment are insured. They are also not that expensive for me, so please don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, yes, Hunter-nim!¡± In the end, Soo-In had to stop worrying about it. After all, she could not afford to get on her employer¡¯s bad side. They made their way into the library, which had a messy interior. There were furniture littered all over the ground, the window panes were shattered, and there were trails of blood all over. ¡®It feels like a scene out of a zombie movie¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was a fan of zombie movies, which frequently featured scenes just like the sight in front of him. Of course, it only looked like a scene out of a zombie movie. There were no zombies in this area. However, what did exist here were monsters that were far more vicious than zombies. ¡®Where should we go, Balrog-nim?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [Follow me.] Balrog continued walking. The broadcast was not live as of right now. They told the viewers that the live stream was going to resume after they took a break, but that was just an excuse as they made their way here. It was a precaution they took to deter anyone from stealing their equipment or trailing them and exposing the location of the secret area. Thud! Thud! Thud!? The sound of Balrog¡¯s footsteps led the way toward the basement, which was quite dark. Fwaaa! However, Balrog engulfed his body in mes to illuminate their surroundings, and the Mn crew members took out their lighting equipment as well. The dark basement was soon brightly illuminated. A restaurant, shop, and lounge area could be seen, and Balrog made his way toward the restaurant first. ¡®What is he trying to find here?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. ¡°Euk¡­!?It stinks!¡± ¡°What smell is this?¡± The restaurant was emitting a foul odor, but it was not the stench of rotting food. This ce had been abandoned for more than thirty years, so any trace of food would have long dposed by now. They said there was no smoke without fire, so there was bound to be a reason behind this foul stench. ¡®Does this smell mean that this is another hunting ground?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. If his deduction was correct, then the Paradise Field was not a hunting ground where only Banshees, Trappers, and Phantoms appeared. There could be more monsters inhabiting it. ¡®I am looking forward to this, Balrog-nim,¡¯?Han-Yeol said. [Kwahahaha! You should! There¡¯s nothing as exciting as a bloodfest!] At the thought of being able to fight to his heart¡¯s content, Balrog started to get excited once again. When they entered the restaurant and stood in front of the storeroom, Han-Yeol asked, ¡®Is there something in here?¡¯? [Kehehe! To think that they would call something like this a secret. I don¡¯t know who did this, but this is quite pitiful!] ¡®What do you mean by that, Balrog-nim?¡¯ [Just watch.] Balrog took a step back before stabbing his spear into the ground and gathering his mana into his fist. Thud! Woooong! As an absurd amount of mana concentrated in his right fist, a ck me that resembled the mes of hell appeared on it. [Kwahahaha! Eat this! Hellfire Punch!] Whooosh¡­ Kwaaaaang! Balrog swung his fist at the speed of light, smashing it into the restaurant¡¯s storeroom wall. ¡°Kyahk!¡± ¡°W-What was that?!¡± ¡°Was that an earthquake?¡± ¡°What do you mean by an earthquake? You do know we are in a hunting ground, right? That was definitely caused by someone or something.¡± ¡°The Paradise Field is not an S Rank hunting ground and there are no Master Rank Hunters here, so that tremor just now is definitely not caused by someone!¡± The raid parties hunting in the Paradise Field immediately stopped what they were doing and put their guards up at the sudden unexinable phenomena. However, nothing much happened afterward, even though they waited for an hour. ¡°Oh, nothing happened.¡± ¡°We just wasted our time.¡± ¡°We could¡¯ve hunted one more time in that hour!¡± ¡°Today is a bust as well¡­¡± The Hunters started to grumble about the tremor after nothing happened, but the culprit behind it was¡­ [Kwahahaha! What do you think? Do you like the taste of this Balrog-nim¡¯s fist?!] Balrog¡¯s fist carried such a tremendous amount of force that it broke down a portion of a wallrge enough for two people to enter at the same time. Nothing else was damaged aside from that. ¡°W-What was that?¡± ¡°That was a huge tremor, but that¡¯s it¡­?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite surprising in its own way¡­ I guess?¡± Everyone had ackluster expression after seeing the hole dug by the tremendous force. However, Han-Yeol had a different reaction. ¡®This ce must have been made and hidden on purpose, judging by the fact?that?only a portion of it was revealed after that powerful punch.¡¯ [Kehehe! As expected of the human who summoned me! You aren¡¯t stupid! It is exactly as you said, this pathway was created and hidden by someone on purpose. Nobody previously found it because it was quite well-hidden, but the mana seeping out of this hole is going to start attracting humans within twenty-four hours. What we need to do now is to start fighting before that twenty-four hours is up!] ¡®It¡¯s going to get busy around here¡­¡¯ [Exactly!] The carefree smile on Balrog¡¯s face disappeared. Crumble¡­ Crumble¡­? The debris from the wall fell to the ground. ¡°Wow¡­¡± the Mn crew members muttered in amazement as their hearts pounded in anticipation of whatid beyond the wall. Chapter 108: Balrog the Fire Shield (5)

Chapter 108: Balrog the Fire Shield (5)

The world might have changed quite a lot, but the fact that humans experienced a rush of adrenaline whenever they went out on an adventure remained unchanged. The Hunters had felt this rush of adventure in their early days of hunting. However, they soon lost it after having gotten used to hunting at the hunting grounds. Of course, there were a handful of Hunters who scoured the globe in search of new hunting grounds after growing out of the ones they had be used to. That was the reason why the Mn crew members could not help but forget about the perils of their ¡®adventure¡¯ for a moment and followed Han-Yeol with excitement. Also, they were jubnt at the fact that they were going to be able to capture this thrilling moment LIVE on camera. ¡°Be careful, everyone. Proceed with caution,¡± Han-Yeol warned. ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± the girls replied in unison. [Don¡¯t worry. The prey in this ce don¡¯t hide like the ones above, so they won¡¯t be in danger as long as you remain vignt,]?Balrog said. ¡®That¡¯s a relief,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied. He immediately ryed this information to his party members, which helped alleviate their anxiety by a little bit. It was inevitable for the Mn crew members to be worried and scared no matter how thrilling the adventure was. After all, their lives were going to be on the line. They were nervous that a monster was suddenly going to pop up from behind a wall, but Han-Yeol¡¯s words helped them rx. Click¡­ ck¡­! However, Yoo-Bi, who was the only otherbatant in the party, remained vignt. She checked the HSK-447P that Han-Yeol had given her and was preparing to engage inbat at a moment¡¯s notice. Yoo-Bi had been getting stressed by the fact that she still had not been able to Awaken. This was amon urrence among Porters, so there was nothing special about her situation. In fact, her career as a Porter was quite short whenpared to how Han-Yeol had awakened only after four years of serving as a Porter. Back then, Han-Yeol had also been frustrated about not awakening, so what Yoo-Bi was feeling right now waspletely normal. However, most people who failed to ovee their frustration in this period of time would end up getting depressed. In fact, quite a lot of Porters would usually give up due to this reason. ¡®I need to make more money, so I should focus on doing my job rather than awakening,¡¯?Yoo-Bi steeled her resolve. Most Porters joined hunts to Awaken and to possibly be a Hunter. As for Han-Yeol, he had to desperately work regardless of whether he Awakened or not so that he could pay his father¡¯s hospital bills. But the fact that he had something else to focus on did help him in oveing this difficult and emotional period. ¡®I¡¯m sure Yoo-Bi is going to be able to ovee this by herself,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol knew that Yoo-Bi was mentally stronger than him. The fact that both of them had lived their childhood in poverty but she did not be a delinquent like him was proof that she was much more mentally resilient than him. ¡®There¡¯s no reason for me to step in since she will be fine on her own.¡¯? Han-Yeol could see that Yoo-Bi was oveing her frustrations better than he had back then. He also noticed that she was growing quite fast as a Porter these days. Back then, Han-Yeol had spent most of his days off sleeping as he would be dead tired from having to work alternately as a Porter and at the factory. Meanwhile, Yoo-Bi was currently able to invest in herself during her free time thanks to Han-Yeol providing her with a steady source of ie. However, he was still not confident about doing the same as she was currently doing even if he had been given the same luxury back then. ¡®I really think that I¡¯m not a studious person¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol knew very well from an early age that studying was not his forte. He was also not the type to do his best if what he did brought him no excitement. It was quite fortunate that the ability he had awakened with was quite fun for him. [We are almost there,]?Balrog said before stopping. Han-Yeol stopped thinking about other things and stopped as well. ¡®Demon Eyes.¡¯ Wooong¡­! He scanned every bit of mana within a ten kilometers radius around him, which meant that ten kilometers around him were no different than his territory now. Sensing a difference in mana, he thought, ¡®The mana here is definitely different from the three monsters above ground.¡¯? The difference in mana did not necessarily mean that the monsters here were weaker or stronger than those above. [Keke! This is getting interesting. I don¡¯t get this excited even in the demon world! Is it because the air is different? It feels as if I¡¯ll finally get to fight till the death now!]?Balrog eximed. ¡®Do you think so?¡¯ [Kwahahaha!] Han-Yeol shook his head. He could not help but feel burdened by the overly-excited demon. However, he was also grateful for the demon¡¯s active participation. It was a mixed feeling that he never imagined he would be getting from a demon of all things. The dungeon was quite dark, but the party¡¯s surroundings were brightly illuminated thanks to thebination of light sources from Balrog, Han-Yeol, and the Mn film crew. Han-Yeol could not help but feel relieved as they would have had to turn back even after finding such a rare dungeon if they did not have any light source with them. ¡®They say that the ones who are prepared will usually win. I guess they¡¯re right,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he had that realization once again. Seuk¡­ Beep¡­! Beep¡­!? ¡°Oppa.¡± ¡°Yeah, I felt that too.¡± [They¡¯reing.]? The mana detector Yoo-Bi was using beeped while Han-Yeol¡¯s Demon Eyes and Balrog¡¯s instincts warned them of the iing monsters. Click¡­ ck¡­! Yoo-Bi checked and readied her firearm once again. Han-Yeol could not help but be impressed at her preparedness. Then, an idea popped up in his head. ¡®Hmm¡­ I wonder if that will work¡­¡¯ There was still some time before the monsters would get to where they were, so Han-Yeol decided to first help the Mn crew get set up before calling Yoo-Bi over. ¡°Why? Is something the matter?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°Give me your gun for a second,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright.¡± The HSK-447P Yoo-Bi held onto was technically Han-Yeol¡¯s gear, so he was not being rude by asking her to hand it over or anything. After receiving the gear from Yoo-Bi, Han-Yeol inspected the HSK-447P for a moment before he ced his hand on it. ¡®I wonder if this will work¡­? Mana Pouch!¡¯ Wooooong! He used Mana Pouch for the first time ever. Then, the four thousand mana he stored up in the Mana Pouch flowed into the gun. ¡®Oh! It works!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after inspecting the gun with Demon Eyes and confirming that it was now infused with mana. He thought in disbelief, ¡®Isn¡¯t this awesome¡­?¡¯? The skill description did mention that it was going to be possible for Han-Yeol to transfer the mana to someone else, but he never imagined that it was going to be possible to pass the mana to an object¡­ This single experiment was going to open up countless opportunities for him from now on. The gun, now infused with the mana from Mana Pouch, was probably going to be much stronger than most firearms out there. After all, it was not simply coated with mana but had mana directly infused into it. Han-Yeol returned the HSK-447P to Yoo-Bi after confirming that it was now infused with mana. He said, ¡°Here you go.¡± ¡°O¡­ Oppa¡­ What did you do just now¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi asked with her eyes wide open in surprise. She could visibly see the mana infused in the gun, so she knew that Han-Yeol had done something beneficial for her. She could not help feeling shocked, since this was her first time seeing such a bizarre sight. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing important. I just infused some of my mana into the gun to enhance it. It will probably be much stronger than it was before,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°I-Is that even possible?!¡± Yoo-Bi could not help but be shocked once again after hearing it directly from him. Infusing mana into something else? She had never heard of such a possibility except for a Hunter transferring their mana to another Hunter. She had been studying quite diligently in recent months, but she had nevere across anything like this in any of the textbooks she had read. ¡°Shh! The live stream is going to start. I don¡¯t have any ns to hide it, but nothing good wille out of announcing it to the world right now. Keep it to yourself for now. Also, I will continuously replenish the mana whenever I can, so bring your gun over whenever I call you.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Yoo-Bi tilted her head in confusion, thinking, ¡®How is it possible for a single Hunter to possess so many skills¡­?¡¯ At this point, she felt like giving up on trying to catch up to Han-Yeol¡¯s level. ¡®I keep trying every day so that I can catch up to him, but it feels like he is taking ten steps forward for every step I take¡­ Haa¡­¡¯ Yoo-Bi tried her best to not be a hindrance, studying until her nose bled ever since she started working with Han-Yeol. However, Han-Yeol seemed to be getting stronger by the day and further widening the gap between them. He was now so far ahead that it was difficult for her to even look at him. After all, he had even recently joined the Horus raid party and forged a personal rtionship with the Goddess of Africa¡­ Tayarana was someone who a dirt-poor Porter like Yoo-Bi should not even dare to look at, but Yoo-Bi had been warmly weed into the Horus raid party just because she was Han-Yeol¡¯s personal Porter. However, there was no way that Yoo-Bi was going to crumble at this as she was quite the fighter herself. ¡®I will try five times harder if my current efforts are not enough. I will not be a deadweight?dongsaeng?to you, oppa,¡¯?Yoo-Bi steeled her resolve once again before taking aim. Click¡­ ck¡­! ¡°Oppa, the monsters are one kilometer away. We will make contact in one minute and twenty seconds,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a gaze burning with resolve. Han-Yeol liked the fire in Yoo-Bi¡¯s eyes that burned away all traces of doubt and frustration. People who possessed these eyes burning with resolve were usually mentally quite strong regardless of their gender. He thought with a smile, ¡®I guess I really don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡¯ Well, Yoo-Bi was quite independent and responsible, so he did not really have to worry about her¡­ Han-Yeol turned around and walked over toward Balrog, and then he stood beside him. This secret dungeon was six meters in height and four meters in length, so there was plenty of room for the demon to move in. [My shield forged from my mes will never be broken through!] ¡®Hold on¡­ Does this guy have a status window¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered before he called up the demon¡¯s status. [Balrog Lvl1] Rating: Intermediate Experience Points: 1/1,000 Innate Ability: Absorb mes Stats: STR: 30 VIT: 30 AGI: 10 MAG: 20 TEN: 50 Skills: Fire Shield, Hell Spear, Breath of Fire ¡®Hmm? I can see his stats and innate ability as well?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise. [Bwahahaha!]?Balrog gathered his mana. A rectangr shield appeared in his left hand when he channeled his mana, and the air around him instantly heated up. ¡®Oh right, this isn¡¯t going to be an easy one.¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered that he was going to be fighting against a different monster so he had to remain vignt. He used a sigil and summoned the ranged Void Devil this time, since he had used the melee onest time. Fwaaaa! The Void Devil appeared from a cloud of smoke before materializing in front of Han-Yeol. ¡®Wee,¡¯?Han-Yeol greeted the demon. [Haa¡­ Is it a battle?] ¡®Yes.¡¯ [Everything is for naught¡­] ¡®These demons have their own personalities¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. If Balrog was the type to actively search for hidden dungeons just to be able to fight, then the Void Devil was the type to only do the things that Han-Yeol requested. It did not actively seek out to do anything else, and it did not even speak unless Han-Yeol spoke to it first. In return, it did not ask for much so their upkeep was quite cheap. ¡®Let¡¯s go out with a bang, Void Devil-nim,¡¯?Han-Yeol said. [Haa¡­ It¡¯s all futile¡­]? The Void Devil might have said it that way, but it was surely going to do its utmost to carry out what Han-Yeol had requested. A fitting word to describe this demon was probably ¡®tsundere¡¯¡­? Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? ¡°Oppa, they are here,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Yeah, I can see them,¡± Han-Yeol replied as he looked into the distance with his eyes glowing red. Balrog might love fighting so much that it could be called an obsession, but Han-Yeol was not that far off when it came to being battle-crazed. Shwiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s chain with a mace made its appearance once again. 1. Tenacity Chapter 109: This Damned Astaroth (1)

Chapter 109: This Damned Astaroth (1)

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? When his ears picked up the sound of a dozen feet stomping on the ground, Han-Yeol shouted, ¡°Lights!¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± The live stream had already started, so Han-Yeol ordered the Mn film crew to switch on therge lighting equipment they had prepared but not used until now. Tak! Tak! Tak!? Threerge light sources illuminated the areas where Han-Yeol¡¯s skill and Balrog¡¯s me had failed to illuminate. ¡°Kieeeek!¡±? The monsters¡¯ horrifying shrieks of agony at the sudden bright light could be heard. The light managed to momentarily stop the monsters in their tracks, allowing the party to get a good look at the monsters¡¯ appearance. ¡°What the hell are those¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered with a grimace. The monsters were not simply walking on the ground but crawling from all over the ce. They could be found on the walls and across the ceiling. These monsters lookedpletely different from the Banshees, Trappers, or Phantoms found aboveground, and they looked more like the Arachnid that could be found in legends. The monster¡¯s lower body looked like a spider, while its upper body was that of a humanoid, and its skin was so ghastly pale that not a single drop of blood seemingly existed in its body. In fact, even though its pale upper body resembled a marble sculpture of a naked woman, it was not one that could arouse any feelings of lust. The monster looked too void of emotion for that to happen. ¡®I¡¯m sure there will be some perverts?who?have?a thing for such creatures,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The monster¡¯s main weapon seemed to be its long arms, which resembled sharp spears. Two of its legs were off the ground, so they could possibly be its sub-weapons too. In short, it could be said from visual deduction alone that this monster had four weapons in its arsenal. ¡®It does look kind of strong,¡¯?Han-Yeol said to Balrog. [Not bad for the first battle! That is surely not going to disappoint!] Even now, Balrog still seemed to be only thinking of fighting to his heart¡¯s content. ¡®They say that dealing the first blow will dictate the rest of the battle, Void Devil-nim.¡¯ [Void Storm!] Shwaaaaak! The ranged Void Devil opened its mouth at Han-Yeol¡¯s request and used Void Storm, which was the only offensive skill among its three skills. It looked like a normal skill that only carried a current of electricity, but it was undoubtedly a powerful one that could inflict a tremendous amount of damage if it as much as grazed its target. ¡°Kiek!¡± The Labyrinth Spiders, which was a temporary name Han-Yeol hade up with, scurried around the walls and ceiling to avoid the Void Storm. Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!? The Labyrinth Spiders moved quite fast and even rushed toward the Void Devil, but¡­ [Where do you think you are going?!] Balrog eximed before he took in a deep breath and unleashed it. Hemanded, [Breath of Fire!] ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The demon was able to speak and breathe at the same time as he was using telepathy, and his breath instantly covered the entire passage with mes. The me was extraordinary, being conjured and filled with mana. To increase its destructiveness even more, the demon hadpressed it before spreading it all over the ce. Even Han-Yeol, who was standing right beside Balrog, could feel the blistering heat from the demon¡¯s me. ¡®As expected of an intermediate demon¡­?He is on a different level.¡¯?Han-Yeol was in awe despite the demon only having used one skill so far. The Labyrinth Spiders let out an ear-splitting screech as the powerful mes burned them, but they were not simple monsters that were going to go down without a fight. ¡®They are strong, much stronger than the three monsters above ground. The three monsters would have suffered critical damage after that attack, but these monsters seem fine,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he further raised his guard. It was difficult to tell if the Labyrinth Spiders actually suffered damage or not as they looked fine now. [Bring it on! You will never be able to get past me! Kwahaha!] ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised at Balrog¡¯s reaction. The mes around Balrog¡¯s body grew even stronger as three Labyrinth Spiders attacked him. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­ He has a skill to get the enemy¡¯s aggro?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he did not recall seeing any such skills in Balrog¡¯s status window. The Labyrinth Spiderspletely ignored the Void Devil, which had fired the powerful Void Storm a while ago, and directed their focus toward Balrog. ¡®I might have summoned a demon that is even more amazing than I initially thought.¡¯? Han-Yeol felt proud and ted at the thought of having summoned such a dependable Tank. He was now able to leave the front to the demon without having to worry, judging by the demon¡¯s stats and skills. As the only Hunter, Han-Yeol was technically alone. He also hadn¡¯t been sure of the monster¡¯s characteristics, so he had been reserved when it came to fighting with them. He had been worried of something unexpected happening that would put Yoo-Bi and the Mn film crew in danger, but that worry was now alleviated with him having a dependable Tank in front. ¡°Yoo-Bi, it seems that Balrog has the monsters¡¯ aggro, so feel free to shoot as much as you want,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi replied enthusiastically. Ratatata! She immediately pulled the trigger of the enhanced HSK-447P without a hint of hesitation, and the bullets smashed into the Labyrinth Spiders. Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!? The bullets failed to do much, barely scratching the monsters. However, she could not afford to stop as this was the only way for her to Awaken. Shwik¡­ Han-Yeol made his way to the front after issuing themand to Yoo-Bi. He spun his chain with his left hand while walking. Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­? The sound of the mace splitting the air was more than enough to send chills down the spines of all onlookers. Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and threw his chain as hemanded, ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯? Whoosh¡­ Pukeok! He did not just wildly swing his chain around without aiming. In fact, he swung the chain to let the Ego, Kavis, imbued in the chain and his skills do the rest of the work to attack the Labyrinth Spiders. A single swing of his chain was able to deal a powerful blow to three Labyrinth Spiders. ¡°Kiek!¡± The three Labyrinth Spiders shrieked in agony after being struck by the chain, and one of them turned their attention toward Han-Yeol. Tatatak! It rode the walls at a frightening speed and crawled up the ceiling before jumping down toward Han-Yeol. The Labyrinth Spider¡¯s attack was a very threatening one. Any poor attempt to block it was bound to end up with Han-Yeol being crushed underneath the monster¡¯s weight. ¡°Kyak!¡±?one of the Mn crew members screamed in horror. Her scream could have interrupted the live stream, but the background music they yed to further fuel the broadcast¡¯s suspense was able to mask it. The current situation seemed so dangerous that even the crew members could not help but be horrified. ¡®Heh,¡¯?Han-Yeol smirked. Most people might believe Han-Yeol¡¯s defense to be quite low, since his fighting style was quite aggressive. That was only because they were unaware of the many defensive skills in his arsenal. ¡®Force Shield!¡¯ Wooooong! A kite shield appeared on Han-Yeol¡¯s left hand. Shwik¡­! ng! The Labyrinth Spider shed with Han-Yeol¡¯s Force Shield, pushing him a few meters back. However, that was all the monster could achieve despite throwing its full weight behind the attack. After blocking the monster¡¯s attack, Han-Yeol immediately canceled Force Shield and activated another skill. ¡®Sword Breath!¡¯ The sword in his right hand was now engulfed in mes. It was the deadliest skill in Han-Yeol¡¯s arsenal, and it was also one of his favorite skills in closebat. The skill¡¯s deadliness was further enhanced by the fact that Han-Yeol no longer depended on his skills alone after having gone through Kajikar¡¯s grueling training. Needless to say, he was now quite skilled with the sword. Han-Yeol nimbly moved with the help of Cat Walk and disyed his dazzling swordsmanship against the monster. ng! ng! ng! ng! The Labyrinth Spider¡¯s arms and Han-Yeol¡¯s sword shed against each other, sending sparks around them. Han-Yeol was only using a single sword while the Labyrinth Spider had four arms, but they were neck and neck when it came to exchanging blows. The Labyrinth Spider tried to use the numerical advantage of having more weapons to strike Han-Yeol sessfully, but it failed to get past his sword¡¯s defense. The monster simply did not have the skills or strength to get past Han-Yeol¡¯s Sixth Sense. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Labyrinth Spider shrieked in frustration. When it paused for a split second to prepare to deal a powerful strike¡­ Kwachik¡­ Tak! Han-Yeol did not miss the opening. He infused his mana into his legs and shot forward like an arrow. ¡®Head Cutter!¡¯ Sukeok! In the blink of an eye, Han-Yeol was behind the Labyrinth Spider. The monster stood still for a second before its head cleanly fell off of its shoulders. Thud¡­! The Labyrinth Spider fell to the ground with a thud. [The rank of ¡®Head Cutter¡¯ has risen from (E) to (D).] [The rank of ¡®Cat Walk¡¯ has risen from (D) to (C).] ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced at the alert message of his skills leveling up. It was a message that always brought him great joy as most of his skills were quite useful. He could see himself growing stronger whenever they leveled up. [Kwahahaha! Look at these imbeciles! Kwahaha!]? Meanwhile, Balrog was still enjoying his fight against the two Labyrinth Spiders that could not seem to prate through his defenses. But unfortunately, the demon could not deal damage strong enough to kill the Labyrinth Spiders in a single blow. He kept the monsters at bay with his spear, but the monsters were not a bunch of simpletons that would just stand and get skewered by his spear. In other words, the demon¡¯s attack was quite hopeless. Did that mean Han-Yeol was suddenly disappointed by the demon? Not at all. He expected Balrog to be a dependable Tank, but he did not expect him to be an all-rounder. ¡®I guess it¡¯s time for me to do my job,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he fixed his grip on his sword. [Eat my ming spear! Kwahaha!]? Balrog suddenly deactivated his shield after defending against the monsters for quite a while. He conjured another ming spear in his free hand. It was hard to tell if the Labyrinth Spiders were unlucky or Balrog was just really good at gauging his timing, but he urately stabbed the monsters at the exact timing their guards were down. Kwachik! Kwachik!? The ming spears pierced through the Labyrinth Spiders¡¯ hard carapace and turned them into barbecue on skewers. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The monsters cried out in agony after being skewered by the ming spears. Everything happened instantaneously, so the cameras failed to capture the sudden turn of events. The only scene shown on the screen was the Labyrinth Spiders crying in agony. However, the monsters did not die in an instant as they possessed quite a lot of HP. Kwachik! Tak! Han-Yeol concentrated his mana on his legs, kicking off the ground once again. Then, he used Head Cutter to put the Labyrinth Spiders out of their misery. He didn¡¯t pity them or anything, but he did not want to waste any more time with them. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief after the battle ended. [I love it! You are quite strong, human.] ¡®Do you think so?¡¯ [Kwahaha! You, humans, are too humble for your own good! I really like you!] Han-Yeol could only shrug in response to the demon¡¯s praise. The one-man raid party proceeded further into the dungeon and killed every single Labyrinth Spider they came across. The effect of having a dependable Tank in the party was quite visible, since even these difficult monsters were made quick work. This wouldn¡¯t have been the case without a dependable Tank at the front. Thanks to that, the chat room, which was switched on now that they had ventured deep into the dungeon, was in an uproar. [Where is this?!] [There was another hunting ground within a hunting ground?!] [How is this possible?!] [Awesome!] [Those Labyrinth Spiders look quite powerful. I think this is still in the Paradise Field, but those monsters look much stronger than the three monsters usually seen in that hunting ground.] [But Hunter Han-Yeol is not losing to them!] [Let¡¯s go!] Themon rule was that the one who first found a monster got the right to name them, so the monsters here were going to be known as the ¡®Labyrinth Spiders¡¯ from now on. That was the reason why the viewers were calling the monsters with that same name. [What in the world is going on?!] [Who the hell is this guy¡­?] [I know right?! This guy came to this hunting ground with the Horus raid party, but he is now soloing it!] [Am I the only one seeing that Balrog guy? What in the world is that?!] [AAAAACK!] [This is too much for my brain to process!] Chapter 110: This Damned Astaroth (2)

Chapter 110: This Damned Astaroth (2)

The chat room was in a state of chaos and utter confusion. The regr viewers who had tuned in just to enjoy Han-Yeol¡¯s dazzling performance were amazed once again at the surprising sight, but the viewers who possessed a bit of knowledge about Hunters were greatly confused by what they were seeing. That was because they had watched numerous Hunter channels to know quite a bit about how things worked. The viewers were stunned and confused by what they were witnessing on the screen, but that only further fueled the sales of the V Tickets. The V Tickets were selling like hotcakes because of Han-Yeol¡¯s fighting style. He did not fight with a preset formation like what other raid parties did, but he went all around the battlefield. For example, if he started fighting on the left side of the battlefield, he would suddenly move to the right side to keep on fighting. This only made the viewers of the live stream want to purchase the V Ticket that allowed them to switch screens and follow him. They became less keen to only rely on the main monitor, which only showed the battle from a single angle. In other words, Han-Yeol was so entertaining to watch that the viewers could not help but spend money on him. It went without saying that the Labyrinth Spiders dropped Angel¡¯s Fragments as well. Han-Yeol had already gathered hundreds of the fragments, but Astaroth still showed no reactions whatsoever. He wondered, ¡®Do I have to make the first move¡­?¡¯ He could not help but feel ufortable as his blood rushed into hisher region at the thought of having to summon the Devil of Seduction once again. It was the result of having two of mankind¡¯s strongest instincts¡ªthe instincts of sexual desire as well as survival¡ªshing together. However, he had to meet the demon sometime in the future regardless of how his instincts screamed within him. After all, he had to give Astaroth the Angel¡¯s Fragments. The party ventured forward without a hup as no Labyrinth Spiders appeared anymore. ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s such a waste, oppa¡­¡± Yoo-Bi grumbled. ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°It is! Just the thought of having to leave behind all of those precious Labyrinth Spider corpses¡­¡± Unlike the monsters above ground, the Labyrinth Spiders here in the secret dungeon remained as corpses after dying. Simply put, it was possible for the party to dismember them for their useful body parts. Well, they could not immediately sell the corpses off anyway. They had to bring the whole monster corpse to the Hunters¡¯ Association to first get them tested before being able to determine which part of the monster was valuable. Nevertheless, it was clear as day that the monster¡¯s remains were quite valuable. However, they were going to need a truck to transport the monster corpses that were rather big and heavy. It was unfortunate that they had left their trucks above ground, so it was going to be impossible for them to collect these valuable corpses. In the end, they could only swallow their tears and collect the mana stones dropped by the monsters to console themselves. All of a sudden¡­ Ziiing! [Hoho! Finally!] Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? ¡°Oppa!¡± ¡°Yeah, I sense it too.¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s Demon Eyes, Balrog¡¯s instinct, and Yoo-Bi¡¯s mana detection device all started ringing at the same time. ¡®This mana is¡­?¡¯ [It seems to belong to the owner of this ce.] ¡®The boss monster?!¡¯ [The boss, you say? I guess that is indeed the most fitting description for what lies ahead.] ¡®It came much sooner than I expected¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. In video games, a boss monster was an arrogant creature that usually appeared only after a yer had hunted quite a lot of monsters. In this case, the party had only hunted around fifteen Labyrinth Spiders so far. But the boss monster was already going to appear? Han-Yeol could see his surroundings within a ten kilometers radius through his mana. It was something like a 3D map usually found in video games or something like that. ¡®The boss monster seems to be in a strange room. It feels like a Queen Labyrinth Spider waiting for its prey to venture into its territory¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol said. [Keke! An arrogant queen? The thought of ripping that arrogant creature apart is already making me feel ecstatic!] ¡®You are indeed a demon.¡¯ [Of course! I am the proud and honorable shield of Baal-nim!] Balrog was still an intermediate demon no matter how he acted. He was a demon who found honor in ripping apart the bodies of his enemy and bathing in their blood. ¡°Yoo-Bi,¡± Han-Yeol called out after making sense of the situation they were in. ¡°Yes, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi replied. She was Han-Yeol¡¯s personal Porter and the main manager of his solo party, so he had the responsibility of sharing whatever information he found rting to the hunt they were in. ¡°The Labyrinth Spider boss will be up ahead. We are heading over there now.¡± ¡°That sounds quite dangerous.¡± ¡°Yes, ry this information to the Mn crew and make sure you tell them to be extra vignt.¡± ¡°Yes, oppa.¡± Yoo-Bi went to warn the Mn film crew to be careful now that they were going to enter the boss room. Well, not that they had to do anything different than what they were doing so far. Their survival game n was quite simple for now. They were going to survive if Han-Yeol won, but they were going to get annihted if he lost. The only reason Han-Yeol had asked Yoo-Bi to warn them was so that they could prepare themselves for what they were about to encounter. ¡°Alright, listen up, everyone. We are now going to meet the owner of thisbyrinth dungeon. It will be quite a suspenseful experience. Are we going to be able to kill the owner of this ce and safely make it out, or is this going to be the end of the road for us?¡± Han-Yeol made a short speech for the viewers. Nobody had said that this was abyrinth dungeon, but this ce was going to be known as the Spider Labyrinth now that Han-Yeol had named the monsters here as the Labyrinth Spiders. It was quite natural for the secret dungeon to be called abyrinth since the monster that appeared here had the namebyrinth attached to them. ¡°Now, move out!¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± *** Thud! ¡®This seems to be the ce.¡¯ [Yes, I can smell the presence of a powerful being.] Gulp¡­! [Everything is futile¡­] Han-Yeol and Balrog were looking forward to the uing battle while the Void Devil was still feeling the same as it always did. As for the rest of the party members who gulped nervously, they were filled with anxiety and fear. Arge shut door stood imposingly in front of them. ¡®Balrog-nim.¡¯ [Ah, leave it to me.] Tak! Balrog walked toward the door. He ced both of his hands on its surface before pushing it with all of his might. Creaking, the door slowly swung open to reveal a spaciousmon hall. There was a flight of stairs at the end of the hall that seemingly led up to a shrine, and the Queen Labyrinth Spider was waiting for them at the very top. If the Labyrinth Spiders had delicate features, the Queen Labyrinth Spider had an imposing presence that suited its title of queen. Its body frame was muchrger than the other Labyrinth Spiders and its chest was bustier than theirs. Also, the Labyrinth Spiders used their sharp pointy arms as their main weapons, but the Queen Labyrinth Spider had human-like arms that held onto something simr to a magic staff. ¡®This looks quite troublesome¡­ I thought it was going to be a monster that depends on its size, but it seems to have some sort of special skills under its belt,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. Most monsters at hunting grounds above the D Rank usually possessed some sort of a special skill. These monsters, including the boss, either depended on their physical abilities or their skills, but the Queen Labyrinth Spider seemed to be the type that used special skills. [Hohoho! Are you scared, human?] ¡®Not at all. I just think it is going to be quite troublesome.¡¯ [That¡¯s good. I thought the human I¡¯m contracted to was a weak coward who can¡¯t even face this much of a challenge. I would have pierced your heart with my spear and returned to the demon world if you were.] ¡®Ehem¡­¡¯ It might have sounded like dark humor, but the demons had a singlemon trait among them. The singlemon trait was that they did not lie. In other words, Balrog was serious when he said that he would have pierced Han-Yeol¡¯s heart with his ming spear. ¡®That is quite a scary thing to say.¡¯ [Well, it¡¯s true that I was nning to, but I trust that you won¡¯t give me a reason to go that far.] ¡®Wow¡­ I guess it feels good to be acknowledged by a demon¡­¡¯ [I¡¯m a proud warrior before I¡¯m a demon. Don¡¯t forget that.] ¡®I will keep that in mind.¡¯ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ The Queen Labyrinth Spider had its eyes shut, slowly opening them only when Han-Yeol and Balrog walked toward it. ¡°Kyahk!?Kyaaaaahk! Kieeeek!¡± Then, its face distorted with anger as it shrieked furiously. However, Han-Yeol could not understand its shrieks. He did not speak thenguage the boss monster spoke. ¡°What the hell are you saying?¡± he grumbled in annoyance. [To think that you dare venture into my house. I¡¯m going to kill every single one of you.] ¡®Do you understand what monsters say, Balrog-nim?¡¯ [Why not? Don¡¯t you know that we demons speak through our minds and spirit, unlike you humans who rely on your ears and brain?] ¡®No, I wasn¡¯t aware of that¡­¡¯ [Well, now you know.] ¡®Hahaha¡­¡¯ It was quite amazing that the demons could understand what monsters were saying, and Han-Yeol thought that it was quite a handy skill to have. The shrieking soon stopped. The Queen Labyrinth Spider raised its magic staff up high before mming it into the ground. Bam! ¡®Hmm? What is she doing?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­? ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol noticed that the ground started vibrating after the boss monster had hit it with its staff. The vibration turned into tremors, like an earthquake, and the shaking shattered the statues located at the foot of the stairs to reveal the hundreds of eggs behind them. Then, the Queen Labyrinth Spider waved its magic staff once again. Woooong! Crack¡­ Crack¡­ Crack¡­? The eggs started to crack open. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after finally realizing what was going on. Kwachik¡­! Bam! Han-Yeol instinctively kicked off the ground and rushed toward the Queen Labyrinth Spider. He swung his sword that had activated Sword Breath while crushing two of the mana stones he had kept just in case they were needed. ¡®Enhance! sh Strike!¡¯?he activated two additional skills. He had originally nned to use the mana stones to take the initiative. However, due to the sudden turn of events, he did not have the luxury to reach for his gun and make ample preparations. He aimed for the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s head with his most powerful attack as the head was the greatest weakness regardless of whether it was a human or a monster. If he could cut its head off, he could kill it in a single strike. ¡®It¡¯s over if I fail to kill it in one hit. We are surely going to be annihted if all of these eggs hatch into Labyrinth Spiders! I have to end this now!¡¯?Han-Yeol desperately thought. That exined hisck of hesitation when using the mana stones right then and there even though they were so expensive. After all, the lives of his party members and his own were much more precious than money. However, the Queen Labyrinth Spider was not going to be so easily killed. It waved its magic staff once again and blocked Han-Yeol. Shwaaak! Chwak! ¡®Spider webs!¡¯? Han-Yeol expected the Queen Labyrinth Spider to shoot webs, so he instantly turned to the side and avoided it. At the same time, he sessfully managed to close the distance between the two. ¡®She¡¯s huge¡­¡¯?he thought. The boss monster was alreadyrge from a distance, but it was evenrger now that he was getting nearer and nearer. However, Han-Yeol was not the type to feel intimidated from his opponent¡¯s humongous size alone. He twisted his body once again before kicking off the ground and jumping toward the Queen Labyrinth Spider. ¡°Kyahk! Kieeeek! Kieeeek!¡±?The Queen Labyrinth Spider threateningly shrieked. Whoosh! Noticing that the boss monster was only swinging its magic staff at him, Han-Yeol guessed that it was probably out of other skills. With a smile, he crushed another mana stone. ¡®This is my chance! Enhance!¡¯ Of course, the effect of the Enhance he had used a while ago still remained. Chwak! Han-Yeol was using Enhance once again, even if it meant that he had to crush another expensive mana stone, because he wanted to enhance the w attached to the end of his chain. It was a weapon he had not used for quite a while. ¡®This is no different from me dual-wielding!¡¯?he eximed while recalling the hellish training he had gone through under Kajikar just to master dual-wielding. Han-Yeol was going tounch a dual attack that carried the weight of the expensive mana stones he had just used. Every single muscle in his entire body contracted as he prepared tounch his attack. Kwachik! The tiles around Han-Yeol broke at the force he was emitting, and even his own body started to feel the burden of the overwhelming power. ¡®Keuk¡­!¡¯? However, he was not going to simply give up no matter how painful it was, and he could easily tolerate this much pain. He was used to being in pain after having been drilled by the Demon Instructor, after all. Han-Yeol gritted his teeth while withstanding the pain spreading all over his body. ¡®Head¡­ Cutter¡­!¡¯? Then, he unleashed the destructive power he channeled toward the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s neck. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Queen Labyrinth Spider shrieked and tried to block the iing attack as it instinctively felt threatened by it. Knowing that its children were going to be able to take care of the intruders as long as it managed to block this attack, it swung the magic staff with the full knowledge that it was going to be destroyed by the attack. However, the Queen Labyrinth Spider had grossly misunderstood one fact. No, it was more urate to say that it had overlooked it. Shwaaak¡­! Kwachik! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Queen Labyrinth Spider shrieked in pain. The boss monster might have been depending on its children to hatch from the eggs, but Han-Yeol already hadrades. Although his party was small in number, everyone was ready to support him without having to hatch from eggs. The Void Devil was mentally connected to Han-Yeol, so it was privy to his ns right from the start. It did not need Han-Yeol to ry it through telepathy. It immediately shot out a Void Storm to block the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s magic staff. ¡®Keeuk¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned in pain after being exposed to the aftershock of the Void Storm as he was quite near to the Queen Labyrinth Spider. However, he had expected that aftershock to a certain extent. Gritting his teeth, he toughened out the pain from the Void Storm. He then swung his sword and cut off the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s head. Sukeok! ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced after sessfully beheading the boss monster. Thrown to the ground as gravity kicked in, he then moaned in pain, ¡°Ouch¡­ Everything hurts¡­¡± It was quite normal for every single muscle in his body to ache as he had used quite a lot of mana in a short period of time. ¡°But I still won!¡± he eximed from the ground. Thud! Han-Yeolid down on his back and looked up at the ceiling. ¡®I can¡¯t see anything¡­¡¯ It was only natural that he was not going to be able to see anything without his mana, since the dungeon was still dark¡­ Chapter 111: This Damned Astaroth (3)

Chapter 111: This Damned Astaroth (3)

¡®Phew¡­ That was close¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief. His gamble had paid off. None of the eggs had hatched thanks to him killing the Queen Labyrinth Spider before that could happen. However, he could not help but feel a tad bit regretful. ¡®Ah¡­ Should I have let some of them hatch¡­?¡¯ He might not be able to dismember and retrieve their body parts, but they still dropped mana stones nheless. It would have been a nightmarish and hopeless situation if all of the eggs had hatched, but it would have been quite profitable if only a few of them had hatched. ¡®Ah¡­ Forget about it. What¡¯s the point?of?dwelling on the past?¡¯?Han-Yeol shrugged. [Ha! So boring¡­ It would have been better if all of these eggs hatched!]?Balrog said with a scoff. He could not care less about the mana stones or the profit that could have been made. He only felt regretful over the fact that he could not fight to his heart¡¯s content. Whiiiing¡­! Ziiiiiing! While Han-Yeol and Balrog felt slightly regretful over not being able to fight more of the monsters, those watching from the sidelines certainly felt relieved that the fight was over. Yoo-Bi simply donned her goggles and started to dismember the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s corpse. Although her main goal was to extract the mana stone out of the boss monster, she thought of checking just in case she could find anything valuable that they could carry back. Just as Yoo-Bi was busy dismembering the boss monster¡¯s corpse, Han-Yeol walked over toward the hundreds of unhatched eggs. He inspected the eggs that were 1.5 timesrger than an ostrich egg. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Are these not going to hatch¡­?¡¯ He was thinking that it would be great if he could manually hatch the eggs one by one so that he could take his own sweet time and kill them individually. Crack¡­! He picked up one of the eggs and cracked it open to inspect it further. ¡®You usually see something squirming inside these things in movies,¡¯?he thought as he recalled a certain sci-fi movie he had watched where the alien would infiltrate a human¡¯s body through their mouth andy eggs in their stomach. He could also remember a scene where a person had held up antern to see something growing and squirming inside the egg. Han-Yeol activated his Demon Eyes to scan the egg just in case this was going to turn out just like the movies had shown, but he could only see a lump of mana inside it. He did not find any traces of a living organism. ¡®Ah, maybe this would work instead? Item Appraisal,¡¯?he thought as he used one of the skills that he had recently acquired. [Monster Egg] Type: Item Combination Material Description: Amon egg used by monsters. It will react to a monster¡¯s mana and hatch, but it is also possible to artificially hatch it. However, it is unknown what creature will emerge from an artificially hatched egg. ¡®What? A material¡­ It wasn¡¯t the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s egg but amon monster egg?¡¯? Han-Yeol was surprised by the egg¡¯s information. He had studied quite a lot about Hunters and monsters during his Porter days, but this was his first time hearing that all monsters shared amon egg. To be frank, not a lot of people were interested in how the monsters reproduced aside from a handful of schrs and scientists. It was justmon understanding that they popped out from the Dimensional Gates. ¡®I mean¡­ How were people supposed to know if this was a spider egg or amon egg when they don¡¯t have an appraisal skill? This isn¡¯t aputer game, after all,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Mankind had only progressed so far regarding the use of mana to forge equipment and items even though thirty years had passed since the Dimensional Gates¡¯ appearance. Needless to say, the truth behind the monsters was still covered in a veil. In fact, it was probably impossible to see any thesis or documents rted to how the monsters reproduced. ¡®Ah, forget about it.?Let¡¯s?just take it,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. After deciding to inspect the egg when he returned back home, he had another thought. ¡®This is now the second strange item I collected, right?¡¯? He suddenly recalled the strange fruit he had obtained from the Vx hunting ground, which was currently stored in the ss cab at his study. He could have used Item Appraisal on it, but he hadpletely forgotten about it, so it was just sitting in there as a disy piece. ¡®I should check what that fruit is when I get home,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, deciding to not forget about it this time. The strange fruit was an excellent collection piece, but Han-Yeol would take utility over collection whenever he had the choice. He was the type of person who did not feel much inclination toward things that he could not use regardless of how good they were as a showpiece, and the only reason he had kept that strange fruit was in the hopes of finding some use for itter on in the future. ¡°O-Oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi urgently called out. ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Come over here and take a look at this!¡± ¡®I wonder what¡¯s going on¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered as he walked over toward Yoo-Bi. ¡°Huh?¡± he muttered after seeing what the fuss was about. ¡°What do you think this is, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi asked while pointing at arge golden te that had been found in the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s corpse. The golden te looked like a puzzle board, but its center part where the puzzles should be had nothing at the moment. ¡°It looks like a puzzle board,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Yeah, what does it want us to put in here¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked in response. ¡°Oppa¡­ What if we were supposed to collect the puzzle pieces from the monsters that hatched from the eggs¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi carefully asked. ¡°N-No way¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied while in denial. If that was indeed the case, then he had done something extremely stupid. He would not be able to bear it if that turned out to be true. Woooong¡­! Han-Yeol was about to pull his hair out when he heard the sound of mana being emitted from his backpack. His eyes widened in surprise. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s that?¡¯? He immediately ced his backpack on the ground and unzipped it just in case it was going to explode. However, what he found inside was aplete surprise. ¡°Eh? Oppa, where did you get those puzzle pieces?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. ¡°You can see these?¡± Han-Yeol asked in shock. ¡°Yes, I can see those beautiful golden puzzle pieces.¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡®I thought I was the only one?who?could see these¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol was now extremely confused. Not even the Hunters from the Horus raid party had been able to see these things when he had looted them from the Banshees, Trappers, and Phantoms. However, it seemed that they were visible to Yoo-Bi. ¡°Wow, you prepared all of these in advance? How did you know you were going to need these? I can see that there are some duplicates, but I think we will be able toplete the puzzle board.¡± ¡°Oh, r-really¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, puzzles are one of my hobbies, since they were the only toys I had growing up. Although we didn¡¯t have the money to buy puzzle sets¡­ I had a few ssmates at that time who were crazy about idol groups. Most of them would purchase those idol goods sets that came with puzzles. They really sucked at it, so I helped them out a few times and was surprised to discover that I was quite gifted with it. After that, they invited me to their house quite often and asked me to piece their puzzles in exchange for some snacks.¡± ¡°I¡­ I see¡­¡± ¡®So there¡¯s something else she is good at¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol was surprised at Yoo-Bi¡¯s unusual hobby. The only time that he had probably seen a puzzle in his life was when he would drop by the bookstore to buy someic books and spot those disyed at the entrance by chance. In fact, even his friends were just like him; none of them had even an ounce of interest in puzzles. ¡°I¡¯ll try and form it,¡± Yoo-Bi said. ¡°Ah, go ahead,¡± Han-Yeol replied before he turned his backpack upside down and poured all of the puzzle pieces onto the ground. Shwaaak! Shwik! Shwik!? Yoo-Bi¡¯s hands moved quite quickly as she inspected every golden puzzle piece and removed the duplicated ones. ¡®But why can she suddenly see the fragments? And why is she seeing these as golden puzzle pieces instead¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. When he had first collected them, the fragments had just been normal glittering stuff on the ground. But now, they had suddenly turned into dazzling golden puzzle pieces and were visible to a normal person like Yoo-Bi. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is this the final stage?¡¯?he wondered. After Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi crouched down and started to work on the puzzle, the bored Mn film crew gathered around them. They had nothing else to do anyway. They also decided to film the scene as there was nothing else that they could show on the live stream. [What are they doing?] [Did the boss monster drop an item?] [What?! Awesome!] [Golden puzzle pieces and a puzzle board¡­?] [I wonder if they will get an item if theyplete that?] [The suspense is killing me!] [The suspense is saving me!] [Quit it with your corny jokes!] [My diet is killing me!] [Kekeke!] The chat room was still in an uproar, especially after Han-Yeol had killed the boss monster in a single strike. Tak! Tak! Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Tak! Tak! ¡®W-Wow¡­! This is really unexpected¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in awe while watching Yoo-Bi. Yoo-Bi looked like those geniuses who appeared on television programs judging by how quickly she solved the puzzle. In just two hours and thirty minutes, the entire puzzle waspleted. ¡°Haa¡­?It¡¯s all done,¡± Yoo-Bi said after wiping the sweat off of her forehead. ¡°You¡¯re done already?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I got lost in the middle since it had been quite a while, but I guess I still have a knack for it. Ipleted it.¡± ¡°A-Amazing¡­¡± Even though he had no skills or interest when it came to puzzle-solving, Han-Yeol knew very well that a puzzle was not something that one could finish in a single sitting. Even those who actually solved puzzles as a hobby would require a few days to finish them. Yet, this girl in front of him had managed to finish the entire thing in a matter of a few hours. ¡®I think you can call her a genius, right?¡¯?he wondered. ¡°Great work, Yoo-Bi.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it!¡± Yoo-Bi said with a bright smile. Han-Yeol could not help but think that Yoo-Bi looked quite charming with her smile. ¡°Ah, this puzzle turned into an image depicting a beautiful and charming goddess.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right.¡± Now that it waspleted, the picture on the puzzle could be seen. The picture was not that clear, but one could still make out the image of a beautiful woman. ¡®Huh? Why does she look so familiar¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol found the woman all too familiar for some reason. He racked his brains. ¡®I think I¡¯ve seen her somewhere¡­ Did I see her in some Greek Mythology book¡­?¡¯ His memory greatly improved after he had be a Hunter, but that did not mean that he could remember every single detail in his life. Needless to say, he could not exactly recall the contents of the books he had read. He would remember a few things that had left a deep impression on him, but that was about it. He kept thinking that the beautiful goddess was someone out of mythology, but he soon realized that he had never read such a book in his life. ¡®What is it then¡­? Why does she feel so familiar? Is it something like a memory from my previous life¡­?¡¯?he wondered. The image looked so familiar that Han-Yeol started wondering about his previous life too. They said that the important rtionship or events one had in their previous life could affect their present life as well. It might sound illogical and downright absurd, but there were quite a lot of such stories that he had to consider that as a serious possibility. ¡®I mean¡­ This is now a world with mana and Hunters, right? What¡¯s stopping me from thinking that there is a previous life and an?afterlife?then? Anyway¡­ This is bothering me¡­¡¯?he thought as he justified his illogical theory. Ziiing¡­! Just as Han-Yeol was racking his brain, thepleted puzzle started to slowly emit a bright light that got brighter and brighter. ¡°O-Oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi hurriedly shouted in surprise. Han-Yeol was equally shocked at the sudden turn of events. He raised his arm to cover his eyes from the light as he was standing the nearest to the puzzle. The light shone so bright that he felt like he was going to get blinded by it. The whole thingsted for around five seconds before the light slowly disappeared, revealing a demon who floated in midair. She had a killer smile and an imposing aura. ¡°Y-You are¡­!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. [Hoho! I see that you have finallypleted what I¡¯ve asked you to do.] It was the charming and seductive demon that Han-Yeol had secretly been longing for, Astaroth. ¡°Is this the Angel¡¯s Fragment that you wanted me to collect, Astaroth-nim?¡± [Correct! I did not imagine that you would solve it so quickly. You found this hidden dungeon and solved thatplicated puzzle in such a short period of time. I guess you found yourself some goodpanions.] Chapter 112: This Damned Astaroth (4)

Chapter 112: This Damned Astaroth (4)

Astaroth looked at Yoo-Bi, who hadpleted the puzzle, and Balrog, who had found this secret dungeon. She had a look that suggested she was aware of everything that had gone on. Yoo-Bi hurriedly avoided Astaroth¡¯s gaze. As for Balrog, he confidently stared back at Astaroth before giving a slight bow to show his respect. The lord he served was Baal, but Astaroth was also a high-ranking demon among the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon. Of course, this did not mean that a demon was going to pay respect to any other demon of a higher rank than themselves. Baal and Astaroth did not invade or fight with each other despite not having any peace agreements between them. It was not that they liked each other or something, but both of their armies were very powerful. In a battle, the winner could only get a pyrrhic victory at most. [Hoho,e over here.] When Astaroth motioned for thepleted puzzle toe to her, the puzzle board floated in midair and flew toward her. She silently looked at thepleted puzzle board that now depicted an image of a goddess. [Ah¡­ How wonderful is this? I mean, I¡¯m still wonderful, but I look so wonderful here¡­ I look like I might just get tainted and crumble if something touches me.] ¡®Do you mean to say that the goddess in that picture is you, Astaroth-nim?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. Astaroth red at Han-Yeol with a severely offended look and retorted, [Hmm? You didn¡¯t know? Can¡¯t you tell?] Han-Yeol¡¯s instincts kicked in to tell him that he was in danger. Immediately, he turned into a 340 IQ cockroach and said, ¡®I-I did not mean it that way, Astaroth-nim! I asked out of courtesy. I could immediately tell at a single nce that the picture looked quite familiar, and it was indeed you, Astaroth-nim! You are beautiful and wonderful whether in real life or in that picture!¡¯? . [Hoho! I love the way you lie, so I¡¯ll let you off this one time.] ¡®T-Thank you very much!¡¯ Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief inwardly. He realized that he could not let his guard down just because of Astaroth¡¯s outward appearance. She was one of the high-ranking demons of the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon, and letting down his guard around her could lead him to lose his soul in the blink of an eye. Demons were extremely dangerous beings to deal with; summoners who dealt with demons were known to use their abilities with their lives on the line. A demon was definitely a summoned creature, but they were far from ves or minions. It was quite rare for a powerful summoner to lose their life to the demon they had summoned, but nobody knew just what could happen if the roles were reversed. ¡®I have to be careful again and again when dealing with her,¡¯?Han-Yeol reminded himself to be alert at all times. [Alright, you did a good job. I want to grant you one wish as a reward. I can grant your wish immediately if it¡¯s something simple.] ¡®W-Wasn¡¯t giving my Kajikar¡¯s sigil?a?reward already?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked as he remembered that this had been the terms of their deal. [That is indeed the case, but consider it as your reward forpleting?the?task much faster than I expected. A demon is quite impatient, you see? However, you managed to finish it even before my patience ran out, so you deserve to be rewarded for it,]?Astaroth said with a seductive wink. Han-Yeol knew very well that Astaroth was not a good demon, so getting bewitched by her was a recipe for disaster. Keeping that in mind, he armed himself with his mana to resist the demon¡¯s seduction, but he still could not prevent his heart from pounding against his chest. He realized once again how powerful the demon was. He was still having a hard time resisting Astaroth¡¯s charm even after channeling all of his mana. Han-Yeol believed that it was going to start getting dangerous if things dragged on, so he decided to quickly make a wish and send Astaroth back to the demon world. He said, ¡®T-Then¡­ I want to be stronger than I am right now.¡¯ [Oh, was Kajikar¡¯s training not enough for you?] Astaroth looked surprised at Han-Yeol¡¯s request. It was quite rare for anything to surprise her as she had lived for thousands of years, but there was not a single creature trained by the drill sergeant that had failed to grow stronger as far as she knew. Kajikar was an excellent drill sergeant who could boost the physical fighting abilities of an entire army through his training. In fact, he was so skilled that Astaroth was oftentimes tempted to bewitch and snatch him away from Baal. However, a mere human dared to say that he was not satisfied with Kajikar¡¯s training¡­? To Astaroth, this was truly a surprising and refreshing thing to hear. ¡®Ah, that is not the case. The training I had under Kajikar helped me reach my second stage, but my goal is to continue growing stronger. I cannot help but feel that I amgging in my growth these days, so I thought only you would be able to help me with this, Astaroth-nim. I initially wanted to solve this by myself, but here I am making this request as you have told me to make a wish.¡¯ [Hohoho! I see¡­ Humans are truly fun. You are theplete opposite of those demons that have a slow growth rate. You are quite interesting¡­] Flutter! Astaroth spread out her wings. This was a habitual gesture that she did whenever she was in a good mood, so it rarely urred. This habit of hers was usually only shown when she was drenched in blood at the battlefield. [I love creatures like you that give off a strong male scent. I¡¯m certain that you will be quite tasty if you grow a bit more.] Slurp¡­! ¡®Hiiik!¡¯?Han-Yeol wanted to shriek out in fear after bing bewitched the moment Astaroth licked her lips seductively, but he managed to swallow it down. He knew that he was going to end up a dry mummy if he fell for her charm, because she was definitely going to suck every ounce of energy he had from his body. It was quite well known that even the most powerful subus would not be able to hold a candle in front of Astaroth, and that was testament to how dangerous a demon she was. [Hoho! No need to be so scared, human. I don¡¯t have any intentions of feasting on you¡ªfor now. Hehe??]?Astaroth winked and blew a heart toward Han-Yeol. A weak-willed person was bound to have already gotten aroused enough to run toward Astaroth, and that was probably going to be the day that he would be found as a dried mummy. ¡®That heart is making me nervous, Astaroth-nim¡­¡¯ [Hoho~] Han-Yeol could not help but feel nervous under Astaroth¡¯s seductive gaze. He thought to himself, ¡®It is a bit dangerous, but she is definitely much stronger than me. I can learn quite a lot from her.¡¯ Well, of course, he had to put his life on the line as well. [Alright, I just have to help you be stronger, right?] ¡®Y-Yes, that is correct.¡¯ Seuk¡­ Astaroth looked around her surroundings. ¡®This is making me nervous¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Now, shall we have some fun?] Shwaaak! Astaroth suddenly appeared right in front of Han-Yeol. She circled around him before cing her finger right above his head and dripping a single droplet of her blood on him. Pat¡­! ¡®Huh?¡¯ [This is my blood. No seduction or charm will be able to overpower the scent of my blood, and not even the sweetest wine will taste better than my blood. Come here, my children. My blood awaits you.] Han-Yeol could feel a strange and foreign mana surrounding him as soon as Astaroth finished her chant. He started to break out in cold sweat upon realizing the meaning behind her chant. He desperately pleaded, ¡®A-Astaroth-nim! Mypanions are here!¡¯? [Hoho, that¡¯s right. I wouldn¡¯t normally care whether they die or not, but I shouldn¡¯t spoil my food before it¡¯s ready, right? I will protect those children, so just focus on your own survival. I will send them aboveground in the event that you fail, so don¡¯t worry about them.] ¡°Argh¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned at the sudden predicament he was in. However, he was also relieved after the demon promised to protect Yoo-Bi and the Mn crew members. Kiek! Kieeeek! Kieeeeeek! The shrieks from their surroundings started to draw closer. [Alright then, do your best~]?Astaroth said as she flicked her finger. ¡°Kyahk!¡± ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?!¡± Hearing the party members'' horrified shrieks, Han-Yeol shouted, ¡°Everyone, calm down! There are monsters heading for us right now, but that demon is going to protect all of you!¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± The party members calmed down slightly after hearing Han-Yeol¡¯s deration, but they continued looking at him with the same stunned expression on their faces. ¡°T-Then?!¡± ¡°Alright, see youter,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile. Shwak! The Mn crew members and Yoo-Bi were suddenly engulfed by a ck dome before disappearing from Han-Yeol¡¯s sight. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeolposed his breathing before his gaze turned sharp. [Kwahahaha! This! This is what I wanted! I was feeling frustrated after the owner of this ce died in a single hit, but it seems I will be able to fight to my heart¡¯s content thanks to Astaroth-nim!]?Balrog eximed. ¡®Are you having fun?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. [Most certainly! Bwahaha!]? Balrog seemingly did not care about Han-Yeol¡¯s feelings as long as he got the chance to fight. On the other hand, the Void Devil continued to express the same emotion it always had. [Futile¡­ Everything is futile¡­] Bam! Bam! Bam! Kwachik! Therge door that Han-Yeol and his party had entered from was busted down by a powerful force, and a swarm of Labyrinth Spiders started pouring into the boss room. [Bring it on! Kwahaha!] Bam! Bam! Bam! Kwachik! Deciding that the best defense was offense right now, Balrog rushed toward the swarm of Labyrinth Spiders and viciously swung his ming spears in all directions. His power level had drastically dropped aftering to the human world, so he would have normally missed his targets with the wild swinging of his spear. But fortunately, the Labyrinth Spiders were so tightly clustered that it was impossible for any of his moves to miss a single target. Han-Yeol summoned the melee-type Void Devil who had been tasked with guarding his father while Balrog bought him time. After all, this was the time for him to go all out. Tak! ¡°Haaaaap!¡±?Han-Yeol charged at the swarm of Labyrinth Spiders along with the melee-type Void Devil. Shooting his mana all over the ce, he thought, ¡®I¡¯ll just fight with my life on the line!¡¯? ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?The Labyrinth Spiders shrieked in response. ¡°This Damned Astaroth!¡± Han-Yeol did not forget to curse the perpetrator behind this entire situation. [Hohoho! Work hard, my scrumptious little human!]?Astaroth said as herughter echoed throughout the room. Ding! [Astaroth¡¯s trial has begun.] - Your growth will be increased by 100% due to the special circumstances you are in. - All of your stats will grow faster. - Your risk of facing danger has increased. *** Thud¡­! Breathing roughly, Han-Yeol went down on his knees while covered in blood.?¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­¡±? He was almost hyperventting to the point that it was getting dangerous. Armed with his cheat skills, Han-Yeol replenished his mana with Walking. He also used his overpowered stats and mana to bathe his entire body in blood. ¡®I don¡¯t even have the strength to speak¡­¡¯? ng! He did not even have the strength remaining to hold his sword. ¡®A swordsman is not supposed to let go of their sword¡­¡¯?he thought as he tried to pick his sword back up. However, he failed to muster his strength. In fact, even his vision was starting to get blurry. He felt that he was going to copse the moment he let his guard down. Shwak¡­ Just as he was about to copse, someone suddenly walked toward him. Sniff¡­ Sniff¡­! ¡®I smell something tasty¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol¡¯s nose squirmed at the familiar scent that made his stomach rumble. With his eyes closed, he could not really see what food it was, but his instinct told him to eat it nevertheless. ¡®A drink¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol soon realized that it was not a food item but a very sweet drink. The more he drank, the more his body begged for it. Ding! Ding! Ding! [You have drunk the blood of a powerful being!] [You have drunk the blood of a powerful being!] [You have drunk the blood of a powerful being!] [The rank of ¡®Blood Drain¡¯ has explosively increased!] Han-Yeol saw a chain of messages in front of his eyes after he barely opened them. It seemed that his Blood Drain skill had helped him recover his strength. ¡®Huh?! There¡¯s nobody here?!¡¯? However, he was shocked to find that there was nobody around him. He was certain that he had been leaning on someone and drinking something that was as sweet as nectar, but¡­he had been lying t on the ground the entire time. As he slowly got up, Han-Yeol checked his condition. ¡®My body feels light.¡¯ He had been certain that his mana was dangerously low and that he barely had enough to support his life from being snuffed out. He had also believed his body to be in a tattered ragged state. However, he could feel that his body was in a perfect condition and even his mana had recovered. He closed his eyes and checked his body to find that he had recovered around twenty percent of his mana. It was not enough for him to engage inbat, but it was definitely more than enough for him to run away or defend himself. However, there was a problem. ¡®Where am I¡­?¡¯? Looking around at his surroundings, Han-Yeol discovered that he was not in the boss monster¡¯s room where he had fought with his life on the line against the swarm of Labyrinth Spiders. Pat¡­ Pat¡­ He was now in a cave-like ce with water dripping from the ceiling. Fwaaa! Han-Yeol conjured a me to illuminate his surroundings. He looked around before noticing that there was a faint lighting from a certain direction. ¡®Is it that way?¡¯? He scanned his surroundings once again just to be certain, but he found that the direction where the faint light came from was the only path avable to him right now. He was naturally skeptical of this situation, but he decided to steel his resolve and carefully proceed. After all, he had no other choice as of now. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? The sound of his footsteps echoed quite loudly as he was currently in a cave. ¡®I hope there won¡¯t be any monsters popping up¡­¡¯?he thought as he hoped for the best. Chapter 113: The Club (1)

Chapter 113: The Club (1)

Han-Yeol¡¯s stamina and mana had somewhat recovered, but his current mental state was in a greatly weakened state. After all, his mental state was not something that he would be able to recover with a skill. ¡®Hmm¡­ Who knows? Maybe I might be able to learn a mental skill if I study psychiatry. Oh, that doesn¡¯t sound bad at all. I should definitely give it a try when I¡¯m not so busy,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought of a bunch of peaceful stuff to try and manage his mental state. If possible, he no longer wanted to fight at the current moment. Fortunately, he was not attacked while walking through the cave, and the ce where the light wasing from had no monsters in it. ¡®Huh?¡¯? It was a small area with a very high ceiling height, and there were holes in the high ceiling that allowed light toe in. The light shone down on a mound in the small area, where there was a white sword and a ck sword stabbed into the mound in the shape of an X. ¡®Swords¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly before he approached the mound. Then, he found a signboard and read it. [Please only take one.] ¡®Is it telling me to take only one sword?¡¯? Han-Yeol could not understand why it was asking him to only take one sword, but he decided to listen to it and pick only one. He walked closer to the mound to pick a sword, but he was surprised by the discovery of another sword that was behind the first two. ¡®Huh?¡¯? He recognized the third sword to be his own, and it was right between the two swords forming an X. ¡®Is it asking me to pick one out of the three?¡¯ Han-Yeol started to process the whole picture at a rapid pace. ¡®The fact that they even bothered to include my sword here is probably a test. Whoever made this probably wanted to see if I would choose my sword, which I¡¯m familiar with, or one of the two other swords.¡¯ The whole thing was set up like a familiar old story. ¡®That means¡­ I should choose my sword!¡¯?Han-Yeol pulled out his sword without a hint of hesitation.? Puuuk! Woooong! The white and ck swords started to let out a cry as if they had been waiting for this very moment. When Han-Yeol pulled out his sword, which looked the least appealing among the three swords, the white and ck swords pulled themselves from the mound and floated toward Han-Yeol. Then, they swayed back and forth in front of him. Han-Yeol sheathed his sword before extending his hand toward the swords. Tak! Tak! As his hand wrapped around the swords, Han-Yeol thought with a smirk, ¡®As expected.¡¯ He was not surprised or taken aback by what had happened, because he had a ny percent certainty that this was going to turn out just like the story ¡®The Golden Ax and The?Silver Ax¡¯.?However, he could not help but feel excited. His adrenaline started pumping the moment he held the swords. It felt as if he was scratching off a lottery ticket that was guaranteed to be a winner. ¡®It¡¯s now time for you to show me your true self. Item Appraisal!¡¯?Han-Yeol used his skill. [White Sword That Rules Space] Type: Equipment Magic Power Amplification: 1,200% Description: A pure white sword that was known to be used by angels. It possesses the power to rule space, but the user must possess a skill that controls space to use this sword. Unique Ability: (SEALED) [Dark Sword That Rules Time] Type: Equipment Magic Power Amplification: 1,200% Description: A pitch-ck sword that was known to be used by demons. It possesses the power to rule time, but the user must possess a skill that controls time to use this sword. Unique Ability: (SEALED) ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in disappointment. He felt like crying right now. It seemed that these two swords were his reward for clearing Astaroth¡¯s test, but it turned out that he was not going to be able to use them even though he had risked his life to pass the test. ¡°Damn it! How in the world is this even fair?!¡± Han-Yeol screamed in frustration. He would not be so angry and frustrated if the skills required to use these weapons were a bit more sensible. He would also have kept these swords in safe keeping until the day he could use them. However, the skills required to use the swords were simply impossible to gain for someone like Han-Yeol, who gained skills depending on the movement he made. In short, it was basically set in stone that he was never going to be able to use these swords. This only made him feel all the more wronged and frustrated. Han-Yeol was busy stomping his feet in anger when the scenery around him changed as if a page had been flipped. ¡°Oppa?¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± Just a while ago, Han-Yeol had been angrily stomping his feet on the mound. Then, all of a sudden, his surroundings reverted back to the boss room where he had fought against the Labyrinth Spiders with his life on the line. Yoo-Bi was not the only one there, as even the Horus raid party members were present. They were all looking at him as if he were a madman. ¡®How¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol was in disbelief. He hadn¡¯t spent that much time in the cave, but the Horus raid party members that were supposed to be back at the mansion on the outskirts of Seoul were suddenly with his party. Finally realizing what was going on, Han-Yeol¡¯s face turned bright red. He might have screamed in Korean instead of Arabic, but that did not change the fact that he had stomped and screamed like a madman. They said that actions spoke louder than words, so there was no way that they would not have understood that he was going crazy indeed. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeolposed himself before asking, ¡°Did you call them?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°What about Mariam and Tayarana? Are they here?¡± ¡°Ah, only Mariam came. Tayarana-nim was invited to the Blue House so she¡¯s busy.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ck¡­ ck¡­! The cking of heels that did not suit the dark ce they were in could be heard right after Han-Yeol was done talking to Yoo-Bi. Han-Yeol looked toward the direction of the sound and saw Mariam walking toward him. ¡°You have fully used your privilege as a special member and caused a huge ruckus,¡± Mariammented. ¡°Haha¡­ I didn¡¯t cause a huge ruckus¡­ Can you at least take my achievement into consideration?¡± Han-Yeol replied sheepishly. ¡°Achievement, you say? Anyway, what are those two swords with you?¡± ¡°Ah, I got this just now. I will check it outter before selling them.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Mariam said with a nod and did not pry any further regarding the swords. ¡®I know it¡¯s in the contract, but people are bound to get interested once they know more. I should be careful. They might suddenly want them upon discovering the secrets behind these swords,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He might have received a unique item from the Horus raid party, but he had learned from early on that people were only to be trusted forty-nine percent at most. It was inevitable for him to have such a thought as the two swords he had obtained gave a monstrous increase to magic power. On top of that, the ability to control space and time boosted their value even more. Needless to say, these were bound to be extremely valuable treasurester on. ¡®I wonder how many Hunters there are who can control space and time¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered before deciding to wrap up this hunt and then focus on other things. ¡®Wait a minute¡­ If the Horus raid party is here then¡­ I can collect all of these bastards I killed, right?¡¯?he thought of a brilliant idea. They were currently underground and Yoo-Bi was the only Porter he had brought in his party, so transporting everything would have been impossible. However, it was going to be a different story if the Horus raid party was here. They could easily transport all of the monster corpses without a problem. . ¡°But Han-Yeol Hunter-nim,¡± Mariam called. ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as his pleasant daydream was interrupted. ¡°This was quite unexpected.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°Han-Yeol-nim, you are a B Ranked intermediate Hunter, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I recently updated my rank.¡± ¡°But you are disying strength that is equal to top Hunters. I was certain you were an intermediate Hunter when I first met you, but now¡­ I am not so sure anymore. I do not have an idea if you are still an intermediate Hunter or you are a high-ranking Hunter judging by what you did in this ce.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­ Well, I share simr thoughts. This is all thanks to my summoned creatures.¡± Han-Yeol decided to be humble, giving all credit to Balrog and the Void Devils for now. Being humble and giving credit to someone else was amon way of uplifting oneself in Korean culture, but Mariam was not Korean despite her being quite fluent in thenguage. ¡°That is quite strange¡­ We calcted that the two Void Devils and Balrog that you summoned might possess outstanding individual capabilities, but they do not synergize well together. We judge that your ability will be the most efficient one when ites to fighting a swarm of monsters. Hmm¡­ I am confident that there is no way my calctions are off.¡± ¡°T-Thank you, I guess¡­?¡± Han-Yeol started breaking out in cold sweat at Mariam¡¯s directness. Meanwhile, the Horus raid party Porters started to work on collecting the Labyrinth Spider corpses. They moved quite quickly to wrap up the scene, but they did not dismember the monster corpses. The Labyrinth Spiders were new monsters, so it was only normal for the Porters to not know how to dismember them. It was also standard practice for new monsters to have their parts studied to find a use for them before a dismembering method would be developed to best preserve the valuable parts. They were not in a rush, so they could take their time. However, wrapping up a hunt as quickly as possible was always the best for everyone involved. [Hurry up! The sun is about to set!] Mariammanded. [Yes, ma¡¯am!] the Egyptian Porters responded in unison before they moved much faster than they did a while ago. *** ¡°Huff! Huff!¡± The Horus raid party had brought five Porters with them to the ¡®Labyrinth Dungeon¡¯. They thought that they were going to be more than enough, but they soon found out that five Porters were nowhere enough to clear all of the dead Labyrinth Spiders in this ce. Mariam sent an urgent request to have ten more Porters to be sent to further increase their work speed. Then, while shaking her head, shemented, ¡°You killed quite a lot. Who would have imagined that you would kill so many monsters that five Porters were not enough and I had to call for ten more?¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Han-Yeol let out an awkwardugh in response while scratching his head in embarrassment. The hunt had been broadcasted live on Han-Yeol¡¯s channel and was viewed from all over the world. Needless to say, most raid parties and even guilds had tuned in to the live stream, and the Horus raid party immediately mobilized to provide support once they had gotten an idea of where the secret dungeon was. However, they were not the only ones who hade here. Quite a bit of hyenas had gathered as well. ¡°Tsk¡­?Why did he have to be a member of the Horus raid party? This is going to be troublesome¡­¡± A group of people were on the roof of the library building, looking down at the Porters who were busily moving around while under the protection of the Horus raid party Hunters. They initially nned to do something, but instantly backed down after seeing the nearly one hundred Hunters in the area. They were further discouraged after learning that the group was affiliated with the Horus raid party. ¡°We could have acted crazy and attacked them since that woman Tayarana is not here, but I think it¡¯s going to be difficult. They have a hundred Hunters ranking A Rank, B Rank, and C Rank over there, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Damn it! I have eyes too!¡± Grrk¡­! The leader of the Hyena raid party, Chul-Gu, gritted his teeth in frustration. He had spent a lot of money to collect information after getting excited at the news that a hunting ground had been discovered by a single Hunter. He would not have felt so frustrated if another raid party or guild hade first, but he had to face the cruel reality that the lone Hunter was a member of the Horus raid party. ¡°I think it¡¯s best not to mess with the Horus raid party¡­¡± Chul-Gu grumbled. This might be South Korea, but the Horus raid party was one of the groups representing Egypt, so they were bound to be powerful. Not to mention, South Korea was trying tobat its current recession by improving rtions with Africa. It was difficult to imagine what kind of consequence the Hyena raid party were going to face if they dared to mess with the Horus raid party. ¡®A paper tiger is still a tiger, after all¡­¡¯? Chul-Gu was not confident in going against the Horus raid party. ¡°Should we go back?¡± Bong-Gu, who was Chul-Gu¡¯s right-hand man, asked. ¡°Shut up. We will continue watching for now. We are going to go back once we judge that the situation is hopeless.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim.¡± Bong-Gu nodded and took a step back. ¡®Lee Han-Yeol¡­ I have my sights on you.¡¯ 1. South Korea¡¯s presidential pce. Chapter 114: The Club (2)

Chapter 114: The Club (2)

Han-Yeol did not do anything to Chul-Gu. In fact, he did not even know that Chul-Gu and his gang existed in the first ce. The problem was that Chul-Gu was the type of person who felt entitled to what belonged to others, and he felt that he had lost something that should have been rightfully his to the Horus raid party because of Han-Yeol. ¡®Damn it¡­! I can¡¯t stomach it!¡¯?Chul-Gu grimaced in pain at the sight of the dead Labyrinth Spiders being loaded onto the fifteen-ton trucks. Chul-Gu was ustomed to piging others rather than working hard. In fact, this thinking was not limited to the Hyena raid party, but there were a lot of other raid parties and guilds that had gathered here in hopes of snatching away the prize from the lone Hunter. However, all of them cowered the moment they saw the g of the Horus raid party at the site. ¡®Tsk¡­ Why is it the Horus raid party of all things¡­?¡¯ ¡®They can¡¯t be touched with the recent support the Hunters¡¯ Association has been giving them¡­¡¯ It was just as the Hunters said, the association had deployed Hunters to monitor the situation just in case there was any crazy group that would try and attack the Horus raid party. *** Fortunately, none of the Korean raid parties or guilds dared to pick a fight with the Horus raid party. Well, that was a no-brainer since there were one hundred Hunters from the Horus raid party on top of the fifty Hunters who had been sent by the Hunters¡¯ Association to oversee the situation. It was unsurprising that nobody was brave enough to charge into this huge group of Hunters from the Horus raid party and the Hunters¡¯ Association. The Hunters were people who had plenty to lose, so they were always careful and only acted when they were confident of victory. Vroom! The Labyrinth Spider corpses were all loaded into three fifteen-ton trucks. The roar of the truck engines reverberated in the area and the Egyptian Hunters searched the perimeter just in case they had left anything behind. Han-Yeol and his party left the hunting ground under the Horus raid party¡¯s protection. Mariam, Han-Yeol, and Yoo-Bi were currently sitting in the same vehicle. ¡°Haa¡­?It¡¯s a huge relief. I really thought we were going to be attacked by other Hunters,¡± Yoo-Bi said as she ced her hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief. She was quite the scaredy-cat, so she had been anxious the entire time. She had truly been worried that something bad was going to happen. ¡°I noticed quite a lot of Hunters from the association, so it would have been an all-out war if they tried to attack us. Well, they might have tried nevertheless if the Horus raid party was a Korean organization, but the Horus raid party is based in Egypt and headed by a big figure like Tayarana¡­ It would have been difficult for them to even muster the courage to attack us,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Yoo-Bi pouted at Han-Yeol before grumbling, ¡°Tsk¡­?I can¡¯t process those kinds ofplicated things¡­¡± These kinds of things were learned through experience rather than through books, so it was difficult for Yoo-Bi to understand them. After all, she had only been working as a Porter for a short period of time. ¡°Han-Yeol-nim,¡± Mariam called out from the front passenger seat. ¡°Ah, what is it, Mariam?¡± Han-Yeol replied, no longer struggling to speakfortably with her. They said that humans were extremely adaptive creatures, and that seemed to be true judging by how Han-Yeol was acting. He repeatedly forced himself to try and talk as casually as possible to Mariam until he got so used to talking to her in this way. Now, he would actually feel awkward trying to speak formally to her. However, he was still scared of her whenever she used her stern manner of speech to criticize him. ¡°Please inform us in advance if you n to stir up trouble next time. It will be difficult for us to clean up after you if we have no idea what is going on. You got lucky today as Yoo-Bi quickly contacted us, which helped shoo away those scavengers prowling around you. However, you cannot expect to be lucky all the time,¡± Mariam said. ¡®She is angry¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [I am not angry,]?Mariam replied. ¡®Hiiik!¡¯? Mariam read Han-Yeol¡¯s mind even though he had told her not to, and this was her way of expressing her anger toward him. She was used to hiding her emotions and not expressing them outwardly thanks to the training she had undergone to be Tayarana¡¯s servant, but that did not mean that she did not have her own ways of venting her anger out. Although she would refuse to acknowledge her anger in the first ce¡­ ¡®Alright, alright, I will let you know in advance before I stir up trouble next time! Hold on¡­ That didn¡¯t sound right¡­¡¯ [Haa¡­ I will let you off this one time.] ¡®Ahaha¡­ Thank you¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol was relieved by the fact that he managed to escape from Mariam¡¯s nagging that had gone straight to his mind through telepathy. It was impossible for Mariam to use her mind control ability on Hunters stronger than her, but it was possible for her to ry her thoughts and get a glimpse of her target''s mind. That was the reason why it was going to be agonizing for Han-Yeol once Mariam started nagging. Once that happened, there was no escaping it even if he ran away or covered his ears. *** Han-Yeol stored all of the monster corpses and other materials they had gained from the hunt in the Horus raid party¡¯s mansion, which acted as their base of operation in Korea. It was an inevitable decision; these were new monsters that hadn¡¯t had their value appraised so there were a lot of Hunters aiming for them. He was also going to have to wait for an official analysis report from theboratory of the Hunters¡¯ Association to be able to sell the monster corpses to a factory. Click! Click! Click! Click!? sh! sh! sh! sh! There was a swarm of reporters waiting in front of the Horus raid party¡¯s mansion gates, and they were gathered here today for the sole purpose of getting an exclusive scoop about Han-Yeol. They said that there was a huge rift between a normal person and a Hunter, but the news regarding Hunters attracted more views and subscriberspared to even celebrity news. It was inevitable for the masses to be interested in Hunters no matter how bad the rift between them was, since Hunters were the ones in charge of protecting them and the ones who propped up the economy. Some of the major news outlets even tantly hired F Rank Hunters as journalists to gather inside scoop about Hunters. They must have considered the news about Han-Yeol to be quite a scoop as there were quite a few F Rank Hunters gathered here today. ¡°I am Yang Seung-Ho from KTN. You are the first Korean Hunter to have single-handedly discovered a new dungeon and even cleared it on the same day. How does it feel to have such an achievement?¡± Reporter Yang¡¯s voice boomed so loudly that even Han-Yeol could clearly hear what he said just now. The voice was not simply loud but it even carried a faint trace of mana in it. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Keuk!?That bastard is here again!¡± The other reporters covered their ears and were in agony. ¡°Hey, Reporter Yang! Stop using that skill of yours!¡± ¡°Yeah! You can just normally talk at this distance!¡± ¡®Oh, so it¡¯s an F Rank Hunter with the Sound Wave skill,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he had his interest piqued. He then said, ¡°Mariam, I will stay here and conduct an interview.¡± ¡°Well, I will be busy taking care of these materials, so you may do as you please. You may ask the butlers or the servants if you need anything and they will immediately tend to your needs,¡± Mariam replied. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, and thank you for today,¡± Han-Yeol sincerely expressed his gratitude to Mariam. He knew that he would have probably been in a tight spot if the Horus raid party did not immediately mobilize after Yoo-Bi had requested for reinforcements. There was even a chance that he would have had everything stolen ande back home empty-handed. Mariam¡¯s facial expression did not change one bit despite Han-Yeol¡¯s sincere gratitude. She said, ¡°Not at all. I just responded to the call of the Horus raid party¡¯s Vice Leader. I do not think I did something significant enough to be thanked since I just did my job.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ You are as rigid as always¡­¡± Mariam was always quite cold and stern, but she did have a tsundere side to her as well. ¡°Well, if you insist on thanking me¡­then I will ept it¡­ I am just epting it because you insist.¡± Mariam gave a slight bow and went into the mansion. The mansion was surrounded by a wall that had one million volts of electricity flowing through them, so none of the reporters dared to scale the walls. The reporters thought that they were going to kick the can today as well, but they were surprised by Han-Yeol remaining in front of the gates and agreeing to the interview. ¡°Alright, ask your questions one by one,¡± Han-Yeol said. The reporters were frenzied, taking pictures as they asked their questions. ¡°I will repeat my question a while ago. You are the first Korean Hunter to have single-handedly discovered a new dungeon and even cleared it on the same day. How does it feel to have such an achievement?!¡± Reporter Yang asked in a booming voice once again before anyone else had the chance to ask a question. Han-Yeol smiled and replied, ¡°It feels good. It is also an honor. I believe that such a feat is difficult to do again, so I¡¯m enjoying the feeling to the fullest right now.¡± ¡°Did you know that there was going to be a dungeon over there by any chance?¡± Reporter Yang ignored the unwritten rule among journalists of ¡®one question one answer¡¯ and immediately asked another question in his booming voice. ¡°No, I had no idea there was a dungeon there. I found it by pure coincidence while resting. I would not have brought my broadcasting crew if I knew there was going to be a dungeon over there, since I could have kept it all to myself without announcing it to the world.¡± The reporters nodded in agreement to Han-Yeol¡¯s words. They would not have imagined that Han-Yeol was only telling a partial truth. It would have been impossible for him to hide the secret dungeon and monopolize it. After all, mana would seep out of its doors and spread around its surroundings within twenty-four hours the moment Balrog unsealed the doors. Then, somebody passing by in the vicinity would have definitely picked it up with a mana detection device or sensed it. In other words, it was a secret that Han-Yeol was not going to be able to keep for himself in the end. That was the reason why Han-Yeol had added some twists to his story to give it credibility and avoid attracting suspicion from others. Han-Yeol was held up for nearly two hours since the first question Reporter Yang had asked. The interview onlysted for two hours because he got tired in the middle and cut it short. Otherwise, the reporters seemed ready to ask questions until nightfall by the looks of how passionate they were. This was the first time that Han-Yeol felt scared of normal people after awakening as a Hunter. He returned home and sat on the softfortable sofa in his living room. Plop! ¡°Ahh¡­ What a tiring day¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. His mind and body were exhausted, but he still felt proud of himself. ¡®Is this how it feels to be a celebrity?¡¯?he wondered, but he had no ns on bing a celebrity. He then thought, ¡®There¡¯s no reason for me to change jobs to something so tiring and unprofitable.¡¯ He probably would not have imagined even in his wildest dreams that he would say something like this at this point in his life. However, the money he was raking in as a Hunter was more than enough to silence any critics who would have a problem with what he had said just now. He was able to earn a lot of money by hunting with the Horus raid party, and he was able to earn even more money by solo-hunting as well. Han-Yeol rxed on his sofa for a while. Then, he suddenly remembered that he had probably leveled up quite a bit after going through that hellish experience. He thought, ¡®Status window.¡¯ Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 145 Points: 125 STR: 255 VIT: 241 AGI: 261 MAG: 300+111 LCK: 20 Invoke: 205 Skills : Dismember (C), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (B), Head Cutter (C), Vicious Stabs (F)], [Walking (M) : Mana Pouch (E)] Mana Control (M), Mana Mastery (M), Sixth Sense (A), [Restrain (M) : Crowd Restrain (F)], [Body Strengthening (M) : Berserk (F)], Stab (M), Dagger Mastery (C), [Chain Mastery (M) : Tornado Smash (F)], Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (M), [Fire Attribute (M) : Fire Ball (F)], Mana Explosion (A), Chain Smite (M), [Marksmanship (M) : Homing Bullet (F)], Martial Arts (M), Enchant (B), Sword Breathe (A), Restore (B), Healing Bullet (C), Enhance Healing (C), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (A), Power Meditation (C), Psychokinesis (C), Force Shield (B), Cat Walk (B), Mana Absorption (B), Demon Eye (C), Mana Strengthening (D), Mana Bullet (D), Reflect (D), Enhance (D), Item Appraisal (F), Trantion (F), Blood Drain (C). ¡°Wow¡­ Is this for real¡­.?¡± Han-Yeol was surprised after checking his status window. His entire focus had solely been directed toward surviving the battle that he did not hear or see anything else aside from the monsters, and he was only able to check his status after having reached thefort of his home. However, after seeing the drastic change his status window had undergone, he could not stop his jaw from dropping to the ground. He recalled having heard quite a lot of notification sounds while fighting, but he did not imagine that the change was going to be this drastic. ¡°Lla~¡± Han-Yeol was so exhausted that he even found breathing to be tiring, but he was now leisurely humming a tune. Lying down on the sofa, he went over the skills that he gained this time. There was Vicious Stab that allowed him to ferociously stab in all directions, Crowd Restrain that allowed him to use Restrain for a short period of time against multiple enemies, Berserk that instantly enhanced his physical abilities after getting exhausted, Tornado Smash that allowed him toy waste to everything around him with his chain, and plenty other new skills. He had gained quite a lot of powerful and useful skills this time. ¡®I can see that my next hunt is going to go extremely smoothly,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. The ends of his mouth rose up so high that it was impossible for it to go any further higher. Chapter 115: The Club (3)

Chapter 115: The Club (3)

Just as Han-Yeol was dreaming of the bright future ahead of him, he heard the electronic door lock beeping. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? Then, his father entered the house. It was a sudden visit, but Han-Yeol had already spread his senses throughout the mansion, so he was already aware that his father wasing in. He wasn¡¯t surprised at all. Han-Yeol would have normally gotten up to greet his father, but he was simply too tired. This time, he only nodded to acknowledge his father¡¯s presence. His father could have reprimanded him for being impolite, but he knew very well how tired his son was these days. He had seen how famous his son had be recently, so he decided to be understanding this time. ¡°What is the matter, Father?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He might be busy, but his father was quite busy as well. They made sure to still spend time with each other no matter how busy they were, and his father had previously mentioned that his billiard business was doing quite well thanks to its strange concept and excellent service. His father had also mentioned that there were numerous investors rmending he expand his business into franchising. His father had spent countless days contemting whether he should expand into franchising or not before he finally decided he was going to do it. That was why he was quite busy these days preparing for that. The fact that his father woulde to him at this time slightly made Han-Yeol nervous. He wondered, ¡®Did something happen¡­?¡¯ ¡°I saw you on the news, Han-Yeol.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­ You saw that?¡± Han-Yeol replied with an awkwardugh and scratched his head in embarrassment. Aside from having been yed live nationwide, the same news was being reyed quite often. It would have been strange if his father had not seen it yet. ¡®But will Fathere to see me just for something like this?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Of course, a family member appearing on TV could be a cause for celebration in most households, but Han-Yeol knew very well that his father was not the type of person toe running just because his son had appeared on national television. ¡°Hmm¡­ Thedies who appeared with you on TV look quite beautiful.¡± ¡®Ah¡­ I knew it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly. The fact that his son had be a Hunter and was earning a ridiculous sum of money or that his son had appeared on TV was not important to him. The only thing that he cared about was for his son to finally bring home a girl to marry. Han-Yeol had no idea if his father wanted a grandchild or just wanted him to get married, but he was certain that his father had been longing for him to bring a girl home. ¡®It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to grant your wish, father¡­ but¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol tried his best to be a filial son after his father had fallen ill, and he tried his best to listen to whatever his father said. However, he did not want to date someone just to please his father. He had no qualms about having a fling, but he had no ns to seriously date someone for now. ¡°Father¡­¡± ¡°No, Han-Yeol. I can¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so against it. Did I ask you to get married right now? All I¡¯m asking is for you to go out and get a girlfriend. Is that so difficult?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The fact that his father was telling him to go get a girlfriend instead of forcing him to go on matchmaking dates was already quite open-minded and considerate of him. Noticing that his father was already making concessions, Han-Yeol could not simply shoot the whole idea down. ¡°Alright¡­ I will try¡­¡± ¡°Oh, are you talking about those women you work with?¡± ¡°No! They are my colleagues. It is not good to mix personal stuff with work. Anyway, I will try hard to look for a girlfriend from now on.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­¡±?His father clicked his tongue in regret. His father might be over fifty years old, but he still acted like a younger adult sometimes. Others might tell him off for not being able to act his age, but Han-Yeol respected his father nevertheless. Han-Yeol was barely able to escape from his father¡¯s nagging, which had initially been disguised as an innocent conversation, before Sung-Jin called him. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? Vrooom! Han-Yeol immediately got dressed up and drove his van to the city. While driving, he grumbled inwardly, ¡®Sigh¡­?I¡¯m only twenty-nine years old, so what¡¯s the rush? Can¡¯t he just trust me?¡¯ Han-Yeol might feel wronged for being rushed, but his father could not help worrying. After all, Han-Yeol had never brought home a girl in his twenty-nine years of life. However, Han-Yeol was oblivious to how his father felt and he continued to not have any interest in dating. Of course, he did initially have some feelings for Yoo-Bi. However, he had given up even before having been able to confess to her as she had quickly put up a wall between them. It seemed that it was going to take a while for Han-Yeol to graduate from being single since birth. Han-Yeol reached Hongdae after driving for an hour and a half. As he headed toward where they had agreed to meet, he wondered to himself, ¡®I wonder why Sung-Jin suddenly wanted to meet here instead of hyung-nim¡¯s pub?¡¯ Hyung-nim¡¯s pub had been an important gathering spot for Han-Yeol and his friends during their high school days. It was wrong for high school kids to go to a pub, but the pub had been a very cozy ce for them to gather. This exined Han-Yeol¡¯s surprise when Sung-Jin had chosen to meet at a bar in Hongdae instead of the nostalgic pub. Ding! Han-Yeol took the elevator up to the wine bar, and he was greeted by a familiar ssic chime that was quitemon in these kinds of ces. He was soon greeted by the wine bar¡¯s receptionist. ¡°Wee, do you have a reservation?¡± The receptionist had an average-looking face, but her figure was quite beautiful. ¡°Ah, can you check if there is a reservation under Park Sung-Jin?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He was not sure if they had a reservation, but Sung-Jin had probably made one to have invited him toe all the way here. The receptionist scanned through the list for a while before she said with a smile, ¡°Ah, I found it. I will guide you to your seat.¡± ¡°Ah, okay.¡± ck! ck!? The receptionist led the way with Han-Yeol following her. Han-Yeol could not help but have his gaze tracing the receptionist¡¯s figure from behind. While admiring her figure, he thought, ¡®Wow¡­ Her body is like that of a Hollywood celebrity¡­¡¯? There was nothing amazing about the receptionist¡¯s face, but her body was a work of art. She had an hourss figure with beautiful hips and a bountiful chest. Her rather small waist was also apanied by quite long legs. She would have been able to make it in the modeling industry if she had given it a try. ¡®But why are all of the workers in the service industry so beautiful these days¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered about the reason why he kept running into beautiful women these days. Han-Yeol was soon guided to a cozy spot on the upper floor while his mind was upied with all sorts of perverted thoughts. The upper floor was an open space that exuded an even cozier and luxurious vibepared to the lower floor. Feeling the cool breeze brush against his face, he thought in enjoyment, ¡®Wow, the air is really refreshing up here.¡¯ ¡°Sung-Jin-nim is right over here,¡± said the receptionist. Han-Yeol looked at where the receptionist was politely guiding him toward and saw Sung-Jin wearing a casual suit. Sung-Jin raised his hand and greeted Han-Yeol as soon as he spotted him. ¡°Hey, Han-Yeol!¡± ¡°Wow, Sung-Jin! You seem to be super busy these days, but you¡¯re looking good!¡± Han-Yeol replied. He felt d to be seeing his friend after a long time. Having once cut off contact with his old friends, he now longed to spend more time with friends he was reconnecting with. At the moment, he could not help but feel frustrated that he was the one being cut off due to Sung-Jin being too busy with his own thing. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk, you monster.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®monster¡¯? Please address me as an influencer.¡± ¡°Stop spouting bullshit from your mouth, will you?¡± ¡°Keke!¡± Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin expressed their joy by throwing a bunch of childish jokes at each other. There was not a hint of awkwardness between them despite not having met for quite a while. After all, they were good friends. ¡°Let¡¯s have a ss of wine for starters.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± The two of them shared a bottle of wine while chatting away. They mostly talked about trivial stuff before moving on to the topic of Porters. The conversation flowed quite naturally as both of them hadmon interests in the topic. Han-Yeol was now a Hunter. He was no longer a Porter but someone who hired Porters. Still, that did not mean he was not interested in anything rted to the Porters these days. ¡®I still grit my teeth and wake up in the middle of the night whenever I remember how much I suffered as a Porter¡­¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. His experience as a Porter had been a rather difficult one, and it seemed that the treatment of Porters had not improved even by the slightest bit. The two of them continued chatting away. After all, it was probably quite difficult for friends, who were a Hunter and a Porter, to stop chatting about their work. ¡°Well, I managed to find a job through my contacts, so I am being treated pretty alright. But I do think that the treatment of those Porters who have no connections should improve. They are struggling quite badly. I am not experiencing it for myself, but the Porters without any connections are being treated so harshly that it makes me feel sick,¡± Sung-Jin said. ¡°I saw on the news that it¡¯s getting difficult for smaller parties to find Porters these days. They said something about the Porter poption declining while more and more people are Awakening.¡± ¡°I guess you saw that article too¡­ I read that the number of people applying to be Porters is rapidly declining every year.¡± ¡°Haa¡­?I really wonder what will be of this country in the future¡­¡± Han-Yeol shook his head in frustration before taking a sip of his wine. ¡®The country¡¯s economy is going to copse if the Porters disappear, but I wonder why the government fails to see the severity of it¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but wonder what the government was waiting for. Han-Yeol had not been able to read much news these days as he had been quite busy. He also dedicated his days off toplete rest, so the information that he had was quite outdated. He generally preferred winding down and engaging in some fun hobbies instead of reading the news. However, that did not mean that hepletely stopped reading the news. This was why he did not miss the article regarding the decrease in Porters, which would be quite a serious problem. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± ¡°Yeah, you are aware that the rift between normal people and Hunters is growing wider by the day, right? The only ones applying to be Porters these days are the children of Hunters while normal people are outright avoiding the profession as it¡¯s degrading and dangerous. The normal people who apply tend to be those runaway kids, gangsters, criminals, and other social outcasts. To be honest, I actually think that is even bigger of a problem.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol furrowed his brow, realizing that things looked much grimmer than he first imagined them to be. ¡°It would be great if the Hunters¡¯ Association could solve this issue¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t think this is something we should concern ourselves with.¡± Han-Yeol had no reason to solve this or even attempt to solve it. These kinds of social problems were best left to the government and association, and this was the precise reason that he paid so much in taxes, right? The Hunters¡¯ Association was probably doing its best to resolve this issue anyway. They were probably aware of the situation if someone like Sung-Jin was aware of it too. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s stop talking about boring things and go to a club instead,¡± Sung-Jin said as he tried to drag Han-Yeol to a club. ¡°A club?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol had never been to a club in his life. He not only had no reason to go there, but he also did not have anyone to go with in the first ce. After all, not exuding a single ounce of manly charm back then had also made it quite difficult for him to go to a club alone. ¡®Should I give it a try¡­?¡¯? Just as Han-Yeol pondered whether to ept the offer or not, Sung-Jin pulled him up from his seat and did not wait for him to respond. Sung-Jin eximed, ¡°Now now, there¡¯s a famous club in the basement of this building, so let¡¯s go there! Go go go!¡± ¡°H-Hey! You called me here for this, right?! This was your n all along!¡± ¡°You only noticed now?¡± ¡°Yeah, you frivolous bastard!¡± ¡°Oh, so you don¡¯t want to? Should we just go home?¡± ¡°Who said anything about that?! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Keke! I knew it!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s life was much more rxed than it had been before, so he figured that going to the club to enjoy himself was not a bad idea. Thinking about the club, a ce where music, booze, and women gathered, Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, ¡®The hottest and trendiest ce in Korea is the clubs!¡¯? A club was a ce where a man was bound to want to go at least once in his life; this was something a celebrity had said on TV. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go!¡± Sung-Jin shouted in excitement at the thought of going to the club. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol pretended he was being dragged along by his friend. In truth, he was looking forward to going to the club deep inside. Chapter 116: The Club (4)

Chapter 116: The Club (4)

Dum! Tss! Dum! Tss! Hongdae was the hottest ce for youngsters in South Korea, and it was also the most activemercial area. South Korea¡¯s top threemercial areas were Gangnam, Shinchon, and Hongdae. Gangnam was the most expensive one among the three, so most shops there were leased by expensive brands or shops focused on luxury goods. On the other hand, Shinchon was focused on hospitals, department stores, and motels, so young people slowly stopped going there. However, the streets of Hongdae were filled with buskers, clubbers, and delicious food. Naturally, it evolved into the hottest hangout spot for young people. On top of that, the celebritiesrgely followed by teenagers and young adults in their twenties often appeared in Hongdae, which further fueled the area¡¯s fame among youngsters. The club that Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin went to was quite a famous one in Hongdae. ¡°Wee!¡± The club¡¯s reception was not located inside but rather outside the building, and there was quite a long line of clubbers waiting to get in. ¡°Wow, this is quite a crowd. I guess we can expect some excitement tonight, ¡± Sung-Jin said. ¡°Huh? Do you go clubbing often?¡± Han-Yeol asked, feeling a bit awkward as this was his first timeing to a club. As for Sung-Jin, he appeared to befortable and right in his element. There was a tall man standing at the entrance of the club, and he seemed to be the one in charge of managing who got in or not. Checking the ID of a woman, he said, ¡°Is this really you? You look a bit different from the picture¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s before I got stic surgery, handsome oppa,¡± the woman replied with a wink. ¡°Hmm¡­ This is a bit troublesome¡­¡± ¡°Why, oppa? I came here to y with my friends because I heard this is the best club in Hongdae! Can¡¯t you let me in, oppa?¡± The woman looked a bit young, but she somewhat resembled the picture on the ID. Thinking so, the man let her enter the club. ¡°Alright, you can go in.¡± ¡°Alright! Thank you, handsome oppa!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Haha!¡± The group of women went down the stairs while excitedly chatting with each other. The door opened, sting out the loud music that shook the floor inside the club. An area decorated with balloons could be seen between the doors, as well as a DJ ying songs on a tform. Men and women could also be seen mingling with each other as they danced to the music. ¡°Wow, this is awesome¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in amazement. He had only seen videos of clubs on the TV. Now that he was here to check it out by himself, he found it looked much more exciting. Tak. ¡°You think so?¡± Sung-Jin said as he tapped Han-Yeol, who looked like a lost country bumpkin, on the shoulder and motioned him to smile. Han-Yeol was mostly serious and level-headed, but he sometimes donned this innocent dumb look when he was taken aback. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this look like a corrupted underground city¡­?¡± Han-Yeolmented. ¡°What the hell are you talking about¡­? Forget about that, let¡¯s go and book a room,¡± Sung-Jin replied. ¡°Huh? I thought you had to reserve those in advance?¡± ¡°You¡¯re sort of right, but today is a weekday. There should still be some empty rooms. I¡¯ll go book the room, so sit tight and have a pint of beer while waiting for me.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Han-Yeol replied while waving his hand. Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum!? Han-Yeol could not help but love the club¡¯s atmosphere despite it being his first time. The loud music automatically made him want to dance even while sitting still, and the dozens of semi-d women dancing on the dance floor as if they were in a trance was quite a refreshing sight for him. He had a prejudice that clubs were dark and corrupted ces where one would participate in vices before their eventual downfall. Now that he was here himself, he could not help but feel embarrassed for having thought that way. It turned out that a club was a ce where people mingled and danced to their heart¡¯s content. ¡®I shoulde here quite frequently,¡¯?he thought. Sung-Jin finally returned while Han-Yeol was busy looking around the club. He said, ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go up. I got us a room upstairs.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± Han-Yeol nced up and saw quite a lot of people leaning on the handrails while leisurely chatting and drinking beer. There were a lot of men among them, but the women with them were so unbelievably beautiful that his eyes were busy scanning all of them from head to toe. He thought, ¡®So this is why so many mene here.¡¯ The entire club seemed to be full of beautiful women. The ones upstairs were astonishingly beautiful, while the ones dancing on the dance floor below possessed sexy bodies that they further unted with their skimpy clothes. It was basically a sight that would make men salivate and have their primal instincts incited. The men probably frequented this ce in hopes of getting lucky with one of the women here. The club knew this was their key selling point, so they made sure to set a certain standard for their guests and hosted a lot of events targeting women. ¡°What are you doing? Hurry up,¡± Sung-Jin called out when he saw Han-Yeol spacing out. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ming,¡± Han-Yeol replied. They entered the room Sung-Jin had booked and started their night with a ss of whiskey before continuing the discussion they had at the wine bar. ¡°Keuh!?Whiskey definitely has a different charmpared to wine,¡± Han-Yeol said after drinking the whiskey. ¡°Look at this bastard. Can you stop pretending you know how to taste alcohol?¡± Sung-Jin sneered. Perhaps it was because of his dirt poor upbringing that Han-Yeol had never had the chance to enjoy expensive drinks such as whiskey or wine. However, he was still the type of guy who would always prefer to drink beer or soju no matter what the asion was. That was why Sung-Jin found Han-Yeol¡¯s pretentiousness to be quite hrious right now. ¡°Shut up. You need to drink stuff thatplements where you are,¡± Han-Yeol snapped back. ¡°Keke! Sure, sure, drink to your heart¡¯s content then,¡± Sung-Jin said with a snicker. Clink! The two of them clinked their sses before downing them to get drunk. Then, they went down to the stage. ¡°Now, shall we go?¡± ¡°Sounds good!¡± After drinking their whiskey and starting to feel slightly tipsy, Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin prepared to make their way to the stage to mingle with the crowd. Drinking and dancing at the club was always a fun experience, but the main event would always be mingling with the crowd and going wild. However¡­ Dudududu¡­! ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°Is it an earthquake?!¡± A sudden tremor shook the ground, and Han-Yeol immediately sensed the trace of a strange unsettling mana in the air. Then, what he feared the most ended up happening. ¡°Kyaaaaahk!¡± ¡°Gwaaaak!¡± As screams reverberated across the club, Sung-Jin asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way!¡± Han-Yeol shouted in response. ¡°S-Sure.¡± Sung-Jin decided to trust Han-Yeol as they currently had no idea what was going on. Han-Yeol carefully opened the door and went out. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± ¡°Help me!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Guoh¡­ Gege¡­ Gege¡­¡± The dance floor on the first level was no longer filled with dancing clubbers. It was now covered in blood. ¡°M-Monster?!¡± A group of green-skinned monsters had managed to somehow enter the club. They were massacring the civilians. ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯?Han-Yeol hurriedly activated his skill to scan the area within a ten-kilometer radius around him. Just as a sense of uneasiness settled in his heart, he eximed inwardly in horror, ¡®T-This can¡¯t be!¡¯? The monsters were not only present in the club, but more of them were spread across the ten-kilometer radius all around Han-Yeol. In other words, the entire city was overrun by monsters without a single warning from the association or the government. ¡°H- Han-Yeol!¡± Sung-Jin urgently shouted. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°O-Over there!¡± Han-Yeol turned his head toward Sung-Jin and found his friend pointing somewhere. ¡°Euaaack!¡± There was a group of men filming the carnage with their smartphones before they were chased by the monsters. Then, they hurriedly hid in a room and locked the door¡­ However, that was a big mistake. Bam! Bam! Bam! Kwachik! Bam! ¡°N-No!¡± Bam! Kwachik! Pukeok! Kwachik! ¡°Aaaaack!¡± ¡°It hurts! Stop!¡± ¡°H-Help me!¡± There was no way that an ordinary door was going to be able to stop a monster that used mana. The monster punched the door three times before smashing it open on the fourth one. It quickly entered the room. What followed was the desperate cries and screams of the men. The second floor was still safe for now, but that did notst for long. After all, the monsters slowly started to ascend the stairs one by one. Gruduek¡­! ¡®These bastards?dare?to disturb my night out¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth in anger. Today was supposed to be his reward for having worked so tirelessly these past few days, and it was supposed to be peaceful, fun, and hot.?So, with the monsters¡¯ sudden appearance ruining everything, he could not help but have his temper re up. Han-Yeol was emitting powerful mana from his body because of his anger. Shwaaaa¡­! A monster that resembled a praying mantis scaled the walls. Afternding near Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin, it tried to attack them with its scythe-like arm. ¡°Heup!¡±?Sung-Jin held his breath in horror at the monster¡¯s attack. He might be a Porter who hunted at the hunting grounds, but he had never experienced fighting one-on-one against a monster. Whoosh! All of a sudden, Han-Yeol dashed forward and crushed the monster¡¯s head with his knee. That was quite a powerful blow now that his Martial Arts had reached the M Rank, and it was impossible for the low tier monster to withstand it. However, more and more monsters came up to the second floor. They started to gang up on Han-Yeol. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? A monster exploded every time a boom resounded in the air. ¡°Damn it¡­ Why did these weaklings have to appear now of all times and ruin my night?! Fuck!¡± Boom! Boom! Boom!? Han-Yeol threw kicks and punches to vent his anger, and he painted his entire surroundings with bluish blood. Thanks to him, the monsters at the club were quickly neutralized. Han-Yeol scanned the club with Demon Eyes one more time just to make sure that there were no more monsters in it. The problem now was Sung-Jin. ¡°Hey, Sung-Jin,¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Ah¡­? Oh, right¡­ What¡¯s up¡­?¡± Sung-Jin replied while looking slightly disoriented. He might have gained quite a bit of experience while working as a Porter, but this was the first time that he had such a close encounter against monsters. In addition, the fact that this happened at a club in the middle of the city further shocked him. Tak! Tak! Han-Yeol reached up and tapped Sung-Jin¡¯s cheek twice. He was asking his friend to get a grip right now. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Han-Yeol asked, but he could tell that Sung-Jin was not doing so well right now. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m alright¡­ Hoo¡­ I should get a grip¡­¡± Sung-Jin replied before he pped himself awake. Pak! Pak!? He reminded himself of a saying that one could survive getting bitten by a tiger as long as one did not panic. Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin decided to leave the club before anything else. There were still a lot of injured people in the club, but they did not have the luxury to care for them. They would have stayed behind and tended to the wounded if the monsters¡¯ appearance had been limited to the club, but the whole ten-kilometer radius around them was currently in chaos. The whole area descended into madness as monsters massacred the civilians while the deployed Hunters tried their best to control the situation. The only silver lining was probably the fact that the monsters that appeared were not that strong, so the Hunters did not have to struggle for a long time just to kill one of them. Unfortunately, the monsters were just so great in numbers and they were spread out all over the ce, making it difficult for the Hunters to take control of the situation. ¡®Not to mention¡­ All of the Hunters are currently fighting only in their respective areas,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while scanning his surroundings. It was not that there had been no Hunters in Hongdae when the monsters first appeared. However, the problem was that the total Hunter poption of South Korea was a mere fifty thousand, and not all of them were present in this ce. On top of that, the monsters were so scattered around. Some were even in the buildings nearby, so it was extremely difficult for the Hunters present in Hongdae to neutralize all of them. Bang! Bang! Bang! The police fired their guns in hopes of making a stand against the monsters. Unfortunately, there was no way that a mere revolver used by ordinary people was going to make a dent against the monsters even though they were low-tier weaklings. Whoosh! Kawdeuk! ¡°Kwaaargh!¡± ¡°I-It hurts! Save me!¡± The two police who bravely resisted against a monster were instantly gobbled up by it. Chapter 117: The Club (5)

Chapter 117: The Club (5)

¡°Ugh¡­¡±?Sung-Jin groaned. He felt nauseous after experiencing something he hadn¡¯t yet experienced while hunting at the hunting grounds. The things he had to see while going out on hunts had never been this grotesque. Also, having to witness human deaths had very different effects on his mental health. Beep! Beep! Han-Yeol opened the trunkpartment of his van, then said, ¡°Take this, Sung-Jin.¡± ¡°H-Huh?!¡± Thud¡­ ck! Han-Yeol passed Sung-Jin his HSK-447P, a few cartridges, as well as various equipment used by Porters. It was only then that Sung-Jin came to his senses. He had been nervous the entire time after feeling naked and exposed to the monsters, so the fact that he was going to be armed helped alleviate some of his concerns. ¡°What do you think? Have you calmed down a bit now?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ Sorry for showing you something so unsightly¡­¡± Sung-Jin replied. ¡°It happens. Fighting against monsters without anything is a mental thing to do, after all. Ah, that gun is not a normal gun, by the way.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I might not have much experience as a Porter, but I know my stuff. That¡¯s a HSK-447P, made in Germany, urate to five kilometers.¡± ¡°Wow, look at you.¡± Han-Yeol was a bit surprised that Sung-Jin knew the specifications of this gun, which was not that popr in South Korea. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been working my ass off, you know. I¡¯ve been studying quite diligently,¡± Sung-Jin grumbled in response. He, however, was not able to say everything in his mind. ¡®So I can stand proudly beside you¡­¡¯ Back in high school, Han-Yeol had been better at fighting. However, the difference back then hadn¡¯t been that big. However, it was different now. Han-Yeol was soaring in the sky while Sung-Jin was a powerless Porter. The difference between them was so huge thatparing them side by side would be deemed a sin. Sung-Jin decided topose himself and stop showing such a pitiful side of him. Click¡­ ck¡­! He received the HSK-447P and loaded it before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Han-Yeol.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a smirk. After seeing Sung-Jin steel his resolve, Han-Yeol contacted the Void Devil that was protecting his father. He had offered quite a lucrative deal to the Void Devils and tasked the both of them to protect his father just in case something like this happened. [Void Devil, how are things over there?] Han-Yeol asked through telepathy. [Things have been wrapped up here, but your father has fainted.] [Haa¡­ That is a relief. It would be better for him to be unconscious than witness something like this.] [Don¡¯t worry about this ce. These monsters won¡¯t be able to harm a single hair on your father¡¯s body.] [That goes without saying¡­] Both the melee and ranged Void Devils were currently protecting his father. The contract Han-Yeol had entered into with the Void Devils was for them to assist him on his hunts and protect his father. In return, he agreed to provide double the offerings he normally gave. Han-Yeol made sure to spend unsparingly when it came to his father¡¯s safety, and that was the reason why he could freely go around the city that had been plunged into chaos without having to worry about his father. ¡°Kieeek!¡±? Most of the civilians had already run away, so the only humans left in this street were Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin. Of course, all of the monsters in the vicinity directed their attention toward the pair as they were the only prey in the area. As the monsters rushed toward them, shaking the ground like a threatening stampede, Sung-Jin cursed under his breath, ¡°Damn it¡­¡± He pulled the trigger without a hint of hesitation after spotting the monsters rushing toward them. ck¡­ Click¡­ Ratatata! ¡®I won¡¯t be able to deal much damage, but I still have to do something.¡¯? He had no intention of killing the monsters. He knew very well that a Porter¡¯s gun was not going to be able to deal much damage even if he used bullets coated with mana stones. He had no idea if it was a technological limitation or just simply because they did not possess mana, but coating the gun and bullets with mana stone did not mean that it was going to instantly be stronger. In fact, it was still impossible for a Porter to deal any sort of significant damage, even to low-tier monsters. It did not matter just how well their bullets were coated with mana stones. The most they could probably do was to scratch the monster¡¯s hide and attract their attention to buy time for the Hunters to deal fatal damage to them. Sung-Jin pulled the trigger without much expectation, but¡­ Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? ¡°Kieeeek!¡± ¡°Heok?!¡± Sung-Jin managed to lodge two bullets in the praying mantis¡¯ body and one bullet in its head with his marksmanship. His headshot burst the monster¡¯s head open and sshed its bluish blood all over the ce. Witnessing the monster plop dead on the ground, Sung-Jin was shocked. ¡®A monster died so easily?!¡¯ He knew from experience that a Porter¡¯s gunfire was only used for two things. The first was to attract the monster¡¯s aggro, and the second was to raise their chances of Awakening. ¡°Wow, your marksmanship is really good. You¡¯re better than me when I was a Porter,¡± Han-Yeol said while being impressed by his friend¡¯s marksmanship. However, that was not what was important to Sung-Jin right now. ¡°H-How did I kill that monster?!¡± Sung-Jin eximed. What happened just now hadpletely ignored one iron-d truth in the world. In truth, it should have been impossible for a Porter to kill a monster with a gun no matter how hard they tried. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s my ability. I¡¯m able to infuse my mana into objects, you see, so I infused my mana in those bullets beforehand,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. It was the effect of Mana Pouch, which was a skill he had recently acquired. He now made it a habit to infuse his mana into his weapons and gear whenever his mana maxed out. This proved to be a very wise habit as it came in quite handy during emergencies like this. ¡°A-Awesome¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s awesome, right? But I didn¡¯t expect the monsters to die so easily from a few rounds.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, me too¡­¡± ¡°Oh right, Sung-Jin.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Will your father¡¯s factory be fine?¡± ¡°Ah! Father!¡± It was only after Han-Yeol mentioned it that Sung-Jin finally remembered his father and the factory. ¡°Go give him a call.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sung-Jin quickly took out his phone and called Manager Han. ¡®Father¡¯s?not going to tell me exactly what¡¯s going on, so it¡¯s better for me to call Manager Han,¡¯?he thought as he knew his father¡¯s personality quite well. [S-Sung-Jin!] Manager Han answered the call in a panicked voice. ¡°How is the factory, manager-nim? Is father alright?!¡± [You heard about it too? T-They aren¡¯t saying anything on the radio¡­ Do you have any idea what¡¯s going on?] ¡°Seoul is in chaos right now, but that is not what is important right now. How is father? Is he safe?¡± It appeared to be quite rude, since Manager Han was the person who had answered the call and Sung-Jin was not even asking about how he was doing. However, the only thing on Sung-Jin¡¯s mind right now was his father¡¯s safety, so he did not have the luxury to ask about anything else. [We were finishing up a deal with two Hunter parties when the monsters appeared, so they are holding the monsters back. But there are too many of them! A few strange ones appeared as well, so I don¡¯t think the Hunters will be able to hold them back for long¡­] ¡°It¡¯s a relief they were there. Is anyone hurt?¡± Only after confirming that his father was safe did Sung-Jin finally ask about the well-being of other people. [I¡­ I have no idea. I¡¯m currently in hiding with the boss and a few other employees.] ¡°Alright, I will be right there.¡± [No! Sung¡­!] Beep! Manager Han was about to say something, but Sung-Jin disconnected the call. After all, it was obvious what the man was going to say. He was most likely going to ask him not toe as it was dangerous. ¡°Shall we go right now?¡± ¡°I think we should hurry. He mentioned some strange monsters have appeared, so there must be others aside from those mantis bastards.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go right now.¡± Han-Yeol hopped into the driver seat of his van. Once Sung-Jin sat in the passenger seat, Han-Yeol stepped on the pedal and drove as fast as he could. Vroooom! ¡°It¡¯s a mess out there¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Seoul was no different from a war zone right now. There were numerous battles between Hunters and the monsters unfolding across the city, and there were also people being chased down by the monsters. ¡®This is horrible¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was then. ¡°Mommyyyy!¡± A woman drenched in blood was lying in the middle of the road, and there was a kid of around five years old crying beside her. Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!? There were five monsters making their way toward the child. ¡®Damn it!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. He was not a god, so he was not going to be able to save everyone. That was the reason why he had left the club as it was and did not help everyone he had encountered. ¡®But that¡¯s a child!¡¯?he gritted his teeth. Schreeeech! Han-Yeol mmed the brakes and rolled down the windows before he took out his SMG from the van¡¯s glovepartment. Ratatata! He pulled the trigger and sprayed the bullets. Others might think that he was randomly shooting, but he was using Demon Eyesbined with Homing Bullet to target the five monsters. All of the bullets hit the monsters, all of which quickly dropped dead to the ground. Han-Yeol got off the van and approached the child. ¡°Sniff¡­!?Ahjussi¡­ Please help my mom¡­¡± the child pleaded. During normal circumstances, Han-Yeol would have gotten worked up and retorted that he was not an ahjussi. However, he did not have the luxury to banter right now. ¡°Yes, just leave it to me,¡± he replied as he wiped the tears off of the child¡¯s face. Then, he scanned the woman¡¯s bloodied body with Demon Eyes. A doctor would have probably checked her pulse to confirm if she was dead or alive, but that was not needed for him. Fortunately, he sensed a weak energy lingering in the woman¡¯s heart, which meant that the woman was still alive. He further inspected her internal state and found that it was not as bad as her external injuries. It was going to be possible for his skills to help the woman. ¡°Restore.¡± Woooong¡­! The woman rapidly recovered once Han-Yeol used his main healing skill. Her physical wounds mended themselves, and even her dislocated bones went back to their ce. ¡°Ah¡­¡± the woman let out a moan before slowly opening her eyes. ¡°Mommy!¡± the child cried out and hugged the woman. Han-Yeol took a step back and watched them before thinking, ¡®Ah¡­ It¡¯s a bit cruel for me to leave them here¡­¡¯ However, he knew very well that he was not going to be able to protect everyone. ¡°What are you nning to do, Han-Yeol?¡± Sung-Jin asked. He did not n to go against whatever Han-Yeol was nning, but he would vehemently protest if Han-Yeol nned to help other people at the expense of his father. Ironically, the first thing that came to Sung-Jin¡¯s mind right now was to me himself. ¡®If only I was a Hunter!¡¯? He could have rushed toward the factory and protected it with his own strength without requiring Han-Yeol¡¯s help if he had Awakened as a Hunter. ¡°Ah, I have a great idea. Just give me a second,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright¡­¡± Sung-Jin replied. He decided to just watch in silence even though every second counted right now. He could not simply ask his friend to abandon the child and her mother just because he wanted to rush over to his father. Han-Yeol took a step back and raised his right hand toward the sky before closing his eyes. Then, he used his demon-summoning skill. He did not n to summon a new demon but one that he already had a contract with. ¡°Heed my call, Delchant.¡± Chapter 118: The Club (6)

Chapter 118: The Club (6)

Woooong! After Han-Yeol used his skill, a magic circle appeared on the ground with a small explosion and smoke rising up from it. Then, a familiar-looking demon appeared from it. Poof! [Kihihihi! What are you looking to buy today?!]?Delchant asked with a greedyugh. The demon appeared to be quite enthusiastic to have been called since he had gained quite a handsome profit with the gold tradest time. He was a demon that strictly lived a capitalistic life, and it was possible to buy most items from him as long as he was paid in gold. ¡°Is there a way for me to temporarily call a lot of demons for a short period of time?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [Hmm¡­ A lot of demons? Temporarily?] ¡°Yes.¡± Delchant looked around his surroundings. He might be a nonbat demon, but that did not mean that he was weak. Clearly, he had rather sharp senses. He could sense that there were a lot of monsters in the area. [Kihihi! This sounds fun! Well, you¡¯re in luck as I have just the magic scroll you need. However, it¡¯s quite expensive for a single-use item. Do you still want it?] Delchant said while raising a brow as if to openly taunt Han-Yeol. He was seemingly asking Han-Yeol if he had the balls to spend a fortune for a single-use item. Han-Yeol could immediately tell that the demon was openly taunting him. Although he felt like he was being mocked, he said without any hint of hesitation, ¡°I will buy it.¡± [Kihihihi! I can¡¯t say no to a deal, right? Let¡¯s see¡­ The price will be ten tons of gold!] ¡®Ten¡­ Ten tons?!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. He decided to use telepathy from now on to hide the rest of the conversation from Sung-Jin. [Kihihi! I already told you it¡¯s going to be expensive. The item you need is not that useful for many, but that doesn¡¯t mean it is going to be cheap!] ¡®Ugh¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol felt his insides churn after hearing the price of the single-use item. He would have been fine if it was one or two tons of gold, but ten tons of gold was simply too much. However, this was the only way he could think of to fulfill his responsibilities as a Hunter and to bring an end to this chaos. Nobody was going to give him a medal for resolving the situation, but he wanted to be able to stand tall in the event that people tried to criticize him for what had happened there. ¡®Alright. I will buy it. I will pay you within a month¡¯s time.¡¯ [Kihihihi! Thank you for using our Delchant Store once again, human-nim!] The demon showed utmost respect toward Han-Yeol after he purchased the item, but that onlysted for a moment. After all, Delchant was not really a courteous individual. [Kihihi! Take this!] Whatever the demon said next was far from courteous. Tak! The demon threw a magic scroll to Han-Yeol. ¡®This is it?¡¯ [Kihihihi! That¡¯s a magic scroll that will allow you to summon one thousand lesser demons for twenty-four hours. Hmm¡­ There¡¯s more to it, but it¡¯s no fun if I tell you everything, right? You will have to find out for yourself~] ¡®Isn¡¯t that too irresponsible¡­?¡¯ [That¡¯s my style. Kihihihi!] Poof! Delchant let out his creepy high-pitchedughter before disappearing with the sound of an explosion. Only a cloud of smoke was left behind. ¡®That damned bastard¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. Without many options avable to him, he had summoned Delchant. To be honest, he really did not want to summon this specific demon. This demon was obviously extremely greedy, so it was hard to tell how the demon was going to backstab him. This demon also acted exactly like a stereotypical demon. Needless to say, not all demons cared about honor and stayed true to their words like the Void Devils or Balrog. ¡°What¡¯s that, Han-Yeol?¡± Sung-Jin asked after the demon merchant disappeared. The fact that Han-Yeol had the ability to summon demons was already quite well known because of the news, so Sung-Jin was not all that surprised. However, he was slightly flustered when he saw the demon summoning with his very own eyes. After all, he had previously only seen it being done in videos. Also, he found the fact that the demon had given Han-Yeol something to be quite amazing. ¡°Ah, this one?¡± ¡°H-Hey! What are you doing?!¡± Sung-Jin was shocked by what Han-Yeol did next. Riiip! Han-Yeol ripped the scroll he had received from Delchant without an ounce of hesitation. There was no room for hesitation right now. Woooong! Then, arge purple magic circle appeared underneath Han-Yeol¡¯s feet. ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°Aaaack!¡± The child screamed in agony after the entire area was filled with the demonic energy from the demon world. The demonic energy was simply too strong for the child to bear. Thud! [Kieeeeeek!] [Kwahahaha! How long has it been since Ist came to the human world?!] [Only those pitiful summoners used to summon us, but it¡¯s quite surprising that it¡¯s a scroll this time.] [B-Blood¡­ I need blood¡­ I¡¯m sick and tired of monster blood¡­ I need something fresh and new¡­ I need blood!] [Kihihihi!] [Ha! Look at that bastard announcing to the world he is an ignorant bloodsucker.] [What did you just say?!] [We will onlyst twenty-four hours judging by the mana that called us.] [Then we should do everything we want in those twenty-four hours!] [Kikikiki! Kikikiiii!] Gulp¡­! One thousand demons emerged from the magic circle. There were some that looked alike while others looked quite different from the others. In fact, some of the demons looked just like humans while some looked no different from the monsters themselves. However, all of them exuded mana that was clearly different from what a monster would exude. Sung-Jin could not help but nervously gulp after being surrounded by the demons. Trembling uncontrobly, he was ovee by crippling fear. He was not the only one trembling as even the woman who Han-Yeol had just healed trembled in fear too. To the woman, there was no difference between the demons and monsters. It was unsurprising that she was very fearful right now. One of the demons approached Han-Yeol and asked, [Are you the human that summoned us?] The demon possessed bright red skin, and there was infinite darkness in the demon¡¯s eyes. Han-Yeol nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± [Hoho, I¡¯m sure you did not call us for something petty. You called one thousand of us, after all. So, human, what is it that you want to request from us? Just keep in mind that we are going to cause a scene right here if the reason does not satisfy us.] [Kihihihi!] [Kehehehe!] The demonsughed in an eerie manner. ¡°I only require one thing from you. Please kill all of the monsters that should not exist here within twenty-four hours. You may take every single mana stone from the monsters that you sessfully kill as payment.¡± [Oh! That¡¯s a very enticing offer!] [Kwahahaha!] [Blood! I can finally have some blood!] [It¡¯s time to bathe in blood!] [Kill them and suck them dry!] [Kyakakakaka!] The demons rejoiced as if someone hosted a feast for them. Blood and carnage were what all demons wanted, and the fact that the human who summoned them had given them just that was more than enough to send them into an ecstatic frenzy. ¡°Pleasemence immediately. However, you are not to hurt any humans.¡± [Kiki! Don¡¯t worry about that. We demons value our honor and we are not going to go against our contract.] [Let¡¯s go!] [Kwuooooh!] The one thousand demons spread in all directions, and¡­ ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± [Die! Die you monsters!] Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! A praying mantis monster was quickly stabbed by a demon¡¯s w, and the monster spurted blood all over the ground. That signaled the start of the demons'' one-sided massacre of the monsters. ¡°Excellent,¡± Han-Yeol said with a satisfied nod. ¡°W-What did you do just now?¡± Sung-Jin asked. He could not understand what was happening despite seeing it with his own eyes. The abilities of the Hunters that he had seen and knew of were simr to superpowers from a movie that somewhat felt realistic, but the ability Han-Yeol had disyed was something straight out of a fantasy novel. ¡°I entered into a contract with the demons. They will kill all of the monsters in Seoul within twenty-four hours.¡± ¡°Is that one of your abilities¡­?¡± ¡°You can put it that way¡­ I guess¡­?¡± Han-Yeol replied. He thought to himself, ¡®An ability that requires me to collect ten tons of gold in thirty days¡­¡¯ He was already getting a headache just thinking about how he was going to gather ten tons of gold in that short period of time. On the other hand, he finally felt free from his responsibilities as a Hunter. He had already contributed quite a lot, and it was now time for him to go and focus on his own business. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Sung-Jin. We need to hurry and make up for the lost time,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± Sung-Jin replied while still doubting his eyes. They went back to their van and were about to drive away¡­ ¡°E-Excuse me!¡± The mother of the child Han-Yeol had saved shouted while holding the child in her arms. ¡°What is it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°I¡­ I cannot give you anything, but may I please know your name at least?¡± the woman asked. ¡°Ah, sure. My name is Lee Han-Yeol,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He thought, ¡®I¡¯m already famous anyway, so¡­¡¯ ¡°Lee Han-Yeol-nim¡­¡± ¡°Then, goodbye,¡± Han-Yeol said with a nod before driving away in his van. He did not have the luxury to sit around and chat as the situation at Sung Jin Factory had not been resolved yet. Han-Yeol was able to get a good look at Seoul¡¯s current state while driving through its streets. The monsters tried to use their numerical advantage to fight against the demons, but he had summoned a thousand demons. The demons were also quite clever in that they never traveled in numbers less than fifty no matter how weak the monsters were. In the end, the monsters could not use their numerical advantage and were getting one-sidedly massacred by the demons. ¡°Wow¡­ The demons are really killing the monsters,¡± Sung-Jin said in amazement while looking out the window. Bam! Bam! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Munch¡­! Munch¡­! A demon grabbed a monster by its neck and devoured it alive. [Kehehe! Delicious!] ¡°At least they¡¯re worth the cost¡­¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ¡°Huh? What did you say?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Han-Yeol decided to keep the gold part a secret as Sung-Jin was definitely going to want to contribute as well. Screech! They arrived at the familiar factory after driving for an hour. It seemed that the demons did not make it this far as there were only Hunters and monsters fighting on the streets. Han-Yeol even used Demon Eyes to check just in case, but all that he found were a few Hunters and a lot of monsters. Also¡­ ¡®Huh?! intermediate and high intermediate monsters?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked after picking up the mana of stronger monsters in this area. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Sung-Jin.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Click¡­ ck! Sung-Jin checked his rifle again to ovee his nervousness. Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Han-Yeol led the way by running at a slow pace, and Sung-Jin followed right behind him. They passed the factory gates and went inside to the factory grounds. ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± The monster inside was not a praying mantis but a humanoid monster with armor that resembled a horned beetle. It also had a spear in its sword. Shwiik¡­ Han-Yeol materialized his chain, and the weapon he attached at the end of his chain was not a mace but arge hammer. He thought, ¡®This will be more effective right now than the mace.¡¯ ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡°Die!¡± The monsters in the vicinity swarmed toward Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin. Sung-Jin immediately ran for cover while shooting whatever he could aim at. Ratatata! Puk! Puk! Puk!? The HSK-447P infused with Han-Yeol¡¯s mana proved to be quite effective in dealing damage against the monsters, which fell one by one every time Sung-Jin pulled the trigger. Sung-Jin could not help but be surprised while feeling a rush of adrenaline when he saw the monsters die from the bullets he shot. The monsters were an object of fear to him, but his fear of the monsters was slowly wiped away with each time he pulled the trigger. Now, he gained enough confidence to confidently aim and snipe the monsters to his heart¡¯s content. Sung-Jin covered the left nk while Han-Yeol took care of the monstersing from the right and in front of them. Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­? Han-Yeol spun the hammer-attached chain before swinging it at the monsters. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? Dozens of monsters lost their heads from a single swing of the chain. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± ¡°Bring it on! Show me what you got!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Don¡¯t taunt them too much, you bastard!¡± The sound of the monsters shrieking and Han-Yeol¡¯s provocations mixed in the air. Meanwhile, the confident Sung-Jin still appeared to be nervous somehow. He tried his best to calm Han-Yeol down and stop him from further agitating the monsters¡­ Chapter 119: A New Generation (1)

Chapter 119: A New Generation (1)

¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Some of the monsters in the factory were slightly different from the ones outside. They did not possess green skin like the praying mantis monsters, but they had a gray-ckish carapace and a head with a hard protrusion at the top. Not only that, but they also seemed to possess much more manapared to the monsters outside. However, that did not mean that there was any difference for Han-Yeol. Shwiiiik! A monster charged at Han-Yeol and swung its scythe-like arm. Whoosh¡­! Pukeok! Han-Yeol moved so fast that he disappeared from view, and thest thing the monster saw was the hammer severing its head off of its body. Ratatatata! ¡°Damn it!¡± Sung-Jin tried to keep up behind Han-Yeol by squeezing every ounce of his strength. He also did not forget to shoot at the monstersing at him in their heads while running. They soon arrived at an empty plot on the factory grounds, and monsters were swarming toward them from all directions. There were so many monsters that it was now impossible for Sung-Jin to shoot them down alone while Han-Yeol was just running without doing anything. ck¡­! ¡°Han-Yeol!¡± Sung-Jin shouted while changing magazines. However, there were simply too many monsters for him to handle alone with his gun. Shwak! Han-Yeol suddenly stopped and shouted, ¡°Sung-Jin! Get down!¡± ¡°Hiik!¡±?Sung-Jin let out an uncharacteristic shriek as he dived to the ground. It looked quite strange, because he was a tall guy who used to be called a bear back in the day. Right after Sung-Jin got down on the ground, Han-Yeol activated one of the new skills he had obtained. ¡®Tornado Smash!¡¯ His mana gathered toward the hammer attached to the end of his chain. Then, the hammer floated up and started to move on its own, rapidly spinning around him. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? The hammer spun in a circle and formed what looked like a tornado, crushing every single monster that dared to get near it. The tornado caused a massive carnage that a blue river of blood began flowing across the ground. Most of the monsters had been smashed into pieces. ¡°Hey, Sung-Jin. You might have to help clean this ce upter,¡± Han-Yeol joked after seeing the mess he had created. ¡°Shut up and hurry up, will you?!¡± Sung-Jin snapped back. ¡°Tsk¡­?Can¡¯t take a joke¡­¡± Han-Yeol grumbled before he recalled his chain into his arm. Shwiiik¡­ Tak! Then, he took out the two SMGs he had brought from his van and pulled the trigger. Ratatatata! He went full trigger-happy on the monsters. He did not have to aim at the monsters as his skills provided him with everything he needed. His skills Mana Bullet and Homing Bullet greatly increased his uracy so that it was practically impossible for him to miss now, and his mana further empowered the power behind his bullets so that all of the monsters were killed with a single bullet. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The factory was filled with the monsters¡¯ horrifying shrieks. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh after wildly shooting his SMGs for a whole minute. Not a single monster was left standing in his surroundings. ¡°I-Is it over?¡± Sung-Jin asked after he got up and looked around him. The whole area was covered in blue blood. There was not a single living creature in sight, and not even a single ant could be seen in their vicinity. ¡°Hmm¡­ We got rid of the monsters outside the factory, but there are quite a lot of monsters inside the building¡­ The most important thing is that there is an intermediate monster right where ahjussi and the Hunters are holed up in, and there¡¯s a good chance that it¡¯s a boss monster,¡± Han-Yeol said while scanning the factory. ¡°What?!¡± Sung-Jin was shocked when Han-Yeol mentioned the title ¡®boss monster¡¯. The majority of monsters they had run into until now were only weaklings. They might have looked slightly different from each other, but all of them were the same type of monster called a Mantis. So, what did Han-Yeol mean by a boss monster all of a sudden? ¡°H-Han-Yeol¡­ Are you sure it¡¯s an intermediate-level boss monster?¡± ¡°It¡¯s at least a mini-boss judging by the mana I¡¯m picking up with my Demon Eyes.¡± ¡°Damn it! What about father? Is he safe?!¡± Sung-Jin knew that it was going to be difficult for the Hunters who their factory did business with to hold back an intermediate monster, let alone an intermediate-level boss monster. The Sung Jin Factory was a target of not only the TK Group but quite a lot of other conglomerates as they all wanted the factory¡¯s patented technologies, and that was the reason why most Hunters did not feelfortable doing business with them. The Sung Jin Factory only managed to barely stay afloat thanks to a few small parties that did business with them out of goodwill. The small parties stuck around because the Sung Jin Factory did not cheat or intimidate them just because they were weak. This was unlike the other more established factories. Unfortunately, there was no way that a small party was going to be able to fight against an intermediate-level boss monster. This exined why Sung-Jin was currently extremely worried about his father¡¯s well-being. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m familiar with your father¡¯s mana waves so I¡¯m certain that he managed to safely run down to the second basement floor. Wow, you guys actually have a shelter built for monster attacks? It must not have been easy fitting that down there for such a small ce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. That monster shelter was indeed expensive, but father did not want to cut corners and prepared it just in case. He got the most expensive one that¡¯s equipped to withstand most monsters and disasters for up to a whole day. I¡¯m d he managed to reach that ce in time¡­¡± The monster shelter installed in the basement was a very durable one that could withstand monster attacks for a full day. It had been made by an American Hunter named Ford, who possessed special skills that allowed him to manufacture these. He had sold them the shelter for quite a hefty price tag. These shelters were usually purchased by the rich or people who were paranoid, and Sung-Jin¡¯s father fell in thetter category. A lot of people bad-mouthed him for being fickle when he first installed the shelter, but they would have probably never imagined in their wildest dreams that the shelter was going to save his and their lives. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up.¡± ¡°Yeah, we need to save your father.¡± Han-Yeol ran ahead with Sung-Jin following him. A few monsters tried to ambush them on the way to the monster shelter on the second basement floor, but there was no way that Han-Yeol was going to miss them. He could see them from a mile away with his Demon Eyes. Needless to say, an ambush that the target was already aware of would never work out in the end. ¡°Right side!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han-Yeol might have frequently visited the Sung Jin Factory, but he was not familiar with what its interior looked like as he never got a full tour of it. That was why he depended on Sung-Jin to give him directions toward the monster shelter. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Puk! Every single monster that they came across attacked them, but Han-Yeol made swift work of them with his hammer. They pressed on as fast as they could and soon reached the second basement floor. ¡°Over there!¡± Sung-Jin shouted. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? There was a monster mming its fist into the monster shelter¡¯s door. It looked simr to the praying mantis monsters, but it was around ten timesrger and possessed six, not two, scythe-like arms. On top of that, the shelter door was covered in an acidic fluid that seemed to be the doing of this monster. ¡°Fortunately, I don¡¯t see any of those small fries,¡± Sung-Jin said. ¡°Then it¡¯s going to be easier!¡± Han-Yeol dered before kicking off the ground and charging at the monster. Tak! The boss monster immediately moved after noticing Han-Yeol. It simultaneously attacked him with all six scythes, creating quite an intimidating sight. Not only that, but the boss monster was quite quick for its size. It certainly lived up to its title as a boss monster. Its movements were so fast that not only ordinary people but even low-ranking Hunters would not be able to follow it. ng! ng! ng!? The six scythes viciously went after Han-Yeol, but he parried them away with his sword and hammer. His superior stats made up for his numerical disadvantage. ¡°Sung-Jin!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Sung-Jin immediately responded and aimed the HSK-447P at the boss monster¡¯s head before pulling the trigger. Ratatatata! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡±? The head, especially the eyes, was the weakness of most monsters, and Sung-Jin used his excellent marksmanship to shoot at the boss monster¡¯s eyes. Most Porters would not dare to do that as the monster¡¯s aggro might be redirected to them, but being bait was an excellent n as long as the necessary preparations were in ce. The boss monster made a run toward Sung-Jin when Han-Yeol purposely hesitated for a second. And once the boss monster¡¯s back was wide open and defenseless, Han-Yeol gathered his mana and activated his skill. ¡®How foolish! sh Strike!¡¯ Shwak! A single line of light shed and cut into the boss monster¡¯s neck. ¡®Head Cutter!¡¯ The light turned into the shape of a crescent beforepletely cutting through the boss monster¡¯s neck. ¡®Vicious Stabs!¡¯ Then, the crescent split into hundreds of fragments before cutting through all over the boss monster¡¯s body. This was Han-Yeol¡¯s new skillbo. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± The boss monster ended up shrieking in agony. It failed to reach Sung-Jin after Han-Yeol¡¯s swordsmanship cut up its entire body in a split second. ¡®Enhance! Chain Smite!¡¯?Han-Yeol activated another set of skills to deal the final blow. He amplified his strength before swinging the chain with the hammer attached to it as hard as he could to the back of the boss monster¡¯s head. Kwachik! ¡°Kuek!¡± The hammer crushed the boss monster¡¯s skull and smashed its way through its head. The boss monster might have been an intermediate-level one, but it could not withstand the strength of Han-Yeol¡¯s hammer. Thud¡­! ¡°Wow¡­ Did you seriously kill that boss monster all by yourself¡­?¡± Sung-Jin muttered in disbelief. He initially expected this battle to be an uphill battle, but things ended up being theplete opposite of what he had expected. After all, Han-Yeol had made quick work of the boss monster. Han-Yeol walked over to the boss monster on the ground. Whoosh¡­ Sukeok! He beheaded the boss monster just to make sure that it was really dead. After all, this was the surest way to confirm the kill. The boss monster would not be able to get up without its head unless it was an undead monster. Only after he confirmed the kill that Han-Yeol said, ¡°Sung-Jin, it¡¯s over. You can ask them toe out now. I don¡¯t see any monsters within a ten kilometer radius of us.¡± ¡°Ah, okay, Han-Yeol.¡± Sung-Jin walked over to the monster shelter and opened a round hatch on the ground before inputting aplicated numberbination. Then, the monster shelter door shook before it slowly opened. Creak¡­! The doors opened to show a group of fearful Hunters holding up their weapons as they prepared to make ast stand. The Sung Jin Factory employees could also be seen holding their breaths and huddled up in a corner. It was only after the doorpletely opened that the people inside the shelter were able to see that the monster that had cornered them here was already dead and there were two humans standing outside. They could not help but let out a sigh of relief at the sight of rescue. ¡°Father!¡± Sung-Jin shouted as he ran toward his father. ¡°Sung-Jin!¡± His father ran out of the shelter and hugged Sung-Jin. Then, he checked to see if his son was hurt anywhere before saying, ¡°I¡¯m alright thanks to these Hunters¡­ but¡­¡± The factory workers lowered their heads. ¡°Chae-Won, that punk¡­ He was so happy his brother was finally going to graduate soon¡­ And Ji-Soo¡­ She was bragging the entire time that she was getting married next year¡­¡± ¡°Heuk¡­ Heuk¡­!¡± ¡°Argh¡­!¡± ¡°Sang-Soo¡­¡± ¡°Tae-Shik¡­¡± Quite a lot of the factory workers had been working overtime toplete the orders ced from Egypt. The thirty people here were fortunate enough to have been in close proximity to the Hunters when the monsters appeared, and they had luckily been able to save themselves under the Hunters¡¯ protection. Unfortunately, the workers who had been down manning the machineries and those who had been at the offices did not make it in time. They had all been killed by the monsters. ¡°¡­¡± Sung-Jin could not help but be heartbroken as those were people who he had worked with when helping out in the early days of Sung Jin Factory. Sung-Jin, his father, and the rest of the workers closed their eyes and paid their respects to their deceased colleagues. Chapter 120: A New Generation (2)

Chapter 120: A New Generation (2)

There were no more victims thanks to Han-Yeol, and not everyone who had failed to make it to the monster shelter was killed. Fortunately, twenty out of the sixty workers who hadn¡¯t sought safety at the monster shelters were able to hide in a corner and avoid being discovered by the monsters. However, their joysted only for a moment. As soon as they discovered nearly forty of their colleagues dead across the factory, the workers went back to mourning. They might be strangers to Han-Yeol, but he could rte to their grief. After all, losing someone you knew was always a painful experience. ¡°Sung-Jin¡­¡± Han-Yeol called out. ¡°Ah, Han-Yeol,¡± replied Sung-Jin after he wiped away his tears and forced himself to smile. ¡°I¡¯ll go home now.¡± ¡°Yeah, you have to go home.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± ¡°See you.¡± Han-Yeol left the Sung Jin Factory and went to his father¡¯s shop. *** The sun was slowly rising. Bzzt¡­! Bzzt¡­! Fwaaa! The billiard hall was in a mess. An electricity pole outside of the building had copsed, its wires dangerously buzzing with electricity. Also, almost every single car parked on the street had burned down or was still burning. A few cars even had burnt corpses of those who had failed to escape in time before the vehicle went up in mes. ¡®This is a mess¡­ What the hell was the government doing?¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced at the once lively streets that had been reduced to something akin to the valley of death. The government might argue that they had been caught off guard by the monsters appearingte at night when people had gone to sleep. However, it was absurd that no single emergency siren had rung in the night to inform the people of what was going on. The entire city had been plunged into a state of panicst night. Almost a fifth of South Korea¡¯s entire poption resided in Seoul. Not only that, but almost all governmentplexes and main offices ofrge conglomerates were also concentrated in the city or in its outskirts. The capital city was so important that it falling meant that the country was going to fall as well. However, that important city had been razed down overnight in a matter of a few hours. ¡®Tsk¡­ It¡¯s not something that I should get involved in¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he went up to the second floor. Kwachik! The first floor had beenpletely destroyed. There were shards of ss everywhere on the floor and there were quite a lot of bloodstains too. However, one significant difference between this ce and the others was the fact that the bloodstains here were blue instead of red. There were also numerous monster corpses littered all over the ce. The culprits behind this carnage against the monsters were none other than the two Void Devils Han-Yeol had summoned to protect this ce. Ring¡­! Ring¡­!? Han-Yeol¡¯s father leased the entire second floor for his billiard hall. After starting small at the beginning, he ended up expanding across the entire floor as business was booming. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? ¡®Hmm? There were other people too?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after seeing that his father and the Void Devils were not the only ones in the billiard hall. There were quite a lot of people, possibly customers, all huddled up in the corners trembling in fear. ¡°Han-Yeol!¡± He was instantly greeted by his father as soon as he entered the door. ¡°Han-Yeol, are you hurt anywhere?¡± ¡°Not at all. I am much stronger than both of the Void Devils tasked to protect youbined.¡± [Futile¡­ Everything is futile¡­] The Void Devils were not interested in anything else aside from the request Han-Yeol had made so they did not react much to his words. No, it was more urate to say that they were not interested in what he had to say. ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­ What¡¯s going on? Why were there monsters in the city all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I have no idea. Did the government make any announcements?¡± ¡°Announcements?¡± ¡°Yes, they should have made some announcements after something this big happened, right?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right¡­¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father was not able to think rationally due to the fear and anxiety he felt toward the entire situation. It was only after Han-Yeol, who was surprisingly calm, had asked him about the announcement that he finally grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. He changed the channel to TBS2TV and could see the president of South Korea on the screen. The president of South Korea was standing on a podium in a neat and dandy suit despite the country having been plunged into chaos. It was quite well-known in history that most presidents or leaders would wear a yellow jacket in the event of any catastrophe or emergency to show that they were engaged in any rescue efforts, but that did not seem to be the case this time. The president addressed the nation from the podium. [Dear citizens. I hope that all of you have managed to remain safe overnight. Dimensional holes appeared and caused great harm to citizensst night at 09:15 pm, and this was not an isted event in our country. The rest of the world suffered the same disaster too. We are currently investigating the cause behind the incident, and we have issued a state of emergency to mobilize all Hunters in our nation to clean up whatever remains of the monsters.] Han-Yeol listened to the president¡¯s speech before he grumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me. I didn¡¯t receive anything and it¡¯s practically impossible to find any Hunters on the streets right now.¡± He found it difficult to suppress the anger welling up from inside. Every single Hunter registered with the Hunters¡¯ Association was going to receive an emergency message that would cover their smartphone screen with a red text, alerting them that an emergency mobilization had been issued. The emergency message was programmed to re out a siren even if the phone was on silent, so it was practically impossible to miss the message even if one was a deep sleeper. However, Han-Yeol had not received anything on his smartphone. The only messages he had received were a few game marketing messages from K Company. Also, Han-Yeol had scanned the ten-kilometer radius around him numerous times and rarely found any Hunters on the streets. In fact, the monsters had been dealt with by the demons he had summoned and not the government or their Hunters. In other words, the president¡¯s speech was a load of horseshit. However, the president continued his speech. [The monsters in Seoul are quickly being taken care of, and we have started to subjugate the monsters in other areas as well. I hope that all of you will be able to calmly stay indoors and ce your trust in us to stabilize the situation.] [Lastly, I would like to repeat this once again. This incident has urred all over the world and is an international incident. Our country was not the only one affected by this incident, and some countries are experiencing far more destruction than ours.] ¡°Tsk¡­ What a bunch of lies and excuses,¡± said Han-Yeol as he clicked his tongue in disgust. He could see right through the president¡¯s efforts to hide his administration¡¯s ipetence by emphasizing that this was a global incident. Most people were probably going to get fooled by this pathetic excuse, but Han-Yeol was not dumb enough to believe it. [So please ce your trust in us and stay indoors. We will be restoring peace and security very soon.] The screen shifted to the news anchors who were rying news about the current situation, but they were not saying or showing anything of substance. ¡°H-Han-Yeol¡­ What is going on? Is everything going to be alright?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I cleared all of the monsters in this area.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, you will not be seeing a single monster here.¡± Han-Yeol hadn¡¯t personally gotten rid of the monsters but the demons he had bought for ten tons of gold. However, he imed credit for their work as he was technically the one who had summoned them in the first ce. ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s a relief. Hey, everyone! He says that there are no longer any monsters out there! You don¡¯t have to be afraid anymore!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father shouted. ¡°Is¡­ Is that true?¡± ¡°Yeah! My son is a Hunter, and he is a famous one at that! He personally cleaned up the monsters in our area!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ That¡¯s a relief¡­¡± The people huddled up in the corner of the billiard hall finally let out a sigh of relief. All of them got up from their spot, but they still remained anxious and vignt of their surroundings. Ddreuk! They opened the windows to check the situation outside. All they could see were the cut-up power lines. It was true that not a single monster was in sight. ¡°Wow¡­ It¡¯s true.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any monsters¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, god!¡± The surrounding areas had lost power due to the power lines having been cut up from the incident. Fortunately, the building still had electricity to power it as it had its own power supply. Most new buildings had an emergency generator on the third basement level that kicked in once the main power supply was disconnected or in case of emergencies. That was the reason that they were still able to watch TV despite there being a ckout in the area. ¡°B-But what if a monster suddenly appears¡­?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be a disaster¡­¡± ¡°Waah! Waaah! Waaah!¡± They might have been told that there were no more monsters out there, but none of them dared to take a single step outside. The billiard hall was quite safe as there were two demons and a Hunter, which was the owner¡¯s son, protecting this ce. However, they were certain that nothing was going to protect them from harm once they stepped out of this ce. They could not help but be worried that a monster hiding somewhere was going to pop up ande get them. It was then¡­ Boom! ¡°Hiiik!¡± ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°Waaaah!¡± ¡°W-What was that?!¡± When a burning car suddenly exploded, the people in the billiard hall all rushed to hide behind whatever furniture they could find. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh and shook his head. It was not that he found them to be pitiful or pathetic. It was just that he could not believe how the government was going to sit still and do nothing while themon folks were trembling in fear. ¡®Why is it that our government doesn¡¯t change no matter how much time has passed¡­?¡¯?he wondered. *** Han-Yeol stayed a bit longer at the billiard hall. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? The people taking refuge in the billiard hall started to leave one by one after the sound of police sirens and fire trucks could be heard. It only took one person to muster the courage to leave before the rest followed suit. It seemed that the sound of sirens and the presence of the authorities gave them a peace of mind to finally leave their refuge. The people might have finally rxed, but the devastated city was still no different from another battlefield for the fire department. Wiiiiing! ¡°Hey! Prop that up higher!¡± ¡°Be careful! Hey! Pay attention!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no support over there! Snap out of it!¡± ¡°I apologize, sir!¡± The firefighters were busy running around, clearing debris and rescuing people. Han-Yeol used Psychokinesis to help the firefighters out. They were incredibly short-staffed as the entire city was in ruins thanks to the monsters¡¯ attack. However¡­ ¡®Those damned Hunters¡­! This is the time for you to step up!¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled while helping the firefighters. He saw a few familiar Hunters blending in with the crowd while he was busy contributing to the rescue operations. However, the Hunters seemed to have no ns of helping out at all as they continued to blend in with the crowd and simply watch on. ¡°Heave¡­ Ho!¡± ¡°Hey, search deeper in there!¡± ¡°A survivor!¡± ¡°We need an excavator here!¡± ¡°We need ten people here! Hurry up!¡± The firefighters ran around without being able to catch a break while Han-Yeol continued to support them with his skill. ¡°It is an honor to work with you once again, Hunter-nim!¡± the fire department chief said. ¡°Haha! The same goes for me. I am just d to be of help in these times of difficulty,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°You are indeed the best, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± This was the second time that Han-Yeol was working with the fire department, and the firefighters were looking at him with eyes beaming with respect. ¡°Now now, we still have a lot of work to do, so let us focus on the rescue operations¡­¡± Han-Yeol said, feeling awkward from the attention. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± However, he only felt even more awkward when the fire department chief, who was in his fifties, responded with a salute. It was while the rescue operations were underway that Han-Yeol suddenly remembered someone who he hadpletely forgotten about. ¡°Ah! Yoo-Bi!¡± He might have given up on having any romantic rtionship with Yoo-Bi, but that did not mean that he did not care about her as arade and a friend. She was quite an able manager and Porter, so he was going to suffer a huge loss if something happened to her. He could not help but feel nervous and worried if Yoo-Bi had been able toe out unharmed from this incident. After all, she had not yet awakened as a Hunter. Chapter 121: A New Generation (3)

Chapter 121: A New Generation (3)

Han-Yeol immediately took out his smartphone and called Yoo-Bi. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ He could feel his insides churning while waiting for the call to connect. He pleaded inwardly, ¡®No¡­ Yoo-Bi¡­ You can¡¯t die¡­!¡¯? Aside from being a very good little sister and an excellentrade, Yoo-Bi was quite talented and someone that Han-Yeol could trust wholeheartedly. It was going to be impossible for him to find someone to rece her. [Oppa?] ¡°Yoo-Bi! Haa¡­ That¡¯s a relief¡­ Are you safe?¡± [Ah, yes. I was able to fend off the monsters and hide in the monster shelter thanks to the HSK-447P you gave me.] ¡°Oh, you bought a shelter too?¡± [Yes, I bought it for my mother in case of emergencies, and I¡¯m really d I did!] ¡°That¡¯s great¡­ That¡¯s really great¡­¡± [But where are you right now, oppa?] ¡°Ah, I came to see my father, and I ended up helping the fire department with their rescue operations. Then, I suddenly thought about you, so I gave you a call.¡± [Ah, I see. Then, it must be difficult to see you right now?] ¡°No, not at all. Let¡¯s meet right now. I¡¯ll go to your ce.¡± [No, I¡¯ll go there instead. I just have to go to your father¡¯s shop, right?] ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± Slightly taken aback by Yoo-Bi¡¯s response, Han-Yeol wondered, ¡®What¡¯s wrong with her¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol, after agreeing to wait for Yoo-Bi, continued helping out with the rescue operations for an hour. The billiard hall was currently closed. Well, it was pretty impossible to conduct any business when the city was in such a state. Han-Yeol¡¯s father was also not in the shop, since his father had gone to help other people in the building. It could be risky for his father to go about his business outside after what had happened, but Han-Yeol was not worried as the Void Devils were still protecting him. Ring¡­! ¡°Ah, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi called out. The billiard hall was closed with the door remaining unlocked, so Yoo-Bi was able to enter by herself. ¡°Wow, you came quite quickly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you want tea or coffee?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Han-Yeol then shrugged and sat down on the sofa across from where Yoo-Bi was sitting. He was not that thirsty so he decided to skip getting a drink as well. ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± he asked. ¡°Oppa¡­ I awakened this time,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. Thud! ¡°A-Are you serious?!¡± Han-Yeol shouted in surprise as he shot up from his seat and identally knocked the table in the process. He could not help being surprised because Yoo-Bi had awakened much faster than he expected. In his own case, he had waited four whole years before awakening. In addition, he had always wished for Yoo-Bi to awaken as soon as possible since that would mean that he was going to gain a dependable ally. In other words, the time that he had been waiting for had finallye. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Congrattions! Then, we can go and hunt together from now on!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in delight. Of course, he had to find out what abilities Yoo-Bi had awakened with before anything else. ¡°Ah, you were probably not able to register with the association because of what happened. Shall we go now? Do you want me to go with you?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not the problem¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol was confused. Sensing that Yoo-Bi was hesitating for some reason, he thought, ¡®Did she awaken as an F Rank¡­?¡¯? That would be unfortunate, because Han-Yeol wouldn¡¯t be able to hire Yoo-Bi any longer if that was the case. They did have a strong bond together, but Han-Yeol would never let his personal feelings get in the way of business. An F Rank Hunter was too expensive to use as a Porter or a Manager, so it would be better for him and the F Rank Hunter to go their separate ways. ¡°That is¡­ My ability is a bit strange¡­¡± Yoo-Bi muttered. ¡°Strange? How so?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s a bit difficult to exin, but I¡¯ll try to exin it nheless¡­¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was surprised that Yoo-Bi found something difficult to exin as she was the smart one in the party. He decided to intently listen to her exnation. After all, he was quite curious about what ability she had awakened with. ¡°That is¡­¡± Yoo-Bi started exining. *** ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yoo-Bi finished exining after thirty minutes. Gulp¡­! Han-Yeol could not help but gulp after listening to Yoo-Bi¡¯s exnation. He asked, ¡°A-Are you sure that¡¯s your ability¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, I know what ability it is, but I have no idea how I should be using it¡­ I did study quite diligently, but I never imagined that I was going to get an ability like this¡­¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh. He tried to make sense of the situation, because this was not a light situation that he could simply brush off. ¡°Yoo-Bi¡­¡± ¡°Yes, oppa?¡± ¡°To put it simply¡­ Your ability is an amazing one.¡± ¡°R-Really?!¡± ¡°Absolutely! But the problem is¡­you will need someone you can trust to help your ability to blossom. You know about that, right?¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± said Yoo-Bi with a nod. ¡°I highly value your ability and I would love to personally sponsor you. Of course, you can decide if you are going to ept my sponsorship or not, but I really want to be your sponsor.¡± ¡°¡­do you really think my ability is worth sponsoring?¡± Yoo-Bi asked in an incredibly serious tone. She had hoped that she was going to awaken with a powerfulbat ability if she ever awakened so that she could fight side-by-side with Han-Yeol. This was why she felt disappointed after having awakened with skills that were quite far from abat ability. The World of the Hunters was ruled by thew of the survival of the fittest, where the strong took everything. Needless to say, nonbat Hunters did not get the respect they deserved from theirbat-oriented peers. ¡®Why does my ability have to be crafting and controlling mechanical stuff¡­¡¯?shemented inwardly. Yes, she had awakened with all three abilities rted to crafting machinery with her mana. ¡®The experience theory was wrong¡­as expected¡­¡¯?she grumbled inwardly. She had never done much rted to machinery while working as a Porter or when she was young. In fact, she had never yed with Legos in her life. If the experience theory had any merit to it, then she should have awakened with something to do with puzzles or studying instead¡­ ¡®Or¡­did I get this ability because I¡¯m good at puzzles¡­?¡¯?she wondered before shaking away the never-ending thoughts. Whatever the reason may be, she was certain that the abilities Hunters awakened with were decided at random. ¡°Uhm¡­ oppa¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Yes, Yoo-Bi?¡± ¡°Do you think my ability will be helpful inbat if used properly¡­?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I can¡¯t say for sure¡­but I think it¡¯s going to depend on what kind of machinery you develop.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± When Yoo-Bi crossed her arms over her chest and started thinking, Han-Yeol remained quiet to give her space to think in silence. He browsed the on his smartphone and read some news articles while waiting for her. It went without saying that the whole inte was in an uproar over what had taken cest night so he thought of browsing to see if there were any interesting articles about it. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol first visited thergest media website, N Company News Site, but he did not find anything interesting there. The only thing he found on that site were articles saying that numerous dimensional holes had appeared all over Korea and there were many casualties in the process, which was something he was already aware of. [Another dimensional rift apart from the dimensional holes?!] [The government¡¯s quick response managed to limit the damage caused by the monsters.] [A miracle created by the government and the Hunters¡¯ Association¡¯s quick response!] [Dimensional rift, what is it? Let¡¯s find out.] . [Do we have to stabilize the dimensional rifts ourselves?] Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? Han-Yeol swiped his finger on his smartphone screen to find anything interesting, but all of the articles simply repeated the same thing as if somebody had given them a script to read. He furrowed his brow in frustration and went to the Americanpany, G Company Search Engine, instead. It was only after he searched on the foreign website that he was able to see videos of the demons he had summoned fighting against the monsters. He then wondered, ¡®Wow¡­ It¡¯s right here on foreign websites, but I can¡¯t find any of it on Korean websites. Are the Hunters¡¯ Association and the government pulling the strings from behind?¡¯? South Korea¡¯s media freedom ranked 72nd, which was two spots behind Japan. Of course, this was still decent whenpared to certain countries under dictatorships or regimes thatpletely censored freedom of speech. Han-Yeol read thements on the video. [Look at this! Someone summoned demons to fight against the monsters. There¡¯s not a single Hunter in sight!] [But why are our websites singing praises of the government and the Hunters¡¯ Association?] [Wow¡­ Even the Hunters¡¯ Association is starting to make a fool out of themselves like the government¡­] [Is there anything we can do about this country¡­?] [But just who in the world has the ability to summon that many demons at once¡­?] [Beats me¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a Korean Hunter though¡­no matter how much I want this monster of a Hunter to be one of us¡­] [Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is there an underground organization of demon summoners that we aren¡¯t aware of?!] [Ah! That must be it!] There were countlessments that exchanged information, spread rumors, and cussed the government. It was going to be impossible for the Korean Government to request apany based in America to take down their website because of free speech. ¡®Sigh¡­ What a bunch of morons¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed and shook his head. He was quite frustrated that his country¡¯s government had not progressed even in the slightest bit. It was still the same circus that it had been before the dimensional holes appeared on Earth. Just as Han-Yeol was busy cursing the government inwardly, Yoo-Bi finally said, ¡°I¡¯ve decided, oppa.¡± Han-Yeol put his smartphone in his pocket and replied, ¡°Ah, what have you decided?¡± ¡°They say that you should trust someone you decided to trust all the way, right? I want to continue working with you, oppa.¡± Han-Yeol smirked after hearing the words he wanted to hear. He dered, ¡°Excellent choice. I will help you to be the best in the world.¡± ¡°Thanks, oppa.¡± Han-Yeol was the one who had first extended his hand toward Yoo-Bist time, but it was now her turn to extend her hand first. He might have been quite generous to her all this while, but it was now time for them to start a new chapter of working together on equal footing. Tak! Han-Yeol grabbed Yoo-Bi¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I look forward to working with you, Ms. Han Yoo-Bi.¡± ¡°Likewise, Mr. Lee Han-Yeol.¡± The two of themughed after shaking hands. Then, they went to thewyer¡¯s office to annul their old Porter contract as well ase up with a new contract between Hunters. Han-Yeol was currently affiliated with the Horus raid party, so he couldn¡¯t directly sign a contract with Yoo-Bi. However, that was circumvented by him setting up apany for her to sign a contract with. The contents of the contract were very fair to both parties so neither side was giving more nor receiving less. Sukeok¡­ Sukeok¡­! Each of them kept one copy of the notarized contract, and thewyer as well as a witness kept one copy each. ¡°So we ended up signing a contract once again,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile. ¡°Yeah, I think we are bound by fate or something. We somehow seem to keep bumping into each other ever since we met that day,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°It does sound like it, now that you mention it.¡± ¡°Anyway, oppa.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that we signed a contract, but what are your ns from now on?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m thinking of opening my own business too.¡± ¡°Your own business¡­?¡± Yoo-Bi was a bit taken aback when Han-Yeol suddenly mentioned opening his own business. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m quite established as a Hunter, but a man should try his luck opening a business at least once in his life, right? I have been thinking of it all this while, but I think I¡¯ve found an excellent product thanks to you, Yoo-Bi. Of course, I will share my ns with you once I map it out, but I have a feeling that you will be the key to it. I will exin my ns at ater date and then you can decide if you¡¯re on board or not.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I have no idea what¡¯s what, but I¡¯m sure you have thought it through. I won¡¯t mind cooperating with you as long as I benefit from it.¡± ¡°Awesome. Thanks, Yoo-Bi.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me as long as I will be benefiting from it as well. Wait¡­ I will be, right?¡± ¡°Absolutely!¡± Han-Yeol was not the type of person who was foolish enough to cut open a goose because he was greedy for the golden egg itid. He was someone who thought in the long term and was not blinded by short-term profits. He also valued personal rtionships and connections above anything else. Simply put, he prided himself in being able to think this way even after he had awakened as a Hunter. ¡°Yoo-Bi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I think we should find out more about your ability first. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t have the opportunity to test your abilities out, right?¡± ¡°Ah, not yet.¡± ¡°Alright, I will be with you so feel free to use it to your heart¡¯s content.¡± ¡°Okay, oppa.¡± Chapter 122: A New Generation (4)

Chapter 122: A New Generation (4)

Han-Yeol wanted to check Yoo-Bi¡¯s abilities, but unfortunately, he had to dy it to another time. ording to Yoo-Bi, her ability was to craft machinery. However, this was not a suitable environment for her to disy it. Unable to immediately prepare a suitable facility for Yoo-Bi, Han-Yeol decided to send her home for now. She had mentioned that her house was in a mess thanks to the monsters, so he decided it was probably wiser to let her prioritize sorting out her home before anything else. ¡®Oh right, I wonder if my house is fine¡­ I hope the monsters didn¡¯t destroy it,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he was finally worried about his house on the outskirts of Seoul. It was going to be a stretch for his Demon Eyes to see all the way to the outskirts of Seoul, so he could not tell what exactly was going on over there. The media was also busy covering up what had really happened, so the only option Han-Yeol had was to personally go and check things out for himself. ¡°Father.¡± ¡°What is it, Han-Yeol?¡± Han-Yeol returned to the building where the billiard hall was after sending Yoo-Bi home. His father was still busy helping out the other people in the building to clear up the mess. He cried with them whenever they found someone they knew dead under the rubble, and he made sure he was there for the rest of them every step of the way. ¡°I will go home and check how things are over there,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s a good idea. You should also get some rest after getting home. You should be tired from dealing with everything that happened. I¡¯ll take care of things here, so head home and rest.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Han-Yeol bid his father goodbye and drove his van home. Prrt¡­ Prrft¡­ Prrt¡­! ¡°Damn it¡­ What the hell is wrong with my car?¡± Han-Yeol grumbled after his car suddenly broke down on the way home. He got out of the car and went to check what was wrong with it. He opened the bo and¡­ Shwaaaa¡­! A cloud of gray smoke rose up from the car bo. ¡°Cough! Cough!?Ah¡­ Damn it¡­¡± While smelling the awful cloud of smoke, Han-Yeol could see blue fluid all over the engine. He could immediately tell from a single nce that it was monster blood, and it seemed to have messed up the car engine. ¡°Tsk¡­ I think this one is a goner¡­¡± he clicked his tongue and muttered. He was not an engineer, but he did not have to be one to tell that his van was beyond repair. He could already see that a portion of its engine was melted. Han-Yeol shook his head and called the insurancepany toe and dispose of the van, and the insurancepany immediately made their way toward him. He was paying a ridiculous monthly sum for his Hunter insurance, so it was only right that they would prioritize him even in this kind of situation. This was the only way for insurancepanies selling a premium to survive in this industry, after all. ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess it¡¯s time for me to get a new vehicle,¡± Han-Yeol thought. He had been dying a vehicle change due toziness. He did want to upgrade to a luxury sports car like the ones other Hunters drove from time to time, but he simply could not find the time or the energy to go and have a look. However, he was now forced to go and get a new car after his van broke down, and he decided to get the best one avable. Most people would rent a temporary vehicle in the event their vehicle broke down, but Han-Yeol did not bother doing that for now. He greeted the insurancepany staffers who came before giving them some instructions. Then, he kicked off the ground and ran home. Tak! His Cat Walk skill was now quite high-leveled, so Han-Yeol was able to run faster than most vehicles. He had been driving around to avoid wasting mana all this time, but this was a faster method for him. After all, he was limited to driving on the roads with a car, but he was free to go wherever he wanted if he ran. Tak¡­! When Han-Yeol arrived at his mansion shortly after, Albert came running. The man asked, ¡°Why are you running instead of driving, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°Ah, my car broke down on the way. Anyway, did any monsters appear here by any chance, Albert?¡± ¡°Fortunately, I only heard of them appearing in the vicinity. None of them came here. I believe there was a guild nearby that made quick work of them. The mansion is still safe thanks to them.¡± ¡°I see¡­ What about the other people? Is anyone hurt?¡± ¡°No one is hurt. We were all fortunate to have been resting inside the mansion at that time. It seems that luck was on our side.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a relief.¡± ¡°Hoho, I am moved after hearing that you care about this old one.¡± ¡°Of course, I was worried. You and the other helpers are working for me, so it is only right for me to care for you.¡± Han-Yeol was usually indifferent to those unrted to him, but he deeply cared about those to whom he was rted to. It was then. Ding! [Twenty-four hours have passed since the summoning scroll has been used. The one thousand demons you have summoned will now be sent back to the demon world.] ¡®Haa¡­ That¡¯s done.¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief inwardly. ¡°Han-Yeol-nim?¡± Albert called out worriedly after seeing Han-Yeol¡¯s expression. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s a relief that nothing happened here,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Hoho, it is indeed.¡± Albert could not help but find Han-Yeol¡¯s worried expression to be quite cute, especially since the worry was regarding the helpers. It was quite rare to find a young man, and a Hunter at that, to be so caring of others in this day and age. ¡°Oh, right, Albert.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of using that warehouse to ce a vehicle collection. Can you see to it that the warehouse gets the renovations it needs?¡± ¡°Wow, Han-Yeol-nim is finally picking up some hobbies like normal Hunters.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol thought that Albert was going to try to be an adult and dissuade him once he knew of his ns. When the butler actually looked happy about it, he could not help but be flustered. The butler¡¯s reaction was theplete opposite of what he had expected. ¡°Hoho, are you aware of how much you earn in a month?¡± Albert asked. ¡°N-Not really¡­?¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was not that sharp when it came to finance. It was only obvious that he would not be financially adept as he had spent most of his life struggling to make ends meet and had not had the chance to save any money. Most Hunters who came from simr backgrounds usually had seniors or friends in the raid parties or guilds they joined to teach them a thing or two. In Han-Yeol¡¯s case, it did not help that the raid party he had joined was owned by Tayarana, who had apletely different mindset when it came to money. ¡°You are earning one hundred billion won a month. I cannot help but feel that someone earning as much as you do is spending time collecting game consoles worth three hundred thousand won. Actually, I dare say that you are earning enough to start collecting airnes instead.¡± ¡°A-Airnes¡­? Isn¡¯t that a stretch¡­?¡± Han-Yeol scratched his head in embarrassment. He had a hard time believing the fact that he was earning such an astronomical figure every month. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of collecting luxury supercars from now on,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Excellent idea. There are a lot of supercars these days, and all of them have their own unique designs, so it will definitely be worth collecting. I will see to it that the renovations are made immediately.¡± ¡°Thank you, Albert.¡± ¡°My pleasure.¡± Han-Yeol went inside his house after finishing his chat with his butler. Thud! He initially thought of going back to the billiard hall after checking that everything was fine at home, but he could not resist the temptation ofying in his bed. Pak! Pak! He smacked his cheeks to resist the temptation. He thought firmly, ¡®No, I can¡¯t rest right now. I have a lot of things to do.¡¯ He had a bad habit of procrastinating on his tasks whenever he saw his bed. He would lie down on it for a bit, then fall asleep¡­only to wake up havingpletely forgotten what he had to do. He decided that now was not the time for him to procrastinate, so he forced himself to get to work. But first, he took a cold refreshing shower and changed intofortable clothes. Click... ck! After that, he headed to the room where he kept his game console collection. The collection room was a well-ventted room without windows. Its spaciousness was the reason he had decided to turn it into his collection room, aside from the fact that it did not have any windows. This spacious room was filled with game consoles and game CDs, but there were two other things here. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol stood in front of a ss cab. He muttered, ¡°Are these two things somehow rted to each other?¡± He had brought back an egg from their of the Queen Labyrinth Spider. [Monster Egg] Type: Item Combination Material Description: Amon egg used by monsters. It will react to a monster¡¯s mana and hatch, but it is also possible to artificially hatch it. However, it is unknown what creature wille out of it if it is artificially hatched. Han-Yeol focused on the description, stating that the egg was abination material. ¡°I have another simr item, if I am not mistaken, and that is probably this fruit¡­¡± he muttered before opening the ss cab and taking out the fruit he had obtained at the Vx hunting ground. Then, he used his skill. ¡®Item Appraisal.¡¯? [Nutritious Fruit] Type: Item Combination Material Description: A fruit packed with nutrients that monsters love. It may be used as monster feed, but it may also be used to hatch a monster egg thanks to the immense amount of mana it possesses. ¡°As expected!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. Tak! He could not help but jump for joy after his theory was right on the money. The strange-looking fruit he had kept turned out to be the catalyst required to hatch the monster egg, and it was now finally time for him to use it. However, that did not mean that everything had been ounted for. ¡°Hmm¡­ But how am I supposed to use this?¡± he wondered. He understood from the description that he was going to have tobine them, but how was he supposed to do that when the description did not mention the method tobine them? Just as Han-Yeol was trying to figure out a solution, he heard a voice in his head. [I suggest that you try using your Mana Absorption skill.] ¡®Oh, Karvis. It¡¯s been a while.¡¯ [Yes, it has been a while, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Keke, I didn¡¯t have anything to ask you these days, and you were doing a great job controlling the chain too.¡¯ [I am fine.] ¡®Well, if you say so.¡¯ Han-Yeol always felt that Karvis was not human but rather like one of those highly advanced AI systems seen in sci-fi movies. Most fantasy novels would depict a being like Karvis as an ancient hero or a sage who had been trapped by something. Anyway¡­ ¡®Mana Absorption, right?¡¯ [Yes, but it will depend on how you use your skill. It might work if you use your skill not to directly absorb the mana but to pass it to the monster egg. I wish to remind you once again that your abilities are not restricted by anything, and it fully depends on how you use them.] ¡®As expected of you. Thanks again.¡¯ [Not at all.] Karvis had not changed a single bit. She still only said things that she had to say and kept quiet afterward. Han-Yeol immediately tried implementing Karvis¡¯ advice as he saw no point in dying it any further. He ced his left hand on the monster egg and his right hand on the fruit. Then, he slowly activated his Mana Absorption skill. He controlled the mana he was absorbing from the fruit and directed it toward the monster egg through his body. His hands started to feel a prickly sensation after not using his skill for its intended purpose. However, the sensation quickly turned into pain after he cranked it up a notch. ¡®Keuk!¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned but gritted his teeth. There was no way that he was going to ruin this moment just because of the pain he felt. Woooong¡­! ¡®It¡¯s working!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after seeing the fruit slowly dissipate and turn into mana, and the mana traveled as intended through his arms and into the monster egg. When the monster egg started to tremble slightly after receiving the mana from the Nutritious Fruit, Han-Yeol sent even more mana toward it. ¡®Oh! It¡¯s working!¡¯?he was filled with anticipation as to what was going to pop out from the monster egg. Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­!? He looked at the monster egg with excitement in his eyes. The monster egg continued to uncontrobly tremble¡­before it suddenly stopped. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Han-Yeol could not help but be flustered when the monster egg suddenly became motionless. Chapter 123: A New Generation (5)

Chapter 123: A New Generation (5)

The monster egg stopped reacting after absorbing mana from the Nutritious Fruit. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he tilted his head in confusion. He inspected the monster egg for a while before he decided to use his skill once again. ¡®Item Appraisal.¡¯ [Monster Egg]: Fertilized Type: Hatching Egg Description: A monster egg getting ready to hatch after receiving nutritious mana. The monster hatching out of the egg will be more powerful the better its environment is before hatching. It is rmended to keep the egg in an environment with suitable temperature and humidity. ¡°Oh¡­ So this is how it works,¡± said Han-Yeol with a sigh of relief after reading the monster egg¡¯s description. He was quite relieved after finding out that there was nothing wrong with the monster egg, which was already undergoing the next step. However, he could not help but ask himself how well he should be taking care of the monster egg. The first thing he did was to call an interior renovationpany and the animal association to ask for a bird specialist. Then, he hired a university professor specializing in birds to provide consultation services in exchange for a handsome pay. Heter called Albert and told him to get started working on a room that could have its temperature and humidity controlled to great precision. Albert simply smiled and replied without asking any questions. Then¡­ Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? ¡®Hmm? It¡¯s Sung-Jin?¡¯ Han-Yeol looked at his phone, which was ringing. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± [We¡¯re done taking care of things over here, and I remembered that I haven¡¯t thanked you yet.] ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t need that between us. What¡¯s there to be grateful for when I just helped my friend¡¯s father?¡± [I guess¡­] Then, Sung-Jin suddenly whispered, [Father said he¡¯s going to kill me if I don¡¯t thank you, so just y along with it, will you?] [What are you whispering about?] When he heard Sung-Jin¡¯s father¡¯s voice in the background, Han-Yeol burst out inughter. ¡°Keke!¡± [Ah, nothing. Anyway, I¡¯m thanking you from the bottom of my heart so please ept it. Our factory and my father is safe thanks to you.] ¡°Keke! Alright. I¡¯m always going to be here to help you, but the best thing would be for you to awaken as soon as possible.¡± [You don¡¯t have to remind me, punk.] Pukeok! [Argh!?Why are you hitting me?!] [How dare you call our savior a punk?!] [Han-Yeol is my friend!] [He is also our savior!] [Father!] [Shut up!] Then, Sung-Jin¡¯s father took the phone and said, [Han-Yeol.] ¡°Yes, ahjussi?¡± [Thank you so much.] ¡°Please do not mention it.¡± [I will definitely pay you back one day.] ¡°Ah! I think you do not have to wait till one day.¡± [What do you mean by that?] Han-Yeol smirked after thinking of a great idea. He casually said, ¡°I think I will need your help right now.¡± [Tell me. I¡¯ll help if I can.] Their phone call ended after exchanging a few words. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not well-versed in running a business, so I should ask for ahjussi¡¯s help,¡± Han-Yeol muttered while thinking of Yoo-Bi. He had to help Yoo-Bi figure out her abilities as soon as possible for his own sake. He could tell that her ability was a growth-type one, just like his, but the main difference was that she did not gain skills formitting actions like him. Rather, she gained experience and knowledge by creating more and more machinery. In other words, her potential was basically limitless, and her abilities had to be kept confidential. ¡°I stillck strength and influence. I might be affiliated with the Horus raid party, but I¡¯m just an average B Rank Hunter without them.¡± The Horus raid party was a very good organization to be affiliated with, but Han-Yeol could not depend on them forever. ¡°I should consider forming my own raid party¡­¡± Han-Yeol initially thought that being the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party was more than enough for him, but he soon realized that the world of the Hunters was not a forgiving ce. There were hyenas lurking all over the ce, ready to pounce the moment he showed any openings. In fact, the Hyena raid party was a prime example of this. The Hyena raid party was quite easy to pick out as they were infamous for targeting other Hunters, but the other raid parties or guilds that pretended to be righteous while plotting something from behind the scenes were the real problem. In short, Han-Yeol had to be stronger to survive in this world. He had to form his own organization, which was going to be his strength. He could not expect to continue being sheltered by someone else and by his personal strength alone. The Horus raid party was an excellent shelter, but he could not tell for certain that they were not going to return to Egypt one day. After all, they were a foreign raid party, so it was quite obvious that they were not going to be staying in Korea forever. What started as a simple thought slowly started to snowball, so Han-Yeol decided to go for a walk to clear his mind. Just as he did so¡­ Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? His smartphone rang. He checked the caller and muttered, ¡°Huh? Who¡¯s this?¡± Han-Yeol had a habit of not answering any calls from numbers he did not know before he awakened as a Hunter. After all, Korea had an issue with spam calls from telemarketers to the point that it was getting on his nerves. However, he was now able to have 100% of such spam calls filtered after having obtained a Hunter smartphone. This helped him be certain that any calls he received were not going to be a spam call. The problem was, Han-Yeol could not remember thest time that an unknown number had called him. He hesitated for a moment before he decided to just answer it. ¡°Hello?¡± [Hello, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. My name is Team Leader Kim Hee-Ae from the Team 1 of the Hunter Management Department under the Hunters¡¯ Association.] Listening to the clear female voice that was on the other end of the line, Han-Yeol asked, ¡°Ah, hello. But what business does the Hunter Management Department have with me?¡± [We were investigating the recently summoned demons that took care of the monsters in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Chungbuk, and we found that you were the one who had summoned them. We would like to request you toe to the association to discuss some things rting to that incident.] It was a sudden invitation from the Hunters¡¯ Association. Most Hunters would think of it as an honor to be personally invited by the association, but¡­ ¡°No thanks, I don¡¯t see a point in my going all the way there,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He couldn''t care less if he was invited by the Blue House or by the Hunters¡¯ Association. The Hunters¡¯ Association technically did not have any other roles aside from supporting the Hunters, so there was no reason for Han-Yeol to get too close to them or even cultivate a good rtionship. This was the reason why he instantly shot down the offer. [W-Wait!] The woman hurriedly shouted after Han-Yeol tried to hang up. She continued urgently, [Wait a second! W-We will hold an official ceremony to thank you and award you with a certificate ofmendation! Also, we have prepared a special gift for you! We should prepare at least this much after inviting someone so special, right?] ¡°Hmm¡­ A certificate and a gift?¡± [Yes, we know that time is gold for Hunters, so we cannot simply ask you to give us your time for free, right?] Kim Hee-Ae sounded quite desperate to Han-Yeol, but he decided to cut her some ck. He then said, ¡°Well, I guess I should drop you a visit if you¡¯ve prepared something. When and where should I go?¡± [Ah, I will be sending you an SMS with the specific details.] ¡°Okay.¡± [Thank you, and have a nice day.] ¡°You too.¡± Beep! The call ended. The average Hunter would have already fainted after receiving such a call. Unbeknownst to Han-Yeol, the woman who had called him was actually not an ordinary office worker. She was an awakened being as well, but she was working for the Hunters¡¯ Association as her ability was not rted tobat. Also, she went out on hunts with a few parties formed by the association because her ability was quite useful as a support ability. On top of that, she was quite famous with the male Hunters thanks to her pretty face, slim body, bountiful breasts, and beautiful voice. However, she was also known to be quite haughty and rude, so not a lot of people dared to make a move on her. That was the reason that most Hunters who had been shot down by her would be in shock if they had heard her almost beg on the call. Well, none of this actually mattered right now as Han-Yeol had no idea who she was. Ring! Han-Yeol received a message. [Time: Tomorrow 03:00 pm] [Location: LTC Hotel, 2nd Floor, OO Caf¨¦, Seat 12.] ¡°Wow, that¡¯s quite straightforward,¡± Han-Yeol muttered after reading the message. The message carried the characteristic that the Hunters¡¯ Association was well known for, which was the ¡®can¡¯t be bothered to borate¡¯ style. Han-Yeol prepared to go to Sung Jin Factory after checking the message. He could have just run all the way there, but he decided to call a taxi instead. He feltzy to run all that long distance, and it was technically illegal for a Hunter to use their ability when there were no monsters. ¡°I should probably go buy a supercar after visiting the factory,¡± he muttered. He needed to buy a new car now that his van was out ofmission. He could temporarily rent a car, but he did not feel like renting one. ¡°Why should I rent a car when I¡¯m a Hunter? I have my image to take care of as well¡­¡± he grumbled. He shouldn¡¯t be saying when he had been driving a van this entire time instead of a shy supercar just because he hadn¡¯t been bothered enough to change it¡­ Anyway, he soon arrived at Sung Jin Factory. He exchanged greetings with Sung-Jin and his father before going up to their office. ¡°So, what can I help you with?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father asked. ¡°Actually¡­ I am thinking of starting a business,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°A business?¡± ¡°Yes. Ah, please do not be worried as I do not n to do anything rted to monster parts.¡± ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ll be supporting you even if you decide to be in the same industry.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­ Really?¡± Han-Yeol could not help butugh awkwardly at the response. Sung-Jin¡¯s father was an easy-going man, after all. ¡°So, what business do you n to start?¡± ¡°I am thinking of manufacturing Hunter equipment using mana-coated materials.¡± ¡°Oh, Hunter equipment you say?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After all, manufacturing Hunter equipment was something that any businessman would be interested in. However, most of them would simply remain interested and not get involved. After all, it was merely an interest and curiosity. Manufacturing Hunter equipment required a lot of skills, and there was also the obstacle of having topete with American goods even if one sessfully manufactured the equipment. On top of that, the Hunters¡¯ Association was already in the business of manufacturing Hunter equipment, so fiercepetition should be expected both domestically and internationally. The Hunter equipment industry was a prime example of a ¡®Red Ocean¡¯ business. The United States had quite a lot of privatepanies manufacturing Hunter equipment, and this was made possible simply because their Hunters¡¯ Association distributed whatever technology they developed to support thesepanies. On the contrary, the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association was theplete opposite of them. They monopolized whatever technology they developed and were quite unforgiving when it came to anything rted to the industry. There had been a lot of criticism because of their attitude toward the manufacturing industry, but the association simply did not have any ns to change their stance on the matter. ¡°Thepetition will be quite fierce.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I am aware of that since I had worked as a Porter as well. Still, I believe it is going to be worth a shot.¡± ¡°Well, I guess there won¡¯t be any significant damage if you fail, so it is worth a shot¡­¡± ¡°Haha, I did not realize that until you mentioned it.¡± Han-Yeol made more money than a medium-sized corporation, and most of his earnings were in pure profit, so it was true that he was not going to suffer any setback even if his business venture ended up failing. ¡°I¡¯m so jealous¡­¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father grumbled. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Han-Yeolughed awkwardly in response. ¡°Nothing I can do about that since that¡¯s one of the perks of being a Hunter¡­ Anyway, how can I help you then?¡± ¡°You can start by crafting machine parts from the monster parts you process and supply it to me.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Ah, I am not asking for it for free. I will be paying for them.¡± ¡°Hoo¡­¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father muttered as his interest was piqued. Han-Yeol might have asked for his help, but this was a great opportunity for the Sung Jin Factory to grow as well. ¡°I will pay you above the market rates,¡± Han-Yeol added. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father muttered and rubbed his chin. Chapter 124: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (1)

Chapter 124: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (1)

Han-Yeol further discussed his ns with Sung-Jin¡¯s father in detail. Sung-Jin¡¯s father was not helping Han-Yeol simply because he was his son¡¯s friend or because he had saved his factory a few times. Well, it was a lie to say that those factorspletely did not affect his decision, but the biggest reason was still the fact that Han-Yeol was an extremely famous Hunter now. Sung-Jin¡¯s father knew that his factory¡¯s market istion due to his rtionship with the TK Group was going to greatly improve if he opened apany with a Hunter as famous as Han-Yeol. Simply put, apany owned by a famous Hunter was certainly going to be quite influential. Besides, he was actually going to have a lot to gain by helping Han-Yeol, so there was no reason for him not to. ¡°Then, let us proceed as discussed,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t you want to draft a contract first?¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father asked in response. ¡°I think we can take that slowly. I don¡¯t even have apany right now, so we don¡¯t have to rush. Besides, I own fifty percent of Sung Jin Factory, so I doubt you are going to stab me in the back, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Sung-Jin¡¯s father said and nodded in agreement. He would have normally at least signed an MOU for now, then tried to get more favorable conditions when signing the contractter on. However, half of Sung Jin Factory already belonged to Han-Yeol, so there was no need to do such a thing. In fact, the new business venture was definitely going to be a huge advantage to Sung Jin Factory. Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin¡¯s father shook hands to informally finalize the deal. *** Han-Yeol called a taxi after leaving Sung Jin Factory, and he went straight to a luxury car dealership nearby. Ring¡­! A ssical chime rang after Han-Yeol opened the door. Most shops had already reced the ssical chime with something more modern and mechanical, but Han-Yeol still preferred the sound of the chime as he found it to be ssier. Han-Yeol had no way of knowing if it was a calcted move or not, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling that the shop¡¯s overall atmosphere went up a notch simply because of the chime alone. ¡°Wee, my name is Yoo Jin-Ah and I will be assisting you today to the best of my abilities,¡± greeted a staffer who approached Han-Yeol the moment he stepped inside the showroom. It was a recent trend to hire handsome or beautiful people regardless of their gender as a staffer, because having presentable salespersons was almost mandatory. It was not that there was an outright bias toward good-looking people, but good-looking and well-dressed salespeople definitely helped give customers a good impression. For example, a customer was bound to be scared and would instinctively run away if a rough-looking burly and muscr man greeted them at the door. On the other hand, a customer was bound to be more inclined to make a purchase if the salesperson looked quite presentable. There were some shops that employed tactics of matching a saleswoman with a male customer and a salesman with a female customer to boost sales. Simply put, it was unavoidable forpanies to prioritize hiring good-looking salespeople and employ various sales tactics, especially since it was going to directly affect their business. Even if they ended up being criticized for their actions,panies were unlikely to stop using such a tactic to boost sales. ¡°I will be in your care then,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a slight bow. ¡°Do you have a specific model or brand you are looking for? Or would you like me to give you a brief introduction of what we have avable?¡± the saleswoman, Jin-Ah, asked. Most salespeople at normal car dealerships would not even bother exining everything one by one as they found it bothersome. One could not really me them since most normal dealerships had over one hundred models in their catalog, and exining every single model was going to take a very long time. However, this dealership was different in the sense that they did not possess a lot of models and most of their models were quite expensive. They were going to get a much bigger profit from selling a single vehiclepared to a normal dealership, so they did not mind having to exin, even if they had to do it for the whole day, as long as they made a sale. ¡°Hmm¡­ I need a car that is sturdy and can be used daily,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Oh, then I suggest that you visit the domestic brand across the street instead¡­¡± Jin-Ah replied while thinking that Han-Yeol hade to the wrong ce by mistake. The cheapest car in the showroom was worth two hundred million won, so these were not cars that one could drive without a care. However¡­ ¡°No, I want the most expensive car you have in your showroom,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Huh¡­? Excuse me¡­?¡± Jin-Ah was taken aback by his response. She had clearly heard him ask for a daily use car that he did not have to be too careful with. She now wondered why he was suddenly asking for the most expensive car in the showroom. ¡®Is he looking down on our dealership?¡¯?she grumbled inwardly. The dealership possessed quite an impressive fleet in this showroom, and the most expensive car in their inventory that they could immediately sell was worth an impressive five billion won. ¡®So that¡¯s how you want to y it? Let me teach you a lesson. Hmpf!¡¯?she thought with a smirk. Jin-Ah might just be an ordinary salesperson, but she was quite loyal to herpany. She could stand being ridiculed by rude customers, shrugging it off as the rant of a bad customer, but she could not put up with anybody looking down on thepany she worked for. ¡°I understand. Please allow me to guide you this way, dear customer-nim,¡± she said. ¡°Sure,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He nonchntly followed Jin-Ah toward another section that had numerous luxurious sports cars disyed. The other salespeople in the showroom looked on with envy while Jin-Ah the saleswoman brought Han-Yeol to the luxury corner. Salespeople received a portion of the price of the vehicle they sold as an incentive. Jin-Ah was bringing Han-Yeol to where the cheapest vehicle cost more than one billion won, so she was going to earn a hefty sum upon managing to sell a single vehicle. However, they were forced to mind their own business as the chime rang again. Ring¡­! ¡°Wee!¡± A female customer walked in this time, and a salesman walked up to her. Jin-Ah asked Han-Yeol, ¡°Are you looking for any specific models?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m looking for a sports car with a powerful engine and a ssic Italian feel. One that is just like the F Company models,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Excellent choice!¡± Jin-Ah eximed before proceeding to introduce the models avable to him. Han-Yeol could not help but be in awe while listening to the saleswoman introducing the different models. He did not know much about luxury sports cars, and the only time he had ever seen any was on the road or in a car park. While listening to the introductions, he was amazed by how intricately these machines were crafted. He could not help but be impressed by the aura the different sports cars were exuding. ¡®Demon Eyes.¡¯?Han-Yeol even used his skill while inspecting the luxury vehicles just in case any of them exuded mana as well. The saleswoman eagerly exined every single bit about the cars on disy while Han-Yeol looked around with his skill. ¡®Sigh¡­ He¡¯s only looking around. He¡¯s not even touching the cars¡­ I guess today is a bust again. I guess I should manage my disappointment and think of this as practice for the next customer¡­¡¯?Jin-Ah sighed inwardly. However, she was not disheartened. After all, this was amon urrence in this showroom. There were a lot of people who visited this showroom as it was one of the well-stocked ones in the country, but their heavy traffic of customers did not always trante into sales. Most of the people who visited the showroom often pretended to be interested buyers even though they had onlye to do some window shopping. In fact, almost all of them would say that they would think about it before leaving and never to return again. It wasmon to see people driving supercars worth hundreds of millions of won, but it was quite rare to see someone driving a supercar worth more than a billion won. The reason was that South Korea did not have that many wealthy peoplepared to other developed countries. ¡°This vehicle is from B Company. Ten of this model have been imported into the country, with nine already sold. This is thest remaining one. It is quite expensive, so not a lot of people can muster the courage to buy it on the spot,¡± Jin-Ah exined. ¡°I see¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡°These are all of the cars we have in our showroom, so I will be ending my tour here. Did any of them catch your eye by any chance?¡± she courteously asked. ¡°Oh¡­¡± he muttered once again. ¡®He¡¯s probably going to say that he wille back next time,¡¯?Jin-Ah thought. Since that was amon urrence here, she had dealt with so many such customers that she did not even have to second guess her gut feeling. However, she underestimated her customer this time as Han-Yeol had recently developed the hobby of spending money, and he had been looking for something to throw his cash to. ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Yes, customer-nim?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy one of every model you have in this showroom.¡± ¡°Of course, you may go and think about¡­ Huh? WHAT?!¡± Jin-Ah screamed in shock. She was so surprised that she was momentarily dazed and had been rendered speechless. ¡°Excuse me? I said I want to buy one of every sports car model you have in this showroom,¡± Han-Yeol repeated. ¡°A-Are you sure, customer-nim? Are you really going to purchase one of every model in this showroom¡­?¡± Jin-Ah asked in response while stuttering. ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡± Han-Yeol asked. While looking at the saleswoman in a strange manner, he wondered, ¡®Do they have a limit per customer or something?¡¯ ¡°N-No, not at all. I-I will immediately work on it so shall we go to our office?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± For the first time in her four years of working here, Jin-Ah felt stunned by a customer. There had been quite a lot of times in the first three years that she worked here that she had been taken aback by either an unruly customer or a rich customer, but she eventually got used to them. She soon stopped batting an eyelid in those situations. Due to that reason, her colleagues had given her all sorts of nicknames such as viper, witch, etc., and talked ill about her behind her back. Still, her resilience, level-headedness, and ability to listen attentively to everything a customer said helped her be the highest-grossing salesperson in this branch. However, even with all her experience, she had lost herposure and had been rendered speechless by the customer in front of her. ¡®W-Who is this? This is on a whole new level!¡¯? This was probably the first time that a customer had ever made a bulk purchase of luxury supercars in history. Jin-Ah immediately assisted Han-Yeol to the VVIP room. Of course, it went without saying that the other salespeople in the showroom had witnessed the entire scene. ¡®What? The VVIP room?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t remember seeing that customer before, but he is already a VVIP?¡¯ ¡®What the heck? Did he buy that car from B Company?¡¯ ¡®Argh! I¡¯m so jealous!¡¯ ¡®How the hell does she sell so many cars?¡¯ The salesmen looked on with envy, but none of them could do anything about it. The dealership had a strict rule that a saleswoman should be the one dealing with a male customer and vice versa at all times, so Han-Yeol was not someone they could have attended to. ¡®Ah¡­ It¡¯s that bitch again¡­¡¯ ¡®She¡¯s so fucking lucky¡­¡¯ However, the other saleswomen were different. They were already pissed at Jin-Ah for always beingpared to her all the time, but the fact that she had managed to snag a VVIP customer further widened the gap between them. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it. It was againstpany policy to try and snatch a customer away from another salesperson. Also, it was not going to give a good impression to the customer if they saw the salespeople bickering among themselves. ¡°Please have a seat here,¡± Jin-Ah said after guiding Han-Yeol to a luxurious-looking sofa. ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± ¡°Would you like tea or coffee? We have the best ones avable here.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll go with coffee then. No sugar or syrup, just ck, please.¡± ¡°Yes, I will prepare it immediately.¡± Jin-Ah opened the cupboard in the VVIP room and retrieved a can of Luwak Coffee. This coffee was the second most expensive coffee in the world, and it was also known as the best coffee among Koreans. At first, the VVIP room had been stocked with the Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha?coffee from Panama. This coffee also known as ¡®Geisha¡¯ was the most expensive coffee in the world. However, not a lot of the VVIP customers were familiar with it, so they had decided to change it to the better-known Luwak Coffee. ¡°This is Luwak Coffee,¡± Jin-Ah said as she ced a cup in front of Han-Yeol. Slurp¡­! ¡°Wow, this is indeed the real thing. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because you guys deal with luxury supercars, but your service is excellent. Hmm¡­ It would have been better if you served Geisha?instead, but I have that at home, so it doesn¡¯t really matter,¡± Han-Yeol said casually. Han-Yeol might be oblivious to brands and luxury goods, but he could not pass up on his desire to drink the world¡¯s best coffee after earning so much money. He loved coffee more than anything else in the world. Although, he had only asked Albert to buy him the most expensive coffee instead of actually knowing what he wanted. ¡®Wow¡­ He even knows what the Geisha is?¡¯?Jin-Ah was impressed and surprised for the second time today. After all, she was the one who had asked the management to rece the Geisha with Luwak in the VVIP room. Chapter 125: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (2)

Chapter 125: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (2)

Jin-Ah could not help but be extremely curious about what the customer in front of her did for a living. The way he spent money was on a whole different level and his taste for coffee was spot on too. She thought, ¡®I wonder who this person is¡­ I should have recognized him if he is an heir to those conglomerates.¡¯ One of her keys to sess was to be aware of her potential clients who might walk in one day. Most of her clients were people who struck it rich or those who had inherited their wealth. Regardless of their background, being aware of their personalities and background was a great help for her to close the deal. Also, Jin-Ah was wondering about Han-Yeol¡¯s identity not only because of his immense wealth but also for his taste in coffee. She was a self-professed coffee lover and the fact that she just met another person who knew about the Geisha was more than enough to pique her interest in him. ¡°We used to provide the Geisha for our customers, but most people did not seem to be aware of what it was. We ended up deciding to change it to the Luwak,¡± Jin-Ah exined. Han-Yeol nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s understandable. The Geisha is not a well-known coffee in our country after all, and only those crazy about coffee would have heard of it.¡± Once, a famous reality show from M Broadcasting Station had shown a princess drinking Luwak Coffee, and that catapulted the coffee¡¯s image as a luxury coffee in South Korea. The both of them managed to getfortable with each other thanks to theirmon love for coffee, and the atmosphere in the VVIP room was quite rxed by the time they were about to sign the contract. Jin-Ah could not help but be extremely happy about Han-Yeol¡¯s purchase. The total amount he had purchased just now was going to be more than enough to satisfy her annual sales target. No, it was actually going to help her exceed her sales target by 50 percent. However, she was soon shocked again when Han-Yeol requested for all of the vehicles to have all of the best options avable. In the end, she managed to sessfully close the deal, which was enough to help her satisfy three years'' worth of sales targets. ¡°Do you have a car I can drive home right now?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Pardon me¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t have a car with me, so I need one to go home. I was thinking of driving that car over there.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I regret to inform you that the car you wish to drive is a disy model and the actual car is in our main branch¡¯s warehouse. Also, all of our cars here are disy models, so it will take some time for us to get them ready¡­¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while looking troubled. He liked that specific car out of all of the cars here, but he also needed a car to drive home right now. As Han-Yeol crossed his arms and started to contemte his options, Jin-Ah looked slightly nervous. After some thought, Han-Yeol finally asked, ¡°Do you have a cheap car that I can drive home right now?¡± ¡°Yes, we do have one. We just finished clearing our stock for that specific model, so we were nning to sell the disy model for cheap. Would you want that one?¡± ¡°Well, I guess I don¡¯t have a choice. Please add that car to the contract.¡± ¡°Yes, I will get to it immediately.¡± That was how Han-Yeolid waste to the luxury supercar dealership before leaving. Vroom! ¡°Wow, is it because this is a foreign brand? This car is really good,¡± said Han-Yeol in surprise after revving the engine. The dealership he had swept clean just now was not a ce specializing in Hunter vehicles, but rather, it was a normal dealership that specialized in dealing with luxury supercars. A technological limitation existed when it came to implementing the design and specification of luxury supercars for Hunter vehicles, and that was why it was impossible to find one that could be used by Hunters. However, that did not mean that there was no demand for it. Quite a lot of Hunters were still moring for a Hunter-use luxury supercar to be made. Unfortunately, it was not quite an easy task to achieve as there was another hurdle aside from the technological limitation. A Hunter vehicle from H Company or K Company cost five and a half billion won for their lowest specification model, and that was an indicator that a luxury model was probably going to sell for an astronomical figure if it was ever made. The reason that Han-Yeol had made the purchase despite these cars not being Hunter vehicles was purely due to the fact that he wanted to start a collection. He was keen to collect these beautiful works of art instead of those rigid and rough-looking Hunter vehicles. ¡°Hmm¡­ If this car is so good, I wonder how amazing those cars they will be sending in three months¡¯ time are going to be¡­?¡± Han-Yeol wondered aloud as he stepped on the pedal. Vrooom! His next destination was none other than the LTC Hotel. *** Han-Yeol looked around after arriving at the OO Caf¨¦ on the hotel¡¯s second floor. Then, he found a man and a woman sitting at the meeting ce he had been told to be at. Upon seeing him, the man and the woman both got up from their seats. Han-Yeol deduced that the woman was probably the team leader who had called him at that time. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Han-Yeol Hunter. My name is Lee Chung-Hee, and I am the manager of the Hunter Management Department of the Hunters¡¯ Association,¡± the man introduced himself and extended his hand. He was a tall middle-aged man wearing a neat suit. ¡°Lee Han-Yeol, it is a pleasure to meet you,¡± Han-Yeol replied and shook the man¡¯s hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Kim Hee-Ae. We spoke on the phone previously,¡± the woman then introduced herself with a bow. The other Hunters were probably going to be shocked if they saw the witch bowing toward someone. They sat on their sofa seats after introducing themselves to one another. Only then did Han-Yeol ask, ¡°So, what business does the Hunter Management Department have with me?¡± ¡°I would like to ask you a question before we get to the main point. Did you really summon all of those demons by yourself? We happened to stumble upon the summoning video, and we cannot help but find it impossible for a single Hunter to summon so many demons at once,¡± Lee Chung-Hee asked. Han-Yeol nodded and replied, ¡°I guess that¡¯s only normal. But you are aware that I can summon demons, right?¡± He knew very well that the ability he had used in exchange for paying ten tons of gold was quite absurd. ¡°Yes, our department has been keeping our eyes on your broadcast, so we have a rough idea of your abilities.¡± ¡°Aigoo! I didn¡¯t know you were one of my precious viewers!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol tried making a joke to loosen up the mood, but he only ended up looking stupid. However, he was just using it as a cover to buy time to think about how he was going to answer the question. He thought, ¡®Hmm¡­ I guess I can tell them that much?¡¯ ¡°Well, one of the demons I summon is a merchant that can sell me stuff from the demon world, and I purchased a single-use magic scroll that allowed me to summon a thousand demons.¡± ¡°I-Is that true? Are you serious?!¡± Thud! Lee Chung-Hee stood up from his seat and banged his knee on the table, but he was simply too shocked to even acknowledge the pain and difort. He eximed in surprise, ¡°Y-You can purchase items from the demon world?! How can this be?!¡± The world¡¯s technology might have made great strides in development, but it was still only child¡¯s y whenpared to the technology the aliens that had saved the world possessed. Every country on Earth was trying toe up with solutions for sudden events like the dimensional rift that had recently appeared all over the world as they realized that relying on the Hunters alone was not going to be enough. There were quite a lot of experts who voiced out the need for investments to be made to develop mana-using technologies that ordinary people could use to defend themselves aside from the investments the world had been making to train Hunters. That was the reason why Han-Yeol¡¯sment of being able to simply purchase powerful artifacts like the one he had used that day was so shocking to Lee Chung-Hee. Slurp¡­! Han-Yeol took a sip of the coffee that was served, and he grimaced for a split second. It happened so quickly that Lee Chung-Hee and Kim Hee-Ae did not notice it. He grumbled inwardly, ¡®They¡¯re using cheap coffee.¡¯ The LTC Hotel was one of the country¡¯s top hotels, so he certainly expected a lot more from their coffee. He could not help but be disappointed that the coffee they had served was a cheap one when they were charging so much for it. Han-Yeol felt that the taste of the Luwak Coffee he had drunk a while ago was tarnished after taking a sip of this coffee, and he no longer touched the coffee cup after that first sip. ¡°Yes, I have to pay a heavy price for it, but the items I purchase are quite effective,¡± Han-Yeol said nonchntly. Lee Chung-Hee might have reacted quite strongly, but there was no need for Han-Yeol to show any reaction at all since he was used to dealing with the demons anyway. ¡°T-That is really amazing¡­ You are not the only Hunter who can summon demons, but the demon world has always been shrouded in mystery. Nothing has been made known about the world that those amazing demons live in, but we know for certain that the items they use over there are quite impressive. We have been trying to study their items but failed to make any progress at all as the demons are not keen on giving their items to humans,¡± Lee Chung-Hee exined. When Han-Yeol simply shrugged in response, Lee Chung-Hee continued, ¡°But if what you said is true¡­ We are now going to be able to study their items as much as we want!¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. They were only going to be able to study the items the demons used only and only if Han-Yeol allowed them to. He knew very well that he was the only one capable of obtaining the items from the demon world. ¡®Ugh¡­ I was supposed to ask him for something else, but I already lost from the get-go¡­¡¯?Lee Chung-Hee groaned after realizing that the one making the call here was Han-Yeol. He was a manager and a department head for the most prestigious organization in the country, which meant that he was quite good at his work. He also upied a very high position, so he would have looked at Han-Yeol in disdain if they had met before Han-Yeol awakened. Lee Chung-Hee could tell from his instincts and experience that he was most likely going to have to go back empty-handed from this meeting if things continued like this. ¡®Lee Han-Yeol Hunter is a more significant person than I expected¡­ Not only does he possess multiple skills, but he can even get his hands on items from the demon world¡­ Haa¡­ It¡¯s so frustrating that he¡¯s being disregarded by the higher-ups simply because he isn¡¯t an S Rank or Master Rank Hunter¡­¡¯?Lee Chung-Hee thought. They could promote Han-Yeol to an S Rank Hunter as a favor if various things were taken into consideration as he already possessed the potential to surpass most S Rank Hunters. However, that did not mean that they were going to be able to force him to do anything in return, since the Hunters¡¯ Association was supposed to guarantee a Hunter¡¯s freedom. However, Lee Chung-Hee could tell that Han-Yeol had the ability to make great contributions to the country if he wanted to. ¡®It¡¯s a shame, but I should end the discussion about the demon world¡¯s items,¡¯?Lee Chung-Hee thought. His main objective today was to talk about Han-Yeol¡¯s demon-summoning ability, so he decided to focus on that instead. He initially had no idea that Han-Yeol could obtain items from the demon world, so he mostly decided to forgo the matter due to his ownck of preparation. ¡®Tsk¡­ It¡¯s such a shame that I have to pass up on this¡­¡¯?he clicked his tongue. As someone concerned for the future of his country rather than the association, he sincerelymented the fact that a Hunter like Han-Yeol was not being recognized by the association simply because of his rank. He would have tried his best to convince Han-Yeol to use his ability for the future of their country and made him an irresistible offer if it was up to him, but unfortunately, the association¡¯s higher-ups were very rigid and stuck-up people. Simply put, he was not going to be able to do that. Not only that, but Lee Chung-Hee also could not help but feel very embarrassed with the proposal he was about to propose to Han-Yeol, and this was the first time in his career that he was embarrassed to be a part of the association. Seuk¡­ When Lee Chung-Hee slid an envelope across the table, Han-Yeol asked, ¡°What is this?¡± [Proposal to Form an Emergency Hunter Response Team] ¡®An emergency Hunter response team?¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately figured out the agenda behind today¡¯s meeting after reading the words on the envelope. After all, his abilities were best suited to be used in cases like the incident that had happened a while ago. However¡­ Tak! ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°H-Huh? We have not even started¡­¡± Just as Lee Chung-Hee responded, Han-Yeol interrupted him and said, ¡°Not even started making the offer, is probably what you want to say. I¡¯m aware it¡¯s not polite to simply refuse without providing a reason, so I will be providing you with my reasons. Firstly, I¡¯m already affiliated with the Horus raid party.¡± ¡°But you can still work for the emergency¡­¡± Kim Hee-Ae cut in. Bam! Han-Yeol mmed the table and stopped Kim Hee-Ae from saying anything else. After shutting her up, he continued, ¡°I have my obligations to the Horus raid party, run my streaming channel, and I recently started a business so I have to work on that as well. My schedule is already packed from having to join our raid part¡¯s hunt, my solo hunts, and my work as a CEO, so I don¡¯t have the time or the reason to join something like this.¡± Seuk¡­ Then, he flipped the page and pointed out, ¡°Also, it says here that my role will be focused on emergency rescue operations, applying first aid, healing, etc., which arepletely unrted tobat.¡± ¡°No, t-that is¡­¡± Lee Chung-Hee muttered as he broke out in cold sweat. When Han-Yeol pointed out the biggest w in the proposal, he thought in a panic, ¡®How did he know when he didn¡¯t even read it?!¡¯ He did not have a handkerchief with him right now, but he would probably have instinctively wiped his face if he had one in his hand right now. ¡°Yes, I do possess various nonbat skills, but I think you¡¯re forgetting that I¡¯m the Vice Leader of the prestigious Horus raid party. I honestly find this to be a direct insult,¡± Han-Yeol added the nail to the coffin. Chapter 126: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (3)

Chapter 126: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (3)

Han-Yeol¡¯s rxed expression suddenly changed into a scary one. He was someone who sincerely wanted to be the strongest Hunter. Of course, he also wanted to be rich, but his main goal was to be the strongest Hunter on Earth. Yet, the Hunters¡¯ Association was asking him, who now took great pride in his abilities, to join the emergency response team that was formed with a bunch of nonbatants? That was no different from cursing him directly to his face. Han-Yeol would have cussed Lee Chung-Hee and Kim Hee-Ae to their faces if he hadn¡¯t be mature after having worked as a Porter. ¡°T-That is not it¡­ Y-You can get t-tax benefits if you join this team, and you will have the freedom to do other things as well. May you kindly think about it one more time?¡± Lee Chung-Hee said, trying his best to appease and convince Han-Yeol. Ironically, Lee Chung-Hee did not really want to try and convince Han-Yeol. A person could try and convince someone if the offer somewhat made sense to a certain level, but his current proposal was no different from asking a lion to put on sheep¡¯s clothing. He could not help but feel frustrated from having to force himself to convince Han-Yeol to consider the offer. Bam! Han-Yeol mmed the table one more time and said, ¡°I will repeat myself. I have no intention of joining whatever that emergency team is. I will help whoever is around me whenever something happens based on my own judgment, so don¡¯t ever try to bring such insulting offers to me ever again. Also, you mentioned tax, right? I will be a good taxpayer and diligently pay my taxes, so go and mind your own business.¡± ¡°O¡­ Okay¡­¡± Lee Chung-Hee did not have a choice but to back off after Han-Yeol showed his absolute resolve to not even consider the offer. As for Kim Hee-Ae, she red at Han-Yeol and thought, ¡®He looked down on nonbatants just now.¡¯ She was angry at Han-Yeol¡¯s remarks since she was a nonbatant Hunter herself. However, she could not express her anger or retort against those remarks. She might be infamous for her temper at the Hunters¡¯ Association, but she was not a match for Han-Yeol, who was already quite famous and strong. After all, even her superior was currently staying mute with his tail tucked between his legs. ¡°Hmm¡­ I suppose that¡¯s the end of the discussion for the emergency response team. What about the A Rank item? Will I still get it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. In truth, he had already given up on receiving the item after his earlier outburst. After all, the Hunters¡¯ Association had probably offered the A Rank item as bait to reel him in and make him join the emergency response team. ¡®Well, it¡¯s better for me to give up on the item than to join that emergency response team,¡¯?he thought. Ranked items were only found on hunting grounds or from monsters, so they were rtively rare and difficult to find. Still, Han-Yeol found it quite easy to give up the item. An A Rank item might be expensive, but he had the possibility of buying one for himself as long as he had the money for it. Besides, he was never going to give up his freedom and honor in exchange for something that money could buy. However, Lee Chung-Hee¡¯s response was quite the opposite of what Han-Yeol had expected. The man exined, ¡°N-No, the A Rank item and the issue with the emergency response team are different matters. We are going to host an awarding ceremony in a week¡¯s time, and we are giving you the item in exchange for your attendance. As you might be aware¡­a lot of people died in the recent incident, so¡­¡± Han-Yeol grimaced at the mention of the dimensional rift incident, being reminded of the horrible sights he had witnessed. That incident was truly something that he did not wish to experience ever again. ¡°It is an event that we have organized to uplift the gloomy atmosphere after the incident, and you are the best Hunter for the event. You have quite the following thanks to your personal broadcast, and various news outlets have aired images of you helping out the firefighters,¡± Lee Chung-Hee added. Most ordinary people loathed the Hunters, but the public sentiment toward Han-Yeol was quite favorable. In fact, it could be said that the general popce actually respected him for his actions. There were a lot of articles and news stories about Han-Yeol helping the firefighters out. The news outlets published romanticized and even exaggerated reports of Han-Yeol as there were no Hunters in sight in any of the images and videos they had taken. Thanks to this, the debate over the perception of Hunters in today¡¯s society red up once again. Some of the Hunters took the opportunity to ride on Han-Yeol¡¯s coattails. They demanded the general popce to stop bad-mouthing Hunters since they were risking their lives to protect them. However, most of the Hunters kept their mouths shut and simply observed the situation as they knew very well why they were hated by the public. ¡®Most Hunters are known to be quite selfish and arrogant, and a lot of them consider the ordinary people to be beneath them,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol was also a Hunter, but he hated the mentality that most Hunters had. He loathed how the Hunters acted as if they were nobles and demanded the public¡¯s respect while doing the exact opposite of what could be considered respectable. After taking a moment, Han-Yeol asked, ¡°Oh, so I can get two A Rank items for free if I attend the event?¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± Lee Chung-Hee replied. ¡°Hmm¡­ Is it possible for me to know what the items are?¡± Han-Yeol asked while seemingly having his interest piqued. ¡°I apologize, but I honestly have no idea. Actually, I requested for that information prior toing here as I wanted to inform you as well, but my superiors told me to just focus on inviting you. They said that you will get to know about it once you attend the event. I truly apologize for this¡­¡± Lee Chung-Hee said while bowing his head. He had nothing to apologize for, but he had decided to bow his head nevertheless as Han-Yeol had felt quite offended by today¡¯s unexpected revtions. He had always felt proud to be a part of the Hunters¡¯ Association, but he felt incredibly ashamed to be a part of them today. In fact, he felt that he was going to die from shame if he did not at least bow his head to Han-Yeol. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be the one apologizing, Manager Lee. Hmm¡­ It does sound intriguing not knowing what they¡¯re going to give. I guess I should attend the event if I want to know what they¡¯ve prepared for me. Haha!¡± Han-Yeol said with augh. ¡°Oh! Thank you very much! I will not be getting an earful from above thanks to you, Hunter-nim!¡± Lee Chung-Hee eximed in response. He bowed his head once more, but out of gratitude this time. ¡°Is that so?¡± When both menughed heartily, Kim Hee-Ae could not understand what was going on. The tense and ufortable atmosphere from just a minute ago had disappeared, changing into quite a cozy one. With a subtle grimace, she grumbled inwardly, ¡®What is manager-nimughing about?¡¯ She did not have a good opinion of Han-Yeol. She could not understand how someone would not even consider an offer made by the Hunters¡¯ Association and t-out reject it on the spot. She continued grumbling inwardly, ¡®We¡¯re not asking you to do this for our own personal benefit, right? This is all for the good of our country and for us Hunters.¡¯ ¡°Then, I suppose you will be sending me by SMS the date and location of the event?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, of course!¡± Lee Chung-Hee enthusiastically replied. ¡°Then, I will excuse myself now as I have another appointment,¡± Han-Yeol lied. He did not have any other appointments after this, but he had nothing else to discuss with the people from the association. Finding it boring and aplete waste of time just sitting around to chat with them, he had told a lie to escape from the situation. ¡°Aigoo¡­! I apologize for taking up so much of your time!¡± Lee Chung-Hee eximed. Han-Yeol got up from his seat, and Lee Chung-Hee and Kim Hee-Ae followed suit. ¡°It was a pleasure to meet you,¡± Han-Yeol said as he extended his hand first this time. Lee Chung-Hee grabbed Han-Yeol¡¯s hand with both hands and replied, ¡°Aigoo¡­ The pleasure was mine. I hope that I can treat you to a meal next time.¡± ¡°I will not say no to that,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a smile. Asking or offering to treat someone to a meal was amon greeting in Korean culture, and it was general knowledge that such offers were made only out of courtesy. Both parties did not really intend to follow up on the offer. The same could be said in this case. Han-Yeol had no intention of ever epting such an offer from anyone from the association. When Han-Yeol bid them goodbye and finally left the caf¨¦, Lee Chung-Hee and Kim Hee-Ae were left all alone at the table. Only then did Lee Chung-Hee stop smiling and sink into the sofa. Then, he loosened his necktie and chugged down the ice cappino in front of him. Glug! Glug! ¡°Ah! That hit the spot. I swear the coffee at expensive caf¨¦s tastes different!¡± he eximed. He was a regr here at the LTC Hotel¡¯s OO caf¨¦ as he was a coffee lover himself. ¡°Manager-nim,¡± Kim Hee-Ae called out. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I personally don¡¯t like that Hunter.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I already somewhat expected for you not to.¡± ¡°The Hunters¡¯ Association not only protects the rights of Hunters but it also safeguards society as a whole. We protect the public from monsters and we keep our society¡¯s economic engine running by gathering its fuel, the mana stones, while risking our lives. But how is it possible for someone to simply reject an offer made by the association when they should be honored to even be offered one? I cannot help but feel that he is a rude and selfish person.¡± This was the witch¡¯s real personality. She was called obnoxious and rude by others simply because she stuck to the rules rigidly. She was extremely loyal to the Hunters¡¯ Association, and this made every single word that came out of her mouth a criticism toward other people. Not only that, but she also did not have any reservations about forcing her thoughts on other people. This made her the number one person to avoid within the association despite her beautiful face and figure. ¡°You are not wrong per se, but you have to remember that everyone is different. I have already taught you that looking at everything from your own point of view is quite a dangerous thing, right?¡± Lee Chung-Hee replied. ¡°¡­¡± Kim Hee-Ae remained silent, still not quite understanding what he meant. ¡®Haa¡­ Today is quite a frustrating day¡­¡¯?Lee Chung-Hee sighed in resignation. He liked his currently peaceful lifestyle of working behind a desk, but he often missed the days when he used to passionately go out on hunts. ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s no point crying over spilled milk. Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Yes, manager-nim.¡± When Lee Chung-Hee and Kim Hee-Ae walked up to the counter to pay, the cashier surprised them by saying, ¡°The Hunter who sat at your table has already settled the bill.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lee Chung-Hee asked in response. ¡°Yes, customer-nim.¡± ¡°Geez¡­¡± He could not help but feel embarrassed by the fact that Han-Yeol had paid the bill when they were the ones who had invited him. He mumbled to the cashier, ¡°Okay then.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, and we hope to see you again.¡± Both of them left the caf¨¦. ¡°Hmm?¡± Lee Chung-Hee muttered. He spotted Han-Yeol standing in the parking lot. He also noticed that Han-Yeol was not alone but had a Western woman talking to him. ¡°Team Leader Kim, call!¡± Lee Chung-Hee gave the signal they had between them. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Kim Hee-Ae replied and infused her mana into him. Ziiing! Lee Chung-Hee¡¯s eyes turned white and vascr once he activated his ability, ¡®Eye of Space¡¯. Eye of Space was an ability that helped him see everything within five hundred meters of distance. The distance was increased to one kilometer if he was buffed by Kim Hee-Ae¡¯s support ability. Lee Chung-Hee attempted to spy on Han-Yeol, who was around seven hundred meters away from him. However¡­ Seuk¡­ The Western woman crossed her arms over her chest and channeled her mana. Ziiing! ¡°Kuheok!¡± ¡°Manager-nim!¡± Lee Chung-Hee¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot and started bleeding after his skill was instantly dispelled by the woman. Suffering from the repercussions of having his skill dispelled, he was forced to get down on his knees. Kim Hee-Ae helped Lee Chung-Hee back to his feet. ¡°I-I¡¯m alright. Damn it¡­ I think she¡¯s from the CIA. They already caught the whiff of Han-Yeol Hunter!¡± ¡°What? Already?!¡± ¡°No, it could be said that they¡¯rete since he is broadcasting and marketing himself so openly.¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter, right?¡± ¡°What?¡± Lee Chung-Hee looked quite worried about the CIA agent meeting Han-Yeol, but Kim Hee-Ae looked quite rxed. ¡°I know how amazing he is from what you told me, but hecks patriotism if he decides to join them. In my opinion, our country is better off without people like him,¡± she nonchntly said. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Lee Chung-Hee let out a sigh and shook his head. ¡®This nonchnt attitude is the reason why our country¡¯s association is slowly getting ruined¡­¡¯?he thought after feeling frustrated at her remark. Lee Chung-Hee was someone who strongly believed that the conservative and old-school mentality like what Kim Hee-Ae had disyed should disappear if South Korea had any chance of making advancements and being a world leader for Hunters. Chapter 127: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (4)

Chapter 127: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (4)

After finishing up his meeting with the association people, Han-Yeol made his way to his car. Only then did he see someone waiting for him there. ¡°Hello,¡± the woman greeted him in English. ¡°Ah¡­ Uhm¡­¡± Han-Yeol was able to converse freely in Arabic thanks to his ability, but the same could not be said for English. After all, he had never been a studious kid growing up. He had preferred to skip school and act like a delinquent with Sung-Jin and his other friends, and he had also been the type to sleep in ss and guess his way through a test. English was a fearful territory to step into for someone like Han-Yeol. ¡°As expected, hello there,¡± the woman greeted Han-Yeol in Korean this time. Ironically, the Western woman had a better Korean entpared to Han-Yeol. ¡°Ah, yes, hello. Your Korean is quite good¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Hoho, thank you very much. I guess working for three years in the United States Forces Korea has helped me with my Koreannguage.¡± The war between North Korea and South Korea had somewhat ended after the Dimensional Gates had appeared, but the United States Forces Korea still remained. There were many reasons why they had chosen to remain in Korea, two of which were most important. The top two reasons were the fact that they wanted to maintain the alliance between South Korea and the United States, and to contest China¡¯s growing influence over the region by using Korea as a base. Thanks to that, the rtionship between South Korea and the United States increasingly improved even after the Dimensional Gates had appeared. The improvement was quite significant as most countries preferred to be independent and not rely on any alliances. ¡°May I join you in the passenger seat if you are not busy? I have a few things I wish to discuss while we go on a drive, and I am personally interested in you as well.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Huh? W-What?!¡± Sensing the woman¡¯s seductive gaze, Han-Yeol instinctively scanned the woman¡¯s body. Aside from exuding great sensuality, the woman was quite voluptuouspared to other women. The woman had mentioned that she was a soldier, but that was hard to believe with her high level of attractiveness. Then, a thought suddenly shed across Han-Yeol¡¯s mind. ¡®She could be a Hunter.¡¯ He could tell that she was probably here to make a secret offer. The United States still held great influence over the world, and they were a melting pot of different races thanks to their optimistic attitude toward immigrants. Thanks to that, there were still a lot of Hunters who dreamt of migrating to the United States and settling down there. A prime example of this was Egypt and other African countries. Egypt was a rising force in Africa that had the potential to stand toe-to-toe or even surpass most developed nations, but most of their strong Hunters had migrated in droves to the United States. Of course, this migration was not limited to the African continent. There were quite a lot of Hunters from India, China, etc. who had migrated in droves to the United States as well. Hunters from all over the world still dreamt of the American Dream and hoped to migrate to the United States one day. It was not as prevalent as it used to be, but the United States was still seeing a constant increase in migration applications every day. Seuk¡­ Ziiing! The Western woman channeled her mana into her hand and suddenly blocked a stream of mana headed toward them. ¡®Hmm?¡¯? Han-Yeol was about to use Demon Eyes after sensing the manaing toward them, but he decided not to. The Western woman had made quick work of it, after all. Also, he could sense Lee Chung-Hee and Kim Hee-Ae looking at them from a distance. Each person carried their own unique mana wavelength. Han-Yeol was bound to forget about a person¡¯s wavelength, but it was quite easy for him to recognize theirs as they had just met a few minutes ago. He was certain that the mana belonged to them as their mana pattern was still fresh in his memories. ¡®Hmm¡­ Shall I tease them a little?¡¯?Han-Yeol smirked after he thought of a mischievous n. Beep! Beep!? He pressed a key and unlocked his supercar¡¯s door. Han-Yeol celebrated when he found out that the supercar he had bought just for the sake of driving home turned out to be a convertible, which was his dream car. ¡°Wow! Your car is really nice.¡± ¡°Thank you, now get in.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Lee~¡± ¡°Haha! Don¡¯t mention it!¡± The Western woman sat on the passenger seat after Han-Yeol opened the door for her. Then, he immediately drove the car toward the outskirts of Seoul. He continued driving in circles after reaching his destination. ¡°Oh right, I didn¡¯t get your name. What is your name? Rather, should I be asking you for your codename instead?¡± Han-Yeol asked with a snicker, finding his own joke to be quite funny. Most people said that the best way to test if you were a boomer or not was to make a joke and see if youughed at your own jokes or not. Simply put, a person was going to be deemed a boomer if they ended upughing at their own jokes. Fortunately, the Western woman did not seem to be aware of this aspect of Korean culture. The shows and movies shown on the media were quite important regarding the spread of a country''s culture, but most blockbuster series ended up flopping after the emergence of Hunters. Why would someone watch a show with special effects when they could see something realistic instead? Of course, Hollywood still had major influence over the world as the films they produced were far better than the skills that the Hunters could use. Han-Yeol was an avid fan of Western TV shows and movies, and he was a huge fan of the superhero genre. He knew from the movies that most of the agents held a codename while carrying out their tasks, and he found this part about them to be quite cool. ¡°Oh my, I seem to have gotten so excited that I forgot to introduce myself. I am affiliated with the secret Hunter Organization of the United States, and my codename is ¡®ck Swan¡¯. But my real name is Scarlett,¡± Scarlett introduced herself with both her real name and her codename. However, Han-Yeol was not foolish enough to believe everything she had just said. He knew that a secret agent would be quite well-trained on how to curry favors from another person, and he could not help but suspect that this was all an act that she was putting up. If there was one trait that Han-Yeol had drastically improved on after awakening as a Hunter, that trait would be his steadfastness. He used to be easily swayed by other people in the past, but that was no longer the case. ¡°Hmm¡­ I have no idea if you are lying or telling the truth, but how should I address you from now on?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Just call me Scarlett.¡± ¡°Okay, Scarlett. So, what does the United States want from me?¡± ¡°Omo! You are out on a drive with a beauty like me, but are you really going straight to the point?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I admit that you are undoubtedly beautiful and sexy, but I can¡¯t help feelingpetitive in such situations.¡± Anyone would agree that Scarlett was beautiful enough to pass off as a Hollywood actress. She was in no way behind an actual actress in terms of beauty, and she was way ahead of most models when it came to her beauty. Well, everyone who awakened found it easier to maintain their figures thanks to their newfound abilities. However, a woman¡¯s breasts and butt were still mostly based on gics. In other words, Scarlett possessed superior DNA that had helped her be the beauty she was today. There had been a time when Han-Yeol had wanted to marry a Westerner, and he would probably have followed Scarlett around like a lost puppy if he had met her at that time. After all, it would have been impossible not to follow her around as she could be considered a great beauty even among Western women in general. Seuk¡­ ¡°I like your humor as well, so¡­ I am actually considering spending the night with you. What do you think?¡± Scarlett asked with a seductive smile as she moved her hand up Han-Yeol¡¯s thigh. Gulp¡­! It was difficult for Han-Yeol not to react to Scarlett¡¯s touch. After all, he was simply a man. He had to breathe in and out a few times as he tried topose himself. He tried his best to calm down by telling himself that he was not going to be a great person in the future if he failed to resist such temptation. Then, he said firmly, ¡°Please stop it with your jokes. I want to hear what you have to say.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­?What a boring man¡­ I guess I don¡¯t have a choice. The United States is extremely interested in you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, and we have no idea why the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association is looking down on you and taking you for granted.¡± ¡°What do you mean by interest, exactly?¡± ¡°I apologize beforehand, but we¡¯ve conducted an analysis of your personality and found that you are probably going to refuse any offer to migrate to the United States.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t deny that.¡± Han-Yeol had no ns to cross over to the United States no matter how attractive the proposal was. He had no reason to contemte where to go and where to live as he had more than one trillion won under his name. ¡°That is why we have decided to offer you citizenship instead.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± It was indeed an enticing offer if they were talking about bing an American citizen instead of a permanent resident. South Korea had abolished its mandatory conscriptionw and changed it into a volunteer system, allowing Koreans to finally obtain dual citizenship. The main reason that South Korea hadn¡¯t allowed Koreans to possess dual citizenship had solely been due to its mandatory conscription policy. However, it was now legal for Koreans to possess dual citizenship after they had abolished mandatory conscription. ¡°What do you think? Do you feel like sleeping with me now?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I have not reached that level yet.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ You are quite a resilient man¡­¡± ¡°Haha¡­ Is that what it looks like? You are still a very attractive woman, and I might just give in if we got to know each other better.¡± Seuk¡­ It was now Han-Yeol¡¯s turn to tease Scarlett. He pushed his face extremely close to hers, touching her forehead with his own. Han-Yeol had no reason to hold himself back when she was already brazenly seducing him. ¡°Omo¡­ I thought you were not going to get seduced by how you acted¡­ I wonder what made you change your mind?¡± Scarlett said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. ¡°To be honest, I tried to resist your seduction, but that¡¯s simply too difficult. So, what do you say? Shall we go on a date?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°I have no reason to refuse your offer as my mission is to get closer to you.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± ¡°Hoho, today is going to be a good day.¡± ¡°Oh? I guess we have something inmon.¡± Han-Yeol and Scarlett smiled at each other. He had really tried his best not to get seduced by Scarlett. His sharp instincts were telling him that she was not lying or anything, but he simply could not lower his guard as she was an agent sent from another organization. However, he decided to y along with her seduction. He felt that she was seducing him without any ulterior motives. ¡®A guy should give in when a woman this beautiful seduces him, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol justified his actions. Also, he could tell that Scarlett was not stronger than him, so he was confident of not falling into any traps set by her. It was going to be quite regrettable if she was indeed seducing him to entrap him, but he would practically be hitting the jackpot if her feelings were out of pure sincerity. Han-Yeol drove to Donghae (East Sea), Gangwondo with Scarlett. Vrooom! A convertible supercar was driving down the peaceful quiet coastal road with its top open and its engine roaring. The agent sent by the United State¡¯s secret Hunter organization eximed while looking at the sea, ¡°Wow! Korea¡¯s seas are really beautiful!¡± ¡°You mentioned that you stayed a few years in Korea with the United States Forces Korea, but you haven¡¯t been here yet?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The both of them had already gotten quitefortable with each other on the way here. ¡°Hmm¡­ I was born in the Central United States, so I didn¡¯t get the chance to see the coast, and most of my younger days were spent training to be an agent. Also, my first mission was toe to Korea and try to poach your Hunters to migrate to the United States. I didn¡¯t have the luxury to go around sightseeing,¡± Scarlett exined while stretching her arms up toward the sky, making her breasts even more prominent. Gulp¡­! Han-Yeol could not help but gulp at the sight of Scarlett¡¯s prominent breasts as he had been feeling quite sexually frustrated these days. Also, the fact that his ideal type of woman was a Westerner did not help. This was another reason as to why he found it difficult to resist Scarlett¡¯s seduction. ¡°Oh, does this mean I¡¯m the first person you¡¯re going out on a date within three years?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess you can put it that way?¡± ¡°This is a huge honor then.¡± ¡°Indeed, you should feel honored. Where will you find a woman like me?¡± ¡°Tayarana?¡± ¡°Tsk¡­?Except that woman¡­ She is attractive even to women¡­¡± Scarlett pouted. Even she, who was quite attractive herself, could not help but find Tayarana to be extremely beautiful. It was indeed true that Tayarana¡¯s looks were basically cheating at this point. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Han-Yeol could not help butugh at Scarlett¡¯s cuteness. They had sashimi for dinner, then booked a room near the coast. They ended their day with a hot and steamy night, which then resumed from the next morning until the afternoon. Only after satisfying their cravings for each other did they resume their discussion over Han-Yeol¡¯s dual citizenship. It was already four in the afternoon by the time Han-Yeol returned home. Chapter 128: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (5)

Chapter 128: Being a Celebrity Is Tiring (5)

Han-Yeol called the Hunters¡¯ Association and refused their offer to attend the event in exchange for the A Rank items. Of course, his decision turned the association upside down, but they could not do anything about it. They had to respect the independence and freedom of Hunters, after all. There were some people within the Hunters¡¯ Association who questioned if they should make amendments to how much independence and freedom a Hunter was given. This was not the first time where the association¡¯s ns had been ruined because of the Hunters¡¯ independence and freedom. ¡®I don¡¯t feel so good about epting the United State¡¯s offer to grant me citizenship while taking items from the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. As part of their offer of granting him citizenship, the United State¡¯s Hunters¡¯ Association had also agreed to rent one unique item to Han-Yeol. A lot of things had happened within these two days, and that got Han-Yeol quite mentally exhausted. Plopping down on his sofa, he moaned, ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m so tired¡­¡± Thud! Having gotten home only after thirty hours, he was extremely tired. It went without saying that he was physically exhausted, but he felt really good. The fact that he did not have an outlet for his sexual frustration had been stressing him out, but he had gotten to release all of his stress yesterday thanks to the ten hours of hot and steamy marathon that he had. He couldn''t help but feel hot upon remembering what had happened yesterday. ¡®I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because Scarlett is a Hunter, but she has great stamina.¡¯ Scarlett¡¯s stamina was indeed much better than most people after having awakened and using mana. However, the fact that she constantly trained as a secret agent boosted her stamina as well. Her near-limitless stamina had allowed her to receive all of Han-Yeol¡¯s passion when he had unleashed all of his stress. ¡®I have no ns to live in the United States, but I like how they handle things,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was extremely satisfied by the fact that they had decided to send a beautiful woman like Scarlett as the agent handling him. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­! ¡®Is that father?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered when he noticed the digital door lock beeping while he was busy reminiscing about yesterday''s steamy event. ¡°Han-Yeol.¡± ¡°Yes, father?¡± ¡°Congrattions! You are finally a man!¡± ¡°H-Huh¡­? W-What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Hehehe.¡± His fatherughed with a mischievous look. He appeared keen to question whatever excuse Han-Yeol was going to throw at him. ¡°You have never spent the night out except for when you¡¯re going for a hunt. In fact, you even came home no matter howte it was when you drank with Sung-Jin. I asked Albert about you and he mentioned that you left yesterday morning and only just came home¡­ That can only mean that you were with a woman!¡± ¡°T-That is¡­!¡± Han-Yeol tried to make excuses, but his habit of not being able to lie to his father easily gave him away. ¡°Hahaha! My little boy is finally a man! As your father, I can¡¯t help but feel really good about the news! I already told you before, just go ahead and date to your heart¡¯s content! You don¡¯t have to rush into marrying someone right now as long as I know you¡¯re out there meeting people. You can take your own sweet time and only decide to settle down when you really feel that a woman is the one for you.¡± His father was half-joking, but Han-Yeol could feel just how much his father cared for him from the way he spoke. ¡°Yes, father¡­¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s father always felt apologetic to him. Since he decided to get a divorce back then, Han-Yeol had to grow up in a single-parent household without a mother. ¡°Anyway, go ahead and get some rest.¡± ¡°Okay, father. Oh right, what happened to your shop?¡± Han-Yeol heard that the city was still in a mess after the incident. Not only that, but dimensional rifts were still urring on the outskirts of cities, and there were also Hunters fighting against monsters in abandoned towns. The main cities were no longer affected, but the fact that the dimensional rifts had not disappeared was still a cause of fear for the general popce. ¡°Fortunately, everyone is working together to restore things. The Hunters¡¯ Association is going to reimburse us for whatever damage caused anyway, so we don¡¯t really have to worry about the financial burden. We might be able to resume business next week at the earliest.¡± ¡°That is a relief¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a huge relief, to be honest.¡± Fortunately, Han-Yeol¡¯s father hadn¡¯t suffered much damage from the incident. Besides, he did not really have much to worry about even if he had, because Han-Yeol would be there for him anyway. However, the same could not be said for the ordinary people doing business in the same building. They were definitely going to be in a very difficult position as they had lost their livelihood in the incident. Still, most of them were able to avoid beingpletely ruined since they had pre-purchased the insurance sold by the Hunters¡¯ Association for such events. ¡°Anyway, go get some rest. I only dropped by to wash up.¡± ¡°Yes, Father.¡± His father bid him goodbye before returning to his own house to wash up and rest. Only after that did Han-Yeol head to his treasure room. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­! He entered the passcode into the digital door lock he had recently installed for security purposes and went inside the room, where the monster egg was incubating. The room had been renovated to regte its temperature and humidity to provide the best environment for the monster egg. Badump¡­ Badump¡­? ¡®Huh? Why is the monster egg emitting a heartbeat? It¡¯s gotten a lot bigger too¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he inspected the monster egg that had grown by two and a half timespared to when he had visited it two days ago. The monster egg was seemingly showing that it was indeed alive. ¡®Wow¡­ I have a feeling something great is going toe out of it!¡¯?Han-Yeol expectantly thought before he channeled his mana into his eyes. ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯? He inspected the monster egg with his skill to get a better look at it, but unfortunately, the only thing he could see was a lump of mana within the egg. Rubbing his chin as he looked at the monster egg, he muttered, ¡°Hmm¡­ I have a feeling that I¡¯m only going to get a normal monster if I continue incubating it through normal methods¡­ I hope I can get a monster that I can keep as a pet, if that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Han-Yeol called up the monster egg¡¯s description once more. [Monster Egg]: Fertilized Type: Hatching Egg Description: A monster egg getting ready to hatch after receiving nutritious mana. The monster hatching out of the egg will be more powerful the better its environment is before hatching. It is rmended to keep the egg in an environment with suitable temperature and humidity. ¡°The monster that¡¯s going to hatch from the egg is not predetermined, judging by the part it says, ¡®the monster hatching out of the egg will be more powerful the better its environment is before hatching¡¯, so the ability and strength of the monster that¡¯s going to hatch is going to entirely depend on the environment its egg has been incubated in, right?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he started to process the information piece by piece. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention previously, but he now understood how it really worked after reading the description thoroughly. ¡°Hmm¡­? Does that mean it can react to my mana as well?¡± he wondered aloud. He sincerely hoped that the monster that would hatch from the egg was something that he could keep as his pet. He could technically just kill the monster if it was aggressive toward him, but all he would gain from that was going to be a single mana stone and whatever usable parts it had. However, it was going to be an entirely different story if the monster could be kept as a pet. In such a scenario, it was definitely going to give him returns in the long run. Not only that, but there was definitely going to be a huge added value for him personally if he became the first ever Hunter to tame a monster as his pet. Han-Yeol opened his hand and brought it around ten centimeters close to the egg. Then, he closed his eyes and gently channeled his mana into his hand before carefully pouring it into the monster egg. It was as if he was giving water to a young seedling. Wooong¡­ Wooong¡­ ¡®Oh, it¡¯s working,¡¯?he thought with his eyes closed when he felt his mana being absorbed by the egg. He could feel the flow of his mana, since his Mana Mastery skill had reached the M Rank now. ¡®Hmm¡­ I guess I could give it a bit more, right?¡¯?he happily thought as he infused more mana into the monster egg. Woooooong! ¡®Yes! It¡¯s reacting!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after the monster egg gave off a stronger reaction to his mana. Instinctively, he just knew that the best way to hatch the monster egg was to feed it mana. He thought, ¡®A normal monster is probably going toe out if it hatches naturally. But if I hatch it with my mana, maybe a pet will emerge? It should work like that, right?¡¯ This was only a hypothesis. Still, every scientific fact started off as a hypothesis that scientists had to constantly research until they proved it to be correct. Of course, Han-Yeol was not a scientist¡­ There was no way that he would even know what exactly a hypothesis was and how it could be proven correct, because he never paid attention in school. However, he instinctively knew how to connect the dots to prove his hypothesis. Han-Yeol continued pouring his mana into the monster egg. Kwachiiiik! ¡®Is it hatching? Who knew this was going to hatch so quickly? Still, it¡¯s better than having to wait so long for it!¡¯?Han-Yeol expectantly watched the monster egg¡¯s shell crack. Kwachik¡­ Kwachik¡­ Kwachiiik! Cracks started to form all over the monster egg. Pachiiik! ¡°It¡¯sing!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. A momentter, the monster fully cracked open and a creature appeared. ¡°Wha¡­ W-What?!¡± Han-Yeol could not help but scream after seeing the creature that had appeared from the monster egg. ¡°A d-dragon?!¡± The creature had a slightly different appearance from a typical dragon that was often seen in Asian or Western media, but Han-Yeol was certain that it was a dragon. However¡­ ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s so freakin¡¯ cute!¡± The dragon was curled up in its egg, looking up at Han-Yeol with its clear round eyes. It fluttered its arms, legs, tail, and wings after it saw him. There was not a single part of the baby dragon that did not look adorable, a stark contrast to its mighty and vicious appearance usually seen in the media. A normal person might be disappointed from getting a baby dragon as a pet, since it was currently not able to participate inbat and was surely going to eat a lot. That was, however, not the case for Han-Yeol. ¡°WOW! It¡¯s so cute!¡± Han-Yeol cried out. He did not dare touch the little creature as he feared hurting it, but he put his face inches away from it and looked at it with doting loving eyes. Just a note, Han-Yeol was weak toward anything cute except for human babies. He loved puppies, kittens, hamsters, baby foxes, etc. He loved anything and everything cute and fluffy, except for human babies, but¡­he had never dared to raise any pets. Back when he had a puppy, it had gotten run over by a car after he raised it for six months and died. After that traumatic event, he had struggled with depression and had dearly missed his puppy for a whole year. The experience had scarred him so much that he never raised a pet after that, and the most he did after that was to watch videos or look up pictures of animals on the inte. But today, a cute and adorable creature had appeared in front of him. ¡°Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!¡± The baby dragon seemed to be quite simr to other birds, treating the first creature it saw after hatching from its egg as its parent. In this case, Han-Yeol was the first creature the baby dragon hadid eyes on. Acknowledging him as its parent, it rubbed its body covered in soft ck scales on his face. ¡®Ah¡­ Is it okay for something to be so cute?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was dying inside. It was obvious that the baby dragon was not going to be able to participate inbat, but Han-Yeol did not seem to even care about that one bit. He was more than able to fight alone as he always did, so he was extremely happy over the fact that he had gotten such a cute pet from the monster egg. The biggest thing that he was happy about was¡­ ¡®It¡¯s a dragon, so it should live longer than me, right?¡¯?he thought of a dragon¡¯s lifespan as he looked at it with doting loving eyes. Quite a lot of scientists had theorized that a Hunter¡¯s lifespan was two times longer than a normal person, and almost everyone seemed to agree with this theory. The only disagreement there was over this theory was how much longer a Hunter lived. After all, there were some who argued that it was only one and a half times while some argued that it was five times longer. That was the reason why most Hunters experienced heartbreak raising pets as most of them would outlive their pets. Of course, those who raised turtles would not experience this heartbreak¡­ However, Han-Yeol could rest assured. He was not going to experience such heartbreak as the dragon was the symbol of longevity. He slowly reached for the baby dragon and carefully picked it up with his hands. ¡°Hello.¡± The baby dragon looked Han-Yeol in his eyes and gleefully cried out, ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± ¡®It¡¯s too cute!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly as he rubbed his cheek against the baby dragon¡¯s face. The baby dragon was simply too attractive for Han-Yeol, who loved anything and everything cute. ¡°Let¡¯s live happily ever after for a long, long time,¡± he said. ¡°Kyu!¡±?The baby dragon enthusiastically cried out as if it understood what he had said just now. Chapter 129: The Black Dragon Mavros (1)

Chapter 129: The ck Dragon Mavros (1)

Han-Yeol was at a loss for what to do with the cute baby ck dragon in his hand. He had some knowledge about dogs and cats, but he had no idea how to take care of reptiles or amphibians. To be honest, a reptile could not be considered cute in any way, so Han-Yeol was not interested in them at all. However, the baby ck dragon was an exception as its cuteness left Han-Yeol at aplete loss. ¡°Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!¡±? Eagerly crawling into his embrace, the baby ck dragon seemed to have epted Han-Yeol as its parent. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ What should I name you¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡°Kyu?¡±?The baby ck dragon tilted its head in response. ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s too cute¡­!¡± Han-Yeol eximed before calming himself down and thinking of a name for his new pet. ¡®Hmm¡­ If I name it Toothless, then I could get into trouble over copyrightws, right?¡¯? He could not really remember where he had heard it, but he recalled that someone had already used the name Toothless. He was not a hundred percent sure, but it was always good to stay on the safe side. ¡®It¡¯s actually funny that I¡¯ll think about copyright and stuff when I¡¯m naming my own dragon¡­¡¯? After some thought, Han-Yeol decided to give his pet dragon a cute name. He asked, ¡°Hmm¡­ What do you think of ck Bean?¡± The baby ck dragon suddenly stopped rubbing its face on Han-Yeol¡¯s hand. It growled and hissed at him after hearing the name he hade up with. ¡°Grrrrr¡­! Hiss¡­!¡± ¡°A-Alright, I¡¯ll think of something else. Are you happy?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± The baby ck dragon went back to acting cute after Han-Yeol said that he woulde up with something else. ¡®This dragon is smart¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol realized that a dragon was still a dragon in the end, even if it was young. He ced the baby ck dragon on top of his head before returning to the living room to search online for a cool name. ¡°Oh? This looks good.¡± ¡°Kyu?!¡± Han-Yeol picked up the baby ck dragon that was ying with his hair, brought it in front of his face, and said, ¡°Your name is going to be Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Truth be told, Han-Yeol actually wanted to give the baby dragon a cute Korean name. Unfortunately, the baby ck dragon growled whenever he tried to give it names like Hapi or Koopi. In the end, he was forced to look up the Greek word for ck. ¡°Tsk¡­?I wanted something cute¡­¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros protested as if to say that it did not want a cute name. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± said Han-Yeol as he patted Mavros on the head. Ding! [You have officially entered into a contract with the Mini ck Dragon, Mavros.] [A new stat has been created: Charisma] [A new skill has been created: Taming] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised when a system message popped up right after he had named Mavros. When it appeared to be quite important, he wondered, ¡®I have a rough idea what Charisma does but¡­ What¡¯s Taming?¡¯ [Taming (F)] Type: Active Description: A skill that allows the user to tame a monster they hatched from a monster egg as their pet. The user will be able to tame stronger monsters the higher this skill¡¯s level is. An awakened being is restricted to one pet per person, but the number of pets tamed can be increased the higher one¡¯s Charisma stat is. Lastly, it is possible for the user to give their pet away to someone else. ¡®Wow!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after reading the skill description. He barely managed to stop himself from screaming at the top of his lungs. After all, he did not want to surprise Mavros unnecessarily. Han-Yeol immediately checked Mavros¡¯ stats this time. [Mavros (Mini ck Dragon)] Level: 1 Attribute: Dark, Poison Innate Ability: (SEALED) STR: 10 AGI: 10 VIT: 10 Flying: 10 Flight Speed: 10 Skill: Magic (F) - SEALED There was nothing amazing about Mavros¡¯ stats, but Han-Yeol was unable to resist his cuteness and ced it back on his head. He said, ¡°You are really the best, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Mavros seemed to understand what Han-Yeol had said. He fluttered his wings and shook his tail before raising his head and crying out in delight. Today was the day that Han-Yeol first met Mavros, and he made sure to spend the entire day together with his newfoundpanion. *** The next day, Han-Yeol woke up with Mavros on his bed. He leisurely sat on his bed and stretched when a sudden thought jolted him awake. ¡®Oh right! The gold!¡¯? He just remembered that he had to pay Delchant for the magic scroll, which was not a freebie the demon merchant had donated. In fact, the magic scroll had been an expensive item that cost ten tons of gold. ¡®Hmm¡­ It¡¯s going to be quite tedious if I hunt all of that gold by myself¡­¡¯?he contemted. Han-Yeol was not hesitating due to ack of strength. After all, he could barge into Gold Mine right now and unleash his skills to sweep it clean in an instant. ¡®But that¡¯s going to be too inefficient for me¡­ I can do more if I go hunting at another hunting ground?with?that amount of time¡­¡¯ Gold mines were quite famous before the Dimensional Gates¡¯ appearance. However, the emergence of the extremely useful materials known as the mana stones had phased out whatever value gold held. Gold was harmless to the human body, a good conductor of heat, and resistant to acid. With those characteristics, it was quite valuable. Unfortunately, its value quickly diminished when the mana stones had emerged and it was further diminished when the monsters known as golems had appeared from the Dimensional Gates. As for mana stones, they were much more beautiful than gold and even improved someone¡¯s health when worn on the body. Its color could be adjusted depending on the heat applied to process it. The mana stone was truly a mysterious jewel that practically killed the demand for other precious metals and stones in the market. Gold was still used for various things such as coating, prosthetics, and other things even though it was no longer considered a precious metal. A paper tiger was still a tiger, after all. Saak¡­ Saak¡­ Han-Yeol busily scrolled through the posts on the Huntermunity forum. He had decided to ask someone else to carry out the task on his behalf. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Are there any good parties I can ce a?request for?¡¯ Themunity forums had a section known as the request section. This was where someone would ce a request for others to provide them with a specific monster¡¯s body or an item, and the ones making the requests were usually rich people who wanted to add specific monster parts to their collections. Han-Yeol made a post in that section of themunity forum. [Title: Looking for a party willing to farm ten tons of gold.] [Description: I need ten tons of gold, so I¡¯m looking for a party willing to farm it from the Gold Mine. I don¡¯t need the mana stones. I just need the gold. I will make an initial deposit of one billion won, purchase the gold ording to the current market price, and even pay three billion won for your efforts. In return, I need the ten tons of gold within three weeks. I hope only serious parties will contact me.] [My contact details: 010-XXXX-5678] ¡®This is too easy, hehe,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he plopped down on the sofa with a smile. He was initially worried about when he would be able to gather ten tons of gold. Who would have known that he could simply throw money at his problem and solve it? ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Mavros found everything around him to be interesting as he had only hatched from the monster egg not that long ago. He was currently obsessed with a random doll Han-Yeol had, throwing it down to the floor and wrestling with it. Han-Yeol watched his cute baby ck dragon y with the doll, then called out, ¡°Hey, Mavros! Come here!¡± ¡°Kyuuu!¡± Although he was busy ying with the doll, he immediately responded to Han-Yeol¡¯s call. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol petted the baby ck dragon and thought, ¡®Is it because he¡¯s still a baby? His scales are really soft for a reptile.¡¯ The baby ck dragon¡¯s scales did feel quite strange. He continued petting the baby ck dragon for around ten minutes when his phone suddenly rang. Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­! Ring¡­!? Han-Yeol¡¯s ringtone was still the same monotonous ringing sound. Most people in this day and age would pick a song as their ringtone, but he did not really feel like changing it. Ironically, the current trend was changing again as most people started to prefer using the default ringtone. ¡°Hello?¡± [H-Hello!] The voiceing from the other end of the line sounded like a young boy, but Han-Yeol was not quick to judge the caller from their voice alone. He knew very well how deceiving someone¡¯s voice could be. ¡°Hi, who¡¯s on the line?¡± [Ah, I¡¯m calling after I saw your request on the post. Are you Mavros-nim, by any chance?] ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± Han-Yeol had used an alias when posting the request on the website, and the alias he had used was ¡®Mavros¡¯. [Ah! O-Our raid party would like to do your request. Would you be willing to give us a chance?] ¡°What¡¯s the name of your raid party?¡± This might be quite obvious, but Han-Yeol had no intention of simply epting anyone for his request. He was paying a massive one billion won just to start things up, so he intended to do his due diligence before giving the work to someone. After all, it was going to be quite annoying if they ran off with his money. Having a famous raid party ept his request would be his best-case scenario, but he did not mind anyone as long as they had a good reputation. [Our party¡¯s name is ¡®Shine¡¯ raid party. Are there any issues?] ¡°Shine raid party?¡± [Yes!] ¡®Hmm¡­ Shine¡­ Shine¡­ Shine raid party¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol jogged his memory, trying to remember anything he could about them. He had encountered quite a lot of raid parties when he had been a Porter, and he faintly remembered one with the name Shine. [Uhm¡­ Is there a problem?] ¡°Ah, no. You said you are from the Shine raid party, right?¡± [Yes!] ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll hire you for my request.¡± [Wow! Really?] ¡°Yeah.¡± [Nice! Thank you very much! When would we be able to get the advance payment, by any chance?] ¡°Let¡¯s meet in person and sign an agreement first. I will be sending mywyer once everything is in order.¡± Han-Yeol no longer felt the need to personally go and meet people for these kinds of trivial matters. He just had to hire awyer who would take care of everything for him. With this process, he could save a lot of time. He was currently in the process of realizing his position and starting to act his part. He was no longer the same dirt poor Han-Yeol who had lived paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet. [Okay, I will send you our details then.] ¡°Sure.¡± Beep! Han-Yeol hung up the call and called hiswyer. He had invested one billion won into thew firm that he and Yoo-Bi had used to draft an agreement, the L Law Firm, and he had hired their managing partner, Han Min, to be his personalwyer. L Law Firm had actually been a smallw firm, but they grew rapidly with his investment. Of course, in exchange, Han-Yeol had made sure that he was going to be thew firm¡¯s top priority. He wanted them to support him in any and every matter from then on. On a side note, L Law Firm had originally been known as the H Law Firm, which had been taken after the first initial of Han Min¡¯s surname, but they changed their name to L Law Firm tomemorate Han-Yeol¡¯s investment in them. [Aigoo! Hello, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. Do you have anything you need me to do?] The managing partner of L Law Firm, Han Min, answered the call in an extremely courteous manner. Other people might say that he was being too over the top, but Han-Yeol really liked this part about Han Min. ¡°I¡¯m nning to make a request to a raid party called Shine raid party, and I need you to¡­¡± Han-Yeol proceeded to exin his n to Han Min. [I see¡­ Please don¡¯t worry about it. I am an expert when ites to such matters! I will make sure that everything is in order!] ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± [Hahaha! Please rest assured!] ¡°Then, goodbye.¡± Beep! Han-Yeol finished everything he had to do with a few phone calls, and he resumed ying with his baby ck dragon. Chapter 130: The Black Dragon Mavros (2)

Chapter 130: The ck Dragon Mavros (2)

Han-Yeol stayed home for three days, ying with Mavros to his heart¡¯s content. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Mavros was quite a lively and active baby dragon. He was quite smart as well; he would get teary-eyed and bite Han-Yeol¡¯s pants in an attempt to prevent him from leaving his house. In the end, his efforts paid off with Han-Yeol deciding to stay home for three days andpletely focus on him. ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder if it will be alright to take you outside with me¡­¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± Han-Yeol pondered while looking at Mavros, who tilted his head in confusion at him. Han-Yeol hid some of his abilities. Still, he did not particrly care about what other people thought of him, so he had started broadcasting online for everyone to see some of his abilities. When it came to the baby dragon, however, he was scared of what could happen if Mavros¡¯ existence was exposed to the world. It went without saying that Han-Yeol was not considered strong in South Korea. There were a lot of S Rank Hunters and six Master Rank Hunters as of now, and he had no way to retaliate if any of them decided to pick a fight with him. Mavros¡¯ existence was bound to kick up a frenzy if the world knew of his existence. ¡®Who would have known that a monster could be tamed as a pet? The whole world is going to talk about this for days if word gets out¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol agreed that the ability to tame a monster as a pet was indeed shocking. He had worked for years as a Porter, so he had umted enough information regarding the Hunter industry from an outsider¡¯s point of view. The world had quite a lot of awakened beings, and there were Hunters who had awakened with three abilities but used more skills than that. There was one European Hunter who had awakened as a vampire and possessed three skills, but that Hunter was able to use up to ten skills thanks to their racial traits. Of course, most still considered what the European Vampire Hunter could do to be skills despite them being a little bit different from the skills that most Hunters used. As for most schrs and experts, theybeled those as innate abilities instead of skills. One of the reasons that Han-Yeol did not garner as much attention overseas despite being South Korea¡¯s first-ever Hunter to possess multiple skills was due to that European Vampire Hunter. The Vampire Hunter was world-renowned thanks to being a Master Rank Hunter. However, the even bigger reason that the whole world was paying attention to them was because of their racial trait as a vampire. After all, the racial trait of a vampire bestowed the European Hunter with the innate ability ¡®Contaminate¡¯. Contaminate gave the Vampire Hunter the ability to bite a Hunter¡¯s neck and turn them into vampires with skills equal to their rank. Also, these Hunters would be weak against sunlight once they were converted into vampires. It was just like what mainstream media portrayed. Of course, they did not burn away or disintegrate like seen in the movies, but they suffered the penalty of having their stats and abilities take a massive hit. However, these could be offset as long as they traveled together with the Master Rank Vampire Hunter, who granted them immunity to sunlight and a 120% buff on top of that. The guild that this Master Rank Vampire Hunter ruled wasposed of such Hunters, who had been contaminated and converted into vampires. There were quite a lot of such unique Hunters, so Han-Yeol was considered a slight anomaly but nothing too amazing. To be precise, in the eyes of the world, he was just someone who had gotten lucky and had awakened with a few more skillspared to others. ¡®However, Mavros is a whole different story¡­ The whole world wille after him¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol knew very well that there had been no previous instances of a monster turning into a pet. He looked down at Mavros, who was happily munching on a fresh piece of steak that he had given him. Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!? Han-Yeol had no idea if the baby dragon was aware of his concerns or not. Regardless, he could not help but feel better after seeing the baby dragon¡¯s carefree attitude. Of course, after thinking that he would have to leave the baby dragon at home whenever he had to go out, his head started to hurt once again. ¡®Hmm¡­ I can¡¯t stop broadcasting, and his existence will be made known soon enough¡­ Ah, this isplicated¡­ Tsk¡­ I guess I don¡¯t have a choice but to ask for help.¡¯? He pondered for a while before deciding that he was not going anywhere with this alone. He finally decided to call for help. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­? Han-Yeol called the one ce he thought of, and someone soon answered the call. [Hello?] *** [Is¡­ Is this really a monster pet?] [Yeah, what do you think? It¡¯s cute, right?] [¡­] Han-Yeol had called the Horus raid party for help. Well, to be precise, he had called Mariam. Mariam was the only one Han-Yeol could think of to ask for help in such situations, since he did not have any friendly contacts among the Korean Hunters. With his personality, Han-Yeol only ced 49% of his trust in her, but he truly had no one else to call for help or advice. [Oh, Tayarana is here as well?] [¡­] [???] Han-Yeol had called Mariam directly, because he hadn¡¯t wanted to bother the Leader of the raid party. After all, this matter was totally unrted to hunting monsters. Still, Tayarana had tagged along with Mariam toe to Han-Yeol¡¯s house nheless. Tayarana did not seem to have heard Han-Yeol speaking, because she was fully engrossed in Mavros. [T-Too¡­ Too cute¡­!] [Heh¡­ Right?] Mariam was always stoic, never expressing her emotions easily. However, her eyes turned into hearts the moment sheid eyes on Mavros. Mavros seemed to be quite the charmer, quickly melting the ice-cold heart of Mariam. ¡°Kyu?¡±? However, for some reason, Mariam did not reach out to touch Mavros. As for the baby dragon, he just kept looking back at Mariam curiously. He was interested in the only other human it was meeting after Han-Yeol. ¡®Hehe¡­ Who knew that Mariam could make such faces?¡¯?Han-Yeolughed inwardly. Mariam might be lower ranked than him, but he was always careful when dealing with her due to her rather charismatic and ice-cold demeanor. That was the reason he found her surprisingly cute after seeing her at a loss for what to do with the baby dragon. Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol gently picked up Mavros with both hands and ced him right in front of Mariam¡¯s face. He said, [Here, try holding it. He might be covered in scales, but the scales are quite soft.] ¡°Kyu?¡±?Mavros still curiously stared at Mariam with his big innocent eyes. Seuk¡­ Before Mariam could hold Mavros, Tayarana suddenly made an incredibly fast movement to gently take him away. She then pressed the baby dragon against her chest. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros was shocked by Tayarana¡¯s sudden appearance and movement of snatching him away, but he did not try to run away or attack Tayarana. The baby dragon was just surprised by the sudden movement, but it got used to it soon enough. [So soft¡­] [R-Right?] Han-Yeol was also surprised by Tayarana using her mana to move so quickly and hugging the baby dragon. [Is this child really a monster?] [Yeah, I incubated and hatched the egg I had obtained from the Queen Labyrinth Spider, and then this guy popped out.] [Amazing¡­] [Right? I find it truly amazing too, but I¡¯m concerned about how other people might get obsessed with him if word gets out¡­] [Yeah, I understand your concern.] Tayarana was taken aback by the possessiveness welling up within her. There were not that many instances in her life when she had felt such strong desire. After all, she had grown up having everything handed to her; her parents showered her with love and bought her everything that she asked for. There was no reason for her to feel any possessiveness or greed as she had always been handed everything at a young age. However,plicated feelings were starting to well up from deep within her the moment sheid eyes on Mavros¡­and this greatly surprised her. ¡®This is strange¡­ I want this child so badly¡­¡¯?Tayarana thought. ¡°Kyu?¡± Mavros might have initially been surprised, but it did not take him long topose himself and get used to Tayarana¡¯s touch. [That sounds highly likely. Even Tayarana-nim and I cannot help but love this child, so I can guess just how the other guilds, raid parties, and even the Hunters¡¯ Associations would react. This is an extremely rare chance to open a monster farm, after all.] [Just thinking about it is already scaring me¡­] Thinking of Mavros possibly being treated as aboratory guinea pig somewhere, Han-Yeol grimaced and felt anger rising up within him. Mariam and Han-Yeol continued their discussion, but Tayarana suddenly interrupted them and said, [I want a pet just like this child too.] [H-Huh?] Tayarana looked at Han-Yeol with a very serious gaze. [You were the one who brought this child to life, right? Can¡¯t you make another one then?] [Ah¡­] Han-Yeol pondered after hearing Tayarana¡¯s request. ¡®Technically¡­ I can do it as long as I have a monster egg and that fruit, right?¡¯ He started to think of ways that would make Tayarana happy without having to give Mavros up to her. Meanwhile, he found it quite strange that he could simultaneously think of numerous business ideas whenever he saw an opportunity. It was probably a hidden talent that he was discovering for the first time in twenty-nine years. [Ah, I think it¡¯s possible. I can do it as long as I have the materials I need and the perfect environment for incubation.] [R-Really?] Tayarana stuttered for the first time in her life. She could not help but be extremely happy at the thought of being able to obtain a pet as cute as Mavros. Truly, this was probably the first time that she felt such joy as she had always had everything handed to her. [Yeah, I already know what materials and methods are required to make the egg hatch, and I think I¡¯m the only one who can do it, so¡­ Yeah, I can do it for you.] [H-How much? How much do you want in exchange for doing it for me?] [Hmm?] Han-Yeol was slightly taken aback by Tayarana¡¯s question as he had initially nned to do it for free. Now, he wondered just how much a pet was worth. ¡®I wonder how much a pet would go for¡­? Hmm¡­ How much should I charge for my services?¡¯ Just as Han-Yeol was deep in thought, Tayarana suddenly said, [Mariam.] [Yes, Tayarana-nim?] [How much cash can we use this instant?] [We have about two trillion won in both cash and liquid assets.] [Excellent. Hey, Han-Yeol.] [Hmm?] [The Horus raid party would like to officially request two pets from you. We are willing to pay one trillion won per pet, so the total for two pets would be two trillion won.] [¡­Two trillion won?] [Yes, two trillion won. I think a pet like Mavros is worth a trillion won. That is the value of a monster pet.] ¡®Wow¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was stunned by Tayarana¡¯s deep pockets. Then, he wondered, ¡®Hold on¡­ If word gets out that a monster pet was sold for one trillion won, then people will be aware that they can just buy monster pets instead of attacking me. This will reduce the risks of me being attacked, and I also get to reap a hefty profit!¡¯ Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes shed with a golden light, but heposed himself, ¡®Before that¡­¡¯ [Okay, I ept your request.] [Thank you! Han-Yeol!] Tayarana eximed in delight. She would have grabbed Han-Yeol¡¯s hands by now if she wasn¡¯t busy holding Mavros. [Hmm¡­ I should probably go and get the materials that I need first.] Han-Yeol wanted to just ask the Horus raid party members to go and get the materials, but that was not possible. The Horus raid party members did not possess any item appraisal skills. [Do you need help?] [Ah, I will need some help collecting one of the materials, which is the Queen Labyrinth Spider¡¯s monster eggs. As for the other one, it is quite easy to get, so I can go and get it myself.] [Alright.] Tayarana and Mariam did not immediately leave despite finishing their discussion with Han-Yeol. They were hesitant to part ways with this little creature that was cuter than anything else they had seen in their lives. [Oh right, the monster that will hatch from the monster egg will not exactly be like Mavros. It really depends on how the egg is handled during its incubation period and on the person who infuses mana into it. In short, even I don¡¯t exactly know how it works with my current knowledge.] [It¡¯s alright.] [I am fine with that as well.] Tayarana and Mariam seemed to be fine with whatever the result was going to be, and their eyes just showed their impatience of wanting to get the pets right now. ¡®Haha¡­ These two¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol awkwardly smiled as life had been quite interesting for him these days. In the end, Tayarana and Mariam continued to stay even after their discussion. Looking quite restless as they tried toe up with an excuse to stay longer, they finally smiled when Han-Yeol invited them to stay for dinner. They had dinner and even desserts while enjoying their time with Mavros. They finally went home past midnight, but they still seemed hesitant to part ways with Mavros¡­ They looked at the baby dragon with a longing gaze. It was only after Tayarana and Mariam had gone home that Han-Yeol finally got his turn to hold Mavros. ¡°Sigh¡­?You seem to be quite popr, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± The baby dragon seemed to be happy as long as there was someone to y with him and feed him tasty snacks. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to do anything as long as you grow up strong and happy,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smile while petting the baby dragon. ¡°Kyu?¡± Chapter 131: The Black Dragon Mavros (3)

Chapter 131: The ck Dragon Mavros (3)

The day after Tayarana and Mariam¡¯s visit, Han-Yeol looked at his baby dragon and said, ¡°Hey, Mavros. Let¡¯s go out together.¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros fluttered his wings in delight. Han-Yeol had finally decided to go out with his baby dragon. The deal he had made with the Horus raid party was going to make headlines in a few days, so he did not really feel that there would be any problems exposing his pet to the world just a few days before then. Just as Han-Yeol left his room with Mavros on his head, Albert greeted him and asked, ¡°Good morning. Have you finally decided to go out?¡± Needless to say, Albert was already aware of the baby dragon¡¯s existence. ¡°Good morning, Albert. Yes, Mavros was starting to get restless, so I thought of introducing the outside world to him,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say anything if Han-Yeol-nim has already decided on the matter, but there are bound to be a lot of people who would covet a precious treasure like Mavros-nim.¡± Albert seemed to share simr worries as Han-Yeol previously had. He had worked as a butler his entire life, but he was well aware of just how society worked. He was also quite interested in Hunters these days, so he knew that there were going to be a lot of people trying to steal the baby dragon away the moment his existence was announced to the world. ¡°Haha¡­ I¡¯m worried about that too, but I can¡¯t keep him hidden forever. Also, the Horus raid party promised to help me, so I can say that it won¡¯t be that risky going forward. I will protect Mavros with all of my strength.¡± Kwak! Han-Yeol clenched his fist and steeled his resolve to protect his pet at all costs. He had been traumatized by the death of his previous pet, which had died after just six months, so he was determined to keep his vow this time¡­no matter howplicated the situation would turn out to be. ¡°I am certain that you will be able to protect Mavros-nim.¡± ¡°Thank you, Albert.¡± ¡°Hoho! Not at all. I am the one who should be grateful to you for hiring an old man like me.¡± ¡°An old man like you? You have no idea howfortable my life is thanks to you, Albert.¡± ¡°Hoho!¡± Han-Yeol chatted with Albert a bit more before going to his car garage and cing Mavros in the passenger seat. Recently, he was getting ustomed to throwing money at his problems, but he still didn¡¯t hire a personal chauffeur to drive him around. He personally liked driving and he treated his vehicle as his own personal space, so he did not really feel like giving up the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros excitedly squealed and sniffed the car, feeling excited by the new environment he was in. Vrooom! As Han-Yeol drove the car, Mavros flinched. Then, he clung to the window to look at the outside scenery. ¡°Kyu~~!¡± This was his first time seeing the outside world, so he squealed in delight whenever he saw a car or pedestrian pass by. Han-Yeol felt really good seeing the baby dragon have a good time. He thought, ¡®I guess this is why people raise pets.¡¯ He was quite happy to feel this warm sensation of raising a pet after having forgotten how it felt for a long time. Mavros clung to the window and watched the outside scenery in amazement. However, due to the car windows being heavily tinted, nobody could see him from the outside. Kiiik! ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Han-Yeol parked at an empty parking lot before going into the shop with Mavros on top of his head. Diring! ¡°Wee¡­ Omo! Han-Yeol! How are¡­?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Han-Yeol was visiting the shop that he had started to frequent even after having a poor first experience. The craftsman¡¯s wife greeted Han-Yeol from behind the counter, but she soon stared at him and stopped mid-sentence. ¡°Hello, how have you been?¡± ¡°H-Han-Yeol?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Han-Yeol had gotten quite close with the couple due to his frequent visits. He also felt that the woman came across as a mother, even though she was not as old as his own. He could not really remember what a mother was like, since his own mother had left early in his younger days. However, he thought that this was probably how a mother would be like. Of course, he did not think of her as his mother or anything. He only thought of her as a mother-like figure because she always treated him in quite a nice and warm manner. He also knew very well, after having met the couple quite often, that they were not simply treating him well just because he was a customer. ¡°Y-Your¡­ On top of your head¡­ M-Monster¡­!¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Han-Yeol gently picked up Mavros, who wasfortably lying on top of his head, and showed him to the woman. He then exined to the baby dragon, ¡°Mavros, say hello. This is the owner of this shop that I frequent.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros smiled brightly after seemingly understanding what Han-Yeol had said. ¡°W-Wow! Amazing! Are you perhaps raising that monster?!¡± ¡°Haha, yes. I was lucky and got my hands on a monster egg. I took care of the egg and ended up hatching it to reveal this little guy. It thinks of me as its parent, so it keeps following me around.¡± ¡°That is really amazing!¡± The woman was always behind the counter whenever Han-Yeol visited, but she came out from behind the counter for the first time just to get a closer look at Mavros. However, she was conscious of the fact that the baby dragon was still a monster, so she looked a bit hesitant to touch him. Han-Yeol could not me the woman for being careful. Anybody living in this day and age would harbor the same fear toward monsters, after all. He ced Mavros back on top of his head and said, ¡°I want to purchase a proper sword this time.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m curious how deep the pockets of you up-and-rising celebrities these days can be.¡± ¡°Err¡­ That¡¯s a bit burdensome¡­¡± Both of them bantered like they usually did. ¡°So, how much is your budget for the sword?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol pondered for a while. He originally wanted to order a sword that was worth roughly one hundred billion won. However, he was now hesitating since two trillion won was suddenlying into his ount. ¡®I think it¡¯s better if I use a good sword¡­¡¯?he decided that using a good weapon was always going to be the better option as long as he could afford it. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m thinking of a maximum budget of one trillion won,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°W-W-What? ONE TRILLION?!¡± the shopkeeper eximed in shock. She had been running this shop for nearly twenty years with her husband, but this was her first time hearing of such a huge amount being uttered by someone. The Dwarf¡¯s Workshop was the best workshop in this area, so they received various requests with various budgets. However, this truly was the first time that they had received a request with such an absurd budget. After all, there were not that many people in South Korea who could afford to splurge one trillion won on a sword. ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s better not to skimp on the cost as long as I can afford it,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, but I have no idea if it¡¯s even possible to make a sword that expensive. Our supply of monster parts has been dwindling these days, so¡­¡± the shopkeeper said. One of the workshop¡¯s main concerns was the quality of the monster parts they were being supplied. The sudden emergence of the Dimensional Gates had sowed discord in society, and that affected the supply chain that they regrly dealt with as well. Also, the parts from the many monsters that had emerged from the dimensional holes were still under study. Needless to say, there were not that many monster parts avable in the market as of now. ¡°Hmm¡­ Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He had been concerned that something like this could happen after the recent events, and it turned out that his concern was proven to be valid after hearing of the plight of the Dwarf''s Workshop. One might think that Han-Yeol could simply go and procure the materials he needed, but there were numerous steps and various technologies involved to be able to process the monster parts and make them usable for crafting. That was also the reason why the processing of monster parts was a huge industry in this day and age. It was true that none of the monster parts could be used without undergoing this process. In short, there was no way that the workshop was going to be able to craft a sword worth one trillion won or even more if the current supply chain was facing issues, and this was not going to change no matter how much money Han-Yeol had. In addition, no material in South Korea was valuable enough to allow the workshop to craft a sword worth that much. It might be a different story if a talon of the legendary monster found in China, the Kirin, was used, but there were no such monsters that had been discovered in South Korea. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but my husband has been stressed outtely. He started drinking quite frequently because of the shortage of materials.¡± Han-Yeol somewhat understood the plight of the Dwarf¡¯s Workshop. He asked, ¡°What if you deal with another supplier?¡± ¡°We would love to, but most factories already have a workshop that they deal with, so¡­¡± Most workshops dealt exclusively with factories to ensure the quality of their goods, and the factories would usually sign an exclusive agreement with the workshops. The factories might be able to reap more profits if they dealt with numerous workshops, but those factories would usually get the shorter end of the stick in those cases. So, almost every factory in the country preferred to do business on a long-term basis. ¡°I frequently deal with this factory called Sung Jin Factory. They¡¯re good enough that they managed tond the Horus raid party in an exclusive deal. I think they haven¡¯t signed with any workshops in the country, as far as I know¡­¡± ¡°Omo, really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s surprising. Why wouldn¡¯t they have a partner workshop if they¡¯re good enough tond the Horus raid party¡­?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure they have their reasons,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He didn¡¯t think that he had to exin the details. He thought to himself, ¡®Because they fought with the TK Group¡­¡¯ ¡°Thank you for the information. We will try to look into that factory and see what we can do. I¡¯ll also let you know if we manage to procure the materials we need from them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be grateful if you could do that for me.¡± Unfortunately, Han-Yeol was not able to fulfill his reason foring here today. ¡®I think I¡¯ll need a material that has never been seen before in this country to create a new powerful sword¡­¡¯?he started to ponder if he should travel overseas or not. South Korea was a small country. Hunters usually found it more advantageous to hunt in arge country as there were a wider variety of monsters that one could hunt. India and Indonesia were good examples, but a better alternative was definitely going to be African countries. ¡®I could seek assistance from the Horus raid party if I decide to go to an African country¡­ Let¡¯s lean toward that for now.¡¯? Han-Yeol decided to ponder over it a bit more, but he was already certain of one thing. In short, he could no longer just stay in South Korea alone; he had to start hunting monsters on foreign soil as well. *** At the foot of Mouth Sokri in Sangju, Gyeongsangbukdo. ¡°Rakuracha! Kurara! Rara!¡± The monsters that had appeared from the dimensional rift across Gyeonggi, Chungbuk, Gangwon, and Seoul had been taken care of by the one thousand demons Han-Yeol had summoned. However, the ces further away from Seoul only had the cities cleaned up, so the monsters that had appeared in the rural areas were starting to adapt to their new environment and solidified it as their new habitat. One such case was Mount Sokri. The first Hunter who discovered the monsters here had named them the ¡®Marowak Tribe¡¯. These monsters that resembled orangutans had brown skin and long arms, and they carried a bone and wore an unidentified monster¡¯s skull on their head. The first discoverer had named them without much thought, but the name suited them very well. Also, this monster was a very aggressive one. Chwaaaaak! ¡°Ki¡­ Kieeek!¡± That was also the reason they rushed at Han-Yeol the moment they saw him, but Han-Yeol nonchntly cut the one right at the front across its chest. Whiish¡­ Puuuk! ¡°Ke¡­ Keok¡­!¡± Then, Han-Yeol switched his grip and swung his sword down to cut through both the skull that the monster was wearing and its actual skull. ¡°Phew¡­?It¡¯s really tough,¡± Han-Yeolmented in amazement. The Marowaks were not that strong individually, but they usually moved in groups of ten. However, the thing that made them quite tricky to deal with was the fact that their groups usually resembled a well-bnced party. These Marowaks formed a groupposed of a warrior, magician, archer, and etc., just like how Hunters formed parties. They were quite tricky to deal with for the average Hunters, but Han-Yeol easily cut them down one by one with various skillbinations. After all, he was now much stronger thanks to the training Astaroth had made him go through. Whiish¡­ Shwiiiik! Tak! Han-Yeol sheathed his sword after making quick work of the ten Marowaks. He quickly told the Porters, ¡°Alright, the monsters are dead. Please go ahead and do your work.¡± ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± The Porters immediately moved after being given the signal. They started to dismember the Marowaks. Yoo-Bi would have tagged along like usual andmanded the Porters, but she did not join this hunt. After all, she was now an awakened being who specialized in mechanical crafting. ¡®It¡¯s more important for her to realize her potential and build up an understanding of her skills,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol had decided to hire Managers and Porters since there were numerous people who could do this kind of work. Yoo-Bi was indeed an excellent Manager and Porter, but that was only the case when she had been a normal person like everyone else. In short, her newfound abilities as an awakened being were going to be wasted if she continued doing menial work that everyone else could do. Chapter 132: The Black Dragon Mavros (4)

Chapter 132: The ck Dragon Mavros (4)

Han-Yeol knew that the abilities Yoo-Bi had awakened with were quite promising. A nonbat awakened being was not that highly valued, but those who awakened with abilities specializing in crafting gears were highly valued in the industry. The awakened beings with crafting abilities did not have any problems making a living even if they had awakened with the ability to craft normal equipment. This was all thanks to the number of low-ranked Hunters being far greater than the number of high-ranked Hunters, and all they had to do was rely on quantity over quality to make a living. On the other hand, the awakened beings who had the ability to craft powerful gears, like the owner of the Dwarf¡¯s Workshop, would stand to make a fortune simply by crafting custom-made equipment for high-ranking Hunters. In short, those who had awakened with crafting abilities were able to earn a lot of money. The former who usually mass-produced equipment and supplied them to the Hunter Mall or other outlets would earn money in that way, and thetter would earn by dealing directly with a Hunter. Thud¡­! Han-Yeol sat on arge boulder. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out. The baby dragon, who had been quiet the entire time, suddenly smiled brightly and rubbed itself on Han-Yeol. It came bounding over once the battle ended. ¡°You must be bored, right?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Without the possession of anybat abilities, the baby dragon unfortunately had to stay back and watch while Han-Yeol fought the entire time. Funnily enough, he appeared to be unhappy about the fact that Han-Yeol could ¡®y¡¯ with other monsters. Still, he would immediately run toward Han-Yeol and bury himself on his chest whenever the battles ended. Mavros was happy whenever the battle ended, because he could then be close to Han-Yeol again. As for some other people, they were greatly saddened whenever the battles came to an end. ¡°Hiing¡­?Mavros is so mean¡­ He eats everything we give him, but he will run to Han-Yeol Hunter-nim whenever he gets the chance¡­¡± ¡°What can you do about it? I heard Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is the one who hatched Mavros, so we are just people who feed him while Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is someone he longs for.¡± ¡°Hiiing!¡± The Mn film crew¡¯s youngest member pouted in disappointment despite her senior¡¯s attempt to console her. Mavros, armed with his out-of-this-world cuteness, was able to charm not only Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mariam, but anyone who came across him. Han-Yeol spent his time hunting down the Marowak Tribe. Ziiing! Whiiiing! The new Porters Han-Yeol had hired were hard at work, dismembering the Marowaks¡¯ corpses. ¡®It¡¯s really not easy to hire good Porters these days¡­¡¯?he thought. He threw money at all of his problems these days to save time and effort, but he had personally interviewed the candidates who applied to be his Porter. Through a personal interview, he could immediately determine if the Porter was a good one or not thanks to his previous experience of having worked as a Porter himself. Han-Yeol greatly empathized with what he had heard from Sung-Jin recently. The number of applicants on the websites where Porters usually looked for jobs had dropped by more than halfpared to just a few years back. ¡®The number of monsters is on the rise while the number of Porters is declining¡­ This is bad¡­¡¯? There was nothing Han-Yeol could do about this social issue. He had a solution that he could rely on, which was to simply borrow the Porters affiliated with the Horus raid party whenever he wanted. However, he was still concerned about the social issues at hand as its copse was going to affect him, his father, and the people around him, and that was a situation he was unwilling to witness. ¡®However¡­ Is there something I can do about it¡­?¡¯?he wondered. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol was stroking Mavros¡¯ head while deep in thought. ¡°Kyu¡­¡±?Mavros let out a small dejected cry as if he understood his owner¡¯s concerns. ¡®This ispletely different from what happened to North Korea. It¡¯s going to be impossible to fend off the monsters if we stop producing Hunters and our numbers decler on,¡¯?he thought. Most people thought that the monsters would not be a concern as long as they did not enter the hunting grounds. However, that was a huge misconception that hade about due to thecency of today¡¯s society. The energy barrier preventing the monsters from leaving the hunting grounds was bound to be overwhelmed if nobody reduced the monsters¡¯ numbers from time to time, and this was the reason that most countries focused on increasing their Hunter poption. However, the South Korean government was foolish enough to enactws limiting the number of Hunters. They argued that a reduction of normal people was going to cause the copse of society, and that was the main reason why the country was facing this current predicament. ¡®I really hope that the government will wake up and start making the necessary changes¡­¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he gritted his teeth. The presidential scandal that had happened twenty years ago had dealt a huge blow to South Korean politics, and the government still hadn¡¯t recovered even though two whole decades had passed. ¡®We¡¯re at a crucial time, but there¡¯s no news of them trying to make any changes. Hell, there¡¯s not a single media outlet reporting on what¡¯s going on right now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought in frustration. In the end, the only thing he could do was sincerely hope that his country¡¯s government would finally wake up and start making progress from now on. It was then. Beep! ¡°Hunter-nim! Twenty Marowaks have been spotted one kilometer east of here.¡± ¡°Okay, Roger that.¡± Han-Yeol decided to set aside his concerns for now. Besides, the only thing he could do for his country was to vote responsibly and do his best to subjugate the hunting grounds. Han-Yeol was the type that would ughter a lot of monsters whenever he hunted, so he was quite good at reducing the number of monsters in the hunting grounds. ¡°Heave-ho!?Alright, shall we go on a rampage again?¡± Han-Yeol jumped down from the boulder. He enjoyed fighting monsters. Initially, he had been quite scared of possibly dying in the process, and getting blood on his hands hadn¡¯t been something he had beenfortable with. They might be monsters, but he had still seen them as living creatures in the end, so his heart had been riddled with guilt whenever he killed one. However, he waspletely different now. He did not feel even a sliver of guilt whenever he killed monsters, and he was no longer scared to die or reluctant to get blood on his hands. The only thing that mattered to him now was the rush of endorphin and adrenaline he got whenever he fought to the death against monsters¡­ He really enjoyed this feeling. ¡®Sometimes¡­ I can¡¯t help but suspect that I¡¯m an adrenaline junkie addicted tobat¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol shook his head. Wooooong! When his mana started to react to the iing battle, he thought, ¡®See? My mana is already acting up at the thought of fighting those monsters.¡¯ Han-Yeol could not help butugh at his current self. [Wow! I¡¯m an avid viewer of Level Up Broadcast and a huge fan of Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, but it really feels like he has something new prepared for every broadcast. I wonder just how far he will continue to grow from now on¡­?] [Yeah, the other channels feel mundane and boring these days, but it¡¯s different for Han-Yeol¡¯s channel. He always hunts in different hunting grounds, and seeing him grow is quite entertaining!] [His channel is really the best! It¡¯s so shy and extravagant!] [shy and extravagant aside, he is quite strong.] [Ah¡­ But where is our Yoo-Bi-chan?!] [YOO-BI!] [Shut up, you otakus!] [This is a Hunter channel! Go watch those female streamers if you¡¯re looking for women!] [Yeah! Get lost!] There was a squabble in the chat room, but this was quite a normal urrence. Han-Yeol was now a famous streamer who had a lot of subscribers, so there was bound to be some confusion when his main MC had suddenly stopped appearing. However, that did not deter people froming to watch his channel. ¡®I should probably tell Han-Yeol Hunter-nim to hire a new MC,¡¯?thought Soo-In as she wrote down in her memo while monitoring the chat room. Yoo-Bi had been doing quite well as the MC, so her sudden absence from the channel had sort of changed the channel¡¯s overall feel. There were a lot of people who supported Han-Yeol and solely came to the channel to watch him in action, but there were still a lot of people whoined that the show was not as lively as it used to be without Yoo-Bi. ¡®We?could easily hire a celebrity to host the channel with his wealth¡­ I¡¯m sure we can get a famous idol to do it,¡¯?Soo-In thought as she scribbled her thoughts on her memo. There were quite a lot of B Grade idols these days who had shifted to hosting channels run by Hunters instead of performing in low-paying concerts, and most Hunters liked the idea of having these celebrities in front of the cameras. This was because they attracted a lot of male viewers who would donate to the channel to get their attention. ¡®We?can kill two birds with one stone if we spend a bit on the idol, who will be more active in hosting. Our viewers will then open their wallets for her.¡¯?Soo-In steeled her resolve to convince Han-Yeol to invest in a celebrity MC. Why? ¡®One percent of the profits! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I shouldn¡¯t pass on!¡¯?she clenched her fist in determination. The Mn film crew had renewed their contract with Han-Yeol. Their new contract was going tost for three years, with their pay doublingpared to before. Also, Han-Yeol had added a use where one percent of the profits were going to be the Mn film crew members¡¯ bonus. Most people would say that he was being stingy by only giving them one percent, but anyone who dared to say that would instantly shut up once they learned that the one percent in itself was a huge sum of money. All they had to do was consider the fact that the Level Up Broadcast channel was raking in twenty-two billion won a month. [Forget about that! The big news is that thing!] [That¡¯s definitely going to rile up foreigners as well!] [No, the whole world is going to go crazy once they hear about this!] [Did anyone imagine that this was going to be possible¡­?] The chat room had calmed down a bit. However, when Mavros had first been captured by the camera a while ago, it had truly been utter chaos. [I still can¡¯t believe this is real¡­ Isn¡¯t that just CG animation¡­?] [Y-Yeah! It doesn¡¯t make sense that a Hunter can tame a monster!] [Aaaah! It¡¯s so cute!] [Please take me! I love you Mavros-nim!] [That¡¯s forbidden love! Shut up!] The female viewers were in an uproar after being charmed by Mavros¡¯ cuteness. The baby dragon was so popr among viewers that the Mn crew had to dedicate one camera for him alone so that the V Ticket holders could watch him and him alone. In fact, the Mn film crew checked on their server that the number of viewers who had tuned in to the baby dragon¡¯s dedicated camera numbered more than one thousand five hundred. ¡®Well, Mavros is quite the charming creature.¡¯?Soo-In understood why the baby dragon was so famous among viewers, and she was already nning various content using Mavros. She clenched her fist once again and thought, ¡®I will definitely turn this channel into the Top Korean Channel!¡¯ Soo-In had a secret grand ambition of turning Han-Yeol¡¯s channel into the nation¡¯s top Hunter channel. She did not tell anyone about this ambition of hers. Chwak! Han-Yeol cut a Marowak¡¯s head off of its shoulders with his sword. ¡°Kwak! Kwak!¡± The Marowak Warriors encircled Han-Yeol and tried to threaten him by barking loudly, but they failed to instill any sense of suspense in both Han-Yeol and the viewers watching. The reason was that both Han-Yeol and the viewers now knew, through countless battles, that the Marowaks were not a difficult opponent for him. Seuk¡­! Han-Yeol fixed his grip on his sword and infused mana into it. Tak! Then, he kicked off the ground and charged at the Marowaks. *** The inte was in an uproar after Han-Yeol finished his five-day hunt schedule thanks to the official statement that had been published by the Horus raid party. [It has been revealed that the first Korean Hunter to possess multiple skills, Lee Han-Yeol, also has the ability to tame monsters as pets. The Horus raid party¡¯s Tayarana has paid Lee Han-Yeol two trillion won to procure two monster pets.] There were thousands ofments on every news article regarding the matter. [Wow¡­] [Just how many more surprises does he have in store for us?] [Does this even make sense¡­?] [T-Then¡­ Han-Yeol Hunter is turning that pet system we see in games into reality?!] [I saw on another news article that other Hunters won¡¯t be able to replicate what he does. He is the only one who can tame monsters! Isn¡¯t this a monopoly for him?!] [A-Amazing!] [The whole world will be moring for these pets, but he is the only one who can do it?!] [Don¡¯t forget! The Horus raid party has already set the price tag! One trillion won per pet! ONE TRILLION!] [This is insane! He will make one hundred trillion won just by selling one hundred pets!] [It¡¯s one trillion won for now, but who knows how much higher it will go?!] [Crazy! The world is going crazy!] A familiar scene of a wave of reporters waiting in front of the Horus raid party¡¯s mansion after they had published their official statement appeared once again. The only difference this time was the fact that there were reporters from major foreign news outlets as well. The news of a Hunter being able to tame monsters was so groundbreaking that foreign media and foreign governments could not help but pay attention, even if the news were in another country. [We garnered much more attention than we thought it would,] Tayarana said while looking out the window. [Haha, I guess you¡¯re right. This is quite burdensome if you ask me.] Han-Yeol awkwardly scratched his head in response. He had anticipated that the news was going to garner quite a bit of attention, but he never imagined that it was going to be this much. In fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that there were probably thousands of journalists flocking to South Korea right now just because of this single piece of news. Every news outlet broadcasted the scene live, and rows and rows of cameras and reporters could be seen on TV. ¡®Phew¡­ People might think the dead came back to life or something¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [Lift your head, Han-Yeol. There¡¯s no reason for you to feel burdened. The title of the Horus raid party¡¯s Vice Leader is going to be wasted on you if you feel burdened by something like this. You are a Hunter who possesses one of the best abilities in the world.] Tayarana encouraged Han-Yeol, after seeing him feel a bit nervous and overwhelmed by the whole thing. [Haha, do you think so?] [Yes.] Han-Yeol scratched his head in embarrassment. Then, Mariam chimed in. [Tayarana-nim is correct. Han-Yeol Hunter-nim has destroyed whatever theory and knowledge the world has of Hunters, and you have done it again by sessfully taming monsters as pets. That in itself is already quite the achievement as most people would struggle to do it even once in their lifetime.] [D-Destroyed¡­?] Han-Yeol could not help but feel even more overwhelmed after the two beauties showered him with praises¡­in their own ways. Chapter 133: The Black Dragon Mavros (5)

Chapter 133: The ck Dragon Mavros (5)

Standing in front of the reporters, Han-Yeol lookedpletely different from the nervous self he had been a while ago. Mariam emerged alongside him. Tayarana was also supposed to make an appearance, but they had decided not to go to that extent. After all, the Horus raid party and their country Egypt had their reputation to uphold. ¡°Hello. I am Lee Han-Yeol, the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party,¡± Han-Yeol greeted the reporters. sh! sh! sh! sh! sh!? The reporters busily took many photographs with their cameras as soon as Han-Yeol spoke, and the shes from their cameras were far more blinding than any skill a Hunter could use. Both Han-Yeol and Mariam were not wearing sunsses, but their pride as Hunters did not allow them to grimace even a bit in front of the parade of camera shes. If they even squinted due to the shes, they would be ashamed to call themselves Veteran Hunters. Han-Yeol and Mariam took their seats after briefly greeting the reporters present for the press conference. An Egyptian Hunter of the Horus raid party who was fluent in Korean hosted the press conference. ¡°We will now start the press conference of Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. I wish to remind the reporters who are present today to be mindful and maintain order. Anyone who wishes to speak or ask questions will be required to raise their hand, be given the chance to speak, and then ask whatever they wish. You will only be entitled to one question per turn, and the press conference willst for an hour.¡± It was exactly after the Egyptian Hunter finished speaking that all of the reporters simultaneously raised their hands. Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk!? ¡®W-What the hell is wrong with their eyes¡­?¡¯?The Egyptian Hunter was taken aback after seeing the reporters¡¯ fiery eyes, and this was the first time after awakening that he felt fear toward ordinary people. The reporters¡¯ eyes were filled with a hostility that seemed to threaten to butcher him to pieces if he did not give them their turn. However, there was no way that he could let all of the reporters speak, so he decided to give the first chance to ask a question to the reporter in the front row. ¡°The reporter at the front,¡± he said. ¡°Thank you. Hello, my name is Sung Yoo-Ra, and I am with JBY Media.¡± Most amateur reporters would have already stuttered and made a mistake, but the reporter seemed to be a veteran judging by how she was able to speak confidently. Well, the fact that she was able to get front-row seats at the press conference was probably a testament to her experience. ¡°I would like to congratte you, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, before I ask my question,¡± she said. ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a nod. ¡°I am certain that not only us journalists but everyone else tuning into this press conference is wondering how your monster-taming skill works. How does it work, and did you possess this skill all along?¡± she asked. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± the Egyptian Hunter immediately tried to cut her off as the question was quite a sensitive one. However¡­ ¡°Ah, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s a bit surprising that a reporter would ask two questions in a single turn from the get-go, but I¡¯ll let it slide just this once since the question isn¡¯t that difficult to answer,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Hahaha!¡± the reporters burst out intoughter at Han-Yeol¡¯s witty remarks. Anyone else who asked such a question and had been put under the spotlight was bound to feel embarrassed, but Sung Yoo-Ra was not a normal woman who would get flustered by something like this. In fact, she triumphantly smirked after Han-Yeol had said that he was going to answer both of her questions. ¡°Taming monsters is quite simple. You will find monster eggs on hunting grounds. Most of these eggs are unfertilized, but you can fertilize them bybining them with another material found on the hunting grounds. Then, you can make a monster hatch out of the monster egg by taking care of it and infusing mana into it, but even I have no idea what kind of monster is going to hatch from it. ¡°The monster will think of me as its master after hatching since it will hatch from my mana, but I have a skill that allows me to give it to someone else. Then, the monster will acknowledge that person as its new master,¡± Han-Yeol gave a lengthy exnation. The reporters nodded in understanding and started to busily type away on theirptops. Nobody suspected or was skeptical of anything Han-Yeol said as he was the first person in the world to seed in taming a monster. Instead, everyone focused on not missing a single word he said. ¡°Oh, for your other question, I only recently obtained this skill,¡± Han-Yeol suddenly added. All of the reporters simultaneously stopped typing, froze, and looked up at Han-Yeol after hearing what he had said just now. What Han-Yeol had just said was basically no different from dousing gasoline onto the reporters¡¯ curiosity. Right now, there was only one reaction a reporter could give due to their curiosity. Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk!? ¡°P-Please!¡± ¡°P-Pick me!¡± ¡°No! Please pick me!¡± Some of the reporterspletely disregarded the press conference rules after getting worked up, and it went without saying that those reporters were not picked by the host. Meanwhile, the reporter who had asked the first question, Yoo-Ra, looked quite disgruntled. ¡®Damn it¡­ I risked breaking the rules to grab attention, but he managed to stir up an even bigger issue! Nobody even remembers me now!¡¯? Feeling extremely annoyed, she ended up raising her hand for the second time. She had done so despite being aware that it was against the rules. ¡®Greedy bitch.¡¯ ¡®That damn bitch¡­¡¯ The other reporters around Yoo-Ra cussed her under their breaths. Sung Yoo-Ra was an infamous journalist who not only wrote all sorts of nasty articles but even kicked up a fuss at press conferences if she did not have her way. It was unknown if her time as a journalist had caused her to be like this or if she just had a bad personality, but she was someone who most journalists avoided. The ones who tolerated her were her juniors, who were forced to tolerate her due to their lower positions in thepany hierarchy. It went without saying that the host picked someone else this time, and the chosen reporter was on the second row. The reporter had his hand calmly raised and did not utter a word while waiting to be called. ¡°The reporter wearing a gray suit on the second row. Please ask your question,¡± the host said. ¡°Thank you. My name is Kim Han-Su, and I am with NBS. You just mentioned that you recently acquired your skill. As far as I am aware, most Hunters awakened with three or fewer skills, and the number of skills they awakened with will stay the same forever. If what you said a while ago is true, then does that mean that it is possible for you to acquire skills even after awakening?¡± the reporter asked. The reporter this time had asked his question in a mannerpletely different from how Sung Yoo-Ra had asked hers a while ago. He had gone straight to the point. Han-Yeol smiled after hearing the reporter¡¯s straightforward question. He nodded and grabbed the microphone to say, ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± Murmur¡­! Murmur¡­! Murmur¡­! Murmur¡­! Murmur¡­!? He had dropped a bombshell. [W-What did he say just now?] [Did he just admit that it¡¯s possible for him to learn skills after awakening¡­?] [Wow¡­] [I thought he possessed more skills than other Hunters, but he¡¯s able to obtain new skills after awakening¡­?] [Amazing¡­ Isn¡¯t that cheating¡­?] [Huh? Then those raid parties that tried to y smart with him when he had auctioned his services look like fools now, no?] [Kekeke! Serves them right!] [Idiots. Keke!] [What can I say? Our politicians and high-ranking Hunters are truly birds of the same feather.] [Sigh¡­ That¡¯s quite the frustrating thing to hear¡­] The press conference was being live-streamed to the whole world right now, and staffers from every TV outlet, both major and minor, were present here today. Of course, even Han-Yeol¡¯s personal channel was live-streaming this event as well, and they had a tremendous number of viewers as they upied the best spot in the room. Their cameras were close to the stage, while other cameras had to be quite a distance away. The chat room was in an uproar once again after someone had brought up the raid parties that had tried to collude and bring Han-Yeol¡¯s value down. Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk!? All of the reporters in the room raised their hands once again. Sung Yoo-Ra raised her hand for the third time. As for the reporter who had asked the question a while ago, Kim Han-Su, he kept his hand down. Instead, he started to busily type away at hisptop to write an article on the spot. His heart was pounding right now. Instinctively, he knew something. ¡®An exclusive! This is definitely going to be a hit!¡¯? He had been feeling quite frustrated these days as there hadn¡¯t been many newsworthy stories about Hunters, but he was certain that this news of Han-Yeol was definitely going to be a hit. ¡®Bonus! Promotion!¡¯?he screamed inwardly as he typed away at hisptop with fervor. After all, he was definitely going to need either one of those if he wanted his wife to stop nagging. ¡°Will you be able to show us a monster you¡¯ve sessfully tamed?¡± the next reporter asked. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol rubbed his chin and muttered. ¡®Should I show Mavros to the world¡­?¡¯?he pondered. It was quite a dilemma. He did not see any problem with it as Mavros had already appeared on his channel, but he was concerned that Mavros was not going to like being at the center of attention in a ce so crowded. Also, there was a part of him that was hesitant to openly expose his pet to the world. Just as Han-Yeol was stuck in a dilemma, Mariam used her ability and transmitted a message to the host. Wooong¡­ [Pass this question. Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is notfortable with it.] The Egyptian Hunter nodded in response and spoke into the microphone. ¡°I apologize, but the monster that has recently hatched is less than a week old, so we are not sure what could happen with so many people around. Therefore, we will not be able to show the monster due to safety concerns.¡± Han-Yeol nodded in agreement as he was thinking along the same lines. He was fine with showing Mavros on his channel as hispanion, but the idea of showing him in front of all of these reporters like he was some sort ofb specimen did not sit well with him. No, he actually felt angry at the idea of it. The reporters were disgruntled after the host had blocked the question, but they could notin when Han-Yeol nodded in agreement to the decision. However, all of them shared the same thought, ¡®Tsk¡­ Such a shame¡­ It was going to be even more amazing if we got a picture of that monster¡­¡¯ The press conference was on fire thanks to the bombshell Han-Yeol had dropped, but once the hour that he had set was over, he got up and left without any hesitation. Then, the host announced, ¡°That will conclude our press conference.¡± ¡°W-Wait a minute!¡± ¡°Just a bit more! Continue just a bit more!¡± ¡°H-Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± The reporters were not able to ask everything they had wanted to ask, because they had to abide by the rules in such a short period of time. All of them screamed at the top of their lungs like a bunch of chicks asking for a worm, but their desperate pleas fell on deaf ears as Han-Yeol ignored them. Some of the reporters even tried to go after him, but they were immediately blocked by the security staffers. ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°What a stingy guy! Will it kill him to answer a few more questions?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he being too much?!¡± The reporters started to outwardly express their discontent, but that was the only thing they could do. They cursed Han-Yeol and the Horus raid party for not answering any further questions before immediately taking out theirptops and calling their news desk to inform them of this hit piece. It had been quite a while since South Korea had any internationally-worthy piece of news, and it seemed that this piece of news was going to keep giving them headline after headline from now on. [Thank you for your hard work, Han-Yeol-nim.] [I didn¡¯t do much. Besides, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to go through that without you by my side, Mariam.] [I am embarrassed to hear such praises when I did not do anything to deserve them.] [There¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about.] Speaking the truth, Han-Yeol knew that he had only been able to get out of those sticky situations thanks to Mariam, who had reacted ordingly with her ability. Of course, there was no way he would have known what exactly she had done, but his sensitive senses had picked up on the movements of her mana whenever he had been faced with a tricky question. He had been able to feel her mana as he knew how to use telepathy himself. Han-Yeol and Mariam were weed back to the Horus raid party¡¯s mansion by Tayarana. [Great work.] [Thanks, Tara. I seem to only trouble you these days.] [Not at all. It¡¯s only right to help since you are one of us.] [Haha, is that how it goes?] [Yes.] Just as the three of them were leisurely chatting while on the way to the meeting room, an Egyptian Hunter rushed after them and shouted, [Tayarana-nim!] [What is it?] [Heok¡­ Heok¡­!?His Excellency Phaophator is on the way here!] [F-Father is on the way here?] [Y-Yes! I just received the news and rushed over here as fast as I could.] Tayarana grimaced. [Why would Father suddenly visit?] What kind of person was President Phaophator in Egypt? He was the mastermind behind turning the Egypt which had been on the brink of destruction after the Dimensional Gates had appeared into a powerhouse that proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with other developed countries. He had done so with his leadership and wisdom. He was not done with his work yet as he was rapidly developing Egypt to grow stronger and stronger. Not to mention, he also proved himself to be a true leader by abolishing various discriminatory barriers and stabilizing the nation that had been on the brink of civil war with his political craftiness. In fact, he had achieved all of this without shedding a single drop of blood. He was the living legend of Egypt who had brought the entire continent of Africa under his country¡¯s feet. Phaophator was also Egypt¡¯s one and only Ra Rank Hunter, which was the rank that Egypt used to describe a Master Rank Hunter. In short, the man was worshiped as the country¡¯s modern-day pharaoh. But for someone like him to suddenlye to South Korea unannounced? That was more than enough to cause all of the Egyptian Hunters to panic and even Mariam to nearly faint from surprise. 1. Ra is the Sun God of Egypt, hence their decision to use it as the name of a hunter''s rank. Chapter 134: Egypt’s Might (1)

Chapter 134: Egypt¡¯s Might (1)

Thanks to that, the Egyptian Hunters were in an uproar instead of Han-Yeol this time. To Han-Yeol, the Phaophator was just another president from a faraway country. However, this was not the case for the Horus raid party members, who had to make preparations to receive the highest-ranking person in their country. An army base was going to be turned upside down if a divisionmander made a surprise visit, but the oneing right now was none other than the President who was revered as a god? It was going to be disastrous if the Egyptian Hunters slipped up during the surprise visit. [Hurry and clean up every single trash, dust, and rock you see around the mansion!] Mariam¡¯s sensitivity index was already at its maximum. Her eyes were as sharp as a falcon right now as she was dead set on not missing a single thing. [What¡¯s that?!] [I-I apologize!] [Wipe the dust off of the artworks!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] [What are you doing?! Check the ingredients in the pantry! Go over the recipe to serve His Excellency!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] [Tell all the chefs to drop what they¡¯re doing and focus on preparing the best meal for His Excellency!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] [And what¡¯s that hideous-looking statue over there?!] ¡®W¡­ Wow¡­ I knew Mariam could be scary, but I never knew she could be this scary¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while watching the Horus raid party members run around at Mariam¡¯smand. The person in charge of managing the ce was usually the one who was most stressed in situations like this, and the fact that Mariam had sworn absolute loyalty to the Egyptian President¡¯s household did not help alleviate her stress levels. Slurp¡­! [Mariam is always like that. It¡¯s just Fathering, so I¡¯m not sure if all of that is even needed.] [Come on, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the case for Mariam. I mean, think about it from her point of view. She¡¯s the person in charge of this ce. Now that her country¡¯s President ising, what if he criticizes the ce here and there? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s only normal for her to be so stressed right now?] [Oh, is that how it goes?] [Yeah.] Meanwhile, Han-Yeol and Tayarana casually chatted while sipping on their coffee. The whole mansion was in utter chaos. Both Hunters and attendants ran left and right, but that chaos did not reach Tayarana¡¯s personal office. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? Tayarana gently petted Mavros¡¯ back while he was sleeping on herp. When Han-Yeol had been busy at the press conference, she had been the one to take care of the baby dragon. The baby dragon was now sleeping because he was exhausted from ying fetch with Tayarana. As Tayarana and him looked at the sleeping baby dragon with loving eyes, Han-Yeol suddenly wondered if a President of a nation would really suddenly make a surprise visit unannounced. He asked, [Tara.] [Hmm?] [Your father¡­ Is he always this spontaneous?] Han-Yeol¡¯s image of a President was a kind of responsible person who carefully nned their schedule, and the fact that a President would act so spontaneously was a stark contrast to the image he had of them. [No, he isn¡¯t like that at all, so I find it strange too.] [Really?] There was no way that Han-Yeol was going to understand the President¡¯s motives. After all, Tayarana, who was the President¡¯s daughter, had no idea what he was thinking. [Well, I¡¯m sure we will find out once he gets here.] [Yeah.] Dudududu! After two hours of utter chaos at the mansion, the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the mansion. Knock¡­ Knock¡­? An Egyptian Hunter knocked and entered Tayarana¡¯s office to make a report. [Tayarana-nim, His Excellency¡¯s helicopter is currently hovering above the mansion.] [Alright.] Tayarana stood up and looked at Han-Yeol. [Huh? What¡¯s wrong, Tara?] [Aren¡¯t you getting up?] [Me?] [Yeah.] [Why?] Han-Yeol was slightly flustered by Tayarana¡¯s question. He wondered, ¡®Oh, I¡¯m also a?Vice?Leader of this raid party, right?¡¯ His nationality might be different, but he was currently the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party, which was originally a raid party from Egypt. This meant that it was not courteous for him to sit around when the President of Egypt was here. Han-Yeol immediately stood up and said, [Let¡¯s go, Tara.] [Okay.] Tayarana led the way with Han-Yeol following closely behind her. Then, Han-Yeol suddenly thought, ¡®Wow¡­ She is really beautiful no matter how many times I see her¡­¡¯ Oddly enough, he had spent a lot of time together with Tayarana. They always moved together whenever they hunted as a raid party, and they even bumped into each other while they were shopping at the Hunter Mall. However, he could not help but feel his heart pound and be mesmerized by her beauty no matter how often he saw her. A person was bound to get used to someone¡¯s appearance no matter how beautiful they were if they spent a lot of time together, but he only found Tayarana even more beautiful the more he spent time with her. Han-Yeol suddenly felt jealous of someone in the distant future. ¡®Tara is probably going to get married?in the future¡­ I have no idea who that will be, but he¡¯s such a lucky bastard¡­¡¯ They said that the lifespan of a Hunter was much longer than a normal person, which meant that most Hunters were not in a rush to settle down like normal people. However, that did not mean that someone like Tayarana, who was the one who would be leading Egypt in the future, was going to stay single forever. She was bound to get married one day, and the man that she would marry in the future was going to get to hold this beautiful woman in his arms every day. ¡®She¡¯s probably going to marry an extremely wealthy man or someone from an influential family, since she is a princess. I think the chances of her marrying a fellow countryman would be highly unlikely, but I¡¯m so damn jealous of that lucky bastard¡­!¡¯ Han-Yeol thought. Just as Han-Yeol was dying inside of jealousy, Tayarana sensed that he was acting strange all of a sudden and asked, [What are you doing?] [Ah, nothing. Haha¡­] Looking at Tayarana tilt her head in confusion, Han-Yeol¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He thought that she looked extremely cute right now. ¡°Kyu!¡± Awake since a while ago, Mavros nested on top of Han-Yeol¡¯s head while letting out a cry that seemed tough at him. ¡°Shut up, Mavros,¡± Han-Yeol retorted. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros then cried out as if telling him not to vent his frustration on him. Han-Yeol and Tayarana walked to the helipad located four hundred meters away from the mansion. There were dozens of people wearing ck suits and darkly-tinted sunsses guarding the perimeter of the helipad. Dudududu! A helicopter made a softnding on the helipad a whileter. Thud¡­! The door opened to reveal arge middle-aged man. He was wearing traditional Egyptian clothes that were modified to suit modern-day fashion, and Han-Yeol found his outfit to be really cool. Also¡­ Shiing! ¡®He¡­ He¡¯s strong¡­! His mana is silent, but I can feel it¡¯s quite dangerous and scary¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol could feel a silent mana storm brewing around the man, and it was a type of mana that he had never encountered before. Tayarana was known to be an S Rank Hunter at the doorstep of bing a Master, but Han-Yeol could feel that she was a huge distance behind the man in front of him. [Hahahaha! It has been a while, Tara.] [Father.] The President of Egypt, who was also Tayarana¡¯s father, Phaophator, smiled brightly and gently hugged Tayarana. ¡®He¡¯s much bigger up close,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he scanned Phaophator¡¯s frame. He looked like he was going to be more than two meters tall, and it looked like a cicada was clinging to arge tree trunk when the gigantic man hugged Tayarana. Gulp! Han-Yeol found the image in his head to be extremely funny, but he channeled all of his strength to suppress hisughter as the other Hunters and attendants around seemed to be quite serious. It was understandable that all of them would be anxious as Phaophator was a living legend for them. Phaophator finally let Tayarana go after hugging her to his heart¡¯s content, and then he looked at Han-Yeol. Hemented, [Oh, are you that Han-Yeol Lee Hunter that my daughter speaks so highly of?] [It is an honor to meet you, Your Excellency. My name is Han-Yeol Lee, and I am serving as the Horus raid party¡¯s Vice Leader despite my shorings.] Han-Yeol tried his best to greet Phaophator as courteously as possible. Of course, he did not have to act so cordially with the man, but he decided to y his part as it was a matter that could affect the Horus raid party. ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros could also sense how powerful Phaophator was as well. He let out a cry while being wary of him. [Oh! My reason foring all the way to this country is right here! Is this Mavros? The first ever monster tamed?] [Ah, yes, you are correct.] [Hoo¡­ It is quite amazing¡­ The fact that you managed to tame the first monster is already surprising in itself, but the fact that the monster you tamed is something I have never seen before is even more surprising! However, the fact that it is a dragon-type monster is what surprises me the most.] There had been no sightings of any dragon-type monsters so far. There were a few Hunters who specially hunted for rare monsters, and their main objective was to raid rare monsters and sell their remains to collectors that would offer the highest price. However, even these Hunters who focused only on hunting for rare monsters hadn¡¯t spotted any dragons so far. [It is indeed a precious treasure. However, it is nothing but a ticking time bomb if you can¡¯t protect it.] [Yes, I am aware of that, Your Excellency.] [Well, I can¡¯t simply ignore the fact that the person who created this precious treasure is a member of our very own raid party and a holder of one of our treasures as well, right? Tara.] [Yes, Father?] [It seems that we have another reason to maintain a good rtionship with this country. I will be sending that person, more Hunters, and even more funds to you. Go and show these Koreans the might of us, Egyptians, through the Horus raid party.] [Yes, Father.] [Bwahahaha!] Phaophator was an extremely powerful Hunter who released an intimidating amount of mana simply by letting out a burst of boisterousughter. Gulp¡­! Han-Yeol instinctively gulped after witnessing a portion of Phaophator¡¯s might. He was indeed feeling a bit nervous, but he was not scared at all. Clenching his fists, he steeled his resolve. ¡®I will surpass him one day.¡¯ He knew that he was going to need some time to aplish this goal, but he also knew that it was not an impossible goal for him to achieve. *** Everyone moved to the main hall of the mansion after exchanging greetings, and therge round table at the main hall that was not so often used by the Horus raid party was filled with various delicacies for the first time. Then, Mariam and the kitchen staff approached Phaophator and knelt in front of him. They greeted him in unison, [We greet Your Excellency!] [Bwahaha! It has been a while, Mariam. You did great watching over Tayarana all this time. I hope that you will continue watching over her.] [Certainly, Your Excellency. I will serve and protect Tayarana-nim even if I have to put my life on the line.] [There¡¯s no need to put your life on anything. Both of you should live. Anyway,e sit with me, Tara and Han-Yeol.] After being given themand, Mariam and the attendants slowly got up, but they all still looked quite nervous. [Yes, Father.] [Yes, Your Excellency.] Han-Yeol felt a bit burdened by the invitation to dine with the Egyptian President, but the atmosphere was not one where he could reject it. He had no choice but to sit at the table. Just as he was about to sit down, an attendant came to pull out the chair for him and push it back closer to the table. Then, the simple dinner that was equivalent to a grand feast started. ¡®Wow¡­ This is really good.¡¯? Han-Yeol was amazed at how delicious the food was. These were foods that he had never tasted before in his life, and his taste buds were quite thrilled to have the chance to taste these delicacies that most people would not even get to taste once in their life. ¡®Hmm¡­ I should work harder and replicate this at my ceter on,¡¯?he thought as he was motivated once again to earn more money. The attendants moved quite discreetly to assist the trio in eating, and they were so attentive that they would provide what Han-Yeol needed even before he realized that he needed it. Eventually, Phaophator broke the silence while they were enjoying their dinner. He said, [So, I heard that you agreed to provide two monster pets to the Horus raid party for two trillion won. Is that true?] It was a sudden question, but Han-Yeol skillfully replied without missing a beat, [Yes, I epted it since this ability is not something I can keep using for myself, and the conditions Tayarana provided were quite good.] [Haha! You see¡­ I imagined what it was going to look like if I created a battalion mounted on tamed flying monsters¡­] [Ah¡­] ¡®He is truly someone?who?rules an entire country. Who would have imagined forming an army with the tamed monsters?¡¯?Han-Yeol was amazed once again. Han-Yeol did not really see a reason for him to judge if it was a good or bad thing as long as he sold the monsters and he got paid for them. He could not care less how the monsters were going to be used. Of course, that did not mean that he was willing to sell the monsters to terrorist organizations just for the sake of profit. He was willing to sell them to anyone as long as the transaction was a legal one. [Hmm¡­ It would be great if a scarab or a dung beetle came out from the monster eggs. I think our people will be delighted if that happens.] [Ah! You are right, Father!] Tayarana reacted quite strongly to what Phaophator had said. ¡®Oh right, the scarab and dung beetle?are practically?important insects in Ancient Egypt,¡¯?Han-Yeol recalled. He had started reading and studying about Egypt and its history after joining the Horus raid party. Egypt had dered leaving the Arab Union to further solidify and cement its position as the leader of Africa. It was true that the country indeed had some rtion to Arabic heritage, but the government dered the start of their Golden Age by going back to their Ancient Egyptian roots and ruling the continent. Of course, there were various disgruntled factions that voiced their dissatisfaction over this decision, but there was really nothing they could do about it. ¡®They would probably die from shock if a Sphinx came out¡­ Keke!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he tried his best to suppress hisughter. Chapter 135: Egypt’s Might (2)

Chapter 135: Egypt¡¯s Might (2)

The dinner with the president of Egypt was not that bad. No, it was probably much quieter than his usual meals, and the burdensome dinner surprisingly went without any problems. ¡®Hahaha¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to digest dinner,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The dinner was peaceful, but that did not mean that he was not burdened by dining with the leader of a nation. However, that did not stop Han-Yeol from thoroughly enjoying his food. He was a gourmand and a gourmet. Of course, he was not like those people who appeared on TV that described food with hundreds of words, but he was someone who enjoyed eating delicious food nheless. Not only that, but he also had a picky pte. Fortunately for him, the delicacies they had prepared today were so outstanding that he did not want to leave any leftovers. In fact, he even used his mana to burn food just so that he could eat more and more. The finale of the dinner was the dessert, Frozen Oat Chocte Cake, which was made from premium chocte from Venezu. ¡®This is a feast!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly before he quietly enjoyed the dessert. [So, Han-Yeol.] Just as Han-Yeol was enjoying the sweetness of the dessert, Phaophator called him. [Yes, Your Excellency?] [Why don¡¯t youe to Egypt with Tara sometime soon? It¡¯s unfortunate that our country is not considered as a developed country, but it is a truly beautiful country that most countries would be noparison against. It might not be as innovative as Korea, but we are a country where you can feel the presence of ancient history.] [Yes, I have always wanted to go to Egypt. I¡¯ll make sure to visit when I get the chance.] [Hahaha! Thank you.] Han-Yeol was not lying when he said that he had always wanted to go visit Egypt. He read that Egypt had been a very famous holiday destination before the Dimensional Gates appeared. There had been a lot of attempts from various terrorist organizations to disrupt their tourism industry, but the country boasted excellent security and had prevented most terrorism attempts in the country. However, the current Egypt was known to be even better than before as their bolstered financial reserves thanks to the appearance of the Dimensional Gates had been used to repair their historical sites and improve their cities. Han-Yeol spent some time chatting with Phaophator before flying out in a helicopter. There was no way he was going to be able to leave the ce with a car as there were hoards of reporters lurking beyond the walls. Dudududu¡­! ¡°Wee back, Han-Yeol-nim,¡± Albert greeted Han-Yeol as soon as he stepped off of the helicopter. ¡°Ah, hello, Albert.¡± Han-Yeol noticed a foreigner standing next to Albert. The foreign man looked like a soldier who was around one hundred seventy centimeters tall with Southeast Asian features. He was short, but he definitely made up for his short height with a sturdy physique. ¡°This person is?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Ah, he is the Team Leader of the securitypany you have requested. The entirepany is made up of Nepalese Gurkhas, and they are quite the dependable bunch. They have yet to fail a mission assigned to them,¡± Albert introduced the man. ¡°Ah, are they the famous Gurkhas?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°Well, their fame is a thing of the past. They might have previously been hired by the British to fight for them, but they are forced to offer their services privately now that Hunters are the measurement of a country¡¯s strength.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite unfortunate, but how are we tomunicate? I reckon there¡¯s anguage barrier between us, right?¡± There was no way that a bodyguard was going to be helpful no matter how skilled they were if they could notmunicate with the one they were supposed to protect. ¡°All of the ones we hired can speak English. The Nepalese Gurkhas are elite, so not only are they physically strong, but they are mentally sharp as well. Also, I asked them to start studying Korean from now on. They seem to be quite motivated to study after I mentioned that their job can be as good as secured if they¡¯re able to speak thenguage.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Han-Yeol nodded. He thought to himself, ¡®They¡¯re better than me¡­¡¯ The onlynguage he knew how to speak was his mother tongue, Korean, and he was only able to speak Arabic thanks to his Interpretation skill. ¡°I initially contemted whether to call a private security firm from the United States, but they are unreasonably expensive and their people tend to be quite arrogant as well. That is why I decided to hire these Nepalese Gurkhas, who are quite loyal and also strong. I apologize if I offended you by changing things without consulting you first, Han-Yeol-nim,¡± Albert bowed and sincerely apologized. It was quite funny that an American was apologizing in the manner that Koreans would apologize. Han-Yeol waved his hand and replied, ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m certain that you did it for my sake, and I don¡¯t really care whether they are Americans or Nepalese. I only mentioned the Americans because I heard that they are famous for their private security firms, but I¡¯m aware of how good the Gurkhas are. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Thank you very much,¡± Albert replied with a bow once again. Han-Yeol really liked Albert, but he often found him to be quite burdensome whenever he acted too cordially. He was a grandfather who was probably in his sixties, but seeing him bow to a man forty years younger than him was quite burdensome indeed. Not to mention, but the fact that he was older than Han-Yeol¡¯s father did not help at all. ¡®Now that I think about it, I felt the presence of these Gurkhas around the mansion when Inded,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he noticed that the bodyguards were already doing their work. ¡®Yeah, I should invest in securing my ce as it could be targeted by someone,¡¯?he thought that it was a good idea to start preparing for any unforeseen circumstances. *** Han-Yeol spent his time rxing until he was called for a raid, and he went to Tayarana¡¯s mansion after being called. It went without saying that a helicopter was his mode of transportation once again. ¡°Please have a safe trip, Han-Yeol-nim,¡± Albert said. ¡°Thank you Albert. I¡¯ll be going now,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Have a safe raid, boss!¡± Albert was not the only one seeing Han-Yeol off these days. The security team leader, Purva, stood beside the butler and saw Han-Yeol off as well. He seemed a bit wary of Han-Yeol initially, but all of that changed the moment Han-Yeol had paid them two hundred million won in cash for their services. It went without saying that the absurd amount of cash he had thrown was more than enough to turn these elite soldiers¡¯ loyalty in an instant. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the mansion in your care, Purva.¡± ¡°Yes, boss!¡± Purva was not able to form longplicated sentences yet, but he made up for hisck of lingual fluency with his ability. It was true that he was quite good at securing the mansion. Dududududu! Han-Yeol hopped onto the helicopter which had been sent by the Horus raid party, because the reporters were still lurking outside the mansion and trying to get a scoop. While looking out the window, he thought, ¡®Hmm¡­ I should probably buy a helicopter for my own personal use.¡¯ He had first taken the helicopter just to avoid the reporters, but he soon realized after using it a few times that it was quite convenient. Besides, it was not going to be that difficult for him to get a permit as he was currently one of the most famous Hunters in the country. With that consideration in mind, he decided that it was going to be quite convenient if he had one at his disposal. ¡®Well, I have a lot of things I need to buy. I need to buy a yacht for starters, and buying a private jet doesn¡¯t sound bad at all.¡¯ Being rich was definitely a good thing. [We are almost arriving, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.] [Alright.] Han-Yeol was guided straight to the meeting room as soon as hended at Tayarana¡¯s mansion. Upon reaching the meeting room, he noticed that there were a few new faces. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ There were a few new Egyptians sitting next to the Horus raid party members, and there were even people from the Hunters¡¯ Association as well. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯?he wondered. [Wee,] Mariam greeted Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol scanned the room and saw Tayarana, who sat at the head of the table, talking to an Egyptian man he was seeing for the first time. Also noticing her rather serious expression, he turned to Mariam and asked, [Did something happen, Mariam?] [Oh, that is¡­] Mariam grabbed Han-Yeol¡¯s arm and dragged him to one corner of the meeting room. She exined, [Actually, we received an official raid request from the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association this morning.] [An official raid request?] [Yes.] Han-Yeol furrowed his brow. A raid request was a term that existed, but it was not something that was typically used. There were an abundance of raid parties these days but not enough hunting fields to amodate all of them, and the Hunters¡¯ Association could easily find a raid party willing to hunt if there were any vacant hunting fields. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder why they had suddenly thought of making an official raid request. ¡®What kind of nonsensical bullshit is this?¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced. [They say that the dimensional rift has stabilized, but there have been cases where monsters have been found spawning outside of the hunting grounds.] [What?!] Han-Yeol was shocked by what Mariam was saying. He still kept up with the news these days, but he had never heard of anything like this happening anywhere in the world. ¡®Has the association been suppressing the press? Hmm¡­ It sounds like a logical thing to do from their standpoint as the affected areas will instantly turn into a ghost town if word got out. The government must be doing anything they can to prevent this from leaking out.¡¯ [I see, then are they requesting us to get rid of the monsters that are outside of the barriers?] [Yes.] [That¡¯s strange¡­ They could have just requested one of the local raid parties with S Rank or Master Rank Hunters in them. Why are they making such a request to a foreign raid party?] A difficult-to-kill monster would be ssified as a raid monster, and this meant that their body parts and mana stones were going to be much more valuable than that of a normal monster. The fact that the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association was willing to concede these treasures to a foreign raid party did not make sense at all. [It seems that the Hunters¡¯ Association is in a pinch.] [A pinch?] ¡®The Hunters¡¯ Association is in a pinch?¡¯?Han-Yeol doubted what he heard just now. [Our informants told us that the Hunters¡¯ Association has already made requests to other South Korean raid parties with Master Rank Hunters.] [Really?] [Yes, and on top of that, we also found that the monster in question is not something that a raid party could easily kill just because they have an S Rank Hunter in their party. I suspect that that is the reason they are making this raid request to us.] [A monster that can¡¯t be easily killed by an S Rank Hunter¡­] The Horus raid party was led by Tayarana, who was an S Rank Hunter, but the quality of theirbat skills were quite different from other Korean raid parties. They had a number of A Rank Hunters who were extremely well trained, and even their non-awakened support crew was made up of adept veterans as well. The Horus raid party was a private raid party, but they were made up of members who could operate as Egypt¡¯s military in a state of war. That was the reason why they were iparably stronger than most raid parties, and their teamwork was probably the best in the world thanks to Mariam¡¯s leadership and training. [Not to mention, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, you are with us, and His Excellency has supplied us with reinforcements.] Han-Yeol naturally looked at the man Tayarana was talking to after hearing that Phaophator had sent reinforcements. He then asked, [Ah, are you talking about that guy?] He could tell that the mana being exuded from the man¡¯s body was not normal. [Yes, that is Mujahid-nim. He is an Osiris Rank Warrior just like Tayarana-nim, and he is also the son of His Excellency from his second wife, which makes him Tayarana-nim¡¯s half-brother.] [Ah, so he is her younger brother?] [Yes, he is.] [Ah¡­ No wonder they look quite close to each other¡­ Hold on, what you mean by Osiris Rank is what we call S Rank in Korea, right?] [Yes, that is correct. What you call a Master Rank Hunter in Korea is a Ra Rank Hunter in Egypt, what you call an S Rank Hunter in Korea is an Osiris Rank Hunter in Egypt, and what you call an A Rank Hunter in Korea is an Obelisk Rank Hunter in Egypt.] [Oh, that sounds better than Korea. Our country is just blindly following the United States these days, so I can¡¯t help but feel jealous of your country¡¯s naming sense.] Han-Yeol¡¯s political alignment was more simr to the political beliefs of Kim Gu, which was all about putting one¡¯s country first. He always believed that Korea should be an independent and powerful country capable of standing on its own legs without receiving any help from other countries. That was just like how Kim Gu envisioned Korea to be. That was the reason why he could not help but be envious of Egypt¡¯s independent political stance. They used to be pro-American before the Dimensional Gates had appeared, but the country rallied behind Phaophator and transformed itself into a powerful and independent country. This made Han-Yeol all the more curious about the country and made him decide to study it seriously from now on. [¡­] Mariam suddenly stopped talking. ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he noticed Mujahid walking toward them. [Wow! It is an honor to meet the great Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! I am the son of the president of Egypt, as well as an Osiris Rank Warrior, Mujahid. It is truly an honor to meet the most famous Hunter not only in Egypt but the rest of the world as well!] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol was dumbfounded by Mujahid¡¯s demeanor. He was certain that his first impression of the man from a distance was a charismatic and serious man. Well, that was what a prince would usually be like, anyway. However, Mujahid looked nothing more than the youngest child in a household judging by his small stature, cute facial features, and bubbly way of speaking. Mujahid resembled a brown bunny, which made Han-Yeol, who was a man, feel like petting him. [Ah, it is nice to meet you too. My name is Lee Han-Yeol.] [Keu!?Your introduction truly befits your image as a great warrior! ¡®My name is Lee Han-Yeol.¡¯ Wow! That is a short and powerful self-introduction!] Also, Mujahid was quite talkative. This was a ssic case of someone¡¯s first impression beingpletely obliterated after hearing them speak. It was then that Mariam suddenly transmitted a thought directly into Han-Yeol¡¯s mind. She said, [This is the reason that I dislike Mujahid-nim. He does not act like this all the time, but he often forgets to maintain his image as a prince. Not to mention, he is so talkative that he is a stark contrast to Tayarana-nim. Please beware that he will not be able to stop talking once you initiate a conversation with him.] [Hahaha¡­ So that¡¯s why you suddenly started acting so cold¡­] [Yes, that is correct.] Mariam was quite straightforward. She might be quite indifferent to most people, but she did not tantly give the cold shoulder to someone else. However, her eyes immediately turned sharp the moment Mujahid had walked over, and it was quite obvious that she did not like him. It turned out that the reason Mariam did not like Mujahid was all because he was too carefree and talkative. [Haha¡­ Some things never change, I guess, judging by how Mariam still does not like me. I wanted to be friends with you, Mariam, and hoped to make you my wife someday, but¡­] [Ah, I see¡­ Huh? W-What?!] Feeling shocked after hearing Mujahid¡¯s words that came out of nowhere, Han-Yeol ended up shouting. He already knew that the prince was the talkative type, but he was not aware that the prince was the type who could fluster someone by speaking utter nonsense. Who would have known that a prince was going to act this way?! Mariam then transmitted another thought. [Also, I have no ns to get married, but he keeps stubbornly insisting that I marry him. He is someone that I loathe from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.] [Hahaha¡­ I see¡­] 1. A prominent independence activist during the Korean upation of Japan. More info here: Chapter 136: Egypt’s Might (3)

Chapter 136: Egypt¡¯s Might (3)

Han-Yeol sympathized with Mujahid, whose obsession led him to follow Mariam around, whilepletely understanding why Mariam was getting annoyed by him. [Aaah! Both of you are talking through telepathy again! Can you please let me in on it as well?] ¡®I guess he still is an S Rank Hunter, judging by how sensitive he is to mana,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he felt impressed. Actually, it was going to be strange if an S Rank Hunter was not able to sense this level of mana. An S Rank Hunter, or rather, an Osiris Rank Hunter in this case, possessed more than enough power to raze an entire city alone if left unchecked. [That¡¯s enough chatter. It¡¯s time to focus on the meeting. Same goes for you, Han-Yeol.] Tayarana finally stepped up to put an end to the pointless discussion. She was the highest-ranking person in this ce, so Mariam and even Mujahid obediently followed hermand. Of course, Mujahid naturally sat right beside Tayarana just as he was ustomed to. However¡­ [You sit over there.] [Huh? Why all of a sudden?] Tayarana stopped Mujahid and made him sit one seat further from her, which was a rank lower than whoever was going to sit next to her. She sounded like she was making a suggestion, but she was, in fact, giving a direct order. Mujahid was not in a position to go against Tayarana¡¯smand. Both of them might be children of Phaophator, but there was a stark difference between her, who was born from the first wife, and him, who was born from the second wife. Both of them might be Osiris Rank Hunters, but Tayarana was also much stronger than Mujahid on top of possessing better items. [This seat is for the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party.] [Ah, you mean that great warrior-nim?] When Mujahid pointed at Han-Yeol, Tayarana nodded without a hint of hesitation. She said, [Yeah, and this is not Egypt. We deal with things through hierarchy and not social status.] [I guess you¡¯re right. Well, I have no qualms giving up the seat if it is for that great warrior-nim. Alright.] Mujahid shrugged and sat on the next seat. It was quite a bizarre sight that a prince was simply giving up his seat for amoner. Then, Tayarana patted the seat next to her and said, [Come and sit here, Han-Yeol.] [Err¡­ Alright.] Han-Yeol was feeling quite embarrassed after taking the Egyptian Prince¡¯s seat, but he had toply. After all, it was Tayarana who had asked him to sit down. The meeting, which was attended by all of the Horus raid party executives,menced right after Han-Yeol sat down. The light was dimmed as a beam projector shed in front of them, and then a neatly-dressed man presumed to be in his thirties stood in front of everyone. ¡°Hello, my name is Choi Tae-Ki, and I am in charge of the Gyeongsangbukdo Interim Dimensional Rift Management Department,¡± the man introduced himself and bowed. After the man was done speaking, an Egyptian Hunter tranted his introduction. However, there was no weing apuse or anything of that sort as he was not presenting in front of an academia. ¡°Ehem¡­?I will get straight to the point and exin what is going on in the Republic of Korea as we speak.¡± Beep! A map of South Korea shed on the screen, and there were numerous red dots spread across the different regions. There were seven red dots in total, but the Gyeongju region was marked with a skull. ¡°We have currently found seven boss monsters in the Republic of Korea, and their locations are spread all over the penins. That is the main reason our Hunters¡¯ Association have made an emergency request to all of our Master Rank Hunters, and we have sent six Master Rank Hunters to raid each of the boss monsters. They are currently raiding the boss monsters as we speak,¡± Choi Tae-Ki exined. Chak! When Han-Yeol raised his hand, Choi Tae-Ki looked over and asked, ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± He did not like the fact that Han-Yeol was interrupting him in the middle of his presentation. However, he had no choice but to acknowledge Han-Yeol, who wasn¡¯t someone he could mess with right now. Lee Han-Yeol was nothing more than an average Hunter in South Korea, but he was currently the Vice Leader of one of Egypt¡¯s strongest raid parties, the Horus raid party. Not only that, but he was also the first person to sessfully tame a monster. Needless to say, he was the talk of the whole world right now. There were rumors that every country in the world was moring to grant him citizenship as well as a host of other benefits. It was also rumored that he had already agreed to acquire an American citizenship. On top of that, it was revealed that one of the most powerful Hunters in the world, President Phaophator of Egypt, had visited South Korea recently. The official statement was that he hade to visit his daughter, but there were rumors that he had actuallye to get first dibs on Lee Han-Yeol. Choi Tae-Ki had no idea how true the rumors about Han-Yeol were, but it was true that this Korean Hunter had grown far too big to be controlled by the Hunters¡¯ Association. ¡®I don¡¯t have a reason to be at odds with Lee Han-Yeol Hunter¡­¡¯?he did not like the idea of being interrupted, but he still chose to put on a smile. ¡°You mentioned just now that the Master Rank Hunters are currently raiding the boss monsters. Does that mean they still haven¡¯t sessfully raided the boss monsters?¡± Han-Yeol asked out of curiosity. What kind of an entity was a Master Rank Hunter? Every country had their own title for the Master Rank Hunters. For example, China and Vietnam used the word ¡®god¡¯ in theirnguage to address the Master Rank Hunters, Japan called them Special Rank Hunters, Egypt called them Ra Rank Hunters, and so on and so forth. Each country might have their own way of addressing the Master Rank Hunters, but there was onemon requirement a Hunter had to have to be given such a rank. And that requirement was none other than to receive the mark of approval from the World Hunters¡¯ Association located in Washington D.C., the United States of America. A Hunter had to pass the rigorous tests they were subjected to before they would receive the mark of approval. As for those who were skilled enough but failed to pass the tests, they would end up having to stay as an S Rank Hunter. Yet, even those Hunters who passed those difficult tests were still ¡®raiding¡¯ the boss monster? Han-Yeol could not understand the logic behind that statement. ¡°Ah, I will rify that matter. We have confirmed through satellite surveince and from the scouting reports of the Master Rank Hunters that the boss monsters are not alone. They are surrounded by hordes of monsters, which we suspect is their army, and have taken control over the area around them. As of now, we have discovered that the area controlled by the boss monsters are slowly diminishing the barriers surrounding the hunting grounds, and it is highly likely that they will be conquering the hunting grounds as part of their territory very soon,¡± Choi Tae-Ki exined. ¡®Ugh¡­ That doesn¡¯t sound good at all¡­ I don¡¯t think this is going to be an easy one judging by how even the raid parties with Master Rank Hunters are having a hard time clearing it.¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced after analyzing the situation. ¡°The area that we wish to request for the Horus raid party¡¯s participation is near Bulguksa at Toham Mountain. That area is currently conquered by the boss monster, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,¡± Choi Tae-Ki added before he pressed the remote once again. Beep! Then, a video that seemed to be taken by satellite surveince appeared on the screen. Ddreuk! ¡°T-That is!¡± Han-Yeol shouted and shot up from his seat after seeing the boss monster in the video. The Egyptians were not familiar with Buddhism, so they only saw the boss monster as a strange-looking monster. However, anyone who followed Buddhism, which was thergest religion among the three most dominant religions in South Korea, would know that the boss monster in the video was the sixth form of Buddha, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. ¡°I-Impossible! Is that really the boss monster?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Unfortunately, it is,¡± Choi Tae-Ki replied. ¡°Ugh¡­¡±? Thud¡­! Han-Yeol groaned and plopped down to his seat. . Of course, his strong reaction was not because he was a Buddhist. He did not follow any faith, but he was a Christian on paper. This was because he had previously gone to a school run by a Christian foundation. He was so shocked after seeing the boss monster¡¯s form was solely because he found it absurd that something like that was even possible. ¡®Mavros looks like a dragon while this monster looks like Buddha himself¡­ Well, I guess that¡¯s possible, since there¡¯s a monster that resembles an angel in Italy. Ah, but these monsters really don¡¯t give a damn whether it''s fiction or religion, eh?¡¯?Han-Yeol shook his head at the truly absurd phenomenon. ¡°The monster looks like a god, so it must be quite powerful as well, right?¡± Han-Yeol then asked. ¡°Yes, that is correct,¡± Choi Tae-Ki replied. ¡°I assume that you have already sent another raid party to hunt this boss monster down, judging by how the other Master Rank Hunters are already raiding the other bosses. Am I correct?¡± Han-Yeol threw a sharp question. He was the type of person who wouldn¡¯t pull any punches if he decided to dig into a matter. ¡°T-That is correct¡­¡± Choi Tae-Ki started breaking out in cold sweat at the question. ¡°It¡¯s quite obvious that you sent a group of monks and they got annihted,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly said. ¡°H-How did you know¡­?! Ah! Ehem¡­?Ehem¡­!¡±?Choi Tae-Ki was flustered, but he immediatelyposed himself by faking a cough. ¡®Damn it, that¡¯s ssified information. How the hell did he know about that?¡¯?he wondered. Of course, this information was not from Han-Yeol himself. [That is what happened.] [I see¡­] Choi Tae-Ki was forgetting that the Horus raid party¡¯s main caretaker had the ability to dive into other people¡¯s consciousness. He was indeed flustered after being caught off-guard by that sudden question, but he proved himself to be a veteran by instantlyposing himself and dealing with the situation ordingly. It was not in their n that this ssified information was going to be leaked, but he knew what he had to do to steer the conversation to the association¡¯s favor. After all, there was a reason that he was in charge of an entire department at his age. ¡°That is actually ssified information, but I will divulge it as you¡¯ve already brought it up. The Hunters¡¯ Association originally wanted to give the precious boss monster to a Korean raid party and not the Horus raid party, which is an Egyptian raid party,¡± Choi Tae-Ki said. He continued, ¡°We were searching for a suitable Korean raid party to raid the boss monsters, but the name of the boss monster, ¡®Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,¡¯ was leaked in the process. Then, a raid party known as the Swastika raid party that wasposed of awakened monks who volunteered for the raid. ¡°Of course, our department refused to give them the right to raid the boss monster, but they stubbornly requested for it and vowed to put their lives on the line. In the end, the Hunters¡¯ Association granted them the raid rights against our better judgment. The Swastika raid party formed an eight-hundred-man strong army and went to Toham Mountain, but¡­¡± Choi Tae-Ki trailed off at the end of his sentence. ¡°They got annihted,¡± Han-Yeol chimed in. ¡°That is correct. The Hunters¡¯ Association is now in a state of emergency because of that. We finally decided to make an official request to the Horus raid party, which is currently the strongest raid party in the country after the Korean raid parties with Master Rank Hunters,¡± Choi Tae-Ki said. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ The trantor was tranting the entire conversation in real-time, so the Egyptian Hunters started to murmur among themselves right after Choi Tae-Ki¡¯s exnation was finished. [Silence.] [¡­] However, they were instantly silenced by Tayarana¡¯s single-wordmand, which had been given in a soft voice that carried authority. She did not directly address her subordinates that often and neither was she the type of person who liked to chat. Therefore, all of them the significance of her personally giving them amand. [So, what is the Hunters¡¯ Association going to give us if we raid that Thousand Armed Bodhisattva for them?] The association was making an official request, so there should be a reward forpleting it. However, after hearing Tayarana¡¯s question, Choi Tae-Ki had a strange reaction. He started breaking out in cold sweat all over again after the rewards were mentioned. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with him?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. ¡°T-That is¡­ The reward offered by the association is the¡­ It¡¯s a tax exemption for everything that the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡­¡± Choi Tae-Ki stuttered. Ddreuuk! Tayarana stood up and left the meeting room as soon as the trantor finished tranting that line. ¡°E-Excuse me, Tayarana-nim?!¡± Choi Tae-Ki called out. Without giving a response, Tayarana simply walked out of the room. She might not have said anything before leaving, but Han-Yeol fully understood how she was feeling right now. Mariam approached Choi Tae-Ki in Tayarana¡¯s ce. She was fluent in Korean, and she was also the person in charge of the operation of the Horus raid party. She said firmly, ¡°Tayarana-nim feels greatly offended for having wasted her time. Also, go and convey this to your Hunters¡¯ Association. Egypt will make them pay for this insult today.¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡±?Choi Tae-Ki felt his heart drop after getting threatened. Egypt and South Korea might be allies, but he knew very well that the first to insult the other was the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association. He knew that the reward offered by the association was quite absurd, but both he and the association had expected Egypt to help them out simply because they were allied countries. However, that was a huge misconception on Choi Tae-Ki and the Hunters¡¯ Association part. The Horus raid party would have immediately stepped up and raided the boss monster even if they had to pay taxes for whatever they obtained from it if this was Egypt, but South Korea was not their homnd and was just an ally. In short, there was no reason for the Horus raid party to risk their lives while being treated like a disposable pawn by a foreign Hunters¡¯ Association. Even Han-Yeol, who was a Korean citizen, had no choice but to side with the Egyptian for this matter as he was a member of the Horus raid party in the end. ¡®They really crossed the line this time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡°Lastly, Tayarana-nim does not wish to entertain any guests from the Hunters¡¯ Association from now on. We hope that we won¡¯t be seeing each other again, and please see yourselves out,¡± Mariam said before leaving the meeting room. She was a master of maintaining a poker face, but she seemed quite upset about the matter. After all, she did not even bother to act courteously to Choi Tae-Ki. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Choi Tae-Ki sighed while looking devastated. The other Egyptian Hunters also left the meeting room after Tayarana and Mariam had left. They no longer had any reasons to remain behind. ¡®I found their offer to be quite absurd when I heard it, so imagine how the Egyptians would have felt,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He could not understand how the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association could ask for a foreign raid party¡¯s help by offering them a tax exemption as a reward. He thought that that should have already been something customary on the offer table. After all, it wasmon knowledge that they provided tax exemptions to all of the Hunters and raid parties that participated in subjugating the dimensional rifts and dimensional holes that had previously urred. 1. The Swastika is an ancient religious symbol used in Asia. It was appropriated by the Nazis during WW2, but the Swastika here is not rted to the Nazis at all. More info here: Chapter 137: Egypt’s Might (4)

Chapter 137: Egypt¡¯s Might (4)

Han-Yeol was intrigued by what had happened just now. He wondered, ¡®I wonder how the Hunters¡¯ Association is going to react from now on?¡¯ The Hunters¡¯ Association had three choices after this incident. They could give up on asking for help from the Horus raid party and create a coalition of domestic raid parties, or they could try approaching the Horus raid party with a new proposal. Both the former and thetter had their advantages and disadvantages, but it was up to the Hunters¡¯ Association to decide which one they were going to choose at the end of the day. The only people left in the meeting room were Choi Tae-Ki, who was the downcast manager from the Hunters¡¯ Association packing up his things, Han-Yeol, and Mujahid. Mujahid approached Han-Yeol and said, [I had a lot of expectations since it was an offer from the country of the great warrior, but I must say that I am quite disappointed. Giving tax exemption as a reward is already absurd if they were to offer it to their own raid parties, but offering that to a foreign raid party is just preposterous. It seems that Tayarana noonim is quite upset about this.] Keke! Mujahid sped both of his hands behind his head and chattered as if he was close friends with Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol was not a fan of unfamiliar guys acting like they were his friends, but Mujahid was special in many ways. First off, he was a prince, so Han-Yeol did not feel that he was going to be getting the shorter end of the stick by being friends with him. Furthermore, he looked so cute and innocent that Han-Yeol thought it was going to be fun hanging out with him. [Is Tara someone who would get upset over something like this?] Han-Yeol asked. [Oh! As expected of the great warrior-nim! You are already calling noonim by her nickname.] [Hmm? You don¡¯t call her by her nickname¡­?] Han-Yeol was a bit flustered after calling Tayarana by her nickname when even her brother, who was technically her half-brother, did not use it. [Well, I¡¯m fine with it. Besides, Tayarana noonim is not so fond of me anyway.] ¡®Yeah, you talk too much, that¡¯s why¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol had learned at an early age that a person had to be flexible, changing up their style of interaction depending on who they were talking to. He wasposed and indifferent toposed and indifferent people while he was more chatty with talkative people. Of course, Tayarana could be called the Queen of Indifference judging by her character. There were naturally some exceptions to this, because someposed and indifferent people did not mind if they were talking to someone chatty. However, Mujahid was an exception as he had a motor equipped in his mouth. He seemingly shot out infinite words at one go. He was so talkative that Tayarana had probably given up on liking him even though he was her own brother. A good example of how talkative Mujahid was would be Mariam, who was quite indifferent but more sociablepared to Tayarana. She could not stand him at all. Well, that was not the case for Han-Yeol as he did not really mind Mujahid¡¯s chatty nature. [I am certain that things will work out between you siblings. Hang in there.] [Wow! My heart feels lighter after beingforted by the great warrior-nim! Ah! It is a huge relief that arade who I will be spending a long time with is already so nice to me from the start. You are making me want to offer a prayer of gratitude to Ra-nim!] ¡®Huh¡­? What the hell is he saying right now?¡¯?Han-Yeol was flustered as he tried to decipher the meaning behind ¡®spending a long time together¡¯. [Ah, I forgot to formally introduce myself. My name is Mujahid Ptolemaic. I have received themand of my father, the President of Egypt, Phaophator Ptolemaic-nim, to assist Han-Yeol-nim from now on. I hope that you will graciously ept me as your disciple from now on.] Mujahid crossed his arms over his chest in an X and knelt in front of Han-Yeol. When the Egyptian prince asked to be his disciple, Han-Yeol was bbergasted and shocked. ¡®W-What the hell is he doing?!¡¯ Han-Yeol did not even have the luxury these days to take care of himself, so how was he supposed to take in a disciple?! ¡®No, this could be a good thing¡­¡¯?he thought. Mujahid was not some random guy on the street asking to be his disciple. He was a prince of Egypt. It was true that he was a bit burdensome, but he was certainly going to be a useful ally one day. ¡®They say that money and power are things that you can never have enough of,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before approaching Mujahid and helping him stand up. [You cannot do this as a prince of a country. I will ept you as my disciple, so please stand up.] [Hahaha, thank you very much! I was getting quite worried that you would reject me. How was I supposed to go back to Egypt and exin to my father then? Thank you very much!] Mujahid smiled brightly and sincerely thanked Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol felt quite good after seeing the prince¡¯s gratitude. [Oh, where are my manners? I am now your disciple, so we should decide on how to address each other. I believe that I should address you as my master from now on, so please speakfortably to me from this point onward. It will be ufortable for me if my master speaks to me so courteously.] [Haha, I¡¯m fine with that, but on one condition. I hope that you will stop calling me the great warrior from now on and just call me by my name.] Truthfully, Han-Yeol cringed whenever Mujahid was calling him the great warrior. The prince might have addressed him in that way as a show of respect, but Han-Yeol did not have a chuuni side to him so he barely had any tolerance to such cringey titles. [Alright, Han-Yeol-nim.] Mujahid instantly smiled and agreed. [I look forward to working with you from now on, Mujahid.] Han-Yeol extended his hand to Mujahid, who shook it in response. *** A ¡®be on call¡¯ order was issued to the entire Horus raid party the day after Han-Yeol had epted Mujahid as his disciple. Han-Yeol was stuck at home doing nothing, but it was not all that bad. He loved being at home doing nothing. In fact, he now had a proper justification for staying at home and doing nothing this time. ¡°Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!¡± With Mavros around, Han-Yeol found staying at home even more fun now. He did not have a single second of boredom as he had to run around and satisfy the baby dragon¡¯s curiosity. The dragon was quite curious these days, since he was still young and everything was new and fascinating to him. ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Pak! Whoooooosh! ¡°Kyuuuuuuu!¡± Han-Yeol kicked a ball before Mavros ran after it. There were a lot of emptywns in the mansion, but most of them had been converted into the baby dragon¡¯s yground in recent days. Just as Han-Yeol was busy ying with Mavros, his sensitive ears picked up amotion at his mansion¡¯s front gate. Vrooom! Han-Yeol wolf-whistled. Whiiiik! ¡°Kyuuuu!¡± Mavros heard the whistle and immediately turned away from the ball to run back to Han-Yeol. The most important thing for the baby dragon was not the ball or his other toys but Han-Yeol. Running toward Han-Yeol and jumping into his arms, Mavros then went up to Han-Yeol¡¯s head and nested at his usual spot. Then, Han-Yeol noticed that Mavros had grown. He felt the baby dragon¡¯s heavier-than-usual weight the moment he nested on his head. Feeling amazed, he thought, ¡®Mavros is growing really fast.¡¯ With Mavros resting on his head, Han-Yeol went over to the front gate to see what themotion was all about. Then, he saw a truck with the familiar mark of the pharaoh on it followed by a row of trucks with construction materials on them. ¡°Hmm? Mujahid?¡± Han-Yeol noticed the Egyptian prince standing on top of the front-most truck wearing a shirt with the character of Ra drawn on it. ¡°Ah! Hyung-nim!¡± Mujahid shouted in Korean while excitedly waving his hand. He had seemed to have picked up the Koreannguage since who knew when. ¡°Ah¡­ Sure¡­ Hi¡­ Haha¡­¡± Han-Yeol awkwardly waved back. Tak! Mujahid kicked off the truck and flew past therge mansion gates. This was quite an easy feat for an S Rank Hunter. Then, hended in front of Han-Yeol and frivolously shook his hands. ¡°Korean really easy!¡± ¡°I-Is that so?¡± Han-Yeol possessed the ability to speak Arabic fluently without having to put much effort in it, so he found Mujahid¡¯s perseverance to be quite admirable. ¡°It very easy learn but very hard speak!¡± ¡°Y-You can take it slowly. There¡¯s no rush, right?¡± [Haha, I guess you are right.] [Y-Yeah¡­] Han-Yeol had met quite a lot of people in his life, but it was his first time meeting someone like Mujahid. ¡®Well, he seems quite fun to be with,¡¯ thought Han-Yeol as he shrugged his shoulders. There was something refreshing about meeting a new type of person. Han-Yeol was also the type who got along with anyone and everyone, so he figured that he could get along nicely with Mujahid. [But what are all of those? Do you n to move here?] [Yes!] Mujahid smiled and ced his right fist on his left chest. [I have decided to move next door to Han-Yeol-nim, so I figured to drop by and say hello. I apologize if I caused a ruckus while at it.] [Don¡¯t worry about it. Anyway, let¡¯s get along as neighbors from now on, Mujahid.] Han-Yeol extended his hand. [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!] Mujahid grabbed Han-Yeol¡¯s hand with a smile for the second time. ¡®Hmm¡­ Can I say that I have a rich friend now?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He was friends with Tayarana as well, but his rtionship with her was more of a business kind of rtionship. After all, they were the Leader and Vice Leader of the Horus raid party. On the other hand, his rtionship with Mujahid was a strange one where they were master and disciple. However, they maintained a close rtionship like brothers as well. *** Massive construction workmenced right after Han-Yeol and Mujahid shook hands. The state-owned constructionpany of Egypt sent their workers in droves to demolish whatever structure there was on thend, and they started to build everything from scratch. Also¡­ [Haha! So I will be in your care until then. I will make sure to pay rent on time!] [Well, do whatever suits you best. I have a lot of empty houses here anyway.] Mujahid needed a ce to stay while waiting for his house to finish, and he had requested to stay in Han-Yeol¡¯s ce. He found hotels to be too cramped and stuffy for him. Han-Yeol told Mujahid that he could stay for free for as long as he wanted, but the prince insisted on paying rent for troubling his master. In the end, Han-Yeol did not refuse the offer as making money was always a good thing for him. Then, a visitor from the Horus raid party came two dayster. [Han-Yeol!] [Hello, Han-Yeol-nim.] It was Tayarana and Mariam, who had both dropped by totally unannounced. ¡®Oh right¡­ I have to go find that fruit from the Vx hunting ground¡­ What should I do? Crap¡­¡¯?Han-Yeolpletely forgot about the two trillion won deal he had made after beingpletely engrossed with his baby dragon. [Can you check what we¡¯ve brought?] Tayarana asked. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? With a motion from Mariam, their attendants put down four items in front of Han-Yeol. The two items were definitely the eggs from the Queen Labyrinth Spider, but the other two were fruits that he was seeing for the first time. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol used Item Appraisal just in case the fruits were what he thought they were. [Nutritious Fruit] Type: Item Combination Material Description: A fruit packed with nutrients that monsters love. It may be used as monster feed, but it may also be used to hatch a monster egg thanks to the immense amount of mana it possesses. ¡®W-What?! This is a jackpot!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after appraising the items. This was a jackpot because he now realized that he had numerous ways of getting his hands on the fruit. He also no longer had to personally go to the Vx hunting ground to find these fruits. [Is it the right thing?] [Yeah, it definitely is. I will be able to hatch these monster eggs with these. You don¡¯t have an incubation room at your mansion, so we can use mine instead.] [That¡¯s fine. We will be staying here until the monster egg hatches anyway.] [W-What?! Do you siblings have a habit of surprising people or what?!] Han-Yeol was caught off guard once again, but there was no stopping Tayarana once she had set her mind on something. He was simply forced to allocate a room for her and Mariam in his mansion. Besides, there was no chance of anything happening during their stay as every room in the mansion had an attached bathroom. [Okay, now hurry up and incubate the egg.] [We will be in your care, Han-Yeol-nim.] Tayarana and Mariam looked at Han-Yeol with sparkling eyes. They were full of expectations and excitement. ¡®Tsk¡­ We don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going toe out of it¡­ They will definitely be so disappointed if the monster that hatches from the egg is not what they¡¯ve been expecting¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was concerned. Both of them found Mavros to be simply too adorable, and they seemed to be hoping that a monster simr to the baby dragon was going to hatch from the eggs. But what if the monsters that hatched from the eggs were not as great as Mavros? Or worse, what if they were just normal weak monsters that could be found in low-level hunting grounds? ¡®Well, that¡¯s out of my control anyway. I¡¯ve already told them the risks associated with it, so¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol justified. He had already warned thedies in advance before finalizing the deal. They had also reassured him that they fully understood the risks associated. However, he could not shake off the thought that the both of them sincerely believed that two monsters like Mavros were going to emerge from the monster eggs¡­ [Alright! I¡¯ll get started right away!] 1. Respectful way of addressing an elder sister Chapter 138: Boss Monster Raid (1)

Chapter 138: Boss Monster Raid (1)

Han-Yeol breathed in and out a few times before cing the monster egg in front of him. Then, he grabbed the fruit and closed his eyes to feel every ounce of mana within his body. He focused his mana to sync with the mana in the fruit. ¡®Let¡¯s?start with Tayarana¡¯s pet. Mana Absorption!¡¯ Woooong! As a ton of mana suddenly rushed toward it through Han-Yeol, the monster egg slowly started to absorb the fruit. Shwaaaaa! Han-Yeol sessfully fertilized both of the monster eggs. [Is it done?] [Yeah, we just have to incubate the monster eggs properly until they hatch. Then, you just have to infuse your mana into each egg four dayster.] Gulp! Tayarana and Mariam nervously gulped at the thought of finally obtaining their very own monster pet. Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mariam lived in the same house for three days, but nothing happened between them. Those with depraved minds would probably suspect that something had happened between them, but the three days they lived together were quite peaceful and quiet. Three dayster, the three of them stepped into the incubation room. [Both of you know how to control your mana, right?] Tayarana grimaced in response to Han-Yeol¡¯s absurd question. She said, [Yes, we do. Do you realize how stupid your question sounded just now?] [Yes, your question was quite offensive,] Mariam also said with a grimace. Controlling one¡¯s own mana was something that even an E Rank Hunter could do, so Han-Yeol¡¯s question was no different from him looking down on Tayarana and Mariam. [Haha¡­ My bad. I was just asking to make sure. Hatching these eggs can be quite simple andplicated at the same time, and the egg might end up exploding if you make a mistake in controlling your mana.] [Ah¡­ I see¡­] [I see¡­] When Han-Yeol skilfully shifted the me to the sensitivity of the monster eggs, Tayarana and Mariam finally rxed their facial expressions. It worked. Both of them were solely focused on the monster eggs right now, so it was quite easy to convince them with such a reason. It would have been a difficult ordeal for him if they were their usual selves. ¡®Keke! This is apletely different side of them,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. After cing each of the fertilized monster eggs in front of them, he said, [Try injecting your mana slowly into the monster egg. Not too much and not too little. The egg will explode if you inject too much, but it might not hatch if you inject too little.] [Okay, I got it!] [Leave it to me!] Of course, Han-Yeol¡¯s concern was not something he had personally experienced himself. However, he knew from his experience of hatching his own monster egg that a bad oue would likelye about if the person failed to control their mana input. Besides, there was no reason to attempt something that could result in failure, right? Tayarana and Mariam gently ced their hands on each of their monster eggs. Wooooong¡­! Then, they carefully injected their mana into their eggs. Han-Yeol stood back and monitored the situation with his Demon Eyes activated. He was able to monitor the flow of mana with Demon Eyes, and he could tell that Tayarana and Mariam were doing an excellent job for now. ¡®Hmm¡­?Both of them are quite adept at controlling their mana. It seems as if they instinctively know what to do,¡¯?he thought. The both of them performed so incredibly well that Han-Yeol had no reason to worry about it, and both of them seemed to instinctively know what to do just like how he had known what to do when he had hatched his own monster egg. ¡®The main problem now is¡­ What¡¯s going toe out of the eggs?¡¯?he wondered what was going toe out of the eggs. He was not concerned if the monsters hatching from the eggs were as cute as what Tayarana and Mariam wanted or if they were going to be decent monsters. He was worried that the monsters hatching from the eggs would turn out to be bad monsters. Tayarana and Mariam continued injecting their mana into the monster eggs. Woooooong! Soon, the monster eggs started to react to their mana. Feeling the reactioning from the eggs, they immediately stopped injecting their mana into them. Ddruk¡­ C-C¡­ Crack¡­! A crack formed on the monster eggs¡¯ surface. [Alright, the monsters are going to hatch now.] [W-What is it going to be?] Tayarana prayed to the Sun God, Ra, for the first time in her life. ¡®Please, Ra, I do not wish for much¡­?Just make this monster healthy and happy!¡¯ Actually, having an adorable monster like Mavros was not an absolute must for both Tayarana and Mariam. All they wanted was a healthy and trustypanion that they could hunt with. ¡®Ah, it would be great if it could be as cute as Mavros¡­¡¯ Tayarana added. Of course, she preferred if her newpanion was going to be as cute as Mavros. C¡­ C-Crack¡­! Just as Tayarana was still praying, the monster eggs cracked open and the creatures inside them popped out. [They¡¯re here!] ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Han-Yeol eximed with a sigh of relief. Forget about the species, both of the monsters that had popped out from the monster eggs were extremely cute and adorable. The monster that hatched from Tayarana¡¯s monster egg looked like a griffin. Its upper body was that of an eagle while its lower body was that of a lion, with its tail appearing to be rather snake-like. It was still early to say what it was, but it definitely looked simr to a griffin. Regardless, Tayarana¡¯s monster was definitely as rare and legendary as a dragon. The monster that popped out of Mariam¡¯s monster egg was a very normal monster. ¡°Meow!¡± It was just a cat. However, judging by the sealed mana it contained in its body, it was certainly no ordinary cat. ¡®Both of them are really cute, but they¡¯re not as cute as Mavros,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Both of the monsters seemed to identify Han-Yeol as their parent as they immediately approached him and rubbed their heads against him. It went without saying that they were going to recognize Han-Yeol as their parent even though it was Tayarana and Mariam¡¯s mana that had hatched them. After all, it was his skill that had fertilized the monster eggs in the first ce. [Oh!] [Wow¡­] Tayarana and Mariam were stunned after seeing the baby monsters hatch from the monster eggs. Tayarana had prayed to the sun god for her pet monster to be born healthy, but she got more than what she had prayed for. Her monster had turned out to be an absurdly adorable creature. Han-Yeol thought that both the baby griffin and the kitten were not as cute as Mavros. However, the two women could not help but find their baby pet monsters to be much cuter than Han-Yeol¡¯s baby dragon. [C-Cute!] [They are too cute!] ¡®Haha¡­ That¡¯s a huge relief¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief after seeing Tayarana and Mariam¡¯s faces. *** Now that the monsters had hatched from their eggs, both Tayarana and Mariam were rushing Han-Yeol even more than before. [Han-Yeol! Hurry up!] [Please hurry up and pass their ownership to us, Han-Yeol-nim!] Both of them looked at him with sparkling eyes. [A-Alright, I¡¯ll do it right now.] Han-Yeol checked the baby griffin and the kitten¡¯s status screens, and found ¡®Transfer Ownership¡¯ in the lower left corner of the screen. He clicked on it and the names of Tayarana and Mariam appeared on the people the ownership was transferable to. ¡®Huh? So I can¡¯t give it to anyone except those that infused their mana into the eggs? Hmm¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t n on selling them left and right anyway, so that¡¯s not a huge issue.¡¯?Han-Yeol shrugged his shoulders. Then, he transferred the ownership of the baby griffin to Tayarana and the kitten to Mariam. Ding! [You have transferred the ownership of the Baby Griffin to Tayarana.] [You have transferred the ownership of the Kitten to Mariam.] Ding! [The rank of ¡®Taming¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] [The stat ¡®Charisma¡¯ has increased by 10.] ¡®Oh! Jackpot!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after discovering that his Taming skill had leveled up and that he had gained ten charisma points. It was probably a reward he had obtained for transferring the ownership of the monsters to someone else for the first time. ¡°Kireuk!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± The eyes of the baby monsters that were fixated only on Han-Yeol soon turned toward their new ¡®parents¡¯ after the transfer of ownership. Noticing that, Han-Yeol could not help but be amazed that something like this was possible all thanks to a skill. ¡®I¡¯m really starting to wonder what in the world this ability of mine is¡­¡¯?he thought. He had already gotten so used to his skills that it felt as natural as breathing by now, but there were times that he would still wonder about the true identity of his ability. As expected, Karvis would pop up whenever he wondered about the mystery of his ability. She was something like an AI that was always with Han-Yeol. [I am quite curious about that myself. I exist to advise Han-Yeol-nim on various matters, but I have no recollection of why I was born. There are moments when I ask myself who I am, but I do not have an answer for that.] ¡®Really?¡¯ [Yes, but one thing I am certain of is the fact that my limited capabilities are slowly getting better the stronger Han-Yeol-nim grows. In fact, I got a glimpse of my missing memories a while back, so I hope that Han-Yeol-nim will be able to grow stronger and help me retrieve my memories.] ¡®Ah, don¡¯t worry about that. I will continue to grow stronger without dying any time soon.¡¯ [Thank you very much, Han-Yeol-nim.] Han-Yeol was busy talking to his Ego system while Tayarana and Mariam werepletely distracted by their new pets. As a matter of fact, they were so engrossed in their new pets that they probably would not notice even if someone had broken in and stolen a few things from the room. [Your name will be Candalus from now on.] ¡°Kireuk!¡± Candalus seemed to like its new cool name. It chirped and pped its wings before rubbing its body on Tayarana. [Your name is Pipi from now on.] ¡°Meow!¡± Pipi seemed to like its new name as well, rubbing its head against Mariam. After all, this was one of the ways that felines usually showed their affection toward humans. ¡®It¡¯s a relief that both of them quickly got along with their new pets,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while watching the two get along just fine with their newpanions. The monsters might just be babies, but there was no telling what kind of attitude they might show. Still, it was quite a huge relief that they were able to get along with their new owners without any incidents. [Anyway, it¡¯s time to pay the rest of the contract amount now that you¡¯ve received your pets, right?] [Oh, you¡¯re right. Mariam.] [Yes, Tayarana-nim.] Mariam called someone and hung up after three minutes. Then¡­ Beep! Han-Yeol¡¯s smartphone rang as a message arrived. He checked the message and¡­ [1,000,000,000,000 Won has been deposited to your ount from ¡®Horus Raid Party¡¯.] He had previously received one trillion won as an advance payment, so he was now receiving the remaining one trillion won after having delivered his side of the bargain. Their rtionship might have been built on trust, but all three of them had agreed that they should conduct this deal as strictly business with the involvement of money. That was the reason why they had decided to split the payment. The first half of the payment was paid as an advance payment while the other half was to be paid only after Han-Yeol provided the pet monsters to them. And now, both parties had sessfullypleted the deal without a hitch. ¡®Holy! My worth?has increased to three trillion won in the blink of an eye!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly. His worth could not pass one trillion won as he was spending a lot in recent days, but he had just tripled his worth in an instant from selling two monsters as pets. ¡®Hehehe¡­ Where should I spend my money this time?¡¯? Han-Yeol was now one of the richest people in South Korea. He might be one of the top Hunters in the country right now, but it was still quite difficult for a Hunter to amass trillions of won in assets. It would have been a different story if it was the United States, where it was quitemon to see worth billions of dors. South Korea was a small country that ranked twenty-ninth in poption and one-hundred-ninth innd area, so it was quite rare to see a trillionaire Hunter in the country. In this day and age of mana stones, the power of a country was determined by the number of Hunters they possessed, the quality of mana stones produced in the country, and the number of hunting grounds they could ¡®farm¡¯ mana stones from. Thus, there was bound to be a limit for a small country like South Korea when it came to producing ultra-wealthy Hunters. ¡®I heard that a new private jet and yacht was released in America¡­ Should I go and take a look at that? Oh right, I should probably start shopping for my own private ind while I¡¯m at it.¡¯?Han-Yeol was feeling ecstatic at the thought of spending money. One of his childhood dreams had always been to own his very own private ind, build a luxurious mansion on it, and spend countless ¡®hot¡¯ nights with beautiful bikini-d women. Thest one was probably not something he could do due to various reasons, but the first two were goals that he could definitely achieve as long as he had the money to do it. There were plenty of beautiful inds with jaw-dropping views in the South Sea and West Sea of South Korea, and the thought of owning one of them just to go on a holiday was indeed a dream that most people would have. ¡®Well, I can just go and buy an ind on foreign soil if things don¡¯t work out here,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he shrugged. There were plenty of inds in Southeast Asia as well as the Pacifics, and most of the countries in these regions were quite weing when it came to foreigners wanting to buy some of their inds due to their financial situations. The mana stones had triggered a new economic era for most countries, but it was not an omnipotent material that could solve every single problem. Most of the poor ind nations resorted to selling their inds to wealthy foreigners and filling their coffers by earning property tax revenue from them. The reason that some of these ind nations were poor was solely due to their political corruption or economic istion. Therefore, these ind nations leveraged the majestic views they had that could be found nowhere else in the world to build an economy dependent on tourism. These ind nations saw a huge influx of tourists that came to wind down every year, and this in turn fueled the growth of their economy. However, it was quite difficult for an ind nation to develop its tourism industry and be a holiday destination. One of the basic requirements they had was to have majestic views and be crime-free, but the most important thing was definitely to be one hundred percent monster-free. A monster waspletely different from a wild animal that encountering one was going to guarantee death if the person was not a Hunter, and that was the reason that most tourists irked going to an ind nation that was not designated as aplete monster-free safe zone. This was the main reason that most poor countries offered a lot of tax incentives and various other benefits to foreign raid parties toe and settle down in their country. Of course, these poor countries had their own Hunters, but they were few in number as these countries did not have the proper infrastructure to allow people to awaken as Hunters. On top of that, these ind nations were usually quite small and they did not have enough hunting grounds for their Hunters to hunt in, so they had great difficulty in making their Hunters stay in their country. At the end of the day, it was difficult for them to maintain their Hunter poption, which made it difficult for them to produce their own mana stones, and it goes without saying that this would turn into an economic death spiral sooner orter. The emergence of mana stones might have created a new trend of nationalism, istionism, or ultranationalism, but there were quite a lot of different kinds of political systems as well. ¡®I just have to sell a few more monsters if I run out of money,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with another shrug. In the end, all he had to do was to use his skill and get paid one trillion won, and this one trillion won that he earned could be considered pure profit. It was absolutely impossible to say that there was any other business had such an absurd profit margin as the one he was doing right now. Chapter 139: Boss Monster Raid (2)

Chapter 139: Boss Monster Raid (2)

[Aaah! Noonim! Mariam! You finally got your pets!] A person with the powerful ability to instantly turn his surroundings rowdy had appeared. It was none other than the new tenant in Han-Yeol¡¯s mansion, Mujahid. [I thought I saw you leave a while ago. You¡¯re back already?] [Yes, I had a few things to buy, so I went to the Hunter Mall for a while. I like how shopping malls are quite developed in Korea, unlike Egypt. It is not that easy to findrge malls like this in our country.] h! h! h! h! h! h!? Mujahid possessed the rare gift of responding with a thousand words to any question asked, and it was this ¡®gift¡¯ of his that made it hard for Tayarana and Mariam to put up with him. Ironically, he had no idea why the two disliked him so much, and there were numerous nights he would stay up wondering what exactly he was doing wrong. [Excuse me, Han-Yeol-nim. Is it possible for me to get a pet as well? I am willing to pay the one trillion won fee too.] Of course, it went without saying that Mujahid possessed great wealth outside of his family''s wealth. He was a frence Hunter affiliated with the Egyptian government, but he also quite frequently moonlighted for private raid parties and was handsomely rewarded for his services. After all, he was a rather famous Osiric Rank Hunter in the market and his fees were quite high. On top of that, he possessed numerous businesses as a hobby, such as an automobilepany, a horse racing track, poker websites, a constructionpany, and a famous European football team. Thanks to his hobbies, he had amassed quite a fortune, and he was earning money for every second of any day. It was difficult to assess just how much money Mujahid had, but it was assumed that his wealth totaled up to a massive thirty-four trillion won. He was definitely someone that one should not simply look down on because of his carefree personality. After all, he was like a viper ready to strike at any moment when it came to opportunities that could potentially make him more money. [Should I? Well, I guess we¡¯re going to spend a lot of time together from now on, so you¡¯ll probably feel left out if you don¡¯t get one.] [Yahoo! Three cheers for the great warrior-nim!] Mujahid cheered and started to jump for joy after Han-Yeol agreed to sell him a monster pet. Anyone who saw his actions right now would probably not imagine that he was an extremely wealthy individual with a worth of thirty-four trillion won. Mujahid might own severalpanies, but he personally liked working as a Hunter. Needless to say, he did not really concern himself with the operation of hispanies. However, that did not mean that those running thepanies in his stead would be able to steal from him; those loyal to the pharaoh¡¯s household were closely monitoring all of hispanies¡¯ operations. [In return, you will have to go get me a monster egg and fruit as well.] [Yes! I will be right on it!] Tak! Mujahid saluted Han-Yeol before instantly running out. *** Mujahid literally finished things at the speed of light. After going out with only a pair of gloves, he came back in three hours with a monster egg and fruit. [Haa¡­ Haa¡­?Han-Yeol-nim¡­ Here¡­] [Wow, you got them in record time. How did you get them so fast? You probably don¡¯t even know the way.] [Simple. I just grilled some of the underlings.] Mujahid grinned and cracked his knuckles. ¡®I have no idea who that underling is, but I pray that he?rests?in peace¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol inwardly wished whoever had been unfortunate enough to get caught by Mujahid. He soon hatched the monster egg for Mujahid, and the monster that emerged was a baby ck panther. Looking at the monster, he thought, ¡®He does give off a ck panther vibe as long as shuts his mouth¡­¡¯ Mujahid¡¯s mouth was the problem. ¡®Well, as long as the monster suits him and he¡¯s happy with it, I guess¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief after getting good monsters for others three times in a row. He was charging one trillion won per monster, so the buyer had to get a monster to their liking to be happy. Just like that, he ended up increasing his worth by another one trillion won to be a grand total of four trillion won. ¡®I think this will be more than enough funds for me to nurture Yoo-Bi,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he nned for the future. He was going to be quite busy as he had to be stronger, start and run multiple businesses, and y with Mavros. Dudududu! Han-Yeol was currently in a helicopter, and his destination was the expanded area in Sung Jin Factory where Yoo-Bi was at. After deciding to work together with Sung-Jin¡¯s father, the first thing that Han-Yeol had done was to purchase thends surrounding Sung Jin Factory and construct a ce where Yoo-Bi could use her abilities. However, just because it was a part of the factorynd, did it mean that the new business was a branch of Sung Jin Factory? This newpany was one hundred percent owned and invested by Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol entered the factory building and went to Yoo-Bi¡¯s personal workshop. Zhiiing! Zhiiiing! Yoo-Bi was busy welding something with a welding mask on. She was so immersed in her work that she did not even notice Han-Yeol, who was only a few steps away from her. ¡®It¡¯s nice to see her so focused and engrossed in her work,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. He had decided not to pursue her romantically, but that did not mean he no longer admired her for her work ethic. Yoo-Bi looked much more charming now that she was all grown up and working hard for herself. ¡®Hmm¡­ I kind of feel annoyed at the thought that some lucky guy is going to end up with her¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol could feel his blood pressure rise. Perhaps this was because he sincerely thought of her as his little sister? Whatever it might be, he decided to take a step back and observe Yoo-Bi use her abilities. Back when she worked as the MC of Han-Yeol¡¯s channel, Yoo-Bi had been seen as quite beautiful and charming. However, she exuded a totally different charm now that she was working on something with a welding mask on while covered in grease. ¡®Is this what they call a girl crush these days?¡¯?he suddenly thought of a term he often saw on TV and the inte these days. However, he could not be sure of the term¡¯s usage. He was quite behind when it came to the social trend these days. After all, he only had time to watch the news whenever he was in front of the TV, and his schedule was quite jam-packed nowadays. Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Ziiiing! Yoo-Bi was drenched in sweat after she finished welding. Brushing her hair back, she took off the welding mask and finally noticed that Han-Yeol was standing next to her. ¡°Oppa?¡± ¡°Yo~ Yoo-Bi!¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve told me if you¡¯re here,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a hint of annoyance in her voice as she red at Han-Yeol. ¡°Haha, my bad. You looked quite charming while working, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb you. When else would I get to see something like this? They only make those celebrities pose these days, but none of them actually does this kind of rough work, right? It¡¯s quite nice to see an up-anding female engineer.¡± ¡°Hoho, I guess I¡¯m somewhat great if you ask me,¡± she joked in response. Frankly speaking, her dream was to be an architect or a celebrity, and she probably had never imagined in her wildest dreams that she was going to end up as a mechanical engineer. That was the reason for her shock when she had first awakened with her abilities. She had no clue what she was supposed to do with her skill, so she had locked herself up in her room to try ande up with a n. That was also why she hadn¡¯t been able to call Han-Yeol immediately. After a period of being in denial over her abilities, she hadposed herself and decided to explore the potential her abilities had. It would have been much easier if she had received help from Han-Yeol right off the bat, but she, who had already been on the receiving end for so long, could not bring herself to request help from him. She also felt that her ability was nothing great, and this was the bigger reason that she had been ashamed to ask for his help. However, she had soon realized in the end that Han-Yeol was the only person she could turn to for help. In the end, she had mustered up the courage to finally tell him about her abilities. ¡®He was sincerely happy when I told him¡­¡¯?Yoo-Bi reminisced. Han-Yeol had been the first to propose that they sign a contract, and his trust had made her steel her resolve to do her very best after she had signed the contract. Now, thanks to his support, Yoo-Bi was able to figure out her abilities to a certain extent. ¡®Oppa said that I can be the best with my abilities as long as I work hard.¡¯?She clenched her fist. She had no knowledge of engineering or technology, but that did not mean she had no idea how the world worked. She did some further digging and found that there were no awakened beings who had the ability to create mechanical things like she did. ¡®I¡¯ll be the best in this monopoly, and I will repay everything oppa?has done?for me,¡¯?she repeated this thought in her head over and over again. Of course, Yoo-Bi could only create simple equipment as of right now, but she was willing to put in the effort to be useful to Han-Yeol one day. ¡°So, how¡¯s your ability? Are you starting to get used to it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I tried creating a few simple pieces of equipment. Actually, I just disassembled a few pieces of equipmentmonly found in the market and I tried to create my own after studying it. Surprisingly, I found it quiteplicated but fun at the same time,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s great. I bet you¡¯re starting to be aware of just how good your ability is, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but not only that, it¡¯s fun too. I have a feeling that I¡¯ll be able to earn a lot of money with this ability.¡± ¡°Hoho! That¡¯s a given. You¡¯re the only Mechanical Crafter in the world right now. There might be others in the future, but we just have to control the market before they start appearing.¡± ¡°Okay, oppa!¡± ¡°Give me five!¡± Han-Yeol raised his hand, inviting Yoo-Bi to give him a high-five. Chak! Now that their rtionship had further evolved, they were like real siblings thanks to Han-Yeol¡¯s effort. After that, they spent nearly two hours discussing things rted to their business. The business was just starting, so there were a lot of things they had to discuss with each other. ¡°Hmm¡­ I haven¡¯t seen that bag before, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi suddenly said as she pointed at the ck bag Han-Yeol was carrying in the middle of their discussion. ¡°Ah, this one?¡± Han-Yeol responded. He was about to exin what the bag was when the p suddenly opened to reveal a pair of crystal-clear eyes. Then, the icon of cuteness, Mavros, peeked his head out of the bag. ¡°Kyuuuu!¡±?The baby dragon was trying to say that he was hungry. Han-Yeol had initially tried to feed him mealworms or insects since the baby dragon was technically a reptile-like being. However, the baby dragon hadpletely rejected his meal n. Just as he had been at a loss for what to do, Mavros had suddenly spotted Albert passing by with fresh chicken in his hand. Then, the baby ck dragon had darted toward the old butler and devoured the chicken including its bones. Han-Yeol started to feed fresh meat to his baby dragon from then onward, and Mavros¡¯ favorite was fresh duck. It seemed that a dragon was quite the gourmet as he knew what expensive meat was. Anyway, the baby dragon had been sleeping in the bag before suddenly waking up from hunger. However, what awaited Mavros was not food but a difficult trial. ¡°Kyah!?So cute!¡± Kwak! ¡°KYUUUUU!¡± Yoo-Bi snatched Mavros from the bag and hugged him tightly while rubbing her face on him. It seemed that Mavros¡¯ adorable charm was super effective on Yoo-Bi as well. Squirm! Squirm! Squirm! Squirm!? Mavros tried his best to break free, but he still wasn¡¯t that strong yet. In fact, he was quite docile so he did not have the instinct to attack a human no matter how startled he was. Needless to say, there was no way another pet could be as lovable and adorable as Mavros. ¡°Mavros¡­ Hang in there buddy¡­¡± ¡°Kyu¡­¡±?Mavros moaned with droopy ears when Han-Yeol did not help him. ¡°Oppa! What¡¯s this thing? I think it¡¯s a monster, but it¡¯s so cute and it seems to listen to you! Did you manage to find it in a hunting ground?¡± Yoo-Bi asked while looking at Han-Yeol with eyes that revealed her desire to have a pet of her own. This was a natural reaction by anyone who had been charmed by Mavros. ¡°No, nobody has ever sessfully tamed a wild monster. It¡¯s one of my skills that allows me to incubate and hatch a monster from a monster egg,¡± Han-Yeol exined. ¡°Hiiing¡­?Then, I guess I won¡¯t be able to get one¡­ You won¡¯t be able to give the pet to me if it¡¯s your skill, right?¡± ¡°Nope, I can. In fact, I already gave one each to Tayarana, Mariam, and Mujahid. Well, they did pay me one trillion won for them, so¡­¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡±?Yoo-Bi was shocked after hearing the monster pet¡¯s price tag. ¡®One¡­ One trillion¡­!¡¯?she eximed inwardly as she counted the zeroes in her head. It was an astonishing figure that she had never even attempted to imagine in her life. Of course, she could probably reach that figure one day if she continued to train her ability, but that was only in the future. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can earn that amount in no time if you work hard enough. I¡¯ll give you one as soon as you have one trillion in your ount. Oh, I¡¯ll even prioritize yours and give you a partner discount.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? Han-Yeol patted Yoo-Bi¡¯s head. He was quite generous to his people, but he also knew how to separate personal and business matters. There was no way he was going to give Yoo-Bi a pet for free. Han-Yeol had given Yoo-Bi a high sry back when she had been his Porter. In fact, he was currently paying the same wage to the Porters who reced her after she had awakened. In short, he did not pay her more because of favoritism or whatnot. He had chosen to give a higher sry right at the beginning due to his first-hand experience of how little the Porters had been getting paid. Another reason that he refused to give Yoo-Bi a pet for free was he did not want to set a precedent for others. After all, there would definitely be a lot of other people moring for their own pets the moment they learned that he had given one out for free. The best he could do for her right now was to guarantee her priority the moment she had the money prepared. He would also give her a little discount for old time¡¯s sake. ¡°Alright! I will work really hard and earn that so you better get ready!¡± Yoo-Bi enthusiastically eximed as she steeled her resolve. Chapter 140: Boss Monster Raid (3)

Chapter 140: Boss Monster Raid (3)

A few days after he had discussed business with Yoo-Bi, Han-Yeol received a call from hiswyer. [I have received word that the Shine raid party has sessfullypleted your request.] ¡°Oh, really?¡± [Yes, would you like to check it?] ¡°Are you certain it¡¯s real gold?¡± [It is without a doubt. I hired ten different gold experts, all of whom inspected the gold for two days. All of them reached the same conclusion that the gold was one hundred percent twenty-four karat pure gold.] ¡°That¡¯s excellent news. Please proceed to pay the remaining bnce to the Shine raid party and deliver the gold to my ce.¡± [Yes, I will see to it immediately.] Beep. ¡®Phew¡­ At least that¡¯s one thing ticked off my list¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol had been quite worried as the promised date with Delchant was nearing. Of course, it had been highly unlikely that the Shine raid party was going to not uphold their end of the bargain. After all, Han-Yeol had made sure that they were going to be legally held liable. However, there had still been a chance that unforeseen circumstances could ur. One prime example of this would be the raid party dying in the Gold Mine hunting ground. Fortunately, that did not happen and the Shine raid party had sessfullypleted his request without a hitch. ¡®I think I can hire them if I need something next time,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he was quite satisfied with their performance. He was d that he had found a trustworthy raid party to ce his request next time, since he nned to continue doing business with Delchant. Most Hunters, raid parties, and guilds did not hop around various hunting grounds like Han-Yeol did. Hunting was just a livelihood for them, so they preferred to safely hunt in familiar environments rather than risk venturing to new ces. Of course, Han-Yeol¡¯s deep pockets when it came to rewarding them for their services would definitely be weed by them. It more than made up for the fact that the golems in the Gold Mine were not easy opponents. Han-Yeol¡¯s reward of ten billion won for ten tons of gold would have been scoffed at by everyone if it had been before the appearance of the Dimensional Gates. South Korea had tried to increase their gold reserves back in 2013 by investing one billion dors to purchase twenty tons of gold. One billion dors in 2013 would have been roughly one trillion won, and this was the amount they had spent to purchase not one hundred tons of gold but only twenty tons of gold. It was known at that time that South Korea had bolstered their gold reserves in 2013 from eighty-four tons to one hundred four tons after purchasing twenty tons of gold, and they had moved two ranks up the gold reserve ranking from the thirty-sixth rank to the thirty-fourth. However, Han-Yeol had just purchased ten tons of gold for only ten billion won, so it could be understood that gold prices had absolutely crashed after the Dimensional Gates incident. The emergence of mana stones as a recement for gold had sent gold prices crashing, and quite a lot of wealthy individuals who possessed gold had gone bankrupt that day. The most famous example would be the Rothschild Family¡¯s fall from grace. They had possessed roughly three to four trillion dors in assets, and quite a significant portion of their wealth had been stashed in gold in secret. However, the sudden crash of gold had turned their sturdy hidden stash into a pile of dung overnight. Of course, they had also possessed a lot of other liquid assets so they did not gopletely bankrupt, but the damage had been so significant that they were never the same after that. The mineral that had been the symbol of wealth back then, gold, was no longer desired by anyone. However, one individual was certainly still very much obsessed with gold. [Kihihihi! I will never get sick of looking at all of this shiny gold! Excellent!] It was the Demon Merchant, Delchant. [Are you satisfied?] [Yes, I am! Just call me if you ever need something again! I will be delighted to do business with you any time! Kihihihi!] Delchant let out his trademark insaneughter after seeing the ten tons of gold in front of him. It was funny to describe hisughter as insane, since he generally appeared to be insane from the first time Han-Yeol had met him. Delchant looked quite satisfied with the ten tons of gold as he made his way back to the demon world. Some might say that he had paid quite a hefty price for the transaction, but Han-Yeol possessed a lot of money. He decided to think of it as cing arge donation and shrugging it off. Well, it was indeed a donation as he had sessfully saved countless lives thanks to the one thousand demon legion he had summoned. However, it was true that he did not directly benefit from it. ¡®Tsk¡­ They would have given me a medal if this was in America¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. The United States was quite generous when it came to awarding various medals to Hunters for their services. In fact, the recent emergence of dimensional holes and dimensional rifts required the active participation of Hunters to restore peace in their country, which was massive innd mass. One such example was the desert region of the United States where only a few households lived, but there were at least one or two Hunters stationed there to be their protector. The government of the United States bestowed merits and medals to the Hunters in return for their services, and this in turn created a more public-friendly image for the Hunters. In fact, this propaganda initiated by the United States proved quite effective as most Hunters in the country were now viewed as heroes like Captain America. Of course, there were still a few bad apples in the bunch, but those were rare cases. ¡®The South Korean government should learn from the Americans¡­ These bastards in power keep trying to cause a divide between people and Hunters for their own benefit, and they don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about the country¡¯s future¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled once again. The Hunters were going to be weed by a lot of ces if, and only if, in the rare chance that the country was conquered by an invader. However, that was not going to be the case for the general popce. In short, the ones who were going to suffer in the end were the normal people and not the elites. ¡®I¡¯ll do everything in my power to take care of my people if I be someone influential and powerful.¡¯?Han-Yeol clenched his fist and made his resolve. He was not a benevolent person nor was he a saint, so he did not have the responsibility to help everyone. The resolve he made was purely for those who worked for him in the numerouspanies he nned to establish from now on. *** A few dayster, Han-Yeol received a call from Mariam. He then went to the Horus raid party mansion by helicopter. The monster pet incident had shone the spotlight on Han-Yeol. There were numerous researchers, experts, governments, and insidious organizations that were interested in him, and the Horus raid party, Egypt, and the United States did their best to protect him. It went without saying that having these three giants as his protectors made it quite difficult for anyone with bad intent to make any move on him. Dudududu! There were fewer reporters lurking outside the Horus raid party mansion after the initial media frenzy had subsided, but Han-Yeol still chose to use a helicopter as his mode of transportation. The helicopter he was on right now hadn¡¯t been sent by the Horus raid party. It was a personalized helicopter he had bought with his own money. His helicopter was the civilian version of the most powerful helicopter in the past, the Apache Helicopter, and it still packed quite the punch for a civilian helicopter. Han-Yeol did not need the firepower the helicopter carried, but he saw no reason to forgo the weapons it came with since he was legally allowed to mount such weapons on his private helicopter. ¡®I mean, it looks really cool, right?¡¯?he shrugged. Han-Yeol had initially wanted to purchase a new Apache Helicopter, but it was near impossible to get one these days. The demand for such vehicles of destruction were scarce after the emergence of Hunters. In the end, he had to purchase a used Apache Helicopter that had been wasting away in the Korean Army¡¯s garage for nine billion won. A new Apache Helicopter usually went for thirty-five billion won, but this one had been used for more than a decade and then had simply been parked in the garage. Han-Yeol had emphasized the fact that it was going to be a liability for the army to keep the helicopter around without having any use for it, and he had heavily negotiated to bring down the price to nine billion won. Were you wondering about why he was so stingy despite being so rich? ¡®Giving even one cent to those corrupted military bastards is a waste.¡¯ It was exactly as Han-Yeol said. The Ministry of Defense had lost a lot of their power after the emergence of Hunters, but that did not deter them from purchasing bunk beds only worth one hundred thousand won for two million won. Those corrupted vermin never changed their habit of purchasing products with crazy markups, just as they had done for decades. It went without saying that the one purchasing and the one selling these crazily marked-up products were either rted to them or in cahoots. This was a ssic case of corruption in the government. ¡®Paying them nine billion is already annoying me¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol loathed the fact that he had given money to those corrupt individuals, but that was the only way he could have gotten his hands on an Apache Helicopter. South Korea was a small country, so there were not a lot of civilian helicopters in the market. He could have made a request to a foreignpany to supply him with one, but he was going to have to wait a long time so he eventually decided against it. Han-Yeol wanted one immediately not out of need but out of want. ¡°We are almost there, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Han-Yeol arrived at the Horus raid party mansion and attended the second meeting, which had been requested by the Hunters¡¯ Association. This time, the Hunters¡¯ Association sent a pot-bellied bald middle-aged man in his forties instead of the manager they previously sent. ¡°Ehem¡­?My name is Kim Cha-Il, and I am a manager from the main branch of the Hunters¡¯ Association. I would like to deeply apologize for the problem our staff has caused in the previous meeting,¡± Kim Cha-Il said with a bow. He seemed to be used to kowtowing to other people, as expected of a seasoned office worker. ¡®Hmm¡­ He¡¯s probably not a Hunter. There¡¯s no way a Hunter¡¯s pride is going to allow them to do something like this. He¡¯s probably here as the scapegoat if things go wrong,¡¯?Han-Yeol deduced. There were a lot of ordinary people working at the Hunters¡¯ Association, and it was quitemon for ordinary people to be in charge of administrative work just like Manager Kim Cha-Il. The guy they sent thest time had been chased out by the Horus raid party, so they had to send someone else in hopes of appeasing them. However, the Hunters were simply too proud to do something like this, which eventually forced the Hunters¡¯ Association to send a normal person. ¡°So, did youe bearing fresh terms?¡± Han-Yeol asked. It was best for Han-Yeol to initiate the conversation as he was Korean and also the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party. It was best to deal with a fellowpatriot, after all. ¡°Ah, yes, of course. The Hunters¡¯ Association is willing to give you one of the unique items we possess and 1.2 trillion won.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ That doesn¡¯t sound bad at all¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered before he looked at Mariam. The Leader and Vice Leader of the Horus raid party were Tayarana and Han-Yeol, but the brains behind the raid party was none other than Mariam. In fact, most of the decisions Tayarana made were actually Mariam¡¯s idea, and the very few times they were not was all due to Tayarana¡¯s stubbornness. Mariam nodded and replied, [I think it is a reasonable offer. The money is not important, but the unique item is quite enticing.] Han-Yeol might have spoken in Korean, but Mariam had replied in Arabic. She was a MENSA member with an IQ of one hundred sixty, and she was fluent in not only Arabic and Korean but also in English, German, French, and Spanish. A lot of peoplemented when she had awakened with telepathic abilities that it really suited her. However, the reason that she had replied in Arabic instead of Korean was simply due to her own stubbornness. Her pride did not allow her to use anothernguage when Han-Yeol obviously spoke Arabic fluently. [Then, shall we ept the request?] [Yes.] [Alright.] Han-Yeol looked at Manager Kim Cha-Il, who was profusely sweating from the nervousness. He felt a bit bad that he was treating someone his father¡¯s age this way, but he couldn¡¯t let his personal feelings get in the way of official matters. ¡°The Horus raid party has made a decision regarding the request the Hunters¡¯ Association made,¡± Han-Yeol said. Gulp¡­! Manager Kim Cha-Il nervously gulped as he was worried that he was going to get kicked out by the Horus raid party, which would be detrimental to his career as well. He started to worry about how he was going to feed his wife and kids from now on if he were ever to get fired because of this. ¡®Please¡­! Please¡­! Please¡­!¡¯ ¡°We ept the request,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°YES!¡± Manager Kim Cha-Il blurted out the words he was supposed to keep inside his head and swung his fist in an uppercut motion. ¡°¡­¡± Everyone in the meeting room looked at Manager Kim Cha-Il as if he was a madman. Manager Kim Cha-Il immediately realized his mistake and cleared his throat in embarrassment. He said, ¡°T-Then¡­ Shall we sign the contract¡­?¡± Hunters certainly signed contracts between them for any work they agreed on. It would be ideal if there were no need for such contracts and that everyone honored their words, but that was not the case. This made contracts a natural requirement. Not to mention, a contract between Hunters usually involvedrge sums of money, so a legally binding contract was definitely required. Han-Yeol nced at Mariam, who nodded in response since this was the part she was going to take over. He then told Manager Kim Cha-Il, ¡°Okay, you will have to discuss with Mariam about that from now on.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I see¡­¡± Manager Kim Cha-Il seemed to have heard of Mariam¡¯s infamy as he seemed quite burdened by the idea of working with her. ¡®I kind of understand how he feels. There was an earlier rumor that Mariam had gone to the Hunters¡¯ Association alone after all of the Horus raid party executives returned to Egypt for some business, but she did not give an inch despite being outnumbered in the meeting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Mariam was quite courteous to him since he was above her in terms of hierarchy, but even Han-Yeol felt nervous whenever she got serious. However, Manager Kim Chae-Il was currently dealing with her on equal footing, and Han-Yeol was certain that the man was definitely going to have a nervous breakdown soon enough. ¡®They probably have no idea that she can read minds as well¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was sincerely worried for the man. Mariam did not dare attempt to read Han-Yeol¡¯s mind as he ranked higher than her, but there was no stopping her from doing that to someone else. Besides, the oue was as good as decided since they were basically ying poker with their hands fully exposed to her. Han-Yeol decided to say a short prayer for the man before getting up. [Aaaah! I¡¯mte! I¡¯mte!] ¡®Ah¡­ It¡¯s so early in the morning to have to deal with this¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grimaced after sensing the iing headache. Once the meeting ended, Tayarana and Han-Yeol were about to leave when the door swung wide open and Mujahid came running in. Unfortunately, he came face to face with Tayarana the moment he entered the room. [G-Good morning¡­ N-Noonim¡­] [Silence,] Tayarana shot down Mujahid¡¯s greeting and left the room. Han-Yeol motioned for the ones behind him to pass first, and all of them snickered after passing Mujahid. They could have been punished under lese-majeste if Egypt was a kingdom, but fortunately, the country was still a pseudo-democracy as they held elections and had a congress. That was the reason that Mujahid could be openlyughed at by others despite him being a prince. This was a stark difference to how some royals in the region ruled their nations with an iron fist. [Hey Mujahid, why does it feel like you¡¯re intentionally doing only the things your sister hates?] Han-Yeol initially felt burdened dealing with Mujahid as the man was a prince after all, but he soon realized that he was more like a mischievous younger brother than a prince. [Hahaha! I overslept today, so¡­] [I¡¯m pretty sure we were informedst night that there was going to be an important meeting with the Hunters¡¯ Association today at eight in the morning.] [I was aware of it too but¡­the video game you taught me was so fun that I identally ended up ying it until five in the morning. I also identally forgot to set an rm, and identally overslept¡­] [Haa¡­ You are such a handful¡­] Chapter 141: Boss Monster Raid (4)

Chapter 141: Boss Monster Raid (4)

Mujahid spent a lot of his free time with Han-Yeol, and both of them usually ended up ying video games together. Also, they watched movies from time to time and the genre they watched were usually gangster movies. With all that time they spent together, Mujahid began to change the way he called Han-Yeol from Han-Yeol-nim to hyung-nim. It was quite funny to hear him suddenly say ¡®hyung-nim¡¯ in Korean while speaking in Arabic. [So, did we finally ept the raid request from the Hunters¡¯ Association?] [Yeah, we epted it.] [Yes!] Mujahid clenched his fists and threw them in the air. [Does it make you that happy?] [Yes! I need to have a good fight whenever my body feels itchy, but I was stuck here waiting for an opportunity. I¡¯m so d that I will finally be able to vent all of my frustrations on the monsters!] [Haha¡­ You might act funny at times, but your abilities are top-notch, after all¡­] Han-Yeol tried to look into Mujahid recently. Surprisingly, he came across information about Mujahid quite easily, and the prince was quite the celebrity like Tayarana¡­just in a different way. Tayarana was known as the Goddess of Africa or the Princess of Egypt. As for Mujahid, he was known as a battle-crazed fiend. He was infamous for enjoying hunting monsters so much that he looked like a madman whenever he started hunting. Once, he had even set a record for hunting two hundred consecutive hours in the pyramid withouting out. ¡®He might be a bit aloof, but he¡¯s the best kind ofrade you can ask for in the hunting grounds,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he grabbed Mujahid¡¯s right arm and smacked him in the back. Tak! [Ouch! Hyung-nim!] [Let¡¯s do our best, Mujahid.] [Yes! I will be in your care, hyung-nim!] ¡®Huh? Isn¡¯t this guy stronger than me¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. Han-Yeol might have epted Mujahid as his disciple, since he had asked to be one, but he was not sure if Mujahid was stronger than him or not. After all, they had notpared themselves yet. Han-Yeol also hadn¡¯t been able to test his full power yet as the Marowaks were simply too easy to deal with. ¡®Should I go check how strong I am first before going for the raid? Ah¡­ But it¡¯s so troublesome¡­¡¯?he grumbled inwardly as he made his way to the mansion¡¯s dining area. It did not take him long to be distracted from his initial thoughts. ¡®Hehe¡­ The food here is really awesome no matter how much I eat it.¡¯ The food was not as great as the one prepared when Phaophator had visited, but it was still the best Han-Yeol had ever tasted. ¡®I think they mentioned hiring an Egyptian chef who studied culinary in Europe or something¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol started wondering if he should sponsor a culinary student andter hire them as his personal chef. *** The Horus raid party no longer had the luxury toze around after epting the raid request. The afternoon was to be spent going through the specific details of the contract with the Hunters¡¯ Association, and the entire Horus raid party had been mobilized. They flew to Daegu International Airport on their private jet. Not only that, but they even dispatched numerous helicopters carrying support personnel and convoys of trucks with their supplies as well. ¡°Hmm¡­ Why did wee here, manager-nim?¡± Han-Yeol asked. The entire area was now under the control of the association, so Kim Cha-Il had apanied them as their guide. However, the strange part was that their amodation or base camp was the Bulguksa Temple. ¡°This will be our base camp until we hunt the boss monster, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,¡± Kim Cha-Il replied. ¡°What about the monks?¡± The temple might be a famous tourist destination, but it was still a temple nheless. It was a ce run by monks, so there was no way that they were going to docilely hand over the temple to a raid party. ¡°Ah, I am not sure if it is a relief or not, but only the head monk remains in this ce. The other monks had either run away after the boss monster appeared or they had joined the first raid party that attempted to hunt it. Unfortunately, none of them survived the initial failed raid. Anyway, we received permission from the head monk to use this as our base camp from now on,¡± Kim Cha-Il exined. ¡°Hmm¡­ Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡®Tsk¡­ I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a relief or not, like he said¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. The Horus raid party were able to set up camp at the best possible location, but they did not consider it as good fortune. They just heard that they were only amodated after the monks had died in the initial raid. [Take a look at this, Han-Yeol,] Tayarana called Han-Yeol. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go and do my stuff now,¡± Han-Yeol bid goodbye to the manager. ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. Please let me know if you need anything. I will be staying at the temporary container we¡¯ve set up over there with the other association staffers.¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯re working quite hard, manager-nim.¡± Han-Yeol was the type who made sure not to overly disregard anyone. ¡°Haha, I am not doing anything. In fact, I am worried that I might be deadweight to the raid party since there is nothing I can do,¡± Kim Cha-Il replied while awkwardly scratching his head. Han-Yeol went over to Tayarana after he was done with Kim Cha-Il. He then asked, [What is it, Tara?] [We¡¯re going to start the meeting to discuss our ns to raid the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. We have no idea how strong the boss monster is, so we can¡¯t afford to be overconfident just because we have Mujahid on our side. We will need to base our battle ns ording to data and analytics.] [Excellent words, Tayarana-nim.] [Yeah, I agree with you, Tara. I was actually feeling a bit nervous, to be honest.] Han-Yeol was unsure if he felt nervous because this was going to be his first time going up against such a strong monster or if he was scared of death. However, he definitely felt a strange sense of anxiety creeping up on his body. ¡®I don¡¯t think we have a way to gauge the boss monster¡¯s strength though¡­¡¯? The Horus raid party had requested for the video of the initial raid party¡¯s sh against the boss monster, but their request had been rejected. It was not that the association was keeping the video confidential or anything, but it was just that no such video existed in the first ce. The seven boss monsters that had appeared possessed the ability to disable all electronic devices within a one-kilometer radius of them, and this was the same for the boss monster the Horus raid party was about to hunt, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. That was the reason why the Mn film crew were not going to be filming the battle despite having tagged along with the Horus raid party. Why did Han-Yeol bother bringing them here then? He nned to start filming after the boss was defeated. [It will be very risky to attempt to raid the boss monster when we do not have any information about it. We have to find a way to gauge its strength before attempting to raid it. That will be the only way we will be able to minimize our casualties.] [You¡¯re right, but¡­] Mariam was right, but the problem was that the Horus raid party did not have a way to test the boss monster¡¯s abilities. It was dangerous to go near the boss monster to take a peek, so that was out of the question. However, all electronic devices were disabled around it, so it was also not possible to measure its strength from afar. The best solution would be to get eyewitness ounts from those who had participated in the initial failed raid, but the entire raid party had been wiped out with no survivors being left behind. Just as the meeting was at a standstill, someone suddenly knocked on the meeting room door. Knock! Knock!? An Egyptian Hunter entered and said, [Excuse me, Han-Yeol-nim. A woman by the name Han Yoo-Bi wishes to see you.] [Yoo-Bi is here?] Han-Yeol now spoke casually to all of the Egyptian Hunters. He had initially felt ufortable doing so, which had him continue speaking to them formally. However, he came to a stop once Mariam had nagged him until his ears bled. After all, he was speaking casually to both Mariam and Tayarana, so it was definitely wrong for him to speak courteously to those ranked below them. [Yes, what should we do?] [Ah, please let her in. It¡¯s a bit difficult for me to leave right now.] [Most certainly, sir. I will do as instructed.] Han-Yeol was currently in the midst of an important meeting. However, since the meeting was going nowhere, he had decided to have Yoo-Bie into the meeting room. Besides, it was not that she could speak or understand Arabic, so she would be clueless about what they were talking about. Also, most of the things they were discussing right now were not confidential information, so there was nothing wrong with having her in the room. Around three minutester¡­ ¡°Oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi came into the meeting room with a huge rucksack on her back. ¡°Hi, Yoo-Bi. What brings you all the way here?¡± Han-Yeol asked as he felt curious about why she hade to this dangerous ce all alone. ¡°Hehe, I finished my first ever creation!¡± ¡°Already?¡± Han-Yeol could not help but feel both surprised and curious about Yoo-Bi¡¯s first invention. He knew that she had been working on something, but he did not expect her to make something this fast. ¡°Hehe!¡± Yoo-Bi smiled brightly and put down the rucksack on the table. Ziiiip! She opened the zipper and took out something from the rucksack. [Drone?] [That¡¯s just a normal drone, right?] ¡°Is that a drone?¡± ¡°Yes. It might look normal on the outside, but this doesn¡¯t use electricity like an average drone. This runs on a Hunter¡¯s mana, and can be used as an unmanned scouting drone. But that¡¯s not all! There is a camera attached to it that will allow it to be easily operated, and the operator can channel mana into it to use it offensively as well. Oh, but I wasn¡¯t able to arm it just yet since I didn¡¯t have the parts I needed.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s really amazing!¡± Yoo-Bi awkwardly scratched the back of her neck when Han-Yeol started praising her. It was an amazing coincidence that Yoo-Bi hade with the exact item that the raid party needed, and Han-Yeol immediately exined what Yoo-Bi had said to Tayarana and Mariam. Of course, this meant that he had to disclose Yoo-Bi¡¯s ability to them as well, but he did not mind it as Tayarana and Mariam were people who he could trust. [Oh?] [That is truly amazing and it looks much better than the ones we normally use. Hmm¡­ An awakened being who produces gears exclusive for Hunters¡­ I wonder why South Korea gets such unique Hunters when it¡¯s a small country¡­ It¡¯s quite unfair¡­ I believe Egypt will have to learn whatever your country is doing.] Han-Yeol possessed more than three abilities and was able to get stronger the more monsters he fought while Yoo-Bi was able to craft equipment exclusive for Hunters. The fact that both of them had awakened in the same country was already a wild coincidence. ¡®Erm¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something Egypt should be saying¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol felt that Egypt was the one country that did not have the right toin. Egypt was probably the luckiest country on Earth after the emergence of the Dimensional Gates thanks to the immense treasures their pyramids held. [I believe we should purchase or rent that drone, Tayarana-nim. That drone is our only option in scouting the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.] [She¡¯s yourrade so you make the call, Han-Yeol.] ¡°Hmm¡­ Yoo-Bi.¡± ¡°Yes, oppa?¡± ¡°Our raid party urgently needs that drone. We are going to hunt a boss monster called Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, but we aren¡¯t able to scout it right now. Fortunately, I think it will be possible for us to scout it with your drone.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Yoo-Bi pretended to think about it for a few seconds before she smiled brightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m just the inventor and I get incentivized for making things. The rest is up to you, so you can decide what and how you want to deal with it. I trust you a hundred percent anyway, oppa.¡± She knew from the time she had spent hunting with Han-Yeol that he was a dependable person. He was a man of his words and not once did he break a promise he had made or lied to her about anything. Others would call a naturally kind and nice person a pushover. Han-Yeol might be kind-hearted, but he was definitely not a pushover. He knew how to set his boundaries when helping others and he knew when to hold his tongue when others looked down on him. In fact, quite a lot of people looked down on him as he usually tried to resolve things peacefully, and people usually tended to step on him whenever he tried to be the bigger person. However, little did they know that he was also the type of person who would definitely get his revenge one way or another. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she thought that he would probably be a good husband who was going to put his family first above anything and anyone else. When her train of thoughts unexpectedly brought her here, she blushed. ¡®Huh? What was I thinking of just now¡­?¡¯? [This drone might belong to Yoo-Bi, but I have the right to negotiate its sale.] [That is excellent news. So, what do you propose, Han-Yeol-nim? Do you wish to lease it to us or sell it instead? We are willing to pay you a handsome price, whichever you decide to do.] The Horus raid party had already spent two trillion won procuring pets from Han-Yeol, but Phaophator had already replenished their coffers for them. The Horus raid party currently possessed enough funds at their disposal to do whatever they wanted. ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi. This is your first invention so it will probably require some adjustments, so what do you think if we lease it for now? Then, we can sell it at an expensive price to all raid parties after you¡¯ve improved itter on,¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°That sounds good to me,¡± Yoo-Bi replied. ¡°Excellent.¡± Feeling delighted, he immediately signed a leasing agreement for Yoo-Bi¡¯s drone at a price tag of two hundred million won per day. The term of the lease was until the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was hunted. Fortunately, the drone had the ability to record videos, which made it possible for Han-Yeol to film the rare scene of a boss monster being raided. ¡°Great job, Yoo-Bi. You¡¯ve invented something really good in such a short period of time!¡± Han-Yeol said with his thumbs up. ¡°I¡¯m just doing my best to be of help to you, oppa. I made it in hopes that it will be helpful to you one day, but I¡¯m really d that it¡¯s able to help you right away,¡± Yoo-Bi said with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re a great help. You really came in clutch for us this time. Not to mention, you¡¯re generating us two hundred million won in revenue everyday! We should celebrate once we finish the hunt.¡± ¡°Sure, oppa!¡± Then, Yoo-Bi decided to remain in the base camp and observe the hunt. Han-Yeol was initially against it since things could be dangerous, but she had managed to easily convince him by saying that the drone would be requiring maintenance since it was only a prototype. Chapter 142: Boss Monster Raid (5)

Chapter 142: Boss Monster Raid (5)

The next morning, Kim Cha-Il stared at the unexpected invention and muttered in disbelief, ¡°T-This average-looking drone can be controlled by a Hunter¡¯s mana¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, it can. We will be able to scout the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva before attempting to raid it,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. ¡°Ah, I see¡­ You will have to be careful of not only the boss monster but also the horde of monsters under itsmand. Sixty percent of the initial raid party members had died to the regr monsters even before reaching the boss monster, and it is highly likely that the monsters have been reinforced by now,¡± Kim Cha-Il exined while wiping his sweat with a handkerchief. ¡°I see¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He grumbled inwardly, ¡®Tsk¡­ You should¡¯ve told us that sooner¡­!¡¯ However, this revtion did note as that big of a surprise. It was well within the calction of the Horus raid party. Still, Han-Yeol could not help but be disgruntled by the fact that the association was not fully cooperating with them by providing vital information. [Then, Mariam.] [Yes!] It was quite obvious that Mariam was going to be the best candidate to pilot the drone thanks to her telepathic abilities, which would allow her to divide her consciousness into multiple ones. This gave her the ability to scout and ry information while giving orders to the raid party. [Approaching the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.] As expected, Mariam was able to scout while rying the information to the raid party members through her telepathy ability. ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯? Meanwhile, Han-Yeol used his own skill to scan the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Those who were aware of his ability might argue that he could have simply used Demon Eyes from the start to scout the boss monster, and that was also a possibility that they could have explored. In fact, this was also the precise reason why Han-Yeol was using his skill right now. However, even this cheat-like skill of his had a weakness. Demon Eyes was a skill that sensed the flow of mana, which meant that it was not an ideal scouting skill in this kind of situation. Not to mention, it was impossible to transfer what he saw into video so this was another limitation as well. That was the reason why the drone came in clutch for them. It allowed the entire raid party to have an urate grasp of the situation around the boss monster. Whiiiiing! Mariam operated the drone and flew it above the mountain toward where the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was, and the drone¡¯s view was broadcasted live on arge monitor. Gulp¡­! The Horus raid party members nervously gulped while watching the monitor. All of them were Veteran Hunters, but this was their first time hunting a boss monster. The fact that this was a boss monster that required Master Rank Hunters to hunt also made them quite nervous. ¡°Kwak! Kwak!¡± ¡°Kireuk! Kireuk!¡± The forest beneath the drone was teeming with monsters. The hordes of monsters wereposed of weak and intermediate monsters, and there were a number of power monsters mixed among them. ¡°Uhh¡­?That¡¯s quite an intimidating sight¡­¡± Kim Cha-Il muttered while his eyes were fixated on the monitor. The drone passed the horde of monsters and the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva finally made its appearance. ¡°It¡¯s huge,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°W-Wow¡­ It¡¯s humongous¡­!¡± The drone was filming the boss monster from quite a distance for safety reasons, but the boss monster was so big that it looked like it was right in front of the drone. [I-It¡¯s too big¡­!] [Can we win against that thing?] The Egyptian Hunters were shaken after seeing the boss monster. They were brave warriors who knew no fear, but they could not help feeling this fearful. Furthermore, the fact that other raid parties had brought along their Master Rank Hunters to hunt the boss monsters while they only had Tayarana, who was an Osiris Rank Hunter, did not help. The Egyptian Hunters knew very well just how big the gap between an Osiris Rank and a Ra Rank Hunter was. [I will start encircling the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,] said Mariam as she piloted the drone to go one round around the boss monster. The thousands of arms attached to the back of the boss monster came into view, and the arms looked ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°¡­¡± Whiiiiing! Silence descended on the base camp as no one dared to speak, and only the sound of the drone¡¯s rotors could be heard. Just as the drone was encircling the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡­ Swooosh! ¡°Heop!¡± One of the thousand arms suddenly swung toward the drone. It was a tense moment where the whole raid could be jeopardized if the one and only drone that Yoo-Bi had created was destroyed. However, Mariam possessed a reflex that was as high as her IQ so she was already prepared to dodge any attacksing at the drone. She immediately controlled the drone to swerve right, and the drone barely managed to escape. ¡°Phew¡­?That was close¡­¡± Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief, and he felt like he had aged ten years in those few seconds. [It is good that we were able to identify one of the boss monster¡¯s attack patterns.] [Yeah, you¡¯re right.] They could say that it was indeed a close call, but it was well worth the risk as they were now able to identify how the boss monster attacked. It was going to be quite dangerous if they had blindly attacked the boss monster without even knowing how it attacked. They decided to be satisfied with this much since there was so little they could do with a scouting drone. [Let¡¯s check where the hordes of monsters are located, Mariam. We should observe them and note down their coordinates, and we should mark those coordinates on the map. Then, please distribute the maps to all of the Hunters once it¡¯splete.] [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.] This was the good part when it came to using a camera. There was no way Han-Yeol would have been able to urately pinpoint the exact location of the hordes of monsters from this distance with his Demon Eyes. This made Han-Yeol certain once again that Yoo-Bi¡¯s ability was indeed a treasure. Mariam mapped the coordinates of the hordes of monsters and shared them with the Horus raid party members. Manager Kim Cha-Il watched the whole thing before nodding and thinking, ¡®They¡¯re quite organized. I looked down on them because they¡¯re Egyptians, but they¡¯re much more organized than some of the top raid parties here. Is this the true might of Egypt¡¯s best raid party?¡¯? He was astounded by how prepared the Horus raid party was. There was a stark difference in how thoroughly the Horus raid party made their preparationspared to the Swastika raid party. The monks had only scouted from afar with binocrs before they had decided to proceed, only having made sure that they were careful. What was the result of that? Not a single one of them had made it back alive, or even dead. Ziiing! A hologram depicting the entire Toham Mountain appeared in front of the main screen, and all of the Horus raid party members gathered in front of it. [We will now start the raid briefing. I will only exin once and send it to your applications, so make sure you pay attention.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] The Hunters were scared, but that did not mean that these warriors were going to back down without a fight. [Our first mission will be to reduce the enemy¡¯s numbers. There are too many hordes of monsters in Toham Mountain, and they will definitely hit us from our rear while we are fighting against the boss monster if we don¡¯t dispose of them. It is our main priority to reduce the enemy¡¯s numbers as much as possible before attempting to raid the boss monster.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] The Swastika raid party had tried to pierce through the hordes of monsters and make quick work of the boss monster, and that was their fatal mistake. They had ended up being fully surrounded by the monsterster on. The main difference between them and Mariam was that she possessed information on the monster hordes¡¯ whereabouts and their numbers thanks to the drone, which made her draft this n up. [This raid might turn into a battle of attrition. Make sure that you keep watch of your stamina while hunting, and do your best not to get killed. Those who defy my orders and die in battle will never be allowed by Ra to enter eternal peace.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] [We will start our operation tomorrow morning before daybreak. Try to rest as much as you can. It will be a long day tomorrow.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] All of the Horus raid party members dispersed after Mariam concluded the briefing, and all of them returned to their stations with nervous faces. ¡°It will be all alright, right, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi asked in a slightly worried voice. She had asked around and found out that there were boss monsters in South Korea. She had also learned that the other six boss monsters were currently being handled by Master Rank Hunters. However, what concerned her the most was the fact that the Horus raid party did not possess a Master Rank Hunter. She knew very well how strong a Master Rank Hunter was since she had learned and studied about them while she had been still a Porter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything will be alright. That¡¯s what ns are for in the first ce,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He was quite nervous himself, but he tried his best not to show it. ¡°I would have made more equipment if I only had the time¡­¡± Yoo-Bi had only recently gotten a handle on her abilities, and she could not help but regret the fact that she did not have the time to at least craft a gun for Han-Yeol. ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t mind it so much. I¡¯m nning to use this as an opportunity to be stronger so I¡¯m actually pumped! I mean, when will I ever get the chance to hunt a bunch of strong monsters gathered together? It¡¯s not amon sight even on hunting grounds, you know?¡± ¡°Haha! You never change, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said with augh. Han-Yeol was this kind of a person from the start. He smiled when the hunt was difficult, and he alwaysined whenever he ran out of monsters to kill. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will win, oppa.¡± ¡°I sincerely think so too.¡± The two exchanged banter for a while more before Yoo-Bi finally went to the women¡¯s area of the amodation. She said she was going to go read some books on mechanical engineering to improve her knowledge and ability. She made mention of that because she was confident that Han-Yeol was going to emerge victorious against the boss monster. Han-Yeol sat on top of the temple¡¯s roof as he looked at the sunset. [You seem to be quite nervous,] said Tayarana, who appeared behind him. [Hey, Tara.] Tayrana possessed quite a lot of burdensome titles such as Goddess of Africa or the Egyptian Princess, but she was just a normal cute woman whenever she was with Han-Yeol. She sometimes acted slightly dense too. It had been quite a while since they first became close, but there were not that many opportunities for them to be alone as Mariam shadowed her all the time. [I guess you can say I¡¯m both nervous and excited?] [Excited?] [I¡¯m scared that I could die in this raid, but the boss monster is definitely an opponent I can fight to my heart¡¯s content. I believe that it¡¯s going to help me be a step stronger.] [That¡¯s amazing if you consider the fact that you had almost died against the Queen Labyrinth Spider not that long ago.] [Ah, that was a close call too. It did feel quite refreshing after making it alive out of that.] [Really?] [Yeah.] [You¡¯re a strange man.] [Hmm?] [Nothing.] [¡­] That was the end of their conversation as they both quietly sat and watched the sunset. *** The entire Bulguksa Temple was bustling just before daybreak. It was technically still a safe zone so quite a lot of ordinary people had tagged along to assist the Horus raid party. Tsshh¡­! The cooks in charge of feeding the raid party were busy at work as fresh ingredients from Egypt had been flown in to serve the Hunters a ssic traditional Egyptian dish. [It has been a while since we had Koshari.] [Yeah, I¡¯m looking forward to it.] Everyone from the lowest-ranking Hunter all the way up to Tayarana were eagerly waiting for their food. The menu today was Koshari, which was a traditional Egyptian dish. It was made of rice, lentils, and pasta mixed together and topped off with a spicy sauce. Koshari was a food well-loved by all Egyptians, and it was considered their staple food. The Horus raid party cooks specially prepared this dish today to raise the morale of the raid party. [Oh, how long has it been since west had this?] [It tastes exactly like home!] [No, it tastes even better. Is it because they used high-quality ingredients rather than cheap ones?] [Haha¡­ Don¡¯t be so mean. You¡¯re basically saying that our food back home is cheap unless you splurge on it.] [Hahaha¡­] Most of the Egyptian Hunters agreed that there were other options open to them since they earned quite a lot of money. They basically had the luxury of choosing from Italian, French, Korean, Japanese, Continental, Mediterranean, and other cuisines. However, all of them agreed that Koshari was definitely the best for them. [Get moving if you¡¯re done eating!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] The Horus raid party mobilized at Mariam¡¯smand after they finished eating. [Our first target is the entrance to Toham Mountain. There are not that many monsters there so we will warm up with them.] [Yeah, I agree.] The monsters were marked with red dots on the map application sent to the Hunters. [Haa¡­] [Hoo¡­] [Phew¡­] Then, all of the Hunters took in a deep breath as they prepared forbat. ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯?Han-Yeol activated Demon Eyes once again after arriving at their destination, and he could clearly see the monsters¡¯ mana ahead of them. The mana visible to him signaled the start of this game where they had to put their lives on the line. Chapter 143: Twelve Zodiac Legion (1)

Chapter 143: Twelve Zodiac Legion (1)

A monster horde in charge of defending the outskirts of their territory appeared right after the Horus raid party started mobilizing. ¡°Kireuk!¡±? The first monsters were rabbits. Of course, they were not normal rabbits but monster rabbits the size of a calf. They possessed crimson-red eyes, sharp ws, and tough-looking muscles. In a single nce, it was obvious that they were monsters. ¡®Tsk¡­ Is it because the boss is the Bodhisattva? The monsters are Buddhists too¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled after seeing the silhouette of the monsters with Demon Eyes and checking the image transmitted from Yoo-Bi¡¯s drone. There were twelve monster hordes, and each horde seemed to be representing a zodiac. The zodiacs here were the animals known as the Twelve Chinese Zodiacs. However, the rabbit monsters in front of the Horus raid party were not the armored rabbit one would normally see at Buddhist temples, but rather, a ferocious monster that was the size of a calf. They were definitely not the zodiac gods that the Buddhists had portrayed. ¡°Kireuk!¡± Dadadada! The ten monster rabbits the Horus raid party had found let out a horrific shriek before charging toward them. The fact that they were charging at them so ferociously despite being quite a distance away proved that these monsters were highly aggressive. [All forces! Prepare forbat!] [Hap!] Woooong! The variety of Hunters from different ranks began to channel their mana, and the air around them became dense from the mana being channeled. ¡®Hoo¡­ Shall we go on a rampage?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he took out his HSK-447P. He was itching from excitement at the thought of being able to go all-out after a long time, and he took out a decent-sized mana stone from his belt pocket. Gripping the mana stone as hard as he could, hemanded, ¡®Enhance!¡¯ Cr¡­ Crack! The mana stone shattered the moment he used his skill, and his power was greatly enhanced by it. The skill was somewhat a disposal-type since it consumed a mana stone, but he could not help smirking whenever he felt just how much his power was being amplified by it. Han-Yeol aimed his gun with the assistance of his Marksmanship skill. He used one of his old signature skills, ¡®Mana Explosion.¡¯ Shwooooong¡­ Kaboooom! The grenade empowered by Enhance flew in an arc before uratelynding on the monster rabbits and triggering a huge explosion. The explosion was so powerful that shockwaves shook the entire ground. In fact, it was powerful enough to say that it had split heaven and earth apart. However, despite the shiness of the skill¡­ ¡®Tsk¡­ So you guys are trying to say that you¡¯re different?¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue after checking with Demon Eyes. The monster rabbits stopped in their tracks due to the powerful explosion, but not even a single one of them died or were severely wounded from it. Click¡­ ck! However, Han-Yeol was not shaken by it. In fact, he nonchntly reloaded another grenade and prepared to fire once again. He thought, ¡®I just have to fire one more time.¡¯ The effect of Enhance was still remaining. This second strike was probably not going to deal significant damage this time as well, but it was still better than nothing. Just as Han-Yeol was about to shoot the second grenade, three of the Horus raid party Hunters suddenly approached him and said in unison, [We will help you.] [Hmm? You guys will?] [All of us possess mana amplification skills. We believe your attack will be far more powerful if we amplify your mana on top of your own amplification skill.] [Oh~ That sounds like a good idea. Let¡¯s give it a go.] [Yes, sir!] The three Hunters ced their hands on Han-Yeol¡¯s back, and they channeled their mana into him. [Power Up!] [Mana Recharge!] [Empower Mana!] The three different skills basically did the same thing and only their names differed. Han-Yeol could feel his mana being further amplified. Wooooong! ¡®I can clearly feel my mana bing stronger!¡¯? Feeling impressed, he gathered his mana into his grenadeuncher, and the sight of it was quite impressive. He then pulled the trigger. Kwaaaang! Shwooooosh¡­! Chwwaaaaaaak! ¡®Keuk!¡¯ [Keuk!] [What kind of recoil is this?!] Han-Yeol seemed to have channeled too much mana into the grenadeuncher. After he had pulled the trigger, all four of them were flung back by two meters. However¡­ KWAAAAAAANG! [T-That¡¯s¡­amazing¡­] [Can anything survive that kind of a powerful attack?] All of the Horus raid party members had their mouths agape as they watched the powerful yet dazzling explosion of mana. It was definitely not easy to deal this much damage in a single attack, and the fact that Han-Yeol was not even a Hunter specializing in explosion skills made it even more amazing. ¡®This much is nothing but a greeting for him.¡¯ ¡®I see this quite often, but I really can¡¯t get used to this¡­¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s not even surprising anymore¡­¡¯ They knew that this was not Han-Yeol¡¯s full power. They knew very well from having hunted with him that he had more hidden up his sleeve than what the media was aware of. ¡°Kieeee¡­!¡± The Horus raid party approached the crater Han-Yeol had created. Only one of the ten monster rabbits remained as the rest had been blown to smithereens, leaving only their mana stones behind. Thest remaining monster rabbit was missing an arm and it was profusely squirting out its blue blood. However, it showed no signs of backing down as it bared its fangs and ws at them. ¡°Kiiiieeeek!¡± However¡­ Bang! Han-Yeol took out a pistol and shot a bullet right between the monster¡¯s eyes, and the bullet exited through the back of its head. Most people thought that Han-Yeol was a closebat Hunter because he used a sword and a chain, but he was only using those weapons because he seldom had the chance to use a gun. ¡®If Yoo-Bi manages to create an advanced gun, then I¡¯ll ask her to prioritize arming me. I can just give her a monster pet in return anyway,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. This was the reason why he was taking good care of Yoo-Bi. He was quite adept at handling old-fashioned weapons such as a sword or a chain, but he was quite good with firearms as well thanks to his Marksmanship and Homing Bullet. He was not using firearms only because he usually hunted solo and none of the firearms avable in the market were as good as he needed them to be. Needless to say, Yoo-Bi¡¯s ability was like rain in a drought for him. ¡®Hehehe¡­¡¯? While Han-Yeol was sheepishlyughing, the Horus raid party sprung into action. [Porters, move swiftly and collect the mana stones. Don¡¯t leave behind any of the intact remains of the monsters¡­ No, just collect all of it. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s useful so we might as well take all of it. Work in pairs and don¡¯t dilly-dally. Move!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] The Horus raid party could be considered a semi-government entity as they were getting almost unlimited support from the government. Their support crews, which were mostly Porters, were ten times the size of the Porters most Korean raid parties had. A Korean raid party would normally have one group of Porters, and the Hunters would usually be held back since the Porters¡¯ stamina would not be able to keep up with too quick a hunting pace. On the other hand, the Horus raid party had four groups of Porters, and each group wasposed of at least double to triple the size of a Korean Porter group. The system the Horus raid party employed was a three-shift rotation of the three groups, with the fourth group on standby in case anything happened. This was the reason that the Hunters did not have to match their pace with the Porters¡¯ stamina and could hunt to their heart¡¯s content. Whiiiing! Zhiiiing! Han-Yeol sat atop a tree with a clear view of the horizon. ¡°Kyu!¡± Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? Han-Yeol patted the baby dragon sitting atop his head. Mavros often hid at the backlines during battle and would show up as soon as the battle ended to nest on top of Han-Yeol¡¯s head. ¡°Yeah, you will be strong like those monsters one day, so we will be having a lot of fun together at that time.¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out in agreement. ¡®The nearest group of rabbits from here would be¡­?Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol scouted the horizon and checked the number of monster rabbits in the area. After discovering a group of monster rabbits, he groaned inwardly, ¡®Ugh¡­¡¯ The group this time was made up of thirty monster rabbits, and their numbers made the ten rabbits a while ago look like a tutorial stage. Not only that, each of the thirty monster rabbits also seemed to possess much denser mana than the ones a while ago. In short, they were stronger than the first group. ¡®Ah¡­ This is going to be a headache¡­¡¯?he thought. Whatever it might be, the Horus raid party had to eliminate all these zodiac monsters and make their way to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. *** ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± Sukeok! Han-Yeol cut the neck of a monster rabbit pouncing at him. The monster¡¯s blue blood spurted all over the ce as its head rolled on the ground. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­?That¡¯s the twelfth,¡± he muttered while trying to catch his breath. The monster rabbits were much more stubborn than they looked. They did not operate within their boundaries, immediately swarming over if one of their own had been attacked. This was a problem, because the raid party had realized this a tad bit toote, and they were now stuck in a quagmire of death. [How long until the next wavees, Han-Yeol-nim?] Mariam did not look into the minds of those superior to her, but she had no other choice this time as every second counted. Wooooong! [Just look for yourself.] The skill that allowed Mariam to look into someone¡¯s mind was not only limited to her looking; the other person, Han-Yeol in this case, could peek into her mind as well. The only time she would ever use this skill was only during critical moments when they did not have the luxury to speak. Han-Yeol activated Demon Eyes, and Mariam got a firsthand view of what he was seeing. [That is around five minutes from now. I noticed that there was a small gorge behind us. I will instruct the party to set up our defense over there and use the topography to our advantage.] [Okay, give me ten Hunters. I¡¯ll buy you time to set up defensive formations.] [Thank you, Han-Yeol-nim.] [No need to thank me.] Mariam decided that it was going to be dangerous if they continued fighting in the forest. They had already fought against three groups of monster rabbits without much casualties, but she noticed that every battle was getting more and more difficult. The Hunters were humans too, so they were bound to tire soon. There was definitely a need for Mariam to take preventative measures as insurance. ¡®Also, these bastards are popping up from everywhere, so it¡¯s getting difficult to protect the Porters,¡¯?she thought. There was only one entrance to the gorge she had seen a while ago, so it was going to be the optimal ce for the Hunters to defend while protecting the Porters. [We are retreating to the rear in five minutes. Our destination is the gorge behind us.] [Ah¡­] [Such a waste¡­] The Porters did their best to collect the mana stones and monster corpses whenever they could, but the fighting was simply too fierce and fast-paced. In the end, they could only collect twenty percent of it. That was why themand to retreat was such a shame to both the Hunters and the Porters. [Hurry up. Do you want to exchange your lives for some monster corpses?!] Mariam¡¯s next words encouraged the raid party to spring into action. Han-Yeol stayed behind with the ten elite Hunters he had requested from Mariam to protect the raid party¡¯s rear while they retreated. [Tara?] [There¡¯s no way I can retreat when you signed up for the most dangerous mission. I am the Leader, after all.] [I¡¯m here to fight with you, hyung-nim!] [I swear there¡¯s no stopping you siblings¡­] Han-Yeol shook his head but conceded in the end. Tayarana and Mujahid joined him at the rear, and the top three powerhouses of the raid party had now gathered in one ce. [Keep this in mind. We are only going to stall for thirty minutes before retreating ourselves. Don¡¯t push yourselves too hard, and don¡¯t try to go out of your way just to kill them. We¡¯re here to stall. That¡¯s all.] [Sure.] [Yes, hyung-nim!] [You guys¡­ Are you sure you understood me just now¡­?] Han-Yeol was skeptical if they had even listened to him at all. Looking at the siblings, he felt like they were itching to fight like a pair of berserkers¡­ Chapter 144: Twelve Zodiac Legion (2)

Chapter 144: Twelve Zodiac Legion (2)

Ddru¡­ Ddru¡­ Ddru¡­ Ddru¡­? Just as the ground started to shake, Han-Yeol used Demon Eyes and saw a huge mass of monster rabbit mana making its way toward them. Chwak! [I¡¯m going to annihte them,] Tayarana said as she spread the wings of her Horus Suit. She had been leisurely hunting the monster rabbits until now. After all, they were nothing but petty mobs to her even though most of the Hunters had difficulty fighting against them. There was no reason for an Osiris Rank Hunter like her to feel threatened by the mere monster rabbits. [I guess it is time for me to show my true strength.] Then, the other Osiris Rank Hunter, Mujahid, stretched his arms and took a step forward. He, like Tayarana, had been casually fighting against the monster rabbits with physical attacks and had not used any of his abilities. Han-Yeol initially wondered if Mujahid had awakened with bruiser-like abilities that enhanced his physical powers, but he soon realized that the rabbits were simply not strong enough to force him to use his abilities. However, it was now time for Mujahid to finally show his true powers. [Fifth Star.] Fwaaa! Two blue embers appeared behind Mujahid after he used his skill with outstretched arms. He grimaced and grumbled after seeing the two blue embers, [Tsk¡­?I got hit so many times but there are only two embers? I guess these rabbits are just really weak.] It was evident in his expression that he looked down on the monster rabbits. He might act aloof and was usually carefree, but he appeared to be quite different when in battle. He was fiercer than anyone else on the battlefield, and his ability was simply so powerful that the only moniker people could think of made him seem like a berserker thirsting for battle. He was known as the Tyrant. After all, his love for battle had everyone in Egypt already aware of his madness. ¡®The Tyrant has made his appearance,¡¯?the Egyptian Hunters thought after seeing Mujahid get serious. The President of Egypt, Phaophator, had a lot of children just like most men from polygamous-approved countries would have. In fact, Tayarana had twenty-three siblings, including Mujahid, but he was the only Hunter among all of her siblings. Most of her siblings were not fond of the idea of risking their lives fighting against monsters when they couldfortably live with the billions of dors of wealth they had been handed at birth. There were talks in Egypt that either Tayarana or Mujahid were going to be Phaophator¡¯s sessor since they were awakened beings, but neither of them were really that interested in the position. [Bring it on!] Mujahid eximed as his eyes glowed blue after activating his ability. [Fifty monster rabbits iing!] [Roger that!] [Okay.] Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mujahid were the mainbatants in this detachment left behind to protect the raid party¡¯s rear. Most of the eight Hunters with them were either Supporters, Tankers, or ranged DPS, and three out of the eight were the same Hunters who had cast their amplification skills on Han-Yeol a while ago. C-Crack¡­! Chwak! Han-Yeol already resolved not to hold back his Enhance skill during this boss raid. He would have normally been hesitant to use the mana stones since they were his main source of ie, but he currently sat atop afortable pile of cash after having sold three monster pets. Not to mention, there were quite a lot of Hunters and wealthy individuals inquiring about purchasing a monster pet for themselves. This was despite the hefty price tag of one trillion won. That was the reason why he no longer had to skimp on using mana stones to use Enhance during battles, and this, in turn, boosted his MAG from +111 to more than double to +219. There was also no reason for him to ever run out of mana from now on duringbat, and his attacks were going to be much more powerful than before. [Iing!] Ddru¡­! Ddru¡­! Ddru¡­! Ddru¡­! The Hunters spotted the monster rabbits appearing from between the trees in front of them. Chwaaaak! The first to make a move was Tayarana, who flew almost at the speed of light and smashed the front-most monster rabbit. [I can¡¯t lose!] Then, she was followed by Mujahid. Tak! ¡®Geez¡­ Mujahid is one thing, but Tayarana turns into apletely different person in a fight,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol as he shook his head. He was now in charge of the eight other Hunters since the two siblings had charged forward. He was forced to be themander since Tayarana preferred to fight at the front lines and usually passed these kinds of responsibilities to Mariam, and Mujahid was technically an outsider to the raid party. He might not be able to wlesslymand the Hunters like Mariam, but he knew that he could do a better job when it came to the actualbat itself. Mariam was extremely skilled at assessing the situation and ryingmands to the Hunters, but herbat experience was not as great as him. After all, she was not abatant herself. [We will stay at our spot and pick off any monster rabbits that slip through Tayarana and Mujahid. You three, cast your amplification skills on me again like you did a while ago.] [Yes, understood!] [Yes, sir!] The Egyptian Hunters had initially been wary of Han-Yeol and had treated him as someone who had only risen up the ranks thanks to his connections. However, they now acknowledged and respected him as their Vice Leader. As for the reason why they started to acknowledge and respect him? There were quite a few. ¡®He¡¯s the only normal one¡­¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s better than the super picky demon lord Mariam-nim and the battle-crazed Tayarana-nim¡­¡¯ These were some of the aforementioned reasons. The Egyptian Hunters were under a lot of stress from serving the two beauties. They were extremely patriotic to their country and were loyal to Tayarana, but they could not help finding her personality to be quite entric. On top of that, even her adjutant was as entric as she was. All of a sudden, a foreigner then joined their raid party as their new Vice Leader, but he was able tomunicate with them fluently and even tried to get along with them. In the end, Han-Yeol became the most leader-like person they looked up to in the raid party. Of course, he was not always with them since he was a special member. Still, they truly depended on him and looked up to him whenever they hunted together. Han-Yeol was quite mature thanks to his difficult past and the struggles he had to endure to be a Hunter, and this maturity he possessed had quite a positive effect on the Egyptian Hunters. In short, Han-Yeol no longer had any problems with making the Egyptian Hunters listen to hismand. In fact, they seemed eager to follow hismands these days. [Hakim! Pyramid of Light!] [Yes, sir!] The Egyptian Hunter named Hakim immediately responded and knelt on the ground to draw a triangle on it. Shyak! Shyak! Shyak! Wooooong! Then, a pir of light shot up from the ground Han-Yeol and the eight other Hunters were standing on, and the light turned into a triangr shape that enveloped them. The three faces of the triangle let out a translucent blue hue, so there were no differences between inside and outside the pyramid. [Excellent.] [Thank you, sir!] The Hunter named Hakim was specialized in defensive skills as all three of his skills were defense-rted. This blue pyramid he had summoned just now was also one of his defensive skills that protected anything within it. It was a skill that allowed people to pass through but made it impossible for monsters to do the same. This might sound like an extremely cheat-like skill, but it had a downside. The downside was that Hakim could only summon one of these and that a monster could attack it until it was destroyed. Thus, this skill could be a cheat-like skill or a useless skill depending on where and when it was used. Click¡­ ck! Han-Yeol secured the butt of his HSK-447P on his shoulder and used Demon Eyes. His skill did not directly influence how his bullets would travel, but he could indirectly influence it bybining it with Homing Bullets. Thisbination allowed him to shoot anything within his range that could be spotted by Demon Eyes. ¡®Well, I guess this works as well,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he marked the monster rabbits with Demon Eyes before pulling the trigger. Bang! Puuuk! ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Bang! Bang! Bang! Puuuk! Puuuk! Puuuk! ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± He did not miss a single shot. Rather, it was impossible for him to miss as his bullets zipped through the air thanks to Homing Bullet and urately dug themselves into the monster rabbits¡¯ heads. Of course, the monster rabbits were quite strong. They did not die from a single bullet, but the agonizing pain they felt was more than enough to stop them in their tracks. It was important to note that the HSK-447P was not a sniper rifle but an automatic rifle, and this meant that it was possible for Han-Yeol to empty his magazine in a matter of seconds. There was the limitation of him not being able to shoot out bullets like a machine gun, but he could rapidly fire nheless. The result of that was a monster rabbit would fall to the ground whenever he pulled the trigger. Han-Yeol created the opening for Tayarana to capitalize on. Whoosh¡­ Sukeok! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Tayarana swooped down like an eagle and targeted the monster rabbits that Han-Yeol had already damaged, beheading them and then flying back up. ¡®Wow¡­ As expected, she is quite quick¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but admire Tayarana¡¯sbat style whenever he saw it. Tayarana was quite powerful as an individual, but what made her even more fearsome fornd-dwelling monsters was the fact that she was basically invincible against them with the help of her wings. She would usually spot her prey from the skies before diving down once they were distracted to cleanly cut their heads off. [Oh! Tayarana-nim is in action!] [She is truly beautiful and powerful.] [It is truly an honor to serve someone like her.] The Egyptian Hunters might think that Tayarana wascking as a leader, but they would immediately change their minds as soon as they saw her inbat. [I can¡¯t lose to noonim! Here I go!] The other Osiris Rank Hunter, Mujahid, immediately charged at the monster rabbits Han-Yeol had incapacitated. The two blue embers were still following him around. ¡®I wonder what those are¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered while continuously shooting at the monster rabbits. [Hap!] Bam! Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± ¡®Oh?¡¯?Han-Yeol noticed that Mujahid had be even more powerful after summoning the two blue embers. [Ah¡­ As expected of the Tyrant. Hisbat style is as barbaric as ever¡­] [Well, it¡¯s barbaric but quite effective. Don¡¯t you think so?] [Haha¡­ you¡¯re right¡­] Bam! Bam! Bam!? A small crater formed on the ground and trees were felled whenever Mujahid swung his arms and legs. His surroundings were getting gradually destroyed the longer he fought. [Bwahahahaha!] Baaam! He not only used his arms and legs as weapons, but he would even pick up the carcass of the monster rabbits and use those as weapons. ¡®His ability is focused on physical enhancement, and those blue embers are probably the ones enhancing him.¡¯?Han-Yeol could immediately deduce what the Osiris Rank Hunter¡¯s ability was thanks to his ample experience as a Porter. He had seen so many different kinds of Hunters while having worked as a Porter that he was able to tell what kind of ability a Hunter possessed simply by observing them. Well, it was not that great of an ¡®ability¡¯ anymore as he now possessed Demon Eyes, which allowed him to gauge his opponent even before fighting. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mujahid were quite sessful in holding back the fifty monster rabbits, but they could not stay here and fight forever. Just then¡­ [We have arrived at the gorge.] Mariam sent a telepathic message to Han-Yeol. It was quite surprising that she was able to urately ry her message with her skill despite the several kilometers of distance between them. [Alright, time to retreat.] [Yes, sir!] [Leave it to me!] Chapter 145: Twelve Zodiac Legion (3)

Chapter 145: Twelve Zodiac Legion (3)

As soon as the retreat order was given, Mujahid grabbed his left shoulder and started to swing his arm. For some reason, he also shed a mischievous smile. Then, he gathered a huge amount of mana into his fist, and the concentration of mana was probably so dense that even ordinary people who could not sense mana would be able to sense it. ¡°Haaap!¡±?Mujahid shouted before smashing the ground with his fist. Kwaaaaaang! ¡®Wow¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling quite impressed. Mujahid replicated the same sound and shockwave Han-Yeol had created after using Enhance simply by smashing his fist into the ground. The Osiris Rank Hunter¡¯s mana spread through the ground, but the mana did not release ordinary mana shockwaves. C-Crack¡­ Creak¡­! The monster rabbits that came into contact with Mujahid¡¯s mana suddenly twisted like a piece of rag being wrung dry. Then, they began gushing out blood. ¡®This guy¡­ What the hell is his ability¡­? He is a physical type, so how can he use that kind of ability¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered as he was no longer certain what kind of a Hunter Mujahid was. He could not tell for certain what the ability was, but he now knew how powerful an S Rank Hunter could be. He initially thought of observing Mujahid a bit longer, but he knew that would be pointless. No matter how much he observed, the fact that Mujahid was extremely powerful was not going to change. The morale of the monster rabbits was instantly crushed by Mujahid¡¯s strangepression ability, and they stopped in their tracks and seemed to be now wary of the detachment party. Han-Yeol did not miss this opportunity to retreat with the detachment party to where the Horus raid party had set up a defensive formation. [Great work.] Mariam greeted the three of them when they arrived at the gorge while the rest of the Egyptian Hunters went back to their squadron. [Hmm¡­ This looks like an excellent ce to defend,] Tayaranamented while looking around the gorge. The gorge was surrounded by thick forests and cliffs, making it very difficult to approach. Its only entrance, as well as exit, was the small opening on the gorge¡¯s northeast. [We¡¯ve thoroughly checked the gorge and did not find anything dangerous lurking. We think that this will serve as an excellent base camp if we fortify our surroundings and replenish supplies by air.] [Alright, proceed with that.] Tayarana fully trusted Mariam so she did not bother asking any further questions after hearing her suggestion. [Will you be fine with that, Han-Yeol-nim?] Mariam then asked Han-Yeol. She knew that, although he was not as smart as her, he had a lot of experience that could help him urately judge the situation. Han-Yeol had quite a high intelligence thanks to his Infinite Library skill. He always worked hard and read many books to increase his skills, which in turn indirectly improved his intelligence. Others might think that this was indeed a strange phenomenon as most people would not automatically be a genius simply by awakening. Ironically, even Han-Yeol himself had no idea his intelligence was increasing thanks to the skill. [That sounds good to me. Besides, this isn¡¯t a normal hunting ground where there are preset safe zones, so this is the most ideal ce for us to set up camp. Here, it will be easy for us to attack and defend. Not to mention, we just have to kill all of the rabbits in the vicinity to keep this ce safe.] [Yes, I think so too.] Both Mariam and Han-Yeol continued to seriously discuss the issue. Mariam recently noticed that Han-Yeol was quite a logical and decisive person, so she started to discuss various things with him recently. He was indeed a stark contrast to Tayarana, who only knew how to fight and did not bother herself with anything else. It was not that Tayarana was dumb or that she possessed low intelligence. In fact, she was smart enough to have mastered the Ancient Egyptiannguage within a year. However, it was just due to her personality that nothing else aside from fighting excited or motivated her. This was one of the reasons why Mariam would always make up her mind before reporting to Tayarana, but she found it quite a refreshing feeling to have someone to discuss things with. However¡­ [I do not remember asking for your opinion, Mujahid-nim,] Mariam said coldly. There were plenty of times that Mariam¡¯s coldness surprised Han-Yeol, but seeing her tantly act so cold to someone else was an even greater surprise to him. In fact, she acted so cold toward the prince that the title ¡®Frost Queen¡¯ would have suited her very well. ¡®She probably would have awakened with abilities rted to ice if she didn¡¯t awaken with those telepathic abilities¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. [You¡¯re too mean¡­] Mujahid cried in response to the cold treatment he received. [I don¡¯t think I am being too mean,] Mariam retorted in her cold tone once again. ¡®Haha¡­ I think it¡¯s best that I don''t get involved in this¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he decided to distance himself as much as possible so as not to get caught up in the crossfire. *** The Horus raid party fortified the gorge and set up camp. The gorge was quite safepared to the safe zones in most hunting grounds, making it possible for helicopters to reach it without much trouble. Thanks to this, the Horus raid party helicopters ceaselessly worked to supply them with not only materials but even engineers to fortify the gorge. ¡°Kireuk!?Kireuk!¡±? The monster rabbits gathered in droves and rushed at the gorge as if trying to prevent the humans from setting up camp in their territory. Puk! Puk! ¡°Haaaap!¡± The entrance of the gorge was only wide enough for ten grown men to stand with their arms apart, and this protected the raid party from getting mobbed by the monster rabbits even though more than one hundred of them had gathered. Not only that, Tayarana, Mujahid, and Han-Yeol were able to effortlessly and efficiently protect the camp against the monster rabbits too. Tayarana or Mujahid were not the ones enjoying this situation the most, and it was most certainly not Han-Yeol as well. The one enjoying this situation the most was¡­ [Bwahahahaha! This reminds me of the old times! I stood at the forefront of Baal-nim¡¯s first battalion and fought bravely against those heavenly beings to the death! Bring it on, you bastards! My shield will not be broken!] The me shield-wielding demon, Balrog, had been reduced to a ¡®boomer demon¡¯ in Han-Yeol¡¯s head, but this boomer demon was quite efficient when it came to defending the entrance of the gorge against the monster rabbits. The entrance passageway was already quite narrow, but having a four-meter-tall demon who held a huge shield made it even more cramped. [Balrog-nim!] [Alright!] Balrog¡¯s shield reduced in size and let ten monster rabbits pass the moment Han-Yeol gave the signal before growing in size and blocking off the passage once again. Puk! Puk! Puk! Chwaaaak! ¡°Kiek!¡± The monster rabbits that did not manage to enter the gorge attacked the ming shield, but they were helplessly forced back by the mes. This terrain was certainly the best terrain for the demon that stood as the vanguard of Baal¡¯s First Battalion. The ten monster rabbits Balrog had purposely let pass charged at Han-Yeol. ¡°Tsk¡­ Tsk¡­¡±?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue after seeing the monster rabbitsing for him. Shwaaa¡­ A purple haze appeared in front of him, soon materializing into a Void Devil. [Void Storm!] The Void Devil opened its mouth and shot out its destructive skill. This skill dealt massive damage to anything it grazes, so it was definitely going to deal anguish to anyone or anything. Bzzzzaaat! ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± As expected, the monster rabbits writhed and shrieked in agony after getting hit by the Void Storm. Tak! Then, Han-Yeol stepped on the Void Devil¡¯s shoulder and jumped up. He was armed with his sword in his right hand and his chain hammer in his left hand. Landing right in the midst of the monster rabbits, he swung both of his weapons to decimate his enemies. ¡®Head Cutter!¡¯? Sukeok! ¡°Kiek!¡± A monster rabbit¡¯s head fell to the ground at the swing of his sword. It was quite rare for him to be able to behead a monster rabbit in one hit, but he seemed to have managed to hit a critical spot this time. Whooosh! Baaam! Han-Yeol immediately followed up with his hammer, but the monster rabbits simply jumped back and easily avoided the hammer. After all, he did not possess any skills that enhanced his hammer proficiency. ¡®Ha! You wish!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he infused his mana into the hammer. His MAG stat now exceeded five hundred thanks to his continuous training, and controlling this huge MAG stat was quite easy since he possessed numerous skills that helped him control mana. A powerful surge of mana gathered at the hammer, and the hammer unleashed a powerful shockwave on its surroundings. Boooom! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Even the monster rabbits located five meters away from the hammer were affected by the shockwave. Han-Yeol did not miss this opportunity. He charged at the monster rabbits with Sword Breath and killed them one by one. With only three moves, he managed to defeat the ten monster rabbits. ¡°Next!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. [Bwahaha! As you wish!] Balrog replied with a burst ofughter before letting twenty monster rabbits pass. The twenty monster rabbits immediately darted for Han-Yeol. [Ah¡­ As expected of master¡­ He is really amazing¡­] [¡­I want to fight too.] Tayarana and Mujahid watched in envy from atop a boulder. The main enemy they had to fight was the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and not the monster rabbits. The monster rabbits were just one of the boss monster¡¯s twelve minions so there was no need for them to waste their energy, and this was the reason that they decided to fight in shifts to defend the gorge against the horde of monster rabbits. [I am next in line, noonim. You have to wait for your turn.] [Tsk¡­] ¡®Hehe,?noonim?is the prettiest when she is fighting,¡¯?Mujahid snickered inwardly. Tayarana was far more powerful and she loved fighting more than Mujahid, who had earned nicknames such as the ¡®Tyrant¡¯ and ¡®battle-crazed berserker¡¯. That was the reason that he could not help but admire his sister whenever she fought. ¡®I can¡¯t help but be curious about who¡¯s the lucky man that¡¯s going to marry my sisterter¡­ Oh wait, she might refuse to get married, judging by her personality¡­¡¯? Mujahid knew very well how much his sister loved her independence, and he could not help but feel sorry for the man she was going to marry if she ended up marryingter. Puk! Kwachik! ¡°Phew¡­¡±?Han-Yeol bashed the one-hundredth monster rabbit¡¯s head with his hammer and ended the battle. [Thank you for your hard work, Han-Yeol-nim.] The twenty Egyptian Hunters that were supporting him in battle greeted him after his battles were done. Han-Yeol had already earned the trust and respect of the Horus raid party Hunters. [Great job, you guys,] Han-Yeol replied when an alert suddenly popped up. Ding! [Your level has risen.] [A new skill has been created: Hammer Master.] [A new skill has been created: Hammer Shock.] ¡®Huh?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion at the sudden message. He was taken aback as he hadn¡¯t gained a new attack skill in a long time. It seemed that he had gained this skill from always being at the frontlines and swinging his hammer instead of his chain. ¡®It should be a passive skill and an active skill rted to the hammer. I guess I should check them out.¡¯ [Hammer Master (F)] [Type: Passive] [Description: The user¡¯s proficiency and attack power when using a hammer will increase, and the user will be able to use any hammer with ease.] [Hammer Shock (F)] [Type: Active] [Description: A powerful mana shockwave will spread across the ground when the user ms their hammer into the ground. The mana shockwave may be enchanted with an attribute, and the shockwave will deal additional damage ording to the attribute infused. The current radius of the shockwaves is five meters, and it will increase by two meters every time this skill levels up.] ¡°Wow¡­¡±?Han-Yeol muttered in awe as he thought the new skills were truly awesome. Chapter 146: Twelve Zodiac Legion (4)

Chapter 146: Twelve Zodiac Legion (4)

¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Should I take a look at my stats?since it¡¯s been?a long time?¡¯?Han-Yeol called up his status window after some thought. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 150 Points: 5 STR: 323 VIT: 300 AGI: 305 MAG: 300+219 LCK: 20 Invoke: 230 Charisma: 45 Skills : Dismember (C), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (B), Head Cutter (C), Vicious Stabs (F)], [Walking (M) : Mana Pouch (E)] Mana Control (M), Mana Mastery (M), Sixth Sense (A), [Restrain (M) : Crowd Restrain (F)], [Body Strengthening (M) : Berserk (F)], Stab (M), Dagger Mastery (C), [Chain Mastery (M) : Tornado Smash (F)], Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (M), [Fire Attribute (M) : Fire Ball (F)], Mana Explosion (A), Chain Smite (M), [Marksmanship (M) : Homing Bullet (F)], Martial Arts (M), Enchant (B), Sword Breathe (A), Restore (B), Healing Bullet (C), Enhance Healing (C), Summon Demon (D), Telepathy (A), Power Meditation (C), Psychokinesis (C), Force Shield (B), Cat Walk (B), Mana Absorption (B), Demon Eye (B), Mana Strengthening (C), Mana Bullet (C), Reflect (C), Enhance (B), Item Appraisal (E), Trantion (F), Blood Drain (C), Taming (E), Hammer Mastery (F), Hammer Shock (F). ¡®It always feels so good to check my status window,¡¯?he thought and nodded in satisfaction. His growth might not be as prominent as the one he had after hunting the Queen Labyrinth Spider as he hadn¡¯t been hunting diligently. However, he was confident that only a handful of people in South Korea, no, in the entire world were capable of looking down at his stats now. He was aware that he had an edge¡ªthe ability to cultivate numerous skills. He was quite confident that this fact alone set him apart from the others. He could have focused on a single set of skills and reached the pinnacle with them, but he had no intentions of doing that. ¡®Why should I waste my greatest advantage of being able to learn all sorts of skills?¡¯?he shrugged his shoulders with that thought. Han-Yeol could dare to dream about being the best in not only melee but also in rangedbat. But of course, he was stillckingpared to S Rank or Master Rank Hunters, and he knew very well that he was not a match against either Tayarana or Mujahid even if he summoned all of his demons. In fact, he was not looking at his status window for the sole purpose of admiring his growth. ¡®Hmm¡­ I can dish out much stronger?heals?if I use Restore and Healing Bullet in tandem¡­¡¯?he tried toe up with variousbinations. The Horus raid party was quite an experienced organization, so he hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to use healing skills so far. Well, there was also the reason that they had been purposely hunting in lower-level hunting grounds to get used to the Korean monsters. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Now that the monster rabbits were taken care of, the Egyptian Porters were about to do their job. However, Mavros suddenly showed interest in the monster corpses for the first time. ¡®Hmm? What¡¯s he doing?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Mavros might look cute and weak, but there was one fact about him that Han-Yeol never forgot. ¡®Mavros is a monster too,¡¯?he thought. It was a shame that his cute appearance was going to disappear one day, but every creature was bound to grow up eventually. That being said, Mavros might be cute and cuddly right now, but he was going to mature into a fully-fledged monster in the future. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­that day is today¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he observed the baby ck dragon with worry and anticipation. [Vice Leader-nim seems to be doing something over there, so let¡¯s go and work on that side first.] [Roger that.] The Horus raid party Porters were seasoned veterans as well, so they could tell at a nce where and what they should be doing, and that was the reason why the Egyptian Porters decided to give space to Han-Yeol and Mavros. Han-Yeol continued to observe Mavros after the Porters left. ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros bit a monster rabbit corpse and started to violently il it around. After five minutes passed, Han-Yeol noticed that the baby ck dragon only appeared to be ying with the dead rabbits. ¡®Hmm¡­? Was I overreacting?¡¯ Truth be told, Han-Yeol did not mind if the baby ck dragon stayed the same forever and merely became his mascot. He could always depend on taming other monsters and increasing the number of demons he contracted with if he ever fell short of firepower. Mavros was an extremely cute creature that made Han-Yeol feel at ease just with his appearance alone. In short, he was like an emotional support pet to him. ¡®Well¡­ I don¡¯t mind if he stays this way,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before moving to pick up the baby ck dragon so as to not get in the way of the Porters. Kwachik! Just as he walked toward the baby ck dragon, he heard the sound of a bone being crushed. Surprised, he muttered to himself, ¡°Huh?¡± The baby ck dragon ended up doing what Han-Yeol initially thought he was going to do a while ago. Even though he had only been interested in the fresh meat that Han-Yeol fed him up until this point, he surprised Han-Yeol by suddenly munching and devouring the dead monster rabbits. Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik!? Han-Yeol found the sight to be quite gruesome despite raising Mavros himself. He watched as the baby ck dragon¡¯s sharp fangs pierced through the mana-protected bones of the monster rabbits with ease. Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!? Mavros merrily munched on the monster rabbits¡¯ corpses. ¡®This means that a monster is capable of devouring their fellow monsters once they have grown to a certain extent. There have been no reports of monsters eating each other unless those reports?have been?kept?from the public. This is definitely not something a normal monster would do,¡¯?thought Han-Yeol, convinced that the baby ck dragon was disying strange behavior. It was exactly as he suspected. Numerous scientists and experts had entered the hunting grounds alongside raid parties to investigate the monsters¡¯ natural instincts, biologicalposition, etc., and all of the findings from these investigations had been published for others to see. The monsters were creatures that had a positive effect on this world by pushing the humans to evolve, but the humans always kept in their minds that these same creatures could potentially cause their downfall and extinction. What was going to happen if the barriers the aliens had erected suddenly disappeared one day? Simple, the monsters quietly waiting in the hunting grounds were going toe rushing out like a tidal wave. Humanity was notpletely defenseless against the monsters as the Hunters were present, but the monsters were definitely going to possess superior quantity to make up for theirck of quality. Most of humanity was going to be extinct by the time the best of the Hunters subjugated the monsters. In fact, there had even been a simtion run on the doomsday scenario of the world in such an event by a think tank. The think tank received a torrent of criticism for fear-mongering, but there were quite a lot of people that thought the report was credible. Anyway, most of the information gathered and researched by the scientists could be downloaded for a fee from the inte, and Han-Yeol was a VVIP customer on these information websites. ¡®There are no reports anywhere of a monster devouring another monster. I¡¯m guessing this is a unique trait to the monsters I hatched like Mavros. Well, I guess it makes sense since there are differences between wild and domesticated animals as well. On top of that, I have a feeling they will be able to learn skills as well thanks to my ability,¡¯?Han-Yeol was busy thinking. Thud! [W-What?!] While Han-Yeol was distracted by his own thoughts, Mavros pulled a mana stone out of a monster rabbit¡¯s corpse and tried to swallow it. The Egyptian Porter beside him shouted in surprise, and that made Han-Yeol look toward them. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Gulp! [Hiiiiik!]?The Egyptian Porter shrieked in horror at the sight of Mavros devouring not only the monster''s corpse but the mana stone as well. They could only look on as the mana stone that was the size of a billiard ball disappeared down Mavros¡¯ mouth. Most people would wonder what the big deal was with one mana stone being ingested by the monster, but the monster rabbits were at least intermediate-tier monsters. Not only that, but they were also monsters possessing extremely high mana density. In short, the mana stone Mavros had just consumed could fetch quite a hefty price, and this price was a huge figure for a Porter. [Take it out from my share,] Han-Yeol said. [Ah, I understand.] Han-Yeol calmed the Porter down before proceeding to focus on Mavros again. The baby ck dragon merrily waltzed over to Han-Yeol after eating the expensive mana stone. ¡°Kyu~!¡± The way he added a vibrato at the end of his cry meant that he was asking for a hug. ¡°Heave-ho!¡± Han-Yeol gently lifted the baby ck dragon up and said, ¡°Look at your tummy, Mavros. It¡¯s so big.¡± He could not help but still find the baby ck dragon to be extremely adorable despite it having eaten an expensive mana stone. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros protested, asking Han-Yeol to stop teasing him. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a warm smile. He felt extremely proud that Mavros had done something new all by himself. *** After that, Mavros continued to devour monster corpses every eight to twelve hours. ¡®I¡¯m certain something about him has changed¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while observing the baby ck dragon. He was certainly losing out on a lot of money whenever Mavros ate not only the corpses but even the mana stones. However, he was not really bothered by it; he had already earned a lot in recent days. In fact, he was actually trying toe up with ways that he could do more for his baby ck dragon. Of course, Tayarana and Mariam could not help but feel envious of Han-Yeol. [I wish my Candalous grew that fast too¡­] [I agree, Tayarana-nim. I wish the same could be said for my Pipi.] Candalous was the name of Tayarana¡¯s pet griffon while Pipi was the name of Mariam¡¯s pet cat. They were different from Mavros in the sense that they did not mind having caretakers looking after them, so there was no need to risk bringing them all the way here to the hunting grounds. However, both Tayarana and Mariam had a change of heart after seeing Mavros¡¯ recent development. [I definitely should bring Candalous along next time.] [I think so too, Tayarana-nim.] An executive meeting was called for after the episode with Mavros was over. Tayarana, Han-Yeol, Mujahid, Mariam, and the rest of the raid party executives were looking at the hologram map of Mount Toham. [We have confirmed that most of the monster rabbits have been annihted based on the scouting report from the special drone. Am I correct, Han-Yeol-nim?] Mariam was asking Han-Yeol because he possessed the ability to sense mana within a ten-kilometer radius around him, and matching the drone¡¯s findings to the discoveries from Han-Yeol¡¯s skill was going to result in a hundred percent certainty. [You¡¯re right. All of the monster rabbits that came for us are dead.] [I see¡­] The other executives nodded. [I suppose it is now time for us to move on to the next part of the n. The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva is located in the valley at the peak of Mount Toham. It is a wide and vast valley so it is the perfect ce for the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva to reside in. However, the boss monster has not moved an inch for the past four days since we got here.] [Not even an inch?] [Yes, not even a single inch.] The Horus raid party convened their meetings again and again untilte in the evening. This raid was an extremely important raid for them, and they wanted to prepare for it as much as they could. After all, they knew very well that a catastrophic incident could take ce if they missed anything, so they were determined to repeatedly go over the ns. The other raid parties that had been sent to deal with the other bosses had a Master Rank Hunter with them, but the Horus raid party was the only one with S Rank Hunters. The fact that they had two S Rank Hunters did not really matter as the difference between a Master Rank Hunter and an S Rank Hunter was like heaven and earth. [That is indeed quite strange. That thing can cause damage on the scale of a natural disaster with any simple movement, but it is staying still. It is not acting like a boss monster at all¡­] [It is as you said. A boss monster usually has a small activity area, but they are usually always on the move. This Thousand Armed Bodhisattva probably thinks it is Buddha himself and is pretending to be meditating.] [Hahaha!] The Horus raid party executives lightened up the mood by throwing some jokes around now and then. [Well, it might be acting strange, but we need to remember that we still have to face the other zodiacs as well. We should make ns on how to face them first.] [Fortunately, we received great news just now.] Mariam entered the meeting room and made the announcement. [What good news?] [We might be able to fight the zodiacs one by one, since they are not active unless we enter their range. It seems that we will be able to face the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva without their interference.] [Oh! That¡¯s excellent news! We can aim to finish the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva first before we take care of the small fries then!] Chapter 147: Evolving Mavros (1)

Chapter 147: Evolving Mavros (1)

Mujahid started running his mouth once again without processing his thoughts. ¡®Geez¡­ This guy runs his mouth too casually. It¡¯s really unbefitting of a prince¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol shook his head. The image of elite children he had were those who had received strict training from a young age and were very careful with what they said, but this prince, who was supposed to be the most elite among the elite, simply acted in such a casual manner. It would have made sense if he was a normal person, but who would have known that a prince of Egypt was going to be like this¡­? Han-Yeol decided to actively participate in the meeting. [Hmm¡­ I think we can easily find a spot to raid the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva based on the map, and the best route would be the one being guarded by the dragons. Do you agree?] [Yes, I agree with you, Han-Yeol-nim.] Beep! Mariam pressed the remote controller and the hologram image changed, revealing all of the possible routes the raid party could take on the map. [Are these the most efficient routes we can take to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva?] [Yes, that is correct.] [I guess our enemies know about them too.] [Pardon me?] Mariam tilted her head in confusion. ¡®Cute¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol could not help but find Mariam to be quite cute. She might not be as beautiful as Tayarana, but she had her own set of charms. ¡®She might act cold and tough, but she¡¯s a cute softie inside. Hehe¡­.¡¯?Han-Yeol was nowpletely distracted. [Han-Yeol-nim?] Han-Yeol snapped out of it after Mariam called his name. [Ah, right¡­ Sorry about that. Where were we again?] Mariam let out a sigh, and Han-Yeol flinched in response. She had a habit of nagging right after letting out a sigh, and Han-Yeol knew this all too well. [We were discussing how the most efficient route is where the zodiac monsters, the dragons, are.] [Ah, right. I noticed that the monster dragons possess the highest mana density among the twelve zodiac monsters. The boss monster stationed his most powerful minions at the route we¡¯re likely to take, but I¡¯m not sure if it was done on purpose or a mere coincidence.] [I see¡­] Mariam nodded in agreement. What Han-Yeol said just nowpletely made sense, but that did not mean that they were going to change their ns because of it. The twelve zodiac monsters were stationed around Mount Toham in two teams, with one half stationed in the outskirts of the mountain and the other stationed in the inner parts of the mountain. They were eventually going to have to fight twice if they chose another route due to being afraid of the monster dragons. Not to mention, they were going to have to give up this basecamp they had painstakingly established if they decided to avoid the monster dragons. [Tayarana-nim.] Mariam looked at Tayarana. What mattered in the end was the decision of the leader no matter how much the underlings debated. [Proceed.] [I understand.] [Hehehe¡­ That¡¯s great! I¡¯m excited to go all out. Those rabbits weren¡¯t even appetizers to me!] [I shall repeat myself once again. I was not talking to you, Mujahid-nim.] [You¡¯re so mean!] ¡®As expected.¡¯?Han-Yeol smiled in satisfaction after getting the answer he expected. Tayarana was the type who would think of a winning solution in the face of a strong opponent instead of finding ways to avoid them. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!? Han-Yeol stretched and cracked his itching bones. He might not be a battle maniac like Tayarana or Mujahid, but he loved fighting as well. There was no reason for him to back down from a fun fight just because he was scared of the enemy. ¡®I should use this opportunity to level up my skills and start diligently collecting new skills,¡¯?he thought. The new hammer skills he had obtained reignited his drive to obtain as many skills as he could. Han-Yeol recently developed a hobby of starting collections which began with the game consoles before moving on to the supercars. He was probably going to start collecting yachts and private jets once he made even more money. However, there was one thing that he loved to collect more than anything. ¡®As expected, nothing beats the satisfaction of collecting skills,¡¯?he thought with a smirk. He explosively grew stronger after having awakened with the game-like ability that allowed him to collect skills. Ironically, even his ego system had no idea what his limit was, and so far it seemed like the sky was his limit. His sudden growth made himcent in recent times, which stunted his growth, but that was no longer the case now. [Shall we go and kill those dragons if we¡¯ve reached a decision?] Han-Yeol asked. [Sure,] Tayarana replied. [Hehehe¡­ We¡¯re going to fight against¡­ A fight gives me the best high¡­!] Mujahid added. [I will start preparations at once,] Mariam said with a bow. Not a single hint of hesitation could be found in the Horus raid party. Tayarana, Han-Yeol, and Mujahid were going to stand at the forefront to hunt down the fifth zodiac, the dragons. However, it was inevitable that some of the Hunters were going to be anxious. They knew that they were up against powerful enemies this time, unlike the monster rabbits. The Horus raid party marched on. [This is the boundary.] Han-Yeol had been using his Demon Eyes ever since their march started, and he immediately gave the signal after they were right in front of the dragons¡¯ territory. Gulp! [We will be entering their territory the moment we cross this boundary, and simr to the monster rabbits, we can expect them to react as soon as we set foot in their territory. Fortunately, these monsters are made up of few powerful creatures unlike the massive monster rabbit army, so we don¡¯t have the risk of being surrounded. But that doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s going to be an easy fight.] Tak! Mujahid balled his fist and mmed them together at Han-Yeol¡¯s words. It was probably painful to m his fist together like that, judging by how powerful his punches were, but he was a hardened veteran Hunter who knew how to control his abilities. Also, the pain was just another physical sensation that he was all too familiar with. Tayarana was the first one to step into the monster dragons¡¯ territory. ¡°Kuuuuuoh!¡± [As expected, they are reacting.] The entire Horus raid party followed behind Tayarana and entered the monster dragons¡¯ territory, and they were greeted by a rage-filled roar. It was soon followed by a small earthquake. Some of the Hunters wondered if this was how it felt right before a volcano erupted to unleash its fury. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? The sound of something loudly stomping the ground reverberated throughout the surroundings. [They¡¯reing! Stay alert, everyone!] [Roger that!] The special drone was still a prototype, so they could not afford to keep it on at all times. This was true especially during battle, and this meant that Han-Yeol was the Horus raid party¡¯s only pair of eyes at this moment. ¡®It was really a smart move for us to recruit him.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s quite easy tomunicate with him, and he is skilled in a lot of things, so getting help from him is quite easy¡­ But the best thing is¡­¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s the most normal one among them¡­¡¯ The Horus raid party Hunters whispered among themselves. They were quite impressed by the fact that Han-Yeol was not only a skilled fighter but he possessed quite a variety of useful skills as well. [They¡¯reing!] Han-Yeol shouted. Kwachik! Kuuooh! The trees on Earth were quite small, unlike the trees found in anime or fantasy novels, and this made it so easy for the monster dragons to step on the trees that stood in their path. [How the hell do those things look like dragons¡­?] The dragon from the twelve zodiac monsters was not the same oriental dragon people from East Asia were ustomed to. The twelve zodiac monsters simply had some resemnce to the animals they represented, but they looked nothing like the animals that most people knew of. A prime example of this was the monster dragons, which resembled gigantic lizards more than traditional dragons. However, these lizards were not your average lizards as they were equipped with rusted armor that covered their entire body except for their legs and stomach. Kwachik! Tayarana was the first to spread her wings after the gigantic lizards appeared. She flew up in the sky and turned into an eagle that was looking at her new prey. [Alright! Excellent! I would feel ecstatic if I got hit by one of them!] Flinch! Han-Yeol was shocked, doubting the exmation he had just heard Mujahid say. ¡®Is this guy, by any chance, a masochist¡­?¡¯?he wondered if his disciple had that tendency, and then he proceeded to curse the heavens, ¡®My god! Why have you sent this tribtion to me?!¡¯? Anyway, he decided to put these issues at rest for now and focus on the task at hand. Han-Yeol summoned a chain with a hammer attached to its end with his left hand, and he summoned his favorite sword with his right hand. [Let¡¯s go!] [Here we go!] [Waaaaaaaaah!] Han-Yeol was the first one to jump at the lizards, followed by Mujahid, and then Tayarana, andstly the Egyptian Hunters. The gigantic lizards continued charging toward the Horus raid party without showing any signs of stopping, and their bulging muscles suggested that they were intent on bulldozing through their enemies. [Stay alert and be careful. We don¡¯t know anything about them, so you might get killed in a single strike from an unknown skill. Make sure you don¡¯t becent.] Mariam used her trademark skill to establish a telepathywork. The skill allowed her to speak directly into the minds of the Hunters and give themmands like a drill sergeant. *** Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? The gigantic lizards threatened the humans using their size. [Keuk!] They started with their most basic attack, stomping, followed by body smash, biting, tail whip, and a variety of other attacks. These kinds of physically strong monsters that possessed a variety of attack patterns were not thatmon, and it was quite surprising that such arge monster was able to move so quickly and in such a versatile manner. After all, they were mere minions under a boss monster. ¡®The fight¡¯s getting interesting now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he was getting excited. They could have fought the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva in a much better state if they chose a weaker zodiac monster, but having such an experience was not a bad thing at all. ¡®Chain Smite!¡¯? Shiiiik! ng! ¡®Tsk!¡¯ Han-Yeol used chain smite and threw the hammer attached to the end of his chain at the exposed area of the gigantic lizard, but the monster disyed great intelligence as it simply turned its body and blocked the strike with its armor. ¡®That armor is full of rust, so why is it so sturdy?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. As expected, monsters were not creatures that conformed to scientificmon sense. The mana and abilities bestowed by the aliens could be deciphered using science and technology, and humanity was making great strides in improving them. However, the same could not be said for the monsters as they defied the very foundation of science itself. Thirty years had passed since the monsters had first made their appearance, but humanity¡¯s knowledge of them had not made any progress at all. In fact, the information the aliens had provided thirty years ago was the only knowledge they had until today. The only thing that had made progress regarding the monsters was probably how to utilize their mana stones as a source of energy and how to manufacture products from their body parts. Still, the scientists in charge of researching things about monsters were embarrassed to im such progress. All of this progress had technically been made by material scientists. Thud! ¡®Keuk!¡¯? The gigantic lizard that parried Han-Yeol¡¯s attackpletely ignored the Egyptian Hunters attacking it. Instead, it proceeded to charge at Han-Yeol and swiped its tail at him. Surprisingly, the monster did not use all of its force in the attack. It appeared to be aware of the fact that it was probably strong enough to mince the human with a light swing of its tail. Han-Yeol was already expecting the attack thanks to Sixth Sense, and he was able to easily evade it after time slowed. He tried to take a few steps back and easily avoid the attack, but the powerful gust of wind created by the tail still made him tumble backward. Fortunately, he did not sustain any physical damage from the wind, but it was more than enough for the monster to make a statement out of it. ¡®Eat this!¡¯?Han-Yeol used Chain Smite one more time, but this time, he attacked from the monster¡¯s blind spot while it was still in the motion of swinging its tail. Puk! ¡°Kuek!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s chain was mounted with the Ego system, Karvis, which possessed greater intelligence than most humans. In the end, he was able to hit the monster where he wanted without having to control the chain. The hammer struck the gigantic lizard¡¯s unarmored and exposed area thanks to Karvis, and the monster was obviously in pain after getting hit. The gigantic lizard might be extremely tough, but there was no way it was going to be unscathed after receiving the brunt of Han-Yeol¡¯s mana. ¡®Tsk¡­¡¯? However, Han-Yeol clicked his tongue after confirming that he was not able to do much damage against the gigantic lizard. Chapter 148: Evolving Mavros (2)

Chapter 148: Evolving Mavros (2)

Disimer: The plot, characters, and opinions presented in this novel are purely fictional and do not necessarily represent the views of Wuxiaworld, our trantors, or partners.? ¡®Its weakness is its stomach, but¡­that is a tough and muscr area as well. Still, that¡¯s my only hope¡­ Its legs might not be armored, but it has tough scales all over it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he analyzed the monster. The gigantic lizard possessed tough scales that protected its legs. Grrr! The monster seemed to have made Han-Yeol its main target after getting smacked in the stomach. ¡°Bring it on,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smirk. [Resonating Waves!] Whooosh! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? The Egyptian Hunters might not be as strong as Han-Yeol, but they were not weak at all. The Hunters aimed their powerful skills at the gigantic lizard¡¯s leg. [Damn it! Why is it so tough?!] [Keep attacking! Don¡¯t give it time to recover!] [I know that!] The gigantic lizard lived up to its title as the most powerful monster among the twelve zodiacs. The monster currently had all of its focus on Han-Yeol, but that did not mean that the other Hunters dropped their guards. After all, the monster was extremely shrewd. It would asionally pretend to target only a single person before it would suddenly attack another. Puk! [Kuheok!] The gigantic lizard was only following Han-Yeol around before it suddenly kicked an Egyptian Hunter that got too close to it. The surprise attack was not strong enough to kill the Hunter, but it was strong enough to break one of his arms. Most Hunters would have retreated to the backline to pop a healing potion, but that was not the case for the Horus raid party as they possessed one of the rarest ranged healing skills. ¡®Healing Bullet!¡¯? Han-Yeol unequipped his chain and hammer before immediately taking out his brand-new Walther KA101 from his gun holster. Then, he shot three bullets at the Hunter¡¯s broken arm. Bang! Bang! Bang! Seuk¡­! Three yellow-whitish balls of light flew toward the Hunter. His arm absorbed the balls of light before it let out a sh and revealed apletely healed arm. [Thank you, Vice Leader-nim!] [Oh!] [That skill never gets old no matter how many times I see it.] Ranged healing skills were extremely rare. There were a lot of Healers in Egypt, but most of them had to be near or beside their target for their skills to take effect. There could be other Healers capable of ranged healing as well, and perhaps they were just hidden from the public as most guilds had the tendency to hide them. Whatever the reason may be, it was indisputable that Han-Yeol was probably the first of his kind that these Hunters were seeing. [Get a grip! Attack again!] [Waaaaah!] [Blue Waves of Destruction!] Shwaaaaa! The Egyptian Hunter who possessed the ability to attack with waves unleashed a powerful spell at the gigantic lizard. Striking skills were not effective against the monster, but¡­ [Oh! It was super effective, Mariam-nim!] [Yes, I saw it too. Everyone, don¡¯t lose focus. Striking skills don¡¯t seem to work, but piercing skills seem to work very well against its armor and scales. Make sure you use piercing attacks from now on!] [Alright, thanks Mariam.] [Hoho! As expected of my fianc¨¦!] [Shut up.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] The battle of attrition against the gigantic lizard made a full one-eighty-degree turn. [Hoho! It¡¯s my time to shine. Mass Sharpness!] Shwaaaaa! Then, one of the Egyptian Hunters activated his mass buff skill. The skill sharpened the des of all allies within a one-kilometer radius around the caster, but it was notmonly used as it consumed too much mana. The increase in sharpness did not really help with hunting either. In short, this particr skill was not worth the mana spent, and it was going to be much more worthwhile to use his other two attacking skills instead with the same mana. However, things were different this time as the sharpness of their de was crucial to hunting the gigantic lizards. ¡°Oh?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in surprise after he was close enough to be buffed by the Hunter¡¯s skill. He could feel mana coating the edge of his sword. He found it quite interesting as this was the first time he was getting an AoE buff skill. ¡®This is amazing¡­ Should I try to get one too?¡¯?he thought. He had met a lot of Hunters during the four years he had worked as a Porter, but this was the first time he experienced an AoE buff skill. Naturally, he could not help but feel greed welling up deep inside of him. He was certain that he could dramatically boost his raid party¡¯s power if he possessed an AoE buff better than Mass Sharpness. Area of Effect buff skills were something that anyone would want, and the Hunter that possessed Mass Sharpness had been scouted by the Horus raid party simply because of his AoE buff skill, Mass Sharpness. Back then, he had immediately epted the offer and vowed to remain loyal to the Horus raid party simply because he was a huge fan of Tayarana. The Egyptians slowly started to change the way they thought, and this soon led to a massive shift in social opinion. The Hunter that had used Mass Sharpness just now, Fooka, used to be a member of an Imic extremist group before joining the Horus raid party. There were a lot of Muslims who had caused problems because of their excessive zeal for their god, Ah. More than ny percent of Egyptians were Muslims while the rest were a strange type of Christians known as Coptic Christians. [I shall offer everything I am to Tayarana-nim!] However, quite a lot of people recently started departing from Im, and one of the main causes of that was none other than Tayarana¡¯s beauty. There were other reasons as well¡ªthe country¡¯s increasing affluent, improvements in public education, and opening their doors to foreign influences. Thanks to that, women¡¯s rights had significantly improved, and a lot of people started to shun the despicable actions of the Imic extremists. In any case, the main reason that people had started leaving Im was none other than the establishment of a new object of faith, and that was none other than the living goddess of Africa, Tayarana. ¡®I should at least try my luck. Who knows? Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and attain a simr skill or an even better one,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He currently knew of three ways to gain new skills. The first was to carry out certain actions that would result in a skill, the second was tobine his pre-existing skills to create a new one, and the third was to master a skill in hopes that it would create a new skill. ¡®Miracles do happen sometimes, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought that it was worth a shot. Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Sukeok! ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± The gigantic lizard shrieked in agony after it was ganged up on by the Horus raid party. The Egyptian Hunters found renewed vigor after seeing that the Mass Sharpness buff was pretty effective against the monster¡¯s tough armor, and they jumped into the fight eagerly. The Hunters that did not receive the Mass Sharpness buff, as they did not possess a de, tried their best to distract the monster so that others could attack it. Fwaaaaa! Han-Yeol was no longer using a hammer. Instead, he was now using a sword engulfed with Sword Breath. He used Cat Walk to nimbly close the distance with the gigantic lizard before he cut at it with all of his strength. ¡°Kwuuuuoooong!¡± The gigantic monster screamed in agony after getting its leg mercilessly attacked by the human¡¯s sharpened burning sword. ¡®Vicious Stabs!¡¯?Han-Yeol mercilessly stabbed the gigantic lizard¡¯s leg. Just as he was stabbing with all of his might, he suddenly sensed something. He did not possess any skills that heightened his senses or improved his instincts, but he trusted his gut far more than anything else in this world. And his gut was currently telling him that it was going to be extremely dangerous very soon. [Mariam! Tell all of the Hunters to get as far as possible from these monsters! Hurry up!] Since his suddenmand hade quite strangely and suddenly, Mariam could have just refused it. However¡­ [¡­roger that. All forces retreat. I repeat. All forces retreat at least ten meters away from the lizards.] [What?!] [Hurry up!] Mariam¡¯s scream resonated throughout the Hunters¡¯ heads. Whoosh! Whoosh!? The Hunters found hermand to be quite strange, but none of them dared to question her order. Tayarana and Mujahid were the first to retreat, followed by the rest of the Hunters. Fhwaaaaaa! [Heok!] [How is this possible?!] The gigantic lizards started spewing poison mist all over the ce. The thick cloud of poison had dense mana, so anyone who did not retreat despite Mariam¡¯s order would have definitely been poisoned. Of course, Han-Yeol could use his Restore skill to detoxify whatever poison it was, but that was going to take a long time and he could only treat one person at a time. In short, it was going to be difficult to fight against the gigantic lizards if the raid party got poisoned. [That was a close call. We were saved thanks to you, Mariam, my darling!] Mujahid still found the time to express affection to Mariam in this situation. [Please shut your mouth. I only did what Han-Yeol-nim told me to do.] As expected, Mariam responded in her usual cold manner, and she did not forget to give credit to Han-Yeol. [Thank you, Han-Yeol. We would have been in a difficult spot if not for you,] Tayarana sincerely thanked Han-Yeol. [I¡¯m just doing my job as the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party. Anyway, this is the importance of having information beforehand. We would have been hit by such attacks and curveballs if we didn¡¯t have enough information.] [Yeah, you¡¯re right.] The Horus raid party Hunters seemingly felt a ten-year reduction to their lifespan at the close call. No, their lives would have ended this instant if they had been hit by that poison mist. [Biju, Joaquin, summon winds to clear the poison.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] They had to continue fighting but the gigantic lizards were hiding underneath the thick poison mist. It seemed like the monsters intended to take a safer approach this time against the humans. There was only one thing the Horus raid party could do if the monsters were refusing toe out of the poison mist, and that was to go to them instead. Mariammanded two Hunters possessing wind attribute abilities and asked them to blow the mist away. [Blow it away, Typhoon!] [Run wild, Sylphid¡¯s Arrow!] Shwaaaaa! The two A Rank Hunters summoned powerful winds to blow away the poison mist. Now, the gigantic lizards were exposed once again. [Commence attack!] [Chaaarge!] Sukeok! Sukeok! The gigantic lizards were no longer a match against the Hunters now that its weakness was exposed. Tayarana stood out the most among the three as she spread her wings and flew at supersonic speed. She swung her sword at a gigantic lizard. Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk!? ¡°Kuoooook!¡± In addition, the other Hunters were attacking the gigantic lizard¡¯s legs and its unarmored underbelly with their sharp swords. The gigantic lizard would have put up a fight if it was a one-on-one fight, but it got one-sidedly beaten up with numerous powerful Hunters and Tayarana ganging up on it. ¡°Kwuoooong!¡± Thud! The gigantic lizard that was so tough and resilient that it seemed impossible to defeat finally fell to the ground. [It¡¯s down!] [Yes!] Han-Yeol could not idly sit by and do nothing after seeing the Hunters rejoice. Crack! He crushed a mana stone and used Enhance. Then, he avoided the gigantic lizard¡¯s attack by sliding underneath it and positioning himself right underneath its belly. ¡®Vicious Stab!¡¯?Han-Yeol used Enhance to empower this specific skill and mercilessly stab at the monster¡¯s belly. Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!? The gigantic lizard suffered numerous stab wounds on its belly in a matter of seconds, but that was not the end of it. ¡®sh Strike!¡¯ In the end, the gigantic lizard Han-Yeol was in charge of fell to the ground after thebined efforts of him and the other Hunters. Thud! [Alright!] [We won!] [Yes!] Ding! [The rank of ¡®Vicious Stabs¡® has risen from (F) to (E).] [The rank of ¡®sh Strike¡® has risen from (B) to (A).] ¡®Yes! The skills have leveled up!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced inwardly after reading the messages. Chapter 149: Evolving Mavros (3)

Chapter 149: Evolving Mavros (3)

The only remaining gigantic lizard was the one Mujahid was in charge of now that Tayarana and Han-Yeol had defeated theirs. Surprisingly, Mujahid was struggling against the gigantic lizard despite ranking third in the raid party overall and second in terms of strength alone. This was because he was a bruiser-type that did not possess any piercing skills while Han-Yeol was able to exploit the gigantic lizard¡¯s weakness with his skills. Puk! ¡°Slurp!¡± [Tsk¡­ I guess hitting it won¡¯t work.] Wham! [Arghhh!] Not only that, but it was also impossible for Mujahid to fight while protecting the other Hunters from the gigantic lizard¡¯s AoE attack. After all, he did not possess any defensive skills. Thanks to that, the Hunters fighting alongside him were exhausted from evading the gigantic lizard¡¯s attacks. The situation was a stark difference between Tayarana and Han-Yeol. Tayarana had attracted the monster¡¯s aggro and swiftly put an end to the battle while Han-Yeol had used his healing skills to sustain his allies as he fought against the monster. Bang! Bang! Bang! Shwiiik! Shwiiik! Shwiiik!? [Wow! I¡¯m healed!] Han-Yeol fired Healing Bullets at the Hunters that Mujahid failed to protect, and casualties were reduced thanks to his efforts. Healing Bullets might only be able to heal simple injuries, but they had the advantage of being very quick to take effect. In the end, the entire Horus raid party focused on the gigantic lizard Mujahid was handling and put an end to the battle. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡®Alright!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced after seeing the level up message, and he immediately invested all five points into Charisma. ¡®Hmm¡­ These lizards are reptiles, right? I wonder if they have eggs somewhere¡­¡¯?he wondered. Birds and reptiles mostlyid eggs, and he could not help but covet those eggs. It was almost impossible for him to not think about the monster eggs now that he had obtained the Taming skill, which was the golden ticket to earn him one trillion won. [Thank you for your hard work.] [Wow, we won.] [Yahoo!] It was now the Porters turn to do their job, since the three gigantic lizards had been defeated. They immediately got to work to dismember the monsters and collect the mana stones, but¡­ [Uwaaaaah!] [W-What¡¯s going on?!] [It came from where the monster corpses are at!] [Don¡¯t tell me, was there a monster hiding?!] The Hunters jumped in surprise and ran as fast as they could to where the scream hade from. However, what greeted them upon reaching there was something quite simple yetplicated. ¡°Haa¡­ What should I do about this¡­?¡± Han-Yeol shook his head and muttered with a defeated look after seeing what Mavros was doing. The baby ck dragon was once again devouring and rummaging through the gigantic lizard¡¯s corpse in search of its mana stone. This was exactly what had happened with the monster rabbits. [V-Vice Leader-nim¡­ I think this is going to be a bit expensive¡­] The F Rank Hunter, who was also the manager and ountant of the Horus raid party, approached Han-Yeol and carefully told him. He was trying to be as careful as possible. This incident was not something that he should reprimand Han-Yeol for even though it was his mistake. Technically, the F Rank Hunter should have gone to Tayarana or Mariam and reported the matter to them. Han-Yeol let out a sigh and looked at the F Rank Hunter. He knew very well that this was no longer something he could simply brush off by telling him to take it out of his share of the profits. He made a decision and said, [Call Mariam.] [Yes, sir!] The F Rank Hunter then ran as fast as he could in search of Mariam. [I guess¡­something happened.] Mariam was curious why Han-Yeol was suddenly looking for her, but she soon realized that there was an issue upon seeing Mavros. The situation was a bit problematic no matter how favorable the Horus raid party was toward Han-Yeol. [This certainly is a problem. There were a lot of monster rabbits so that did not really matter, but¡­] [Haa¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s why I want to propose a trade this time.] [A trade?] [Yeah, what do you think if I reimburse the raid party with a pet for the mess Mavros caused?] [DEAL!] Mariam did not hesitate even for a second before she immediately agreed to the trade. [Huh¡­?] Mariam was usually the level-headed type who calcted everything before making a decision, but she had immediately agreed to Han-Yeol¡¯s proposal without even giving it a second thought. [Tayarana-nim has taken an interest in pets these days after receiving Candalous. Also, I have received special orders from my country to prioritize obtaining as many pets as possible if the opportunity arises. Therefore, we ept your offer topensate for whatever damages Mavros caused in exchange for a pet.] ¡®Oh, I see¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was d after hearing that not only Tayarana but even the Egyptian Government was interested in the monster pets. The Egyptian Government¡¯s interest could be free marketing for Han-Yeol, and this in turn could convince more people that these pets were definitely worth the astounding one trillion won price tag. Some might think that Han-Yeol was losing out on this deal for giving up such an expensive pet aspensation, but he did not consider it as a loss at all. He was simply giving something with value without having to fork out actual cash. [Hmm¡­ But it is truly a shame.] [What is?] [Mavros tends to eat once in every six or twelve hours based on my observation. You would have had to pay up more inpensation if he ate more.] [Haha¡­ Is that so?] ¡®As expected of these people. They don¡¯t care about cash as long as they get their hands on the pets¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol knew that the Horus raid party were not petty people. Tayarana was basically royalty. Her family¡¯s wealth was not added into the assessment of her personal wealth, but everyone knew that she was the most beloved daughter of the Egyptian President who was one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. In other words, there was no way that theycked cash. Mariam knew this for a fact, which was why she was instantly interested in the pet Han-Yeol had offered instead of asking for cashpensation. Most people thought of her as nothing more than Tayarana¡¯s servant, but she was probably one of the most precious assets of Egypt. [I have changed my mind. I hope Mavros will consume more monsters from now on.] [Hahaha¡­] Han-Yeol might have amassed more than three trillion won, but he still found it difficult to understand how the real wealthy people thought. ¡®Phew¡­ I should work harder¡­ No, I should learn from these two.¡¯?He realized that he should learn the mindset of true wealthy individuals from both Tayarana and Mariam. Mavros finished eating a fifth of the gigantic lizard before swallowing its mana stone whole as if he was having dessert. ¡°Kyu!¡± The baby ck dragon¡¯s cry signaled the end of his meal, which basically made Han-Yeol lose one trillion won. However, that cry was only the beginning of his voracious appetite. ¡°Ha¡­ You¡¯re making me age faster¡­¡± ¡°Kyu?¡±?Mavros looked at Han-Yeol with his big round innocent eyes. The Horus raid party rested while the Porters were busily working on the three, no, two and whatever remained of the monster corpses. The raid party would have immediately moved on to the next target in normal circumstances, but the gigantic lizards were not an easy opponent despite having a weakness. Therefore, taking a break was imperative. This was so that they could maintain their gear while recovering their mana. Han-Yeol observed the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva with Demon Eyes while the others were resting, and he noticed that the boss monster had not budged an inch from its ce. ¡®Does that?thing?really think he¡¯s Buddha or something¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol found the boss monster to be quite peculiar, but he really wanted to avoid fighting against it if he was given a choice. The boss monster looked really strong. Han-Yeol would not have any reservations fighting against the boss monster alone if he had reached Master Rank, but he was at most an A+ Rank or S- Rank as of now. ¡®Well¡­ There¡¯s no point crying over spilled milk¡­¡¯?he decided to not think about the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva for now and focus on the gigantic lizards instead. They were fortunate enough to only face three gigantic lizards this time around, but Han-Yeol could see some that were moving in groups of ten. It was much better than the monster rabbits that had moved around in groups of hundreds, but there was a huge difference between the two monsters¡¯ strengths. After all, there was bound to be a difference between a dragon and a rabbit. Han-Yeol sat on the ground and started to think, ¡®We will need a more efficient method to fight against these lizards, and we should try to locate their nest as well.¡¯ Demon Eyes was not an omnipotent skill. The monster eggs possessed faint mana, but the skill was not able to pick up such faint traces of mana when he was kilometers away. Han-Yeol needed to be in close proximity to the egg if he were to pick up its faint mana. ¡®Should I summon another demon?¡¯? Han-Yeol currently had four demons contracted to him. Well, it was technically five if Kajikar was included, but Kajikar had only been temporarily contracted. Not to mention, Han-Yeol¡¯s Invoke stat already reached 230, and this meant that he could summon and contract more demons. Still, he preferred to rely on his own strength and hunt to maximize his growth. However, he did not have a choice right now. The Horus raid party was going to obtain anotherbatant if a demon on par with Balrog appeared. ¡®Tsk¡­ I¡¯m a bit ufortable with summoning so many demons, but I guess I don¡¯t have a choice.¡¯? In the end, Han-Yeol opened the ¡®Encyclopedia of Demons¡¯ application on his smartphone. This record known as the ¡®Encyclopedia of Demons¡¯ had been created by a famous ult group, and it had records of most demons regardless of whether they were famous or not. The application was priced at $29.99, and it was quite pricey whenpared to the price of most paperback books. Han-Yeol did not have to scour the inte for details thanks to this application, because he could simply use the search function in the app to look for whichever demon he wanted. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ I wonder which one I should pick this time¡­?¡¯?he wondered as he browsed the app. The main page had the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon, which was definitely a pass. He was much stronger than before, but he did not dare mess with them as he still got chills whenever he remembered his encounter with Astaroth. Also choosing to pass on the highest-ranking demons, he decided to summon a demon named ¡®Fogrin¡¯, which was a high-ranking demon that used swords. However, he ran into a problem just as he was about to summon the demon. Ding! [You may not summon the demon as you do not possess enough Invoke.] ¡®What the hell?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised by the message he was seeing for the first time. However, his surprisested only for a few seconds before he started to analyze the situation. ¡®This means that I can only summon demons that require less than 230 Invoke¡­ And the reason this message has never appeared before was that I did not hit the cap. That means¡­a high-ranking demon is going to use quite a lot of Invoke.¡¯ Han-Yeol was not the smartest of the bunch, but his intelligence had increased after obtaining his game-like ability. Chapter 150: Evolving Mavros (4)

Chapter 150: Evolving Mavros (4)

It was then. [Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Ah! You scared me! W-What is it, Karvis?¡¯? Karvis suddenly spoke to Han-Yeol. [I am no longer surprised whenever you get surprised.] ¡®Huh? What¡¯s with that dad joke? Bring back my old Karvis!¡¯ [Anyway, new content has been updated.] ¡®A new content?¡¯ [Yes, you may see more details regarding Demon Summoning if you read its description.] ¡®Really?¡¯ [Yes.] It had been a long time since Karvis had brought a useful piece of advice. She was an Ego that had awakened to help Han-Yeol, but she served more as a supporter inbat rather than a guide, as she could not recall a lot of things. It was a breath of fresh air that Karvis suddenly provided useful advice to Han-Yeol. ¡®Thanks! Demon Summoning description.¡¯ [Summoner: Lee Han-Yeol (Newbie Summoner)] Title: N/A Blessings: N/A Invoke: 200/230 [Balrog] Level: 15 Rank: Intermediate Experience Points: 231/45,000 Innate Skill: Absorb mes Stats: STR: 60 VIT: 77 AGI: 33 MAG: 95 TEN: 130 Skills: Fire Shield, Hell Spear, Breath of Fire Invoke Required: 100 [Void Devil] Level: 32 Rank: Low Experience Points: 1,728/24,222 Innate Ability: Shadow Form Skills: Void Wave, Void Strike, Void Shift, Void Step, Void Ambush, Void Conquer Invoke Required: 50 [Void Devil] Level: 30 Rank: Low Experience Points: 12,085/34,311 Innate Ability: Shadow Form Skills: Void Storm, Void Mind, Void Space, Void Silence, Void Artillery Invoke Required: 50 Low: 50 (Above Demon Summoning Rank F) Intermediate: 100 (Above Demon Summoning Rank E) High: 500 (Above Demon Summoning Rank D) Top: 1,000 (Above Demon Summoning Rank C) 72 Devils: 10,000 (Above Demon Summoning Rank B) *Invoke is not required for up to three demons. ¡®C-Crazy!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after reading the lengthy description. As expected, Kajikar was not treated as one of his contracted demons, and neither was Delchant, the Demon Merchant, counted as well. However, what surprised Han-Yeol was not all of these, but the amount of invocation required that was disyed at the bottom of the description. ¡°Kyu?!¡±?Mavros was quite sensitive to Han-Yeol¡¯s emotions, and he perked his head up the moment he felt a shift. A monster pet was not simply a domesticated monster, but it was arade for a Hunter. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing, Mavros. I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°Kyu~¡±?Mavros rubbed his head on Han-Yeol¡¯s chest after making sure that he was alright. ¡®Phew¡­ Yeah, nothing¡¯s going to change even if I get all worked up. The problem is how am I going to solve this¡­¡¯? In the end, the demon proved to be exactly that¡ªa demon. It wasn''t a creature that Han-Yeol could simply call upon whenever he wanted. Nheless, what he needed to do now was set his target on summoning another intermediate demon and increase his Invoke stat by seventy. ¡®Ah¡­ I should¡¯ve invested more in Invoke instead of spreading it out¡­¡¯? There was no reason to cry over spilled milk, but he could not help feeling regret and frustration over his actions. ¡®Well, there¡¯s no helping it. I can just start from now on and diligently hunt these gigantic lizards. I¡¯ll invest everything I gain from them and summon another intermediate demon before we face the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. This was the first time he felt a wall ever since he gained his game-like ability. It was a bit frustrating, but he decided to brush it off as another opportunity for him to grow stronger. ¡®Who would¡¯ve known Invoke was so important? Wait a minute¡­ Is LCK an important stat too¡­?¡¯?he wondered. He wanted to try investing some points into LCK if it was important, but he hesitated since it could be a useless stat in the end. ¡®But¡­ It won¡¯t be there if it¡¯s useless in the first ce, right¡­?¡¯? Feeling conflicted, he pondered for quite a while before he finally made up his mind. ¡®Whatever, I need to prioritize Invoke for now,¡¯?he thought as he shrugged it off. *** Chwak! ¡°Kwuooook!¡± Blue blood sttered on Han-Yeol¡¯s face, but he did not flinch as he was fully focused on the battle, and delivering the next attack was more important to him. He was currently fighting with Demon Eyes on. He preferred not to use this skill duringbat as it interfered with his vision, but the three-sixty-degree vision Demon Eyes offered made it quite convenient for him to check up on his allies¡¯ status while fighting. It was quite ufortable at first, but he slowly got used to it. No, it actually proved to be extremely convenient as he was able to read the flow of mana then and there. [Wow¡­ Our Vice Leader-nim is working too hard.] [Yeah, he seems to be giving it his all. Did something happen?] [Come on, nothing, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing. We were trapped together here for thest few days so what could¡¯ve happened?] [Well, I guess you¡¯re right¡­] [Hey, quit chatting and focus on the battle!] [Y-Yes!] Han-Yeol¡¯s extremely fast hunting speed gave the other Hunters the luxury to chat during the battle, but they were soon scolded by a raid party executive. However, even the executive could not help but find it strange. ¡®Why is he pushing himself all of a sudden?¡¯ It wasn''t strange at all for them to ask such a question, but they were probably not going to guess the reason behind it, even in their wildest dreams. Han-Yeol had to deal as much damage as possible to obtain the maximum experience points whenever he was fighting with a party, and he didn''t have the luxury of holding back if he wanted to level up quickly, considering the limited number of gigantic lizards avable. ¡®Vicious Stabs!¡¯ Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? ¡°Gwuooooh!¡± Thud! Han-Yeol killed a gigantic lizard, but he did not even stop to catch his breath. He immediately ran over to help Mujahid. Shwiiiiik! Puuuuk! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The gigantic lizard was fully upied with Mujahid, and it shrieked in agony when it was ambushed by Han-Yeol¡¯s sword. The sword stabbed into the exposed part of its body, and the sword was brightly burning with mes, which was a natural weakness of reptiles. ¡°Haaap!¡± ¡°Kwuooh!¡± Han-Yeol and the gigantic lizard let out a shout as they shed with each other. Chwak! ¡°Gwuoooh!¡± Thud! As expected, the gigantic lizard did not stand a chance against Han-Yeol and fell dead to the ground. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol was exhausted after using too much mana in a short period of time. It was then. Ding! Ding! [Your level has risen.] [The rank of ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M),] ¡®Oh! It finally reached Master Rank,¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced at the message and expected an even better skill to appear. His expectation was right on the money. Ding! [¡®Sword Breath¡¯ has reached Master-Rank.] [A new skill has been created: ¡®Explosion¡¯.] ¡®Huh? Explosion?¡¯?Han-Yeol was confused by the appearance of a magic skill, Explosion, when he mastered a sword skill that engulfed his sword with mes. [Explosion (F)] Type: Active Description: A powerful explosion will be triggered whenever a target is cut by the user¡¯s sword engulfed with Sword Breath. The explosion damage will increase the higher this skill¡¯s level bes. ¡®Wow¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol realized that he was thinking too one-dimensionally after reading the skill¡¯s description. His ability was indeed game-like, but that did not mean that it was a hundred percent like the games he yed. Explosion was a magic spell often used by magicians in novels or games, but this ¡®Explosion¡¯ was registered as a sword ability for Han-Yeol. Not only that, but the skill was actually quite powerful, and he dared say that it was the perfect skill he required right now against the gigantic lizards. ¡®Alright, I should test this out on these reptile bastards,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while walking to replenish his mana. Other Hunters had to wait until their mana naturally replenished, but Han-Yeol possessed a cheat-like skill that allowed him to replenish mana simply by walking around. Mujahid approached Han-Yeol and patted him on the shoulder. Pat! [Aren¡¯t you pushing yourself too much, hyung-nim? I heard from noonim that your mana capacity is quite big, but you will exhaust yourself if you keep pushing like that.] Mujahid was speaking in his usual carefree way, but he was actually apologetic deep inside. He was an S Rank Hunter, but he was not able to do anything since the gigantic lizards directly countered his abilities. He wanted to apologize for his shorings, but he found it difficult to apologize to other people due to his personality. In the end, this was his own way of apologizing to Han-Yeol. Of course, his effort was not in vain as Han-Yeol could feel what Mujahid wanted to say deep inside. [Well, it¡¯s alright. This is a secret between you and me but¡­ I actually have a skill that replenishes my mana, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m able to replenish mana so quickly and use more than other Hunters.] [Wow! That¡¯s an amazing skill! It seems like you¡¯re monopolizing all of the rare skills in the world!] Mujahid was sincerely surprised and impressed by that revtion. [I think I am. Haha!] [Keke!] The mood instantly lightened up after the two joked around for a bit. It went without saying that Mavros ate one of the monster''s corpses and its mana stone as soon as the battle concluded. [Hmm¡­ It seems that Mavros¡¯ appetite has increased.] [Yeah, I think so too¡­] The difference in the baby ck dragon''s appetite was quite evident. It was a bit difficult to quantify, but anyone could see that he was eating more and more. The increased appetite of the baby ck dragon was not a concern for Han-Yeol, as what mattered to him the most was the change that was urring in his pet. ¡®Change will always bring results,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he stretched his tired neck. Crack! Crack!? He felt that it was time for him to kick things up a notch now that he had obtained a new skill. *** ¡°Haaap!¡± Puk! ¡°Kwuoooh!¡± Han-Yeol stretched and asked Mariam to increase their hunting speed. Mariam went to Tayarana to ask for her opinion, and Tayarana easily agreed after feeling that things had be a bit boring around here. Thanks to that, the Horus raid party Hunters were on the verge of dying from exhaustion. [Ah.. Damn it¡­ These lizards are too damn stubborn¡­ Die!] [Argh!] [Huff¡­ Huff¡­] Puk! Puk! Puk! Pukeok! Of course, they had changed their formation to a three-shift rotation since the increased hunting speed was going to drain their stamina much faster than usual. With their already limited numbers, it would be a huge problem if the Hunters lost concentration due to fatigue, as it could result in casualties. The Egyptian Hunters who were taking a break sat on the ground and meditated whenever they had the chance to replenish their mana. Concentrating was challenging amidst the ongoing battles, but they believed it was still better than idling around. This time, the Horus raid party was facing four gigantic lizards. [Bring it on, you reptiles!] Han-Yeol unleashed his full firepower. [Everything is meaningless¡­] Balrog and the two Void Devils marked one of the gigantic lizards. Han-Yeol used his demons sparingly as they cost resources to summon, but he figured now was the time to use them. ¡®I can just toss them each a mana stone from the monster rabbits,¡¯?he thought as he shrugged the cost off. Bam! There were no differences in Balrog and the gigantic lizard¡¯s size. Balrog mmed his shield when the gigantic lizard attempted to body-smash him. Kwachik! [This punk¡¯s attack packs quite the punch. Bring it on! I will block you until my body breaks! Bwahaha!] It was impossible for Balrog, specializing in defense, and the two Void Devils, offensive but low-ranking demons, to defeat a gigantic lizard on their own. However, what Han-Yeol desired was for them to draw the attention of the gigantic lizard until he finished his task. It was evident that this particrbination of demons was specialized for the required task. 1. Tenacity Chapter 151: Evolving Mavros (5)

Chapter 151: Evolving Mavros (5)

[Vice Leader-nim!] [Okay!] Tak! Three Egyptian Hunters used their skills to bind the gigantic lizard¡¯s movement, and Han-Yeol used Cat Walk to jump into the air toward the monster. ¡°Haaap!¡± He gripped his sword with both hands and stabbed it deep into the monster¡¯s head. Puuuuk! ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± The gigantic lizard did not die even though it had the thirty-centimeter sword stabbed into its head. A reptile¡¯s brain was significantly smaller than a mammal''s, so it was difficult to hit the brain without scanning it beforehand. However, Han-Yeol was not after the reptile¡¯s brain. ¡®Shall we test out this new skill? Explosion!¡¯ Whiiing¡­! ¡®Huh?¡¯ Han-Yeol heard a whistling sound from somewhere, and then he was surprised by the powerful mana surging from the gigantic lizard¡¯s head. Reacting quickly, he pulled his sword out and retreated. It was then. Kabooom! The monster¡¯s head glowed bright red before a powerful explosion took ce that swept Han-Yeol away. He was barely able to maintain his bnce in mid-air, and he was pushed back a few meters after hended. He looked at the gigantic lizard¡¯s head after the explosion urred. He couldn¡¯t help but whistle, ¡°Whew!¡± It was a single attack, but the monster¡¯s head was nowhere to be seen. Thebination of Sword Breath and Explosion was simply too powerful. ¡®Ugh¡­ It used up a good chunk of my mana¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled after seeing the skill¡¯s mana consumption. He always tried to maintain at least eighty percent mana, but he felt dizzy after using thirty percent of his mana with a single skill. In short, he was only going to be able to use three explosions in a row even if his mana was full. A skill was going to be useless no matter how powerful it was if the user could not use it multiple times. ¡®Well, I guess I should use some of the mana stones,¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately thought of a solution to his problem as he possessed the ability to increase his MAG stat by absorbing mana stones. The true reason for his power in the first cey in his multitude of skills, and the ability to increase his mana capacity opened up limitless possibilities for him. In fact, the rumors about him possessing unlimited mana stemmed from his constant use of numerous skills. Of course, those rumors were far from the truth, as there were numerous asions when Han-Yeol came close to copsing due to mana depletion. All of his skills were formidable, but most of them required an enormous amount of mana to execute. This was why Han-Yeol diligently absorbed mana stones. While he deemed it wasteful to absorb the high-quality mana stones from this raid, he no longer hesitated since he had other sources of ie. The Egyptian Hunters were utterly astonished after witnessing Han-Yeol y the gigantic lizard with a single blow. [Wow¡­] [When did he obtain that skill¡­?] [He¡¯s a cheater¡­ a cheat¡­] Han-Yeol never explicitly mentioned it, but most of the Egyptian Hunters knew that it was possible for him to learn new skills. All of these Hunters received special education after awakening, so they were able to deduce things by connecting the dots. On top of that, it was impossible for them not to be able to tell as they had hunted with Han-Yeol a few times now, and he always used new skills out of the blue. [Well, I guess our hunting speed is going up a notch again.] [Hehe¡­ Sounds good to me.] Hunting at a faster pace meant that it would be quite exhausting, but Han-Yeol didn''t mind that in the slightest. Now, he could y the gigantic lizards with a single blow, albeit at the cost of a substantial portion of his mana. This was reason enough for him to elerate the hunt. However, what delighted him the most was the fact that the more he contributed to killing the monster, the more experience he would gain. Killing it in one hit essentially meant that he contributed almost all of it. Sukeok! ¡°Gwuooooh!¡± Han-Yeol teamed up with the Void Devils and Balrog to hunt the next gigantic lizard. Thud! The monster tried its best to resist by spewing out its poison, but the poison was easily neutralized by Balrog¡¯s mes. [Bwahahaha! Poison? You dare use poison against me?! Pitiful! This body of mine is immune to poison! I can simply burn all of those! Bwahaha!] Balrog would neutralize the poison by unleashing his mes whenever the gigantic lizard spewed out its poison. The gigantic lizard was fully upied by Balrog, and Han-Yeol waited until he recovered enough mana before charging to use Explosion on the monster. Chwaaaak! He dashed beside the monster and left a long cut across its body. This attack would have normally ripped the monster¡¯s hide and made it bleed, but that was about it. However¡­ Kabooom! ¡°Gwuoooooh!¡± A powerful explosion suddenly triggered from the long wound Han-Yeol inflicted, and thirty percent of his mana disappeared along with it. ¡°Argh!¡±? He experienced a terrible headache after consuming nearly a third of his mana all at once. It wasn''t surprising, considering that it was equivalent to using up a third of his lifespan. Han-Yeol had to remain still for a while, focusing on calming his breathing. However, he wasn''t worried because Balrog stood by his side. Indeed, Balrog was one of the most reliable and dependable defenders Han-Yeol had ever encountered in his life. Thud! [Bwahaha! This monster is weakened after that attack you did. Look, it seems lethargic now.] ¡°Really?¡± [Yes. Even I will find it difficult to stand after getting that kind of an injury.] ¡°Ugh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol forced himself up. He had to finish the battle before the monster recovered. This would simply be the best situation for everyone. Shwiiiik! He took out his chain this time and used a skill that he had not used for a long time. ¡®Restrain!¡¯ These days, Han-Yeol relied heavily on Chain Smite after acquiring a powerful new chain. However, most of the attacks he executed with the chain relied on blunt weapons like hammers or maces to crush his enemies. Unfortunately, the gigantic lizard proved resistant to blunt force attacks, rendering the chain less effective. Nheless, Han-Yeol was determined to demonstrate that he possessed other chain skills apart from Chain Smite. Shwiiiiik! The sickle attached to the end of the chain wrapped itself around the monster¡¯s head. ¡°Kuok?¡±?The monster was flustered when the chain wrapped around its entire body, and it immediately tried to set itself free. ¡°Balrog-nim, will you be able to withstand any attack?¡± [Of course! I will withstand it until this body breaks!] ¡°You are truly dependable,¡± Han-Yeol said as he wrapped the chain around Balrog and made sure the gigantic lizard was not going to be able to move. Chwak! ¡°Kwek?!¡±?The gigantic lizard tried to pull the chain, but it was taken aback when the chain did not budge an inch. Han-Yeol used that opening to stab the monster in its belly with sh Strike. Thud! [Bwahaha! A battle is always thrilling!] Balrog seemed to be having the time of his life after the victory. Meanwhile, Mujahid and Tayarana finished killing their gigantic lizards after Han-Yeol killed his two monsters. The Egyptian Hunters that possessed powerful piercing skills were teamed up with Mujahid to make up for his disadvantage while the wounded and tired Egyptian Hunters were teamed up with Han-Yeol to give them time to recover. Han-Yeol¡¯s wide variety of skills allowed him to solo hunt the gigantic lizard, and this bought time for the Hunters to recuperate. The Porters immediately moved in and started dismembering the gigantic lizards right after the battle ended. Han-Yeol sat on top of a boulder and observed Mavros. He thought, ¡®He¡¯s quite the curious one so he might end up going somewhere dangerous.¡¯ He was not worried at all since Mavros never strayed far away from him until now, but he watched over his baby ck dragon just in case he decided to try something new. The fact that the baby ck dragon suddenly started devouring the monsters¡¯ corpses, which started out of curiosity, was more than enough to make Han-Yeol take precautions. They were in a very dangerous ce, so any mistake was bound to cost not only the baby ck dragon¡¯s life but the entire raid party as well. Munch! Munch!? However, Han-Yeol¡¯s worries turned out to be unfounded as Mavros was happily munching on a gigantic lizard¡¯s corpse. The baby ck dragon was devouring the corpse, but he was only able to chew through the smaller bones for now. And just as the baby ck dragon was about to top off its meal with the gigantic lizard¡¯s mana stone as a dessert, Han-Yeol jumped down from the boulder and walked over to him. He thought, ¡®He¡¯s finally done eating.¡¯ It was then. Wooooong! ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed after a powerful surge of mana swept across him. He immediately activated Demon Eyes to inspect what was going on, and he was surprised once more. ¡°Mavros?!¡± he eximed after finding that the source of the powerful surge of mana was none other than the baby ck dragon¡¯s body. ¡°N-No way!¡± Tak! Han-Yeol immediately ran toward Mavros and hugged him. Just then, the surge of mana ced a heavy burden on his own body and he groaned in pain. ¡°Keuk!¡± ¡®What kind of mana is this?!¡¯?he thought as he gritted his teeth. [W-What¡¯s going on?!] [Over there!] There was no way the Hunters would not be able to sense such a powerful surge of mana, and all of them rushed over to see what was going on. As the Hunters gathered around Mavros, Mariam was the first to shout. [Han-Yeol-nim! Please get away from Mavros! You will be swept away by the explosion the moment that mana triggers an explosion! You will not make it!] She made a cold yet precise judgment. Various manuals published in multiplenguages detailed specific dangerous scenarios, including the urrence of a sudden, powerful surge of mana released by a Hunter or a monster. The manual explicitly stated that everyone should immediately evacuate if such an event were to happen. This was not a false warning or a mere safety precaution, as numerous civilians and Hunters had already lost their lives due to such explosions. However, Han-Yeol could not do that. He yelled, [But Mavros will be¡­!] ¡°Kyu¡­¡±?Mavros seemed to be in pain as he helplessly trembled. Mariam inspected the situation from afar and was confident that this was exactly what the manuals stated. She thought, ¡®I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to lead to an explosion.¡¯ [Han-Yeol-nim!] She couldn''t bear the thought of losing Han-Yeol in such a manner. Initially, the Horus raid party treated him as an outcast, but they hade to ept him as one of their own. His abilities and personality had won their hearts, and Mariam was one of the closest people who witnessed his admirable qualities firsthand. She observed that Tayarana had be more cheerful after meeting Han-Yeol, and Mariam herself had found apanion with whom she could freely share her thoughts. In fact, even the initially snobbish executives of the Horus raid party had recognized Han-Yeol as someone worthy of being their Vice Leader. The Egyptian President had gone so far as to send his own son to learn under Han-Yeol''s guidance. Han-Yeol''s poprity wasn''t limited to the Hunters; he was also well-liked among the Porters. Perhaps it was because he had worked as a Porter for four years, which allowed him to empathize with them. There was no one in the Horus raid party who hadn''t received his assistance. [I¡¯m alright, Mariam. I can absorb the mana if it turns into an explosion. I will definitely quell this rampaging mana within Mavros! That¡¯s the only way he can survive this!] [But!] Tak! Somebody grabbed Mariam by the shoulder when she was about to rush in and pull Han-Yeol out. She looked back and saw that it was Tayarana. Tayarana shook her head and said, [Don¡¯t try to stop him. Let him be.] [But!] [Mavros is equally important to Han-Yeol, just as he is important to us. We didn¡¯t spend much time with Candalous and Pipi, but we would probably do the same for them, right?] [Yes¡­] Tayarana was right. Both of them had a deep affection for their pets and felt a sense of sadness when they had to leave them behind at their mansion. Despite not spending much time with them, they already felt a strong bond. It made Han-Yeol wonder how much deeper his feelings for Mavros would grow, considering they were practically inseparable. Mavros had be more than just a pet to Han-Yeol; he had be a cherished member of his family. This held significant meaning for Han-Yeol, as Mavros was his first family member besides his father. [Is there nothing else we can do aside from hope that Han-Yeol-nim and Mavros will be alright¡­?] Chapter 152: Run Toward the Firmament (1)

Chapter 152: Run Toward the Firmament (1)

Mariam was saddened. Han-Yeol was precious to her, but there was nothing she could do for him. [What do you mean by we can¡¯t do anything? Mujahid!] [Yes, noonim!] Tayarana called out to Mujahid and they formed a triangle with Han-Yeol. [Hap!] [Hiiip!] They channeled their mana toward Han-Yeol, enveloping him in a thinyer of energy. This action would aid his concentration by isting him from the surrounding noise andmotion. ¡®Thank you, everyone.¡¯? Han-Yeol was able to concentrate thanks to the barrier Tayarana and Mujahid erected around him. He did tell Mariam that he could survive the explosion if he absorbed the mana, but he had no idea if that was even possible in the first ce. No, he knew that it was not possible. ¡®Forget about absorbing the mana or whatnot. I won¡¯t be able to survive an explosion from this much mana. Tsk¡­ I hate the thought of dying, but I can¡¯t just sit and watch Mavros die!¡¯? If Han-Yeol could find a way to control the rampaging mana, he would be able to save Mavros. He refused to remain idle while his beloved family member was in peril, simply because the situation was dangerous. The memories he had with Mavros shed in front of his eyes. ¡°Kyu¡­¡±?Mavros was in a weakened state and he looked up at Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol was determined to not let his baby ck dragon die. ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯ He could not see the flow of mana after activating his skill. Still, he injected his mana into Mavros to try and tame the rampaging mana, but¡­ ¡°Keuk!¡± The mana started rampaging even more after it sensed an external force trying to mess with it. ¡®Hoo¡­ Hoo¡­ Focus. You need to focus. The mana will only rampage even more if you try to tame it forcefully. Think of it as catching a starved beast. I need to find a way to catch it without confronting it head-on,¡¯?Han-Yeol told himself. A beast and mana werepletely different things, but they were both simr when it came to the difficulty of handling them. Han-Yeol gently approached the mana and avoided stirring it up. Then, he slowly tried to tame it without agitating it. However, the mana immediatelyshed at him the moment it noticed that he was trying to pull something. Wooooong! ¡°Keuk!¡± ¡®This damn mana dares to!¡¯? Han-Yeol struggled with the mana for nearly an hour before he was able to miraculously tame it. ¡®It¡¯s not over yet.¡¯? He was aware that it was crucial for the tamed mana to reattach itself to Mavros. If too much mana left his body, Mavros would undoubtedly perish. That''s why it was of utmost importance to return the mana as gently as possible. ¡®Phew¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol spent nearly two hours after that to slowly return the mana into Mavros¡¯ body. Finally relieved, he thought, ¡®Alright, his mana capacity is a bit small, but he can manage this much without any issues.¡¯ Mana was an extremely vtile energy that could rampage just like it had done just now, but it was innately a good type of energy that was docile once it found its ce. ¡°Haa¡­ It¡¯s finally over¡­¡± Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief. Tayarana and Mujahid instinctively knew that the ordeal was over despite Han-Yeol speaking in Korean, and they canceled the barrier surrounding him. Han-Yeol was patting the unconscious baby ck dragon¡¯s head when¡­ Wooooong! ¡°W-What?!¡± [What¡¯s going on?!] Mavros started to shine brightly in a blue light. It went without saying that this surprised Han-Yeol, but more importantly, the other Hunters watching started getting anxious at the sight. ¡®It¡¯s not mana rampage. This feels different from that, but what on earth is it then¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol could not do anything about it as the mana was simply shining without causing any harm. The light grew stronger until it became blinding. ¡°Keuk!¡± Han-Yeol exerted his utmost effort to withstand the blinding light, but eventually, it became too overwhelming for him to continue gazing. He shielded his eyes with his arm and cautiously stole a nce at Mavros. To his astonishment, he observed Mavros'' silhouette gradually growingrger andrger. ¡®What the?!¡¯? Mavros¡¯ body continued growing for ten minutes before the light shot up toward the sky. Afterward, Mavros finally made his reappearance. ¡°M-Mavros?!¡± ¡°Kreeung!¡± ¡°H-How can this be¡­?¡± [T-That is Mavros¡­?] [That little pup turned into that¡­?] [How is this possible?] [¡­] The Egyptian Hunters were in an uproar after seeing Mavros, and even Tayarana and Mariam had their mouths agape. In fact, Tayarana was so shocked that she drooled a bit, which was uncharacteristic of her. ¡®Is this the true appearance of a monster pet¡­?¡¯ ¡®How can this be¡­?¡¯ On the other hand¡­ ¡®Wow! Is this what one trillion won is going to get you? I have a feeling the price is going to shoot up from now on¡­¡¯?Mujahid thought. He wasn''t particrly captivated by the cuteness of Mavros, Candalous, and Pipi, as charming appearances held little value in battle. In all honesty, he considered one trillion won to be squandered on these pets. However, he now began to regret neglecting his ck panther, which he hadn''t even bothered to name until this moment. ¡®They say that a treasure will show its worth depending on who uses it. I guess I judged the book by its cover,¡¯?he thought. Then, his instinct as a thirty-four trillion won owner kicked in. [Those are definitely going to be much more expensive from now on.] He could foresee a worldwide mor for monster pets in the future. These rare treasures were destined tomand price tags multiple times their original value. It was evident that Han-Yeol, being the sole individual capable of hatching these pets, had paved the way for their exponential increase in worth. *** ¡°Krreeung!¡± Mavros shot out powerful air from his nostrils. The adorable little winged lizard had undergone a sudden transformation into a legendary creature¡ªthe dragon. While there were slight variations in the appearance of Eastern and Western dragons, the key distinctiony in their portrayal. Western dragons were often depicted as cunning and malevolent creatures, while Eastern dragons were revered as wise and powerful beings. However, Han-Yeol was well aware that Mavros was not an evil dragon. Furthermore, Mavros'' size was perfect, not toorge, allowing Han-Yeol to easily mount and ride him. ¡°Mavros,¡± Han-Yeol said as he approached the ck dragon. [D-Don¡¯t tell me¡­] [Isn¡¯t it dangerous?] The Egyptian Hunters around them were concerned that Mavros was going to attack Han-Yeol because of how imposing the baby ck dragon had be, but¡­ ¡°Kireuk!¡± [Ehem¡­ Ehem¡­] Mavros smiled brightly and rubbed his head against Han-Yeol, which was the exact opposite of what the Egyptian Hunters were worried about. ¡°Haha! You look really cool now, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kireuk?¡± Mavros appeared to be asking, "Really?" and then struck a pose with his head held high. It resembled a young child boasting to their parents after receiving apliment about their appearance. ¡°Oh right! Let¡¯s check your abilities, Mavros. This is what it¡¯s for, right? Mavros Status Screen.¡± [Mavros (Mini ck Dragon)] Level: 10 Traits: Darkness, Poison. Innate Ability: Dragon Breath, Mode Change. Stats: STR: 100 AGI: 100 VIT: 100 Flying: 100 Flight Speed: 100 Skills: Magic (F), Dragon Buff (F) [Magic (F)] Type: Active Description: A dragon awakens magic the moment they are born, and they are able to wield magic as soon as they awaken. A dragon will instinctively learn new magic as they grow, and only the dragon itself will know their magic¡¯s details. [Dragon Buff (F)] Type: Passive Description: An awakened dragon¡¯s presence alone is more than enough to buff its allies. Anyone that acknowledges the awakened dragon as their ally will receive a ten percent stats buff to all of their abilities. The awakened dragon will instinctively ce a permanent five percent stats buff on their owner or rider. The permanent buff will increase as the dragon bes more powerful. ¡°Awesome!¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± Once again, Han-Yeol eximed in amazement upon seeing Mavros'' stats and skills. Since there were no notification messages, he had no idea, but Mavros had already reached Level 10 and experienced a massive increase in all his attributes. Not only that, despite Mavros being unable to use magic, he possessed a valuable buff skill that Han-Yeol had desperately desired. Although it was a shame that the buff skill wasn''t Han-Yeol''s own, it didn''t matter since he had no intention of parting with Mavros. In the end, Han-Yeol''s allies became Mavros'' allies, and they would all benefit from his buffs. ¡°I shouldmission a saddle, no, a dragon saddle to be made for you after this raid. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡±?Mavros continued rubbing his head on Han-Yeol no matter what he said. The dangerous situation turned into a surprising one, and the Egyptian Hunters were simply bbergasted by the whole thing. They were just staring nkly at the mini ck dragon rubbing its head on Han-Yeol. There were only three people in the Horus raid party that could freely approach Han-Yeol whenever they wanted, and these were none other than Tayarana, Mariam, and Mujahid, who Han-Yeol had personal rtionships with. [Han-Yeol, is this child really Mavros?] [Huh? Why are you asking that when you saw what happened, Tara?] [B-But that small cute and cuddly baby turned into¡­ H-How did it turn into a dragon in the blink of an eye¡­?] Mariam was left speechless. The entire situation was simply too astonishing for her to process. The sudden transformation of the creature she had once regarded as a cute pet into a formidablepanion capable of fighting alongside its owner was beyond her wildest imagination. The shock of it all overwhelmed her. [But hyung-nim. Can you really use Mavros inbat?] [Of course! I have already assessed his abilities using my skills. He possesses some incredible skills that would make him an excellentbat partner when riding him!] ¡°Kireuk!¡± Han-Yeol and Mavros did notmunicate via words, but the mini ck dragon knew what Han-Yeol was trying to say. He stood up tall and made an imposing pose to further emphasize his presence to the Tayarana, Mariam, and Mujahid. [Oh, don¡¯t you feel anything by any chance? Like, do you feel more powerful or do you feel you have more mana?] Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel like a proud parent, eager to boast about their child. He subtly hinted at them, hoping they would notice Mavros'' skill. [Huh? How did you know? I suddenly felt my mana increase and I feel more powerful now. Also, my body feels lighter.] [My calction tells me that I have be ten percent stronger.] Mariam urately pinpointed the amount Mavros¡¯ buff gave. [Wow~ You got it right. How did you know the exact figure?] [Simple. The area I could use my telepathic abilities has increased by ten percent. My mana and physical ability seemed to have increased as well, but I based my deduction on the area in which my telepathic ability increased.] [Haha! You¡¯re right. Mavros awakened with a skill this time, and he now possesses a buff skill called ¡®Dragon Buff¡¯. Any ally of his is going to have ten percent extra buff from now on.] Han-Yeol deliberately hid the fact that he got an extra five percent buff from Mavros as he did not see a point in telling them that. [T-That is truly amazing. A ten percent buff to ten A Rank Hunters is equivalent to gaining another one¡­] [Amazing¡­] Tayarana seemed to be sincerely amazed. [Just how far can you go, Han-Yeol¡­?] [Beats me. I have no idea myself.] Han-Yeol simply shrugged in response to Tayarana¡¯s question, and he was being one hundred percent honest about it. A concept called ¡®max level¡¯ that signaled the end of one¡¯s growth existed in most games, but Han-Yeol was not able to check any details about his ability on forums or developer¡¯s announcements like games have. Therefore, he himself had no idea of where his true limits were. More importantly, even his guide did not seem to know what his limits were. [I apologize, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®No need to apologize, Karvis. It doesn¡¯t matter what my limits are,¡¯?Han-Yeol replied. Karvis, the Ego system, apologized for not knowing anything despite calling herself his ¡®guide¡¯. Chapter 153: Run Toward the Firmament (2)

Chapter 153: Run Toward the Firmament (2)

While Tayarana, Mariam, and Han-Yeol were busy discussing things, Mujahid looked quite rxed. This was because he was the only one who did not pay much attention to his monster pet. [Excuse me, hyung-nim?] [Yes, Mujahid?] [I am really surprised that cute little Mavros turned into such a dependable guy. Did you expect this?] Mujahid was sincerely curious. He recognized Han-Yeol as a fellow battle fanatic and deduced that Han-Yeol nurtured the baby ck dragon, despite itsck of battle capability, solely because he knew this was going to be the oue. ¡®A pet that can¡¯t fight is just a piece of trash, after all,¡¯?Mujahid thought. [Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t really give it much thought at the beginning. I figured that he was going to pay me back someday if I sincerely nurtured him with love and care, but I didn¡¯t really know how that payback was going to be.] Han-Yeol was serious about what he said. Mavros¡¯ existence alone was more than enough to heal him. However, Mujahidpletely misunderstood Han-Yeol and interpreted it in his own way. He thought, ¡®I see¡­ Good things really doe to those who wait.¡¯ Initially, Mujahid had no idea what he was supposed to learn from amoner like Han-Yeol, and he couldn''t understand why his father would give such amand in the first ce. However, his perception of Han-Yeol hadpletely changed now. ¡®Father, Han-Yeol is truly a person worth learning from,¡¯?he thought. Mujahid might appear cute and innocent on the outside, but deep inside, he was a shrewd and cunning individual who owned multiplergepanies. Unbeknownst to him, the directors of hispanies referred to him as the ''Cute Snake''. Despite his outward cuteness, he possessed a hidden nature that was both cunning and dangerous, much like a snake. *** The hunt was initially interrupted due to themotion caused by Han-Yeol and Mavros, but they continued without encountering significant issues thereafter. However, problems were bound to arise unexpectedly. The Horus raid party returned to the base camp the following morning, preparing to mobilize once again. It was at this moment that Mariam noticed something peculiar. [The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva moved overnight.] Tayarana looked at Han-Yeol after hearing that. She seemed to be asking if what Mariam observed was correct, since she knew that he possessed the skill to observe mana in the distance. Han-Yeol nodded in response after using Demon Eyes and gave credibility to Mariam¡¯s observation. He could see that the boss monster was moving right now as well, but that was not the end of it. [To where?] Tayarana grimaced and asked Mariam. She still looked beautiful despite grimacing as she was the embodiment of beauty itself. However, she was clearly feeling extremely troubled. She wondered to herself, ¡®Why now of all?times¡­?¡¯ If things had gone ording to n, they would have reached the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva today, resulting in everything being concluded by tomorrow. However, due to Mariam''s recent revtion, they would have to fight their way through the monsters once again in order to reach the boss monster. At this point, it was uncertain how much time they would waste in pursuit of the boss monster. [The boss monster is moving slowly so I cannot say for sure, but I can deduce from its direction that it is heading toward Seokguram Grotto.] [Seokguram?!] Han-Yeol eximed after hearing what Mariam said. [Yes, that is correct. Do you know anything about it?] Chwak! Instead of exining with words, Han-Yeol spread out the map in the meeting room and then pointed at Seokguram Grotto¡¯s location. He reiterated some information he had learned from the inte. [The reason that Bulguksa Temple is the most valuable temple in Korea is precisely because of Seokguram Grotto. It is the most dazzling treasure left behind by a thousand-year-old kingdom, and it is designated as our twenty-fourth national treasure. The statue of Buddha inside Seokguram Grotto can be considered as a representation of Korean Buddhism.] [The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva is also a statue of Buddha, right?] [Yes, but that is one of the Buddhist gods. The Buddha in Seokguram Grotto is the Buddha himself.] Whether it was truth or fiction, it didn''t matter to Han-Yeol. Being a Christian by religion, he wasn''t well-versed in Buddhism. What mattered to him was the presence of a monster masquerading as Buddha, making its way toward what was believed to be the authentic representation of Buddha. [Whatever the reason may be, it is quite fortunate that we do not have to fight our way through the monsters, assuming that is the boss monster¡¯s final destination.] [You think so too?] [Yes. In fact, if all goes well, we might be able to fight ording to our terms.] [I agree with you.] Puk! Mujahid clenched his fists together, a habit he had whenever he was getting riled up for a fight. [I don¡¯t understand what you mean, but I won¡¯tin as long as you let me fight. I feel like destroying that monster!] Mariam let out a sigh and shook her head in resignation. [You really do not care about anything except fighting¡­] She could not understand how Mujahid was able to be so carefree in these kinds of situations. On the other hand, Mujahid did not back down an inch as he found the luxury to tease Mariam. He said cheekily, [Huh? Mariam? Are you jealous of monsters now?] Mariam felt her blood pressure rise sharply in response to his ill-timed joke. She snapped, [That will never happen.] The people around them found it quite entertaining to watch the two bicker. Anyway, the Horus raid party¡¯s schedule underwent a drastic change after the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva started moving. The base camp had to be dismantled and all of their forces were to be moved to Seokguram Grotto. While the Horus raid party was busy packing up to move their base camp to Seokguram Grotto, Kim Cha-Il suddenly approached Han-Yeol. He eximed, ¡°H-Han-Yeol-nim! We have a problem!¡± ¡°A problem?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. He thought, ¡®Is there a problem besides the fact the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva has started moving?¡¯ He tried to think of other possible problems, but he could not think of anything as both his father and Yoo-Bi were safe. ¡°Kyu!¡± Also, Mavros might have grown in size, but he was able to revert to his small and cute form whenever he wanted. ¡°T-That is¡­!¡± Kim Cha-Il eximed while profusely sweating. ¡°???¡± ¡°The association just received a report that the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva is heading toward the Seokguram Grotto. The association is asking you to immediately mobilize toward the Seokguram Grotto and¡­¡± Han-Yeol looked at Kim Cha-Il in disbelief while wondering, ¡®Hey¡­ Is he slow or just dumb? How did he be a manager with his caliber?¡¯ The Horus raid party was swiftly making preparations to move, with only theirbat personnel in motion this time. Their goal was to reach Seokguram Grotto at a faster pace than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, allowing them more time to fortify their defenses. However, it appeared that Manager Kim Cha-Il remained oblivious to the current situation. ¡®Sigh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly in disbelief. He had sensed that the man was somewhat oblivious from the moment they met, but he hadn''t anticipated him to be this inept. It was truly unbelievable that someone like him held a managerial position within the Hunters'' Association. Han-Yeol could have found a sense of satisfaction by confronting the ipetent man, but he knew deep down that it wouldn''t bring about any meaningful change. Besides, as the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party, Han-Yeol had his hands full with responsibilities and had no time to waste arguing with him. ¡°Our raid party has already found out about that. We are making preparations to immediately head to Seokguram Grotto. Now, please step aside. I am quite busy,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, y-yes¡­¡± Kim Cha-Il muttered in embarrassment as he stepped aside. Then, Han-Yeol got to work by using Psychokinesis to move things around. ¡°¡­¡± Kim Cha-Il felt a sense of frustration as he was treated as an inconvenience, despite rushing as soon as he received the report from the association. Although he had a reputation for ipetence within the association, he worked diligently and wasn''t afraid to get his hands dirty. Ironically, it was his dedication and willingness to handle various undesirable or troublesome cases that led him to be a manager. Ironically, the department he managed was often referred to as the "rubbish bin" of the association, responsible for handling all sorts of dirty or nuisance cases. ¡®Sigh¡­ What can I do? I can¡¯tin about how I¡¯m treated if I want to continue supporting my family¡­¡¯?hemented. Despite being treated as an outcast within the association, Kim Cha-Il held the position of a manager, which came with a significantly high sry. He couldn''tin about how he was treated because he earned far more than most of his friends. Additionally, everyone respected him for his managerial role at the association, and he enjoyed benefits such as his children''s education being taken care of by the association. His job required him to endure all challenges and hardships no matter the cost. Kim Cha-Il decided to think about something else after he grumbled and cursed Han-Yeol and the Horus raid party. ¡®Sigh¡­I''ve heard that bing a Hunter these days is incredibly difficult unless you''re born into privilege. Perhaps I shouldn''t let my son pursue a career as a Hunter unless he joins a reputable raid party like this one. It seems that the chances of survival are significantly higher if you have influential connections in the field.¡¯? He had the same dilemma as most parents did. Being a Hunter offered the potential for substantial wealth and social prestige, but there was a noticeable disparity in the mortality rates among Hunters, depending on their level of connections and support. As a result, the number of ordinary individuals aspiring to be Hunters had significantly declined in recent times. The power of a nation was often assessed based on the quantity and caliber of its Hunters, leading many countries to actively encourage their citizens, including children, to aspire to be Hunters. However, the same sentiment did not resonate in South Korea, where the majority of parents prioritized the safety and stability of their children''s lives, preferring them to pursue careers as civil servants rather than risking their lives on the frontlines as Hunters. The prevailing issue had the potential to detrimentally impact the country''s future national power, making it a significant social concern. However, the current state of affairs saw politicians primarily engaged in internal conflicts and power struggles, rather than focusing on addressing the nation''s pressing matters. ¡®Hmm¡­ I heard Egypt is a very nice ce to live these days¡­ Should I curry favor with Han-Yeol Hunter-nim and migrate there¡­?¡¯?Kim Cha-Il wondered. Despite the prevailing trend shifting toward the prominence of Hunters, Korean cultural content continued to enjoy international fame. The recent coboration between South Korea and Egypt had led to a flourishing cultural exchange, with Korean culture being warmly received by the Egyptian people. Furthermore, a significant number of Egyptians had developed a fondness for the Korean alphabet, with news articles reporting that many Egyptians were actively learning the Koreannguage. While Kim Cha-Il was lost in daydreams about his future, the Horus raid party had alreadypleted their preparations and set off on their mission. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Kim Cha-Il let out a sigh. Then, one of his staff, Jin Su-An, approached him and asked, ¡°Manager-nim, did the Horus raid party go to Seokguram Grotto already?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. They already knew about it before we even told them.¡± ¡°Oh, I heard they have a special drone. They must have found out about the move through that. I mean, that should be faster than looking at satellite imagery, right?¡± It seemed that Jin Su-An was faster than Kim Cha-Il. ¡°Yeah. Anyway, the only thing we can do now is to pray that they sessfully raid the boss monster.¡± ¡°I understand, manager-nim.¡± Jin Su-An immediately cut the conversation after noticing that Kim Cha-Il was in a bad mood. Kim Cha-Il was not the type who usually got angry, but he saw no benefit in further irritating his superior. However, that did not mean Jin Su-An himself was without worries. He sighed inwardly. ¡®Sigh¡­ I wonder if our department will be forever treated like trash¡­?¡¯? Regrettably, as soon as he began working, Kim Cha-Il found himself embroiled in a fight with the son of a high-ranking executive within the association. Due to this unfortunate altercation, he was subsequently transferred to the rubbish department as a consequence. Jin Su-An had a strong desire to umte as many merits as possible in order to escape from the rubbish department. However, he found himself assigned to mostly mundane and dirty tasks, such as handlingints from impolite Hunters. He pondered whether the day would evere when he would see the light at the end of the tunnel. Jin Su-An had no desire to spend his entire career in the rubbish department, cleaning up after others without receiving any recognition. 1. Seokguram is a historical site in Korea. More info here: Chapter 154: Run Toward the Firmament (3)

Chapter 154: Run Toward the Firmament (3)

The Horus raid party hopped into their trucks, left the Bulguksa Temple, and quickly made their way to Seokguram Grotto. Surprisingly, they did not encounter many monsters on the way to Seokguram Grotto, although they had to take a significant detour to avoid them. Creak! [We have arrived.] Thud! Thud! The hunters disembarked from the trucks, but their job was far from over simply because they had reached their destination. Under Mariam''smand, the Horus raid party swiftly prepared for battle, setting up a variety of traditional weapons to hunt the colossal boss monster. Although the weapons were infused with mana, it was clear that it wouldn''t be enough to inflict any significant damage on the boss monster. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure they have a n.¡¯?Han-Yeol shrugged before using Demon Eyes to check the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? The boss monster was still some distance away, so the tremors were not excessively strong. However, Han-Yeol could definitely discern that the monster was indeed making its way toward them. Whoosh! Whoosh!? Han-Yeol waved his hand and signaled to Mariam that the boss monster was still on the way. [Hurry up and get ready! We are going to test the weapons sent from our mothend!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] ¡®Oh right, they sent some stuff from Egypt, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol recalled that there had been a recent delivery of several weapons from Egypt, but he had no knowledge of their specific contents or nature. As hecked initial interest in the weapons, Han-Yeol refrained from asking any questions. However, witnessing the process of their instation gradually sparked his curiosity, piquing his interest in them. ¡®I should go and have a look when they¡¯re testing those out. I¡¯m sure the information will be helpful to Yoo-Bi.¡¯? As the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party, Han-Yeol was aware of his position. However, he also recognized that there were limits to how far he could ascend within the group due to not being of Egyptian descent. Of course, he was now quite influential within the Horus raid party, but there was a limit to how much information he could ess when it came to the dealings of the raid party and the Egyptian government. ¡°Oh right¡­ I have that option¡­¡± Han-Yeol came up with a good idea while observing the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva with Demon Eyes. ¡°Mavros,¡± he called out. ¡°Kyu?¡± ¡°Transform to battle mode!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. He suddenly cringed, feeling a peculiar sensation as his toes involuntarily curled inward. ¡°Kyu!¡± Woooong! Mavros¡¯ body was enveloped in mana and started growing bigger the moment Han-Yeol gave themand. He then transformed into the majestic form that everyone became in awe of. Han-Yeol recognized that "transform" might be perceived as a somewhat juvenile word to use, and he acknowledged that there were other more sophisticated alternatives avable. Nevertheless, he believed that "transform" was the most fitting term to describe Mavros and was determined not to change it up. Chwak! Mavros underwent astounding growth, expanding from a mere one meter to an impressive ten meters in height. His wingspan now stretched a colossal seventeen meters, and his flight capabilities rivaled those of a fighter jet. In summary, Mavros possessed remarkable abilities. ¡°Mavros!¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± Mavros sat on the ground to make it easier for Han-Yeol to get on top after realizing what he wanted. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Han-Yeol was a tad bit nervous now that he was mounting Mavros. He was a thrill seeker in a way, but he was not the type who would do extreme and risky sports. ¡®I wanted to mount him only after procuring a saddle, but¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol preferred to mount the ck dragon in a safer manner, but seeing the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva up close was more important right now. While Han-Yeol''s life motto was "safety first," as a Hunter, there were instances where he had to willingly jeopardize his own safety. ¡°Wow! You¡¯re sofortable to ride, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± Tayarana approached Han-Yeol while he was busy praising Mavros. Mariam was responsible for most nonbat things so Tayarana did not have to be present at their new camp. [Where are you going, Han-Yeol?] [I want to go see the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva with my own eyes, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to fly with Mavros. It¡¯s currentlying this way, so I¡¯m going to lure it back on track if it ever goes off-path.] [Ah, I see.] Tayarana nodded in agreement to Han-Yeol¡¯s n, and then she suddenly said, [I¡¯ll go with you.] [Huh?] [I can¡¯t mount Candalous since he is still young, but I can fly on my own with my suit.] [Are you sure?] Han-Yeol was actually asking Tayarana for formality¡¯s sake. She was the strongest person in the Horus raid party, so him asking her was more of a rhetorical question. [Do you doubt my skills?] [Well, I guess your skills are better than mine.] The conversation did notst longer than that as both of them were just joking around. Chwak! Tayarana spread her wings and flew up first. She said, [Follow me, junior.] Fwoosh! Han-Yeol prepared to fly in hot pursuit of Tayarana after she teased him. He muttered with a smirk, ¡°So, you like teasing?¡± Then, he gave themand to his ck dragon, ¡°Mavros, we need to catch up to Tayarana.¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± Mavros seemed to have realized that Tayarana was teasing both of them, so he spread out his massive seventeen meters wingspan and flew up. ¡°Woooo! I¡¯m flying!¡± Han-Yeol eximed with the same astonishment and exhration that most people would express when experiencing flight for the first time. [Han-Yeol-nim, please wait a moment.] [Hmm? Mariam?] After receiving a message in his head from Mariam, Han-Yeol said, ¡°Mavros, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± As Han-Yeol asked Mavros to descend, Mariam and Yoo-Bi were walking toward them. ¡°Yoo-Bi?¡± ¡°Ah! Oppa! Take this!¡± Yoo-Bi said as she passed a ne with a camera to Han-Yeol. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Han-Yeol asked. Han-Yeol epted the ne as it was given to him, but he couldn''tprehend the reason behind why she was giving him the camera in the first ce. Mariam was the one to satisfy his curiosity. She exined, "This camera is a specially designed multi-purpose device created by Yoo-Bi-nim for Mavros. It harnesses a small amount of mana from whoever it is attached to, allowing it to function even in the presence of strong electromaic interference. You''ll be able to use it effectively around the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva." "In addition," she continued, "you will have the ability to transmit the scene in real-time, allowing us to observe the video feed. However, there is a limitation in terms of not being able to record the footage." Mariam spoke in Korean instead of Arabic to be considerate to Yoo-Bi. She was not very considerate of others aside from Tayarana, but she slowly started to change after meeting new people. ¡°Wow, okay. Hey, Mavros. Are you alright with wearing this?¡± Han-Yeol asked his ck dragon¡¯s opinion first. ¡°Kireuk!¡±?Mavros replied by lowering his head to make it easy to mount the camera. Han-Yeol wrapped a rope around Mavros¡¯ neck and secured the camera in ce. ¡°Kireuk!¡±? Mavros did not seem to be bothered by the camera, and Han-Yeol patted the ck dragon¡¯s neck just to be safe. The ck dragon was muchrger now, but he was still a cute little baby dragon to Han-Yeol. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mavros!¡± Chwak! Mavros flew into the air. ¡°Woooow!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed while watching the ck dragon shoot up into the air. It was truly a cool scene that made her think, ¡®I want to have my own monster pet too¡­¡¯ Her desire to quickly earn one trillion won and buy a monster pet from Han-Yeol grew after seeing the majesty of the ck dragon. Mavros lived up to his legendary status as a monster, showcasing his innate ability to fly effortlessly, despite it being his first time taking flight since hatching from the egg. There was no trace of awkwardness as he swiftly soared through the sky, disying a remarkable natural aptitude. Mavros was extremely excited after flying for the first time, and the same went for Han-Yeol who was flying for the first time too. Well, Han-Yeol seemed to be enjoying it more than the ck dragon¡­ ¡°This is amazing!¡± Han-Yeol shouted while facing the wind head-on. Shwaaaaaaaa! ¡®Ugh¡­ I can¡¯t do anything about this wind and the noise¡­ Hmm¡­ What if I ask Yoo-Bi to make me some equipment¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol made a mental note of what was ufortable during the flight. Mavros was flying at such high speed that the wind was cing great pressure on Han-Yeol¡¯s body. Thankfully, he was not really damaged or affected by the wind as his stats had increased by quite a lot after awakening. However, the sound of the wind was quite annoying. It dampened the whole flying experience. ¡®Oh well, I just have to get used to it. Hmm¡­ Is that why Tayarana wears a helmet¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol finally understood why Tayarana covered her beautiful face with a helmet every time she flew. ¡°Kyaaa! Kyaaaa!¡±?Mavros shrieked out in joy due to his very first flight. ¡°Hehe, you seem to be enjoying yourself!¡± ¡°Kyaaooo!¡± Although Mavros possessed a certain level of cuteness and obediently followed Han-Yeol''smands, he remained a true monster at his core. In essence, if he had been born as a regr monster instead of a pet, he would have been meant to roam the skies freely and without restraint. The ck dragon couldn''t contain his overwhelming excitement at finally being able to unleash his primal instincts, having been domesticated throughout his entire life. However, this didn''t imply that he would suddenly attack Han-Yeol or pose any threat to him. Mavros finally caught up to Tayarana after a while. Pat! Han-Yeol tapped Mavros to signal him to stop after Tayarana stopped in mid-air as well. [Hey, Tayarana.] [Look over there, Han-Yeol.] [Hmm?] Han-Yeol looked toward the area where Tayarana was pointing. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was strolling toward Han-Yeol and Tayarana. Tayarana took off her helmet and inspected the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Shemented, [It¡¯s really big.] [Yeah, I agree, and do you feel that guy¡¯s massive mana?] Tayarana nodded in response. [It''s undoubtedly a formidable monster that would require a Master Rank Hunter to defeat. I''m starting to feel uneasy since we don''t have a Master Rank Hunter among us.] [I¡¯m worried too. I hope the kids won¡¯t get hurt in this raid.] Tayarana had demanded a huge sum of 1.2 trillion won from the Korean Hunters¡¯ Association as the reward forpleting this raid. The unique item was important too, but she ced greater importance in the Hunters who fought alongside her all these years. The one trillion won and unique items did not particrly appeal to her from the start, as Egypt ranked second in terms of the number of unique items possessed, making them less enticing to her. Tayarana would have declined the request if the boss was within their hunting grounds. However, due to the alliance between Egypt and South Korea, she couldn''t ignore the crisis unfolding in South Korea and thus decided to ept the request. That was the sole reason why Tayarana had agreed to this raid. [All of them have been with me for a long time, and the cooperation within our raid party is exceptional. If any of them were to perish during this raid, I would need to find recements and invest significant time in retraining them. It''s a demanding process. Additionally, Hunters are highly esteemed individuals in Egypt.] [Yeah, I''ve started growing attached to them, so I would really hate it if anyone died¡­] Chapter 155: Run Toward the Firmament (4)

Chapter 155: Run Toward the Firmament (4)

Tayarana drew the sword on her waist. Han-Yeol was stunned for a moment before he asked, [Tara! What are you doing?!] [I have to weaken him, even by a little bit, to ensure the safety of the kidster.] [It¡¯s dangerous!] [Yeah, I know, but we don¡¯t know anything about him. Those kids will be in greater danger than me because they''re not even Osiris Ranked.] [Y-You¡¯re right, but¡­] Han-Yeol wanted to say something but Tayarana appeared quite resolute. Tayarana was not sure if she could win against Han-Yeol with one hundred percent certainty, despite him having a lower rank than her. This was because of his numerous abilities, which made it easier for him to survive certain perilous situations. In short, it would be much easier for her to test the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva if he assisted her. [Ugh¡­?I guess I don¡¯t have a choice¡­] Han-Yeol took out his chain and cast his skill ¡®Force Shield¡¯. It had been a long time since he hadst used this skill. The main objective of this skirmish was not to defeat the boss monster, but rather to inflict some damage and gather information about its abilities. They were already aware that the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva possessed remarkably fast arm movements, but obtaining additional information would greatly benefit the Horus raid party. Tayarana smiled after hearing Han-Yeol¡¯s response. She said, [As expected, you are the best partner for me, Han-Yeol.] However, she muttered those words so softly under her breath that Han-Yeol failed to hear them. Simply wearing her helmet and gripping her sword, Tayarana then said, [Han-Yeol, I leave my back to you.] [Don¡¯t worry about that. Let¡¯s go, Mavros!] Han-Yeol was confident in his ability to support Tayarana. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?Mavros let out a cry and started flying toward the boss monster. ¡®I¡¯ll have to attract that monster and buy her some time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Kwachik! Han-Yeol unsparingly took out a mana stone and crushed it, ¡®Enhance!¡¯ Ding! [The rank of ¡®Enhance¡¯ has increased from (B) to (A).] ¡®Jackpot!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed after reading the message. He had been using Enhance quite often these days, and it had reached A Rank, which meant that he would be able to absorb one hundred percent of the mana stone from now on. Han-Yeol pulled the trigger of his machine gun as soon as the mana stone was shattered. Ratatatatatata! He used his mana to fire bullets instead of regr ones, and a ray of blue light flew toward the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? The bullets directly hit the boss monster in the face thanks to the assistance of ¡®Homing Bullet¡¯. ¡°Alright! Eating all thirty enhanced bullets is definitely going to deal some¡­ Huh?¡± Thud! Han-Yeol did not have many expectations in the first ce. While his mana bullets were powerful, he couldn''t help but be surprised when he saw the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva casually continuing to walk without even flinching. However, what surprised him the most was the fact that there wasn''t a single scratch on the boss monster''s face. ¡°How is this possible¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief. Shwoooo! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?Mavros immediately twisted his body when a yellow energy wave the shape of a gigantic hand flew toward them. Whoosh! Fortunately, Mavros was able to evade it in time, and the gigantic hand-shaped energy hit the mountain below them instead. Boooom! ¡°Heok!¡±?Han-Yeol gasped in horror upon witnessing the hand-shaped crater left behind on the mountain, a testament to the sheer power of the boss monster''s single attack. The force was so immense that it had created a significant indentation in the ground. Feeling cold sweat dripping down his back, he muttered, ¡°We¡¯re dead if that hits us¡­¡± It appeared that the energy wave was emitted from one of the ten hands located in the front of the boss monster, rather than from the numerous hands on its back. ¡®The boss monster''s attack pattern is not limited to swinging all one thousand arms. Its front hands are also capable of executing ranged attacks. This information is crucial, but unfortunately, it is not favorable news at all,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He discovered that the boss monster possessed the ability to perform ranged attacks. However, it would be extremely challenging for the other Hunters to evade these attacks while simultaneously dealing with the other nine hundred ny-nine hands. ¡®It¡¯s still better than being cluelesster on¡­¡¯?he clicked his tongue and found sce in the fact that they got a heads up before the actual battle. The scene would have been transmitted to the Horus raid party through the camera mounted on Mavros, indicating that Mariam was likely upied with devising a new strategy to confront the boss monster. Just as the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and Han-Yeol were engaged in a skirmish, Tayarana suddenly popped up from behind the boss monster. She flew at almost supersonic speed and stabbed the boss monster in its back. Shwaaaa¡­ Chwaaak! Then, she raised the gun in her right hand and shot mana bullets at the boss monster. Bang! Bang! Bang!? The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva turned around and the arms on its back flew toward Tayarana. [Watch out, Tara!] Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!? Tayarana continued flying while narrowly avoiding the hands. Chwak! Just as Tayarana cut down the hands that she found difficult to avoid, Han-Yeol noticed something at that moment. ¡®The hands don¡¯t grow back?¡¯ Most monsters with multiple arms or heads had the ability to regenerate them if they were severed while the monster was still alive. However, it appeared that this was not the case for the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. ¡®That means the bastard isn¡¯t invincible,¡¯?he came to this conclusion. However, this did not imply that dealing with the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva became any easier. Whoosh! ¡®Keuk!¡¯ ¡°Kieeeek!¡± The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva directed its attention toward Tayarana, asionally throwing a hand at Han-Yeol to keep him at a distance. Han-Yeol reached the conclusion that the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was too formidable for just the two of them to handle. He desired to retreat and regroup with the Horus raid party if it was feasible. However, Tayarana persisted in circling the boss monster at supersonic speed, determined to weaken its power even by the smallest measure if she could. ¡°Tsk¡­?I guess we have no choice. Mavros!¡± ¡°Kwaaaaak!¡±?Mavros let out a cry before flying even faster. Boom! Boom! Boom!? Mavros elerated threefold, leaving shockwaves in his wake. Han-Yeol clung on for dear life, unable to focus on anything else. The fear of falling off the ck dragon overwhelmed him, forcing him to tightly grip both hands to maintain his bnce. It wasn''t a matter ofcking strength, but rather the concern of unintentionally harming Mavros if he held on too tightly. In the midst of this intense struggle, Han-Yeol heard a voice addressing him, breaking through the chaos. [Han-Yeol-nim. Mavros has magic abilities. What do you think of using his abilities if you are not able to fight right now?] It was his loyal Ego system, Karvis. ¡®Oh, you¡¯re right,¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Then he gave themand, ¡°Mavros! Attack that monster with magic!¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?Mavros protested as if asking ¡®why are you only saying that now?¡¯ before he channeled his mana. ¡°Wow!¡± Han-Yeol held on to the ck dragon and watched him use his mana. ¡®Wait a minute!¡¯?Suddenlying up with an excellent idea, he took out a mana stone from his pocket and crushed it, ¡®Enhance!¡¯ The mana from the mana stone seeped into Mavros. ¡°Kwuooooh!¡±? Then, the mana surrounding Mavros became even denser before turning into green arrows that shot in all directions. [Mavros has used the spell ¡®Poison Arrow¡¯.] A message materialized in front of Han-Yeol''s eyes, elucidating the magical technique employed by the ck dragon moments ago. ¡°Bring them down, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?Mavros let out a cry at the signal and directed all of the poison arrows toward the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was busy focusing on Tayarana when it suddenly flinched. It had felt Mavros¡¯ dense mana before turning toward him¡­ Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik!? ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± The boss monster, caught off guard by the attack, was unable to react in time to the iing arrows. The arrows pierced its body, triggering a powerful explosion. However, the ordeal was far from over. Chiiiiik! The explosion released a toxic mist that inflicted ongoing damage to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Although the boss monster did not exhibit an immediate response to the harm, Han-Yeol was confident that they had sessfully inflicted some damage on it. Whoooosh! Pukeok! Tayarana did not miss the opening and resumed her attack once again. Then, they received a telepathic message all of a sudden. [Tayarana-nim, Han-Yeol-nim, that is more than enough. We have collected enough information and we have prepared strategies against it. We need to fight with the Horus raid party from now on.] It was Mariam who transmitted the message. Despite being at a considerable distance from Han-Yeol and Tayarana, she demonstrated her reputation as one of the world''s leading telepathy users. By expending a portion of her mana, she managed to send a message spanning several kilometers. [Okay! Tara!] Whooosh! [Alright.] As Tayarana sulked and flew beside him, Han-Yeol asked, [Are you still dissatisfied? What¡¯s wrong?] [It was just starting to get fun, but Mariam interrupted it.] Tayarana initially anticipated that Han-Yeol would struggle to endure against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva for only ten minutes. However, to her pleasant surprise, Han-Yeol exceeded her expectations and demonstrated remarkable resilience. Additionally, Mavros proved to be highly capable in the battle. Together, they sessfully engaged the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva for over thirty minutes, effectively inflicting substantial damage. Moreover, capturing a clear video of the boss monster''s attack patterns was the most significant gain from this skirmish. With thirty minutes'' worth of detailed footage, they were confident that Mariam would be able to devise various strategies and formte a well-informed n. After all, such a lengthy video provided ample material for analysis and strategic development. [Let¡¯s go back, Tara.] [Okay.] Shwoooosh! Tayarana swiftly returned to Seokguram Grotto, while Han-Yeol unleashed a barrage of approximately two hundred bullets to deter the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva from pursuing them before he made his retreat. The brief yet intense sh finally concluded. Han-Yeol safely touched down at Seokguram Grotto, only to find himself encircled by the entire Horus raid party, who had anxiously awaited his return. ¡°Oppa!¡± ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi.¡± Yoo-Bi had been awaiting Han-Yeol¡¯s return. [Wee back, Tayarana-nim.] [Thank you, Mariam.] Mariam awaited Tayarana''s arrival, fully expecting to scold her for acting impulsively. It had be amon urrence for Mariam to nag and reprimand Tayarana, not because of her role as the raid party leader, Princess of Egypt, or Africa''s Goddess, but simply due to their established dynamic. However, contrary to Mariam''s usual behavior, this time she withheld her scolding. ¡®Tayarana-nim¡­¡¯? Having heard Tayarana''s words through the camera on Mavros'' neck, Mariam found it difficult to be harsh with her. Tayarana''s actions, driven by the desire to minimize potential casualties for the raid party in future encounters, touched Mariam deeply. This newfound understanding made it challenging for Mariam to reprimand Tayarana as she had done in the past. [Mariam?] Mariam was nkly staring at Tayarana without saying anything, and that made Tayarana wonder what was wrong with her. [Ah, I apologize. I was thinking about something else for a second. All forces! Prepare for battle!] After regaining herposure, Mariam took charge and issued instructions to the Horus raid party, preparing them for the uing battle. She meticulously inspected each member of the party, ensuring everything was in order. However, the primary concern remained the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s overwhelming power. Unlike other Korean raid parties, the Horus raid partycked a Master Rank Hunter, making it challenging to predict with certainty that nothing catastrophic would ur in the future. The absence of such a high-ranking Hunter posed a significant obstacle to their sess. Boom! Boom! The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s footsteps reverberated in the air and shook the ground as it made its appearance on the horizon. [All Porters and nonbatants are to leave the battlefield! Get away as far as possible!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] There was nothing else the Porters and nonbatants could do. Them leaving the battlefield before the fight broke out was the best thing to do. After all, who knew what kind of hell was going to be unleashed by the iing boss monster? Chapter 156: Run Toward the Firmament (5)

Chapter 156: Run Toward the Firmament (5)

Vrooom! The nonbatants boarded the trucks and quickly escaped from the battlefield. ¡°Please be safe, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi said. It went without saying that Yoo-Bi was included among the nonbatants. She awakened, but she was a crafting type and not abat type. There was a chance that she could have joinedbatter on, but there was no time for that right then. [All nonbatants and engineers have been evacuated, Mariam-nim.] [Alright.] Mariam closed her eyes after receiving the report, and then she explosively spread her mana all over the battlefield. [Brain Network!] It was one of her abilities. This skill allowed her to form awork with allied Hunters, akin to a spider''s web, and she was going to be able to converse with them as if they were right beside her, even if they were quite a distance away. Furthermore, she could transmit her thoughts and vision to the Hunters with whom she had frequently synchronized before. This was considered one of the ultimate skills a raid party could possess when fighting in arge group. In fact, there were numerous other Egyptian and international raid parties that were putting forth their best efforts, hoping to recruit her away from the Horus raid party due to this remarkable ability. Thud! [The boss monster ising.] Gulp! The Horus raid party had prepared various strategies and made numerous preparations for the battle, yet they couldn''t help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the boss monster. Ziing! [Keuk!] [It¡¯s strong¡­] [The boss monster¡¯s mana is extremely dense and aggressive¡­] [It seems like it¡¯s trying to show that it''s angry.] [Phew¡­] ¡®Haha¡­ It¡¯s probably mad because of what we did a while ago¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was certain that the boss monster''s pride had been wounded, assuming it possessed pride in the first ce. However, it was challenging to determine whether the boss monster was truly angry or not, as its face remained calm. [Han-Yeol.] [Okay.] ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mavros took flight once again. Mariam deduced from observing the skirmish that engaging the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva head-on would result in significant casualties for their group, with their Hunters being crushed into pulp by the boss monster''s powerful thousand arms. Hence, she devised a strategy that ced great emphasis on Tayarana and Han-Yeol drawing the boss monster''s attention through aggro. [Listen up. The boss monster might be weakened the moment it loses all of its arms, so make sure you focus on eliminating its arms above anything else.] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] ¡®As expected of Mariam. She already understands the entire situation.¡¯?Han-Yeol was once again impressed by her intellect. She had managed to discern the weakness of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Indeed, with an IQ of 160, it was inconceivable that someone like Mariam would fail to grasp something that Han-Yeol had already realized. Thud! The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was getting closer. [W-What?!] Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? The Mana Detection Devices started going haywire and numerous dots started appearing on the screens. Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­? [W-What¡¯s going on?!] [It can¡¯t be!] The ground trembled as the twelve zodiac monsters began charging toward them. The Horus raid party found sce in the fact that they had already taken down the rabbit and dragon zodiac creatures earlier, and not all of the monsters were approaching simultaneously. Among the zodiac monsters, the rat and bull emerged as the closest ones in the distance, swiftly making their way toward the raid party. ¡°Mooo!¡± ¡°Squeak! Squeak!¡± Dudududu! [What in the world¡­!] [¡­] Mariam stood in stunned silence, utterly taken aback by the unfolding events. This turn of events waspletely unforeseen and fell outside the realm of her calctions. While she hadn''t paid much attention to the other zodiac monsters due to theirck of reaction, she never imagined that they would suddenly spring into action without any prior warning. [Mariam!] Han-Yeol urgently shouted. He believed that Mariam was the only one capable ofing up with a solution to their current predicament. However, she was too stunned toe up with any strategy. She was stuck in a dilemma. ¡®Do we fight the zodiac monsters first or try and eliminate the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva as soon as possible¡­?¡¯ It was too much for the Horus raid party to fight against both. However, they had no choice but to divide their forces. [I-I apologize¡­] [No, it¡¯s not your fault. More importantly, what do you think? What should we do?] [Our best option as of now is for Tayarana-nim and you, Han-Yeol-nim, to distract the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva while Mujahid-nim leads the Horus raid party to clean up the zodiac monsters. Then, we willbine our forces to hunt that boss monster down.] [Alright, I¡¯ll go with Tayarana and deal a big blow to the zodiac monsters before going to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.] [That will be very helpful.] [Okay. Tara!] Han-Yeol looked at Tayarana, and she immediately understood what he wanted to say. The zodiac monsters were closing in at a rapid pace, even faster than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. This provided the Horus raid party with some breathing room, allowing them to prioritize dealing with the zodiac monsters first. [Alright, Han-Yeol.] [I¡¯ll use Enhance on you, so use your strongest ability on them.] [Sure, leave it to me.] Kwachik! ¡®Enhance!¡¯?Han-Yeol crushed a mana stone he had gotten from the gigantic lizards and used Enhance on Tayarana. Booom! Tayarana zipped through the air like a bullet and brandished her sword. [Sword of Horus.] Chwaaaaaak! Her sword unleashed a bright golden light, and it slowly started to get bigger and bigger. ¡®His skill is amazing,¡¯?Tayarana thought as she was very impressed by the effects of Enhance. Under normal circumstances, the Sword of Horus would only extend by up to five meters. However, at this moment, it had expanded to an extraordinary length of almost eleven meters. Tayarana gritted her teeth and steeled her resolve, ¡®I can¡¯t let his skill go to waste!¡¯ She gathered her focus while hovering ten kilometers above the ground. In this environment devoid of oxygen, Tayarana found herself able to breathe due to her Horus Suit, which possessed the capability to withstand the immense pressures of space and the depths of the ocean. Whenever she utilized this skill and found herself in the silence of the stratosphere, Tayarana discovered it to be a truly calming and rxing experience. It provided her with the perfect setting to engage in deep contemtion and introspection. Now, there was only one thought on her mind, ¡®I want to keep fighting alongside Han-Yeol.¡¯ Although she had spent a rtively brief period hunting in South Koreapared to Egypt, Tayarana found her life in the former to be considerably more captivating. It wasn''t because Egyptcked anything inparison to South Korea. In fact, Egypt boasted a multitude of expansive and diverse hunting grounds. However, the mere presence of Han-Yeol was sufficient to make her thoroughly enjoy her time in the country. ¡®We have to beat the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva first.¡¯ Ziiiing! A red light shed from the Horus Helmet, and Tayarana descended down to the ground like lightning. Krwaaaaaaah! The Horus Suit emitted a vibrant red glow as a result of the intense friction, yet it exhibited no indications of breaking. Designed to endure temperatures exceeding 8,000¡ãC, the suit remained unfazed by the immense pressure exerted upon it. Descending at a chilling velocity, Tayarana unleashed a powerful swing with her eleven-meter sword just as she neared the ground. [Judgment of Horus!] Chwak! Then, the sound of space getting ripped apart reverberated all over the area as thousands of des came raining down from the skies. Krwhaaaaa! An endless barrage of des descended onto the ground. ¡°Kiiiiiik!¡± ¡°Mooooo!¡± The hundreds of rats and bulls on the ground cried out in agony as they were ripped to shreds by Tayarana¡¯s ultimate ability. After receiving Han-Yeol''s Enhance, Tayarana''s ultimate ability had reached a levelparable to that of a Master Rank Hunter''s ultimate ability. The relentless assault had decimated the rat zodiac monsters, reducing their numbers to a mere third of their original count. Furthermore, half of the bull zodiac monstersy incapacitated on the battlefield. The overwhelming disy of power was truly awe-inspiring, leaving anyone who witnessed it in a state of shock and terror. ¡®T-This is how powerful this skill can be¡­?¡¯?Tayarana thought in disbelief. Despite having used her ability countless times before, she had never anticipated it to possess such immense power. She was well aware that her ability alone was not formidable enough to nearly eradicate the zodiac monsters in a single employment. The extraordinary oue exceeded her expectations and left her in awe of her newfound strength. [Wow¡­] [A-Amazing!] [Tayarana-nim is really strong!] The Egyptian Hunters were also shocked by the disy of Tayarana¡¯s power. ¡®So this is why Hunters who can use enhancement abilities are in demand¡­¡¯?Tayarana thought. The Horus raid party, backed by active sponsorship from the Egyptian Government, had only three Hunters capable of utilizing enhancement abilities. This highlighted the particr Hunters¡¯ exorbitant cost. However, the drawback of these Hunters was their limitedbat prowess, as theycked substantialbat abilities. In contrast, Han-Yeol stood out as a rare gem, possessing enhancedbat skills that surpassed those of the majority of other Hunters, despite also having the ability to use enhancements. This made him a valuable and exceptional asset within the team. ¡®I noticed Han-Yeol-nim has been slowly preparing to be independent these days. I should prepare a solution for that,¡¯?Mariam thought she should call the Egyptian Government and urge them toe up with an enticing offer while watching the incredible sight unfolding in front of her. ¡®But all of that wille after we bring this monster down,¡¯?she immediately redirected her focus back to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Thud! The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was closing in on the Horus raid party while Tayarana and Han-Yeol were busy dealing with the zodiac monsters. [Tayarana-nim. Han-Yeol-nim.] [Okay.] [Roger!] The Horus raid party was now capable of dealing with the zodiac monsters now that Tayarana had significantly reduced their numbers. The zodiac monsters possessed tremendous power, and engaging in a simultaneous battle against two of them would spell disaster for the Horus raid party. If they were to triumph against the zodiac monsters, the raid party would be left severely weakened and injured, making them ill-prepared to confront the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. This was precisely why thebination of Tayarana and Han-Yeol proved to be crucial, as it provided a decisive advantage for the raid party. ¡®At least we managed to stop the worst-case scenario from happening,¡¯?Mariam thought before she gave themand. [All forces, ATTACK!] [WAAAAAAAH!] The Horus raid party¡¯s morale was now at an all-time high after seeing the divine punishment Tayarana had delivered, and they valiantly charged at the monsters that were still in a groggy state. Even Mariam, who normally used to stay in the backlines and support the raid party, actively participated in this battle. [Mind Control!] ¡°Moooo!¡± Mariam took control of a bull and made it run amok against its own. She continued using her telepathic abilities to disrupt the enemy forces, and the zodiac monsters were helpless against her mental attacks. She did not deal any direct physical damage against her targets, but her ability to make them disrupt their own allies was far more beneficial than any other ability. Puk! Kwachik! ¡°K-Kiek!¡± Mujahid smashed his fist into a bull¡¯s head after it was exhausted from Mariam¡¯s mental attack. [Your skill makes you as beautiful as ever, Mariam!] Wink! Mujahid winked at Mariam after eliminating the bull. Kwachik! Upon hearing his words, a cross-shaped vein bulged on Mariam¡¯s forehead, but she managed to suppress her anger, considering the ongoing battle. However, it was clear that she harbored intentions of seeking retribution from him, whether sooner orter. [Press on! We have to clean up here quickly and go assist Tayarana-nim and Han-Yeol-nim!] [Leave it to me! I¡¯ll beat them to a pulp!] [Increase the intensity of your mes before saying anything else!] [Hahaha! You noticed me?!] Kwachik! Kwachik! Mujahid¡¯s carefree personality was too stressful for Mariam to deal with. [Mujahid-nim!] [Keke! My bad~ I¡¯ll fight properly now~] Pak! Boom! Mujahid was finally going to get serious from now on. Chapter 157: A Miracle Occurs (1)

Chapter 157: A Miracle urs (1)

The aerial battle proved to be much more challengingpared to the ground battle, despite the significant advantage Tayarana had provided in thetter. The two S Rank Hunters, Tayarana and Han-Yeol, were currently locked in a fierce and intense aerialbat. Baaam! ¡°Keuk!¡± The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva waved its four main arms and threw its golden palms at Han-Yeol. ¡®Damn it¡­ I gained eight levels at once, but I still can¡¯t do anything against this bastard!¡¯?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly. Indeed, by casting Enhance on Tayarana, Han-Yeol had earned experience points that resulted in an increase of eight levels for him. However, he chose to allocate all of his stat points into the Invoke skill, which did not directly contribute to his overall strength. Realistically, even if he had allocated all forty stat points into VIT (Vitality), it was unlikely that he would be able to withstand a single blow from the immensely powerful Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±?Mavros cried out as he showed off his excellent flight skills to avoid the flying golden palms. Then¡­ [Poison Arrow] Kwaaaaaaaah! Mavros not only avoided the attacks, but he also counter-attacked with his own spells to make sure the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s aggro would not be directed toward Tayarana. ¡®He¡¯s really clever,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. ¡°Kireuk!¡± However, a golden palm suddenly popped out of nowhere and was about to strike Mavros from his blind spot. ¡°N-No!¡± Han-Yeol cried out. He immediately used his defensive skills. ¡®Force Shield! Reflect!¡¯ The golden palm crashed into the shield he had created. Thud! ¡®Keuk!¡± Although the shield was designed to reflect the damage back to the attacker, the overwhelming power of the attack imposed an immense burden on Han-Yeol''s body. Gritting his teeth, he persevered through the excruciating pain. As he absorbed the force of the golden palm, he sensed his mana being drained, but he channeled it into unleashing his own counterattack¡ªa blue palm twice the size¡ªtoward the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. BAAAM! Kwachik! ¡®It stopped?¡¯?Han-Yeol noticed something strange after the blue palm crashed into the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s chest and left an imprint on it. The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva slowly stopped moving for the first time after the battle started. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Reflect¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] Furthermore, as a bonus, Han-Yeol''s skill received a rank increase. Despite having acquired this skill quite some time ago, he hadn''t had many opportunities to level it up due to infrequent usage. ¡®I just need to continue exploiting its own strength against it!¡¯?Han-Yeol shed a confident smile, but it did not take that long for the harsh reality to dawn upon him. ¡®But¡­ I believe I¡¯ll only be able to use it a few more times¡­¡¯ The skill''s mana consumption escted in proportion to the strength of his opponent, and this was a factor Han-Yeol had no control over. With the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva being an incredibly formidable creature, his mana was swiftly depleted after reflecting just a single attack. Han-Yeol was well aware that, regardless of the size of his mana pool, he would not be able to employ this skill numerous times. Consequently, he needed to closely monitor his mana reserves, as he would have to rely on other skills in addition to Reflect throughout the battle. Bam! Bam! Bam!? [Bwahahaha! Bring it on!] Meanwhile, Mujahid found immense joy in pummeling the monsters on the ground, thoroughly enjoying the battle. His unique ability, which allowed him to restore five percent of the damage he dealt or received, granted him the ability to fight tirelessly. This restorative capability enabled him to sustain his assault without sumbing to fatigue. He was truly fitting to be called a Berserker. Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel envious of Mujahid''s ability, recognizing the significant advantages it provided. While Han-Yeol did possess the ability to recover mana while walking, it proved insufficient in his current situation, as he was unable to activate it since he wasn''t moving. Consequently, he had to be cautious with his mana consumption, as he couldn''t rely on his usual method of mana recovery at the moment. Thud! For the first time, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva directed its attention toward Han-Yeol. Until then, the boss monster had been primarily focused on Tayarana. However, the impact of a single damage inflicted by Han-Yeol''s ''Reflect'' skillpelled the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva to shift its gaze toward him, acknowledging his presence as a formidable threat. ¡°Keke!¡± Han-Yeol smirked at the boss monster and eximed, ¡°Bring it on! Let¡¯s see if you can keep up with Mavros!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Shwoosh! Boom! Mavros sped through the air, leaving behind a shockwave. The ck dragon flew so fast that it was impossible to keep up with him with the naked eye. *** The Horus raid party disyed unwavering bravery as they engaged in a fierce battle against the formidable Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and its minions. Meanwhile, a group of spectators had gathered at a mountain peak within the safe zone, approximately one kilometer away from the Seokguram Grotto. Equipped with various specialized binocrs and cameras, they eagerly captured the thrilling spectacle of the boss monster raid. ¡°H-How is this possible?!¡± ¡°T-They are fighting on equal footing against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva!¡± ¡°What sorcery is this?!¡± The group of spectators constituted the Observer Unit dispatched by the Hunters'' Association, equipped with an array of cutting-edge equipment designed specifically for observation and reconnaissance purposes. Getting close to the territory of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was deemed too hazardous due to the inherent dangers and the disruptive interference caused by the creature''s mana waves on electronic devices. However, fortune favored them as the boss monster ventured out of its territory independently, heading toward the Seokguram Grotto. This fortuitous turn of events granted the Observer Unit the unique opportunity to capture the entirety of the raid on film. At first, the members of the Observer Unit were nonchnt and lighthearted regarding the progress of the raid. They even engaged in friendly wagers, specting on how long it would take for the Horus raid party to retreat in defeat. However, their casual demeanor was swiftly shattered as they witnessed the Horus raid party fiercely battling the boss monster on equal footing. The sheerbat prowess disyed by the Horus raid party left the observers dumbfounded and astounded. The level of power and resilience exhibited in the fight was simply beyond their wildest imagination. *** ¡®They''re incredibly organized. It feels as though I''m witnessing a military operation. Have we been mistaken in our approach to cultivating raid parties and Hunters all these years...?¡¯ The Hunters'' Association adopted a more hands-off approach, akin to that of a game moderator, granting Hunters considerable freedom with minimal rules, allowing them to operate independently. In contrast, Egypt implemented a strict and tightly regted management system, ensuring that their Hunters adhered to all prescribed rules. The oue of these differing approaches was evident in the awe-inspiring performance being disyed by the Horus raid party at present. ¡®I didn¡¯t really expect much from them, but¡­¡¯? The exact nature of the treasure that the boss monster would yield remained unknown to all. Initially, the Hunters'' Association anticipated that the Horus raid party would merely contain and stall the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva until a Korean raid party with a Master Rank Hunter became avable to im the spoils. After all, they were reluctant to relinquish a potential windfall to another country, even if it was an ally. Given the absence of a Master Rank Hunter within the Horus raid party, the Association''s expectations for their performance against the boss monster were modest. However, to their astonishment, the Horus raid party was currently demonstrating a level of proficiency and organizationparable to Korean raid partiesprising Master Rank Hunters, if not surpassing them. Manager Kim Cha-Il scratched his head in frustration. ¡®Ah¡­ Should I report this or not¡­?¡¯ Based on his observations of the Horus raid party, he concluded that South Korea needed to reconsider their approach of granting excessive freedom to the Hunters and instead implement stricter rules and regtions if they aimed to be a dominant force in the future. The recent decline in the number of Porters highlighted a growing issue, prompting the government and the association to contemte enhancing support for Porters. ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure they won¡¯t listen to anything I say¡­ Tsk tsk¡­¡¯?Kim Cha-Il knew very well that the Hunters¡¯ Association was not going to listen to an outcast like him. Still, he was a graduate of S University, so he was not stupid at all. He felt that he was quite sharp and observant, but nobody in the association bothered to listen to his opinions. ¡®Phew¡­ I guess the association¡¯s going to be taking another step back¡­¡¯ The association''s calctions indicated that the likelihood of the Horus raid party achieving sess in this boss raid was less than 0.1%. Consequently, they saw no need to issue any specific orders to Kim Cha-Il before sending him, instructing him instead to remain silent and refrain from taking any action when he inquired about providing regr reports. However, Kim Cha-Il held a different perspective, believing that while it might take some time, the Horus raid party would ultimately manage to raid the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. His confidence in his own keen intuition bolstered this belief. *** [Bwahahaha! Bring it on, you bastards!] Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? Han-Yeol summoned Balrog and the Void Devils, deploying them to assist in the ongoing fight against the zodiac monsters on the ground. While his initial n was to rely on Mariam and Mujahid to handle the situation, he realized that reinforcing them with additional firepower could expedite the defeat of the monsters. On the ground, the Horus raid party''s ground forces continued to engage in fiercebat against the relentless zodiac monsters, determined to ovee them. Whoooosh¡­ Shwiiik! Mavros flew at high speeds and avoided the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s arms. ¡®Keke! I bet you¡¯re getting annoyed now!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. The dynamics of the battle had shifted, catching the attention of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Initially, it had identified Tayarana as the primary threat and Han-Yeol as a secondary concern. However, the situation had changed dramatically. The boss monster disyed a considerable level of intelligence, adjusting its tactics ordingly. It now directed the multitude of hands on its back towards Mavros, recognizing him as a formidable opponent. Simultaneously, it targeted Tayarana with its golden palms, having learned to be cautious of engaging Han-Yeol directly after suffering the repercussions of ¡®Reflect¡¯. ¡®We¡¯re definitely buying a lot of time right now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, ncing down while Mavros was avoiding the arms. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? [Bwahahaha! Bring it on!] The Horus raid party led by Mujahid and Mariam were swiftly dealing with the zodiac monsters. Almost seventy percent of the monsters had been defeated, so they were going to be able to join the fight against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva very soon. Just as they were getting used to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s pattern¡­ Woooong¡­! The boss monster suddenly stopped moving. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Then, to everyone''s surprise, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva deviated from its usual targets andunched a fierce attack against the Horus raid party engaged in battle with the zodiac monsters on the ground. [Tara!] [!!!] Tayarana, realizing the dire situation, swung her sword with all her might at the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. However, despite the significant reduction in its arms, the boss monster still had a formidable number of appendages at its disposal. It possessed countless ways to attack the ground forces, even if Han-Yeol and Tayarana joined forces to try and stop it. The Horus raid party found themselves in a precarious position. Engaged with the zodiac monsters, they had limited mobility and were unable to evade the oing onught of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s arms. They faced the grim possibility of being wiped out by the boss monster while being overwhelmed by the zodiac monsters. Their options were limited, and they had nowhere to run. [Han-Yeol! Do something!] [Damn it!] Tayarana was a Hunter specializing in speed, so she was not going to be useful in these kinds of situations. ¡°Mavros! Let¡¯s go block that bastard! Fly to the front!¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± Han-Yeol made an incredibly risky decision, but Mavros did not hesitate for even a moment as he swiftly flew toward the front lines. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol found himself in a face-to-face confrontation with the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, and it was in that very moment that he noticed the boss monster''s lips curled up into a chilling smile. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me?! Now way!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in horror. The boss monster unleashed its onught of hundreds of swinging arms, directed not only toward the zodiac monsters but also aimed at decimating the Horus raid party. It appeared that the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was determined to obliterate the human forces, disregarding the fate of the zodiac monsters in the process. Han-Yeol took out a big mana stone that he had gotten from a gigantic lizard and crushed it without any hesitation. ¡®Enhance!¡¯? Woooooong! Thick, dense mana surrounded Han-Yeol''s body, infusing him with newfound strength. Without wasting a moment, he swung his chain with the hammer attached at the end, determined to counter the onught of arms. The only solution that came to his mind was to unleash an area of effect skill that could obliterate the iing limbs. "Go! Tornado Smash!" Han-Yeol shouted, exerting all his might as heunched the chain. Although the skill was still at F Rank, he relied on the power of Enhance to amplify its effectiveness. True to his expectations, the skill unleashed a devastating force as it soared through the air. Kwaaaaang! The chain destroyed the hundreds of arms flying toward him and the Horus raid party. Ding! Ding! Ding!? [The rank of the skill ¡®Tornado Smash¡¯ has risen.] Chapter 158: A Miracle Occurs (2)

Chapter 158: A Miracle urs (2)

His skill''s rank explosively increased after simultaneously destroying a multitude of arms, but... ¡®Argh! There are too many arms!¡¯ Han-Yeol''s efforts fell short of annihting all of them. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Tayarana swiftly soared through the air, cutting down the arms that Han-Yeol had missed. However, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva still possessed a substantial number of limbs. Ratatatatata! Han-Yeol utilized his chain in his left hand and his gun in his right to dismantle the boss monster''s remaining arms. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The seemingly insurmountable task gradually transformed into a feasible one as the boss monster''s arm count significantly diminished. "Gwuoooooh!" The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva emitted an unfamiliar sound. It appeared flustered as the pesky pests it tried to ensnare suddenly turned the tables and started decimating its arms, contrary to its expectations. Though the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva may bear resemnce to Buddha on the surface, it remained a monster at its core. Consequently, it lost itsposure and failed to assess the situation rationally. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? In the end, the boss monster resorted to using its golden palms once again. ¡®This is what I was waiting for!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed in delight at the appearance of the golden palms. He put his machine gun on his back and spread out his shield. ¡®There are four of them, so it¡¯s going to be tough, but¡­ Reflect!¡¯? Then, he absorbed all four golden palms at once. ¡®Keuk¡­!¡¯?Gritting his teeth, Han-Yeol groaned in pain as he prepared to infuse his mana and retaliate against the four iing golden palms. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? Four powerful blue palms were shot out by Han-Yeol, flying straight toward the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. "Gwuooooooh!" the boss monster cried out when it realized its mistake. It immediately brought its hundreds of arms to the front to block the blue palms, but... Bam! Bam! Bam! The blue palms, twice as strong as the golden palms, ripped through the boss monster''s arms and continued their trajectory. The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva defended with more of its arms, exhausting half of its remaining appendages before finally managing to stop the four blue palms. Although the boss monster sessfully halted the attack, it had suffered significant losses. "Hehe... You''ve lost quite a lot of arms. Weren''t those your lifeline?" Han-Yeol sneered. "Gwuooooh!" The expression on the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s face was concealed, but it clearly seethed with rage. The once calm andposed monster now spread its mana throughout its surroundings. Things were bing increasingly dangerous, but Han-Yeol and Tayarana maintained their smiles in response to the boss monster''s enraged reaction. ¡®It¡¯s getting flustered.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s definitely flustered.¡¯ Getting flustered or confused during a battle would never be a good thing, and this was evidence that the battle was not going in its favor. Pssht... Pssht... Pssht... The hundreds of arms on the boss monster''s back crumbled into dust after being hit by the blue palms shot out by Han-Yeol. Bam! Bam! Bam! Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik! The Horus raid party, led by Mujahid and Mariam, sessfully eliminated the remaining zodiac monsters. Despite their immense power, the zodiac monsters were no match for the entire Horus raid party, especially after enduring Tayarana''s divine punishment. Furthermore, aside from Mujahid unleashing his full potential in the fight, the greatest contributor to their victory was undoubtedly Tayarana and her ultimate ability. The battle against the zodiac monsters came to an end with Mariammanding the bull under hermand to kill itself. Ding! [Your level has risen.] Han-Yeol experienced a significant surge in experience points when Tayarana unleashed her ultimate skill, resulting in him gaining eight levels. However, the real breakthrough came when the Horus raid party sessfully eradicated the remaining zodiac monsters. This aplishment granted Han-Yeol another substantial amount of experience points, allowing him to further advance by seven levels. In total, Han-Yeol''s level increased by an impressive fifteen levels solely from this battle. With his newfound experience, he finally reached an Invoke level of three hundred, marking a significant milestone in his growth and power. ¡®Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the situation to summon another demon, but¡­¡¯?he thought. [Thank you for buying us time. We will be fighting alongside you now.] [Wow, hyung-nim! We¡¯re going to fight together now!] [Great work everyone.] [Bwahahaha! A battle truly boils my blood! Call me earlier next time!] [Everything is futile¡­] With the zodiac monsters defeated and the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva weakened by the loss of over half its original thousand arms, the remaining enemy that stood before them was solely the boss monster. The Horus raid party, along with Han-Yeol and his three demons, directed their undivided attention toward the formidable adversary. Previously, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva may not have felt threatened by the human forces. However, the tables had turned drastically with its diminished arm count, making it vulnerable and susceptible to the united assault of the Horus raid party. ¡°Gwuooooooh!¡± The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was smart; it knew that it still had many of its minions remaining and that its body would recuperate over time. It prepared to make a run for it, but... [Mariam, I think that bastard¡¯s trying to escape.] [I am aware. Fire!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] Fshwoooong¡­ Kaboom! The time hade for one of the equipment sent from Egypt to make its debut. It was the secret weapon that Egypt had developed discreetly. While Tayarana and Han-Yeol held the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s attention, Mariam had been busy setting up the weapons. These specialized devices, designed to shoot outrge harpoons, were now deployed, flying toward the boss monster''s legs and firmly embedding themselves within its flesh. As the harpoons connected with one another, they formed ating, effectively ensnaring the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and preventing it from moving any further. The boss monster was trapped, its attempts at escape thwarted by the ingenious Egyptian weapon. [We are ready!] [All forces, attack!] [Waaaaaah!] [Bwahahaha! Time to cause some mayhem!] Mujahid seemed to be the most excited one as he led the charge. [Waaaaah!] Then, the Horus raid party Hunters followed him closely. It was a full-scale assault conducted by the Horus raid party. The battle persisted for another eight hours, even though the boss monster had lost half of its arms and had been immobilized by the secret weapons. The Horus raid party swiftly transitioned into a three-shift rotation, ensuring a continuous onught against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and inflicting further damage upon it. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­!¡± Even Mavros seemed to be exhausted as he perched on top of a tree or boulder and rested. In the end, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva could no longer be called that. It had lost almost all of its arms. [Avoid it!] [Uwaaah!] Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? However, that did not imply that it had bepletely harmless. It remained a formidable boss monster, with several arms remaining on its back and its ten main arms still intact. The monster persisted inunching its golden palms, but Han-Yeol promptly countered them with Reflect. Yet, he struggled to reflect every single golden palm due to his diminishing mana pool. ¡°Kwuaaaaa!¡± [Madabikia!] [Damn it!] The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva retained its status as a formidable boss monster, demanding the prowess of a Master Rank Hunter to be defeated. Consequently, even with thebined strength of Tayarana, Han-Yeol, Mujahid, and the Horus raid party, it was evident that the battle against this powerful monster would not be an easy one. [Tara¡­] Tayarana, wielding her sword, couldn''t help but shed a tear. Although she wasn''t known for being warm or engaging in casual conversations with her subordinates, she carried a sense of responsibility for their well-being. As a leader, she wouldn''t openly disy her concern when her raid party members faced hardships, but she would quietly instruct Mariam to provide support from the shadows. The loss of ten of her subordinates in this raid weighed heavily on her, bringing deep sorrow to her heart. ¡®Argh¡­ Damn it¡­ I could have saved them if they hadn''t died instantly!¡¯ Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces after seeing Tayarana shed a tear. There was a risk of his absence on the battlefield, but he was confident that he could heal anyone, even if they sustained fatal wounds, as long as they were still alive. However, the Hunters hit by the golden palms were squashed t and died instantly, leaving Han-Yeol with no time to heal them. He was deeply saddened by their deaths as he had grown quite close to them over time, but there was only one thing he could do right now. [Tara! We have to kill him as fast as possible and put an end to this!] [I know. I will kill him. Mark my words!] Woooong! . Tayarana was enraged, causing her mana to surge like a wild bull as she propelled herself forward. However, despite her intense emotions, she managed to maintain herposure and not let them overpower her. ¡®That kind of anger is always weed.¡¯?Han-Yeol was relieved after seeing Tayarana maintain her cool. Anger and emotions in a battle were always going to cause more harm than necessary. [Let¡¯s end this with one strike, Tara.] [Alright.] Both of thembined their strength. Han-Yeol started by crushing a gigantic lizard¡¯s mana stone and using Enhance on Tayarana. Shwooong¡­ Tayarana ascended into the stratosphere, ready to unleash the Judgment of Horus once more. With only enough mana left for a single use of this powerful skill, she understood that her participation in the battle would end if this attack failed to defeat the boss monster. The weight of the situation was clear to her, as the consequences of her inability to fight would quickly escte and potentially lead to the downfall of the entire Horus raid party. She knew that failure was not an option. [Mujahid!] [Yes, hyung-nim!] Mujahid approached Han-Yeol, his body covered in blood and wounds. It was evident that he had endured the most brutal injuries in this battle, and it was expected considering his role of evading the boss monster''s attacks on foot while protecting Mariam and the rest of the Horus raid party. He bore the weight of this responsibility, pushing himself to the limit in the fight. [Tayarana is preparing to deliver onest ultimate strike. I¡¯ll use Enhance on you as well, so do what you can to bring that bastard down.] [Yes! Leave it to me!] Mujahid looked extremely tired, but he still maintained his carefree smile. [Oh, but before that¡­] ¡®Restore!¡¯ Woooong! Mujahid''s body was enveloped in a warm, healing light that mended his external and internal injuries. Although the battle was still ongoing, Han-Yeol''s healing provided enough relief for Mujahid to unleash his full strength and continue fighting. Kwachik! ¡®Enhance!¡¯ Han-Yeol crushed another mana stone and used Enhance on Mujahid. [Oh! This feels really good! I can feel a powerful surge of mana empowering me. I¡¯m really jealous that you can feel this feeling whenever you want, hyung-nim!] [Haha¡­] ¡®That¡¯s a fucking expensive skill¡­ asshole¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol retained all of the mana stones they had acquired from hunting the gigantic lizards. The entire raid party had agreed to allocate the mana stones from the twelve zodiacs to Han-Yeol, enabling him to utilize his Enhance ability during the raid. Since they were determined to confront the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva at any cost, they saw no reason to be frugal with the mana stones. They were fully prepared to risk everything for the sake of achieving victory in this battle. The Horus raid party exhibited remarkable unity in these matters, making it easy for Han-Yeol to collect all of the mana stones. [I¡¯ll leave it to you, Mujahid.] [Yes, hyung-nim!] Tak! Mujahid propelled himself off the ground and sprinted toward the boss monster. With his mana fully restored, he felt rejuvenated and back to his prime after his injuries had been healed. Shwaaa! Then, the fire embers on his back started to burn stronger. ¡®It¡¯s time to put an end to this, Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve. ¡°Gwuoooooh!¡±?The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva roared threateningly after it felt the Horus raid party¡¯s determination to bring this battle to an end. Kwachik! ¡®Enhance!¡¯ Han-Yeol used his skill on himself as well. ¡®This is my most powerful skill right now. Sword Breath!¡¯? Fwaaaaaa! After enhancing his mana, Mujahid unleashed his most powerful skill, relying on his trusty sword to deliver devastating blows to his enemies. Despite not being particrly fond of sword-wielding characters in his gaming days, he found an unexpected synergy with the sword after bing a Hunter. As he poised himself to deliver the final strike, a sudden burst of mana erupted in front of him, causing an explosion of energy. KWAAAAAANG! ¡®Mujahid.¡¯?Han-Yeol knew the source of that explosion. All five embers on Mujahid¡¯s backbined into one, and a massive me that wanted to devour his whole bodypletely engulfed him. ¡®Oh right¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered something and hurriedly ran to Mariam, who was still busymanding the entire Horus raid party. Chapter 159: A Miracle Occurs (3)

Chapter 159: A Miracle urs (3)

[Mariam.] [Han-Yeol-nim? Why are you here?] Since both of them were positioned in different ces, it was rare for them to bump into each other during battle. [Come here for a second.] Kwachik! ¡®Enhance!¡¯ Han-Yeol crushed a mana stone once again and used Enhance on Mariam since she was the one currently using the most mana. Despite not being abatant that dealt one-hit attacks like Tayarana, Mujahid, or Han-Yeol, Mariam was using a significant amount of mana. The culprit behind her fast mana drain was none other than the Brain Network she used, on top of dishing out mental attacks on the monsters. ¡®Mana Pouch.¡¯?Han-Yeol took out all of the mana he had been saving and gave it to Mariam. Woooong¡­ A warm blue light enveloped Mariam as Han-Yeol¡¯s mana seeped into her. She then gave a slight bow and said, [Thank you.] [No need for thanks. We require our main control tower to be strong in order to enhance our fighting capabilities.] [I will do my best.] [Alright, good luck!] Tak! Han-Yeol swiftly returned to his position to engage inbat against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. The telepathicwork, which had been disrupted due to mana depletion, was sessfully re-established, and everyone''s consciousness was once again interconnected through Mariam. [Focus, everyone. We are going to prepare for the final blow now, so get a safe distance away from the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and wait for the signal. You need to get away from the boss monster or else you could be swept away by the attack. I will personally chase you to the ends of hell if you die.] [Hahaha!] [Please do notugh, Mujahid-nim.] [Haha, sorry¡­] ¡®Haha¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol and the rest of the Hunters chuckled inwardly at the banter between the unofficial lovebirds. This lighthearted atmosphere proved to be a significant boost for the raid party, considering that all of them were physically and mentally drained from the prolonged battles. [WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!] Mariam let out a scream upon reading Han-Yeol''s thoughts, but her outburst went unnoticed by the others. Whether they were a couple or not was of little importance to the rest of the group, as they unanimously agreed that watching their dynamic was highly entertaining. The focus was not on their romantic feelings but rather on the intriguing connection between them. [Haa¡­ Anyway, we will nowmence the final attack. Please stay alert, everyone.] Mariam stopped reacting since she knew that everyone was just joking around. [Yes, ma¡¯am!] [Okay.] [Roger.] [Sure.] ¡®Mana Explosion!¡¯ Kwaaaang! Han-Yeol skillfullyunched a grenade directly at the face of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, causing an explosion that enveloped the boss monster''s vision in a thick cloud of smoke. Taking advantage of the momentary blindness, the Egyptian Hunters swiftly retreated to a safe distance. Tak! The three Egyptian Hunters who had used their enhancement abilities on Han-Yeol a while agobined their strength once again. [I will leave it to you, Vice Leader-nim.] [Please avenge ourrades.] [Han-Yeol-nim¡­] Each member of the raid party had their own motivations, but they were all determined to push their limits in order to defeat the boss monster. They recognized Han-Yeol as a versatile individual who had the ability to inspire others to unlock their full potential. His adaptability aligned perfectly with the Horus raid party. Among the three Hunters, they possessed both enhancement andbat abilities. However, they channeled all their mana into their enhancement abilities, as they excelled in that particr aspect. They believed in capitalizing on their strengths to contribute effectively to the battle. [Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure to defeat that thing. Pour out your enhancement abilities on me.] [Haha! You don¡¯t have to worry about that.] [Our enhancement abilities might not be as good as yours, but they will still be quite helpful.] [Alright, I¡¯ll make sure this won¡¯t go to waste.] Han-Yeol used Sword Breath. Fwaaaaaa! The mes burned with unprecedented intensity, surpassing their previous manifestations. The three Egyptian Hunters concentrated their mana even further, channeling it solely toward Han-Yeol, recognizing that it was their only recourse in the current situation. [Power Up!] [Mana Recharge!] [Reinforced Mana!] Woooooong! As Han-Yeol''s Enhance skill synergized with the multitude of enhancement and buff skills employed by the three Hunters, theirbined energies began to intertwine. The result was the emergence of an incredibly potent mana current that surged around Han-Yeol. The density of the mana was so substantial that even individuals without the ability to perceive mana would likely sense its presence if they were in close proximity. And in the midst of this intense mana envelopment, something truly remarkable urred. Ding! A message popped up in front of Han-Yeol. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Ding! [The rank of ¡®Enhance¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Enhance¡¯ has reached Master Rank.] [A new sub-skill has been created: ¡®Enhancement Aura¡¯.] ¡®Oh, it¡¯s a new skill,¡¯?Han-Yeol read the messages, but he did not check the new skill out. His main priority right now was to finish the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and not check his new skill. ¡®This attack will determine whether the Horus raid party will survive this raid or not,¡¯?he thought as he gritted his teeth. Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Mujahid were squeezing out every ounce of their mana to deal the final blow. Throughout the raid, the party had managed to minimize the number of casualties by remaining vignt and swiftly defending anyone targeted by the boss monster. However, they realized that if the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva managed to survive this final attack, they would no longer be able to protect everyone effectively. The stakes were high, and the oue of this decisive assault would determine the fate of the raid party. Kwaaaaaaang! The first to step up was Mujahid. Therge ember on his back started to burn brighter, and his fists were engulfed with blue mes. Baaaam! A powerful shockwave enveloped his body. [Titan¡¯s Fist!] KWAAAANG! A gigantic blue fist shot out from Mujahid¡¯s fist and mmed into the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s chest. Boooooom! The boss monster was still standing after taking the punch, but it seemed to be in severe agony from the damage. The attack was truly fearsome, but it was unfortunately not enough to defeat the Master Rank raid monster. It was not the type of monster to go down from an attack like this. ¡®We¡¯re not done yet!¡¯? Shwooooooosh! Tayarana finished her preparation and descended from the skies with her sword drawn. Shwak! [Judgment of Horus!] She had already depleted a significant portion of her mana, but she managed to unleash onest potent skill, thanks to her innate physique and Han-Yeol''s abilities. Awakening with an unusual physique unrted to her own ability, she possessed a mana recovery rate five to ten times faster than other Hunters. This enabled her to replenish enough mana to execute her ultimate skill once again. In a breathtaking disy, thousands of sword auras materialized in the sky and showered down upon the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? ¡°Gwuooooooh!¡± The boss monster let out a piercing cry of agony as the sword auras relentlessly assailed not only its body but also severed its remaining arms. Its sheer size worked against it, rendering it an easy target for this formidable ultimate ability. If it were smaller in stature, evading the onught of sword auras might have been a more viable option. Thud¡­! Thud¡­!? The boss monster was still moving even after getting hit by the full brunt of Judgment of Horus, and it seemed resolute not to go down like this. [Han-Yeol!] [Hyung-nim!] Mujahid''s embers werepletely extinguished, and Tayarana descended from the sky, depleted of mana. At this critical moment, Han-Yeol remained the sole hope to defeat the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Failure on his part would result in the entire Horus raid party being annihted. The stakes couldn''t be higher as the fate of the team now rested squarely on Han-Yeol''s shoulders. ¡°Phew¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh before tapping Mavors on his belly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Chwak! With incredible velocity, the ck dragon soared toward the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. The boss monster seemed cognizant that its victory hinged on enduring Han-Yeol''s assault and directed all its arms to strike him down. However, this was all part of Han-Yeol''s calcted n. He deftly shifted his sword, its de wreathed in Sword Breath, to his side. Puuuuk! Seuuuuuk! ¡°Gwuoooooh!¡± Han-Yeol swiftly thrust his sword into the arm of the boss monster, maintaining a tight grip on the weapon. With determination, he kicked Mavros, the ck dragon, urging it to elerate even further. Kwachiiiiiik! He dragged the sword and cut the boss monster while Mavros was flying. However, that was not the end of Han-Yeol¡¯s n. He flew around with Mavros and stabbed whenever he saw an opening, and he stabbed the boss monster in its chest, neck, and even face. However, Mavros soon ran out of gas, and they were crashing into the ground. Han-Yeol jumped off Mavros¡¯ back and aimed his right hand at the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva before shouting, ¡°Ex¡­PLOSION!¡± ¡°Gwuoh?!¡± The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva sensed that something was wrong with its body. ¡°¡­¡± Silence ensued. Whoosh¡­ KWAAAAANG! Then, a massive explosion came from every wound Han-Yeol had inflicted on the boss monster¡¯s body. There was not only one but numerous explosions all over the boss monster¡¯s body. The boss monster cried out in agony, but the sound of the explosions drowned its cries before swallowing its body whole. ¡®Is it over?¡¯?Han-Yeol nervously gulped while watching the explosion. His mana reached rock bottom, and he could feel his body slipping out of his control. If he let his guard down even for a moment, he was certain that he would lose consciousness. He fought against the overwhelming fatigue, determined to stay awake until he could confirm the boss monster''s demise. There was no time to rx. Not yet. Woooooong¡­ Kwang! The sound of something crumbling reverberated throughout the mountains, and then it was followed by a familiar sound. Ding! [You have sessfully defeated the Raid Boss Monster: Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.] [You have achieved an impossible victory.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ [Your level has risen.] ¡®W-We won!¡±?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after reading the string of messages. Thud! Despite his best efforts, Han-Yeol sumbed to exhaustion, copsing to the ground. This battle was not like a game where his stamina would be automatically replenished through leveling up. Tayarana and Mujahid, having regained some of their mana, hurried to his side. Theybined their mana and infused it into Han-Yeol, preventing him from sumbing to mana exhaustion and ensuring he would not perish. [Go and protect Vice Leader-nim!] [Yes, ma¡¯am!] The Horus raid party''s tion over their incredible triumph was short-lived, as they immediately shifted gears to evacuate Han-Yeol after his copse from exhaustion. However, their focus was abruptly interrupted by another astonishing urrence. Woooong! [W-What?!] [Tayarana-nim!] [What¡¯s going on?] Tayarana was suddenly enveloped by a bright golden light while the Horus raid party prepared to evacuate. [Tayarana-nim!] Mariam rushed to her side, but Tayarana stopped her from approaching and said, [Don¡¯te near me. It would be dangerous for you if I triggered an explosion.] With a firm resolve, Tayarana was acutely aware of the potential consequences based on reports of simr incidents. While this knowledge was not widely known among ordinary Hunters, there existed a possibility that a Hunter''s mana would run rampant if they pushed themselves beyond their limits. This unstable mana had the potential to trigger a catastrophic explosion, endangering not only the Hunter but also those in their vicinity. Even Master Rank Hunters had fallen victim to these unleashed mana. Due to the destructive nature of such incidents, there was limited data avable on the aftermath. The bodies of Hunters whose mana went out of control were often disintegrated by the resulting explosion. However, through meticulous analysis of numerous videos captured just moments before the explosion, schrs were able to deduce the underlying cause. Being aware of this peril, Tayarana took preemptive measures to ensure that no one approached her, prioritizing the safety of those around her. [What?!] She was surprised by what was happening in her own body. On the other hand, Mariam anxiously watched while ming herself, ¡®I should be the one to die instead of Tayarana-nim!¡¯ Her sole purpose in this world was to safeguard Tayarana, and she had made a solemn vow to perish alongside her liege if the need arose. However, a sense of unease washed over her as she detected something peculiar about Tayarana''s demeanor. [W-What¡¯s wrong, Tayarana-nim?!] [My body¡­ I can feel myself bing stronger.] [What?!] Chapter 160: A Miracle Occurs (4)

Chapter 160: A Miracle urs (4)

Tayarana''s words reverberated throughout the entire Horus raid party, leaving them utterly stunned. While she had already possessed considerable strength, her im of feeling even stronger now suggested that something extraordinary had taken ce¡ªan urrence that could only be described as a miracle. [T-That means¡­?] [T-Tayarana-nim is finally a Ra Rank Hunter?!] [A-Amazing!] [Tayarana-nim!] Mariam immediately ran up to Tayarana after realizing that there was not going to be any explosion. She asked with a worried gaze, [A-Are you alright, Tayarana-nim?] Tayarana smiled in response. Despite Mariam beingparatively weaker, the unwavering dedication she disyed in protecting Tayarana amused her. It was evident to Tayarana that Mariam''s actions stemmed from a deep affection and love for her, which she found endearing and adorable. What Mariam was unaware of, however, was that Tayarana regarded her as a sister. While Mariam felt a strong impulse to protect Tayarana, Tayarana reciprocated the sentiment and acted as a shield for Mariam as well. Their bond was one of mutual guardianship and care. [Yeah, it¡¯s perfect. No, I actually feel much better. I can feel an even more powerful mana flowing inside me right now.] Tayarana gazed at her own hands, alternating between clenching and rxing them. Then, she cast a meaningful nce in Mariam''s direction. Sensing the urgency in Tayarana''s expression, Mariam promptly drew closer, realizing that Tayarana had something important to convey. [I actually learned two new skills.] [What?! H-How?!] Mariam blurted out an exmation, but quickly recognized her error and fell silent. The words she had just heard were difficult for her toprehend, so she mustered the courage to ask for rification. [How is it possible that you suddenly acquired two additional skills? There have never been any reports of such an event urring before!] Mariam had ess to most reports submitted by academia to the royal court, and she made sure to read each one whenever she had the time. However, this was the first time she had encountered information about a Hunter learning more than three skills after awakening. ¡®Han-Yeol-nim was only able to acquire additional abilities due to his flexible awakening, so he is more of an anomaly... But there have never been any reports of an ordinary Hunter suddenly gaining new skills after growing stronger,¡¯ Mariam pondered. She couldn''t fathom an exnation for what was happening to Tayarana. Driven by a sense of urgency, Mariam decided that they had to travel to Egypt as soon as possible. She believed that Egypt held the key to unraveling the mystery surrounding Tayarana''s unprecedented development. [I have no idea myself, but I have a hunch¡­] [What is it?] A small hint was going to be extremely helpful to them, so Mariam listened intently no matter how unbelievable the hunch was. [Han-Yeol.] [!!!] Mariam was once again taken aback when Tayarana mentioned Han-Yeol''s name. With her intellect far surpassing that of most people, she immediately grasped the implications of Tayarana''s words and began formting numerous hypotheses in her mind. [That means¡­ No¡­ That should not be possible¡­] Mariam deemed the hypotheses in her mind to be seemingly impossible, no matter how much she pondered their validation. Yet, it was not just skepticism that held her back; she also harbored a deep-seated fear of the potential repercussions from academia if she were to acknowledge these hypotheses. While Han-Yeol appeared more intriguing than awe-inspiring, he possessed the potential to usher in a new chapter in the history of Hunters if Mariam''s hypotheses proved to be correct. [Tayarana-nim.] Mariam looked at her with a serious expression. Tayarana knew what Mariam was going to say so she simply nodded and replied, [Yeah, let¡¯s go pay a visit to Egypt once everything is wrapped up.] [I understand, Tayarana-nim.] The Horus raid party''s boss raid reached its conclusion with the triumphant defeat of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, and Tayarana ascended to the prestigious rank of Master Rank Hunter. *** Thankfully, Han-Yeol regained consciousness after thirty minutes. His fainting episode was primarily attributed to the rapid depletion of his mana pool, resulting from the excessive use of mana. As his body gradually replenished its mana reserves, he regained consciousness. [Are you awake?] [Mujahid¡­] The person taking care of Han-Yeol during his recovery was none other than Mujahid. Although Mariam would have been expected to attend to him, she was upied in a discussion with Tayarana. As a result, Mujahid stepped in to fill the role in her absence. [Waking up and immediately seeing a guy''s face is the worst feeling ever...] [You¡¯re being too mean, hyung-nim¡­] [Hahaha! I¡¯m just joking.] [Sure¡­] Mujahid, despite being a prince, had a tarnished image. He didn''t exhibit the expected demeanor of royalty. In fact, he was carefree, easy-going, and overly hyperactive, qualities that were not typically associated with someone of his noble status. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol did not look down on him. He recognized Mujahid as a shrewd individual who knew how to enjoy his wealth. On a whim, Mujahid would have his meals flown in from Europe, and he treated the most luxurious hotel in South Korea as if it were a mere motel. While carefree in nature, he possessed the ability to assert his wealth and authority over others. Mujahid extended his hand toward Han-Yeol. [It''s time to get up, hyung-nim. The Vice Leader of the Horus raid party can''t be lying on the ground during this historic moment we''ve achieved with this miraculous victory.] [Well, I guess you¡¯re right.] Tak! With Mujahid''s support, Han-Yeol managed to regain his footing. Though he still felt a slight dizziness, it wasn''t severe enough to prevent him from walking. As Han-Yeol raised his gaze, he noticed a line of trucks bearing the insignia of the Horus raid party. It appeared that they had arrived upon hearing news of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s defeat. ¡®It¡¯s really over¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile after realizing the impossible battle against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva had ended with their victory. *** There was nothing left for Han-Yeol to do now that the battle was over. The Horus raid party established their base camp near the location where the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was defeated, and the Egyptian Government promptly dispatched a group of specialists and Porters to support them. The appearance of these boss monsters garnered significant international attention, particrly due to their exclusive urrence in South Korea. Initially, the South Korean Government and Hunters'' Association were filled with excitement, envisioning the potential benefits that could be derived from these bosses. However, their optimism soon turned to panic when they realized the formidable nature of the boss monsters. Furthermore, the failure of the Swastika Guild added to the chaos within the association, prompting them to desperately seek assistance from a foreign raid party. However, their confusion deepened when they received news of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s defeat by the Horus raid party, a group that did not include any Master Rank Hunters. When Manager Kim Cha-Il reported that the Horus raid party was exerting their utmost efforts in raiding the boss monster, the association''s higher-ups mocked them. After all, even the top raid party in Korea, led by the renowned Hasan Monster Kim Tae-San, was still engaged in battling the Volcano Tortoise on Jeju Ind. Needless to say, the Hunters'' Association was currently in a state of emergency. ¡°What?! They refuse to hand over the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s remains to us? Is that true?!¡± This became the primary source of the issue. Initially, the Hunters'' Association was in a state of disarray, but they saw an opportunity to conduct research on the boss monster since it had already been defeated by the Horus raid party. However, their ns took an unexpected turn when the Horus raid party declined to surrender the remains of the boss monster. Instead, the Horus raid party decided to dispatch their own research team from Egypt to analyze the boss monster. This decision surprised and puzzled the Hunters'' Association, as they had anticipated taking control of the research themselves. ¡°Y-Yes¡­ That woman named Mariam personally contacted us¡­¡± Bam! ¡°Damn it¡­! How dare they covet what belongs to us! Do they have any idea how much that monster corpse is worth?!¡± The association¡¯s executive chewed his cigar in half and mmed his fist into the table. ¡°Hey! Do we have any legal basis to snatch it away from them? I know they defeated it, but they¡¯re foreigners! This is South Korea! This is our country!¡± ¡°T-That is¡­ Internationalws dictate that the monster corpses and mana stones belong to the foreign raid party as long as they legally hunted the monster. We could forcefully take it away from them, but I think our diplomatic rtionship with Egypt is going to take a hit. Our government has already invested more than thirty billion dors in Egypt, and all of that money could disappear if we do something rash right now.¡± "This will also severely damage our country''s reputation. No, it will be tarnished beyond repair. We might even have to consider recalling all our Hunters stationed in Africa, given Egypt''s significant influence in the region.¡± In the present era, even with the independence of nations, it was impossible to ignore internationalws and treaties. While regional alliances had dissipated after the appearance of Dimensional Gates, countries still maintained amicable rtionships through their respective Hunters'' Associations. The absence of regional alliances allowed countries the freedom to negotiate directly with one another. However, Africa stood as an exception due to its ongoing struggles with poverty. Egypt, as the primary provider of aid to African countries, held significant influence over the entire region. In fact, Africa was the only continent that had strengthened its regional alliance while others disbanded theirs. There was a saying in Africa that any country seeking to make deals with an African nation had to first go through Egypt. Africa boasted abundant hunting grounds that its own countries were unable to subdue, offering immense opportunities for developed nations to benefit from. South Korea was among the countries that greatly reaped the benefits of hunting in Africa. Given the limitednd area of South Koreapared to its poption, the country consistently faced issues of overcrowding in hunting grounds. To tackle this challenge, the government devised a solution: dispatching their Hunters on expeditions to other countries in need, simultaneously addressing the problem of overcrowding in their homnd. "Ugh... Our economy is already in dire straits these days... It will be a nightmare if the supply of mana stones from Africaes to a halt.¡± "That is indeed a valid concern.¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Creak! The executive pulled down his necktie and leaned on his chair. "What do you think? Are there any possibilities of negotiations?" "Yes, I believe it will be difficult. I instructed Manager Kim to attempt negotiations again, but they dismissed us and demanded that we retrieve the remains of the other six boss monsters if we wanted one." "That bitch... I never liked her from the start." The retired association executive had been a B Rank Hunter during his active years and had grown arrogant after securing his position within the association. In his personal life, he had divorced his wife for aging too quickly and had set out to find a younger recement. Taking advantage of his ex-Hunter status and executive position, he manipted and toyed with numerous women who sought to be in his favor. However, when he first encountered Mariam, a B Rank Hunter with a different charm than Korean women, she responded to his advances with a string of curses that left him deeply humiliated. But now, seeing her thriving with the Horus raid party, he couldn''t bear to watch. After all, he was ustomed to always getting what he wanted. ¡°So, are you just going to stand and watch as a foreign raid party steals the first boss from right under our noses? Are you really that ipetent?!¡± He knew very well that there were going to be severe diplomatic repercussions if he forcefully stole the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva from the Horus raid party, but he could not simply sit by and watch them take it away. ¡°N-No¡­ I will be instructing Manager Kim to keep negotiating with them. I will definitely buy the corpse from them no matter how much it costs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the answer I want to hear. Now get out.¡± ¡°Yes, director-nim.¡± The manager bowed and left the office. The executive angrily chewed what remained of his cigar while thinking, ¡®Just you wait, Horus raid party¡­ I¡¯m going to definitely pay you back for this shame!¡¯ He was not mad and was petty for being rejected by Mariam. Absolutely not. *** ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m bored¡­¡± Han-Yeol grumbled after waking up early in the morning in Mount Toham. The hunt may have concluded, but the responsibilities of the Horus raid party were far from over. The corpse of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva held immense value, and it was crucial for them to safeguard it until the arrival of the research team and Porters from Egypt. Whiiiiiing! [Hurry up boys!] [We have a lot to dismember today!] [How do we dismember this¡­?] [Beats me¡­] The Porters of the Horus raid party were up early in the morning, diligently dismembering the corpses of the two zodiac monsters summoned by the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva during the fight¡ªthe rat and the bull. They quickly assembled a makeshift processing facility on the field to expedite their work. [But where did Mujahid-nim go?] [I heard that he went hunting the remaining zodiac monsters with a detachment force.] [Wow... He''s truly remarkable. He''s back in battle again after fighting so much yesterday?] [I know right¡­] Han-Yeol inadvertently overheard the conversation among the Porters, as the surroundings of Mount Toham were still rtively calm. He wasn''t intentionally eavesdropping, but the conversation happened to catch his attention. ¡®That brat¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol knew why Mujahid set out to hunt today. ¡®I¡¯m sure he feels pressured after hearing that Tayarana might have awakened as a Master Rank Hunter.¡¯? He knew very well that Mujahid held great pride in his power and rank. While Mujahid knew he couldn''t defeat Tayarana in a one-on-one battle due to their differentbat styles, he was determined not to lose to her in terms of strength. However, her sudden advancement to a Master Rank Hunter widened the gap between them, which likely left Mujahid conflicted. ¡®Well, hunting for another day won''t make him instantly stronger, but I hope it brings him some peace¡­¡¯? . Han-Yeol strongly believed that releasing stress immediately was the best approach in life. After all, holding onto stress and letting it explodeter at an inconvenient time would affect those around you. Chapter 161: A Miracle Occurs (5)

Chapter 161: A Miracle urs (5)

¡°Alright, let¡¯s start filming from there.¡± ¡°Yes, unni!¡± The Horus raid party''s base camp was quite lively despite it still being daybreak. The Mn crew members were busy filming the Porters as they worked, while also conducting interviews with the Egyptian Hunters. They had already hired three Arabic trantors for Level Up TV, considering that most of Han-Yeol''s hunts were now with the Egyptians. Naturally, Han-Yeol had to endure Yoo-Bi''s nagging once again, as all three of the trantors were women. ¡®I mean¡­ It just turned out that the best candidates were all women¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol felt wronged. He gazed at the tranquil day of the Horus raid party when a sudden recollection of the string of messages he had glimpsed before losing consciousness struck him. Fatigue from the battle had overwhelmed him at the time, discouraging him from investigating further. However, with his mind now clearer, curiosity piqued within him,pelling him to delve into the contents of those messages. ¡®I remember hearing a bunch of notifications. I wonder what it says¡­¡¯?He remembered the piercing sound of the rm ringing multiple times, apanied by a flood of messages that filled his vision at that moment. Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump!? ¡®Status Window!¡¯?With excitement coursing through his veins, Han-Yeol swiftly essed his status window, his heart pounding in anticipation. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 267 Points: 500 STR: 323 VIT: 300 AGI: 305 MAG: 310+219 LCK: 20 Invoke: 300 Charisma: 55 Skills : Dismember (B), [Sword Mastery (M) : sh Strike (M), Head Cutter (B), Vicious Stabs (D)], [Walking (M) : Mana Pouch (C)] Mana Control (M), Mana Mastery (M), Sixth Sense (M), [Restrain (M) : Crowd Restrain (E)], [Body Strengthening (M) : Berserk (E)], Stab (M), Dagger Mastery (B), [Chain Mastery (M) : Tornado Smash (D)], Infinite Library (M), Shield Bash (M), [Fire Attribute (M) : Fire Ball (D)], Mana Explosion (B), Chain Smite (M), [Marksmanship (M) : Homing Bullet (D)], Martial Arts (M), Enchant (A), [Sword Breathe (M) : Explosion (B)], Restore (A), Healing Bullet (B), Enhance Healing (B), Summon Demon (C), Telepathy (M), Power Meditation (B), Psychokinesis (B), Force Shield (A), Cat Walk (A), Mana Absorption (A), Demon Eye (A), Mana Strengthening (B), Mana Bullet (B), Reflect (A), [Enhance (M) : Enhancement Aura (E)], Item Appraisal (C), Trantion (F), Blood Drain (B), Taming (D), Hammer Mastery (E), Hammer Shock (E). ¡®W-What the hell is this?! I gained one hundred levels?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was absolutely stunned after seeing his status window. Adding to his exhration, he discovered that the majority of his skills had increased by one or two ranks. ¡®A-Awesome¡­!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. He had been fighting against formidable monsters in recent days and sensed that his stats were rather inadequate, but that ceased to be a concern after he acquired a hundred levels at once. He prioritized enhancing his STR, AGI, and VIT through training instead of allocating the bonus stat points directly. However, he soon grasped that training had its limitations once he surpassed a certain level. Consequently, the surplus stat points obtained through leveling up provided him with myriad possibilities to enhance his strength. Additionally, upon inspecting his status window, he observed that it was in aplete disarray. ¡®At least, I¡¯m like a hybrid game character but in a good way¡­¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol possessed the ability to engage inbat at melee, mid-range, and long-range distances, all thanks to his extensive skill set. His versatility as a fighter stemmed from his open-mindedness in acquiring various skills during the initial stages of his training. This allowed him to develop into a well-roundedbatant. ¡®It¡¯s good that I have a lot of skills, but¡­ I have quite a few that I don¡¯t need¡­ It would be great if I could erase skills I don¡¯t need or have a way to tidy up my skill list¡­¡¯?he thought while going through his numerous skills. Han-Yeol possessed many skills, which meant that he was bound to have a few he did not need. Initially, he thought there was no harm in having more skills, but over time, the number of his skills increased, including some that he had stopped using a long time ago. ¡®I understand that it''s simr to a game system, but there are significant differencespared to a regr game. Nowadays, many games offer yers the option to buy items using cash in order to reset or erase specific skills. However, since I haven''t invested any points in those skills, it would be a major mistake if they were to be reset.¡¯? The saying that human greed knew no limits was the perfect quote to describe him. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol remained unperturbed by his own greed, as he considered it to be quite normal. ¡®A human being is bound to adapt to their situation and needs. Anyone will feel discontent once they settle in their situation.¡¯?He soon shrugged the thought off. It could be said that this was both good and bad, as it meant that he was thirsty to be stronger. However, not being content was bound to cause him stress whenever he failed to solve a problem. That was the reason he came up with the mindset to ignore the things he cannot fix and focus all of his energy on things that he can fix. ¡®I should distribute my stats now. Hmm¡­ Which one should I focus on¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol merrily thought. This was one of the moments that he looked forward to the most. ¡®I should invest one hundred points into Invoke.¡¯ He had approximately one hundred Invokes'' leeway to summon another intermediate demon, but he never knew when he would need another or a stronger demon. Therefore, he decided to increase his buffer to two hundred Invokes. Shwaaaa¡­! A change urred in the mana that surrounded his body after he invested one hundred points into Invoke. The stat Invoke was technically the power of demons and held a darker attributepared to mana. It was understandable why a change in Han-Yeol¡¯s mana would ur after he invested one hundred points into this stat. ¡®I have four hundred bonus stat points left¡­ I should divide it equally among STR, VIT, and AGI,¡¯?he quickly allocated the stats and felt a surge of mana in his body. ¡°Fwaah¡­¡±? He felt exceptionally well. A distinct sensation of ecstasy engulfed his body upon investing all three hundred points at once. With one hundred bonus stat points left, he wondered, ¡®Should I put this in MAG or in Charisma?¡¯ It was quite the dilemma for him, as he could simply increase his MAG by absorbing mana from mana stones, but then he would be ''using'' a lot of mana stones in the process. He was already using up a lot of the mana stones he hunted, thanks to Enhance, and a situation where he would use more mana stones than what he gained from hunts could ur in the future. ¡®Ugh¡­ I guess there¡¯s no choice¡­ I¡¯m going all-in on Charisma!¡¯? However, he decided to invest his stat points into Charisma instead. ¡®It''s unfortunate that I''ll be using the mana stones, but I can hunt for them or purchase them with money. On the other hand, it''s impossible for me to buy stat points...¡¯? Selling mana stones to another person was officially illegal, but that didn''t mean it was impossible. There were numerous loopholes one could exploit, or they could buy them from smugglersing from other countries. ¡®Hmm¡­ I should probably depend on smugglers for the time being¡­¡¯? There were several countries that did not change their government policies even after the dimensional gates appeared. For instance, the few remainingmunist states only altered their economic stance to capitalism while maintaining theirmitment tomunism for social issues. These countries typically had a sufficient number of Hunters to gather mana stones, but they were obligated to sell the mana stones to their government at a low price. In return, their government utilized the stockpile of mana stones to export various products to other countries or present them as diplomatic gifts to enhance their country''s reputation. It was not an inherently negative narrative, but it created an opportunity for individuals to purchase mana stones from the Hunters, albeit illegally, as long as they paid more than what their government offered. There were a significant number of Hunters from these countries who preferred to sell the mana stones at a higher price rather than selling them to the government, as humans naturally prioritize their own well-being above all else. ¡®I should ask Albert to find me a dealer.¡¯?He recalled hearing from somewhere that the majority of these smugglers preferred to conduct their transactions in US dors rather than their own local currency. The likely reason behind this preference was that they used the proceeds to acquire superior equipment from first-world countries. p! p! ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros flew up to Han-Yeol after he finished allocating his bonus stat points. ¡°Hey, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± p! p! p! p!? Mavros pped his wings to show that he was fine, and Han-Yeol could not help but find his pet dragon to be extremely adorable. *** Two months passed quite quickly. It was revealed that the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was a treasure in itself after the research team from Egypt conducted their research on its remains. One of the biggest treasures in the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s body was the precious metal it was made of, and this precious metal was something that the metals found on Earth could notpare to. The Egyptian team of researchers coined the name "mana metal" for this newly discovered precious metal. The mana metal possessed much greater durabilitypared to normal metals, and it had the ability to generate mana by itself without receiving it from an external source. The research team was in a festive mood after their discovery. On the other hand, the Korean Hunters'' Association was about to die from envy. Still, the association did its best in the two months to better support their raid parties, and this allowed the Master Rank Hunters to hunt down all six remaining boss monsters. The Korean Government was ted after obtaining all six boss monster corpses, and they confidently proimed on the news that the looming financial disaster was going to be averted thanks to these treasures. The news was widely received by the general public, but that did not change the public''s opinion as they knew that there were no benefits for them no matter how many boss monsters the Hunters brought down. Why? Simple, everything the Hunters hunted was monopolized by the Hunters, the association, and the conglomerates. ¡°Tsk tsk¡­?This is why Korea isn''t developing. The people have realized that they have been lied to for far too long, and they have started writing negativements on such good news,¡± Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled while reading the news on his tablet PC. He had just gotten out of the shower and was now in his bathrobe. Han-Yeol had be one of the wealthiest people in South Korea, with a worth of over four trillion won, and it was quickly approaching five trillion won. ¡®Tsk¡­ This is why I don¡¯t feel like reading the news these days¡­¡¯?he grumbled inwardly once again. As mentioned before, Han-Yeol had stopped reading the news due to being upied with various interesting activities. However, the main reason behind his decision was that reading negative news andments spoiled his mood and caused unnecessary stress. He believed it was unnecessary to subject himself to such negativity. Nevertheless, he still asionally read the news to stay informed about current events, but he couldn''t help feeling frustrated when he encountered distressing news articles. Despite his newfound wealth and status as one of the elite in the country, he had spent nearly thirty years living in poverty as a nobody. His financial sess over the past year hadn''t changed his mindset from that of amoner to that of a "noble." Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol swiped his finger across the tablet screen, turning to the next page. This time, he found himself in the entertainment section, and the headline immediately caught his attention. [Yun-nim has once again donated one million blocks of charcoal for the needy.] ¡®Wow, this guy is really generous,¡¯?he thought. As winter approached, South Korea was experiencing a drop in temperature, and the cold was bing more pronounced. However, a concerning issue arose as the news article exined that many people were struggling with financial difficulties and unable to keep warm. The article highlighted that those who couldn''t afford orcked ess to gas lines resorted to using blocks of charcoal as a means to heat themselves during the harsh winter. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I donate charcoal too¡­?¡¯?he wondered. Ever since he was young, Han-Yeol had developed a habit of giving. Although the amounts he donated might not have been substantial, he made it a point to consistently contribute thirty thousand won to non-profit organizations whenever he had the opportunity. However, his charitable giving came to a halt after his father fell ill and required hospitalization. ¡®Well, I guess thirty thousand won can¡¯t be considered a significant donation now¡­¡¯?he thought before he reached for his phone on his ss coffee table and called hiswyer. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­? [Aigoo~ Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! How have you been?] ¡°Hello,wyer-nim. Is it a good time for you to talk?¡± [Haha! Yes, I am free right now. Thew firm is running smoothly, thanks to thewyers we hired with your investment. My only job is to be on standby for anything you would require, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! Hahaha!] L Law Firm was on a roll these days, and it was the fastest-growingw firm in the legal industry. The firm used Han-Yeol''s initial investment of one billion won to grow its operations, and his additional investment of one hundred billion won gave it the money to recruit the best talents avable. It went without saying that its revenue was quite high as it was aw firm specializing in dealing with Hunter-rted matters, and the fact that it was legally representing and advising the Horus raid party in Korea catapulted it to the top of the industry. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of making some charitable donations.¡± [Oh! That is indeed a noble act. The future of our country is bright since such an outstanding Hunter like you has a heart for ordinary people! Hahaha!] Han-Yeol thought that Lawyer Han always had an intense personality. [So, how much are you nning to donate?] ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han-Yeol pondered for a while. He never thought about how much he was going to donate, but there was that method he had read from books when he was young, and he dreamt of doing it himself one day. No, it was not by doing physical volunteer work as he could not be bothered to do that. In fact, the only time he ever worked as a volunteer was during his school days when he needed to gathermunity service points to pass. He was the type who preferred to donate money instead, and this worked quite well for him even in his younger days. He felt extremely good about himself whenever people praised him for being generous when he told them that he consistently donated thirty thousand won without having to do anyborious work. Some people might call him out for being a hypocrite, but they would not be able to use him of being a bad person at least, since giving something was always better than giving nothing. Chapter 162: The Reason for Leaders of Society (1)

Chapter 162: The Reason for Leaders of Society (1)

Han-Yeol suddenly found it difficult to trust the charity organizations now that he had decided to donate his money. ¡®The only one I can trust is UNICEF, but I want my donation to stay in the country if possible¡­¡¯?he thought. Quite a few international organizations were disbanded after the dimensional gates appeared, but important ones like the United Nations remained. One such organization was UNICEF, which was also a part of the United Nations. UNICEF was an organization helping children all over the world, so there was no need for it to be disbanded. Most countries made a fortune after the emergence of dimensional gates, thanks to the mana stones they harvested from them. However, there were still many people living in poverty. It was the same in the past. The industrial revolution and the twenty-first century signaled the start of the "affluent era" of the world, but poverty remained due to the concentration of wealth. This was no different after the emergence of mana stones, and that was the reason UNICEF remained one of the most important organizations in the world to this day. Han-Yeol would have donated to UNICEF without a thought, but he wanted to help his country this time. He saw a lot of things and learned a lot of things while working as a Hunter, and he realized that South Korea might appear to be all well on the outside, but there were severe underlying issues hidden from the public''s eye. ¡®The issue with Porters is a huge one that needs to change.¡¯?He personally experienced the severity of the problem after Yoo-Bi awakened and graduated from being his Porter. Moreover, there were numerous discussions onmunity forums where peopleined about the increasing difficulty, if not the impossibility, of finding Porters these days. This was the reason Han-Yeol wanted to use his donation to address social problems rather than simply giving them to a charitable organization. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of establishing a private school.¡± [What?! A private school?!] Lawyer Han Min was taken aback by Han-Yeol''s words. He had anticipated that Han-Yeol would donate a substantial sum to assist underprivileged children, but he never imagined that Han-Yeol would propose something like this. "I don''t intend to establish an ordinary private school," Han-Yeol stated. "I want to establish a private school specifically for Hunters and Porters¡ªa ce where children can receiveprehensive elementary, middle, and high school education, and ultimately graduate as professionals in this industry." [Haha... The way you think is on a whole different level. I thought you were going to donate a few hundred million to impoverished children, but I never imagined that you would think of something like this.] ¡°Ah, I do n to donate around one billion won to impoverished children and elderly living in poverty.¡± [As expected¡­] Lawyer Han Min nodded in agreement after Han-Yeol mentioned the donation he had initially expected to hear from him. Truth be told, Han-Yeol would have normally stopped after donating a few billion to help the poor. However, the problem was that he spent too much time with Tayarana and Mariam, which changed his way of thinking. The addition of Mujahid further elerated that process. The group he associated with consisted mainly of societal leaders, and he was naturally beginning to be shaped into one himself. "Oh, I don''t n to donate that money to an existing foundation." [Then¡­?] ¡°I need you to establish a welfare foundation for me.¡± [Hmm... With all due respect, it is unnecessary to open a foundation just to donate one billion won. Ah, there are many foundations in the country that pose as charitable organizations, but they were primarily established for the purpose of moneyundering and embezzlement. However, I am aware of a foundation that maintains integrity, so you may donate your money there.] ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± [Pardon me¡­?] ¡°I meant I was nning to donate one billion won every month.¡± [K-Kuheok!?A m-monthly donation of one billion won?!] ¡°Yes,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied while wondering why hiswyer was so shocked. [T-Then, you are absolutely right that we need a foundation to manage all of that. Even a foundation with integrity is run by people, after all, so it will be hard for them to resist dipping their fingers in twelve billion won every year. It will be very difficult for most people not to embezzle that much money¡­] "Yes, that is the reason why I want to establish my own. I cannot stand the thought of those people using my money for themselves. There is also the issue of opening a private school, so I think we can solve both problems with this." Lawyer Han Min was tongue-tied after seeing how Han-Yeol wanted to spend his money. He was flustered for a while, but he soonposed himself and sprung into action. This was the main reason Han-Yeol invested a huge sum in him. He was extremely good at doing the things Han-Yeol requested, and he was discerning enough not to stab Han-Yeol in the back for quick bucks. After all, he was not foolish enough to ughter the goose thatid golden eggs. [Yes, I understand. I will immediately start establishing the foundation, but you will have to decide on its name to speed things up. Of course, I can name it whatever I want if you want me to, but a foundation holds valuable meaning, so...] ¡°Hmm¡­ You¡¯re right¡­ Then, please name it Mavros Welfare Foundation.¡± ¡°Kyu?¡±?Mavros looked up at Han-Yeol and tilted his head in confusion upon hearing his name mentioned. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? ¡°Kyu~¡± Han-Yeol patted Mavros while still on the phone. Then, the ck dragon let out a satisfied cry as it went back to sleep. The ck dragon was much more valiant and stronger than most creatures when it grew big, but it was quite cute in its small form. [Yes, I understand. It will be difficult to finish it right away, as establishing a foundation that will run a private school is quite tricky. However, I will ensure that it gets done as soon as possible. I will send you a report once it has been established.] ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± [Then, I wish you a pleasant day, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.] ¡°Yes, you too,wyer-nim.¡± [Goodbye.] Beep. Han-Yeol ended the call first. He was fifteen years younger than Lawyer Han Min, but he was more senior when it came to their social standing, so Lawyer Han Min had to wait for Han-Yeol to end the call first. After ending the call, Han-Yeoly down on the sofa. He was not going out on hunts to rest, but that did not mean he was not busy. A Hunter''s schedule usually consisted of going out on hunts, but Han-Yeol had a lot of things he started, so he had to manage all of those. On top of that, he had been getting a lot of visitors in recent days thanks to his peculiar abilities. Ding dong! Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep! A neatly dressed man pressed the doorbell instead of knocking before entering and entering the passcode to Han-Yeol''s house. It was the secretary whom Han-Yeol hired to kick-start his social activities. "What''s the matter, Secretary Kim?" Han-Yeol asked. "It is almost time for you to meet the delegation from the United States, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± "Oh, is it that time already?" "Yes.¡± Han-Yeol personally picked Secretary Kim from a pool of candidates. He posted a notice on South Korea''srgest job site, stating that he was hiring a personal assistant with an annual sry of three hundred million won, along with bonuses and incentives. More than twelve thousand people applied for the position. The man standing before Han-Yeol, Jason Kim, emerged as the victor in the fiercepetition of 1:12,000. He graduated from Harvard with an MBA, making him an elite among elites. Numerous multinational corporations in the United States sought to employ him, but he chose to return to his birth country. However, South Korea did not prove to be as promising as he had anticipated. Jason found it extremely challenging to adapt to the rigid and toxic workce culture of the country. Although it was now toote for him to return to the United States, he was left without a job. Then, Han-Yeol''s post appeared like a ray of salvation, prompting Jason to immediately apply for the position. He was confident that his credentials would secure him the job, but his spirits quickly dwindled upon arriving for the interview and witnessing the presence of numerous exceptionally attractive women. ¡®He is hiring a secretary, so even I would prefer a young, beautiful woman instead of a man... I mean, there must be something wrong with him if he chose a man, right...?¡¯?hemented inside. However, he was soon surprised and overjoyed when he heard that he had been hired. He did not expect the work to be easy, as there was no way someone would offer a sry of three hundred million won if the work were easy in the first ce. But he was resolved to do whatever it took to keep his new job. Fortunately, his new employer was not as rigid as the people in Korean offices, which allowed him to easily adapt to his new workce. "Okay, shall we get going?" "I will prepare the car." "Alright, thanks." Secretary Kim bowed before going to arrange Han-Yeol¡¯s car and driver. Han-Yeol did not really like the idea of having someone chauffeur him around, but he was not going on a personal matter but a business matter, so he decided to hire one so that he could spend the time reviewing documents while on the way to the meeting. Frankly speaking, he did not hire a driver but paid an additional sry to one of the Gurkhas to be his personal chauffeur. Purva suggested having one of the Gurkhas be his driver since that would reduce their risk from hiring an outsider. He exined that the Gurkhas were trained bodyguards who were quite skilled behind the wheel, which easily convinced Han-Yeol. However, Purva refused Han-Yeol¡¯s offer to pay an extra sry to the Gurkha, saying that this was also part of their job. But Han-Yeol insisted on paying them more. In the end, his stubbornness to give more money further increased the loyalty these warriors had for him. After all, there was no way an employee was going to refuse more money from their employer, right? Han-Yeol got into the backseat of the car, and Secretary Kim got into the front passenger seat. ¡°How long will the drive be?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°It will be around one hour and thirty minutes.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­?We could have met in Seoul¡­ Why did they insist on meeting all the way at Pyeongtaek¡­?¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I wonder myself¡­¡± ¡°Do they get a kick out of bothering people¡­?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± The guests were referred to as guests from the United States, but they were actually members of the secret Hunter organization that Han-Yeol was well acquainted with. He kept in touch with Scarlett after theirst meeting, so he knew that she was not going to be present this time as she was currently busy on Jeju Ind for another mission. ¡®Tsk¡­ Too bad¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue in regret after not being able to forget the steamy night they had spent together. It was not the first time he had engaged in sexual intercourse, but it was the first time he had ever felt his entire body melting into hers. Then, he realized that it was the first time in his life he had experienced ''real sex''. ¡®Ah¡­ I want to spend the night with her again¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol felt a bit awkward whenever he had these kinds of thoughts. He knew that Scarlett was an attractive woman, and he knew that she was way out of his league if he had never awakened as a Hunter. However, the only feelings he had toward her were of sexual lust, and he did not particrly feel like being romantically involved with her. ¡®It¡¯s really strange¡­ Scarlett is beautiful enough that I should be begging her to date me, but¡­ I don¡¯t really feel like dating her. Hmm¡­?Is this perhaps a side-effect of my ability¡­?¡¯?he wondered. However, he immediately shook his head and thought, ¡®No, there is no way. I gave up on Yoo-Bi, but I had feelings for her back then, so that is not possible.¡¯ In the end, he decided to give up on thinking about it. ¡®Well, what gives?¡¯ he thought. ¡®I''m not going to get married now, and I still have a lot of time on my hands. Let''s just go with the flow for now.¡¯ It was revealed that a Hunter could live up to two hundred years old. Han-Yeol was only thirty years old, so he still had one hundred seventy years remaining to worry about being in a rtionship. ¡°Kyu~¡± ¡°Yes yes.¡± Time passed quickly as he patted Mavros while thetter mored for his affection. ¡®Ah¡­ I would¡¯ve reached Pyeongtaek in a heartbeat if I flew with Mavros¡­¡¯?He suddenly thought of inquiring with the government about the possibility of obtaining a flying permit for Mavros. In the meantime, he used the time in the car to open hisptop and envision his ns for the future. ¡®I¡¯ll put my business with Yoo-Bi at the top of the list¡­ Selling monster pets is quite a lucrative business, but I¡¯m dealing with living creatures here¡­ I can¡¯t abuse it for the sake of money¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol was an animal lover, despite not looking like one. Of course, he believed that it was only right to kill all of the wild monsters since they attacked people. However, the monsters that he hatched from the eggs were no different from pets, which made him cautious about turning it into a business. He regarded it as sending pets to a forever home after selling them for one trillion won to his close associates. However, turning this into a business was going to require strict rules. ¡®Well, Yoo-Bi is growing quickly, so I should try making a proper business model for her,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol had never considered starting a business before, as he was satisfied with the ie he earned as a Hunter. However, everything changed after he joined the Horus raid party and encountered Tayarana and Mariam. Through them, he discovered the pleasure of spending money and also the pleasure of making money. Subsequently, he quickly grasped the concept of making money work for him, fueling his desire to initiate a business venture. ¡®Besides, I have to strive to be the best if I start a business, right?¡¯? Han-Yeol retained the same mindset he had when he first became a Hunter. He possessed a determined nature, always striving to excel in any endeavor he pursued, be it academics, games, or even hobbies. However, it should be noted that he was not naturally talented in his studies, games, or even in having a hobby before his awakening as a Hunter. Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­? Time passed quite quickly after he started typing on hisptop. ¡°Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We have arrived.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Han-Yeol found himself in a noiseless electric sedan, a stark contrast to his usual preference for loudbustion engine sports cars. They were currently situated in a tranquil area of Pyeongtaek, characterized by a dense concentration of residential buildings. ¡°¡­¡± Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­? Even after the car came to a stop, Han-Yeol remained engrossed in typing on hisptop. Secretary Kim and the driver refrained from interrupting him, well aware that whenever the sound of his typing grew louder, it meant that Han-Yeol was in the midst of conceiving a brilliant idea. ¡®Ah, Ipletely forgot about it. It would be awesome if we could create a self-sufficient mana vehicle. The current mana vehicles on the market require the Hunters to inject their mana into them from time to time, and that means the ultra-wealthy people who haven''t awakened can''t use them unless they hire a Hunter.¡¯ There were vehicles running on mana, but those vehicles were extremely inconvenient to use. Not all Hunters possessed the ability to control their mana, so the number of people who could actually use them was quite limited. Additionally, their fuel efficiency was really bad, making their purpose more about showing off than actually using them as a mode of transportation. ¡®The vehicle has the potential to be extremely efficient if we design it properly, and this sounds like something that I should discuss with Yoo-Bi.¡¯ Tak! Han-Yeol finally closed hisptop after typing down all of his ideas. Chapter 163: The Reason for Leaders of Society (2)

Chapter 163: The Reason for Leaders of Society (2)

¡°Secretary Kim.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°It is two fifteen.¡± ¡°I see, we aren¡¯tte then.¡± ¡°Yes, we are not.¡± Han-Yeol got out of the car and used Demon Eyes to check his surroundings. He then spotted three Hunters giving off powerful mana at the meeting ce, but¡­ ¡®I guess the Americans always cover their bases,¡¯?he thought after scanning his surroundings. He found that the three Hunters were not alone despite being extremely powerful. There were twenty other Hunters in the vicinity, and Han-Yeol could tell that these American Hunters were together no matter how hard they tried to pretend they were not, thanks to Demon Eyes. Also, it was quite easy for him to tell as this area in Pyeongtaek was densely popted with ordinary people, and it was quite rare to find Hunters here. It was possible to see one or two Hunters in the area, but seeing twenty at once made it quite obvious that there was something going on here. ¡®Not that it matters.¡¯?He shrugged off the thought. He was not sure what was going to happenter on, but he was certain that the United States was not his enemy for now. He was currently closer with Egypt than the United States, but both of those countries were on friendly terms, so it did not really matter. However, the reason that Han-Yeol was not particrly concerned was that¡­ ¡®Those twenty-three Hunters won¡¯t be able to do anything against me now that?I have gained?one hundred levels,¡¯?he confidently thought. He was on good terms with the United States, but there was no way to guarantee that nothing was going to happen. Still, he was extremely confident that he could win against all twenty-three Hunters lurking around. ¡°Let¡¯s go. You wait in the car, Purva.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Jason tranted in English to Purva, and the mercenary bowed in typical Korean fashion to Han-Yeol before going back into the car. The Purva that was driving was different from the leader, Purva. It was quitemon for Nepalese people to have the same name due to their culture, so it was going to be easier to differentiate the two by calling them Driver Purva and Team Leader Purva. Han-Yeol went up the elevator with Jason and arrived at the meeting ce. Ding¡­ Dong¡­! ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°My name is Lee Han-Yeol?¡± Han-Yeol replied. He thought, ¡®Look at these bastards asking that question when they know full?well that?it¡¯s me.¡¯ Heughed in disbelief to see that they were feigning ignorance despite being aware of what was going on. Beep¡­! A white-haired middle-aged man opened the door for Han-Yeol. ¡°Oh, hello,¡± he greeted Han-Yeol with a hint that made it sound like he was oblivious of the meeting. Han-Yeol went into the unit and saw two men who were acting quite obviously like secret agents. He then thought, ¡®Well, it could be because I already knew that they were secret agents¡­¡¯? [So, what does the United States want from Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?] Of course, Secretary Kim was tranting for Han-Yeol since that was his main purpose for tagging along to this meeting after all. Han-Yeol went straight to the point as he was not the type that liked to beat around the bush. [Hmm¡­ I wish to congratte you first. Ah, my name is Paul.] [Ah, okay¡­] [I heard that you have sessfully raided a boss monster that appeared in South Korea with only S Rank Hunters. I think both South Korea and Egypt have a bright future ahead of them! Haha!] Han-Yeol went straight to the point, but the American Hunter decided to beat around the bush. [Thank you, but we just got lucky, that¡¯s all. I was hoping to see Scarlett, but is she busy somewhere else?] That did not mean that Han-Yeol was an impatient fool who only knew how to get straight to the point. He was quite skilled at beating around the bush if that was how his counterpart wanted to proceed with things. Secretary Kim tried his best to precisely trante everything Han-Yeol said. Most trantors usually tweaked the words they were supposed to convey, but Secretary Kim was not a professional trantor, so he focused on rying exactly what Han-Yeol said word for word. [Hahaha! I heard that Scarlett has a ¡®hot¡¯ rtionship with Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. I guess it was true!] [Well, I can say it¡¯s notpletely false.] Their meaningless chatter went on for a while, and it was only when enough time had passed that they finally went for the main agenda. [The United States wishes to purchase ten monster pets from you.] [Ten monster pets¡­] [Our credible sources told us that Han-Yeol Hunter-nim possesses numerous other abilities aside from taming monsters, and we have decided toe to you directly for that matter.] [Oh, that¡¯s indeed great news.] [However, we would like to request that you only deal with our government when exporting any of your creations. We cannot risk cing such a valuable ability in the hands of a single private corporation.] [Well, I will think about it in a positive manner.] [Hahaha! You are quite easy to talk to! I would have asked you for a ss of whiskey if we were not meeting on official terms.] [Really?] [Yes! Hahaha!] Fortunately, the discussion went smoother than Han-Yeol expected it to be. The requests of the United States were not as bad as what Han-Yeol expected, so he figured that granting them a few of their requests and making them his ally was not a bad idea at all. [So, do you ept our request to purchase ten monster pets?] ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯ On the other hand, Han-Yeol had some concerns regarding this matter. The United States Government, as he knew it, was likely not purchasing these ten pet monsters with good intentions in mind. They were probably nning to use them as test subjects, hoping to determine if they could also tame monsters. Han-Yeol had already made up his mind to prioritize ethical considerations, but the current issue was that the other party held significant power. Although he had gained one hundred levels and be vastly strongerpared to his previous self, it still wasn''t enough to provoke the United States as an enemy. Well, it didn''t mean that refusing to sell them the ten monster pets would instantly turn them into enemies, but it would certainly lead toplications in the future. ¡®Well... I suppose I have no choice. I can''t suddenly startbeling monster pets as animal pets and advocate for animal rights out of nowhere... Selling them for the highest possible price seems to be my only option.¡¯ Han-Yeol felt a slight pang in his conscience, but he reasoned that immediate profit would outweigh ethical considerations. ¡®Yeah, monsters already fall outside the boundaries of ethics, so I can''t pass up personal gains just because of that.¡¯ He acknowledged that he couldn''t always rely on his conscience to navigate this world. He needed to know when to set aside his moralpass for substantial gains. Moreover, animal testing had been prevalent worldwide, so acting on conscience in this particr case wouldn''t make a significant difference. In fact, conducting tests could provide valuable insights into monsters, benefiting humanity as a whole and potentially safeguarding them from future dangers. Recent events, such as dimensional holes and rifts, had caused numerous strange urrences, making every country in the world cautious about monsters. Han-Yeol chose to perceive the United States'' interest in purchasing the monster pets as an intent to conduct tests on them. Upon making such a decision, he said, ¡°Alright, I will sell ten monster pets to the United States Government.¡± Secretary Kim tranted what Han-Yeol said directly to the American Hunter. [Oh! As expected, you truly are a nice guy, Mr. Lee! Hahaha! I never expected you to make your decision on the spot!] [However.] [???] [The price will be three billion dors per monster pet.] [!!!] The American Hunter couldn''t help but be astounded by the price tag mentioned by Han-Yeol. [W-We are certain that you charged one billion dors per monster pet to the three Egyptians, but why did the price triple in such a short period?!] It was only natural for Paul to be offended by the sudden increase in price, but only amateurs in negotiations would think that way. [It is only right for the price to increase. Why are you feigning ignorance?] [Ehem¡­?Ah, still... three billion dors for each monster pet would amount to a total of thirty billion dors! That''s too much!] The grammar in the provided text is correct: The budget of the United States Government was around nine quadrillion dors, so thirty billion dors was a drop in the bucket for them. However, it did not change the fact that paying that amount to a single person was going to cause quite a stir. Nevertheless, the United States needed to acquire the monster pets at all costs for conducting tests. They were undoubtedly still the world''s best, but in today''s world where mana stones existed, there were numerous uncertain variables. When the dimensional gates first appeared thirty years ago, the world was plunged into great peril, and the United States experienced a deeply shameful moment in their history. Despite being hailed as the world''s greatest superpower, they couldn''t defeat a single monster on their own, dealing a severe blow to their pride. Having to depend on aliens and ept their assistance further exacerbated the damage to their reputation. The realm of mana was incredibly mysterious, rendering modern-day science useless in its presence. It was as if the world had to learn everything from scratch when it came to mana, and that necessitated extensive research on monsters. This was the primary reason why obtaining these monster pets was crucial for the United States Government. [Hmm... three billion dors per pet... I will report it to my superiors for now, but please be aware that it is still a very burdensome price¡­] The budget allocated to Paul for this mission was only ten billion dors, so he needed to obtain permission from his government to agree to the thirty billion dors that Han-Yeol was asking for. [Sure, as you like.] On the other hand, Han-Yeol was not bothered at all since there were plenty of other customers willing to pay the amount he was asking for if the United States government refused to meet his asking price. Besides, he could hatch a monster pet anytime he wanted as long as he had a monster egg, the fruit, and mana, so losing a client wasn''t a big deal for him. [Oh right, Mr. Lee.] [Yes?] [I suggest that you visit the United States when you have time. Our country would be more than d to wee you.] [Haha! Alright, I will think about it. I have always wanted to visit the United States, after all.] [Oh! That is truly good news for us! Hahaha!] The discussion with Paul concluded. Han-Yeol felt a bit troubled by the fact that he sold the monster pets, fully aware that they would be used as test subjects. However, he chose to shrug it off since he ultimately benefited from the transaction. While the profit he stood to gain was significant, the most valuable oue for him was establishing rtions with the United States. They might attempt to negotiate the price, but in the end, he would remain firm, considering this a virtual monopoly market for him. ¡®The price will decrease if I sell arge quantity of them, so I''ll have to sell them gradually at a high price to ensure that their value remains high. Moreover, if I know that there aren''t many of them avable, my conscience won''t be as troubled. However, it would be a good idea to donate a portion of my profits to wildlife foundations...¡¯? Han-Yeol understood that killing the goose thatid golden eggs was not an option, but he also recognized that refusing to take the golden eggs would be foolish. With the emergence of monsters, many people in the world were suffering. However, there were even more animals suffering due to the loss of their habitats and bing prey to the monsters. Numerous organizations were dedicated to protecting these wildlife species, and Han-Yeol made the decision to donate to them in order to alleviate some of his guilty conscience. [I hope we can meet again and have a great time.] [I hope so too, and I hope that Scarlett will be here to join us next time.] [Hahaha!] Paul thoroughly enjoyed his conversation with Han-Yeol. Despite Han-Yeol''s direct approach, Paul''s experience helped lighten the atmosphere and made the conversation flow smoothly between them. They had a wonderful time together. [Then, I will take my leave now.] [Okay, please don''t hesitate to reach out if you need anything from the United States.] [Thank you.] Han-Yeol shook hands with Paul before leaving the unit. Secretary Kim''s eyes sparkled with admiration as they traveled back to Seoul. "You were truly amazing, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! I had only seen you in videos, but I never imagined you would be so confident when dealing with the American Government!" he eximed, his gaze filled with reverence as he looked at Han-Yeol. What kind of country was the United States? They were the world''s greatest superpower, unafraid to wage wars if it served their interests. They were both a righteous ruler and a tyrant, possessing unmatched power that no other country could stand against. . China had long sought to surpass the United States as the global superpower, but they had failed to catch up in technology, particrly in harnessing mana stones, a crucial factor in determining a country''s strength in the present era. In other words, the United States remained the strongest country in the world, whether before or after the emergence of the dimensional gates, and Han-Yeol stood on equal footing with their government. Secretary Kim, being born in the United States, knew firsthand how formidable they were. Seeing a single individual standing up to them made Han-Yeol seem godlike in his eyes. "Well, it''s not so strange considering they are striving to solidify their position as the greatest superpower. They weren''t particrly respectful to me because of my strength or anything, but rather because they needed my ability," Han-Yeol replied nonchntly, shrugging his shoulders. Perhaps it was destined for the United States to be the greatest superpower, as the top three strongest Master Rank Hunters in the world were all Americans. Of course, this ranking was unofficial, as Master Rank Hunters never shed with each other directly. The prohibition against shes between Master Rank Hunters was rooted in the understanding that such conflicts would result in cataclysmic destruction, capable of toppling mountains and rending the earth. Consequently, it was deemed illegal under internationalw for Master Rank Hunters to engage in directbat. Instead, any disputes were to be resolved through the International Hunter Tribunal, a legal requirement that all Master Rank Hunters were obliged to abide by. However, despite these regtions, the age-old habit of ranking individuals persisted among people. The media, fueled by the desire for views and attention, yed a significant role in creating and promoting rankings of Master Rank Hunters worldwide. Nevertheless, ording to various news outlets, the top three Hunters in the world were all Americans. "That does make sense. After all, the United States was the first country to establish negotiations with the aliens, granting them the opportunity to be the first nation to subdue the dimensional gates within their borders. Moreover, they quickly discovered the awakening process, enabling them to exponentially increase their Hunter poption during the early days. It''s evident when you consider that they possess a third of China''s Hunter count, despite having only a sixteenth of China''s poption." "But the crucial point here is that I am the only one capable of taming monster pets." "Yes, and it has truly dawned on me how remarkable the Hunter I am currently serving is." "You''re only realizing it now?" "Well..." "Hahaha!" Han-Yeol finally rxed on the journey home after concluding the meeting with the Americans. Chapter 164: The Reason for Leaders of Society (3)

Chapter 164: The Reason for Leaders of Society (3)

[Hyung-nim~ Hyung-nim~] [What is it, Mujahid?] [Are you really not going?] [I¡¯m busy.] [Ah~ Don''t be like that, hyung-nim. You haven''t hunted for nearly two months now. Why don''t we go and hunt together for old time''s sake, or you can just cast Enhance on me if you don''t feel like hunting~] Mujahid might be extremely easygoing, but he was not the type to cling to someone else. However, the reason he was pestering Han-Yeol to go hunting was none other than his Enhance skill. After all, anyone who tasted Enhance would find it difficult to return to normal, and this was especially true for the prince. Mujahid, being a battle-obsessed maniac, was bound to be addicted to the effects of Enhance. [I can¡¯t. I¡¯m busy.] [I will supply the mana stones.] [I¡¯m really busy. Let¡¯s go next time.] Mujahid was not simply a hunter, but he was a prince as well, so he was educated with basic mannerisms, and he knew when he had to back off. He was the son of a concubine, but that did not matter since all children of the pharaoh were considered legitimate heirs. This, in turn, ensured that he received the best education avable. [Hoo¡­ Alright, I guess I have no choice if you¡¯re so adamant about not going¡­ But you have to promise me that you¡¯re going to go hunt with me, okay?] [Sure.] [Alright, let¡¯s go, Furion!] ¡°Kyaoh!¡±? Arge ck panther, nesting on top of a tree, jumped down at Mujahid''s call and rubbed its head against his waist. For the past two months, Mujahid had been focusing all his efforts on making Furion grow stronger, just like he had witnessed Han-Yeol do. During the initial few days of hunting, the results were not abundant. However, Mujahid soon realized that Mavros had consumed the remains of the gigantic lizard, which technically belonged to the same reptile species. This prompted him to shift his focus to hunting monsters simr to Furion. Subsequently, Furion started to react in a manner reminiscent of Mavros, and the ck panther finally evolved. Nheless, there was one striking difference between the two: Mavros had the ability to change his size at will, while Furion remained stuck at the same size. Fortunately, Mujahid was not the kind of person to concern himself with trivial matters like this. Han-Yeol, initially curious about his nonchnt attitude toward his pet''s size, decided to inquire about it. However, the response he received was a true reflection of Mujahid''s character. [Because big is cool!] [Haha¡­ Is that so?] [Yes, Furion might resemble a ck panther, but hisrge fangs and strong muscles set him apart from a typical ck panther. Additionally, I cannot possibly fight alongside a weak ck panther, but Furion is formidable and powerful! Haha!] Han-Yeol felt relieved that Mujahid was bonding well with the monster pet he had purchased from him. However, at the same time, his conscience was starting to bother him. ¡®They¡¯re probably going to end up bing test subjects once I sell them¡­¡¯?he thought. Certainly, as long as the United States was willing to offer the right price, Han-Yeol''s decision to sell the monster pets would not be swayed. [But are you going somewhere, hyung-nim?] [I¡¯m going to Yoo-Bi.] [I noticed that you¡¯re spending a lot of time with that woman named Yoo-Bi. Are you abandoning noonim by any chance?] [What nonsense are you talking about¡­?] ¡®Is there something between Tayarana and me that I¡¯m not aware of¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but wonder after hearing Mujahid¡¯s question. [Ah, it¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t mind me, I was just joking. Hahaha¡­] [What was that all about¡­?] There was a peculiar expression on Mujahid''s face, but Han-Yeol chose not to dwell on it too much, knowing that the prince could be quite yful at times. Han-Yeol promptly headed toward the area beside Sung Jin Factory, which now served as Yoo-Bi''s workshop. The hangar he had initially constructed for her had gradually transformed into a space where she created intricate inventions, which led Han-Yeol to wholeheartedly support her endeavors. "Secretary Kim." "Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?" "What about the matter I asked about?" "Wepleted all the preparations four days ago. The unmanned security system from Germany is ready, and we have enlisted a regiment of Gurkhas to safeguard the factory. They are dressed inconspicuously, but they carry concealed weapons," Secretary Kim exined while handing a document to Han-Yeol. The document contained specifications,yout diagrams, and an operating manual for the unmanned security system imported from Germany. The subsequent pages provided details regarding the hired Gurkhas responsible for protecting the factory. "In addition, we are currently in the process of recruiting retired low-rank Hunters to further enhance our security. I will promptly submit a report once the recruitment isplete." "Very well, I trust you with it." "Thank you." ¡®Wow, it¡¯s really convenient to have someone smart working for you.¡¯?Han-Yeol felt a sense of joy knowing that Secretary Kim was capable of fulfilling his desires and requests. Bzzt! Bzzzzzt! Han-Yeol arrived at the workshop, which appeared quite ordinary from the outside. Inside, an average-looking production line was being set up. The purpose of this production line was not to camouge the workshop as a regr one, as that would be futile. Instead, its goal was to prepare the workshop for mass production of Yoo-Bi''s inventions once they were ready. However, the basement of the workshop was far from average. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­? [Identity Confirmed] This was one of the security systems they had imported from Germany. It consisted of a biometric scanner designed to analyze a person''s mana spectrum. ess to the basement was restricted, as it was impossible to enter unless one''s mana spectrum was registered with the scanner. Beep! [Authorized Personnel: Rank 1, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.] Ziiik! It was evident that Han-Yeol held the highest rank in the workshop. The reinforced titanium doors smoothly slid open. These doors were meticulously crafted by a renowned Hunter known as the ''Metal Meister'' from Germany. The Metal Meister possessed the extraordinary ability to reinforce any metal using his mana. Furthermore, he had the skill tobine different metals, creating unique alloys. The Metal Meister''s contributions to Germany''s economy were substantial. The country became a leading exporter of various metals and reinforced alloys to other nations. Even with the advent of dimensional gates, Germany maintained its position as the strongest country in Europe. Whiiiiing! Although Han-Yeol sessfully passed through the security system, he was aware that cameras in the elevator were still monitoring his every move. These cameras were designed with precision to capture every detail of their target, demonstrating the superiority of unmanned technology over human surveince. The system left no room for errors, and it was equipped to react promptly in case of any abnormalities, unlike human intervention. Ding! The elevator arrived at the second basement floor, and there were a few other security measures Han-Yeol had to go through before he finally reached Yoo-Bi¡¯s main workshop. Ziiik! The doors opened. ¡°Oppa!¡± Yoo-Bi greeted Han-Yeol with enthusiasm. ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi.¡± Both Han-Yeol and Yoo-Bi had be so close that it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to consider them siblings. Their rtionship had blossomed even more after Han-Yeol let go of his romantic interest in her, allowing Yoo-Bi to open up to him without feeling burdened. "How''s everything?" Han-Yeol asked. Yoo-Bi''s abilities were the main catalyst behind their business venture. No matter how much money they invested or how well they marketed it, the business would have inevitably failed without her skills. "Hmm... I''m doing my best, but engineering is truly a challenging field. It feels like the more I delve into it, the moreplex it bes. But I''m determined to keep learning. Besides, I find it fascinating, so I don''t think I''ll ever get tired of it," Yoo-Bi replied. "Hahaha... Th-That''s great," Han-Yeol muttered in response. He couldn''t help but find it difficult toprehend Yoo-Bi''s mindset, as he was someone who despised the idea of studying. While he enjoyed reading books, analyzing, memorizing, and applying their contents posed apletely different challenge for him. ¡®I would¡¯ve gone all in if there was a wisdom or intelligence-rted stat¡­ It¡¯s a shame¡­¡¯?hemented the fact that the MAG stat did not increase his intelligence. ¡°But what brings you here today, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi asked. Han-Yeol would typically inform her in advance before visiting the workshop, so she couldn''t help but wonder if there was a specific reason for his sudden visit. "Well, you don''t have a specific goal in your current research, do you?" he asked. "Yes, I''m just experimenting with a few things. They will all be weapons or equipment useful for hunting monsters, but I''m more inclined toward creating equipment at the moment. Weapons are a bit too challenging for me right now. Besides, my skill level isn''t that high, so I can''t guarantee creating a masterpiece even if I focus. Why do you ask?" "Hmm... I''ve been thinking, and they say that studying is more efficient when you set a specific goal, right?" "Yeah." She nodded in response. Han-Yeol knew that Yoo-Bi shone the brightest when she was deeply engrossed in something. While she was charming when smiling in front of the camera, seeing her passionately analyze the machinery before her had apletely different charm. "So, I was thinking... What do you think about starting with a mana-powered vehicle? You can begin with an engine if creating an entire car seems too difficult. What do you think? Don''t you think it would be revolutionary?" "An engine...?" This idea was the result of Han-Yeol''s countless dilemmas over the past two months. He wanted to give Yoo-Bi a goal that wasn''t too challenging yet had applications in various industries. Eventually, he settled on a mana engine. The initial target was to develop an engine that could be used in vehicles before expanding to other industries. After all, the main mechanisms of an engine remained the same, with only a few adjustments required to adapt it for different applications. Han-Yeol believed that creating engines for other industrial purposes would be rtively easy once they had the basic design of the mana engine. "So, what do you think? Isn''t it worth a shot?" Han-Yeol asked. "Hmm... I don''t think it''s a bad idea," Yoo-Bi replied. "Right?" "Yes, an engine can be used in various industries, so it would be exciting to study and work on it. Besides, even if we fail to produce our own vehicle, we can still sell the engine to an automobilepany at a good price." "Just like what the German Metal Meister is doing." "Ah, I''ve heard of him too. I heard that all the metals used to construct the new research workshop came from him, right?" "Yes, that''s correct." Yoo-Bi''s eyes sparkled brightly. "I want to be a world-renowned Crafting Hunter, just like the Metal Meister!" Anyone with a life goal was bound to be attractive, and seeing Yoo-Bi radiate with enthusiasm after setting her own goal made her look like a shining angel. "Yes, I''ll help you achieve that." "Hehe, then I''ll trust only in you, oppa~" "Leave it to me!" It had been a while since the two of them had such a heartfelt conversation. Han-Yeol believed that maintaining a strong rtionship with her was crucial so that she wouldn''t leave him in the future. Moreover, chatting with her was effortless as he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her. They chatted for quite some time until it was time for Yoo-Bi to go home. "Ah, look at the time." "Yeah, time flew by quickly." ¡°Hehe! My work today was too easy~¡± ¡°Hey, what are you saying?¡± ¡°Just saying~¡± ¡°Oh well, anyway. Great job today. Shall we go grab dinner together?¡± ¡°I want to, but I already made ns with my mother. I¡¯m sorry, oppa.¡± ¡°Well, I guess there¡¯s nothing I can do about that. Your ns with your mothere first, after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Han-Yeol was a bit regretful that they could not have dinner together, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He then thought, ¡®Sung-Jin is busy these days, Tara and Mariam are back in Egypt, and Mujahid wants to do nothing else aside from hunting¡­ Ah¡­ I¡¯m so bored¡­¡¯ His social circle had drastically shrunk before he became a Hunter, which limited the number of people he could hang out with. "Then, I''ll be off first, Yoo-Bi," Han-Yeol said. "Okay, goodbye!" "Yeah, take care now." Han-Yeol left the workshop and headed towards the car where Secretary Kim, Purva, and Mavros were waiting. ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out and ran up to his embrace. The ck dragon was now capable of staying by itself, but it still appeared reluctant to be away from Han-Yeol. It quickly climbed up and perched on top of Han-Yeol''s head, its usual spot. Han-Yeol settled into the backseat of the car. "Where shall we go?" Secretary Kim asked. "Let''s take a drive around the outskirts of Seoul. I think I need some time to clear my head," Han-Yeol replied. "Yes, sir." Secretary Kim ryed the instruction to Purva in English. "Yes, sir!" Purva understood themand effortlessly and began driving. As they passed by the campus of K University, something suddenly caught Han-Yeol''s attention. [We are against the expansion of the dormitory at K University!] ¡°Secretary Kim.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°Tell him to park at the side of the road.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± It was an abruptmand, but Secretary Kim didn''t question it, knowing that Han-Yeol was his employer. Purva drove the car into a parking lot and found a spot to park. As the parking attendant approached their car, Secretary Kim took charge of the situation. Han-Yeol had hired him precisely to handle such minor matters, freeing him from such inconveniences. Chapter 165: The Reason for Leaders of Society (4)

Chapter 165: The Reason for Leaders of Society (4)

Han-Yeol rolled down the window after the car came to a halt. ng! ng! ng! ng! ng!? Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? The sound of cymbals and drums, causing a ruckus, filled the air, and Han-Yeol immediately recognized the cause of the protest. "K University should ensure the survival of local businesses by halting the expansion of their dormitory!" ¡°Stop the expansion!¡± ¡°Stop the expansion!¡± ¡°Stop the expansion!¡± ¡°What do you want us to do if you build more dormitories?¡± ¡°How will we feed our kids?!¡± ¡°Listen up, everybody! Let¡¯s scream on the count of three!¡± ¡°One!¡± ¡°Two!¡± ¡°Three!¡± ¡°WAAAAAHHHH!¡± Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? ng! ng! ng! ng! ng!? Despite all themotion around him, Han-Yeol''s sensitive ears caught snippets of a conversation between a university couple on the other side of the road. "Ah, aren''t they being unreasonable?" "Yeah, the university wants to construct dorms for the students on campus, so what''s their problem?" "If they care about the survival of businesses, they should lower the rent. Even a small, rundown room in this area costs five hundred thousand won per month. It''s outrageous." "Oppa, if I don''t get into a dorm, I might consider taking a year off... What do you think?" "Me too... Maybe we should take a gap year and work part-time to save up..." "Ah... Being a university student is so challenging..." ¡®As expected.¡¯? After listening to the couple''s conversation, Han-Yeol''s certainty solidified. He remembered reading online about real estate owners in the vicinity of universities forming unions to hinder the construction of new dormitories for students. These owners even resorted to threats against local politicians when the universities refused toply. Recalling the articles, Han-Yeol felt a surge of anger. These individuals argued that their survival and livelihood were at stake, yet they charged exorbitant rents to students. Their audacity to im concern for their own livelihood while exploiting everyst penny from students was truly shameless. As Han-Yeol witnessed the protest firsthand, his anger reached its boiling point. ¡®I knew these protests happened, but this is the first time I''m seeing one in person,¡¯?he thought, feeling his anger surge to the top of his head. ¡®This is the main reason why kids these days no longer want to be Porters or Hunters,¡¯?he reflected bitterly. ¡®They''re being squeezed dry by these shameless adults to the point where they can''t even afford to have dreams. One can only dream when their basic needs are fulfilled.¡¯ His own decision to be a Porter had been driven solely by the desperate need to pay his father''s hospital bills. If he had the means, he would have undoubtedly chosen a safer career path. ¡®This can''t continue. At this rate, the country will be ruined,¡¯?he seethed with anger, determined to take action. ¡°Secretary Kim.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be going to Lawyer Han, so please give him a call.¡± ¡°Yes, I will see to it at once.¡± Then, Han-Yeol suddenly wondered, ¡®I wonder what Tara would do if she were in my shoes¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol couldn''t help but miss Tayarana, thinking of her clear and mysteriously charming eyes. He wondered how the immensely wealthy princess would handle situations like the protests he had just witnessed. Upon receiving a call about Han-Yeol''s arrival, Lawyer Han went down to the entrance of thew firm''s building to greet him. "Hahaha! It''s quite a fortunate coincidence to have spoken to you in the morning and now meet you in the afternoon." "I see no reason why not," Han-Yeol replied, epting Lawyer Han''s invitation. "Let''s go inside," Lawyer Han suggested, leading Han-Yeol into thew firm''s building. ¡°Kyu!¡± It was inevitable that Han-Yeol would attract a lot of attention from the people around them. He was already extremely popr, but with Mavros perched on top of his head, he became even more eye-catching to onlookers. "Hey, look! Isn''t that Hunter Han-Yeol and Mavros?" "Wow! This is my first time seeing him in person!" "I heard he awakened as a Hunter a little over a year ago, and his assets have already exceeded four trillion won. No one knows how much stronger he''ll be as the world''s first growth-type Hunter. He''s even the Vice Leader of that raid party representing Egypt, the one owned by the goddess!" "Wow! I never thought I''d get to see the country''s top Hunter like this." "Come on, he''s still just an S Rank Hunter after all. You can''tpare him to the Master Rank Hunters. Those monsters can bring down mountains and split the ground with their power. How can youpare someone like him to them?" Flinch¡­! Thosest few words got on Han-Yeol¡¯s nerves. "Hey, you can''t just look atbat power, you know? Besides, he''s a growth-type, so he will be stronger as time passes, and he''s the only one who can tame monsters! Things might be quiet now, but I heard every single wealthy person is eyeing to buy a monster pet from him. Also, I heard he sold the monster pets to the Egyptians for one trillion won each! That means he can make thirty trillion won if he sells just thirty of them! That''s almost our country''s annual budget!" "Yeah... That''s quite amazing..." However, the rest of the conversation was more than enough to calm Han-Yeol down. It was quite normal for people to talk about him whenever he passed by, and that only meant that he was indeed quite famous now. After all, he was probably the first Hunter that the media was so obsessed with in the first ce. Only a few minutes had passed since Han-Yeol appeared, but a group of reporters with cameras was already on his tail. "Where''s Hunter Han-Yeol?!" "They say he is the owner of the L Law Firm, renting the thirtieth floor all the way up to the thirty-fifth floor here. I think he has some business there." "Alright, we''re not going to let him go this time! This building doesn''t have a helipad, right?" "Yes, it doesn''t." "Hoho! I''m definitely going to score an interview with you this time!" It seemed that the reporters were determined this time. Han-Yeol was currently the hottest topic among everyone in South Korea, and people were much more interested in him than any celebrity, athlete, Hunter, or politician. However, nobody had been able tond an exclusive interview with him until now. This fact alone was more than enough to incite the reporters to try and be the first person tond an exclusive interview with him. In fact, some news outlets even announced that they were going to give a double promotion plus one hundred million won as a reward to whoever couldnd an exclusive interview with him. "Let''s go!" "Yes, senior-nim!" The dozens of reporters rushed to the elevator and went up to the thirtieth floor where the L Law Firm was located. The thirty-first floor to the thirty-fifth floor was blocked as per the L Law Firm''s request, so it was mandatory for everyone to go to the thirtieth floor first. Some reporters tried to be clever and went up to the thirty-sixth floor instead, but the staircase was designed to only be opened from the inside. In the end, they had to walk all the way down to the thirtieth floor just like the others. The L Law Firm was in chaos after the reporters appeared. "You cannot do this! This ce is a privatew firm!" "So what?! We know Hunter Han-Yeol is here! Open up so we can have an interview with him!" "N-No, you cannot do this!" "Ha! Stop whining and open up!" Every staffer in thew firm, excluding thewyers, rushed to the door to try and block the reporters froming in. Of course, the ruckus was so loud that both Lawyer Han and Han-Yeol heard what was going on, but Lawyer Han did not seem to be bothered at all. He was a seasonedwyer who had gone through all sorts of troubles in life, and he knew the natural instincts of reporters better than anyone through his experience. "Hahaha! I guess those reporters came swarming in after hearing that you were here. I think our staff is going to suffer today," Lawyer Han said with augh. "Those guys must be quite free. Why would they want to follow a boring Hunter like me...?" Han-Yeol joked. Of course, he was indeed joking. Han-Yeol was not stupid, so he knew his position in society. "Hahaha! I know you are joking, but hearing you say that so seriously is going to make average people like me look like I am living a worthless boring life!" Lawyer Han gave quite a big reaction as heughed. It was true that what Han-Yeol said was quite funny, but the bigger reason was that Han-Yeol was his employer, after all. He might be earning a lot and getting a share of the profits, but he was still an employee at the end of the day. Still, it was indisputable that Lawyer Han was personally a huge fan of Han-Yeol. Most people would think that Hunters are brave and valiant, but in reality, most of the Hunters in this day and age ced great importance on their own safety, so they were not as adventurous or brave as they used to be. "A lot of normal people, myself included, admired Hunters. They risked their lives out in the open, defeating monsters that appeared from the dimensional gates, and some even went as far as to defeat boss monsters. Hunters were really cool when I was young, but they no longer look the same now. The Hunters ce great emphasis on safety and money, so anyone who tries to kill a boss monster is called stupid..." "People are now exhausted hearing about them. Hunters are no longer the once-looked-up-to adventurers, but they are nothing more than a greedy bunch that risks their lives for money. However, it is different for you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. You are the first growth-type Hunter, possess numerous skills, and even tamed a monster as your pet! Your existence alone has rekindled the admiration most of us had for Hunters!" "No, forget about normal people, even low-ranking Hunters look up to you now! In fact, quite a lot of Hunterse to ourw firm simply because they look up to you. Oh my, it seems that I identally admitted our revenue is not because we are good but solely because of your poprity! Hahaha!" Lawyer Han gave a long exnation. What Lawyer Han said about Han-Yeol was all true, and those were indeed the main secrets behind his explosive poprity. "Well, it might be because of my poprity, but sessfully running it is all thanks to you. I hope that you will continue to take care of this ce for me," Han-Yeol replied. "Please leave it to me! I will work myself to death to make the L Law Firm the bestw firm in South Korea!" ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Han-Yeol responded with augh. He thought, ¡®You really don¡¯t have to go that far¡­but I guess it¡¯s not a bad thing for me.¡¯ Han-Yeol was nning to use the L Law Firm as the legal department of the group he was going to establish in the future, so he thought it was not a bad thing if thew firm grew bigger. After all, there was nothing wrong with having too much money. ¡°Oh right, I knew you wereing, but I was not informed why you came today. Is there something else you require aside from what you requested this morning?¡± Lawyer Han asked. Han-Yeol was not an easily essible person. He received most of the reports through written files, and he was the first to contact thew firm if he needed anything from them. However, Han-Yeol suddenly contacted them twice in a single day and even went as far as to pay them a visit. ¡°What happened to the thing I asked you to do this morning?¡± ¡°Ah, it usually takes at least two months, but there is nothing we cannot do with money. I finished filing the paperwork, and we just need approval from the tax office to finalize it. Do you need it urgently by any chance?¡± Donating twelve billion won a year was far from ordinary, but Lawyer Han knew that it was just a drop in the bucket for Han-Yeol. His total worth was something only he and his financial advisers would know, but the media estimated that he was worth at least five to six trillion won. The richest man in Korea was the chairman of S Group with a worth of twenty-one trillion won, and after him in second ce was Kim Tae-San Hunter with a worth of thirteen trillion won. Some might think that Han-Yeol still had a long way to go to catch up to them, but they were probably overlooking the fact that he amassed his wealth in less than a year. The S Group chairman amassed his wealth by inheriting his business and running it for decades, while Kim Tae-San was one of the first awakened beings when the dimensional gates appeared. In particr, Kim Tae-San was able to amass his wealth thanks to all sorts of privileges from the government and from running his own guild. Han-Yeol was definitely earning money at the ''speed of light'' when those things were taken into consideration. ¡°I was thinking of doing a non-profit business aside from donating to children and the elderly in need. Something that can make a bit of money while helping others,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ah, that is still a business in the end, right? A charity focuses on not leaving a single penny as profit,¡± Lawyer Han replied. ¡°I will ensure that all profit goes toward supporting other charitable works.¡± ¡°Oh, then that will definitely qualify... but what business do you n to do?¡± ¡°I will choose five universities every year and build arge studio-unitplex in their vicinity. Then, I will rent out the rooms to any university student who studies in the nearby university.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Lawyer Han was bbergasted after hearing Han-Yeol¡¯s n. He knew that Han-Yeol was a good person, but he never knew he was ''this'' good. ¡®He¡¯s stronger, more famous, and kinder than most Hunters. Who would¡¯ve known that such a Hunter was going to appear in South Korea? I have a feeling people will start calling him a ¡®hero¡¯ from now on¡­¡¯?Lawyer Han thought. South Korea was currently embroiled in all sorts of corruption and scandals in every aspect of its society, and many of its citizens were struggling with depression due to the media''s constant reporting of these negative events. Things were looking incredibly grim for the country, to the point where experts suggested that even a small piece of good news had the potential to lift numerous people out of their depression. What if Han-Yeol''s act of kindness suddenly appeared in such a situation? ¡®All of South Korea is going to call him a hero, and he might even be treated as its king¡­¡¯?Lawyer Han thought. There had always been a figure who instilled hope and patriotism in the hearts of Koreans whenever the country faced peril, and Han-Yeol''s acts of kindness were undoubtedly going to evoke the same sense of hope and patriotism in their hearts. Meanwhile, Lawyer Han was fully aware that he was a part of this "movement," and he understood precisely what his role entailed. ¡®I have to make sure this goes ording to what he ns,¡¯?he thought with determination in his eyes. ¡°Yes, please leave it to me. I will definitely see to it that it gets done without any problems.¡± Chapter 166: Telepathy II (1)

Chapter 166: Telepathy II (1)

Lawyer Han took care of everything rted to the welfare foundation Han-Yeol wanted to establish. The welfare foundation might have been rushed and created on a whim, but Han-Yeol did not see any problem with that. The ''donation'' industry of South Korea was not so ''clean''. A report by the Department of Statistics mentioned that there were eighty thousand welfare foundations in South Korea, but only two of them were being run without a hint of corruption in their operation. This meant that 79,998 foundations had some sort of corruption, no matter how big or small they were. It might seem like not a big deal at first nce, but this was a huge problem as most of these foundations in South Korea depended not onrge donations from corporations but on donations from normal working-ss people. In the end, the hard-earned money that these people were donating out of goodwill was being misused for personal gains, and the donation culture in the country slowly started to deteriorate out of mistrust for these foundations. This, in turn, ironically made it difficult for those who were really in need to get help. ¡®Well, no reason for me to help them, but I need to have something to show after being in this position. If not, this newfound fame of mine could quickly turn against me,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was a huge fan of South Korea¡¯s most famous MC, and he recalled being in awe of him whenever he heard the news that the MC donated to the needy and less fortunate. ¡®I need to take care of my public image while it¡¯s still good,¡¯?he knew he was fortunate enough to be able to help others. He had more than enough money right now, and he could earn more anytime he wanted to. He was currently taking a break after the vicious battle against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, but he was nning to return to hunting very soon. ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°Yes, Mavros. We will go hunt together.¡± He was especially looking forward to the numerous synergies he could create with Mavros. Already quite strong thanks to his numerous skills, how much stronger was he going to be if he found a way to maximize their efficiency by flying with Mavros? Han-Yeol could not help but look forward to hunting again. ¡®Hmm¡­ I should probably focus on resting right now. I need to rest to be able to work hardter, right?¡¯?he knew that resting was vital if he wanted to be at his peak performanceter on. He learned from his father that resting was the start of working hard, his father taught him a lot of things when he was younger, and he was still giving him a lot of advice these days too. He would tell him jokes, quotes, and even some words of wisdom from time to time, and Han-Yeol always took those words to heart since he respected his father more than anyone else in this world. Han-Yeol might have gone astray during his high school days, but he never forgot about his father¡¯s teachings, so he did not bully other kids just for his own entertainment like what most bullies would do. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!? Han-Yeol looked out the window. The scenery outside was quite peaceful despite being located very close to Seoul. He looked around his mansion grounds and noticed that it was a bit empty for his liking. ¡®It¡¯s quite spacious but there are only five buildings here¡­¡¯?he wondered what the original owner¡¯s ns were when they built this ce. They only built four buildings in thisrge area, and the fifth one was added by Han-Yeol to house his vehicle collection. The hangar housing the vehicle collection was quite arge one, but there was still a lot of space left in the mansion grounds even after building therge hangar. Han-Yeol wanted to fill up thend with something. Some would argue that there was beauty in the void, but he preferred to put something there instead of keeping it unused. After all, he had the money to do whatever he wanted. ¡®Hmm¡­?Should I build a gold storage over there?¡¯?he suddenly thought of the Demon Merchant. Delchant, quite a repulsive demon to deal with, but able to get various items that Han-Yeol would never dream of getting on his own. Indeed, a being he was going to summon from time to time in the future. Han-Yeol had no idea why the demon was asking for gold in this day and age where mana stones existed, but good for him since gold was cheaper than mana stone. He needed to have an ample supply of gold if going to use Delchant from now on rather than scrambling to get enough gold after using his services. ¡®I¡¯ll build a huge storage andmission the Shine raid party to keep hunting gold for me.¡¯? Han-Yeol was certain this was going to protect him from any variables that could suddenly appear if the golems suddenly stopped dropping gold. Some might think it was wasteful for him to store up gold that cost him money to procure, but Han-Yeol had already entered the upper echelons of society that whatever he spent to procure the gold was going to be chump change for him. He pressed the call button on his remote control after making up his mind. Beep! [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] An Egyptian staff working in the control room appeared on TV. The Horus raid party may have returned to Egypt, but the Egyptians working for Han-Yeol remained in South Korea. ¡°Please call Albert for me.¡± [Certainly, sir.] Beep! He switched the TV off and Albert appeared exactly two minutester. ¡°Did you call me, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°Yes, Albert. I wish to build arge storage on the empty plot ofnd over there.¡± ¡°Hmm? The hangar for the car is not even full yet, but you want to build another storage unit?¡± ¡°No, this one is not for cars but for gold.¡± ¡°Gold¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, you are already aware that I can trade with demons, right?¡± ¡°Hoho, I am. I am also an avid viewer of Level Up TV.¡± ¡°Oh my, I suddenly feel burdened knowing that you are watching me¡­¡± ¡°Hohoho!¡± . Level Up TV had evolved to the size of a broadcast station now and could no longer be considered a streamer¡¯s broadcast channel. In fact, its revenue started to rival that of most broadcast stations, thanks to the number of viewers tuning in. On top of that, there were the viewers who purchased V Tickets, further boosting their revenues. Albert was one of those who purchased a V Ticket. ¡°The demon asks for payment in gold, and the amount of gold they ask increases the better the quality of the item I buy is. For example, the item I boughtst time cost me ten tons of gold. I am not sure how long I will be able to keep procuring gold from monsters, so I figured it was going to be a good idea to keep a stockpile of them for whenever I need them.¡± Albert nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, that is certainly a wise choice. It is the same as how it is extremely inefficient for someone to work for cash whenever they want to buy something, and it bes even more inefficient the more expensive that product is.¡± ¡°I would have stored the gold in a ce like a gold bank if this was before the dimensional gates, but nobody considers gold as a currency these days, so I have no choice but to build my own storage.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Alfred said before he suddenly added, ¡°Oh, what do you think ofmissioning the work to Mujahid¡¯s constructionpany? I doubt he is going to pull some shady tricks like the Korean constructionpanies when you are the one requesting it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s true¡­¡± The world had gone through a drastic change, but the fact that Koreanpanies thought little of the consumers did not change. The Korean constructionpanies were infamous for inting material prices, dying construction, increasingbor costs, and all sorts of other shady tricks to squeeze whatever they could from their clients. Han-Yeol worked at a construction site during the days he was a Porter and there was no work at the factory, so he was well aware of what kind of tricks the constructionpanies employ. He could not confidently say that the Egyptian constructionpanies were any better than the Korean ones, but he was at least going to be assured that the one owned by Mujahid was not going to try and pull a fast one on him. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to Mujahid directly. It seems that I¡¯m the one who ended up with the work when I was trying to ask you to do it, Albert.¡± ¡°Hoho! I am greatly saddened that you do not need the services of this old man.¡± ¡°Is that how it sounds?¡± ¡°Hohoho!¡± There was quite a big age gap between Han-Yeol and Albert, but they were still able to have fun conversations with each other. Albert was quite polite, smart, and patient with people, so Han-Yeol sincerely liked having Albert around. The conversation came to an end, and the old butler left to tend to his other duties. Han-Yeol immediately called Mujahid. [Hello? Are you finally going to hunt with me, hyung-nim?!] [No, I¡¯m still resting.] [WHYYYYY?!] [What do you mean why¡­? Anyway, I have a favor, Mujahid.] [What is it? Consider it done! I¡¯ll put my life on the line to make sure it gets done!] [There¡¯s no need to put your life on the line. I want to build a big and awesome storage unit in my mansion, and I was thinking ofmissioning the work to your constructionpany.] [A big and awesome storage unit¡­ Alright, do you have a budget in mind?] [Hmm¡­ Not really¡­ Just do your best. Who knows? Maybe I¡¯ll be motivated to go hunt if you do a great job.] [Oh! Okay! I¡¯ll whip the boys to build you a big and awesome storage unit as soon as possible!] Mujahid was definitely fired up now after finding a reason to ept Han-Yeol¡¯s request. He was the type to go all out if he saw a reason to do it, and Han-Yeol¡¯s bait to go hunt with him was the perfect motivation he needed. [Oh right, the storage unit will be used to store gold. Make sure you design it ordingly.] [Yes, I understand.] Beep¡­! Mujahid seemed to be in a rush to end the call; he normally would wait until Han-Yeol hung up first, but it seemed that he was really in a hurry this time. Han-Yeol was not upset about getting the call cut on his face, as he knew that Mujahid was quite the impatient one at times. Well, a part of him was hoping that he was not going to cause a mess after being too worked up. There were only three people in South Korea that could control Mujahid, and two of them were back in Egypt right now. ¡®The mess this guy causes will be on a whole different scale. It''s going to be annoying to clean up after him, so I hope he doesn''t do anything.¡¯?Han-Yeol could only hope. Han-Yeol immediately called the Shine raid party after hemissioned Mujahid to build the gold storage unit. [Hello, it has been a long time, Mavros-nim. How have you been?] The voice of the Shine raid party¡¯s leader sounded as young as ever. They only spoke once over the phone, but Han-Yeol remembered the voice as quite unique. On the other hand, the Shine raid party leader seemed to remember the alias Mavros as well. After all, Han-Yeol had paid them quite a lot for the workmissioned, so they were probably waiting earnestly for him to call again. ¡°I have been well, thank you. What about you, how have you been, Shine raid party leader-nim?¡± [Ah, my name is Chu Si-Hyung. You can call me Chu Si-Hyung from now on.] ¡®Chu Si-Hyung¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly thought of something. ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± [Yes, Mavros-nim?] ¡°Do you have an elder brother named Chu Si-Han by any chance?¡± [Huh? H-How did you know?] Chu Si-Hyung sounded flustered over the phone. Han-Yeol was certain after hearing the response. ¡®Well, I would be surprised too if someone suddenly told me about my family.¡¯ Then, unable to resist, he smiled at this peculiar twist of coincidence. He was delighted yet saddened by the flood of old memories. He thought, ¡®Who would¡¯ve known?I''d?meet him like this¡­?¡¯? He then said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Si-Hyung. How have you been?¡± [W-Who are you?] ¡°Keke! It¡¯s me, Han-Yeol.¡± Han-Yeol had felt the voice sounded familiar the first time he heard it, but he hadn¡¯t dwelled on it much at that time since he could not really put a finger on it. However, he finally realized why the voice sounded so familiar in the first ce after hearing his name. [W-What?! Hyung?! It¡¯s been ages since Ist heard from you! How have you been?] ¡°I¡¯m doing okay, but what about Si-Han?¡± [Ah¡­ My brother was very upset that you suddenly disappeared¡­ He¡¯s doing alright, but I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s still upset¡­] ¡°Well, I¡¯m d he¡¯s doing alright. Anyway, keep this between ourselves for now. I¡¯m going to go find him in person soon.¡± [Ah, okay. I got it.] ¡°You¡¯re as nice as I remember you to be, Si-Hyung.¡± [I-I¡¯m not!] Chapter 167: Telepathy II (2)

Chapter 167: Telepathy II (2)

Chu Si-Han, one of the delinquents Han-Yeol used to hang out with in high school, possessed a high level of loyalty and had a propensity forughter. However, he stood out as the most short-tempered member within the group. His approach to conflict resolution relied more on his fists than on engaging in conversations, often initiating fights with students from other high schools. If he learned that one of his schoolmates was being bullied by students from another institution, he would swiftly charge into their school. Han-Yeol, Sung-Jin, and four other friends consistently found themselves responsible for resolving the aftermath of his actions. Si-Han was a troublesome friend who frequently caused problems. Nheless, their friendship meant more to them than the issues he brought along during those days. ¡®Well, it¡¯s a friendship from the past that I ruined¡­¡¯?he thought. Honestly, when he initially reached out to Sung-Jin, he couldn''tprehend his own actions. Deep down, he knew that Han-Yeol was the one who had shattered the friendship among their group. Sung-Jin informed him that, following his sudden disappearance a few years ago, everyone else began to slowly drift apart. Since Han-Yeol had been the binding force that held the group together, it was only natural for them to disperse once that cohesive element vanished abruptly. ¡®Yeah, it¡¯s totally my fault,¡¯?he relentlessly med himself for the situation, going over it countless times in his mind. He was convinced that the others would not be as forgiving toward him as Sung-Jin had been. [Uhm¡­ Hyung?] ¡°Yes, Si-Hyung?¡± [Why did you tell me your name was Mavros¡­?] ¡°Ah, sorry about that.¡± [N-No! You don¡¯t have to apologize!] ¡°Keke! Alright~ Anyway, you remember the request Imissionedst time, right?¡± [Certainly, that has been the best request I have received since I awakened. The Gold Mine dungeon happens to be the simplest dungeon for our raid party due to ourposition. However, we were experiencing financial struggles as there wasn''t much to gain from that dungeon except for gold, which holds little value nowadays. [Hunting there proved to be rather inefficient, leading us to consider exploring other options. However, your timely contact provided a significant boost to our ie! My friends were genuinely delighted with the request, and we all eagerly anticipate your nextmission.] Chu Si-Hyung''s raid party appeared to be one of those rare instances where a group of close friends formed their own party. ¡°Keke! Yeah, I called tomission another request,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Wow! I expected you to inquire through yourwyer, so I was surprised when you personally called. I''m d you did because I wouldn''t have realized it was you if you hadn''t reached out directly.] ¡°Yeah, mywyer is a bit busy these days, so I decided to call you personally. I guess I¡¯m connected by fate with your brother or something.¡± [I agree. Ah, how much gold will you need this time, hyung?] Si-Hyung had anticipated that Han-Yeol wouldmission another ten tons of gold, just like the previous time. However, he was open to a reduced amount as long as they could still profit from hunting in the Gold Mine dungeon. "Hmm... I''m uncertain about the exact quantity I''ll require, so why don''t you gather as much as possible?" [W-What¡­?] Si-Hyung doubted his ears as he thought, ¡®U-Unlimited¡­?¡¯ The unexpected statement left him astonished, as he had initially anticipated receiving around ten tons of gold. However, he quickly regained hisposure and resolved to ask the essential questions. After all, despite his young age, he remained the leader of his raid party. [Does that mean we are able to bring you as much gold as we can¡­?] "Yes, that''s correct. I do require a substantial amount of gold at the moment. Hm... considering I paid you ten billion won for ten tons of gold previously, how about we set the price at one billion won per ton of gold this time?" [I-It will be our honor to work with you, hyung-nim!] It had been reiterated multiple times that gold had be practically worthless in the current era. Prior to the emergence of dimensional gates, the price of gold experienced significant fluctuations, with a single kilogram bar fetching over fifty million won during those times. In essence, one ton of gold would have been valued at a minimum of fifty billion won back then. However, the price had plummeted to the point where Si-Hyung was content with the offer of one billion won per ton. In fact, the current market price for one ton of gold stood at half that amount¡ªfive hundred million won. The Shine raid party was being offered double the international market rates for this request, and they were undoubtedly motivated to gather as much gold as possible for Han-Yeol. The reason Han-Yeol avoided purchasing gold from the market was the cumbersome process of dealing with all the necessary legal paperwork to acquire the desired quantity. He preferred to pay twice the price to avoid the hassle of government dealings. Additionally, he chose tomission the Shine raid party to hunt for gold instead of buying it directly from the market because most of the gold circting in the market was not physical gold but rather paper gold. In other words, the amount avable in the market did not correspond to the actual gold stored in vaults. "Then, I''ll leave it in your hands. I suppose we don''t need to sign a contract, right?" [Yes, you¡¯re going to pay us by cash whenever we deliver the gold, right?] ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Then, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± [Just leave it to us! I¡¯ll make sure to deliver the purest gold avable out there!] ¡°Thanks.¡± Beep! "Haa... I suppose that''s another thing I need to take care of..." Han-Yeol muttered, slouching on his sofa. He gazed up at the voluminous ceiling above him. The building he currently upied was a three-story structure with a peculiar design that featured an open concept, allowing the ceiling to stretch all the way up to the third floor. It resembled theyout of the library Han-Yeol used to frequent in his previous residence, where arge circr opening upied the central area of the building. This outhouse appeared to have been designed with the intention of amodating only a few residents, resulting in a rtivelypact space. That''s precisely why Han-Yeol had chosen this outhouse as his room. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± As soon as Han-Yeol ended the call, Mavros dashed toward him to enjoy his embrace. Despite the ck dragon''s substantial growth in size, his eagerness to y with Han-Yeol remained unchanged. Han-Yeol cherished this bond, finding sce and tranquility in hugging and petting Mavros. ¡°I should probably apologize, right, Mavros?¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± "I betrayed their trust... and honestly, I''m scared. I have no idea how they will react to me... I was fortunate that things went smoothly with Sung-Jin, but the others aren''t as forgiving as him," Han-Yeol sighed, weighed down by his concerns. He had ceased contacting his friends due to the exhaustion of caring for his father, but in hindsight, he recognized that he had been entirely at fault. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out as if trying to say, ¡®I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but don¡¯t give up!¡¯ as he licked Han-Yeol¡¯s cheek. ¡°You really are the best, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kyu!¡±?The ck dragon responded with a happy cry that seemed to say, ¡®isn¡¯t that obvious?¡¯. After finding somefort in the presence of Mavros, Han-Yeol reached for his phone once again. Feeling a sense of relief, he decided to call Sung-Jin. [Yeah, what¡¯s up?] ¡°Are you busy?¡± [No, I¡¯m free right now. I¡¯m helping my father during the weekdays and going out on hunts during the weekends, so I¡¯m not that busy these days.] ¡°I got in touch with Si-Han¡¯s brother, Si-Hyung.¡± [What?!] Thud! A crashing sound echoed through the phone, indicating that Sung-Jin had been startled to the point of leaping out of his seat. While he assured Han-Yeol that the others were doing well, he was actually lying at that moment. In truth, Sung-Jin had limited knowledge about their current circumstances, only receiving sporadic updates here and there. As mentioned previously, the group of delinquents had disbanded following Han-Yeol''s sudden disappearance. [So, what about Si-Han?] ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I told Si-Hyung to pretend that he didn¡¯t hear from me. I was able to easily contact you, but I don¡¯t think I can do the same to the others¡­¡± [Ah¡­ Han-Yeol¡­] ¡°Yeah?¡± [You knew that all of us got together because of you back then, right?] ¡°Yeah.¡± During that period, Han-Yeol had a strong affinity for pirate manhwa, finding the protagonist''s charismatic phrase, "You shoulde join my group!" incredibly cool. Inspired by this, he genuinely repeated the same line when recruiting his friends to join his own group. Initially, everyone viewed Han-Yeol as entric and avoided him, thinking he had lost his mind. However, hisplete immersion in the manhwa had left him oblivious to any sense of shame. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol''s unwavering determination eventually paid off, much like the protagonist in the manhwa. He sessfully managed to recruit all seven of his friends to join his group. Thus, whether they liked it or not, Han-Yeol became the central figure holding the group together, just as depicted in his beloved pirate manhwa. [It¡¯s a bit strange to put it this way, but you¡¯re the one that disbanded the group.] ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡± [Ultimately, the decision of whether to reassemble the group rests with you. It''s possible that the others have moved on with their lives, and some may even feel betrayed by your previous actions. They might respond withughter, dismissing your return, or perhaps evenbel you a traitor for abandoning them. However, as the leader who once held the group together, it seems fitting that the responsibility of making this call falls upon you, Cap''n.] ¡°Ah¡­ Don¡¯t remind me of that past¡­¡± [Keke! Alright, alright. Anyway, I¡¯m going to a meeting now, so I¡¯ll talk to youter.] ¡°Alright, good luck.¡± Beep! Sung-Jin was the first one to hang up as usual. ¡®It¡¯s my decision to make¡­ Well, I guess that makes sense since I was the one who brought everyone together and the one who ruined it. I don¡¯t n to bring the group back anyway¡­ I just want to apologize to them one by one¡­¡¯?he thought. Seuk¡­ ¡°Sigh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh out of frustration. He was the one who had formed the group, but he came to realize that he had disbanded it in the wrong manner. He should have made the effort to call each person and exin his circumstances before abruptly cutting off contact. They had been the ones who stood by him through thick and thin for three years, so the least he could have done was to personally deliver the news to them. ¡®Haa¡­ This is too difficult for me¡­¡¯?he realized that dealing with people was the most difficult thing in life. Furthermore, he came to the realization that his preference for outgoing individuals stemmed from his ownck of extroversion. This became evident through the small size of his social circle. Then, he finally made his decision, ¡®Let''s go ahead and apologize. It''s not about whether I can rekindle the friendship with them or not, but rather about acknowledging and making amends for the mistake I made. Even if theybel me as a traitor, I should ept it. That''s the least I can do to show my sincerity.¡¯ Realizing that avoiding reality would not lead to any resolution, Han-Yeol took a step forward. He reached out to Si-Hyung, requesting Si-Han''s phone number via a message. After five minutes, Si-Hyung replied with the requested information. ¡°Hoo¡­¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± However, Han-Yeol could not help but feel nervous now that he was about to call Si-Han, and Mavros seemed to be cheering him on despite being unaware of what was going on. Han-Yeol called the number Si-Hyung gave him with trembling hands. He let out a sigh before pressing the call button. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­? The ringing tone of the phone call seemed to stretch out into an eternity, despite onlysting for a short while. [Who¡¯s on the line?] The voice on the other end of the line was undeniably familiar. Despite the ten-year gap sincest hearing it, Han-Yeol instantly recognized his friend''s voice. However, this sudden rush of familiarity also stirred a deep sense of pain in his heart. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± he said. [Fuck you. How am I supposed to know who you are if you just say ¡®it¡¯s me¡¯, ha? Tell me who you are, you fucking son of a bitch!] ¡°That filthy mouth of yours never changed.¡± [Hey, are you picking a fight?] ¡°It has been a long time, Si-Han. It¡¯s me, Han-Yeol.¡± [What¡­? Who did you say you were¡­?] ¡°I said it¡¯s me, Han-Yeol. We went to the same high school for three years and¡­¡± [Shut your mouth before I rip it open, you fucking son of a bitch. You''re not a friend. The Han-Yeol I knew died nine years ago when he severed all contact with me.] ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± That was the only thing Han-Yeol could say as he was not able toe up with any excuses. Chapter 168: Telepathy II (3)

Chapter 168: Telepathy II (3)

Han-Yeol once again realized that he should have discussed his concerns about his financial difficulties with his friends rather than cutting all contact with them. Of course, there was no guarantee that they were going to help him, but that was the least he could do for friends who had been with him through thick and thin for over three years. [Don¡¯t call me ever again.] Beep! That was the end of the call. ¡°Haa¡­?I guess I have no choice, since this was all my fault¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered with a sigh before hugging Mavros tightly. Of course, the hug was gentle so as to not hurt him. ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out and licked Han-Yeol¡¯s cheek after sensing that he was troubled. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright as long as I have you. Let¡¯s be the strongest duo in the world together, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Han-Yeol regretted the fact that he couldn''t restore his friendship with his old friend, but he decided not to dwell on it for too long. He was looking forward to the future rather than the past, and he had many things to focus on instead of dwelling on a failed friendship. ¡®I have Sung-Jin. That¡¯s enough for me,¡¯?he told himself that, as he tried to appease his heart spiraling into depression. *** A few dayster, Secretary Kim came to Han-Yeol with a piece of news. "What did you say¡­?" "The whole world is bombarding Sung Jin Factory with questions regarding when you will be holding an auction since you rarely step outside and that is the only ce you have ties with." "Really?" "Yes." "Hmm¡­ I guess even I would be desperate to get a monster pet that would increase my battle prowess¡­" "I agree. There are quite a lot of not only wealthy individuals but even Hunters who wish to obtain a monster pet, and the factory is probably getting calls about it as we speak. I know that you were busy so you could not hold the auction, but what do you think of doing it now?" Han-Yeol nodded in agreement. His ability was indeed like something out of a game, but the world he was living in was the real world and not a game world. He could not hunt twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year, like a game character. He was quite busy and had a lot of things to do, but one of the main things he had to do was to create other ie streams so that he could be someone truly wealthy. One of the ie streams with the best potential as of the current moment was none other than the sale of monster pets. "How do you think we should proceed with the auction, Secretary Kim?" Han-Yeol asked without much thought. However, Secretary Kim was the serious type who did not joke around, so he began to sincerely ponder the question. He came to the conclusion that it was impossible to sell something as valuable as a monster pet with the archaic auction system Korea had. "Hmm¡­ I have something I want to ask, Han-Yeol-nim." "What is it?" "Do you n to keep auctioning the monster pets off?" "Hmm¡­ Yeah, I don''t see any reason not to, since I can create as many pets as I want as long as I fulfill certain conditions." Han-Yeol had the ability to supply one monster pet to every Hunter on Earth if he wanted to, but there was no way he was going to do that. It was not only about the money, but more about his conscience he would have to deal with if the Hunters started mistreating the monster pets en masse. "Then, what do you think about opening your own auction house instead of contracting an existing Korean auction house to do it for you?" "Opening my own auction house?" "It does not have to be exclusively an auction house. It could be a tradingpany that deals with various products too." "Oh, that sounds like a great idea." Han-Yeol was already working on establishing the Mavros Group of Companies. He was envisioning turning it into a global enterprise instead of a local one, and having a tradingpany that would deal with auctioning things did not seem to be a bad idea at all. "Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is going to start doing business, and it is not like youck start-up capital, so I think it will be much better for you to open your ownpany, even if you will face losses in the short run." Jason Kim might be working as Han-Yeol''s secretary for now, but he was a Harvard MBA graduate who ranked at the top of his batch. He might have failed to integrate into the Korean work culture because of its toxicity, but it all worked out in the end as he liked his current job. Jason was determined to give his all to his new workce. ¡®My employer is not so picky and work is quite rxed, but most importantly¡­ he pays me a lot,¡¯?Jason thought while reminiscing about his friends back in the United States, who were working themselves to death. After all, the United States was just as overworked as South Korea. "Hmm... I have a lot of things I need to do, but Ick talented individuals around me," Han-Yeol muttered. "What do you think of hiring en masse?" Secretary Kim suggested. South Korea had high unemployment, and recent statistics mentioned that around ten percent of the youth were currently unemployed, along with four percent of the total working popce. Some might consider this figure to be quite low, but it was actually quite high when considering that the government included contract workers, temporary workers, part-time workers, and even frencers in the statistics to reduce the unemployment numbers. This was the reason why Han-Yeol received a torrent of applications whenever he hired people, and the fact that he was paying above the industry average made the job opening extremely lucrative, even for those who already had a job. However, Han-Yeol didn''t care whether the unemployment rate was high or not, as he had no intention of hiring from the market. "Secretary Kim." "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?" "Do you have many friends?" "Pardon me...?" "You graduated from Harvard MBA, right?" "Ah, yes, I did." Secretary Kim may have been working as a secretary after graduating from Harvard, but he still took great pride in both his work and his alma mater. There was a misconception that Americans weren''t as focused on their school or grades as Asians, as they prioritized different things in life. However, Americans actually ced significant value on the university they graduated from, much more so than Asians. Not only that, Americans had a strong attachment to their alma maters, which was why many of them donated or gave back to their universities, unlike Asians. Secretary Kim was no exception to this. "Then, do you know anyone from your university or ss whom we can trust and hire?" "Ah, are you nning to directly hire Harvard graduates instead of recruiting from the market?" "Yes, I''ll be paying them above normal wages. So, do you have anyone in mind?" Han-Yeol might not have started the Mavros Group yet, but he was nning to turn it into a multinational corporation as quickly as possible. To do that, he would need many talented individuals, and the best ce to find them was none other than the Ivy League universities in the United States. ¡®Anyone knows that the South Korean education system sucks,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol searched for reasons not to go to university back when he was in high school, and one of the reasons he found was that the South Korean education system was wed. In fact, everyone probably knew just how wed the system was, but they had no choice but to study for the sake of obtaining a diploma. At that time, Han-Yeol considered it merely an excuse, but as he grew older, he realized the true extent of the ws in the education system. After a moment of deep thought, Secretary Kim replied, "Yes, I understand. I will inquire and source the best candidates." Secretary Kim pondered about his batchmates who were working in the United States. His batch was known as the ''Golden Generation'' of Harvard, and manypanies were interested in hiring them. It wouldn''t be easy to recruit them with just a conversation, but he still had to give it a try since it was his employer''s directive. ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to work, but I guess I should give it a shot,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol could discern Secretary Kim''s thoughts from the expression in his eyes. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him. "Why don''t we take a different approach instead of being rigid? What if you organize a reunion party for your batchmates?" "A reunion party?" Secretary Kim questioned. . "Yes, invite them to Korea for a reunion gathering. They may not be willing to spend money toe to a small Asian country when they''re busy with their own lives. So, let them know that we will cover all of their expenses during the trip. Present it as a casual event, not an interview of any kind. What do you think?" "I... I think that''s an excellent idea, and I should be able to invite many of them." "Hmm... What if we also invite individuals from other universities? Do you think we can convince them by offering substantial donations to their alma maters if they attend?" There existed fiercepetition among top universities in the United States, and these institutions required significant funds to seed in their rivalries. It wasmon for them to organize gs or charity events to bring together alumni and potential donors to secure the necessary finances. Han-Yeol decided to capitalize on this by enticing them with a sizable donation and luring them to his party. "Then we''ll seize the opportunity to recruit some of them, am I correct?" "Yes, that''s precisely what we''ll do. After all, there''s no such thing as a free lunch, right? I need to at least break even on my investments." Han-Yeol understood the scarcity of exceptional individuals and acknowledged that talented people were worth the money he was willing to spend. If he could hire skilled individuals to oversee hispanies through this event, he knew he wouldn''t be at a loss. For Koreanpanies, hiring Harvard MBAs was exceedingly challenging, as most preferred not to work in a small Asian country. Moreover, no Koreanpany would be willing to offer the high sries they demanded. ¡®I need a nice rod and bait to catch good fish.¡¯?Han-Yeol decided to shrug off the expenses the party was going to incur as an investment. For instance, Secretary Kim received a starting sry of eighty million won when he joined S Group, which was considered very highpared to other Korean office workers. However, this amount paled inparison to what American conglomerates were paying their employees. Despite being Korean, Secretary Kim felt undervalued and mistreated by hispany at the time. It was evident that non-Koreans would scoff at any simr offers made to them. However, Han-Yeol firmly believed in rewarding individuals based on their abilities and merits. "Well, we can''t immediately host the party without facing the logistical challenges it presents. So, why don''t you handle the auction first?" Han-Yeol suggested. Secretary Kim blinked a few times in response to themand but soon epted it without hesitation, seeing it as his opportunity to shine. "Yes, please leave it to me!" he eximed. Han-Yeol didn''t feel a pressing need to urgently hire someone as he already had a highly talented person by his side, and finding a secretary wouldn''t be difficult. "I will strive to prepare the best auction this country has ever seen!" Secretary Kim eximed once again. "Why don''t you seize this opportunity to showcase your capabilities?" Han-Yeol said with a smirk. "I will not disappoint you, Han-Yeol-nim!" Secretary Kim replied with a passionate voice. *** While Secretary Kim busied himself with preparations for the auction, Han-Yeol immersed himself in his collection hobby. He indulged in collecting supercars, private jets, helicopters, and various other luxurious items during his newfound spare time. It was often said that money changed a person, and in Han-Yeol''s case, this seemed to hold true. Even after bing a Hunter, he didn''t pay much attention to luxury goods. However, everything changed once he started earning exorbitant sums of money. His ie was so substantial that he could purchase products worth billions or even tens of billions of won without making a dent in his bank ount. He even casually bought a private jet costing him one hundred billion won while out shopping. ¡®Hmm¡­ The mansion is too small for me to thoroughly enjoy my hobby¡­ Should I buy beachfrontnd and build a huge mansion over there?¡¯?he wondered. Initially, Han-Yeol had concerns about how he would fully utilize the mansion due to its immense size when he first acquired it. However, as time went on, he began to feel that the mansion was notrge enough for his needs. He had numerous buildings he wanted to construct and a plethora of items he desired to keep, and gradually he found himself running out of space. ¡®Should I also build my own vacation mansion at one of the most famous tourist spots in the world?¡¯?he even went as far as thinking internationally. It appeared that Han-Yeol was finding it challenging to control his spending after his great sess. However, the notable distinction between him and others was that he had earned all of his money through his own abilities, rather than relying on sheer luck. This was why he wasn''t concerned about his spending, as he had confidence in his ability to replenish any amount he spent. Furthermore, there was potential for him to multiply his earnings moving forward. Chapter 169: Telepathy II (4)

Chapter 169: Telepathy II (4)

At apany¡¯s warehouse in Seoul. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? Han-Yeol was in a discussion with a man when someone suddenly approached him. "Han-Yeol-nim." "Ah, Purva." It was the Gurkha Mercenary in charge of the security of both Han-Yeol and his mansion. Most people would have the stereotype that soldiers were not that smart, but the Gurkha Mercenaries were elites in Nepalese society, and most of them were quite intelligent. Purva was fluent in both Nepalese and English, and he was currently learning Korean as well. He had dedicated himself to learning Korean after hearing that his job would be extremely stable if he spoke thenguage, and he had been reducing his sleep every night just so he could study. "A letter came to the mansion. Albert told me to bring it to you," Purva said. His pronunciation and grammar were a bit awkward, but it was more than enough for him to convey what he wanted to say. "A letter?" "Yes, a letter." ¡®Who sends a letter in this day and age?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Most tasks were done over the inte after the twenty-first century, and the emergence of dimensional gates and mana stones further fueled the IT industry and made inte ess more convenient. Of course, it wasn''t that people stopped using letters altogether, but the only letters Han-Yeol had ever received in his life were letters asking him to pay up. "Who is it from?" "I don''t know. The recipient is Han-Yeol. No, Han-Yeol-nim." Purva seemed to be struggling with using honorifics for people despite studying hard. Han-Yeol opened the envelope given to him by Purva and inspected its contents. The letter was written on luxurious paper and neatly sealed with wax. Judging by its presentation, it seemed that this letter was not random. ¡®I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bill¡­ Maybe it¡¯s from some cult?¡¯?Han-Yeol found the fact that there was no recipient highly suspicious, but he decided to open it since he did not find anything amiss or dangerous about it. ¡®Hmm? An invitation?¡¯? [We invite you to the Hunter Assembly.] Han-Yeol read the contents and discovered that it was an invitation to the annual Hunter Assembly, with the agenda for this year being ''Hunter Alliance.'' The Hunters'' Association was a public organization established to protect the rights of Hunters, funded by the taxes paid by Hunters. On the other hand, the Hunter Assembly was apletely private organization that received its funds from membership fees or donations paid by its member Hunters. ¡®Oh right, I heard that there¡¯s a secret gathering of Hunters somewhere. They must¡¯ve been talking about this,¡±?Han-Yeol realized that he had heard about this gathering before. There were rumors that the top two hundred Hunters secretly gathered once a year, but Han-Yeol had not heard anything more than that. Nowhere could he find information regarding where, when, what, and why they were meeting. However, Han-Yeol received an invitation to this secret gathering. ¡®Does that mean I''m a part of the top two hundred Hunters now?¡¯ he wondered, feeling pleased by the fact that he was invited. He pondered it for a little longer before ultimately making his decision. He shrugged his shoulders. ¡®I guess there''s no harm in going.¡¯ There was no reason for him to refuse. After all, it was not a criminal gathering in the first ce, and there would be no harm in observing the top two hundred Hunters. ¡®I can go and expand mywork,¡¯?he thought. The only Korean Hunter he personally knew was Yoo-Bi. Well, it was a bit challenging to categorize her as a ''Hunter'' since she was more of a crafting-type Hunter. Of course, the count of Hunters he knew would increase to two if Sung-Jin awakened, but that didn''t make the situation any different. ¡®A year has passed since I became a Hunter, yet I only know one other Hunter... Have I grown toocent with the Horus raid party?¡¯? He didn''t see anything wrong with it. Besides, the Horus raid party was a formidable group, and having personal connections with Tayarana, Mujahid, and Mariam was a significant advantage in itself. However, Han-Yeol was still Korean at the end of the day. He felt mostfortable speaking Korean, so he wouldn''t lose anything by befriending Korean Hunters. Then, he suddenly became curious about something and thought, ¡®But why is this gathering so secretive?¡¯ Being a Hunter was not an upation that operated illegally. In fact, they were regarded as a ''high-ss'' profession by most people. ¡®I would¡¯ve made it extravagant for everyone to see. I wonder what the assembly higher-ups are thinking¡­?¡¯? Having tasted fame for the first time in his life at twenty-nine years old, Han-Yeol found it challenging toprehend the assembly''s decision. It would have been understandable if they were keeping the gathering a secret due to engaging in illegal activities, but that didn''t seem to be the case at all. He checked the date on the back of the invitation and discovered that the gathering was scheduled for next Tuesday. ¡®I suppose I can go hunting over the weekend, take Monday to rest, and then attend the gathering. Yeah, that sounds like a n. I might even find time to go shopping before the gathering starts¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol''s schedule was not bound by weekdays or weekends, given his immense wealth and numerous options. However, it was beneficial to have a schedule. Although he couldn''tpare to the ultra-wealthy individuals out there just yet, Han-Yeol had confidence that he would surpass them once all of his businesses were up and running. After memorizing the content of the letter, Han-Yeol handed it to Purva. Purva received the letter and held onto it before taking a few steps back. "Oh, do you have any other models of this helicopter?" Han-Yeol inquired. "Which specific model are you looking for?" responded the sales representative from the Korean branch of Eurocopter, who immediately attended to Han-Yeol after he finished reading the letter. Eurocopter was apany established topete against the United States'' Boeing Company, and Han-Yeol was a crucial customer they were determined to win over in Korea. "I like the design and specifications, but it''s too slow. Don''t you have a faster helicopter?" Han-Yeol asked. He was currently in search of a helicopter that could be utilized during emergencies, where speed was undeniably crucial. Han-Yeol had asked the government if he could fly with Mavros asionally, but their response indicated that making special arrangements for him would be challenging. Considering that Mavros was, at the end of the day, a monster, his presence could invoke terror among the general poption when flying over cities, as his mana could be detected by monster radars. It was truly unfortunate that he couldn''t freely fly with Mavros, but for the sake of public order,promises had to be made. As an alternative, he had decided to opt for a high-speed helicopter that could transport him to the outskirts of urban areas before switching to Mavros. "Ah, what do you think of the HEC-999 model if you''re in search of a high-speed helicopter?" "This is?" "This model is quite rare and expensive, but its specifications are among the best out there. We specifically designed this model for our VVIP customers, and currently, only a select few in developed European countries like Germany, Italy, and France are utilizing it." "It can reach speeds of up to 300 km/h with its five engines, and even if three of its engines are damaged, it can continue flying. Additionally, it is equipped with an alert system and reinforced armor ting capable of blocking most surface-to-air missiles, in case the automatic anti-missile guns fail to intercept any iing missiles." "Furthermore, it ispletely soundproofed, providing istion from external noise. The passenger cabin and cockpit are separated by a soundproof partition, ensuring that the pilot will only hearmunication through the internal system." "Lastly, the helicopter has dimensions of 5.7m in height and 23.3m in length, offering a spacious interior." After hearing the sales representative''s exnation, Han-Yeol was captivated by the HEC-999. Its specifications were so impressive that it made the Apache helicopter seem like a mere tin can. "I like it. How much is it?" Han-Yeol inquired. "It costs four hundred million Euros, which is approximately five hundred billion won," replied the sales representative. One helicopter would amount to five hundred billion won. To be precise, it was 488,964,000,000 won. The staggering figure made Purva flinch as he counted the numbers with his fingers. The annual budget of the Nepalese military was around 3.9 billion rupees, equivalent to thirty-nine billion won when converted. While some might argue that Nepal was a rtively poor country, thus exining their low budget, it was astounding that Han-Yeol''s personal-use helicopter would cost more than ten times a country''s annual defense budget. "What do you think, Purva? Isn''t it awesome?" Han-Yeol asked. The cost of the helicopter wouldn''t make a dent in Han-Yeol''s pocket, considering his abundant wealth even if he didn''t go hunting. ¡°Ah, y-yes¡­ It is too much awesome,¡± Purva replied. He thought to himself, ¡®The price is¡­¡¯ The mercenary couldn''t help but fixate on the helicopter''s price tag rather than its specifications. It was a challenging feat for him, given that the helicopter''s value surpassed his country''s defense budget for over ten years. Purva was suddenly reminded of his impoverished homnd. Nepal was a struggling nation that heavily relied on three main sources of revenue: drugs, tourism, and Gurkha Mercenaries. However, with the rise of Hunters, the ie of their mercenaries significantly declined, leaving the country even more impoverished. Consequently, their economy teetered on the brink of copse, with only drugs and tourism remaining as revenue streams. While drugs had the potential to generate substantial profits, they remained illegal and harmed a country''s citizens in the end. ¡®We could¡¯ve be rich if we focused our efforts on raising Hunters¡­¡¯?Purva thought. Unfortunately, fate was not in their favor, as Nepalcked an abundance of hunting grounds. The country''s sole hunting ground was situated near the border with Bhutan, and it was rtively small, incapable of sustaining an entire economy. ¡®Sigh¡­¡¯?Purva let out a sigh. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with him?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered after seeing the mercenary sigh. Anyway, Han-Yeol proceeded to sign the purchase agreement for the HEC-999, totaling five hundred billion won. He transferred ten percent of the total price as a deposit and nned to settle the remaining amount upon receiving the helicopter. Additionally, the agreement included a use stating that thepany would reimburse him double the amount if they failed to deliver the helicopter within three months. *** The weekend came to an end, and the dreaded Monday arrived. However, Han-Yeol took his time leisurely, lounging around while savoring his Geisha Coffee and engrossed in a book. Whenever he read a book, his ability would activate, allowing him to enhance his skill level if the book was relevant to his abilities. Reading had be a habit for him, and he started exploring various books, even those unrted to his skills. Due to his busy schedule, he hadn''t been able to find much time for readingtely. But finally, on a Monday when everyone else was toiling away at work, he managed to carve out some precious moments to indulge in a good book. Zzzz! Zzz¡­! Zzz¡­! Meanwhile, Mavros peacefully slumbered,pletely carefree. The book Han-Yeol had chosen to read that day was titled ''New World Order''. Despite having numerous books on his shelf, he opted for this particr one. He firmly believed that he would be a significant figure in the country within a few years. Although he couldn''t pinpoint the exact moment, he was certain that it woulde to pass as long as he continued leveling up and acquiring new skills. This conviction motivated him to prepare himself as both a Hunter and a businessman. The book he held in his hands represented the first step towards realizing his lofty ambition. Chapter 170: Hunter Assembly And (1)

Chapter 170: Hunter Assembly And (1)

The familiar sound of softly flipping pages resonated in the air. Han-Yeol had a deep passion for gadgets, amassing various consoles in his collection. However, when it came to books, he preferred the tactile experience of reading paperbacks over ebooks. Although he did read ebooks for fictional webnovels, as it was convenient to purchase them online chapter by chapter, he still cherished the tradition of visiting bookstores and having a multitude of books delivered to his home for his daily reading. Despite having a spacious seventy-two-inch all-in-one smart TV capable of disying ebooks, Han-Yeol stubbornly clung to the satisfaction of physically turning pages. It seemed that certain habits persisted even after amassing great wealth. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I build my own library here? I mean, I still have a lot of space left¡­¡¯?he thought while reading his book. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!? The outskirts of Seoul were surrounded by trees and mountains, allowing the melodious chirping of birds to be frequently heard. The appearance of mana stones brought about significant changes, including a cleaner environment. Scientists hailed mana stones for their positive impact, as countries shifted away from polluting fossil fuels and embraced this miraculous and environmentally friendly energy source. With mana stones as the primary fuel, emissions were reduced to less than 0.01mg. Thanks to mana stones, the Earth had undergone a transformation and major cities now enjoyed clear skies after years of healing. Han-Yeol turned the pages faster, finding that increased focus improved his task performance. Currently, he was reading the final chapter of the book ''Virtues of a CEO''. [A CEO''s ability toprehend the underlying messages and read between the lines is crucial. Failure to do so could result in falling into traps set by others, ultimately harming thepany''s well-being.] He was busy reading the final chapter when a message suddenly popped up in front of his eyes. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Telepathy¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Telepathy¡¯ has reached Master Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Telepathy¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [Telepathy (M) has evolved.] [A new skill has been created: Telepathy II (F).] "Huh?" Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion upon reading the messages. Although he had acquired numerous skills through various means, the evolution of Telepathy this time felt different from the others. Most skills either disappeared, generated new skills, or developed sub-skills. However, Telepathy evolved in a unique way, retaining its skill name while adding a Roman numeral beside it. Naturally, its rank dropped to F after evolving. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯?he wondered as he checked the skill¡¯s description. [Telepathy II (F)] [Type: Active/Passive] [Description: An evolved form of Telepathy, originally used tomunicate with demons, now reveals its true potential in its second stage (Telepathy II). This skill enables the user not only tomunicate with demons but also to transmit their thoughts to another person through it. Additionally, it grants the user the ability to read the minds of targeted humans.] ¡®Hold on¡­ Isn¡¯t this one of Mariam¡¯s skills? Is it possible for me to learn such skills too¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was taken aback by the whole turn of events. He acquired skills through his actions, and reading books was considered an ''action'' in most cases, enabling him to gain skills from them. However, he never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would be able to acquire ''mental'' skills like Telepathy II simply by reading a book. Han-Yeol felt a mix of surprise and joy upon obtaining a new skill when he least expected it. He thought to himself, ¡®While Telepathy II might not be directly useful inbat, possessing such a skill automatically elevates my status to that of a C Rank Hunter. This is awesome!¡¯? Describing it as "awesome" would be an understatement. Unlike most Hunters with telepathic abilities who often had weaknesses inbat, Han-Yeol was an exception due to his exceptional abilities. Being a cheat character, he didn''t face the same limitations and had the advantage of excelling in both telepathic skills andbat prowess. ¡®Wait a minute... If it''s II, that means there should also be III and IV, right? Does that mean my telepathic ability will be stronger as the number increases? Wow... I feel like I''m really cheating...¡¯? It was undeniable that Han-Yeol''s ability provided him with an unfair advantage over others. In fact, he couldn''t help but question whether his ability could still be considered game-like, as acquiring skills in such a manner was beyond the scope of even the most advancedputer games. In most games, such an ability would either result in a ban or simply not be obtainable, as game developers ced great importance on maintaining bnce. Yet, the game-like ability Han-Yeol possessed seemed to disregard bnce entirely, relentlessly driving him toward bing stronger. While other Hunters might view his overwhelming power as unfair, Han-Yeol couldn''t help but perceive it as a divine blessing. ¡®As long as I benefit from it, why should I care what others think?¡¯? Indeed, Han-Yeol had a self-centered nature that persisted despite any criticism he received. While some may perceive him as selfish, his mindset remained steadfast and impervious to the opinions of others. Then, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Han-Yeol, situated in his study room on the second floor, caught sight of his Egyptian attendant, Amir, strolling about on the ground below. He ced his finger on his forehead and decided to give his new skill a try, ¡®Telepathy.¡¯ Wooong! He felt a slight vibration in his head after he used the skill, and then¡­ [Haa¡­ Tina, my love. When will I be able to see you again¡­?] ¡®Oh?¡¯?Han-Yeol¡¯s interest was piqued. Tina, one of the Egyptian maids employed by Han-Yeol, possessed remarkable beauty. Han-Yeol had developed a close rtionship with her and engaged in frequent conversations. Through their interactions, he learned about Tina''s poprity, and the presence of an infatuated colleague served as evidence of her charm. ¡®It looks like things will be fun from now on,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. Reading someone else''s thoughts without their consent was not only an invasion of privacy but also a clear vition of thew. However... ¡®I just don¡¯t have to get caught, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol came to the realization that, in his perspective, only God was the witness to his actions, so he saw no reason to subject himself to the judgments of mortalws. Moreover, he found the act of reading other people''s minds to be rather entertaining, and he could now understand why Mariam often engaged in such behavior¡ªexcept when it came to Tayarana and himself. ¡®That sly girl. She was having all this fun while keeping a poker face?¡¯?Han-Yeol snickered while thinking of Mariam. The way Mariam maintained a poker face gave the impression that she read other people''s minds out of necessity rather than for fun, leading Han-Yeol to wonder if it was obligatory for her to constantly delve into everyone''s thoughts. However, he soon realized that she probably did it because it was incredibly entertaining to be inside someone else''s mind. Amir let out a sigh and departed, and ironically, Tina appeared just as he left. ¡°Hum~ Hum~ Hum~¡±?Tina hummed the tune of a K-Pop song that she had been listening totely while studying Korean. ¡®Oh~ Here¡¯s another target,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he pressed his finger against his forehead and used his skill. [Ah... Han-Yeol-nim is too much... I was getting close to Secretary Kim recently, but he suddenly sent him away for work. Well, I suppose it can''t be helped since he is quite reliable, but... Kyah! He''s so handsome and cool! But...he''s Korean and I''m Egyptian... There''s no way things could work out between us... Ah... It''s so sad, this is the first time I find myself resenting my nationality...] ¡°Pfft!¡±?Han-Yeol almost burst intoughter after reading Tina¡¯s mind. "Huh?" Tina looked around her surroundings, startled by the sudden sound. Though she was a normal person now, she had previously served as a member of the Egyptian army''s special forces, and her training had instilled in her a constant awareness of her surroundings. Assigned as a top-ss bodyguard for the mansion, she remained vignt for any potential intruders. Upon seeing Han-Yeol standing there, her initial tension dissipated, and she greeted him with a respectful bow. However, she was wondering inside, [It¡¯s a relief there¡¯s no intruder, but why did he make that sound just now? Was heughing at my humming?] Tina walked away, her various thoughts veiled behind aposed expression. On the other hand, Han-Yeol was close to bursting intoughter, ¡®Kekeke! What the hell is this? Amir likes Tina, but Tina likes Secretary Kim?¡¯ Still, Han-Yeol found it quite unexpected that Tina had developed feelings for Secretary Kim. It seemed like a love triangle straight out of a drama or online novel was unfolding right before his eyes. ¡®I know Secretary Kim is quite handsome¡­?But is he handsome in the eyes of foreigners too?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He remembered contemting whether to hire Secretary Kim or not, partly because of his handsome looks. However, in the end, Han-Yeol decided to hire him based on his exceptional talent and skills, realizing that his abilities were too valuable to overlook. ¡®Hmm¡­ I heard that K-Pop is quite famous in Egypt too, so I guess they got used to seeing Korean features¡­¡¯ One of the industries that benefited from the cooperation between Egypt and South Korea was the entertainment industry. South Korea, renowned as a global leader in entertainment content, seized the opportunity presented by the recent alliance to establish its presence in Egypt. Unsurprisingly, Korean media content enjoyed immense poprity in Egypt. ¡®I knew it¡­ Handsome people will always make it in life no matter what happens,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol wasn''t unattractive by any means, but he couldn''t help feeling a pang of jealousy when hepared his appearance to Secretary Kim''s. He knew that he would look like s a squid next to Secretary Kim''s stunning looks. ¡®Wow¡­ This ability is so fun.¡¯?Han-Yeol''s face lit up with a childlike excitement, resembling a kid who had just received a new toy. He resumed reading his book near the window, asionally employing Telepathy II whenever someone walked by. Initially, he experienced a twinge of guilt for invading others'' thoughts, but gradually, he became desensitized to it. In fact, it was more apt to describe his growing addiction to delving into the minds of others. ¡°Kyu¡­¡± On the other hand, Mavros let out a sigh and shook his head while looking at Han-Yeol with a severely disappointed look. *** In less than a day, Han-Yeol''s newfound hobby of using his Telepathy II skill had propelled its rank from F to E. He indulged in utilizing the skill whenever he spotted someone passing by, continuing until the sun dipped below the horizon. With a new day dawning, it also marked themencement of the Hunter Assembly. Naturally, Han-Yeol''s first stop was the department store after a long break from shopping. Due to his newfound fame, he could no longer freely stroll into the mall as he once did. Instead, he had to inform them in advance of his visit, granting him exclusive ess during that designated period. It went without saying that Han-Yeol generouslypensated the mall for their amodating arrangement. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? "Are you going somewhere special, Hunter-nim?" the luxury suit designer inquired as he took Han-Yeol''s measurements. The luxury suit designer stood tall with a neatly trimmed beard, round sses, and slicked-back hair. Naturally, he donned a wlessly tailored suit that exuded a ssic gentlemanly aura. He represented the renowned luxury Italian brand ''ZEMLYA'' and had been dispatched directly from their headquarters to cater to the South Korean market, known for its appetite for luxury goods. "Yes, I have an important asion to attend. I originally purchased this suit for its design, but it seems fate had itpleted just in time," Han-Yeol replied. "How marvelous! It appears that you are truly destined for greatness, Han-Yeol-nim! Haha!" "Is that so?" "Absolutely! I''m not just saying this out of courtesy. Han-Yeol-nim truly stands out among the other Hunters who visit us." "It''s gratifying to hear, even if it''s just a courteous remark. Haha!" It was quite umon for a luxury brand to send one of its designers overseas. Usually, they hired local designers and provided them with one to three years of training before managing their shops. This was especially true for Asian countries, where consumers preferred a touch of Asian influence in the designs rather than purely European styles. However, ZEMLYA Korea took a different approach to the market. They brought in a designer from their Italian headquarters, who spent time learning the Koreannguage and immersing themselves in Korean culture. This allowed them to provide a "made to measure" service. Typically, ZEMLYA branches in other countries would measure clients, send the details to Italy, have an Italian designer work on the garments, the factory in Italy would tailor-make the suits, and then they would be sent back to the clients. This entire process would take around five weeks, and any alterations would require an additional week or two. However, thanks to Alberto, the designer already present in Korea, the time required for a "made to measure" order at ZEMLYA Korea was only two to three weeks. Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk!? Alberto worked on tidying up the suit and putting the final touches on it. Then, he asked, ¡°Do you feel ufortable anywhere, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°No, I love it. It¡¯s reallyfortable, and I love the design.¡± ¡°Haha! That is truly a relief!¡± It was impossible for Han-Yeol not to appreciate the suit''s design from the beginning, as he had already tried it on before through the use of advanced 3D hologram technologies. Chapter 171: Hunter Assembly And (2)

Chapter 171: Hunter Assembly And (2)

Han-Yeol checked himself out in the mirror when Purva suddenly approached him. "It is time now, Han-Yeol-nim." "Already?" "Yes." "Alright," Han-Yeol replied, then turned toward Alberto and said, "Thank you very much, Alberto." He had already fully paid for his suit, so the only thing left for him to do was to express gratitude to the designer and take his suit. "Haha! Not at all! It is an honor for me to design clothes for someone as famous as you!" Alberto replied. "I feel honored that someone feels honored after working with me. I guess I''ve lived a good life. Hahaha!" Han-Yeol chuckled. ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out and jumped onto Han-Yeol¡¯s head. ¡®Mavros,¡¯?Alberto immediately recognized the ck dragon that had been quietly sleeping in the corner while Han-Yeol was getting his suit done. Despite being a designer, he had a keen interest in Hunter-rted affairs and possessed extensive knowledge about them. In fact, he was an avid fan of fiction and fantasy, regrly keeping up with thetest happenings in the world of Hunters. Alberto could foresee that the first sighting of the monster pet was going to shock the entire European Huntermunity. ¡®As Hunters climb the ranks, their thirst for power tends to intensify. This is evident in their obsession with increasing their mana capacity and upgrading their gear, as they are unable to expand the number of skills they possess. Obtaining monster pets undoubtedly enhances a Hunter''s power, and any high-ranking Hunter who neglects to acquire one is hardly deserving of their high rank.¡¯ Alberto, along with many others, had witnessed Mavros'' battle form in the newspaper. Unbeknownst to them, it was actually a clever strategy devised by Han-Yeol to drive up the prices of monster pets. The tactic proved to be incredibly effective as soon as the article was published. Initially, the world viewed monster pets as mere test subjects or trophies. However, witnessing Mavros fighting alongside Han-Yeolpletely altered people''s perception, particrly among Hunters. The monster pets were now regarded as reliablerades in battle, leading every Hunter worldwide to fervently desire acquiring one. However, Han-Yeol had no intention of mass-selling these monster pets to the general public. "Then, have a nice day," Han-Yeol said, shaking Alberto''s hand before departing from the shop. Alberto ced his right hand on his chest and bowed toward Han-Yeol like a butler from the medieval ages. He thought, ¡®I will be rooting for you.¡¯ Han-Yeol could not help but smile as he left the department store. ¡°I see¡­ So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± he muttered. "Did you say something, Han-Yeol-nim?" Purva immediately inquired, thinking that Han-Yeol had issued amand. However, due to his limited proficiency in the Koreannguage, he failed to hear it clearly. "No, it''s nothing. Let''s hurry," Han-Yeol replied. "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim." Fully suited up, Han-Yeol hopped into the car, and it drove him to the location specified on the invitation: Ganghwa Ind. He couldn''tprehend why the event was being held in Ganghwa Ind of all ces. While he understood that it was meant to be a secretive gathering with only a select few individuals invited, they could have easily chosen a suitable location in Seoul for such an event. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure the organizers have their ns,¡¯?he decided to shrug it off. Slurp! Sipping on his coffee, Han-Yeol scrolled through the inte news on his tablet PC. Although he could have chosen to read a book during the ride, he acknowledged the limited time avable and opted for browsing the news instead. Furthermore, he made it a habit to stay informed about global current affairs, regardless of how busy he was. Suddenly, a headline on the Hunter-rted page caught his attention. [The Hunter Assembly is going to host an open event for the first time in fifteen years instead of their usual secret event.] ¡®Huh?¡¯? After reading the headline, Han-Yeol was left bewildered. He rubbed his eyes and briefly doubted what he had just seen, but the headline of the article remained unchanged. He thought, ¡®They kept it as a secret event for fifteen years but suddenly made it an open one when I¡¯m going for the first time?¡¯ It was usible that the timing of this sudden change was merely a coincidence. Maybe the decision to switch things up had been in the works for the past year, and they had chosen to announce it now. Alternatively, it could be a deliberate move after fifteen years to bring about a change. However, Han-Yeol''s instincts strongly suggested that this unexpected shift was directly rted to him. The timing seemed too perfect to be coincidental. Moreover, the statement released by the Hunter Assembly appeared to be filled with superficial excuses,cking any substantial reasoning behind the decision. Though their words were borate and vibrant, there was a notable absence of a genuine exnation for the alteration. ¡®The public¡¯s right to know? What a load of horseshit these bastards are?spouting,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. Despite being a Hunter himself, Han-Yeol harbored a deep distrust toward his fellow Hunters. His experiences as a Porter had subjected him to countless betrayals, leaving him with an inherent aversion to cing trust in others within the Huntermunity. The Korean Hunter industry, in its entirety, seemed to perpetuate a vicious cycle: Porters being betrayed by Hunters, these betrayed Porters awakening as Hunters themselves, and subsequently replicating the same patterns they had endured as Porters. This never-ending cycle had given rise to a toxic culture among Hunters in South Korea. Due to his desire to distance himself from this toxic culture, Han-Yeol made a deliberate choice to keep his interactions with Korean Hunters to a minimum, instead preferring to coborate with Egyptian Hunters. ¡®I am certain that there is some hidden agenda behind all of this. It simply doesn''t add up. Moreover, the fact that they extended an invitation to me while both Tayarana and Mariam were out of the country seems highly suspicious...¡¯?he thought as he switched his tablet PC off. It was not the time for him to leisurely read the news while there was a conspiracy brewing around him. Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­? Lost in contemtion, he tapped on the armrest and a sudden realization struck him. Without wasting a moment, he swiftly retrieved his smartphone and dialed a number. Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­ Ring¡­? [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] ¡°Hello, Su-In. Are you busy right now?¡± The person he dialed happened to be in charge of the Level Up TV broadcasting team. Level Up TV was currently the leading channel on Golem Mania TV, dominating the charts in all categories: Top Subscribers, Top Views, and Top Ratings. Their clips and videos on various streaming tforms were incredibly popr, boasting a staggering sixteen million subscribers and a total of eight hundred million views. Level Up TV had firmly established itself as one of the major broadcasting channels in the industry, generating a jaw-dropping monthly revenue of twenty billion won. The channel''s growth was exponential, prompting them to hire bilingual foreigners proficient in Korean and their nativenguage for tranting subtitles, aiming to expand their reach to twenty-four other countries. Despite being swamped with work due to the channel''s rapid expansion, Su-In couldn''t possibly im to be too busy when the channel owner called. The entire content of the channel revolved around Han-Yeol, so she had to be prepared to drop everything and go to great lengths if he summoned her. Moreover, the recent increase in manpower allowed them to work in two shifts, making it all the more feasible for Su-In to promptly respond to Han-Yeol''s call. [No, I am not busy at all. Do you need something from our team, Han-Yeol-nim?] ¡°Hmm¡­ I was wondering if you have seen the news. I am talking about the news that the Hunter Assembly is hosting an open event for the first time in fifteen years.¡± [Ah, yes. I saw it earlier. But why did they make such a sudden move? Their statement talks about believing in the public''s right to information and advocating for better integration between Hunters and the general poption. However, it all seems like a convoluted fa?ade to me. Frankly, when have Hunters ever shown genuine concern for ordinary people like us?] ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Han-Yeol could not help but burst out inughter at Su-In¡¯s criticism. Coincidentally, Su-In expressed the very same thoughts that had been running through Han-Yeol''s mind moments ago, although there was no way for her to know that. However, as she realized that she had unintentionally cursed Hunters while speaking to Han-Yeol, who was a Hunter himself, she became flustered. [Ah¡­ T-That is¡­ What I meant to say was¡­ Of course, you are an exception, Han-Yeol-nim. Haha¡­ Hahaha¡­] ¡°Keke! No worries, it''s all good. The reason Iughed was not because of that. I actually chuckled because I had the exact same thoughts as you before I made the call.¡± [You are truly wise, employer-nim!] ¡°Keke!¡± ¡®This woman is really amazing,¡¯?Han-Yeol found her to be quite a unique individual when he first encountered her. However, his current call wasn''t intended for casual conversation. "Anyway, the reason I called is specifically about the Hunter Assembly event. I''ve been invited to the event, and it would be a shame not to have cameras capturing my debut, don''t you think? I''ve read thements, and many people expressed their disappointment over theck of footage from the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva raid." [Indeed, our viewers doprehend the challenges of obtaining footage from such a raid, but their disappointment at missing out is understandable. Huh? Just a moment... Are you saying that you were invited to that event, Han-Yeol-nim?] ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s why I want you to bring your crew to P Resort in Ganghwa Ind as soon as possible.¡± [It sounds like we will get some interesting content today. We will make our way there immediately.] ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you there then.¡± Beep! Han-Yeol ended the call, and his eyes were shing with a hint of coldness to them. ¡®I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up to, but I¡¯m not the Lee Han-Yeol you guys used to know. I¡¯m no longer the same Porter?who?will just sit around and get stabbed in the back,¡¯?he growled inwardly. Calling his filming crew couldn''t be deemed as an effective countermeasure, as Hunters were not the type to be intimidated by cameras. Han-Yeol''s intention in contacting the filming crew was simply to ensure an engaging event for his viewers. However, how he nned to handle the Hunters would be entirely his own decision. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? ¡®Hmm?¡¯? Han-Yeol¡¯s smartphone started ringing. He checked the screen and saw that an unfamiliar number was calling him. ¡®Who¡¯s this?¡¯?he wondered. Being a person who didn''t casually share his contact information, Han-Yeol found it rather peculiar to receive a call from an unfamiliar number. While he had previously provided his number to the Hunters'' Association and for official purposes before his rise to wealth, that was his old number. In order to safeguard his privacy, he had changed his number immediately after purchasing the mansion. Han-Yeol had delegated all official matters to Secretary Kim, and any necessary work was efficiently handled through Albert. His current number was known only to his close friends and family, with all their contact details saved in his smartphone. Seuk¡­ It was a bit strange but Han-Yeol did not see any reason to be scared and not answer the call. ¡°Hello?¡± [Mr. Lee?] The caller conversed in English, but their pronounced ent hinted at their non-native English-speaking background. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± [This is a warning. Don¡¯t be friendly with Egypt from now on.] The man initially spoke in English but swiftly switched to Arabic. However, that was not of utmost importance at the moment. Han-Yeol, despite being threatened for the first time in a while, found the threat more amusing than intimidating. "Who the hell are you?" he retorted. [That''s none of your business. Consider this your final warning. Cease any involvement with the Egyptians and withdraw from the Horus raid party. Failure toply will result in you experiencing the depths of earthly hell.] ¡°That¡¯s funny.¡± [What did you say?] "Do you want to wager on who will experience hell on earth first?" [How foolish of you. You cannot prevail against "us" alone. We permeate every corner and bring forth total annihtion. Our targets shall be eradicated without a trace, leaving only utter devastation in our wake. Soon enough, you wille toprehend the folly and arrogance of your words.] The threat posed a despicable and cowardly method, suggesting harm to Han-Yeol''s family and loved ones. It was an abhorrent tactic, aiming to instill fear and force apromise. In the past, Han-Yeol might have been frightened for his family''s safety and considered apromise. However, he had grown stronger and was no longer intimidated by anyone. ''Oh, I guess I''ll be scared if it were a Master Rank Hunter making this threat...''?he thought with a smile after realizing that he had indeed grown much stronger than before. ''I suppose sweet honey is bound to attract all sorts of pests,''?he thought with a shrug. "Alright. Let''s see if you can carry out your threats or if I can find you first and feed your soul to one of my demons." [¡­you are far too ignorant and arrogant. We will make you regret this day for the rest of your life.] Beep! The call ended. Chapter 172: Hunter Assembly And (3)

Chapter 172: Hunter Assembly And (3)

. "Han-Yeol-nim?" Purva called out with a worried look from the front seat after overhearing the phone call. He was in charge of the mansion''s security, and he could not simply turn a blind eye to the fact that his employer had received a threat just now. He believed that they should cooperate with localw enforcement forces to catch the culprit and bolster the security of the mansion until the culprit was caught. "It''s quite the hassle. I wonder why those terrorist bastards even bother toe all the way to Korea? Tsk... Tsk..." Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. The culprit did not reveal who he was over the phone, but Han-Yeol could easily tell judging from the way the threat was delivered that he was probably a member of some extremist terrorist group. In fact, Han-Yeol could even pinpoint, from the various facts, that the culprit probably belonged to the same religious extremist bunch as the terrorists he fought against the first time he met Tayarana. Egypt changed its stance to secrism in recent years, and this angered quite a lot of religious fanatics since the rest of Africa started to follow suit and adopt secrism just like Egypt. The religious extremists were up in arms over Africa''s conversion to secrism as they knew that they were going to lose their foothold in the region once people started to think for themselves. That was the reason these extremists were currently trying their best to hamper the further growth and development of Egypt, and that was probably the reason why they started being active in South Korea since it was an allied country of Egypt now. "Hmm... It''s quite concerning, I must say. I heard that there are a few awakened beings mixed in among those extremists, but the Gurkha Mercenaries are all normal people, right?" "I apologize," Purva said with his head down. They were in charge of guarding the mansion, but even he knew very well that he was not a match against the awakened beings, no matter how well-trained they were. After all, an F Rank Hunter was already far stronger than a normal human being, and even a well-trained soldier was not going tost a minute against them. "It''s not your fault, Purva. The notion of a normal person fighting against an awakened being is absurd in the first ce." Purva did not fully understand what Han-Yeol said, but he got the gist of what he was trying to say. Still, that did not make him feel any better as he was ashamed for being useless against the awakened beings. Although, Han-Yeol was not really bothered by the whole thing... ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I start that project earlier than expected?¡¯? Han-Yeol hade up with many ideas in his head. However, he had to dy all of them as he was busy hunting and setting up his business. But now, he was thinking of implementing those ideas after getting threatened by the terrorists. "Purva." "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!" "There are many strong and loyal men in your country who are looking for work, right?" "Huh...? Ah, yes!" Purva was slightly taken aback by the sudden unexpected question, but he immediately regained hisposure and responded. Nepal was one of the countries that had failed to properly adapt to the age of the mana stones, and its GDP was still one of the lowest in the world. "Hmm..." Han-Yeol pondered for a while. Tap¡­! Tap¡­! Tap¡­! Tap¡­! Tap¡­!? Han-Yeol took out theptop in the car and started typing something on it, and Purva kept quiet so as not to bother Han-Yeol. After a few minutes passed, Purva said, "We are almost at the P Resort in Ganghwa Ind, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± Han-Yeol stopped typing and looked around his surroundings. He had to meet up with the Mn team first, so he did not directly go to the resort. Ganghwa Ind was a huge ind with an area of three hundred and two square kilometers, but there were only sixty thousand people inhabiting it. Moreover, P Resort was located quite far away from residential areas, so the roads leading to it were practically empty. Dududududu! Also, the Hunters participating in the Hunter Assembly event were all famous individuals in Korea, so all of them chose to fly in a helicopter instead of taking the road. ¡®Hmm¡­ Maybe I should¡¯ve used my helicopter as well¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol btedly realized that the resort had a helipad he could have used. ¡°The Mn team ising over there, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Yeah, I see them.¡± Han-Yeol and the Mn team exchanged short greetings before heading to P Resort, but they were soon stopped by the armed security at the resort''s gates. The security, armed with a K2 rifle, approached the vehicle. He asked, "Which news outlet are you from?" It seemed that they mistook Han-Yeol for a journalist instead of a Hunter. They could not be med for that as all two hundred Hunters participating in this event flew in with their helicopters, and the only ones that came by road were the journalists from various news outlets. It was at that moment when one of the security guards walked toward Han-Yeol that someone from the guardhouse suddenly shouted, "Hey! I thought all the invited news outlets had already arrived?" "Yes, that is correct. All thirty-nine media,prising five broadcasting stations, twenty-four channels, and thirty news outlets, have already arrived. It seems that some tabloid heard the rumors and decided to try their luck, just like a while ago." "Ah, this is so annoying. I thought we already told those tabloids not toe here?" "Maybe they''re acting on their own ord? There are always those morons trying to be a superhero from time to time. You know, those idiots who argue that the public has the right to know and other bullshit like that when all they want is a scoop to help their careers. These morons always find another way in if we chase them out, so what should we do?" "What else? Just chase them out. We were instructed to only let the invited media outletse in and send the rest back. Can you imagine what''s going to happen if we get on the Hunter Assembly''s bad side?" "Yes, sir. I will chase them out this instant!" The armed security guards were from a securitypany that the Hunter Assembly frequently hired. It was illegal for an individual to possess firearms in South Korea, but thispany used a loophole to arm their guards with the K2 rifle since their CEO was a Hunter. These guards were well aware that the Hunters'' Association and Hunter Assembly were not ones to mess with, and the securitypany they worked for was going to close down in the blink of an eye if they messed up on the job. The guard who seemed to be the leader of the group signaled the guards to chase Han-Yeol''s party away, and the guard talking to Purva nodded in response. "I don''t know which media outlet you''re from, but all the invited outlets have already arrived. Please go back," the security guard said. It was obvious from how the guards acted that the Hunter Assembly''s statement to make it an open event was not as open as they made it sound to be. The public''s right to know? The Hunter Assembly probably thought that the public should be satisfied with whatever information they threw at them. "This person here is one of the Hunters invited to this event. He is Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, and we are not from a news outlet," Purva replied. However, the security guard did not seem to be convinced. After all, there were always numerous journalists who tried to lie their way into important events like this, and this group was not the first one that tried to lie their way in today. What happened to those who tried to lie their way into the event? The security guards beat them up and chased them away. Of course, nothing was going to change this time. "Nice try. There''s no way that someone like him is going to drive all the way here. Do you know how rich he is? Do you really think he''s going to use a shitty car like... heok!" the security guard gasped in horror after seeing Han-Yeol in the back seat. "L-Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?!" He immediately recognized Han-Yeol since he was all over the news and TV these days, and even those people not interested in the news had seen him a few times since he was often photographed together with Tayarana. It was rather strange for someone not to be able to recognize Han-Yeol these days. ¡®I-It¡¯s really him!¡¯?the security guard was bbergasted. bbergasted, the security guard immediately took out his walkie-talkie and said, ¡°This is Pine Tree. T-The car at the gates is Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡¯s car. I repeat. The car at the gates is Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡¯s car. Open the gates now.¡± Bzzt! [¡­] There was no response from the other end of the walkie-talkie. [¡­] It was only after two full minutes had passed that a response finally came. [Are you certain it¡¯s Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?] ¡°Y-Yes. I¡¯m absolutely certain. I can also see his monster pet, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out in response after hearing his name. His cry was so loud that it was heard over the walkie-talkie as well. Bzzt! [Approved. Open the gates.] ¡°A-Alright. Over.¡± The gates finally opened, and the barricade was moved aside. There might have been a slightmotion, but Han-Yeol and his crew were able to enter the resort''s grounds without any further problems. The Mn crew''s car looked quite different from the conventional broadcasting van that other news outlets used, so the guards did not notice them. They were not in the right state of mind to even check the Mn crew''s car as they were simply too stunned to do anything. After all, the fact that South Korea''s currently most popr Hunter came with a car instead of a helicopter, and they almost made the biggest mistake of their life, was simply too big of a surprise for them. Of course, they were still at fault for failing to check the Mn crew''s car no matter what the circumstances were, and they would probably have been court-martialed for failing to inspect the vehicle if this were the military. ¡°This is where being famous has its perks,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smirk. ¡°I agree, Han-Yeol-nim,¡± Purva replied. ¡°But they mentioned that they aren¡¯t letting other news outlets enter, right?¡± ¡°Yes, they did.¡± ¡°So why didn¡¯t they stop the Mn crew then?¡± ¡°I-I do not know¡­¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ What a strange bunch¡­ Maybe they don¡¯t stop personal channels?¡± Han-Yeol could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that the Mn crew was able to enter simply because of a mistake made by the security guards. The securitypany contracted by the Hunter Assembly for this event was a renownedpany that Han-Yeol himself had heard of. Thepany held the top position in the country''s security industry and was called G-Force. Its owner was a famous Hunter as well, and he held an executive position within the Hunter Assembly, making him an influential figure. G-Force, the securitypany, had managed to maintain its industry dominance for nearly ten years, thanks to its contract with the Hunter Assembly. This was precisely why Han-Yeol hadn''t even considered the possibility of the industry leader making such a rookie mistake. ¡°I will park the car over there,¡± Purva said. ¡°Okay.¡± The car was parked a few distances away from the media vans, and the Mn crew''s car was parked right beside Han-Yeol''s car. Han-Yeol got out of the car, and... ¡°Hurry up!¡± ¡°Move faster!¡± The Mn crew sprang into action to ensure Han-Yeol didn''t have to wait for a long time. "Do you have any orders for us, Han-Yeol-nim?" Su-In approached him and asked. As she was in charge of the channel, she ced great importance on Han-Yeol''s ns so that she could devise her own filming strategies. "Let''s film the intro here and transition to a livestream once we''re inside. What do you think?" Han-Yeol replied. "Yes, that sounds like a great idea. I will make an announcement that we''ll be livestreaming the entire event before we enter. Although I don''t expect to have as many viewers as during our hunts, we''ll easily surpass fifty thousand viewers since we have our loyal subscribers." "Well, that sounds good to me. Shall we start filming?" "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim." Then, Han-Yeol suddenly thought of something, ¡®Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡­ Han-Yeol-nim¡­ I don¡¯t really like what they¡¯re calling me right now¡­ I should probably tell them to address me as the Chairman once the Mavros Group is established.¡¯ He could not help but be annoyed by the fact that people were addressing him with different names or titles, so he decided to create a single title for everyone to call him. Chapter 173: Hunter Assembly And (4)

Chapter 173: Hunter Assembly And (4)

¡°Let¡¯s go, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Tak! Mavros jumped onto Han-Yeol¡¯s head after his name was called. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Purva.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± They entered the main hall of P Resort, with the Mn film crew following them closely, equipped with their normal cameras. This time, the V Ticket users were unable to switch screens as they usually did. The Mn film crew had no choice but to limit the camera angles, as they were currently on private property with other people present, which raised concerns about privacy. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? ¡°Oh! It¡¯s Lee Han-Yeol Hunter!¡± ¡°Lee Han-Yeol Hunter!¡± One by one, the reporters waiting outside started shouting as they spotted Han-Yeol walking toward the main hall. All of them were from news outlets affiliated with the Hunter Assembly, tasked with writing positive articles about the event. However, they couldn''t care less about it. ¡®People aren¡¯t interested in these boring gatherings of Hunters.¡¯ ¡®Everyone knows how arrogant Hunters are and that they usually treat ordinary people like animals, so why would they care about some event?¡¯ ¡®Tsk tsk¡­ They still have no idea what the people think about them¡­¡¯ The reporters cursed the Hunters hundreds of times in their heads, but they couldn''t voice their thoughts openly as these Hunters belonged to famous raid parties and guilds. There were many ordinary people who watched the broadcasts of these Hunters, as the videos of their hunts contained more action than most action or war movies. After all, a mereputer-generated graphic could neverpare to the real skills exhibited by high-ranking Hunters. However, the only aspect most people were interested in regarding the Hunters was their hunting prowess, and they didn''t care whether the Hunters were hosting a pretentious and boring event for themselves or not. A few reporters started asking Han-Yeol absurd questions that he didn''t feel the need to respond to. "How do you feel now that the Horus raid party has returned to Egypt?" "Are you really in a rtionship with Tayarana?" "They say that Tayarana is secretly your wife and Mariam is your concubine. Don''t you think you''re being too immoral?" "We''ve heard that you''re receiving over a hundred calls from all over the world for one of your monster pets. Do you have any intention to sell them?" "Please give us an answer!" The major news outlets would have sent only a ragtag bunch out of formality if this were just the Hunter Assembly''s event. However, upon hearing that Han-Yeol was attending, they dispatched some of their most tenacious reporters this time. Han-Yeol had be somewhat of a ''national celebrity'' thanks to his image as a just Hunter who stood up for the weak, unlike most Hunters known for their questionable personalities. Furthermore, the media were practically ''worshiping'' Han-Yeol as the key to ending South Korea''s economic crisis, given his potential role as a mediator between the country and African nations, thanks to his connections in Egypt. While these were still unfounded rumors, they weren''t entirely baseless, as Han-Yeol indeed had significant connections with key figures in Egypt. After all, Tayarana, the second highest-ranking person in Egypt, happened to be Han-Yeol''s closest Koreanpanion. ¡°I came to attend the event. I didn¡¯te to give an interview,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°B-But you can still answer a few of our questions, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The people have a right to know! It¡¯s your obligation to respond to our questions!¡± Most famous people found it hard to deal with reporters, as a single article could potentially damage their reputation. This was especially true for celebrities and politicians. However, Han-Yeol was an exception to this rule, as his upation did not rely on his fame or the public''s opinion of him. That was why he could simply ignore the reporters, even if they threatened to write a negative article about him. Such actions wouldn''t affect him significantly, and it was now the reporters who found it difficult to deal with him instead. "Then you should agree to an interview when we ask you," one of the reporters said. Suddenly, Han-Yeol sensed a sharp object flying toward him at rapid speed. Fshwoooo! Puk! ¡°Hiik!¡± ¡°Heok!¡± An arrow flew in an arc that defied allws of physics and embedded itself in the ground between the reporters and Han-Yeol. Immediately, all of the reporters retreated upon seeing the arrow, but Han-Yeol was already locked in a gaze with the perpetrator who had shot it. The reporters followed Han-Yeol''s gaze, their hearts filled with fear of another arrow flying toward them, yet there was only one thing on their minds at that moment. ¡®An exclusive!¡¯ ¡®Everyone will be interested to see a fight between Hunters!¡¯ ¡®This is going to be a hit! The people are going to go nuts if it¡¯s a fight between a Hunter and Lee Han-Yeol!¡¯ ¡®Jackpot!¡¯ If there was one thing that people constantly debated about onmunity forums, it was probably this... [Who is going to win if Hunter A and Hunter B fought?] People loved debating over who among the Hunters of the same rank was stronger, and any post on themunity forums would inevitably explode with discussions within a matter of hours. The fascination withparing Hunters was immense. However, these debates never progressed beyond the ''debate'' stage, as it was prohibited byw for Hunters to engage in fights among themselves. "It''s the Bow Master, Jung Woo-Hyun!" "That''s the famous S Rank who''s nearly a Master Rank, right?!" "They say he''s quite short-tempered... Seems true, considering he shot an arrow before saying anything." "I... I think we should be careful..." The Hunter with the arrogant title ''Bow Master'' leaped down from his elevated position as Han-Yeol looked up at him. "My bad, my fingers slipped," he said with a smirk, evidently provoking a fight. However, Han-Yeol simply smiled and replied, "It happens." Then, he used Psychokinesis to extract the arrow from the ground and returned it to Jung Woo-Hyun. Tak! Jung Woo-Hyun snatched the arrow that was floating toward him. He believed it would give him the upper hand and intimidate the neer, but it turned out to be a significant miscalction. He had no idea about Han-Yeol''s exceptional mental fortitude. Han-Yeol was tougher than most individuals, and he was not easily rattled by others. In fact, he excelled at getting under people''s skin. "These things can happen if youck experience with a bow. I know a young kid who dreams of bing an archer, and he frequently makes the same mistake," Han-Yeol smirked and sneered. "What did you just say?" Jung Woo-Hyun grimaced in response. ¡®Hiiiik!¡¯ ¡®Hap!¡¯ ¡®H-He taunted him¡­!¡¯ ¡®That guy¡¯s too reckless!¡¯ sh! sh! sh! sh!? The reporters unleashed a barrage of shes as they captured photo after photo of the two individuals, but their breaths were held in anticipation of what would unfold next. "You have a way with words," Jung Woo-Hyun growled. "Really? I was simply describing things as I observed them," Han-Yeol replied, pretending to be oblivious. Jung Woo-Hyun, true to the reporters'' perceptions, exhibited a short temper and aggression. While he had initiated the confrontation with Han-Yeol, he grew visibly agitated after losing the verbal exchange. "Do you want to settle this?" Jung Woo-Hyun shouted as he swiftly drew an arrow and nocked it on his bow. Creak¡­! ¡°Hiiik!¡± ¡°Heok!¡± The reporters gasped in horror and hastily retreated after witnessing the vtile nature of the Bow Master up close. They were acutely aware that, at such a close range, the arrow could easily prate Han-Yeol''s heart with a simple movement of Jung Woo-Hyun''s fingers. Jung Woo-Hyun was not fully utilizing his mana at that moment, with only a fraction of it emanating due to his anger. However, an arrow from an S Rank Hunter still possessed lethal potential and could prove fatal to an ordinary person. Then, suddenly, a low voice said, "Quit it, Jung Woo-Hyun." The sound seemed to resonate right next to their ears, causing Han-Yeol, Jung Woo-Hyun, and the reporters to scan their surroundings, searching for the source of the voice. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? ¡°¡­¡± The entire ce fell into a profound silence as a charismatic swordsman made his presence known. ¡°Gulp¡­!¡± The reporters nervously gulped upon seeing the swordsman, and then their voices erupted in exmation. "J-Jung Soo-Hyun!" "Yeah, if Jung Woo-Hyun is here, then Jung Soo-Hyun must be too." "It seems the Hunter Assembly has gone all out for this event...!" "Amazing...!" Initially, the reporters had attended the event somewhat reluctantly, mainly because of Han-Yeol. However, upon witnessing the presence of both Jung Soo-Hyun and Jung Woo-Hyun, a fire ignited within them. This gathering offered a rare opportunity to see numerous high-ranking Hunters, who were not typically seen in public, all in one ce. Jung Soo-Hyun maintained a stoic expression, but it was evident he was attempting to discern something through his piercing gaze directed at Han-Yeol. "It appears my brother has acted impulsively. I apologize on his behalf for his immaturity," Jung Soo-Hyun said. "Not at all. I must admit, your brother is quite the entertainer. I, on the other hand, envy the fact that you have siblings. I have none.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!? It felt as though sparks were flying between the two, despite the calmness of their conversation. A battle of wits ensued between the Hunters. The two S Rank brothers, Jung Soo-Hyun and Jung Woo-Hyun, attempted to pressure Han-Yeol, but there was no chance that he would back down from them. ¡®I can¡¯t back down now, even if I¡¯m guaranteed to lose against them in a real fight,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The two brothers were renowned for being S Rank Hunters, just a step away from attaining the coveted Master Rank. They were acknowledged for their exceptional strength,parable to that of a Master Rank Hunter. However, theirck of versatility in abilities had led them to fail the Master Rank test on three asions. Consequently, people often unofficially referred to them as SS Rank Hunters, despite there being only the S Rank below the esteemed Master Rank. Just as the battle of wits was on the verge of reaching its pinnacle, someone in the vicinity abruptlymenced apuding. p! p! p! p! p! p!? ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°¡­!¡± The three of them ceased their battle of wits, or rather, they werepelled to halt it upon hearing the sound of apuse. Han-Yeol was convinced that the mere act of pping contained a tremendous amount of mana, which instantaneously neutralized all three of them for a brief moment. ¡®It¡¯s a Master Rank Hunter.¡¯?Han-Yeol was certain who it was without having to look at the person. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? A man walked out from the main hall of the resort and made his way toward the reporters. ¡°W-Whooaaa!¡± Then, the reporters swiftly dispersed in opposite directions, creating a path for the imposing man to walk through. Standing at a towering height of one hundred ny centimeters, his dark blond hair was slicked back, and he sported round sses that concealed his sharp eyes. Ironically, despite his tall stature, he had a lean physique and was dressed modestly in a white t-shirt and jeans. However, thebination of his slender frame and piercing gaze emitted an unexinable charisma and an undeniable aura of pressure, akin to a snake fixated on its prey. "I believe that will suffice from the three of you," he uttered in a low, authoritative voice that brooked no disagreement. "Master Hydra..." Soo-Hyun murmured. "Hoho... You brothers always indulge in the same mischief with others. Ah, I believe this is your first time attending this event, Hunter Lee Han-Yeol, if I''m not mistaken. I kindly request that you show more respect to your seniors henceforth," Master Hydra said with utmost politeness and eloquence, yet his eyes fixated on Han-Yeol as if he were a potential prey. In an instant, Han-Yeol sensed that this event was not going to unfold as smoothly as he had initially anticipated. He thought, ¡®Maybe I shouldn¡¯t havee¡­?¡¯ With his motto in life always prioritizing safety first, the current atmosphere made Han-Yeol exceedingly uneasy. ¡®Ah¡­ Maybe I should¡¯ve leveled up a bit more beforeing¡­¡¯?he clicked his tongue inwardly and regretted it. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol found himself in a predicament. He had already made his presence known and had managed to draw out Master Hydra. Walking away at this point would not only tarnish his image, but it would also be a blow to his pride. Drawing from his past experience as a Porter, he understood that retreating now would only result in him being further relegated down the hierarchy. ¡®It¡¯s a hassle, but I guess I have no choice¡­¡¯?he let out a sigh before raising both of his hands. ¡°I guess you are right. I cannote and cause trouble on my first day, right?¡± he said with a smile. ¡°Hoho, excellent choice I must say. Now, what about you brothers?¡± Master Hydra smiled and said before he turned his gaze toward the two brothers. Others might think that he was asking for the brothers¡¯ opinions, but it was obvious from his gaze that he was not going to take no for an answer. ¡®That¡¯s probably the ¡®gaze¡¯ that all Master Rank Hunters use¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while observing Master Hydra¡¯s eyes. A Hunter who had ascended to the esteemed rank of a Master Hunter possessed the ability to exert dominance over those of lower ranks with a mere gaze. The intensity of their stare alone was enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone who found themselves at the receiving end. ¡°Tsk¡­?I guess we have no choice¡­ Let¡¯s go, hyung. And, I¡¯m going to kill you if I see you next time,¡± Jung Woo-Hyun growled. ¡°As you wish,¡± Han-Yeol sneered in response. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­¡± Jung Soo-Hyun said. ¡°Sure.¡± Chapter 174: Hunter Assembly And (5)

Chapter 174: Hunter Assembly And (5)

Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? The brothers, Soo-Hyun and Woo-Hyun, walked through the path opened by the reporters and entered the main building. They were invited to the event as well. ck! ck! ck!? A few reporters discreetly took photos despite the tense atmosphere. While a juicy fight may not have urred, these kinds of standoffs still made for captivating headlines. ¡®It''s fortunate that I came here when I would normally have refused. I have the opportunity to witness Hunters I wouldn''t even dream of seeing, and I experienced such intense tension between them! This is going to be an exceptional scoop!¡¯? More than a dozen reporters were thinking along the same lines, as most of their scoop senses were tingling. "I should probably start by thanking you for stopping me from getting into a fight on the first day," Han-Yeol said confidently. After all, he was not the type to suppress himself just because he was talking to a Master Rank Hunter. "Hoho, I simply didn''t want anyone causing a disturbance on this festive day. By the way, those two have quite the temper, so you might want to be careful out there..." Master Hydra said before he returned to the main building. Han-Yeol stared at Master Hydra''s back for a while before leading Purva and the Mn film crew into the main building. The reporters, of course, were capturing pictures and videos of everything that unfolded, but they were a step behind. [Wow! That was intense!] [I-Is he going to engage in a confrontation with high-ranking Hunters...?] [They didn''t physically fight, but it felt as though I was witnessing a fierce battle! The intensity was overwhelming!] [Yeah, we were watching it online, but I got chills all over my body when I saw Master Hydra''s eyes, as if he was ring right at me!] [T-That was really amazing¡­] [But Han-Yeol-nim didn¡¯t even flinch in front of Master Hydra!] [He might not be a Master Rank Hunter yet, but he is eventually going to be one!] [Then he¡¯s not going to lose to anyone!] [Yeah!] [Yes, he won¡¯t lose!] [He will never die!] [Never!] The Mn film crew was already broadcasting everything live, while the reporters were busy contemting which picture to use and what to write in the article about the intense standoff that had just urred. "Let''s go, Purva." "Yes, sir!" Purva, like Han-Yeol, also looked at Master Hydra''s back. However, there was a notable difference between them. Purva red at Master Hydra. He couldn''t ept that Master Hydra had directed such intense eyes toward his employer, regardless of whether he was a Master Rank Hunter or not. His anger was not solely for Han-Yeol''s sake but rather stemmed from the innate character of Nepalese people. When people thought of Nepalese individuals, bravery and hard work came to mind first. However, their greatest strength was not in their bravery or work ethic, but in their loyalty and resilience. Before the dimensional gates emerged, Nepal had been invaded by the British. The Nepalese people had fought with their lives on the line to drive back the invaders from theirnds. Their tenacity had impressed the British, leading them to hire these warriors as mercenaries to fight under the British g. The Nepalese had also fought as mercenaries during most of the Second World War and earned significant merits. This prompted the British to establish an entire regiment for them, and many Gurkha warriors brought their families to the United Kingdom, bing naturalized British citizens. As a result, their loyalty shifted from Nepal to the United Kingdom. The Gurkhas'' unwavering loyalty was always toward their family and their own people, but not necessarily toward their country, Nepal, due to certain internal political issues. A significant number of Gurkha warriors remained in the employment by the British government even after the dimensional gate incident, where soldiers were no longer in high demand. Additionally, some affluent individuals hired discharged Gurkhas as their personal mercenaries. Purva regarded Han-Yeol as his employer, and thus, he wholeheartedly dedicated his unwavering loyalty to him. This was the reason why he couldn''t simply stand by and watch someone threaten his employer. ¡®I could¡¯ve fought for Han-Yeol-nim if I was a Hunter¡­¡¯?Purva thought while cursing the poor infrastructure of his country in developing Hunters. The reporters sensed a potential scoop lurking around Han-Yeol, but they hesitated to approach him recklessly, suspecting that he might be agitated by what had transpired with the brothers. Not a single reporter dared to obstruct Han-Yeol''s path as he made his way toward the main building. They could only heave a sigh of relief once Han-Yeol, Purva, and the rest of the Mn film crew had finally entered the building. ¡°Phew¡­¡± "It''s great to get an exclusive story, but this ce is too nerve-wracking for me..." "Yeah, logically, we know we won''t get killed here, but the mana these Hunters exude is just overwhelmingly intense..." "That''s why they''re hiring F Rank Hunters as reporters nowadays." "Hey! Why are you bringing that up now?!" "Because it''s frustrating!" An F Rank Hunter was practically ineffective in battle. They had the strength to easily subdue an average person but struggled against even the weakest monsters like the Vx. However, that didn''t change the fact that they were awakened beings, which allowed them to easily find jobs that paid hundreds of millions every year. Although they couldn''t be professional athletes like football yers or mixed martial artists, they were in high demand in industries such as medicine, construction, journalism, and more. The media had be one of the hottest destinations for F Rank Hunters, as numerous news outletspeted to secure the best scoops. It was widely known that a single F Rank Hunter could aplish the work of ten ordinary reporters. One of the main reasons why F Rank Hunters stood out was evident during this event. Only awakened beings were granted ess to the main building, and that exined the absence of awakened reporters waiting outside the building. Some might say that this was discrimination, but none of the media outlets dared to make an enemy out of the Hunter Assembly, so the reporters were left beating their chests out of frustration. *** "Wow... This is truly amazing," Han-Yeol muttered as he took in the interior of the building. From the outside, it appeared like an ordinary building, but the inside was adorned withvish decorations and equipped with state-of-the-art technologies. "Wow! Let''s go and capture a full shot from that side!" "Yes, unni." Even the Mn film crew felt their spirits lifted upon witnessing the grandeur of the building''s interior. While there were numerous guards stationed outside the building, the absence of people inside made it convenient for the Mn film crew to carry out their work. It was during Han-Yeol''s walk that he suddenly sensed the presence of someone nearby. ¡®Who¡¯s that?¡¯ Wooong¡­ ¡®This person is strong¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol detected the person''s mana. It didn''t appear as though the person was intentionally emanating their mana, but rather, Han-Yeol sensed it as a natural overflow from their body. Even this mere natural overflow was enough to make Han-Yeol feel nervous. ¡®The only person that can have this kind of powerful mana is¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought of the one person who he wished he would not meet if he came here. And that person was none other than¡­ ¡°Oh~ Isn¡¯t it the rising superstar Lee Han-Yeol Hunter?¡± ¡®Ah¡­ Damn it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly after seeing the man smiling brightly at him. This man was none other than the Hunter from Jeju Ind, who was also known as the most powerful Hunter of South Korea¡ªKim Tae-San. ¡®This is the one person I was hoping not to meet¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue inwardly. The burden of being the most powerful Hunter in South Korea weighed heavily on Han-Yeol. However, what burdened him even more was the widespread rumors of his rejection by Tayarana. It was inevitable that Kim Tae-San would be upset when Tayarana turned him down, only to spend time with someone like Lee Han-Yeol. Regardless, Kim Tae-San warmly weed Han-Yeol, despite his apprehensions. "Haha! It''s great to finally meet our up-anding superstar! My name is Kim Tae-San, but people call me the Hasan Monster. Well, I find that nickname a bit embarrassing, but oh well." "M-My name is Lee Han-Yeol. It''s nice to meet you too," Han-Yeol replied. During their first official meeting, Kim Tae-San treated Han-Yeol with great kindness, which only served to deepen Han-Yeol''s suspicion regarding the Hasan Monster''s intentions. ¡®I haven''t personally met this guy, but ording to the rumors, he isn''t known to be a good person... It might be best for me to adopt a demeanor that makes him feel ufortable, given his character, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but feel ufortable once again. Still, Kim Tae-San treated Han-Yeol quite warmly despite him having sensed that he was notfortable. ¡°Let¡¯s go now. The event is about to start,¡± Kim Tae-San said. ¡°Ah, y-yes¡­¡± Han-Yeol apanied Kim Tae-San to the main area where the event was taking ce, as it was his intended destination. Throughout the journey, Kim Tae-San persistently pestered Han-Yeol, mentioning how he had seen him on TV,menting on how well he appeared alongside Tayarana, and bringing up other topics that only served to increase Han-Yeol''s difort. As a result, Han-Yeol became more convinced that Kim Tae-San was merely putting on a facade at the moment. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t let my guard down,¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve. "Ah, it''s a pity, but we must part ways for now. You''re a regr Hunter, whereas I''m an executive of this assembly, you see. Bwahaha!" "Ah, alright. It was an honor to meet you." Han-Yeol and Tae-San bid each other farewell in front of the staircase leading upstairs. The assembly''s executives upied the VIP area, while Han-Yeol had to ascend to the second floor and find a seat in a secluded corner. As he nced downward, he noticed something peculiar on the floor below. There was an open space that seemed strangely familiar. ¡®I hope it¡¯s not what I think it is¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol nervously thought. A few momentster, the event started with a speech by Kim Tae-San. ¡°Yawn¡­¡± The event proceeded as usual, with numerous speeches recounting the events of the year, presenting awards and acknowledgments to different Hunters, and discussing the ns for the uing year''s assembly. As a result, the viewers of Level Up TV started to leave inrge numbers. [I don¡¯t want to waste my time watching something so boring.] [Pibim-nim has left the chat.] [Ah¡­ So boring¡­] [Bloody Ma-nim has left the chat.] [Ciao~] [Quilting Day-nim has left the chat.] [Three boos for the assembly!] [Boo Assembly-nim has left the chat.] ¡®Ugh¡­ Damn it¡­!¡¯? Su-In''s stress level escted each time a viewer left the channel. Despite the prior announcement that today''s broadcast would not feature any action or fighting, Su-In anticipated that the majority of the viewers would be Han-Yeol''s true fans. Initially, there were one hundred thousand viewers tuned in to the broadcast. However, they gradually started leaving one by one due to the monotonous speeches delivered by the assembly. As a result, only thirty-one thousand viewers remained on the channel. It was likely that not all of them were actively watching, as they might have been engaged in other activities while the broadcast yed in the background. Su-In could discern this from the rtively empty chatroom, despite the presence of over thirty-one thousand viewers. Most of the conversations happening in the chat were unrted to Han-Yeol, focusing on random topics like shopping experiences at thetest mall in Pyeongtaek. "Have you tried shopping at thetest mall in Pyeongtaek? They say they have all sorts of things there!" [Me.] [Wow, that''s incredible! I''ve heard that the ce is suitable for both men and women, with over fifty activities specifically designed for men, making it quite enjoyable. And to top it off, they even have a car showroom featuring racing models.] [Wow, that¡¯s amazing. I should probably go see it for myself.] [Yeah, go give it a try. It¡¯s really nice there.] [Anyone wants to go together?] [Are you a girl?] [Nope.] [Fuck off.] Since there wasn''t much to watch during the event, the viewers resorted to chatting amongst themselves for the time being. While airing a single dull episode wouldn''t bankrupt Level Up TV, Su-In couldn''t help but feel apologetic towards their V Ticket holders who had paid a significant amount of money for the channel. ¡®I¡¯m starting to hate these bastards even more!¡¯?Su-In gritted her teeth at the Hunter Assembly. She was the responsible type, so the current situation was more than enough to elevate her stress and anxiety levels to new heights. On the other hand, Lee Han-Yeol, the owner of Level Up TV, was doing his best to ''appear'' attentive to the speeches while his mind wandered elsewhere. It was more urate to say that he was distracted by various thoughts. ¡®It¡¯s a waste to just let Purva stay like that... I will need to expedite my ns once I finish with the auction¡­ Oh, why don¡¯t I try starting that¡­? Ah, should I try to make the auction as extravagant as possible just for the sake of it¡­? Wow¡­ I keep thinking of ces to spend money that I¡¯m starting to feel scared of making money¡­¡¯? Of course, Han-Yeol was on cloud nine these days after making so much money. Anyway, he was very distracted right now as listening to boring speeches was definitely not his strongest suite. Chapter 175: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (1)

Chapter 175: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (1)

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly changed when a person holding a microphone appeared in the center. "A clown...?" Han-Yeol muttered. Strangely enough, the individual was indeed a clown. Beeeeeeep! The microphone¡¯s feedback reverberated throughout the hall. [Ah-ah¡­ Hello! I am Joker, the trickster of the Hunter Assembly! I''m certain that all of you are weary from the mundane year you''ve had, constantly hunting and enduring the repugnant stench of those monsters! Without wasting any more time, we shall nowmence the annual tradition of the Hunter Assembly. A small "game" will be initiated to put our abilities to the test. Let the Fight Match BEGIN!] p! p! p! p! p! p!? Whistle! "Hoho! I wonder who''s going up against whom this time?" "Hahaha! I''ve been eagerly anticipating this!" "I thought I was going to die of boredom!" The atmosphere immediately became lively as the ''principal'' was done with his speech. [We will adhere to our tradition and invite our new joiner, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, to the stage!] Thud! "What...?" Han-Yeol was bbergasted by the sudden turn of events. He had been lost in his own thoughts, never expecting his name to be called out so abruptly. ¡°Booooo!¡± ¡°Get up and go to the center!¡± ¡°You better ept the challenge!¡± All sorts of jeers came flying at him from all directions. ¡®Haa¡­ What the hell is this¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol disliked how the assembly abruptly attempted to thrust him into a fight without providing any exnations. However, after having traveled all the way there, he couldn''t simply walk away. They said, "Do as the Romans do when in Rome," so he concluded that the best course of action at the moment was to make the most of this event and try to gain as much as possible from it. Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol stood up from his seat and walked toward the center. ¡°Woooo!¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s a man!¡± ¡°Bwahahaha!¡± ¡°Good job!¡± Han-Yeol stretched his neck and muscles. Although taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, he was not the kind of person to sit there in a daze while others jeered at him. ¡®Just do the best I can at all times, confidently,¡¯ he vowed to himself, never to back down from a challenge, a conviction he held since his childhood days growing up in poverty. [Now, now, please calm down, everyone. We are all aware that Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim possesses more than three skills. Though he may be categorized as a B Rank Hunter, his disyedbat prowess was so remarkable that the Hunters'' Association promoted him to S Rank! Therefore, we shall only permit S Rank Hunters to engage inbat with Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. Now, who among our brave Hunters wishes to step forward and challenge our esteemed neer? This marks the first instance in our assembly''s history where an S Rank Hunter joins as a neer!] Silence ensued for a moment before¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°Waaaaah!¡± ¡°Hahaha! He¡¯s as hot-tempered as ever!¡± [Oh! As expected, Jung Woo-Hyun Hunter-nim has volunteered!] The one who volunteered to fight against Han-Yeol was none other than the Hunter with whom he had an issue outside the building, the Bow Master, Jung Woo-Hyun. A loud cheer erupted throughout the hall when the Bow Master stepped forward. After all, a sh between two S Rank Hunters was guaranteed to be an enthralling spectacle. With most of the Hunters joining the assembly being A Rank, this would mark the first duel between S Rank Hunters in its history. [Allow me to provide a brief exnation of the rules for this special event. First and foremost, this is not a death match, and it''s crucial to bear in mind that causing the death of your opponent, even unintentionally, will subject you to legal consequences. The objective of this duel is to incapacitate your opponent or make them surrender in order to emerge victorious. Lastly, let''s acknowledge that this is far from a simple match, isn''t it?] ¡°Keke! Let¡¯s have some fun!¡± [Normally, we collect money from all of you to allocate as the prize money for the winner of the duel. However, considering that this is a battle between S Rank Hunters, it would be inappropriate to offer them a meager sum, wouldn''t it? Hence, the assembly has prepared something truly exceptional for this asion!] sh! ¡°Wooooo!¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s a unique item?!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± A spotlight illuminated a ss pedestal on the second floor, revealing a bow adorned with an intricately engraved dragon. [The victor of this match will be bestowed with the honor of owning the unique item, the Dragon Bow! The assembly has spared no effort in arranging such a magnificent prize to inspire our participants. So, what are your thoughts? Isn''t this bing quite intriguing~?!] ¡°Bwahahaha!¡± ¡°This is the best!¡± The atmosphere grew even more vibrant as the unique item was revealed as the prize for this match. The crowd appeared eager to immerse themselves in the excitement and ce bets on the uing battle between the S Rank Hunters. [It is now time to ce your bets on your mobile application! Who will emerge victorious from this match?!] "I''m looking forward to the fight between two S Rank Hunters," someone said. The assembly executives at the VIP corner appeared to be enjoying the special event as well. They might have been the ones to n it, but even they were betting on the match. After all, there was no better match to bet on than a fight between Hunters. "Who do you think is going to win?" "It''s Woo-Hyun without a doubt." "But they''re still the same rank, so won''t Lee Han-Yeol be at an advantage? I mean, he has more skills, right?" Everyone started to try and guess who was going to emerge victorious in this special event, and everyone seemed to have their own opinion on the matter. "Hoho... A Hunter''s skill and ability are important, but don''t forget that Woo-Hyun is not an ordinary S Rank Hunter. He is almost at the cusp of bing a Master Rank Hunter, and he makes up for hisck of skills with his mana andbat sense." "Oh right, there was that incident... I forgot..." The executives smirked and nodded at those words. The skills were probably the lifeline of most Hunters, but Woo-Hyun was one of those that did not possess a great set of skills among S Rank Hunters. However, both he and his brother, Soo-Hyun, were undoubtedly one of the strongest S Rank Hunters in the country. In lieu of that, this matchup was personally fixed by Kim Tae-San as he was confident that there was no way the newbie S Rank Hunter, Lee Han-Yeol, was going to win against someone like Jung Woo-Hyun. "That is probably the reason that the chairman tasked Woo-Hyun with teaching that neer a lesson. That neer scratched our chairman''s pride after all." "Tsk tsk... Why did he have to get on the chairman''s bad side of all people? He really should know his ce." "Yeah, what a pitifuld." All of this was a ploy devised by Kim Tae-San. He had spent months concocting this scheme to teach Han-Yeol a lesson, knowing well that it was against thew for Hunters to engage in fights or kill each other. It was precisely what Han-Yeol had anticipated. Behind Kim Tae-San''s smiling facadey a malicious individual. ¡®Did you really think someone like you could loiter around that bitch, Tayarana, when she rejected me?¡¯?Kim Tae-San gritted his teeth. Hasan Monster had a reputation for his insatiable lust. He had been married and divorced ten times, fathering a total of twenty-two children. While most high-ranking Hunters were aware of his scandalous lifestyle, the general public remained oblivious as he skillfully kept it under wraps. Kim Tae-San was the kind of man who would wake from his slumber at the mere hint of a beautiful woman nearby. This was precisely why he had attempted to make advances toward Tayarana, hoping to "embrace" her at least once. He had been consumed by curiosity, yearning to experience the allure of someone as exquisite as her. To his astonishment, Tayarana had tly rejected his advances, dealing a significant blow to Kim Tae-San. Being ustomed to never being turned down by any woman he pursued since awakening as a Hunter, this rejection shook him to the core. Adding insult to injury, an apparently insignificant individual suddenly emerged and began hovering around Tayarana, further fueling Kim Tae-San''s animosity toward this weakling. Tayarana embodied the beauty that Kim Tae-San desperately coveted for himself. Even his own wife, who had once ranked among the top one hundred models in the country, now paled inparison to Tayarana''s allure. The encounter with the Egyptian goddess had left an indelible mark on him, forever etched in his memory. It was precisely for these reasons that he harbored an unforgiving grudge toward the weakling, Lee Han-Yeol. *** The chatter of the crowd and VIPs held little significance to the twopetitors, Han-Yeol and Woo-Hyun. "I have been waiting for this moment, you arrogant bastard," Jung Woo-Hyun said, his face adorned with an arrogant smirk. He was eager to teach Han-Yeol a lesson for his perceived arrogance. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol was determined to crush Woo-Hyun in retaliation for instigating the fight. He aimed to show everyone that he was not someone to be trifled with. In a peculiar way, Han-Yeol saw this as an opportunity, despite his disdain for bing a public spectacle akin to a circus monkey. ¡®When would I ever get the chance to fight against real Hunters?¡¯?he thought as he stretched his muscles. Fighting against fellow Hunters was strictly prohibited byw, and there were no organized sports orpetitions that pitted Hunters against each other. In essence, this event was the only opportunity for Han-Yeol to engage in a battle against another Hunter. ¡®I guess they used their influence to make this possible,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he was quite curious how they managed to do it. As he unsheathed his sword, a wild vibration coursed through the de, causing it to tremble uncontrobly. Wooooong! It was undeniable that the Hunters present in the hall could feel the intense vibration emanating from Han-Yeol''s sword. Being highly-ranked Hunters in the country, they immediately recognized the extraordinary power possessed by his weapon. "W-What kind of sword is that?!" "The mana emanating from it is extraordinary... It carries a gentle yet destructive aura. Who could have crafted such a sword?" "Hmm... I must get my hands on that sword." This sword was distinct from the one Han-Yeol had previously used. It had been specially forged two months ago using rare materials obtained from the body of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. When Han-Yeol had approached the Dwarf''s Workshop with the unique metal, they agreed to craft a new sword for him. Excitement coursed through him as he received the finished sword from the Dwarf''s Workshop. As he examined it, he couldn''t help but tremble with anticipation. The owner of the workshop even praised the exceptional quality of the material he had brought, remarking, "This is the first time I''ve encountered such astonishing metal." [Sword of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva] [Rating: Unique] [Type: Sword] [Mana Amplification: 5,000 to 6,000] [The user¡¯s concentration will increase by 15% thanks to the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s mana.] [The user¡¯s mana regeneration will increase by 3%.] [The chances of seeing invisible things will increase.] [This sword possesses the skill ¡®Mana sh¡¯ (M).] [Mana sh (M)] [Type: Active] [Description: Allows the user to channel their mana into the sword and send out a wave of mana. The strength of the skill depends on how much mana was channeled into the sword.] The sword in Han-Yeol''s possession was undoubtedly a top-tier unique item, ranking among the finest swords avable. It stood as a testament to his status as the first person to create an item using materials derived from the corpses of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. While the Horus raid party had acquired most of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva''s remains, it was anticipated that a few items crafted from these materials would soon appear in the market. However, they would undoubtedlye with a hefty price tag. Furthermore, harnessing the full potential of these materials required an exceptionally skilled cksmith, a rarity to find in present times. ¡®Haha¡­ That cksmith really did it this time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. The Dwarf''s Workshop had shuttered its doors for nearly six weeks toplete the swordmissioned by Han-Yeol, a venture that cost him a staggering one trillion won. However, the veteran cksmith''s decision to temporarily close his shop was not solely motivated by the payment he received from Han-Yeol. It was his burning desire to fully immerse himself in working with the precious and rare special metal that fueled his dedication. Aware that the reappearance of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was uncertain, the scarcity of the special metal in the world became evident. This realization alone ignited a fervor within the veteran cksmith''s heart. With unwavering passion, he poured his heart and soul into the crafting of Han-Yeol''s unique sword, resulting in the remarkable weapon now in his hands. The Sword of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva emitted a formidable aura of mana, leaving Jung Woo-Hyun feeling somewhat intimidated. However, his pride refused to allow him to back down. "Ha! How intriguing. You seek to intimidate me with your item because youck confidence in your own skill?" Woo-Hyun sneered. ¡®Huh? What the hell is he talking about¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion as he had no ns to intimidate anyone with his sword. The sole reason Han-Yeol had drawn his sword was quite obvious - he intended to engage inbat. Tak¡­! Then, a man d in a referee uniform leaped into the space between the two Hunters. "Get ready! It''s time tomence the Fight Match, where everything is permitted except for killing. Are you both prepared? Are you ready?!" Chapter 176: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (2)

Chapter 176: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (2)

The referee was getting ready to start the fight, since the two Hunters were prepared. Creak¡­! Jung Woo-Hyun pulled out an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, while Han-Yeol gripped his sword in preparation to attack. "Are you ready?" Wooooong! Both of them started to channel their mana. ¡°FIGHT!¡± The referee finally gave the signal. Everyone anticipated the melee fighter, Han-Yeol, to make the first move, but they were surprised when the archer, Jung Woo-Hyun, made the first move instead. "Eat this!" Shwoooong! The typical way to shoot an arrow was to aim it directly toward the target, but Jung Woo-Hyun deviated from the norm and shot the arrow to the side instead. Many would assume he did so impulsively, but Jung Woo-Hyun was renowned as the Bow Master. Among the Hunters, there were no Master Rank individuals who specialized in archery, and most bow-wielding Hunters fell below the S Rank. Therefore, Jung Woo-Hyun''s title as the Bow Master was not entirely unfounded. Shak! The arrow followed a U-shaped trajectory, soaring toward Han-Yeol''s blind spot. ¡®Ha! As if!¡¯?Han-Yeol scoffed as his Sixth Sense kicked in. ng! It was a piece of cake for Han-Yeol to perceive the iing arrow, even though it flew from his blind spot, thanks to his Sixth Sense ability, which made everything move at an extremely slow pace. When Han-Yeol deftly parried the arrow, Jung Woo-Hyun was slightly flustered at how easily his attack was blocked. However, he gritted his teeth, took three more arrows from his quiver, and eximed, "Try blocking this!" He unleashed his ''Multi Shot'' technique. Creak¡­ Shwooong! Shwooong! Shwoooong! It was not a skill but rather a self-developed technique that enabled him to shoot three arrows simultaneously at his target. The arrows dispersed in different directions, with the middle one heading straight for Han-Yeol''s head, while the other two formed an arc, targeting both of his sides. This highly challenging technique was Jung Woo-Hyun''s specialty, which he had used to dispatch numerous monsters. It was also the technique that endeared him to his devoted fans. ¡®It¡¯s definitely difficult to block something like this with ordinary defensive skills,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while observing the three arrows. Most defensive skills were of the shield type, capable of protecting only a single direction, while those offering full-body defense were exceptionally rare. Jung Woo-Hyun''s arrows, which could target the entire body, proved to be a truly lethal technique against most opponents. Han-Yeol possessed his own defensive skill, but he saw no reason to employ it at that moment. Swinging his sword, he thought, ¡®It will be easier for meter on if I stick to one concept instead of showcasing all of my skills.¡¯ Shwaaak! ng! ng! ng! ¡°¡­!¡± All three arrows flew in different directions, yet Han-Yeol effortlessly swung his sword once and blocked all of them. Crack! Gritting his teeth and feeling frustrated at his blocked technique, Jung Woo-Hyun knew he couldn''t afford to stand idly by. He didn''t have the luxury of dwelling on his disappointment. "It''s my turn now. Get ready," Han-Yeol dered after sessfully deflecting two attacks from the Bow Master. Tak! Knowing that he couldn''t maintain a purely defensive stance indefinitely, Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and swiftly charged toward Jung Woo-Hyun. Unbeknownst to Han-Yeol, Jung Woo-Hyun still had a few tricks left to unleash. As Han-Yeol closed in on him, Jung Woo-Hyun readied himself to shoot his arrows once again, but this time with a significantly more potent attack. "I''ll show you what true rapid fire is!" Jung Woo-Hyun eximed, determined to make asting impression. Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak!? This time, Jung Woo-Hyun pulled out five arrows from his quiver and swiftly released each one in rapid session toward Han-Yeol. Aplishing the seemingly impossible, he managed to pull back his bowstrings five times in a matter of seconds. Gulp! Han-Yeol?nervously gulped after seeing the bow shoot out arrows like a gun. He thought, ¡®What kind of speed is that?!¡¯ Ironically, the arrows shot by the Bow Master seemed to be much more powerful than bullets. Tak! Han-Yeol came to an abrupt halt, his focus shifting entirely toward evading the iing barrage of arrows. "Did you truly believe that I am limited to shooting curved arrows and multi-shots?!" Jung Woo-Hyun proimed, his voice carrying a note of triumph. ¡®That''s why he was so confident in facing me one-on-one, even though he was at a disadvantage due to his weapon,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, feeling impressed. It was quite rare for someone to possess the ability to shoot arrows at such rapid speeds, and this was the true secret behind Jung Woo-Hyun''s overconfidence in dueling against Han-Yeol. ¡®Alright, I guess I should stop warming up and get serious now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought and smirked. Wooooong! Han-Yeol abandoned the idea of closing the distance with the Bow Master and channeled his mana into the Sword of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Gulp¡­! Jung Woo-Hyun nervously gulped after sensing the mana being channeled into the sword. ¡®A unique weapon can call forth disaster, so I need to be careful against that¡­¡¯ He might have been arrogant and overconfident in his abilities, but Jung Woo-Hyun was well aware of the immense destructive potential of a unique weapon. The reason he agreed to this duel was not only because he disliked Han-Yeol and due to Kim Tae-San''s request, but also because the prize for this event was none other than a unique bow, a perfect weapon for someone like him. Among Hunters, only a few used bows, as most rangedbatants preferred guns over bows. Thisck of demand made bows cheaper than most weapons, discouraging crafting-ss Hunters from investing their precious materials and time into crafting a weapon that would likely go unsold. The bow currently wielded by Jung Woo-Hyun was subpar for an S Rank Hunter. He hadpensated for his weapon''s shorings with his technique until now, but there were numerous instances where he nearly lost to formidable opponents due to his inadequate equipment. The situation was no different now. Despite maintaining the upper hand throughout the duel, he couldn''t help but feel a twinge of nervousness when Han-Yeol began channeling mana into his sword. Nevertheless, Jung Woo-Hyun was not one to back down or cower. "I will crush your item with my technique!" he roared, pulling an arrow from his quiver. This particr arrow differed from the usual ones, with a thick arrowhead shaped like a small ax. Jung Woo-Hyun, being a regr Hunter, had only three skills at his disposal. However, he had devised numerous techniques andbinations to surpass his limitations and eventually attain the prestigious S Rank. His growth wasn''t a sudden power-up; rather, his fighting style had evolved over the years. Yet, the primary catalyst for his sess was none other than the bow itself. The bow proved to be an incredibly versatile weapon capable of utilizing various types of arrows, allowing the power of the bow to be significantly amplified depending on the arrow employed. ¡°Eat this, you bastard!¡± Shwoooosh! Bang! As soon as the arrow was released from the bow, it emitted a gunshot-like sound, courtesy of its thick arrowhead. The arrow generated shockwaves in its wake as it hurtled toward Han-Yeol with tremendous speed. Han-Yeol quickly assessed the arrow''s trajectory and readied himself to employ the skill of the Sword of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. ¡®Mana sh!¡¯? Wooooong¡­! Shwaaaaaak! A crescent-shaped energy burst forth from the sword, obliterating the arrow in its path before continuing its trajectory toward Jung Woo-Hyun. "Damn it!" Jung Woo-Hyun cursed, stunned to witness his mana-reinforced arrow being effortlessly destroyed by a single energy wave emanating from a sword. However, he couldn''t afford to stand idle, for the crescent energy was now hurtling directly toward him. Reacting swiftly, he leaped out of harm''s way, narrowly avoiding the Mana sh. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized that failing to evade it in time would have resulted in being cleaved in half. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­¡±?Jung Woo-Hyun¡¯s breathing becamebored. The leap itself did not strain him excessively, but the realization that he had narrowly escaped death''s door was enough to send a surge of tension coursing through his body. ¡®Wow¡­ This skill is quite good¡­¡¯ On the other hand, Han-Yeol found himself impressed with the prowess of his new sword''s skill. Despite infusing only a small amount of mana into it, as he had limited expectations, he was pleasantly surprised by its remarkable power. Feeling a sense of satisfaction, Han-Yeol couldn''t help but taunt his opponent with a smug smirk. "What are you doing? nning to stay down all day?" Under normal circumstances, such taunts might not have had a significant impact, but given the Bow Master''s current shaken state after narrowly escaping death, they struck a nerve. Jung Woo-Hyun, losing hisposure, roared in response, "Damn you! You won''t leave here alive!" Whoosh! Creak¡­! Jung Woo-Hyun swiftly retrieved an arrow from his quiver, nocking it with precision. As he prepared for his next move, he began channeling his mana not only into the arrow but also into his eyes. Gradually, his eyes transformed, growing increasingly transparent as he focused his mana into them. ¡®Tsk¡­ People with those eyes tend to be quite tricky to deal with¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. Woooooong! A formidable surge of mana enveloped Jung Woo-Hyun''s entire being, coalescing into an intense concentration within the arrow. Sensing the potent aura of mana, Han-Yeol prepared himself by assuming a lowered stance, aware that this forting attack would be substantial in its impact. "Eat this! Arrow of Infinity!" Jung Woo-Hyun bellowed, unleashing the arrow with all his might. Pshwoooong! The arrow this time appeared rather ordinary, unlike the thick arrow he had shot earlier. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol''s instincts warned him that this was not something he could simply annihte with a Mana sh. Consequently, he made the decision to evade the iing arrow by swiftly leaping to the side. However... "Haha! You''re dead!" Jung Woo-Hyun jeered. Shwooosh! ¡°¡­!¡± Han-Yeol managed to sessfully evade the initial arrow, but to his astonishment, the arrow that should have sailed past him abruptly halted mid-air. It then split into two separate projectiles, both hurtling toward him once more. "What in the world?!" Han-Yeol cried out in horror, instinctively evading the dual onught of arrows once again. However... "You''re done for today, punk! Hahaha!" Jung Woo-Hyun triumphantly dered, exuding confidence in his impending victory. Shwooosh! ¡°Euk!¡±?Han-Yeol groaned as he witnessed the two arrows split into four, each hurtling toward him from distinct directions. "What the fuck?!" he eximed, scrambling to evade the iing barrage. Unfazed by Han-Yeol''s reaction, Jung Woo-Hyun shouted with excitement, "Where do you think you''re going?!" He continued to unleash a relentless stream of arrows, which joined the multiplying projectiles in their pursuit of Han-Yeol. Meanwhile, Kim Tae-San and the other VIPs observed the duel with gratification, their smiles reflecting their satisfaction with the unfolding spectacle. ¡®Hohoho! Based on the rules of this Fight Match, you''re not permitted to intentionally kill your opponent. However, if, in the heat of battle, an idental death urs, we can''t ce me on someone for such an urrence, can we?¡¯?Kim Tae-San thought. He was undoubtedly pushing the limits. The rules explicitly stated that there would be criminal consequences for killing one''s opponent, regardless of intention. However, Kim Tae-San, confident in his influence, believed he could easily circumvent any such repercussions. After all, his position as the assembly''s chairman was not without reason. In a discreet manner, Kim Tae-San signaled to Jung Soo-Hyun, who was observing the duel. The hand signal implied that they were free to eliminate Han-Yeol if they so desired. Jung Soo-Hyun acknowledged the message and conveyed it to Jung Woo-Hyun through gestures. Although theycked a specific secret code, the brothers'' shared experiences as Porters and lifelong hunting partners allowed them to understand one another solely through nonverbal cues. Jung Woo-Hyun nodded in response. ¡®It¡¯s annoying that Kim Tae-San is ordering us around, but our raid party needs his help to be even stronger than we are right now,¡¯?he thought. The one requesting the favor was none other than South Korea''s most powerful Hunter, which made it the most advantageous connection they could hope for in the country. It went without saying that this "best connection" was exactly what they needed to ensure their sess from this point onward. ¡®First things first! I have to get rid of this tactless bastard!¡¯?Jung Woo-Hyun redirected his sights on his opponent. Driven by his desire to teach his opponent a lesson and bring the fight to a swift end, Jung Woo-Hyun unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows. However... ¡®Damn it! Why is he so slippery?!¡¯?he cursed inwardly. Sixteen arrows trailed Han-Yeol, and Jung Woo-Hyun had already fired his twentieth arrow at him. Despite this relentless assault, Han-Yeol narrowly evaded each arrow as it whizzed past him. Jung Woo-Hyun, the Bow Master, had calcted that the arrogant opponent should have met his demise by now. Yet, he couldn''t help but feel flustered as the situation unfolded contrary to his expectations. On the other hand, Han-Yeol was busy studying the trajectory of the arrows. ¡®These arrows may be fast ande from all directions, but they''re riddled with openings when I observe them in slow motion. Damn... I can''t help but feel that this Sixth Sense skill is like cheating...¡¯ Han-Yeol possessed a diverse range of skills, some of which could be considered outright cheat skills. This gave him a strong sense of confidence, assuring him that he wouldn''t easily be outmatched by others in terms of abilities. ¡®Now, shall we stop ying and go dash his hopes and dreams?¡¯?he thought. Initially, Han-Yeol felt greatly flustered when he witnessed the arrow splitting into two, but upon careful examination of the trajectory and pattern, he quickly realized it was nothing extraordinary. Although the arrows were undeniably swift and plentiful, their patterns appeared rather simple and straightforward. However, this perception was only possible due to the enhanced abilities of Demon Eyes and Sixth Sense. An ordinary Hunter would have likely been turned into a bloody pincushion long before reaching the sixteenth arrow. Tak! Han-Yeol suddenly kicked off the ground and jumped toward Jung Woo-Hyun. ¡°Heok!¡±?Jung Woo-Hyun gasped in horror as he witnessed the arrogant punk effortlessly evade all thirty-two of his duplicating arrows and rapidly approach him. Instinctively, he reached into his quiver, a reflex he had relied on countless times in dangerous situations throughout his life. However... Tak¡­ Tak¡­ ¡®I-I¡¯m out of arrows?!¡¯? Chapter 177: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (3)

Chapter 177: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (3)

Jung Woo-Hyun was currently facing the worst possible danger. He had one fatal weakness: running out of ammo. A gunner could carry numerous magazines to reload, but his quiver could only hold forty arrows at a time. However, Han-Yeol skillfully evaded his arrows while constantly taunting him, causing Jung Woo-Hyun to be overly agitated and exhaust all of his arrows. Jung Woo-Hyun could engage in meleebat using his bow, but he was up against an S Rank Hunter who specialized in close-quartersbat. There was no way he could match his opponent. After all, the Bow Master excelled in rangedbat, so he was at a distinct disadvantage when it came to fighting in close quarters. ¡°Argh!¡± Jung Woo-Hyun gnashed his teeth in anger. ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Han-Yeol said in a cold voice before he swung his sword. He was about to cut Jung Woo-Hyun¡¯s bow in half to put an end to this duel, but¡­ ¡®Hmm?!¡¯?he suddenly sensed someoneing toward him at great speed. Then, that person blocked his sword just before he could cut the bow in half and subsequently pulled Jung Woo-Hyun back to safety. ¡°W-What happened?!¡± ¡°Why is Jung Soo-Hyun there?¡± Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? The audience was confused after seeing Jung Soo-Hyun step in. Everyone could tell that Han-Yeol had already won the duel, but they were surprised when Jung Soo-Hyun suddenly appeared out of nowhere and interfered in the duel. They were further surprised when they saw Jung Soo-Hyun take a stance as if he were willing to fight as well. The audience was just baffled by what was going on, but the viewers of Level Up TV were outraged. [H-Hey! That fucking bastard!] [That¡¯s Jung Woo-Hyun¡¯s twin brother, Jung Soo-Hyun!] [Why are you interfering in a match that has already been decided?!] [That¡¯s cheating! How can they bring someone else into the fight?!] [What despicable losers! Don¡¯t you have any shame at all?!] [Wow¡­ That¡¯s horrible¡­] [I need to reevaluate those two¡­] [Shall we go terrorize their social media ounts?] [Up to you¡­] [¡­] Han-Yeol''s Level Up TV was the sole broadcasting channel streaming the entire Hunter Assembly event live. None of the other media outlets had obtained permission from the assembly to broadcast the event in real-time, making Level Up TV the only tform for people to watch unfiltered coverage. Consequently, the chat room became chaotic as fans of Han-Yeol and the twins engaged in arguments. Even these fans recognized the difficulty in defending the twins¡¯ actions at that moment. ¡®It''s extremely embarrassing that they interfered in a duel, so... I should probably keep my mouth shut. I''m the only one who''s going to lose if I open my mouth, and they will also kick me out of the channel...¡¯? This is how most of the twins'' fans were thinking. "Wow, now that''s interesting. I never knew people could interfere in a one-on-one duel here," Han-Yeol sneered. ¡°¡­¡± Jung Soo-Hyun''s expression did not change one bit despite Han-Yeol''s sneering. Instead, he held his sword up and seemed ready to let his sword do the talking. However, he was only putting up a front as he felt incredibly ashamed deep inside. ''Damn it... Why do I have to step in just to take care of this bastard?'' Indeed, he knew that what he was doing was quite shameful, but this was not the time for him to think about himself, as the future of their raid party rested on their shoulders. If they failed to defeat Han-Yeol here, they would be aughingstock. ''We''re already aughingstock right now. I might as well reap the profits if I''m going to end up as aughingstock either way,'' Jung Soo-Hyun thought as he tightly gripped his sword. The Hasan Monster, Kim Tae-San, had specifically requested the twins to ensure that Lee Han-Yeol was thoroughly trampled and died in this event. Jung Soo-Hyun knew why the Hasan Monster had made such a request in the first ce. ¡®He made quite the headline after getting rejected by that African Goddess, who is starting to get cozy with this bastard, Lee Han-Yeol¡­¡¯ Jung Soo-Hyun admitted that he was extremely jealous of Han-Yeol as well, but that was the end of it, as it didn''t matter to him that much. However, the same couldn''t be said for Kim Tae-San, as he treated Han-Yeol as his arch-nemesis for ''stealing'' his ''woman''. That was the reason Jung Soo-Hyun was certain that Kim Tae-San would definitely reward them, no matter what method they used, as long as the Hasan Monster got the desired result. "The duel was unfair from the start, now that I think about it," Jung Soo-Hyun said. "What nonsense are you spouting?" Han-Yeol grimaced and asked. It was quite obvious that Jung Soo-Hyun was making excuses, as it seemed like his brother was about to lose. "Can''t youe up with something more convincing?" Han-Yeol asked with a smirk. Jung Soo-Hyun swallowed the shame welling up inside him and said, "You don''t seem like an S Rank Hunter now that I think about it." "What nonsense is it this time?" "Your mana capacity, movement, and skills are all in the realm of a Master Rank Hunter. You might not have taken the Master Rank Hunter test, but you''re no different from a Master Rank Hunter. That''s why it''s unfair that you''re fighting one-on-one against my brother, who only has three normal skills. It''s only fair that we fight you two-on-one to even things out. Don''t you agree?" ¡®Did he hit his head or something? What kind of bullshit excuse is that?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly in disbelief. However, he knew that there was some truth to what Jung Soo-Hyun had just said. Han-Yeol was strong enough to fight against an S Rank Hunter even before he raided the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Gaining one hundred levels after defeating the boss monster certainly catapulted him to the upper echelons of the S Rank, or perhaps even to the boundaries of the Master Rank. The difference between the S Rank and the Master Rank was only a single rank, but that did not mean they were close to each other. The gap between a Master Rank and an S Rank was as vast as the ocean, making it impossible for Jung Woo-Hyun to win against Han-Yeol in the first ce. Han-Yeol shrugged and looked at the referee. "Hey, Mr. Referee." "¡­?" "So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to proceed with the duel as a two-on-one, or are you going to disqualify them?" Han-Yeol asked. He didn''t give a damn about Jung Soo-Hyun''s reasoning, as he was already quite satisfied with simply knowing that he could hold his ground against another Hunter. He had no problem fighting two-on-one against the twins, but he didn''t like how things had turned out this way. ¡®You should have fought two-on-one from the start then! They simply have different names, but there''s essentially no difference between the association and the assembly!¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. They said that the apple did not fall far from the tree, and that saying urately described the situation of both organizations. ¡°Ehem¡­ Ehem¡­¡± The referee appeared extremely confused at the moment. They had officiated numerous one-on-one duel events for the Hunter Assembly for over a decade, but this was the first time someone had interfered and demanded it be changed to a two-on-one duel. Furthermore, since the entire event was hosted by the assembly''s chairman, the referee technically had no authority to decide how it should proceed. The referee found themselves caught in a difficult situation, but fortunately, an announcement came to their rescue, relieving them from the predicament they were in. [It has been determined that Lee Han-Yeol Hunter is not a typical S Rank Hunter, as the abilities he just disyed could qualify him as a Master Rank Hunter. Therefore, it is unfair for someone of his caliber to engage in a one-on-one duel against a regr S Rank Hunter. We shall proceed with the match using a two-on-one handicap for Lee Han-Yeol Hunter, pitting him against both Jung Woo-Hyun and Jung Soo-Hyun this time. The Hunter Assembly will award him both the unique bow and a mana jewel known as the Blood Diamond.] "Oh, that sounds tempting," Han-Yeol muttered, his mood instantly lightening at the added reward. The name ''Blood Diamond'' might sound sinister and scary, but the mana within it was neither evil nor cursed, as most people would assume. The Blood Diamond was an extremely precious and expensive jewel that could be attached to a weapon by an experienced cksmith, thereby increasing the weapon''s attack power by at least two-fold. "Alright, I ept the terms," Han-Yeol said. [Excellent choice.] The mood in the chat room of Level Up TV instantly shifted after Han-Yeol epted the new terms. All of them wanted Han-Yeol to win the duel, but it was also important for them to get their money''s worth after purchasing the V Ticket. His fans were not worried at all, as they believed that Han-Yeol was going to win the two-on-one match without any problem. They were d that they would get their money''s worth from what they thought would be a boring event. [Wow!] [Who would have imagined that someone would take on those S Rank twins all alone?!] [Fighting against two S Rank Hunters would probably be difficult enough, but fighting against those twins who have fought together their entire lives is probably a different kind of challenge...] [A-Awesome...!] [Wow... Han-Yeol Hunter-nim really knows how to please his viewers...] [Hey, dumbass! He''s doing it for the Blood Diamond, not for us!] [What does it matter as long as we''re having fun?!] [Yeah! That''s right!] [Shut up! Let''s focus on the match!] [Go win this shit!] The viewers were extremely happy that they were going to witness something that probably would not happen ever again. [Shall we start the second round then?] ¡°Phew¡­?Are you ready?! Are you ready?!¡± the referee asked all thebatants. ¡°Take this,¡± Jung Soo-Hyun said as he threw a new quiver to his brother. Tak! "Thanks, hyung," Jung Woo-Hyun said as he threw his empty quiver and reced it with a new one holding fifty arrows. He put on a serious face and asked, "Is that bastard really a Master Rank Hunter, hyung?" Jung Woo-Hyun couldn''t believe it. After receiving the request from Kim Tae-San, he had made sure to conduct a thorough background check on the bastard. Ironically, the dumb bastard had video records of all his fights, making it extremely easy to study his every move. Jung Woo-Hyun reviewed all the avable footage on Level Up TV''s channel and deduced that the bastard was probably an A Rank Hunter considered as an S Rank Hunter due to the variety of skills he possessed. The Bow Master was extremely confident that he could defeat Han-Yeol, but he was shocked when he almost lost to him without even forcing him to use his trademark skills. "It seems like he grew stronger after hunting the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva." "Damn it... We should probably focus on hunting and avoid the public eye for a while after this..." "Yeah, I agree, but remember this: there''s no honor in this fight, so we need to finish it as soon as possible." "Alright, hyung." Tak! Creak¡­! Jung Soo-Hyun drew the longer of his two swords from his back, gripping it tightly with both hands. He lowered his stance, preparing to charge at Han-Yeol as soon as the match began. "There are two of them, so I should probably use two weapons, right?" Han-Yeol murmured. ck! He held his new sword in his right hand, while his unique chain with a hammer attached to its end materialized in his left hand. The crowd began to murmur noisily once again at the sight of the chain. "Oh, so we''re finally going to witness the weapon he always uses in his videos." "I wonder what he''s going to show us this time." There were probably no Hunters in the crowd stronger than the twin brothers, except for those in the VIP area. Both of the twin brothers were S Rank Hunters and possessed excellent battle senses. Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­? Kim Tae-San grimaced and tapped his finger in discontent. ¡®I don''t like the look of this... Does it make sense for both of the twins to need to gang up on that kid? These growth-type Hunters are truly terrifying... I should eliminate him before he grows any stronger and bes a Master Rank Hunter.¡¯ The Hasan Monster was relieved that he had instructed Jung Soo-Hyun to kill the bastard as he would have probably gone berserk if he had to keep seeing Han-Yeol¡¯s smug face. ¡®I will show you the price you have to pay for wielding those powers that you don''t deserve,¡¯?he thought with a smirk, looking quite evil unbeknownst to everyone. Surprisingly, this was not the first time he had done something like this. Kim Tae-San might have had a good image with people, but he had a secret that only those extremely close to him knew. And that secret was that he had eliminated numerous Hunters who had a bright future, were handsome, or were in a rtionship with one of the women he had his eyes on. This information was not made public, as most of their deaths were disguised to look like natural causes or hunting idents. The atmosphere in the hall grew even more tense as everyone held their breath the moment the referee raised his hand. ¡°FIGHT!¡± Tak! The first one to make a move was Jung Soo-Hyun. The twin brothers were both extremely strong, but their strength almost tripled whenever they fought together. There was a reason for this; they synced extremely well as twins, and their experience from hunting with each other their entire lives made them familiar with each other¡¯s abilities. However, the biggest reason was that both of them awakened at the same time with a specific ability: the ability to share their senses with each other. Jung Woo-Hyun¡¯s sight and hearing were extremely good since he was an archer, while Jung Soo-Hyun¡¯s reflexes and reaction speed were excellent since he was a swordsman. Their ability allowed them to share their senses with each other, giving both of them a huge boost to theirbat prowess. ¡°Gust sh!¡± Jung Soo-Hyun eximed. Chwaaaak! ¡°OOOOH!¡±?The crowd went wild after witnessing Jung Soo-Hyun''s trademark skill, which enabled him to unleash a sharp and deadly gust of wind, traveling at absurd speeds toward his target. ¡®It¡¯s over,¡¯?Kim Tae-San thought with a smirk. The fact that Jung Soo-Hyun utilized that skill indicated that he had no intention of prolonging the fight. ¡®I like these two. I should use them as my pawns for now,¡¯?Kim Tae-San decided to take the twin brothers and put them in charge of doing all sorts of dirty and illegal things for him. The Hasan Monster had many pawns under his control, but nobody knew what would happen tomorrow, so he didn''t mind acquiring a few more ''disposable'' pawns under hismand. However... ng! ¡°¡­?!¡± Chapter 178: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (4)

Chapter 178: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (4)

Jung Soo-Hyun''s eyes shot wide open after feeling the heavy blow. Most Hunters, excluding those of Master Rank and a few S Rank, barely managed to avoid his sword, but no one could outright block it. However, Han-Yeol had effortlessly blocked his sword. "W-What?!" Jung Soo-Hyun eximed. "Is that all you''ve got?" Han-Yeol asked with a smirk. Jung Soo-Hyun might haveunched a preemptive attack to catch Han-Yeol by surprise, but it was nearly impossible to surprise him thanks to his cheat-like skill¡ªSixth Sense. "Hyung!" Pshwooong! Jung Woo-Hyun promptly shot an arrow upon witnessing Jung Soo-Hyun''s blocked attack, his seriousness evident as he had already recognized that Han-Yeol was not an easy opponent. Whoosh! Bam! Kwachik! ¡°Ack!¡±? Jung Woo-Hyun was confident that his arrow would hit its target. Han-Yeol had been using his sword to block the arrows until now, but currently, his sword was upied defending against Jung Soo-Hyun''s sword. However,cency resulting from repetitive behavior was bound to have consequences. Jung Woo-Hyun had never faced Han-Yeol''s chain before, so he drastically miscalcted the potential oue. Han-Yeol blocked the arrow with his hammer and unleashed Hammer Shock, causing an explosion right next to Jung Soo-Hyun. ¡°Cough!¡±?Jung Soo-Hyun immediately jumped back to safety and coughed up blood. ¡°Hyung, are you alright?¡± Jung Woo-Hyun asked. Seuk¡­ Jung Soo-Hyun wiped the blood off his mouth and asked, "I''m alright, but what was that damn skill just now?" "Fuck! Who the hell is that guy?!" Jung Woo-Hyun cursed out of frustration. Han-Yeol held a sword and a chain in both hands, emitting an aura that made him appear unapproachable. "I guess we have no choice, Woo-Hyun." "Why, hyung?" "We have to use it." "But we only use that for boss monsters." "Yes, but we have no other option, right?" "I guess... Alright, I want to tear that bastard apart, so I don''t mind using that ''skill.'' We have to kill him anyway, so we might as well do it properly." ¡®Hmm? What did they say just now? They will kill me?¡¯?Han-Yeol heard them. He was certain that the brothers had said they had to "kill" him, and this fight had now be personal to him. Han-Yeol had a guess who was the mastermind behind all of this, ¡®It must be Kim Tae-San¡¯s doing.¡¯ Kim Tae-San was the top Hunter of South Korea, but there were a lot of rumors flying around that his personality was trash. Han-Yeol already had his suspicions the moment Kim Tae-San weed him with a bright smile and open arms. ¡®He looks quite normal on the surface, but he is capable of plotting something like this?¡¯ Kim Tae-San, despite being over fifty years old, bore no resemnce to an old man. In his early thirties, he was already remarkably handsome, and he managed to maintain his youthful appearance after awakening, which earned him poprity among ordinary people. However, those within the Hunters'' industry were well aware of the true nature of Kim Tae-San behind his charming facade. ¡®This is quite the pickle I¡¯m in¡­ What should I do about this¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol found himself in a dilemma. He pondered for quite a while, going back and forth, only to arrive at the same conclusion repeatedly. ¡®If they were to kill me, they would likely im it was an ident. However, if I were to kill either of them, they would relentlessly pursue me. Therefore... my only choice is to incapacitate thempletely without causing any fatalities!¡¯?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and slowly started to emit killing intent. Initially, he viewed this duel as an opportunity to test his skills against another Hunter. However, that mindset had changed, and he was now determined to utterly crush his opponents. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Woo-Hyun!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Paaaak! ¡®Hmm?¡¯?Han-Yeol observed that the brothers had altered their movement pattern this time. They sprinted in opposite directions, simultaneously firing an arrow and hurling three shurikens at him. Pswhoong! Whiish! Whiish! Whiish! ¡®What are you? A ninja?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled in disbelief before lightly swinging his sword to block the attacks. ng! ng! ng! ng!? Although it may have appeared effortless, executing such a maneuver was only achievable for someone capable of wielding their sword at nearly the speed of sound. Chwak! Then, the brothers positioned themselves on opposite ends of a straight line, with Han-Yeol in the center. Jung Woo-Hyun took the initiative tounch an attack, extracting an arrow from his quiver andmencing the gathering of his mana. "Ultimate Attack! Wolf''s Arrow!" he eximed, releasing the arrow imbued with mana, propelling it forward. Pshwoooong! Awooooo! The arrow soared through the air, transforming into a wolf that emitted a resounding howl as it surged toward Han-Yeol. Undoubtedly, it was a formidable attack capable of obliterating its target upon contact. However, it was evident that Jung Woo-Hyun had depleted all of his mana with this assault. Thud¡­! ¡°Ugh¡­¡±?Jung Woo-Hyun fell to his knees and copsed, thinking, ¡®Damn it¡­ Why can I only use this skill once a day¡­?¡¯ The ultimate skill came with the drawback of requiring him to rest for an entire day after its use. The crowd watched with anticipation, but those positioned directly in the wolf''s path swiftly moved to avoid bing coteral damage. After all, they had no desire to risk their lives for the sake of a better view of the match. "Wow! Did that arrow truly transform into a wolf?" "It''s been ages since Ist witnessed that skill!" "They mentioned it''s a technique exclusively reserved for boss raids, but it appears they''re truly determined to win this time." "You clueless fool! Can''t you see? Those brothers are desperate because they''re no match for Han-Yeol Hunter!" "But that''s not all." Jung Soo-Hyun swiftly infused his sword with mana immediately after the arrow transformed into a wolf. In an explosive disy, his sword emitted a powerful burst as he eximed, "Eat this! Wolf''s Sword!" Krwaaaang! A wolf emerged from Jung Soo-Hyun¡¯s sword and made a beeline for Han-Yeol. Tak! Most individuals would likely worry that the brothers might unintentionally harm each other with their wolf attacks. However, their shared senses ensured that their wolves would not inflict harm upon one another. This implied that their triumph was all but assured if Jung Soo-Hyun''s wolf sessfully pinned down Han-Yeol while Jung Woo-Hyun''s wolf charged toward him. Yet, the brothers had made a critical mistake this time. They had chosen the wrong opponent. Shwoosh! ¡°What?!¡± Puk! ¡°Kuheok!¡± Han-Yeol threw his chain and struck Jung Soo-Hyun on his stomach with the hammer. C-Crack¡­! ¡°Argghhh!¡± Then, the sound of Jung Soo-Hyun¡¯s ribs cracking reverberated across the hall. ¡°Hyung!¡± Jung Woo-Hyun shouted. Ironically, the response he received was Han-Yeol''s face suddenly right in front of his own. ¡°Heok!¡± Whoosh! Sukeok! Han-Yeol swung his sword without an ounce of hesitation. ¡°Gasp!¡± The crowd gasped in horror, fearing that Jung Woo-Hyun would be cleaved in two. If that were to happen, Han-Yeol would secure victory in the match. However, the rules of the event explicitly forbade killing one''s opponent, which meant that Han-Yeol would ultimately lose, facing additional consequences. However... Thud! What Han-Yeol severed was not Jung Woo-Hyun''s body, but rather his bow. "N-Nooo!" Jung Woo-Hyun cried out in agony upon witnessing his bow split in half. The bow could be considered his most treasured possession, as finding a high-quality bow was an incredibly challenging task. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol had no intention of heeding the cries. Without hesitation, he swung his chain and struck Jung Woo-Hyun''s face with the hammer. Pukeok! ¡°AAAACK!¡± It was a regr attack, devoid of any mana infusion. While it might have been potent enough to kill an average person, it fell far short of being able to y an awakened individual protected by their mana. However, this did not imply that they would be spared from the excruciating pain caused by Han-Yeol''s remarkably high STR. Hunters were still human, thus susceptible to experiencing agony. In truth, this was likely one of those instances where dying would have been preferable to surviving... ¡°I¡¯m just getting started,¡± Han-Yeol said with an evil grin. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? ¡°Ack! Ack! Ack! AAAAACK!¡± Han-Yeol swiftly corralled the brothers together in one location and proceeded to pummel them relentlessly, akin to a drum. Any attempt at retaliation from either of them would be met with an immediate response in the form of ''Hammer Shock''. ¡°Hiiik!¡± ¡°Hammer Shock!¡± Kwachik! Kwachiiiik! ¡°AAAACK!¡± Han-Yeol meticulously avoided targeting any critical areas of their bodies, focusing instead on their shoulders or legs to prevent inflicting fatal injuries. It was undeniably a gruesome spectacle to witness. However, what truly constituted cruelty was... ¡°Healing Bullet.¡± Bang! Bang! Bang!? He employed his healing skill, capable of not only mending external wounds but also mending broken bones. After healing them, he would promptly resume his assault on the brothers with his hammer. If either of them failed to learn their lesson and attempted to retaliate, he would unleash Hammer Shock once more. And then, as if nothing had urred, he would restore their injuries with his healing ability. This relentless cycle persisted until the brothers were mentally shattered. "P-Please... spare us...!" "Please... spare us... No, just kill us already!" Both of them were S Rank Hunters, possessing considerable social standing. However, they werepletely broken by Han-Yeol''s intense and outright malevolent actions. The scene of the brothers desperately pleading, their faces stained with tears and mucus, was being watched live by millions of people. It was truly a pitiable sight, where these once proud Hunters abandoned all traces of their pride merely to ensure their survival. ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°W-What the hell is going on¡­?¡± ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°Hoho¡­ It seems the neer easily subdued two S Rank Hunters.¡± ¡°He did it in the blink of an eye¡­¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± The crowd were stunned at the turn of events, but the VIPs were even more shocked. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°C-Chairman-nim¡­!¡± Kim Tae-San ground his teeth in anger. While not evident to everyone, his long-time associates understood the extent of his fury. If Kim Tae-San no longer cared about public perception, the entire hall would likely have been reduced to rubble. However, South Korea remained a democratic country, regardless of the significance ced on Hunters. The nation was obligated to prioritize the well-being of its people, as failure to do so would render them aughingstock in the internationalmunity. The power of democracyy in the fact that even the most influential individuals could be held ountable by the masses. This was precisely why most people with power and influence preferred to operate from behind the scenes, concealed from public view. Another factor preventing Kim Tae-San from acting as he pleased was that he was not the sole Master Rank Hunter in South Korea. There were five other Hunters of equal influence to the Hasan Monster, and each possessed an unwavering pride. While Kim Tae-San could handle a one-on-one confrontation with any of them, he knew that he would undoubtedly be defeated if he faced two simultaneously. Moreover, each of these Master Rank Huntersmanded their formidable guilds, meaning that a single misstep born from anger could swiftly escte into a full-blown war. Lastly, there was a solitary Master Rank Hunter who would undoubtedly oppose him at any cost, and that was none other than Master Hee-Yun. ¡®That bitch is already getting on my nerves, but this bastard popped out of nowhere and dared to ruin my ns?!¡¯?Kim Tae-San gnashed his teeth in anger. Master Hee-Yun held the second position in the ranking of Korean Hunters and served as the leader of the Knight Guild. She posed as the most formidable opposition Kim Tae-San encountered whenever he sought to take action. Already burdened by the severe limitations imposed on his freedom by the Hunters'' Association and Master Hee-Yun, Kim Tae-San found himself further stressed by the sudden emergence of Lee Han-Yeol, this infuriating brat who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. While others might not deem it significant enough for the Hasan Monster to stress over, Kim Tae-San was a proud man ustomed to getting his way. Consequently, any setbacks to his ns added to his mounting frustration. Certainly, if there was anything generating more heat than Kim Tae-San''s anger at present, it would be the fervent discussions taking ce in the Level Up TV chat room. [Wow! I don¡¯t know what to say anymore¡­ I¡¯m speechless!] [Wasn¡¯t he a C Rank Hunter when he first started this channel¡­?] [Then why is he suddenly a Master Rank Hunter within less than a year¡­?] [He¡¯s not yet a Master Rank Hunter, but he¡¯s already toying with two S Rank Hunters¡­ I don¡¯t think he will have any problems passing the test¡­] [Then, does that mean that South Korea is going to have its seventh Master Rank Hunter¡­?] [The three-on-three bnce is finally going to be shattered!] [Wow! I hope this serves as a wake-up call to those damn Hunters!] [Our Hunters are the worst!] [They¡¯re still better than some other countries¡­] Chapter 179: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (5)

Chapter 179: I Hate Anyone that Uses a Bow (5)

The praises of Han-Yeol slowly turned into disgruntlement toward the South Korean Hunters, and there were even some whopared them to foreign Hunters. However, that was not what was important right now. A wind of change was blowing throughout the world with Han-Yeol''s appearance. Thud¡­! Kim Tae-San stood up from his seat, still gnashing his teeth in anger, with his eyes filled with rage and killing intent. "C-Chairman-nim...!" stammered the ipetent executives of the Hunters Assembly who only knew how to suck up to Kim Tae-San. They immediately noticed his displeasure and began doing what they did best¡ªsucking up to him. "That kid just got lucky!" "A Master Rank Hunter? Ha! What nonsense are they spouting? He''s just a kid with a few skills!" "Compared to you, Chairman-nim, he''s still suckling on his mother''s teats!" Normally, Kim Tae-San would have relished their ttery, but his mood had already been soured by Han-Yeol. The rage that had erupted because of Han-Yeol now shifted toward Jung Soo-Hyun and Jung Woo-Hyun. ¡®Those ipetent individuals! They have the audacity to seek my favor, yet they can''t even aplish a simple task like this? Henceforth, I shall mercilessly dismantle any raid party or guild associated with them.¡¯? Kim Tae-San gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists before he left the VIP room. He no longer had any reasons to stay here. ¡°C-Chairman-nim!¡± Of course, the ipetent executives rushed after him. On the other hand, the atmosphere of the crowd waspletely different from the VIP room. Whiiiii! ¡°Wow! We just witnessed the beginning of a new Master Rank Hunter!¡± ¡°How long do we have until the next Master Rank test?¡± ¡°I think around three months?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stand the thought of a Hunter bing stronger than me, but it¡¯s definitely good news that our country¡¯s getting another Master Rank Hunter.¡± ¡°We are going to catch up to our neighboring countries!¡± ¡°Yeah! We¡¯re going to catch up to those damn bastards!¡± "I believe this match clearly demonstrated the disparity between a Master Rank Hunter and S Rank Hunters. I''m certain those who argued that the S Rank and Master Rank were merely one tier apart are now hanging their heads in shame." The Hunters on one side sneered at those on the other side. "Haha... Yes, we are all S Rank Hunters, but I wouldn''t dare make such brazen statements. Tsk tsk...!" The S Rank Hunters were divided into two factions due to various reasons, and one faction took great pleasure in sneering at the other. "Well, thanks to this event match, we no longer have to tolerate those idiots. Hahaha!" "Ipletely agree with you! Hahaha!" "Moreover, I can''t wait to see our neighboring rivals trembling in fear!" "Oh, me too! Me too!" It was evident that the rtionship between South Korea and Japan remained strained. The world might have changed with the emergence of dimensional gates, but deep-rooted animosity toward Japan still persisted. While South Korea and Japan were excellent trade partners that relied on each other, the same couldn''t be said for their political and historical aspects. Japan had been governed by the same political party for a considerable period of time, leading to the belief that the opposition consisted of a group of clueless individuals. The ruling party manipted the social structure of the nation and diverted the attention of young people away from historical facts, focusing instead on other aspects such as fashion, food, animations, and so on. Being one of the most developed nations in the world, Japan boasted fifteen Master Rank Hunters and over seven percent of its entire poption consisted of Hunters. This made them one of the most powerful nations globally, as most developed nations only had five percent of their poption as Hunters. On the other hand, South Koreagged far behind Japan, possessing only seven Master Rank Hunters. The situation in the country was so dire that it had be increasingly difficult to find individuals willing to work as Porters these days. "But the best news is that Lee Han-Yeol, the Hunter, is not done growing!" "Yeah, he achieved the Master rank in just a year, so I wonder where his limits are...?" "I think they will have to create a new rank just for him!" "That sounds really good for us, doesn''t it?" The top Hunters in South Korea held favorable opinions about Han-Yeol bing a Master Rank Hunter. This was probably one of the few positive aspects in the fact that Hunters couldn''t grow stronger than their current levels. Although the Hunters still felt envious whenever someone awakened with a higher rank than theirs, they collectively regarded anyone stronger than them as one of their own, regardless of the circumstances. This was especially true when a Master Rank Hunter emerged, as it brought immense pride to the country. Puk! ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°Gwuoh¡­¡± The Jung brothers were beaten to a pulp by Han-Yeol, and some in the crowd started to wonder if it would be possible for them to continue working as Hunters after enduring such a brutal defeat. However, the crowd gave Han-Yeol a standing ovation despite witnessing the brutal disy. p! p! p! p! p! p!? Whiiiiii! They were congratting him for bing a Master Rank Hunter. ¡°Thank you,¡± Han-Yeol thanked the crowd after he vented his anger on the brothers, and then he turned to the referee and asked, ¡°This isn¡¯t going against the rules, right?¡± ¡°N-No, it is not. We only have one rule and that is not to kill your opponent. We do not care as long as both parties are alive,¡± the referee replied. ¡°That¡¯s great, then I guess it¡¯s clear who the winner is?¡± ¡°O-Of course¡­¡± the referee replied before he announced, ¡°And the winner of this Fight Match is¡­ Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± The referee raised Han-Yeol¡¯s hand and announced him as the winner. ¡°Woooow!¡± p! p! p! p! p! p!? The crowd cheered with enthusiasm at the announcement. [Wow! This was so satisfying!] [His swag is so cool!] [You are the best, Han-Yeol-nim!] [This is why I can¡¯t help but fall in love with this channel!] [You¡¯re so cool!] [Take me and make me yours, oppa!] And, of course, the chat room was aze with excitement after Han-Yeol was announced as the winner. After the match concluded, Han-Yeol no longer paid any attention to the brothers. They were carried away by other Hunters they were acquainted with. The brothers red at Han-Yeol in anger, but they quickly flinched and limped away as fast as they could when Han-Yeol returned the re. ¡®They should be grateful I didn¡¯t kill them,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he did not feel guilty at all. If they had encountered the brothers in the hunting grounds instead of this location, he would have disposed of them without a trace. ¡®But is this the end of the event?¡¯?he wondered. However, this was not the end. There was still a party to be held beneath the hall, where an evenrger hall was located. This party served as a wee celebration organized by the assembly for Han-Yeol. He felt a bit concerned that Kim Tae-San or the other executives would confront him during the party. However, his worries proved to be unfounded, as none of them attended. Their absence helped him rx and allowed him to fully enjoy the party without any further concerns. His mood was further elevated when he received the Dragon Bow and Blood Diamond as awards before the partymenced. Additionally, numerous renowned Hunters approached him to introduce themselves, adding to his excitement. ¡°Hahaha! I enjoyed your match today. You really taught those twins a lesson!¡± "I am ashamed to have shown such a cruel side of myself simply because I got worked up," Han-Yeol replied. "Not at all! Hahaha!" The party continued untilte at night, and it was only at daybreak that Han-Yeol finally arrived home. "Thank you for your hard work," Purva said upon their arrival home. Purva''s eyes sparkled as he looked at Han-Yeol. Although not a Hunter or remotely connected to the industry, Purva had read extensively about Hunters and knew just how amazing Han-Yeol''s aplishments were that day. "Not at all, you worked even harder than me today," Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol truly enjoyed his time that day. Defeating two S Rank Hunters to a pulp made him realize that he had finally be a Master Rank Hunter. ¡®I should try taking the Master Rank test this year¡­¡¯?he thought of the test taking ce three months from now. ¡®I will be one of the strongest Hunters in the world if I officially be a Master Rank Hunter,¡¯?he clenched his fist at the thought. Han-Yeol was already famous in South Korea, but if he managed to officially be a Master Rank Hunter, his name would spread worldwide, making him a renowned Hunter on a global scale. If that happened, he would no longer be confined to South Korea alone. "Please have a good rest, Han-Yeol-nim," Purva said. "Yeah, you too, Purva," Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol bid farewell to his bodyguard and went to wash up, preparing for bed. Due to his awakened state, he didn''t require as much sleep as an ordinary person, but it was still beneficial for him to rest well and maintain optimal conditions. Besides, he personally enjoyed sleeping. Han-Yeol settled into bed. Meanwhile, while Han-Yeol was sleeping, videos of the live broadcast from the event, filmed by the Mn film crew, were spreading all over the world. [The once F Rank Hunter, Lee Han-Yeol, is now a legend after bing a Master Rank in less than a year.] . [Is this the end of the growth for Lee Han-Yeol, the Growth-Type Hunter?] [The Hunter Assembly that approved the two-on-one match. What kind of organization is it?] [The Hunter Assembly has been exposed!] [A new Master Rank Hunter appears!] On a busy weekday morning, despite everyone''s engagements, a flood ofments poured into inte news articles. Nearly every news outlet had already published a story on the matter, and the entire inte was consumed with discussions about Han-Yeol. Some individuals even made absurdments, iming that this generation belonged to Lee Han-Yeol. However, it was unanimously agreed that a "Lee Han-Yeol syndrome" was brewing worldwide. The birth of a Master Rank Hunter was already considered a blessing, but what if this Master Rank Hunter had once been an F Rank Hunter and achieved Master Rank in less than a year? What if this exceptional Hunter came from a humble background? While Han-Yeol peacefully slept, numerous reporters tirelessly sought out people who knew him during his early days. They were already busy producing news articles that would contribute to his "legendary" story. Ironically, the person who became extremely busy due to Han-Yeol''s newfound fame was not Han-Yeol himself, but rather his father. Han-Yeol had cut off contact with almost everyone he knew, making it impossible for anyone to reach him as he changed all his contact information to ensure privacy. On the other hand, his father had been using the same mobile number and email address for nearly twenty years, making it effortless for people to contact him. Furthermore, Han-Yeol''s father had frequently boasted about his son since his childhood, so most of his friends were already aware of Han-Yeol''s achievements. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? ¡°Hello?¡± [Hi, hyung-nim! It has been a long time. How have you been? This is Cheol-Gab!] ¡°Ah, hi, Cheol-Gab. It¡¯s really been a long time.¡± [Hahaha! I should¡¯ve called you sooner. I apologize, hyung-nim¡­ As you are aware the economy is terrible these days, so¡­] ¡°Yeah, I understand, but why are you calling this early?¡± [Hahaha¡­ There is no particr reason, hyung-nim! I mean, we are close enough to call each other whenever, right?] ¡°Hoho! Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Han-Yeol''s father maintained a friendly demeanor as he responded to Cheol-Gab, but deep inside, he wasn''t feeling nice at all. Cheol-Gab had been someone very close to him, but he was also one of the first to sever ties when Han-Yeol''s father had faced financial difficulties. While Han-Yeol''s father had experienced many people cutting ties with him during that time, the sudden calls from those individuals these days made it clear to him why they were reaching out all of a sudden. Chapter 180: Best Auction of All Time (1)

Chapter 180: Best Auction of All Time (1)

Han-Yeol''s father was not naive. While he was friendly and beloved by those around him, he wasn''t foolish enough to offer unconditional help to others without reason. This was precisely why he became cautious when Cheol-Gab reached out to him after a long period of silence. [You must be quite busy these days.] "Haha! Yeah, the billiard ce I run has turned into a franchise, so I''m quite busy because we''re nning tounch our second and third shops simultaneously." Thanks to Han-Yeol''s unwavering support, Han-Yeol''s father''s business was experiencing rapid growth. Moreover, with billiards being chosen as one of the sports for the uing Berlin Olympics, there was currently a billiard boom in South Korea. The sudden surge in the billiard industry proved to be a tremendous opportunity for Han-Yeol''s father. He wholeheartedly invested in his shop, attracting numerous inquiries from individuals interested in franchising the brand. The billiard shop was now consistently packed throughout the day, generating substantial profits without requiring Han-Yeol''s assistance any longer. [Ah¡­ As expected of hyung-nim! You were quite the shrewd person back in the day!] ¡°No need to exaggerate now. Haha!¡± [So I was thinking, why don''t we gather like we used to back in the day? Mr. Kim and Mr. Choi also miss you a lot, hyung-nim.] Mr. Kim and Mr. Choi used to be his closest drinking buddies, but they, too, had severed ties with him during his financial difficulties. His current friends were those he met after recovering from his illness or those who supported him throughout his illness. If they were to learn that Cheol-Gab suddenly called him out of the blue, they would likely be extremely angry. They would likely reprimand Cheol-Gab for having the audacity to reach out and warn him to stay away, or else face the consequences. ¡°Aigoo¡­ I should see you some time, but I¡¯m really busy these days. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be free anytime soon, so why don¡¯t I just give you a call when I¡¯m free?¡± [I-Is that so¡­? A-Alright then¡­ Please give me a call when you¡¯re free, hyung-nim!] ¡°Alright, I¡¯m busy now, so I¡¯ll hang up.¡± [Okay, hyung-nim!] Beep! If his friends were to hear how he abruptly ended the call just now, they would probably look at him in a strange manner. ¡®It looks like those two put him up to it, judging by what he said,¡¯?he thought. They never changed at all. Whenever they gathered, they would always ask him or Cheol-Gab to handle the difficult tasks while they themselves simply sat back and enjoyed the fruits of theirbor. ¡®It¡¯s probably a relief that they cut ties with me¡­¡¯?he realized that it was indeed a blessing in disguise that he was able to get rid of such ¡®friends¡¯ without even having to do it himself. Judging by this event, it was evident that Han-Yeol''s positive mindset was likely inherited from his father. ¡°Phew¡­¡±?he let out a sigh and decided to start working again when¡­ Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? ¡­his troubles were only getting started. *** While Han-Yeol peacefully slept alongside Mavros, his father was busy dealing with the sudden influx of friends, rtives, and acquaintances who had contacted him out of nowhere. Indeed, Han-Yeol slept soundly and woke up feeling refreshed. He was now heading to the S Hotel to inspect the venue where his auction would be hosted. Meanwhile, he was grumbling while on the way to the hotel, ¡®I mean¡­ Does it make sense that we don¡¯t have any seven-star hotels when our country has developed so much?¡¯ The participants in this auction were truly affluent individuals. They weren''t just rich; they were either powerful Hunters themselves or individuals who controlled numerous powerful Hunters. Given this fact, Han-Yeol deemed it crucial to host the auction at a high-quality venue. However, he couldn''t find any seven-star hotels in the country that matched the ones he had seen on the inte in other countries. While the title "seven-star" didn''t carry much weight and was primarily a marketing gimmick, it was still a distinction reserved for hotels that truly stood out in terms of luxury. After failing to find a seven-star hotel, Han-Yeol attempted to search for a six-star hotel but met with no sess in that regard either. In the end, he reluctantly decided to book the main hall of South Korea''s best hotel, the S Hotel, to host the event. ¡®Secretary Kim will take care of it, but I have to check it out with my own eyes to be satisfied,¡¯?he thought. It was not a good habit for an employer to nitpick the work done by their employees, but it was quite irresponsible for them to be unaware of what was going on as well. This auction held great importance for Han-Yeol, and he wanted everything to be perfect, ensuring a seamless and error-free process. Upon arriving at the hotel''s entrance, a bellman opened the door for him, and Secretary Kim stood beside them. "Wee, Han-Yeol-nim," Secretary Kim greeted him with a bow. Han-Yeol inquired, "How''s everything going?" "It is proceeding smoothly. We have already reached an agreement with the S Hotel to serve our VIP attendees, and we are meticulously attending to every detail to ensure the entire event is wless." "That sounds good. Can you walk me through it right now?" "Most certainly. Please,e this way." Although Han-Yeol wasn''t particrly interested in the minor details, he followed Secretary Kim as they headed straight to the main hall. Suddenly, a gentleman appeared beside him and asked, "Are you Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim by any chance?" "Yes?" Han-Yeol responded. "Hoho! It is an honor to meet you. I am Choi Chung-Hyeon, the general manager of this hotel." "It''s nice to meet you too," Han-Yeol replied, and they shook hands. "I would like to express my gratitude for choosing our hotel to host your important auction." "The S Hotel is South Korea''s finest, so it is only fitting for the best hotel to host the best people." "Hahaha! Your kind words mean a lot to me as the general manager of a hotel I have dedicated my entire life to." "Please don''t mention it." Han-Yeol didn''t hold back on praising the general manager because it didn''t cost him anything to say those words. Instead, it allowed him to establish a personal connection with the general manager, increasing the chances of a sessful auction. However, it was evident that the S Hotel was already putting in their best effort, considering that this auction event would be the center of attention for all media outlets. This was evident in their busy preparations to refurbish the entire ce. They reced all the old decorations with brand new ones and canceled bookings for their most luxurious suite rooms to amodate the auction guests. Additionally, they ensured that their top chefs would be working with the finest ingredients for the event. While the S Hotel may have been the best hotel in the country, their reputation outside of the country was not as well-known. This was precisely why the hotel was going all out this time, recognizing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish their name on a global scale. *** Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!? ¡°Hey! Hammer these nails properly!¡± ¡°Move the tables here!¡± The ongoing interior works in the main hall of the S Hotel created a bustling atmosphere. Initially, Han-Yeol had only nned to decorate the space, but the hotel noticed certain areas that appeared aged and decided to renovate the entire hall. They wanted to demonstrate their dedication in ensuring the auction''s sess and to dissuade Han-Yeol from considering other venues. "It seems quite busy here," remarked Han-Yeol. "Yes, the main hall was previously used forrge parties and was not suitable for hosting an auction. However, we are currently working tirelessly to renovate the entire space, making it suitable for auctioning various items and hosting different events," exined the general manager. The S Group, the parentpany of the S Hotel, had a deep understanding of Han-Yeol. As the leading conglomerate in South Korea, they had solidified their position by knowing when and where to seize profitable opportunities. The group had significant involvement in the Hunter industry, and one of their family members happened to be Master Hee-Yun. Being a globalpany riding on their status as South Korea''s top conglomerate and benefiting from having the country''s second-ranking Hunter as a family member, there was no chance that the S Group would overlook the potential financial gains from Han-Yeol. Although they learned from various sources that Han-Yeol was nning to start his own business, they chose not to approach him from that angle. Instead, their strategic team concluded that establishing a strong rtionship with him alone would be sufficient to profit from their association. Their chosen method was to support Han-Yeol in various aspects that he may encounter difficulties with once he embarked on his business venture. ¡®It¡¯s obvious that this big event is not going to be a one-time thing,¡¯?the general manager thought. Not only did he hold this belief, but the CEO and directors of the hotel shared the same perspective. The news articles had reported that Han-Yeol had the ability to hatch an unlimited number of monster pets, which solidified their certainty that there would be more auctions in the near future. To sessfully host all of these auctions, their approach was simple: they had to ensure that the first one proceeded wlessly. This would set a high standard and establish a reputation for their ability to handle future events. ¡®All of the other auctions will be ours as long as we can sessfullyplete this first one,¡¯?the general manager recalled what the hotel¡¯s true objective was. The general manager guided Han-Yeol through the entire main hall and the other facilities around it, allowing him to personally see everything. ¡°What do you think?¡± the general manager asked. ¡°It looks good,¡± Han-Yeol replied. He thought, ¡®It¡¯s a bitckingpared to what I really wanted¡­¡¯ However, he decided to be content with what he had, knowing that it was impossible to find a hotel in the country that would satisfy all of his requirements. Besides, his main goal was to sell the monster pets to the highest bidder, not to prioritize the amodation of the attendees. ¡®I want their money, but I¡¯m not the one in a rush,¡¯?he smirked. He could simply go out and hunt diligently to make money if he chose not to sell the monster pets. However, the attendees had no other option to purchase the monster pets except from Han-Yeol. This marked the key difference between being receable and irreceable. ¡°Secretary Kim.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°The auction will be a week from now, right?¡± ¡°Yes, you are correct.¡± This was not the original date for the auction, but they had to make a slight alteration to amodate all of the attending VIPs. ¡°Let¡¯s do our best, shall we?¡± ¡°Please leave it to me,¡± Secretary Kim replied with a bow. Then, he thought, ¡®I will definitely make myself stand out to Han-Yeol-nim through this opportunity.¡¯ Being the right-hand man of someone greatly increased one''s chances of seeding in life, and this was especially true when serving someone like Han-Yeol, who was currently one of the most famous Hunters in the world. Han-Yeol entrusted all the responsibilities to Secretary Kim and leisurely counted the days until the auction. Meanwhile, the ultra-rich and Master Rank Hunters from all over the world began arriving in South Korea one by one after being notified of the auction''s date. Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport were so crowded that they could no longer amodate private jets, forcing some attendees to park their jets in China or Japan before taking a regr flight to South Korea. The internationalmunity criticized the South Korean government''s ipetence in handling the situation, and the government couldn''t refute most of the ims as they were mostly true. The door opened, and ten white males wearing suits and sunsses walked in. Despite the daytime crowd, these ten men stood out due to their matching outfits, though they didn''t particrly care about the attention they received. [So this is South Korea?] the man at the front asked in Russian. [Yes, the monster pet auction will take ce six dayster at the S Hotel.] [Alright, we will have to acquire at least two of those.] [Yes, boss!] These men were from the Red Mafia of Russia, and the man at the front was the second-inmand of the Red Mafia. However, it was widely known that he was stronger than the first-inmand and was the true leader of the organization. The Red Mafia had a strict rule that stated the second-inmand had to execute the first-inmand as soon as they became weaker. However, this man was both ruthless and easygoing, so he didn''t bother enforcing that rule. He preferred to live a free life as the second-inmand rather than tying himself down as the official boss of the organization. Ironically, this was the only reason the first-inmand was still alive. [Kekeke! It looks like things are going to be quite entertaining here!] This man was always on the lookout for new challenges and exciting experiences, so getting his hands on the monster pet was an absolute must for him. Known as Ivan, he was the first to arrive in South Korea among the attendees, and soon others followed, including other influential individuals attending the auction. A total of three hundred and ten influential figures from twenty-four different countries registered for the auction, and that number didn''t even ount for the numerous assistants and servants they brought along. These three hundred and ten people held enough influence to wipe South Korea off the map if they whimsically decided to do so. However, it was quite ironic that they personally traveled all the way to this tiny country just to secure one of the ten exclusive tickets for the rights to obtain a monster pet being sold by Han-Yeol. Chapter 181: Best Auction of All Time (2)

Chapter 181: Best Auction of All Time (2)

Themon people weed the sudden influx of foreigners to the country as they boosted the local economy in various ways. However, the local Hunters were not so happy about it. "It''s annoying that those foreigners are running around in our country." "Ha! They might be the best Hunters in their own countries, but this is our home turf!" Four Master Rank Hunters gathered together to express their discontent with the situation. In South Korea, there were six Master Rank Hunters, evenly divided into two groups. Two of them were loyal followers of Kim Tae-San, while the other three cooperated with each other but did not consider themselves teammates. The other three Master Rank Hunters were also members of the Hunter Assembly, but they never participated in any events or were seen near the assembly. . To most people, it seemed like a stalemate in terms of power bnce. However, those who were well-informed knew the truth behind the matter: Kim Tae-San''s faction was slightly stronger due to their cooperation, while the other three Hunters were independent. "Don''t you think we should do something about this, Chairman?" one of the Hunters asked, addressing Kim Tae-San with respect. Kim Tae-San was the top-ranking Hunter in South Korea, hence the formal title. "Hmm¡­" "Can you say something instead of muttering like that? Don''t you think we need to take action against these foreigners trying to act like big shots in our country?" The Master Rank Hunters despised the foreigners for what they perceived as an invasion of their country, leaving marks everywhere they went like dogs. "Haa... There''s nothing we can do about it. Over three hundred Master Rank Hunters havee to Korea, and we''re just four. What can we possibly do?" "Hey, I didn''t say we should take action right now. I''m just frustrated with the whole situation." "I''ve told you countless times to control your temper. You never seem to listen..." These two bickering Master Rank Hunters were childhood friends. They had awakened their abilities at different times, but their friendship remained intact. "Hey, Chairman. Don''t you think that Lee Han-Yeol kid is hogging all the limelight? I feel like we should''ve taken the risk and eliminated him when he was dueling the twins." Crack¡­! Kim Tae-San clenched his teeth. "I will crush that punk. I won''t be so forgiving the next time an opportunity arises." "Good luck with that," the Hunter muttered under his breath. They had gathered to discuss the influx of foreign Hunters into South Korea, but the conversation inevitably shifted to Han-Yeol. It was unavoidable to talk about him since he had captured the interest of both awakened and ordinary people, monopolizing their attention. Han-Yeol was a disruptive force, shaking up the long-established Huntermunity in South Korea. The executives of the Huntermunity, who were resistant to change that could potentially strip them of their power, would never warmly wee him. *** Days passed, and finally, the day of the auction arrived. Han-Yeol took the opportunity to fully rest and recover until the day of the auction. He was aware that resting too much wasn''t beneficial, but he still felt fatigued from the raid against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Loitering around his spacious mansion felt like a slice of heaven, but he couldn''t stay at ease indefinitely. The burning desire to go out and engage in battles lingered within him. ¡®I should probably go hunt with Mujahid after the auction,¡¯?he thought as he felt bad for neglecting Mujahid. He had epted Mujahid as his disciple, yet he hadn''t gone on any hunts with him. Mujahid had been pleading to go hunting, but Han-Yeol had turned him down in favor of rest, adding to his sense of guilt. Knock! Knock!? Albert knocked on the door and informed him, ¡°It is now time to go, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Ah, thanks, Albert.¡± Han-Yeol could have waited until the evening before leaving his mansion, considering that the auction was scheduled to take ce then. However, Secretary Kim informed him that some of the VVIPs had already gathered in the main hall of the S Hotel, and others were exploring the premises. Therefore, Han-Yeol had to go and greet them as a matter of formality. ¡®I guess they really want to get their hands on a monster pet,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. ¡°Kyu!¡± p! p! p! p!? Mavros was engrossed in devouring a whole raw chicken, but as soon as he sensed Han-Yeol''s imminent departure, he swiftly flew toward his head. The ck dragon had grown to a point where he could fly without shifting intobat mode, although his miniature form limited his flight duration due to his small wings. "Haha, don''t worry, Mavros. I''m not going to leave you behind," Han-Yeol reassured as he affectionately patted the ck dragon''s head. Since the auction focused on selling monster pets, it made perfect sense for Mavros to apany Han-Yeol. He wasn''t an ordinary pet but abat-capable monster pet. News and rumors about Mavros actively participating in battles acted as a ma, attracting VVIPs from around the world to this auction. Powerful Hunters were aware that their growth potential was predetermined, prompting them to invest significantly to enhance theirbat prowess, even if by a small margin. Moreover, they were already wealthy enough that money was no longer an obstacle as long as it contributed to their quest for greater power. Hence, a monster pet capable of aiding them inbat was nothing short of a treasure in their eyes. As the car came to a halt, Purva hopped out to open the door for Han-Yeol. "Thanks," Han-Yeol acknowledged. "You''re wee," Purva replied, his eyes brimming with respect for Han-Yeol after the incident at the Hunter Assembly event. ¡®Haha¡­ This guy¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol found Purva¡¯s gaze to be a bit burdensome, but hepletely understood how the man felt. ¡°Wee, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Hi, Secretary Kim.¡± Secretary Kim was already outside waiting for Han-Yeol. Once Han-Yeol entered the hotel lobby, he was suddenly approached by someone. ¡°Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol turned toward the familiar voice. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Hi~,¡± the person said with a wink. Wink! ¡°S-Scarlett¡­?¡± The agent assigned to a mission on Jeju Ind stood before Han-Yeol. She wore a form-fitting ck dress that entuated her figure and cleavage. With a smile, she approached him. "Hehe! You look very surprised," she remarked. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission in Jeju Ind," Han-Yeol inquired. Both of them led busy lives, resulting in infrequent contact. However, they maintainedmunication to keep each other updated. Their rtionship was primarily physical, resembling friends with benefits rather than a couple. "Hoho! I had no ns toe here, but the higher-ups asked me to attend this auction. It seems they want me to keep an eye on your every move." "That sounds good to me." Han-Yeol walked toward her and embraced her. Scarlett, around ten centimeters shorter than Han-Yeol,plemented him nicely in height. "I''ve been frustratedtely, so shall we spend some time together after the auction?" "Oh~ I''m always up for a night with Han-Yeol~" "Great!" Han-Yeol eximed happily. Scarlett smiled, unable to hide her blushing cheeks. Hunters were known to possess higher libidos than ordinary people, but the pleasure derived from their encounters was the same, despite differences in stamina and strength. Scarlett regarded Han-Yeol as having quite the prowess in bed, and she believed he would rank highly if Hunters were ranked based on their performance in that realm. She always weed a night spent with a man like him. Together, Han-Yeol and Scarlett entered the S Hotel. The hotel buzzed with a diverse crowd that would undoubtedly attract media attention. However, Han-Yeol ensured that the auction would proceed without the presence of any media outlets. The auction attendeesprised influential figures who preferred to avoid the spotlight. Consequently, the S Hotel made every effort to restrict media personnel from entering the premises. It was something the hotel would have never done since the media bacsh could deal quite a blow to their image, but that did not matter this time as they could simply say that their customer, Han-Yeol, requested for such actions to be taken. There was not a single reporter around the hotel¡¯s vicinity, so nobody was able to get this exclusive scoop on Han-Yeol and Scarlett. ¡®W-Wow¡­ She¡¯s beautiful¡­!¡¯ ¡®He can nonchntly wrap his arms around a beauty like her¡­ He is indeed on a whole different level¡­¡¯ However, the hotel staff observed the physical intimacy between the two of them. Scarlett, arguably more beautiful than most Hollywood actresses, elevated Han-Yeol''s appearance, making him appear even more sessful. It should have been the other way around, considering Scarlett was a B Rank Hunter while Han-Yeol had achieved the status of Master Rank Hunter. However, the hotel staff didn''t focus on their respective ranks; instead, they were intrigued by the fact that an average-looking man like Han-Yeol managed to capture the attention of a beauty like Scarlett. ¡°Oh right¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You can only speak Arabic and Korean, right, Han-Yeol?¡± ¡°Yeah, but does your organization dig up those kinds of information too?¡± ¡°Of course! You better not look down on our organization¡¯s ability to gather intelligence.¡± Han-Yeol knew that Scarlett¡¯s codename was ck Swan, but he had no idea what her organization¡¯s name was as she had never disclosed it to him. ¡°Ugh¡­?I don''t appreciate your tendency to pry into other people''s secrets, but I''ll overlook it for now to avoid making an enemy out of the United States. Besides, I know that telling you to stop won''t actually make a difference...¡± ¡°Bingo! I¡¯m just following orders as well, so I hope you won¡¯t have any hard feelings over it.¡± ¡°Sure, sure~ How can I say anything against what our beloved American brothers are doing?¡± "Hehe... It may not be much, but I''ll be your trantor for the day, so don''t be too upset, okay?" she offered. "Hmm... We have guests from all over the world today. Can you handle all of the trantions?" Han-Yeol inquired. Han-Yeol had already arranged for trantors from the S Hotel. While he was confident in his ability tomunicate with guests from the Middle East, he recognized the need for trantors to assist with guests from other countries. However, he never expected someone to volunteer to be his trantor for the day. "I may be a B Rank Hunter, but my agent ranking is A, you know? I''m quite fluent in most majornguages around the world," Scarlett proudly stated. The organization she belonged to was not abat-oriented group. Instead, it resembled the CIA, consisting of awakened beings rather than ordinary individuals. Their agents were deployed worldwide to carry out covert operations. While their agents were capable of undertaking assassination missions, such assignments were extremely rare. They would only resort to such actions when absolutely necessary. If possible, they preferred to delegate assassination tasks to specialized organizations. The United States had an "Assassins'' Guild" that operated as mercenaries, offering their services to eliminate targets globally in exchange for a fee. The US government utilized them to carry out target eliminations discreetly. "I''ll appreciate it if you can assist me. It saves me from constantly changing trantors every time I interact with someone from a different country," Han-Yeol replied, shrugging. He then called out, "Secretary Kim." "Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?" Secretary Kim responded. "Inform the S Hotel that I won''t be requiring their trantors anymore," Han-Yeol instructed. "Yes, I will ry your message to them immediately," Secretary Kim replied with a bow before promptly heading off to convey the message. ¡°Oh, right¡­ Hey, Scarlett.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You know that your government ordered ten monster pets, right?¡± ¡°Ah, of course, I know about that. That¡¯s probably the reason why they asked me to watch you today.¡± "Why are they being so difficult? Can''t they just pay me and buy it directly?" "Hoho~ They''re probably just testing the waters at the moment, but you''ll see that won''t be the case for long. I have a feeling you''ll be able to secure more than three trillion won today." ¡°Do you think so?¡± ¡°Without a doubt.¡± Scarlett¡¯s opinion seemed to be different from that of the United States government. Chapter 182: Best Auction of All Time (3)

Chapter 182: Best Auction of All Time (3)

The Americans were probably hoping to negotiate a reduction in the price of three trillion won that Han-Yeol asked for. They were aware that he had sold the monster pets to Tayarana, Mariam, and Mujahid for one trillion won each. It wasn''t that they didn''t recognize the value of the monster pets as ''weapons,'' but rather they needed them for research purposes, not forbat. That was why the American Hunters who wanted to use the monster pets inbat were staying at the L Hotel right next door to the S Hotel. "The United States government seems to want me to reduce the price to one trillion won per monster pet, but should you be saying something like that when you''re an American?" Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. Scarlett suddenly took his side when she should have been supporting her government. "It''s alright. The United States is my mothend, but I have to be realistic, you know? Does it make sense to ask someone to hand over something worth three trillion won for just one trillion won? That''s not even half the price," Scarlett replied. She was quite objective and realistic, knowing that the one trillion won price tag her country was offering was quite shameless to begin with. ¡°Keke! You¡¯ve just be more attractive, Scarlett.¡± ¡°Thank you~¡± They walked toward the main hall when Han-Yeol suddenly stopped in his tracks. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Han-Yeol?¡± ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s just that the mana in the air is quite dense¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because a bunch of Master Rank Hunters are gathered in one ce¡­¡± Han-Yeol said. He was now highly attuned to the mana in the air, unlike before. He could feel the weight of the mana emanating from the hall where numerous Master Rank Hunters had gathered. In fact, the entire S Hotel resembled a simmering reactor due to the multitude of Master Rank Hunters congregating in the main hall and upying the hotel rooms. A Master Rank Hunter possessed the ability to influence the density of mana in the air just by breathing, and Han-Yeol, though not officially a Master Rank Hunter, possessed a simr sensitivity to mana, allowing him to perceive even the slightest fluctuations in his surroundings. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a sigh. ¡°What¡¯s wrong all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just getting excited.¡± ¡°Omo~ You¡¯re such a pervert~¡± Scarlett blushed and covered her face. ¡°Not about that!¡± Han-Yeol immediately retorted after getting hit by her unexpectedeback. Scarlett found Han-Yeol to be quite cute, but she stopped teasing him and got serious. ¡°Hehe~ I¡¯m sure that wasn¡¯t what you were talking about. You¡¯re probably excited to see all of the other ¡®powerful¡¯ Hunters, right?¡± ¡°Tsk¡­?You have a knack for surprising people¡­¡± "Oh my~ That''s only natural, don''t you think? I can''t just change myself either, you know? I''ve heard there''s a saying in Korea that you could die if you change too drastically and too quickly~" ¡°Why is an American talking about a Korean saying¡­?¡± ¡°Hoho! I¡¯m a special agent, so it¡¯s my duty to adapt to the country I¡¯m in!¡± Scarlett, technically a Hunter, had initially undergone grueling and rigorous training as a special agent. This training prepared her to survive in harsh climates like rainforests, deserts, deserted inds, freezing tundra, the north pole, the south pole, and more. Her training enabled her to adapt to different ces around the world. Such training was standard for all special agents, but Scarlett had to undergo additional specialized training due to her linguistic talents. She waspelled to live with a remote African tribe, where she had to fluently speak theirnguage within a mere three months, without any assistance from literature or trantors. Though it may seem absurd to expect such a feat in only three months, she astonishinglypleted her special training in a record-breaking two months and fifteen days. Her extraordinary achievement left even the executives of her organization astounded and incredulous. . This remarkable talent of Scarlett''s, both as a Hunter and a special agent, was evident. "Where do you n to go first?" she inquired. "The main hall. I''ve heard that most of the guests there are VVIPs, and if they catch wind of my presence, I''m certain the other VVIPs wille looking for me." They were all esteemed guests who had gathered to purchase the exceptionally rare and valuable monster pets that Han-Yeol was selling. It was likely that at least one person would remain in the main hall to promptly inform them whether he had appeared there or not. Han-Yeol was confident that once word reached them about his presence in the main hall, most of them would swiftly flock to his location. ¡°Oh~ You¡¯re quite smart~¡± ¡°I know how to use my brains for something this simple, you know?¡± Han-Yeol got into the elevator while bantering back and forth with Scarlett as they headed toward the main hall. Ding! The elevator doors opened and a hotel staff quickly greeted him, ¡°Hello, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.¡± ¡°I heard a few of the VVIPs are already at the main hall. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, around twelve of them are already in the main hall waiting for the auction to start. We have tasked the band to start ying music. We also served them wine so they would not get bored while waiting.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± Han-Yeol replied with a smile. He was delighted by the fact that the hotel had taken matters into their own hands without him having to ask them. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Han-Yeol.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Scarlett urged him, and they entered the main hall together. The hotel staff couldn''t help but be captivated by her beauty and the alluring scent of her perfume. While she might not be as stunning as Tayarana, even with her full make-up, Tayarana''s absence allowed Scarlett''s beauty to shine without any overshadowingparison. She resembled a magnificent white rose, proudly standing out in the garden. Han-Yeol and Scarlett entered the main hall. Thud¡­! As soon as Han-Yeol stepped foot into the main hall, the doors swung open, and a powerful surge of dense mana enveloped him. ¡°Hmm¡­ The air is heavier herepared to other ces.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Even Scarlett could feel the density in the air of the main hall. All eyes in the main hall darted toward Han-Yeol after he made his entrance. [Wow~ Isn¡¯t that the main star of this event, Mr. Lee?!] Han-Yeol could hear someone speaking in English, and the person approached him. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol was not familiar with foreign Hunters, as he had devoted most of his time to studying monsters, gates, mana stones, and Korean Hunters. Consequently, he had no idea who the person was. Fortunately, he was currently apanied by an exceptional special agent. "He is Master Gordon," Scarlett exined. "He is a British Hunter, the top Hunter in their country. He is also renowned as the world''s best chef, and he is a master of dual-des as well." She discreetly whispered to Han-Yeol, "This is a secret, but ording to the information our organization received, Master Gordon is not only a master of dual-des. They say he has the ability to use sound not only for attacks and defense but also to confuse his opponents. By the way, this is not a secret, but I''m sharing it with you since you''re not familiar with foreign Hunters... It is said that anyone who eats his food receives a temporary boost to their stats." "Really? That''s incredible," Han-Yeol responded, surprised by the revtion. Although taken aback, he refrained from making any impulsive outbursts. Despite the other Hunter being British, Han-Yeol decided to be cautious with his words, considering the possibility that they might have their own trantors present. ¡°Yeah, he is a Master Rank Hunter, but he is recognized as a Special Master Rank Hunter.¡± "Wow... the ability to cook food that can temporarily boost your stats sounds incredible, and considering he''s the best chef in the world, it must be delicious too. But on top of that, he can control sound? That''s just mind-blowing," Han-Yeol eximed. "Yeah, I have no idea how he acquired those skills, but based on our intelligence, the extent of the stat increase depends on the quality of the food he cooks," Scarlett revealed. The information Scarlett was sharing with Han-Yeol at that moment was ssified information from her organization, pertaining to the strongest Hunters in various countries. Han-Yeol himself was considered a special Hunter by the Korean Hunters'' Association, so they were taking great care to keep his information contained. However, the level of secrecy surrounding the most powerful Hunter of a country would be even greater. Scarlett''s organization, backed by the United States government, was able to obtain such ssified information. Her manager would likely have a fit if they found out she casually divulged this information to a foreigner. Nevertheless, she was remarkably open with Han-Yeol, ensuring that he was aware of even the smallest details. ¡°Wow¡­ He¡¯s got a cheat skill¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s something like yours, I guess,¡± Scarlett replied. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Master Gordon possessed the remarkable ability to increase the stats of anyone who consumed the dishes he cooked. The magnitude of the stat increase depended on the quality of the dish. However, this was not a concern, considering he was the world''s top chef, ensuring that his dishes were of the highest quality avable. It was widely known that the bonus stats provided by his food couldst for up to ten days in some cases, and not to mention, his dishes were exceptionally delicious. However, there was a drawback: the effects of the food would not stack, regardless of the number of dishes consumed. The effect of the first dish would always prevail until its duration expired. Nevertheless, despite this drawback, the benefits of his skill were simply too remarkable to overlook. It was no surprise that his guild ranked as the top guild in Ennd, and his restaurants were renowned worldwide. Master Gordon truly embodied excellence as a Hunter, chef, and businessman. Approaching Han-Yeol, he extended his calloused hands and said, [It¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is Gordon Foster.] ¡®Hmm? He sounds gentler than I thought,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He initially expected him to be very aggressive and expressive, but he gave off the feel of a British gentleman from the way he greeted him. [It is nice to meet you too.] Han-Yeol shook Master Gordon¡¯s hand with a smile. Though Han-Yeol may have struggled with English, he had learned thenguage during his elementary and middle school years, enabling him to hold his own when exchanging greetings with someone. However, that was the limit of his English proficiency, and beyond that, he relied on a trantor formunication. [It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Lee, and I am extremely delighted to finally get the chance to meet you in person. I was looking for something that will ignite the mes of passion in my heart once again aside from cooking, and you came at the perfect time with your auction. It is truly a shame that you will only be auctioning ten monster pets, but that is not a problem at all. After all, I will be taking them with me back to Ennd.] Master Gordon exuded confidence. His vast guild and multitude of restaurants ensured a constant flow of cash from around the world, and there wasn''t a single high-ranking Hunter in Ennd who hadn''t experienced the pleasure of his culinary creations. Even his stat-enhancing dishes were avable for take-out, albeit with a slight decrease in effectiveness. Most Hunters in Ennd indulged in his food, resulting in a steady stream of ie on a daily basis. If only exporting his food overseas were possible, his earnings would have been even more substantial. Master Gordon''s fame extended beyond Ennd, attracting European Hunters who traveled great distances solely to savor his cuisine. This influx of visitors significantly bolstered the country''s foreign currency reserves. In essence, Master Gordon was an incredibly wealthy Hunter with bank ounts on the verge of overflowing, thanks to his diverse sources of ie. He had attained a status akin to a national hero in Ennd. Such were the miracles brought about by dimensional gates and mana stones, giving rise to new tycoons and oligarchs in numerous countries. After hearing Scarlett''s trantion, Han-Yeol smiled sincerely. He couldn''t help but feel a genuine sense of joy. There was no reason for him to harbor ill-will toward someone willing to pay an exorbitant amount for the product he was selling. This was the first time they were officially showcasing the monster pets in public, and he shared in the excitement of the moment. [I hope this auction is going to help me establish a good rtionship with you, Mr. Lee. I have seen some of yourbat videos, and I must say that it is quite interesting how you are growing stronger every day. The fact that you possess numerous skills is quite fascinating too.] While there were many Hunters who had their own streaming channels, it was quite rare toe across videos featuring a Master Rank Hunter. "This may be our first meeting, Mr. Gordon, but I do hope to have the opportunity to taste your renowned cooking, which has garnered praise from so many," Han-Yeol replied. Han-Yeol, like any other food enthusiast, had a love for delicious cuisine. In the past, he often relied on inexpensive meals to get by, but the asions when his friends treated him to a delectable feast were some of his fondest memories. That''s why he held a strong interest in Master Gordon and his culinary skills. [Haha! It is delightful to hear that Mr. Lee is interested in my cooking! I would love to invite you to Ennd one day, and hopefully, I will be able to serve you with one of my masterpieces that time.] ¡°Thank you.¡± The two shook hands once more before parting ways, as Master Gordon was not the sole VVIP guest eager to engage with Han-Yeol. There were other distinguished guests in the main hall awaiting their turn to converse with him. Han-Yeol had the responsibility of personally greeting each and every one of these VVIPs, which necessitated his departure from Master Gordon''s presence. Chapter 183: Best Auction of All Time (4)

Chapter 183: Best Auction of All Time (4)

The renowned chef Hunter from Ennd was just the beginning of a long list of outstanding guests. Among them were royalty from the Middle East, Presidents of African nations, top-ranked hunters from South America, famous hunters from the United States, and even the boss of a Mexican cartel. It was truly a diverseposition of guests from all around the world. However, what surprised Han-Yeol the most was Scarlett''s interpretation skills. ¡®Amazing, she¡¯s able to interpret every singlenguage.¡¯ It was impossible for him to determine if she was telling the truth or not, but she explicitly mentioned that she did not possess any trantion skills like Han-Yeol. She imed to be exceptionally talented when it came tonguages. "Amazing... You''re truly amazing, Scarlett," Han-Yeol whispered. "Thank you. I think it''s the first time I''ve been praised for my linguistic abilities," Scarlett replied. "What? Why wouldn''t anyone praise such an incredible talent?" Han-Yeol asked in disbelief. "Heh," Scarlett let out a softugh upon hearing Han-Yeol''s words. After exchanging brief greetings, Han-Yeol followed the hotel''s general manager to the designated waiting room prepared for him as his personal space. It was already five in the afternoon, and he had spent most of his time greeting the guests. There was only one hour left before the auction was scheduled to start. As Han-Yeol sat on the plush sofa in the waiting room, watching the live footage of the main hall on the monitor, a hotel staff member approached him. "Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, Mujahid-nim has just arrived on the first floor of the hotel," the staff informed him. "Tsk, I told him there was no need for him toe here personally," Han-Yeol grumbled. "Oh, and he also wanted me to let you know that he came here out of sheer boredom, given your response," the staff member added. ¡°Sigh, is he protesting just because I won''t entertain him?" Han-Yeol said, annoyed, shaking his head, puzzled by Mujahid''s unpredictable behavior. "Hyung-nim!" Mujahid shouted as he arrived at Han-Yeol''s waiting room, which was located on one side of the main hall. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ An object covered in cloth was also wheeled in behind him. ¡°I told you that you didn¡¯t have to personallye here,¡± Han-Yeol said. "Haha, I thought about it as well, but today I felt like spending time with Hyung-nim rather than hunting. Besides, it''s been a while since I''ve watched an auction," Mujahid said. "Are you participating as well?" Han-Yeol asked. "Of course not. Hyung-nim has clearly stated that an individual can only control one monster pet apart from yourself, the skill user. Besides, I have Furion, and it''s more than enough," Mujahid said. Mujahid was deeply fascinated by the Koreannguage and studied to be incredibly proficient in it. On the other hand, Tayarana was not interested in anything other than Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol was impressed with Mujahid''s efforts. The prince would regrly watch Korean variety shows and dramas to practice his pronunciation, and he would carry around a vocabry book to memorize words while hunting. His progress was remarkable. One could say the biggest reason for his improvement was mainly due to the guidance and support of highly skilled Korean teachers who were generouslypensated for their services. The privilege of constantly receiving top-tier private tutoring undoubtedly yed a significant role in his rapid progress. "I''m only here to enjoy the show. Besides, the atmosphere of the auction house is always refreshing," Mujahid said. "Well, do as you please," Han-Yeol said. "Oh, by the way, you haven''t forgotten about going hunting after the auction, right?" Mujahid asked. "Of course not. I''ll take you to the hunting ground of your choice after this is over, so you better be prepared," Han-Yeol said. "Hehehe, understood," Mujahidughed, wearing a satisfied smile after obtaining a firm promise from Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol''s amplification skill provided a euphoric sensation to Mujahid, akin to that of a drug. Although he had never used drugs himself, the descriptions he had read about the experience people felt while under the influence seemed familiar to the feeling he experienced when he received the amplification skill from Han-Yeol. "Uhm... By the way, hyung-nim, just who is this beauty next to you?" Mujahid asked. "Oh..." Han-Yeol said. "Hello, my name is ck Swan. I am a ck Agent from the Secret Hunter Organization of the United States. It''s an honor to meet you, Mujahid-nim," Scarlett said. "Amazing... I guess even the mighty United States wouldn''t let someone like Hyung-nim slip away. And being a ck Agent means you''re a top-tier agent operating with full autonomy. It''s quite impressive that they''ve assigned a ck Agent just to keep an eye on one person. You''re certainly better than me in every possible way, Hyung-nim!" Mujahid said. One could argue that it might seem like Mujahid was praising the United States a bit too much, but he was not someone who cared about political issues. He was simply sincerely admiring Han-Yeol. He loved his country, butplicated matters like politics and diplomacy were not something he cared about. ¡®Well, politics is something that my father or the other politicians can take care of,¡±?Mujahid thought. He believed that his sister, Tayarana, should be the next in line to be the president. Neither of them were particrly interested in inheriting the position of the presidency from their father, and Mujahid always felt that it was only right for his sister to inherit the seat of power since she had a more formal lineage than him. Of course, there would be a referendum among the royal Hunters to choose the next president, but that wouldn''t matter much as Phaophator had an overwhelming approval rating of 83%. So, the candidate he supported was likely to be the new president. The only thing Mujahid was interested in was fighting, and fighting alone. In fact, he only ran hispanies as a hobby and as another means to amass wealth that would allow him to hunt more monsters. ¡°Ughh¡­¡± Plop¡­! Mujahid nestled himself on thefy sofa next to Han-Yeol, and then a hotel staff member approached him. "Would you like to have some tea?" the staff member asked. "I want a cup of strong cappino with a generous amount of whipped cream, okay?" Mujahid replied. "Yes, it will be ready in a minute," the staff said. "Thank you," Mujahid said. "By the way, thank you Mujahid. Thanks to you, I was able to reduce some of the tedious work," Han-Yeol said. "Haha, don''t mention it. I did it because I was already hunting anyway. I don''t think it''s something to be praised for," Mujahid said. The cloth-covered object brought by Mujahid contained the monster egg, which was the main attraction of today''s auction. Initially, Han-Yeol had only nned to auction off the ownership of the monster pets. However, he thought it would be more impactful to show the process of hatching the monster egg in real-time. Therefore, instead of just resting, he asked Mujahid, who was fighting inside the hunting ground, to obtain the nutritional fruits and monster eggs for him. Of course, he paid Mujahid for the trouble, as he believed that the closer the rtionship, the more thorough the mary rtionship should be. Knock¡­ Knock¡­ ck¡­ Secretary Kim entered the room after knocking on the door while Han-Yeol was leisurely drinking his tea and chatting with Mujahid. "Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, the auction will begin in ten minutes," Secretary Kim said. "It''s already time?" Han-Yeol said. The waiting room where Han-Yeol was staying had six CCTV monitors that disyed the main hall where the auction would take ce. His task was simple: hatch the egg once the bidding had closed, as the auction would be conducted by a veteran auctioneer. The main hall was illuminated by a state-of-the-art lighting system, but the room still maintained a slightly dim atmosphere. People who attended these types of events preferred not to expose their faces too much. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ The main hall was filled with approximately three hundred and ten VVIPs, apanied by their entourages, with only five minutes remaining before the auction began. Some guests, who wished to keep their identities concealed, wore masks and sat in the darker areas of the hall. As the time for the auction approached, the lights in the hall dimmed, and a spotlight illuminated the stage with a sh. Beeeeep¡­! The microphone was turned on, and the veteran auctioneer recruited by Secretary Kim stepped onto the stage. "Greetings, my name is Choi Jin-Ki, and I will be in charge of today''s grand event. It is an honor for me to personally stand in front of esteemed guests," Choi Jin-Ki said. He primarily spoke in Korean, but each of the guests wore earpieces that directly tranted every word into thenguage of their choice to assist them in the auction. ¡°...¡± Normally, when the host appeared and introduced themselves, people would give a round of apuse. However, this auction was no ordinary event where wealthy individuals came to purchase expensive toys. No, this was another battlefield that would determine whether the top-tier Hunters would be able to acquire a monster pet that was expected to be a trend in the near future. Everyone in the hall understood the importance of these monster pets. Those who did not possess one would be at risk of being left behind by theirpetitors. That was why the atmosphere in the hall was heavy and serious from the start. A typical person might have been flustered and embarrassed by the deafening silence. But Choi Jin-Ki was a veteran auctioneer who had undergone rigorous training and experienced various situations throughout his career. He knew exactly what to do in these kinds of situations, and that was to dispel the tense atmosphere by clearing his throat. ¡°Ahem. Without further ado, I will proceed with the auction right away. As you all know, this auction will feature the ownership of ten monster pets. Please consider the price carefully and bid ordingly. Now, we willmence the first-ever Monster Pet Ownership Auction! The starting bid will be one hundred billion won, with a minimum bid increment of one hundred billion won as well," the auctioneer exined. The starting price and bidding increment were set at an astonishing one hundred billion won, which was unprecedented in any other auctions organized by a single individual. This alone indicated the immense value of the monster pets possessed by Han-Yeol. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The attendants brought by the VVIPs hurriedly raised the paddles they held as soon as the auctioneer finished speaking. Thepetition was so intense that some people didn''t even bother lowering their paddles. "One hundred billion, two hundred billion, three hundred billion, four hundred billion, five hundred billion, six hundred billion, seven hundred billion, eight hundred billion... We are about to surpass one trillion! One trillion and one hundred billion, one trillion and two hundred billion...!" Choi Jin-Ki dramatically eximed as the bidding heated up. The bidding was intense right from the start. Only the ultra-wealthy, who had amassed their wealth from mana stones, could participate on this scale. In a matter of seconds, the price tag of one trillion won spent by the Egyptians was quickly surpassed. Han-Yeol watched the intense bidding from the monitor in the waiting room, his mouth agape in astonishment. ¡®Finally, the time hase for my dream of bing a Chaebol?ising true,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he imagined himself bing a Chaebol very soon. Then, a slight wave of sadness washed over him as he realized he didn''t have any siblings. He couldn''t help but imagine how wonderful it would be to have someone to share this moment of joy with. Yoo-Bi held a special ce in his heart, like a younger sister figure, but having a blood-rted sister would undoubtedly be a unique and cherished experience. ¡®Hmm, well, I''ve heard that father''s rtionship with that woman hasn''t been good since I was born, so I guess it can''t be helped. Maybe I should ask him to remarry and give me a sibling,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. Han-Yeol''s father was now leading a much happier lifepared to the past. There were times when his father seemed downcast whenever he saw a young couple at the billiard hall. These couples often came to support their aspiring child who dreamed of bing a professional billiard yer. Han-Yeol could see the shadow that would asionally fall upon his father''s face as he watched those happy families. Having personally witnessed his father''s loneliness on numerous asions, Han-Yeol felt a strong desire to ensure his father''s happiness for the rest of his life. He didn''t want his father to be alone. ¡®Father has lived a life full of suffering, and he deserves happiness from now on. I won''t let him be alone for the rest of his life. And as his son, I know there will be no shortage of suitors,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, not intending to sound arrogant. He understood that excess in anything, including humility, was not beneficial. However, he was well aware of the respect his fathermanded wherever he went, as he was the father of the soon-to-be wealthiest man in all of South Korea. Considering all these factors, Han-Yeol couldn''t help but think that his father would soon be the most eligible bachelor in the country. He knew how much his father meant to him and believed that everyone else recognized his father''s worth as well. ¡®Hmm, should I start building a new mansion for my father¡¯s honeymoon?¡¯?Han-Yeol was already letting his imagination run wild. In the meantime, the auction price continued to rise until it reached an astonishing three trillion won. This bid came from a Hunter from the United States. As time passed, the VVIPs began to give up one by one. While they were undoubtedly extremely affluent individuals at the pinnacle of wealth, spending a staggering three trillion won in a single auction was undeniably burdensome even for them. ¡°Three trillion and two hundred billion¡­ Three trillion and three hundred billion¡­!¡± the auctioneer went on¡­ Whoosh¡­! Then, an attendant next to a masked Hunter raised the paddle once again. ¡°Three trillion and four hundred billion!¡± the auctioneer said. The bid eventually surpassed the three trillion won mark and instantly reached an astonishing four trillion. In the end. Master Gordon won the bid for four trillion and two hundred billion won. ¡®Hoho, spending over 4 trillion may seem excessive for a monster pet, but when you consider the fact that it can help me establish a good rtionship with Mr. Lee, this four trillion and two hundred billion won is not really a waste,¡¯?Master Gordon thought. Even for someone as exceptional as Master Gordon, four trillion and two thousand won was not a small amount. However, the reason he invested a fortune was not solely for the monster pet, but also to establish a good rtionship with Han-Yeol. The reason many VVIPs were not actively participating in the auction was due to one key factor¡ªthe randomness of the monster that would hatch. While they desired to own a monster pet, these wealthy individuals, with fortunes worth trillions, were extremely cautious about overpaying. Contrary to the public belief that all wealthy people are reckless with their money due to their immense wealth, in reality, they were more strategic and disciplined in their spending than the general public. Most billionaires achieved their wealth through meticulous financial management, not through lottery wins or lucky real estate investments. ¡°Four trillion and two hundred billion! Final call! Four trillion and two hundred billion! Three calls and the auction will be closed. Going once! Going twice! Sold!¡± Choi Jin-Ki eximed as he mmed the gavel. Bam! 1. Chaebol basically means someone that¡¯s uber-wealthy in Korea. Think something like an oligarch except it¡¯s in Korea. Chapter 184: Best Auction of All Time (5)

Chapter 184: Best Auction of All Time (5)

¡®Yes!¡¯?Master Gordon triumphantly raised his fist after winning the bid. He ended up spending much more than he had originally nned, and some might even say that he had overpaid for the monster pet. However, he was absolutely delighted and satisfied after winning the bid. In a situation where there were winners, it was inevitable that there would also be losers. ¡®Damn it! Is he crazy? Why the hell would he spend four trillion on a monster pet?!¡¯ ¡®I know it¡¯s a pet, but four trillion is too much!¡¯ Every individual participating in the auction was extremely wealthy, but it didn''t imply that they were all equally affluent. The earning potential of each person, be it a Hunter or a businessman, was bound to vary greatly from one individual to another. In fact, the VVIPs participating in the auction might have been influential figures in their home countries, but most of them possessed a wealth slightly exceeding ten trillion won. It would certainly be a considerable strain on their finances if they were to spend half of their entire fortune just to acquire a single monster pet. ¡®I guess this auction is over for me. Who knew it was going to be this intense from the start? I should probably aim for the next auction¡­¡¯ ¡®I would¡¯ve just got up and left, but¡­¡¯ Almost a third of the VVIPs had already withdrawn from the auction, yet they remained seated, making an effort not to disy their disinterest outwardly. However, their pride prevented them from standing up and leaving, as doing so would essentially announce to everyone that theycked sufficient funds to continue bidding. For individuals like them, pride and honor held as much importance as their very lives, and they were determined to avoid any action that would make them appear inferior to others. This exins why the VVIPs remained seated despite having given up on the auction, while the proceedings continued regardless of their preferences. "Congrattions, Master Gordon-nim! As the winning bidder, we would like to invite you onto the stage," eximed Choi Jin-Ki, maintaining a professional tone. "Alright," replied Master Gordon, rising from his seat and making his way toward the stage. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? Han-Yeol stepped onto the stage apanied by Secretary Kim, who was pulling a cart carrying the precious monster egg. Two hotel staffers joined them, their outward appearance showingposure, but inwardly trembling with the fear of mishandling and potentially breaking the egg, valued at over four trillion won. ¡®The next four generations of my family will be ruined if I break this¡­!¡¯?They were well aware that the sum was something they couldn''t umte even in four lifetimes. However, it was important to note that the value of the egg itself did not amount to four trillion won; its true worthy in Han-Yeol''s unique abilities. Unfortunately, such knowledge was beyond theprehension of a hotel staffer. [Hahaha! We are meeting again so soon, Mr. Lee.] Scarlett remained in the room, choosing not to join Han-Yeol on the stage. As a secret agent, she understood the importance of maintaining a low profile, especially in front of influential figures who could potentially be adversaries to the United States. Despite her apparentposure, she remained vignt. Instead of being physically present, Scarlett opted to assist Han-Yeol by tranting through an earpiece. It allowed her to provide her expertise while minimizing her visibility in the public eye. Upon their reunion, the two Hunters exchanged a handshake, marking the significance of their encounter. ¡°It is nice to see you again so soon, Master Gordon.¡± [Hahaha! Likewise, Mr. Lee.] "The other guests might grow bored if we continue chatting like this. Shall we shorten our greetings and proceed?" [That sounds good to me!] Han-Yeol opted to avoid exining the same thing multiple times, so he addressed the crowd using a microphone, ensuring everyone could hear his instructions. He stated, "...you can administer the injection in this manner. I cannot guarantee what may ur if the injection process is interrupted, so please remain focused until the procedure isplete." Although the overall process seemed simple and straightforward, it was difficult to guarantee absolute safety. Mana had the potential to exhibit either docile behavior or transform into a ferocious beast depending on how it was controlled. Han-Yeol added, "Furthermore, once the monster hatches, it will recognize me as its parent due to my skill being involved in its birth. However, I can transfer ownership to Master Gordon using my skill, so there is no need to worry." [Alright, I understand.] ¡°Shall we get started?¡± [Yes.] Chwak! Han-Yeol removed the cloth covering the cart, unveiling the monster eggs for everyone to observe. ¡°Please select a color you like and inject your mana into the chosen egg.¡± [Oh¡­ I never thought I was going to have trouble choosing a color¡­] Master Gordon contemted for a full minute before he finally made his choice. [I love the pink center of a medium-rare steak, so I will go with that.] ¡®Pfft! As expected of a chef.¡¯?Han-Yeolughed inwardly as he found the chef to be cute. Despite being over forty years old, the fact that Master Gordon selected his color based on such logic was rather amusing. ¡°Now, please inject your mana into the egg.¡± [Alright.] Master Gordon infused his mana into the pink monster egg resting on the cart. As a Master Rank Hunter, he possessed exceptional control over his mana, making it rtively easy for him to inject it into the egg. However, he had heard rumors that this particr step was of utmost importance, as it could ultimately determine the quality of the hatched monster. Recognizing the significance, he concentrated all his focus on injecting his mana. In fact, Master Gordon appeared as if he were facing a life-or-death situation, exerting an intensity that surpassed even his most challenging encounters with monsters. This level of concentration surpassed any he had ever experienced in his entire life. Wooooong! Han-Yeol could not help but admire Master Gordon¡¯s mana. ¡®Wow¡­ A Master Rank Hunter is really different¡­¡¯ The immense amount of mana Master Gordon injected into the monster egg caused the entire main hall to shake. While mana itself was intangible, an excessive umtion of pure mana within a confined space could start affecting the surrounding area. Master Gordon lived up to his reputation as the most powerful Master Rank Hunter in Ennd, demonstrating the sheer magnitude of his mana reserves. "Don''t perceive the monster egg as your adversary. Instead, envision yourself warmly embracing it. The egg is not your enemy but your ally..." [Phew¡­] Master Gordon focused his mana once again as per Han-Yeol¡¯s instructions, and the pink monster egg slowly started to react to his mana. Rustle! The egg began to shake and emit a rustling sound, eventually cracking open. [Oh¡­!] The long-awaited hatching finallymenced, capturing the eager attention of Master Gordon and the VVIPs. This pivotal moment held immense significance for everyone in the hall, particrly Han-Yeol, as it would determine how the auction would unfold for the remaining nine monster pets. The type of monster that Master Gordon obtained from his egg was entirely unrted to the other nine, as it was determined purely by chance. However, humans were inherently simple creatures who tended to associate their prospects with the oues of others. If the person before them received something desirable, they would instinctively believe that they too would obtain something favorable, and vice versa. This tendency was evident in lotteries, where individuals often bought tickets after hearing news of someone else''s win, believing they too could be lucky. Regardless, Han-Yeol held hope that a remarkable creature would emerge from Master Gordon''s egg, igniting even greater excitement within the auction. Although it might pose a risk for the Master Rank Hunters to acquire powerful monster pets, given that they were allpetitors of Han-Yeol, he remained unworried about the matter. ¡®I will continue to grow stronger while they remain stagnant. There is a limit to their potential, and I am certain that I will emerge victorious in the end,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. He held unwavering confidence in his ability to surpass everyone in the hall. At that moment, his sole focus was on selling the monster pets at the highest possible prices. Crack! The thick shell of the monster egg cracked open, revealing the creature within as it made its long-awaited appearance. [Finally¡­!] With eyes brimming with excitement, Master Gordon eximed in awe as he watched the newborn creature with admiration. ¡°Woo! Woo!¡± ¡°Gori¡­?¡± Surprisingly, the monster that emerged from the egg was a baby gori, but it bore a striking dissimrity to a typical gori. It possessed unusuallyrge eyes that resembled those of a human, giving it a unique appearance. Additionally, it exuded a remarkable handsomeness that surpassed that of a regr gori. Despite the unexpected oue, Master Gordon appeared content and satisfied with the monster that had hatched from the egg. [Oh! A gori! It looks like a powerful and dependablepanion. Now, may you please transfer its ownership to me, Mr. Lee?] . Master Gordon remembered the fact that the monster, immediately after hatching, belonged to Han-Yeol. ¡®Taming. Transfer ownership to Master Gordon.¡¯?Han-Yeol used his skill while looking at Master Gordon. Ding! [Do you wish to transfer the ownership of ¡®Intelligent Gori¡¯ to Master Gordon?] ¡®Yes, transfer it.¡¯ [The ownership of the ¡®Intelligent Gori¡¯ has been transferred to Master Gordon.] [You will no longer exercise any authority on the ¡®Intelligent Gori¡¯.] ¡®No problem.¡¯ The ownership of the gori was sessfully transferred to Master Gordon. "Congrattions, Master Gordon. This is an ''Intelligent Gori,'' and based on its name, I believe it will develop remarkable intelligence as it grows," Han-Yeol exined. [Wow! This is incredible! I hope this creature can develop intelligence akin to humans. Given its impressive hands, I look forward to teaching it how to cook in the future!] "Haha! You truly are the world''s greatest chef. Only you woulde up with the idea of teaching a pet and a monster how to cook," Han-Yeol remarked, genuinely impressed by Master Gordon''s entric yet enthusiastic reaction. While Master Gordon''s ns may sound peculiar, it was not entirely imusible to teach the gori how to cook, considering it likely possessed simr intelligence to goris depicted in movies or animations. In fact, it was possible that this Intelligent Gori could be considered a geniuspared to its counterparts in fictional portrayals. ¡°Congrattions.¡± [Thank you! Coming here seems to be well worth my time. I am quite happy with the result, and it was well worth my money!] Han-Yeol and Master Gordon exchanged handshakes, both wearing expressions of utmost satisfaction with the result. As the two shared this moment, Choi Jin-Ki observed their interaction and seized the opportune moment to rally the crowd. [Wow! An intelligent gori! They''re often depicted as being as intelligent as geniuses in fiction novels... Could it be that this gori possesses the same level of intelligence?! If that''s the case, Master Gordon is undoubtedly a fortunate Hunter. A monster hatched from the mana of a Master Rank Hunter is bound to be anything but ordinary! I can''t help but feel a surge of excitement as I imagine how incredible this gori will be once it evolves!] ¡®He¡¯s good,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk while looking at Choi Jin-Ki. Choi Jin-Ki appeared to be improvising his lines, as Han-Yeol was unaware of any scripted dialogue. Moreover, Secretary Kim, known for his preference for simplicity and cleanliness, would unlikely have approved such a script in the first ce. This realization led Han-Yeol to acknowledge Choi Jin-Ki''s skill in stirring up excitement by embellishing details. [Now, let us proceed with the auction! One out of the ten monster pets has already been sold, leaving us with nine! Let the biddingmence!] The Intelligent Gori climbed up Master Gordon''s legs and clung to him, findingfort in his embrace as it peacefully closed its eyes. While goris could be intimidating and dangerous, a baby gori possessed an inherent cuteness that could soften the hearts of even the toughest individuals. Master Gordon swiftly gave instructions to his attendants. [Hire the best experts in Ennd immediately to identify hunting grounds with primate-type monsters!] [Yes, Master Gordon!] Since news of the method to evolve monster pets had already circted extensively, Master Gordon promptly sprung into action. Han-Yeol contemted keeping the secret to himself, but he ultimately concluded that revealing it would be essential for generating heightened interest and driving up the prices of the monster pets. As anticipated, the response was explosively enthusiastic. The confirmation of Han-Yeol''s ims, reinforced by Mavros'' majestic evolution, further ignited excitement among the crowd. Chapter 185: After the Auction (1)

Chapter 185: After the Auction (1)

Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­! The auction grew even more intense after Master Gordon acquired the Intelligent Gori. The Master Hunters who took part in the auction all prided themselves on being much stronger than Master Gordon. ¡®So, that half of a Hunter, Gordon, managed to get that Intelligent Gori... Well, I should be able to acquire something even better than that guy.¡¯ ¡®The vice guild master didn''t really care about obtaining a monster pet, but our hunting speed has been slowing downtely... It would be amazing if we could get a monster pet like Mavros. That would surely boost our hunting speed. Alright, I''m definitely going to obtain the next monster egg.¡¯ The Master Rank Hunters were fired up because of a few words from an ordinary person, and this was an extraordinary sight that one would never have the chance to witness anywhere else. "Now! The bidding willmence once again! One hundred billion! We''re starting at one hundred billion won!" Choi Jin-Ki eximed enthusiastically and mmed his gavel. Bang! The auction zed like a molten furnace after the VVIPs personally witnessed the Intelligent Gori hatch. Figures that would never typically appear at ordinary auctions were soaring around as if they were inconsequential. "Four trillion and eight hundred billion won! Going once! Going twice! Sold to the gentleman for four trillion and eight hundred billion won!" Choi Jin-Ki concluded the second bid with a resounding m of his gavel. Tang! [Yes! Hahaha!] The victor of the second bid happened to be Abdulrahman, an Arab man in his thirties and the second son of the King of Saudi Arabia, who was next in line for the throne. Unlike Egypt, Saudi Arabia remained a monarchy where the throne was inherited through generations. However, since the dimensional gates emerged, a significant change took ce: the most formidable Hunter among the royal family was selected as the next king. The order of session held little significance in the kingdom, as the most powerful Hunter among the royals was chosen to ascend the throne. In fact, the current king held the esteemed rank of an S Rank Hunter, while his second son, Abdulrahman, was a Master Rank Hunter. Consequently, as long as Abdulrahman did not meet an untimely demise, his position as the future king was assured. The Saudi people wholeheartedly supported Abdulrahman''s ascent to the throne, recognizing the value of having a mighty Hunter as their king. As the crown prince, Abdulrahman possessed immense wealth, but he still hesitated when it came to indulging in a monster pet, unsure of its true worth. However, all doubts vanished when he witnessed Master Gordon acquire a rare monster as hispanion. It went without saying that once the crown prince set his mind on winning the second bid, nobody could surpass him, for it was exceedingly rare for anyone to outmatch the Middle Eastern royalty in a contest of wealth. While the notion of "oil money" had be a tale of the past, the Middle Eastern royalties leveraged their positions of power to control the mana stones gathered by the Hunters. This enabled them to sustain their wealth even after the emergence of the dimensional gates, multiplying their riches to a much greater extent than before. ¡°Pleasee this way, your highness.¡± [Hahaha! Sure!] Abdulrahman had gained a reputation for his arrogant attitude, yet he made a point to show courtesy toward Han-Yeol. The crown prince was someone who generally disregarded others'' opinions of him, but he understood all too well that Han-Yeol was not someone he could belittle. ¡°Congrattions, your highness.¡± [Thank you! I will be in your care then.] ¡°Shall we start right away?¡± [Alright.] Abdulrahman infused his mana into the monster egg, following in the footsteps of Master Gordon. While Master Gordon''s mana emanated warmth and gentleness, reflecting his amiable personality, Abdulrahman''s mana exuded authority and charisma, befitting his future role as the kingdom''s king. The crown prince''s mana possessed a distinctiveness that set it apart from Master Gordon''s blend of gentle yet charismatic energy. ¡®Both Gordon and Abdulrahman are truly intriguing individuals,¡¯ Han-Yeol realized, recognizing the multitude of things he could learn from observing this auction. Although he couldn''t directly witness the power of a Master Rank Hunter, he could discern their strength indirectly through the sheer aura of mana they emitted. This experience was undoubtedly invaluable for him. Crack¡­! ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± The monster that came out of the egg this time was¡­ [Oh! How can this be?!] [Oh¡­!] Everyone in the hall, including Abdulrahman, gasped in amazement upon witnessing the emergence of the baby monster from the egg. The falcon held symbolic significance in many Arab countries, beloved and revered in the region. It was treated distinctivelypared to other animals, requiring a passport to cross borders into different countries. [Hahahaha! This is marvelous! Outstanding!] Abdulrahman couldn''t contain hisughter upon realizing that the monster pet he had acquired was none other than the beloved falcon of the Arab world. *** Abdulrahman had a certain level of expectation for a good monster to hatch from the monster egg. However, he never anticipated that he would receive a falcon, the cherished symbol of Saudi Arabia, among all the possible monsters. This news brought him immense joy, as there was likely no other monster pet that could solidify his position as the kingdom''s future king better than a falcon. Furthermore, it was evident that this falcon would not be an ordinary one, considering its status as a monster. Once it underwent its first evolution, its power would undoubtedly surpass that of a typical falcon. [Now, let''s proceed with transferring ownership to me!] "Haha, very well, your highness." After confirming that the payment of four trillion and eight hundred billion won had been deposited into his ount, Han-Yeol transferred ownership of the monster pet to Abdulrahman. Initially, the falcon remained loyal to Han-Yeol as its master, but upon Han-Yeol using his skill, it swiftly took flight and perched on Abdulrahman''s shoulder. Then, it cried out in delight as if to greet its new master, ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± [Haha! Congrattions on bing my partner, little one.] Abdulrahman went back to his seat with his baby falcon on his shoulder. ¡®The Arabs are quite well-known tovishly spend on their pets without reserve, so I guess I won¡¯t have to worry about that guy,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was indeed selling them for a profit, but he still felt a slight concern for the monster pets he had hatched using his skill. However, he could take sce in the fact that the falcon, at the very least, would be well-fed, as there was no possibility of the crown prince running out of money. As the auction grew even more intense, the remaining monster pets found their rightful owners. The following is the list of sessful bidders who acquired the monster pets: 1. Master Gordon: Intelligent Gori 2. Crown Prince Abdulrahman: Monster Falcon 3. German Prime Minister Lucas: Battle Bull 4. Mexican Cartel Boss Christine: Death Peacock 5. Emir Khalifa: Death Falcon 6. America¡¯s Wealthiest Man John Smith: Twin Lion 7. China¡¯s Top Hunter Wang Won-In: Giant Panda 8. Italy Prime Minister Alberto: Silver Wolf 9. South America¡¯s Lord of the Night Big Mama: Cobra 10. India President Kumar: Killing Mammoth From Han-Yeol''s perspective, this auction was a jackpot. The bidders were highly content with the rare monster pets they acquired, each of them being exceptionally unique. The crowd gasped in awe as the final winning bidder, President Mukherjee, hatched the Killing Mammoth from the monster egg. Everyone was astonished to witness the presence of a mammoth, an extinct creature that had vanished from the face of the earth. However, inparison to Han-Yeol''s partner, Mavros, these ten monster pets paled inparison. They were vastly inferior to the ck dragon, as ordinary creatures could never surpass the sheer majesty of a dragon. To outshine Mavros, it would require the emergence of a god-like or another mythical creature from the monster egg. A prime example of this would be Tayarana''s griffin. In any case, the VVIPs in attendance spared no expense in their bidding, and the winning bidders returned home with the honor of being the proud owners of the highly coveted monster pets. Undeniably, the auction was an intense affair,parable to an indirect "world war." It was a rare asion where influential figures from across the globe congregated in one ce. ¡®Wow¡­ It¡¯s a really impressive lineup now that I think about it.¡¯?Han-Yeol sat in the waiting room, engrossed in reading the report submitted by Secretary Kim after greeting the VVIPs who had participated in the auction. ¡®Who would have imagined that these individuals woulde just because I invited them? I should considerminating this report and preserving it as a family heirloom or something,¡¯?he pondered, recognizing the significance of the report and deeming it worthy of long-term preservation. ¡®Still, it''s a relief that giving away the monster pets doesn''t affect my Charisma stat. I was genuinely worried about what would happen if the hatching failed due to my insufficient Charisma,¡¯?he thought, relieved that hisck of Charisma didn''t hinder the sessful hatching and subsequent transfer of the monster pets to others. Despite not possessing enough Charisma points to retain ten monster pets, Han-Yeol managed to hatch and give away all ten without any negative consequences. His personal Charisma level did not impact the process. In the end, Han-Yeol amassed approximately fifty trillion won through the auction, propelling him into the ranks of the top ten richest individuals in South Korea. While there were corporations with greater assets, it was a rarity for an individual to umte such vast personal wealth in the country. ¡°Congrattions, Han-Yeol. I heard you have more than fifty trillion won in your pocket now,¡± Scarlett said. "Hmm... It''s quite hard to believe... Fifty trillion won is such a massive number that I can''t even write it down without losing count of the zeroes. It feels surreal to think that''s how much I have," Han-Yeol replied. "I suppose that''s normal. Even I have no concept of how big fifty trillion is. Anyway, I just wanted to congratte you on bing very rich." "Thanks." "No need for thanks between us~" While fifty trillion won wasn''t enough to consider himself one of the richest people in the world, there was no denying that Han-Yeol was now a wealthy and famous Hunter. After all, it was unprecedented for anyone to earn fifty trillion won in just a few hours and catapult themselves into the ranks of the super-rich. If this auction had been publicly held, it would have undoubtedly gone down in the history books as the most expensive auction in mankind''s history. However, due to its closed nature and invitation-only attendance, it would be challenging to have it officially recorded. Some attendees might spread rumors, but those who participated in the auction alongside the VVIPs were elites who were unlikely to casually disclose such details. Ultimately, nobody would confirm or deny what had truly transpired in the auction, so the specifics would remain as mere rumors from now on. "Haha! You''ve be richer than me in a matter of a few hours, hyung-nim!" Mujahid eximed in surprise. He had anticipated that the monster pets would sell for the same price he had bought Furion, one trillion won, but he never expected the prices to soar to over five trillion won. Indeed, it was an amount that even someone like Mujahid would find burdensome to spend. "How much I have isn''t important. Besides, you can easily earn it if you put your mind to it, right?" Han-Yeol responded, brushing off the significance of his newfound wealth. ¡°Keke! That¡¯s why I¡¯m congratting you, right?¡± ¡°Thanks anyways.¡± ¡°Ah, then shall we go hunting now since the auction is over?!¡± ¡°Yeah, I did promise you¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you did!¡± Mujahid gazed at Han-Yeol with eyes filled with excitement and anticipation. His adorable face and sparkling eyes made it incredibly difficult for Han-Yeol to resist his request. However, Han-Yeol had no intention of indulging Mujahid''s attempts to appear cute, as Mujahid was not a woman. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol didn''t decline the request to hunt together this time, as he had already made a promise and intended to keep it. "Sure, let''s go hunting together. It''s nothing too challenging, after all. Why don''t you make the schedule and let me know?" Han-Yeol responded. "Hoho! Thank you, hyung-nim! I''ve been eagerly waiting for the day to hunt with you again!" "Don''t exaggerate now..." Han-Yeol grumbled. While his words may have sounded like a reprimand, Han-Yeol was actuallyughing. After all, despite Mujahid being a prince, he was more like a cute little brother to Han-Yeol. ¡®Is this a side of him that he only shows to people he¡¯s close with? I don¡¯t think he acts this way in front of others though¡­ Well, what does it matter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought and shrugged. It didn''t matter which side Mujahid showed as long as he remained honest with Han-Yeol. "I will prepare the best hunting trip ever!" Mujahid eximed before rushing out of the door. He was likely nning to gather all the experts he knew and assign them the task of creating the most exceptional hunting schedule South Korea had ever witnessed. It was undoubtedly the right decision, considering that Mujahid was not as familiar with the hunting grounds in South Korea as he was with those in Egypt. "Haha... He''s certainly full of energy," Scarlett remarked with a smile, her eyes forming a crescent shape. Chapter 186: After the Auction (2)

Chapter 186: After the Auction (2)

Egypt''s royal family was a force even the Government of the United States was reluctant to meddle with. President Phaopator was revered as the reincarnation of a pharaoh and held the title of Master Rank Hunter, making him the individual the United States was most wary of. In addition, Egypt boasted thergest number of unique items and held the position of leadership on the African continent. It was only natural for the United States to strive for a positive rtionship with Egypt while also maintaining caution. After all, the United States was determined not to jeopardize its own position of power. As an Egyptian princess, Tayarana, who was widely recognized as the Goddess of Africa, further emphasized the importance of the United States'' careful treatment of Egypt. Given Scarlett''s awareness of these circumstances, she was greatly surprised to discover Han-Yeol''s close and personal rtionship with the Egyptian royals. Beep! Scarlett received a message while she was talking to Han-Yeol. ¡®Is it the message?¡¯?She discreetly checked the message while Han-Yeol was not looking. [The White House has convinced Congress. Thirty trillion won will be offered to Mr. Lee in exchange for ten monster pets.] ¡®Hoho, as expected,¡¯?she thought with a smirk after reading her superior¡¯s message. She had anticipated the situation unfolding exactly as it did, so she wasn''t surprised in the least. The offer to sell the monster pets, which had fetched over five trillion won each in the auction today, was an incredible discount. Any government officials who missed out on this enormous opportunity would bepelled to resign from their positions. After noticing Scarlett''s smiling face while looking at her phone, Han-Yeol asked, "What does the message say that has you smiling so much?" "It appears that my superiors are currently in a state of panic," she replied with a smile. "Huh?" "I''m referring to the thirty trillion won proposal you made to our organization for the ten monster pets." "Oh, that one?" Han-Yeol nodded, realizing what she was talking about. "Yes, that one. I suspect that one of the VVIPs who participated in the auction was actually an agent sent from our organization. Based on the timing of this order being sent to me immediately after the auction concluded, it seems they were providing real-time updates." Scarlett shared information that she didn''t necessarily have to disclose. Her mission was to establish a close rtionship with Han-Yeol and ensure he viewed the United States as an ally. However, she had developed personal feelings for Han-Yeol, so she made the decision to be as open as possible when dealing with him. This would typically disqualify her as a ck Agent, but she no longer cared about such things. ¡®Being as intimate as possible with Han-Yeol is all for my mothend,¡¯?she thought. Scarlett was far from being an emotionless robot, and she had no intention of simply carrying out the tasks she was assigned. She possessed the ability to think independently, and she firmly believed that establishing a rtionship with Han-Yeol based on trust was truly in the best interest of the United States. ¡®Han-Yeol is undoubtedly going to grow even stronger than he is now, acquiring additional skills along the way. Keeping secrets from him could create a rift between us, potentially leading to losing him to the Egyptians.¡¯ As a true patriot, Scarlett recognized that her current objective should be to persuade Han-Yeol to align himself with her country. Moreover, her wariness toward Egypt was not unfounded, given Han-Yeol''s apparent inclination toward them over his own country, South Korea. ¡®I must make every effort to remain by his side and ensure that any missteps made by my country do not disappoint him,¡¯ she resolved, acknowledging that transparency was the key to forging a strong bond with him. ¡°So what are you going to do? Are you going to sell the monster pets to my government?¡± she asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess I should,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. ¡°Is it alright though?¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°You sold one monster pet for more than five trillion won today. You¡¯re losing out on at least twenty trillion won by making this trade.¡± "I was the one who initially offered the price, so I must honor thatmitment. By the way, please inform them to dispatch ten Hunters as soon as possible. They may already be aware of this, but the presence of Hunters is essential for hatching the monster eggs. Additionally, ask them to procure the monster eggs and nutritional fruits, as I prefer not to deal with that myself." "Of course, I will ry every single word you said~" Having closely followed the entire auction process, Scarlett was well aware of her responsibilities. Without dy, she messaged her superior, providing a detailed list of Han-Yeol''s requirements. Beep! A response came. [OK.] The entire deal proceeded quite smoothly after that. The American Government mobilized the Hunters they had in their embassy in South Korea to procure the monster eggs and nutritional fruits, and they delivered all of these to Han-Yeol exactly seven hours after the deal was finalized. ¡®Wow¡­ That was really fast¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was impressed by how quick the Americans moved. Furthermore, the Americans promptly dispatched ten Hunters a mere three hours after delivering the monster eggs and nutritional fruits. ¡®Haha¡­ I never knew the Americans were so impatient¡­¡¯?Han-Yeolughed in disbelief. Despite suffering significant damage from the emergence of dimensional gates, the United States demonstrated remarkable resilience, enabling them to rise once more and maintain their position as the most powerful nation on Earth. Nheless, they had concerns about potentially losing their leading status to another country due to ack of breakthroughs in research. However, the advent of monster pets presented them with an opportunity to once again widen the gap between themselves and other nations. ¡®The United States will copse the moment they are pushed out of the top spot,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The harsh reality was that while the United States had many allies, they also had more enemies than allies. Presently, numerous countries sought favor with the United States due to its status as the strongest nation on Earth. However, all these nations were likely to turn their backs on the United States the moment it faced a downfall. In light of this, several countries were vying to usurp the United States'' position. China, for instance, tirelessly invested in mana stone research, Russia was making strides in technology to catch up with the United States, and the control of Africa''s abundant resources by Egypt posed another concern. Additionally, India and the European Union were also contenders. However, India, despite experiencing the same damage as the United States from the dimensional gates, struggled to recover as swiftly. Their reconstruction efforts were gued by various issues, causing them to be a developing nation within thirty years. Meanwhile, the European Union, once a potential contender for the crown, saw its influence significantly diminished as its member nations adopted a more inward-focused policy following the emergence of mana stones. With numerous countries aiming to overthrow the United States, it desperately needed something to safeguard its throne from these challengers. "Hello, Mr. Lee. My name is Mark Rupert, and I am the current Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Korea," introduced an American man in his thirties, fluently speaking Korean as he extended his hand toward Han-Yeol. "It is an honor for me to meet you, Mr. Ambassador," replied Han-Yeol, shaking his hand. Han-Yeol was taken aback by the unexpected visit. While he knew the ten Hunters wereing, he did not anticipate the ambassador apanying them. "Hahaha! It is an honor for me to meet the most renowned Hunter of our time!" Mark eximed. Mark''s fluency in Korean left Han-Yeol wondering if he truly was an American or not. ¡°So, Mr. Lee¡­¡± "Please, just call me by my name. I believe it would be morefortable for both of us, right, Mr. Ambassador?" "Hmm... You''re right. I suppose I''ve spent so much time in South Korea that I''ve grown ustomed to the culture here. In that case, I''ll ept your offer and get a little morefortable with you. Haha!" ¡®Wow, he¡¯s quite a cool guy,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Charisma and charm were two highly significant attributes for an ambassador. A single word or action from an ambassador had the potential to bring either great benefits or consequences to their country, making it a position reserved for exceptional individuals. When diplomatic issues arose, the ministers invariably turned to the ambassadors for guidance. It could be confidently stated that Ambassador Rupert possessed considerable charm and charisma. Additionally, he was an adeptmunicator and possessed the gift of the gab. ¡®Hmm¡­ I can feel that he¡¯s around D or C Rank judging by his mana.¡¯?Han-Yeol could judge a Hunter¡¯s rank solely from their mana after reaching the realm of a Master Rank Hunter. In Han-Yeol''s perception, Mark was just an ordinary Hunter. However, being an ambassadorpensated for his lower rank, highlighting the significance of his role. This situation exemplified the United States'' power, as they had the capability to appoint a Hunter as their ambassador¡ªa feat not easily replicated even by China, which boasted the highest number of Hunters. Certainly, it was only a matter of time before Egypt caught up, given its rapid growth as an African nation. However, closing the gap would take some time, ensuring the United States retained its dominant position for the foreseeable future. While many countries aimed to challenge the United States'' supremacy, it remained unrivaled as the United States. ¡®So this is the true strength of the United States¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was impressed. He believed that a country full of patriots was a truly powerful country. "Are these the Hunters who will be receiving the monster pets this time?" Han-Yeol inquired. "Oh, right! Ipletely forgot about that, being starstruck by you and all! Haha!" Mark replied. Han-Yeol could sense the ambassador''s dishonesty. He knew that Mark was waiting for him to mention the Hunters first, but he decided to overlook it for now. "These are special Hunters who are members of the United States'' Special Hunter Department. They have undergone rigorous training and would have been deployed all over the world, undertaking various dangerous missions, if not for the monster pets." "I suppose their role will change due to the presence of the monster pets." "Yes, that is correct." Another impressive aspect of the United States was that a significant number of their Hunters actively served in the military. In contrast, most Hunters in South Korea preferred to join guilds or raid parties to pursue mary gains, reflecting the money-oriented nature of South Korean Hunters. The exception in South Korea were the few odd ones withoutbat capabilities who worked as civil servants. However, the United States differed greatly in this regard, with bothbat-oriented and production-type Hunters willingly joining the military out of a sense of patriotism. It could be confidently said that the future was exceptionally bright for the country. ¡°Hmm¡­ But we have a small issue¡­¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°What is it?¡± "Your country delivered the monster eggs to me just three hours ago, so it will take at least a week to fertilize and hatch them." In anticipation, Han-Yeol had requested Mujahid to collect the monster eggs and nutritional fruits in advance to facilitate the fertilization process for the auction earlier on. "Oh, please don''t worry about that. They will be kept in the embassy for now, so there''s no rush at all," Mark assured, extending something to Han-Yeol. "Is this your calling card?" Han-Yeol asked. "Yes, exactly. I will return in a week, but please feel free to contact me if anything arises or if you have anything to discuss. The United States always keeps its doors open for talented individuals." "Well, thank you," Han-Yeol responded. "In that case, I''ll see you in a week," Mark concluded. With his primary purpose of meeting Han-Yeol and conducting his checks fulfilled, Mark shook hands with Han-Yeol once again before departing for the embassy. Finally relieved after seeing off the Americans, Han-Yeol''s tranquility was disrupted when Secretary Kim suddenly arrived at the mansion. "What''s the matter? Weren''t you busy with the post-auction arrangements?" "A-Actually... a few VVIPs have refused to return to their countries. They are currently insisting on meeting you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim..." ¡°What?¡± Han-Yeol scoffed in disbelief. ¡®Why do I have to meet them when the auction is already over?¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. By now, it should have been evident that Han-Yeol''s intention was solely to sell the monster pets through the auction. He held a disdain for the idea of anyone and everyone possessingbat-ready monster pets, so he aimed to control their poption while ensuring their price remained high. If the Americans had intended to utilize the monster pets forbat purposes, Han-Yeol would have hesitated to sell them. However, their research-oriented ns made it easier for him to agree. Additionally, he couldn''t simply refuse the request of the powerful United States, fully aware of their influence. "I... I apologize... Initially, I refused them, but I now believe it''s not up to me to decide, so I came to report the matter to you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim." "Ah... Why are these VVIPs so free? Don''t they have any work?" Han-Yeol grumbled. He had intended to cut his vacation short and resume his role as a Hunter after a brief rest, but the VVIPs demanding to meet him shattered his ns. However, none of these VVIPs were the auction winners, as they had already returned to their respective countries to focus on their own monster pets. This situation was likely a consequence of inviting influential figures from each country, with some of them undoubtedly exhibiting arrogance and entitlement. "So, what do you suggest we do about them, Han-Yeol-nim?" Secretary Kim inquired. Frankly, Han-Yeol felt like crying at this moment. He was confident in refusing ordinary individuals who demanded to see him, regardless of whether they were presidents or prime ministers. However, the Hunters demanding to meet him now posed a challenge for Secretary Kim, who was just an ordinary person. "What else can we do? Simply refuse them," Han-Yeol replied nonchntly. "Pardon me...?" "To be honest, what do I gain from meeting them? Did they really think I would drop everything just because they want to see me?" "I... I agree, Han-Yeol-nim." "Ah, they''re annoying, so just ignore them if they persist. Clearly inform them that I have refused their request, as they''re bound to pester you about it," Han-Yeol instructed. ¡°I-I understand¡­¡± Chapter 187: After the Auction (3)

Chapter 187: After the Auction (3)

Secretary Kim¡¯s shoulders slouched at Han-Yeol¡¯s words. Han-Yeol looked at the man with eyes full of pity, ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have anything to tell them nor do I have a reason to meet them. It¡¯s really obvious what they¡¯re going to say, so I don¡¯t have the time or energy to waste on them¡­¡¯ ¡°Ah¡­ I understand. Then, I wish you a pleasant rest,¡± Secretary Kim said with a bow. ¡°Ah, you too.¡± ¡°Thank you, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± Secretary Kim was going through the most difficult time of his life while working for Han-Yeol, but he knew that he did not deserve to be beside Han-Yeol if he could not ovee this tribtion. Han-Yeol was paying his employees quite well, and he nned to give them bigger tasks in the future as well. Secretary Kim knew all of this, so he understood that he had to prove himself to gain even more trust from Han-Yeol in the future. Moreover, the economy was in a bad state these days, and there were many people willing to work if given the chance. Secretary Kim couldn''t afford to lose his position to them. *** The next day, Han-Yeol enjoyed a simple breakfast of French toast and an Americano. Usually, he would have a standard Korean breakfast, but asionally he craved a Western-style meal too. As he savored his well-toasted French toast, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Albert," he called out to his trusty old butler. "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?" Albert responded. "We have quite arge number of people working in the mansion, don''t we?" "Ah, yes, you are correct. Initially, it was only me and five other Egyptians working here. However, due to the vastness of the mansion, we had to hire an additional ten people. On top of that, you hired mercenaries to guard the property, bringing the total count to forty-six. Furthermore, we are nning to recruit five more workers and thirty additional mercenaries next month, which will bring our total to over eighty." Some might argue that there were too many people working in the mansion, and they would likely be correct. Han-Yeol and his father were the only residents, each upying a separate building. However, there were other structures on the mansion grounds, such as the workers'' quarters, storage facilities, hangars, and garages. Hiring a considerable number of people was a necessary decision to effectively manage and safeguard the expansive estate. After all, the mansion was simply too vast, and having more workers made the tasks easier, while additional guards enhanced security for the entire property. ¡°Hmm¡­ I was just wondering how the workers and mercenaries were fitting inside the small amodation.¡± ¡°Ah, that is¡­¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Albert paused for a second before he looked at Han-Yeol with a strange look. ¡°Why are you hesitating? Is something wrong?¡± Han-Yeol asked. "Actually... I should have informed you earlier, but the recently arrived mercenaries are not residing within the mansion grounds. We have rented an inn at some distance from here for their amodation," Albert finally revealed. "Huh? Don''t tell me it''s that inn...?" Han-Yeol muttered. He could only think of one inn in the area, and it was a ce he was quite familiar with. There was a single road connecting the mansion to Seoul, and on that road, there stood only one inn. Han-Yeol remembered it distinctly because despite being situated on the route to an area filled with luxurious mansions, the inn appeared run-down. In fact, it was so old and dpidated that it felt like a ghost might emerge from it at night. Han-Yeol recalled how he would click his tongue and shake his head whenever he passed the inn on his way to Seoul. "That... Yes, it is that inn," Albert confirmed. "ALBERT!" Han-Yeol shouted at the old butler, a rare disy of anger. Albert kept his head down, having no excuses to offer. He didn''t want to find himself in a situation where he had to lower his head before Han-Yeol, but he knew he had no choice at the moment. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol couldn''t entirely me Albert for the situation. "You should have informed me if there was an issue," Han-Yeol stated. "I apologize, but you appeared to be enjoying your rest, so I decided to postpone reporting it. Unfortunately, it got dyed repeatedly until it escted to this extent," Albert replied. "Sigh... no, it''s fine. I know I don''t have the right to be mad at you right now... I should have taken care of this myself since I hired them," Han-Yeol admitted. "Not at all. Initially, I nned to inform you, but Purva mentioned that it was eptable and suggested letting you rest for the time being. He exined that the houses in their hometown were even more run-down than the inn, so we agreed to postpone reporting it," Albert exined. Albert served as the manager of the entire mansion and Han-Yeol''s personal butler. With Han-Yeol being upied with numerous construction projects on the mansion, Albert took charge of overseeing everything he initiated. Moreover, Albert was facing the challenge of managing the workload with limited workers, and the hired workers weren''t as skilled as the Egyptian ones, resulting in reduced efficiency. However, regardless of the circumstances, Albert acknowledged his mistake regarding the mercenaries'' amodation issue. As a butler, his role was to handle minor matters on the mansion grounds and report them to the master once resolved. It was a mistake he probably wouldn''t have made if he were a few years younger, but it seemed that time had taken a toll on him as well. ¡®Hoho¡­ I think the time for me to retire is getting near¡­¡¯?Albert bitterly thought. He hadn''t felt the burden of time weighing on him all these years, but now he realized that it was time for him to retire, especially after making a mistake he wouldn''t have made in his younger days. "Albert..." Han-Yeol called out. "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?" Albert responded. "You mentioned that thend adjacent to the mansion is empty, right?" "Ah, yes, that''s correct. The owner of D Group hastily fled overseas before an arrest warrant could be issued for tax evasion and embezzlement. Thend is currently up for auction, but due to the unfavorable economic conditions, it has failed to sell three times. It will probably be auctioned off after the fifth attempt or so." While Han-Yeol was busy gaining all the attention in South Korea, there was another piece of news regarding the arrests of the owners of D Group for tax evasion and embezzlement. However, the news about D Group was overshadowed by Han-Yeol''s path to international fame. Despite the public''sck of interest, the media continued reporting on the matter. It appeared that the owners of D Group had incurred the wrath of the current government. The media, prosecution, tax office, and even other conglomerates relentlessly attacked D Group in an attempt topletely dismantle them. As a result, some of the owners managed to escape overseas before they could be arrested. The news of the D Group owners evading capture and the prosecution''s failure to bring them to justice caused some public outcry. However, a few individuals in the business world weed the news with open arms. Since the owners of D Group were now technically fugitives, influential figures were eager to divide thepany''s assets among themselves. Thepanies and subsidiaries of D Group were absorbed by other conglomerates, and the owners'' assets were put up for auction. Thend beside Han-Yeol''s mansion belonged to the second daughter of the D Group''s chairman, who had ns to construct a beautiful Versace-style grand mansion with arge garden and fountain. However, her ns were abruptly halted due to the ongoing issue. "That ce is quite ugly and is getting on my nerves. It''s great news that it''s up for auction this time. What do you think if we purchase it and convert it into amodations for our workers and mercenaries?" Han-Yeol suggested. "Are you sure about that?" Albert asked cautiously. Han-Yeol had earned a substantial amount of money from his recent monster pet auction, but that didn''t mean his employees were entitled to his wealth. Many employers believed that paying sries was already a significant contribution to their employees'' well-being. "Why not? I actually feel bad for not being able to take care of this earlier," Han-Yeol replied nonchntly. These individuals were working for him, and he felt a sense of responsibility towards them. He wasn''t the kind of person who would spend without thought for others, but he was certainly someone who generously invested in his people. Albert''s face brightened with a smile as Han-Yeol reaffirmed his decision and gave him the green light to proceed with the project. Bowing respectfully, Albert said, "I understand. I will immediately take the necessary steps to purchase thend and develop amodations on it." "I leave it in your hands, Albert. Oh, and please feel free to make decisions regarding our mansion employees. I regret not being able to take care of them personally this time, but I won''t have the time to attend to their welfare," Han-Yeol added. ¡°Yes, please leave it to me, Han-Yeol-nim!¡± Once they finished their conversation, Han-Yeol went back to enjoying his breakfast, but¡­ Woooong! ¡®Hmm? Is it Mujahid?¡±?Han-Yeol sensed Mujahid¡¯s mana fast approaching him. Mujahid disregarded the main gates and simply leaped over the mansion walls, causing chaos among the security team. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? Naturally, the rm was triggered as soon as the intruder vaulted over the walls, and the ring alerts echoed throughout the entire mansion grounds. Han-Yeol swiftly grabbed his walkie-talkie and urgently transmitted a message to the security team. Pssht! ¡°The infiltrator is Mujahid. Turn off the rm and go back to your posts.¡± Pssht! [Yes, I understand.] ¡®Tsk tsk¡­ This Mujahid¡­ Why does he only do things that people hate?¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but wonder. Mujahid was undeniably a mischievous troublemaker, but he likely had noprehension of the extent of the troubles he caused for others. Well, he couldn''t care less about whether themoners liked him or not... Bam! Then, the doors to Han-Yeol¡¯s dining room swung wide open. ¡°Hyung-nim! I¡¯ve prepared the best schedule you have ever seen in your life!¡± ¡°How long will it be?¡± ¡°It will be for four nights and five days!¡± ¡°That sounds alright.¡± Han-Yeol had promised to meet the Americans six dayster, so there was not going to be any problems if he hunted for five days. ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°I decided on Cheolwon!¡± ¡°Cheolwon?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite random¡­¡± ¡°Haha! D-Do you really think so¡­?¡± "Yeah...? I mean, it''s rather peculiar that someone from a country with a year-round summer would opt for the coldest region in South Korea, renowned for its brutal winters, don''t you think?" Kwak! Mujahid tightly clenched his fists in response to Han-Yeol''s words. He dered, "That''s precisely why I chose Cheolwon! I want to prove that the Prince of the Desert can conquer the frigid inferno of South Korea! Can you even fathom the magnitude of this aplishment?!" "Sure, sure... but Mujahid..." "Yes, hyung-nim?" "Are you aware that the monsters inhabiting the Cheolwon hunting grounds, such as Yetis and Ice Trolls, are impervious to physical damage...?" "WHAT?!" Mujahid eximed in horror, his voice trembling. "A-Are you certain, hyung-nim?" "Yes... It seems you had no knowledge of this. Despite assembling the best advisors, it appears they neglected to inform you. Or perhaps, after hearing that the Cheolwon hunting grounds were an icy hell, you chose to disregard everything else they said." ¡°¡­¡± [You are indeed correct.] . Before Mujahid could respond, a voice in Arabic echoed from outside the dining room. The door opened, revealing a tall gentleman d in a sleek ck suit as he stepped into the room. ¡®Wow¡­ he¡¯s huge¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol muttered in amazement. The man stood at an impressive height of approximately one hundred ny centimeters, and his sharp eyes were entuated by the frameless eyesses he wore. His long hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail, enhancing his already charismatic appearance tenfold. Despite his striking looks, he disyed remarkable courtesy toward Han-Yeol. "Oh! I had the impression you were of Asian descent for some reason. Are you Korean?" Han-Yeol inquired. "Yes, I went to Egypt during the first Korea-Egypt Alliance and that''s where I met Mujahid-nim. I worked closely with him during my time in Egypt, but... Sigh... I deeply regretted working for him. If I had known what a troublemaker he was, I would have declined his offer," the manmented. ¡°Hahaha!¡± ¡®I guess this employer and employee are quite alike,¡¯ Han-Yeol thought while snickering. "Hey! Yoo-Kyung! Is that something you should be saying about your master?!" Mujahid retorted, trying to defend himself against his employee''s candid remarks. However, his response proved to be ineffective. "Please, Mujahid-nim, just be quiet. I explicitly informed you three times about the five monsters inhabiting the Cheolwon hunting grounds: the Snowman, Yeti, Ice Troll, Ice Goblin, and Ice Demon. I specifically emphasized that the Snowman, Yeti, and Ice Troll were impervious to physical attacks. But youpletely disregarded my words after hearing that it was a snowy hunting ground year-round. Do you not remember?" Yoo-Kyung eximed in exasperation. "Hahaha... Did you really say it three times? I don''t quite recall..." Mujahid feigned ignorance in response. ¡°Yes!¡± ''Kekeke! He appears remarkably charismatic, especially when dealing with Mujahid. Yet, there''s an endearing andical element to their interactions. Well, I suppose an ordinary person wouldn''t stand a chance in controlling that troublemaker, and they would likely have quit their job long, long ago...''?Han-Yeol thought while snickering. He was indeed correct. Shin Yoo-Kyung, the tall gentleman, proved to be a genuinely kind person despite his stern appearance. He took great care of Mujahid, treating him as if he were his doted-upon younger brother. ¡®Snowman, Yeti, Ice Troll¡­ and then the Ice Goblin and Ice Demon¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol seemed to be thinking about something. Chapter 188: After the Auction (4)

Chapter 188: After the Auction (4)

The Cheolwon hunting ground was a ce that Han-Yeol had never visited, even during his time as a porter. It had gained notoriety for its high level of difficulty, housing terrifying monsters within its borders. Many hunters dreaded taking on this challenging ground due to its harsh weather, treacherous terrain, and asional blizzard storms. One of the main creatures inhabiting the hunting ground was known as ''Seolin'' in Korean. In English, it was essentially referred to as a Yeti. However, to avoid confusion with another monster in the same area, it was officially called a ''Snowman.'' Some people mistakenly believed that the Snowman was a lovable and amusing creature, akin to the beloved snowman character f from a certain animated film. In reality, the Snowman was anything but lovable and funny; it was a colossal beast adorned with razor-sharp ws and a body covered in thick snow and fur. This led to debates about the monster''s name, as some argued that calling it a ''Snowman'' could mislead people into thinking it was harmless. However, despite these concerns, Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel a strong attraction toward the Cheolwon hunting ground, as if something was pulling him toward it. ¡°Hmm¡­ Hey, Mujahid.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim?¡± Mujahid responded. "If the monster''s resistance to physical attacks is a problem, perhaps you should consider making some adjustments to your fighting style," Han-Yeol suggested to Mujahid. "Of course, if you want to continue as a brawler, you might have to forgo venturing into the Cheolwon hunting ground. But if your goal is to explore this hunting ground, then it''s worth considering a change in your current fighting style." ¡°What kind of change do you have in mind?!¡± Mujahid asked with great enthusiasm. Twinkle¡­! Twinkle¡­! Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel burdened as soon as he finished speaking, as Mujahid unleashed his puppy eyes attack on him. ¡®This proves it,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought to himself. ¡®This sinister fellow is fully aware that his puppy dog eyes attack is extremely effective against others, and he also knows how to make full use of his face as well¡­¡¯? He felt truly envious of Mujahid. Han-Yeol never considered himself to be incredibly good-looking, but he also didn''t consider himself ugly either. If someone were to be asked whether he was ugly or good-looking, they would say he was good-looking, but not incredibly so. Mujahid''s cute face, capable of attracting the maternal instinct of women, could be something Han-Yeol would feel jealous about, but he wasn''t jealous at all. Well, maybe he was a bit jealous, but this was the same jealousy most men would feel toward handsome men... That being said, Han-Yeol wasn''t so obsessed with looks that he would consider undergoing stic surgery just to enhance his appearance. He would have considered undergoing surgery to charm a wealthy woman and achieve sess in life if he weren''t a Hunter. However, the person he had be didn''t require such actions to seed. After all, he was already quite sessful and the object of envy for most men. "What do you think about using a weapon that allows you to strike and sh?" Han-Yeol suggested. "Perhaps something like a ded-knuckle? It would enable you to attack in various ways while still maintaining your original fighting style. You wouldn''t have to be so selective about the types of enemies you engage." "Hmm... I see," Mujahid pondered deeply upon hearing Han-Yeol''s suggestion. Despite having many talented individuals around him, some even smarter than Han-Yeol, this was the first time he had received such a proposal. Most people simply advised him to avoid monsters that were immune to his attacks, which had prevented him from considering altering his fighting style. After all, Mujahid''s primary fighting style involved absorbing the enemy''s strength by enduring damage and then returning it to them manifold. "That is indeed a fascinating idea," muttered Shin Yoo-Kyung, appearing impressed, unlike Mujahid, who was lost in thought while stroking his chin. Shin Yoo-Kyung, likely the brains behind Mujahid, found Han-Yeol''s suggestion intriguing. "We used to avoid hunting monsters immune to physical attacks, but Mujahid-nim realized that ignoring his weaknesses isn''t always the best approach, especially after attempting to hunt the gigantic lizards," Shin Yoo-Kyung remarked. "Yeah, he''s right," Mujahid muttered, sounding defeated. He had never felt such helplessness in his life. He hadn''t expected the second most powerful monster, apart from the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, to be immune to physical attacks. However, the experience had some value, as it made him consider changing his fighting style, something he would never have contemted if he hadn''t felt so helpless against the gigantic lizard. It wasn''t just the fact that his attacks were ineffective against the monster; it was the overwhelming sense of despair that his striking skills, earned through blood, sweat, and tears, had be utterly useless due to the monster''s attributes. Mujahid felt he had nothing to lose by trying a weapon like a w, as it wouldn''t necessarily require aplete overhaul of hisbat style. ¡°Take your time to think about it and let me know if you¡¯re going to choose a different hunting ground or change your fighting style and continue with the n you made. It doesn¡¯t really matter to me either way since I¡¯ve already decided to entrust the nning to you. After all, I don¡¯t really have a particr preference on which hunting ground we should go to,¡± Han-Yeol said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m extremely envious of you, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Han-Yeol didn''t have any notable weaknesses, as he possessed a wide range of skills including striking, shing, shooting, and even explosives. Furthermore, he was proficient inbat at melee, mid-range, and long-range distances, making him akin to an overpowered character in video games. While it would be a stretch to im that Han-Yeol was the most powerful Hunter in the world, he was determined to keep growing stronger. In essence, Han-Yeol''s current rank held little significance. ¡®This is what it feels like to be a strong and capable person,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while feeling content with this newfound sense of confidence. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Mujahid muttered under his breath. To an outsider, it might appear trivial to contemte, but changing the fighting style he had used since the day he awakened was not an easy decision. ¡®However, if Mujahid can ovee this trial¡­?Then, he has the potential to one day be an even greater hunter,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He believed that a person reaches the most important stage of personal growth when they are willing to set aside their pride for the sake of improvement. Mujahid sat there, pondering Han-Yeol''s words, when suddenly he raised his right fist and mmed it onto his left palm, his eyes burning with passion and conviction. "Okay, I''ve made up my mind!" Mujahid eximed as he stood up. "I can already guess what your decision will be," Han-Yeol said. "Yes, as hyung-nim suggested, I will change my fighting style. To be honest, I''ve realized that relying solely on my physical abilities has its limitations when hunting high-level monsters," Mujahid exined. "I''vee to understand that in order to hunt more aggressively and efficiently, I must not only rely on striking skills but also learn how to stab and sh my enemies." "I''m d you''ve decided to improve yourself," Han-Yeol said, smiling. "Haha! Thank you, hyung-nim," Mujahid replied. Han-Yeol still found it amazing to have such a rxed and friendly conversation with someone like Mujahid. Their camaraderie had started unexpectedly when Mujahid approached Han-Yeol and asked to be his student. They ended up going on a hunt together, and despite Han-Yeol''s naturally reserved and shy personality, they developed a close bond. Mujahid seemed overjoyed at the idea of developing a new fighting style and appeared ready to start immediately. However, his aide, Shin Yoo-Kyung, who often took on the role of calming his fiery nature, brought him back to reality. "Now, Mujahid-nim, it won''t be easy to acquire a w weapon before the hunt since you''re leaving this afternoon," Shin Yoo-Kyung said. "It might be possible if you''re fine with using any w, but the quality of melee weapons can vary greatly depending on the material and craftsmanship. Finding a w befitting an Osiris Rank Hunter like you, Mujahid-nim, in just a few hours would be impossible. May I suggest that you first procure a suitable w and choose a different hunting ground for now?" It was true that the Cheolwon hunting ground was a top-tier location with rare monsters and valuable treasures, but there were plenty of other high-level hunting grounds throughout South Korea. However, the real reason Mujahid insisted on hunting in the Cheolwon hunting ground was his strong desire to see the snow for the first time. But upon hearing Shin Yoo-Kyung''s cold response, he felt disheartened, and his mood instantly soured. "I wanted to enjoy the snowy scenery and go hunting while feeling the cold and refreshing air of the Cheolwon hunting ground... Can''t we just get any w weapon and use it?" Mujahid protested. "No, that won''t do. Entering a high-level hunting ground with a low-quality weapon can be dangerous. You could potentially lose your life if it breaks or fails to perform," Shin Yoo-Kyung exined. ¡°Ugh¡­ Alright, I understand,¡± Mujahid sighed in resignation. He was fully aware that at times he could be simple-minded and incredibly stubborn, but he also knew that he was not stupid. He wasn''t just a reckless and bloodthirsty warrior; he possessed the ability to discern when to fight and when not to. However, the main issue was that his rational side seemed to only emerge during battles and not in everyday life. "I know of a reputable workshop with a skilled craftsman. They might have a suitable w weapon in stock if you''re lucky. I can give you the location, so why don''t you go there and take a look?" Han-Yeol suggested. "Thank you very much, hyung-nim!" Mujahid eximed, gazing at Han-Yeol as if he had just saved his life. Han-Yeol couldn''t help butugh at the humorous sight. Shin Yoo-Kyung left the room with Mujahid after receiving the address to the workshop, and Han-Yeol suddenly remembered what he needed to do. He made his way toward the backyard of the mansion. ¡°Kyuu!¡± p! p! Mavros yfully circled around Han-Yeol, pping his dainty wings. Han-Yeol hade to his backyard to utilize the excess Invoke he had acquired from his recent power leveling by summoning another demon. ¡®I would love to summon a high-level demon right away, but I honestly have no idea how many levels I would need to raise to meet the insane requirements for summoning one. Besides, focusing solely on one stat while neglecting the others isn''t really my style.¡¯? If his main ss were a Demon Summoner or something simr, he would have allocated all his bonus stat points into Invoke without hesitation. However, he couldn''t blindly do so because his main ss was not that of a summoner, regardless of being a hybrid character. His mainbat strength relied on his personalbat skills and abilities, although he greatly benefited from Balrog and the Void Devils. ¡®Topensate for myck ofbat strength, I can raise my Charisma to acquire more monster pets without relying solely on the demon''s power,¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. Although he couldn''t be certain, he had a feeling that monster pets could further evolve after their initial stage of evolution. His instincts told him that the conditions for the second and third stages of evolution would be much moreplex than the first stage. This was why he wasn''t in a rush to summon a high-ranking demon at the moment. He believed that making the most of the tools at his disposal was the best course of action, and thus, he decided to summon another intermediate-ranking demon. ¡®I already have enoughbat-type demons, so it''s time to consider summoning a support-type demon to create a well-bnced and harmonized demon lineup,¡¯?he concluded. He went through great efforts to find a suitable demon for his ns, manually scouring every entry in the Demon Encyclopedia application he often used. It was not reliable to rely on automatic suggestions to find what he was looking for. After a thorough search, the result of his efforts was finally in his hands. Han-Yeol retrieved the demon''s sigil from his pocket, which he had prepared in advance for the summoning ritual. ¡°Lord Satan¡­ Arch Lich¡­ to manifest¡­ This I respectfully¡­ Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father!¡± Fwaaaaaa! The temperature of the entire backyard instantly dropped below zero¡­ Bzzt! Bzzt! ¡­and the well-maintained grass and beautifully blooming flowers in the backyard froze and withered away lifelessly. The gardeners employed by Han-Yeol put in immense effort to manage and maintain the backyard. It wouldn''t be surprising if they were ovee with the urge to harm him upon witnessing the scene of all their hard work going to waste. ¡®Sigh¡­ I¡¯m really sorry about this,¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed apologetically. He was incredibly sorry but he had no other choice. After all, he could not dy his growth and not summon the demon just to amodate the feelings of his employees. The demon Han-Yeol summoned was called an ¡®Arch Lich¡¯. [Arch Lich: A pitiful Lich that scoured through the world for centuries in search of a peaceful death only to be transported to the demon world and turn into a demon. The Arch Lich¡¯s malevolent magic is fatal to the living.] ¡®Not bad,¡¯?Han-Yeol was impressed. He could discern that among all the intermediate-ranking demons, the Lich would be the most efficient and useful support-type demon. It was a bit disappointing that the Arch Lich was not a pureblooded demon but instead, an undead that had somehow transformed into a demon. However, Han-Yeol found a silver lining in this situation. The lore discrepancy made it possible for him to summon the Arch Lich at a lower cost. Gwuoooooh! A powerful wave of mana gathered around the sigil of the Arc Lich. ¡°Oh!¡± Chwaaak! Chwaaaaaak! The Arch Lich appeared standing on top of its sigil as everything in its surroundings was frozen solid in ice. ''I wonder if the Arch Lich''s ice attribute will harmonize well with Balrog''s fire attribute... The Void Demons should be an exception since they possess the void attribute,''?Han-Yeol started to ponder. He was slightly taken by surprise when the Arch Lich turned out to be an ice attribute demon, as this information did note up while he was researching the demon. Still, he quickly shrugged off these thoughts and focused on the matter at hand. ''Well, I''m sure it will work out somehow.''? Han-Yeol decided not to dwell on it too much. He decided that it was much better for his mental health to keep things simple and not overthink about the matter. Chapter 189: After the Auction (5)

Chapter 189: After the Auction (5)

[Haa¡­!] The Arch Lich breathed in and out, releasing a chilling frost breath from its bone-formed jaws. ¡°Wee to the human world, great Arch Lich-nim.¡± ck¡­! The Arch Lich replied, [Here¡­ Is it a human¡¯s world¡­?] ¡°Yes, that is correct, Arch Lich-nim.¡± [It appears vastly different from my previous dwelling... I suppose time has psed significantly... or maybe this human world is distinct from the one I once inhabited...] The Arch Lich, once a regr magician, had ascended to be an intermediate demon, imbued with an extraordinary life force. Consequently, it retained fragmented memories of its human existence and the world it once knew, albeit somewhat blurred. Nheless, upon being summoned, it found itself in a world remarkably distinct from its recollections. "I surmise, Arch Lich-nim, that this world is entirely dissimr to the one you recall." [I see¡­ Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. Human, I suppose that you summoned me because you want to enter into a contract with me¡­?] ¡°Yes, I wish to hunt monsters together with you, Arch Lich-nim.¡± [Alright¡­ I want fresh monster corpses and mana stones in return¡­] ¡°That sounds good to me.¡± [The contract¡­ is enforced¡­!] Ding! [You have sessfully contracted the intermediate demon, Arch Lich, that freezes everything in its vicinity.] [You have obtained the attribute ¡®Ice¡¯.] [A new skill has been created: Ice Attribute (F)] [You have gained 30 MAG stat as a reward for sessfully entering into a contract.] ¡®Oh!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly. Having sessfully entered into a contract with the Arch Lich and acquiring thirty MAG stats from it, he felt content. However, what surprised him the most was obtaining the new skill, ''Ice Attribute.'' While he already possessed the useful Fire Attribute, the ability to gain new skills intrigued him, prompting him to collect as many attributes as possible. It was worth noting that he could employ lightning energy through Hammer Shock, but that only represented the skill''s capability rather than his own ability to wield the lightning attribute. ¡®Fire and ice¡­ I think I¡¯ll be able to inflict tremendous damage if I find a way to use them together¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was already thinking of a way to use the two attributes together. After all,bining different elements together had the potential to be extremely powerful when done right. ¡°I will call you again when I need you for the hunt, Arch Lich-nim.¡± [I look forward to it¡­] Shwaaaa¡­! After being engulfed by a blizzard, the Arch Lich vanished, leaving behind frozen and withered vegetation that showed no signs of revival in the demon''s absence. ¡®Looks like I won''t be calling upon that demon anytime soon,¡¯ Han-Yeol shrugged, recalling his n to venture to the Cheolwon hunting ground with Mujahid. While the hunting ground''s climate would greatly benefit the Arch Lich, the presence of ice attribute monsters rendered the ice demon less useful in that particr environment. Han-Yeol contemted summoning the ice demon for assistance, but he understood that summoning a demon came at a cost. He was already expending a significant number of mana stones to sustain the two Void Devils, who protected his father. Balrog, being a shield demon, didn''t demand as many mana stones, given its focus onbat. However, the Arch Lich, being a magician-ss ice demon, would undoubtedly require a substantial amount of mana stones in exchange for its services. For this reason, Han-Yeol hesitated to summon the ice demon in an inefficient environment like the current one. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I try out my new skill this time?¡¯?Han-Yeol was suddenly reminded of the good old times. Initially unaware of how his game-like ability functioned, he persistently explored and experimented, exhaustively attempting various methods to acquire skills. As a result, many of the skills he presently employed were ones he had crafted during that period of experimentation. ¡®Let¡¯s test it out now,¡¯?he thought. He figured that he still had time before Mujahid came back, so he decided to make full use of the time while waiting. Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol raised his right palm toward the sky and channeled his mana into it. Woooong! Then, a condensed ball of mana swiftly umted at the palm of his hand. The mana felt notably distinct from when he previously channeled the fire attribute, reflecting his current possession of manaparable to that of a Master Rank Hunter. ¡®Alright¡­ I just need to infuse the ice attribute into this mana¡­¡¯?he carefully activated his skill and infused it into the ball of mana. Crack¡­! Crack¡­! Crack¡­!? The mana transformed into a piercing icicle, instantly reducing the temperature of its surroundings to absolute zero. As a result of transitioning away from coal and fossil fuels as the primary energy sources, the Earth''s environment healed, eliminating the threat of climate change. Consequently, South Korea returned to experiencing four distinct seasons throughout the year. However, despite it still being autumn, the mansion''s backyard plunged into a wintry chill. ¡®Phew... I need to exercise caution when testing my skills,¡¯?he realized, acknowledging his transformation from an F Rank Hunter and the amplified power of his abilitiespared to before. ¡®Now, how can Ibine the ice attribute with fire?¡¯ He began by reviewing his Fire Attribute skill, along with the other skills he employed in conjunction with it, such as Mana Explosion, Sword Breath, Explosion, and Fire Ball. ¡®Two melee skills, one mid-range, and one ranged... Hm, it''s quite a dilemma. I can''t easily determine how to integrate the ice attribute with them.¡¯ "Ugh..." he groaned in frustration, scratching his head. ¡®No, let''s reconsider. The reason Fire Attribute is formidable lies in its intense, scorching mes. That means the true strength of the Ice Attribute lies in its extreme coldness... Therefore, the ideal skill toplement the Ice Attribute would be¡­¡¯ Then, he suddenly saw a tree in the backyard, an expensive tree that had been imported all the way from North Korea. ¡®The?workers are going to hate me for this, but I don¡¯t have any other target to test it out¡­¡¯?he decided to use the expensive tree as his training dummy. Then, he realized that he probably had to build a training facility for him to test out his skills. He thought, ¡®I should probably build a facility beside Yoo-Bi¡¯s underground facility or something¡­¡¯ That quandary could be addressedter, as he currently required a target. And that target happened to be the precious tree situated in the backyard. Han-Yeol intensified his mana output even more. Woooong! C-Crack¡­! He touched the tree with his mana-infused hand, causing the once splendid tree to instantaneously turn white and freeze solid. . ¡®Amazing!¡¯?Han-Yeol was thoroughly impressed by his new skill. If this skill allowed him to freeze enemies by mere touch, he envisioned numerous applications for it. ¡®This will be incredibly advantageous,¡¯ he mused, contemting thebination of fire with his sword and ice with his chain. He imagined dual-wielding, wielding fire in his right hand and ice in his left. Using the lightning attribute with his chain posed no issue. In fact, it proved advantageous to pair the ice attribute with the chain, as the lightning attribute was presently limited to Hammer Shock. Considerations ofbining both skills with his chain quickly dissipated, as ice and electricity were notpatible. In other words, even if he discovered a way to employ the two skills together, there would be no discernible benefit. ¡®First, I should transform this technique into a skill,¡¯ he resolved, dedicating approximately ten minutes to touching and freezing everything within reach. The backyard provided an abundance of objects, serving as ample "targets" for his touch. In the end, he transformed the entire backyard into a frozen garden, surely causing frustration for the workers whobored to maintain it. ¡®I should probably give them a hefty bonus this month¡­¡¯?he muttered inwardly while feeling extremely guilty. Still, he continued going around and touching everything for ten more minutes until¡­ Ding! [Your repeated actions have resulted in a skill being created.] [A new skill has been created: ¡®Freeze Hand¡¯.] ¡®Oh! Finally!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced after seeing the message he had been waiting for. [Freeze Hand (F)] [Type: Active] [Description: Reduce the temperature of anything the user¡¯s hands touch after activating this skill. The target will slowly return to normal if the user takes their hands off before the target has beenpletely frozen, but the target will suffer decreased movement speed while they are frozen. The rate of freezing will be much slower if the target is a living thing, and this skill¡¯s effect will be stronger when its level increases.] ¡®Awesome! This is the skill I was looking for!¡¯?Han-Yeol clenched his fist victoriously. The newfound skill possessed the potential to function as both an offensive and supportive ability, while also excelling in crowd control. Han-Yeol felt immense joy at acquiring such a versatile skill, yet his satisfaction remained fleeting. His ambitions drove him to persistently create new skills, particrly after attaining an elemental attribute skill following an extended period. With one hundred levels gained and an array of new skills at his disposal, he no longer perceived himself ascking in prowess, solidifying his status as a Master Rank Hunter. ¡®Yes! Let¡¯s just keep this up!¡¯?he eximed inwardly as his eyes burned passionately. He used his imagination and knowledge toe up with different ways to create new skills. ¡®Ah¡­ This is harder than I thought it would be¡­¡¯? The ice attribute constituted one of the primary elemental attributes, yet it proved far more challenging to wieldpared to its depictions in animations. Creating ice out of thin air, as often seen in animated portrayals, was a task far from easy in reality. Additionally, crafting ice shields or ice sabers held no particr appeal or goal for Han-Yeol. "Hmm... Oh well, whatever... I should gain a better understanding by experimenting with it, right?" Ultimately, Han-Yeol decided to unleash his imagination and explore the full extent of the ice attribute''s capabilities. He raised his left hand, summoning his primary weapon, the chain. "I should infuse the ice attribute into my chain and maximize its cooling effect..." Crack¡­ Crack¡­! The pitch-ck chain slowly started to turn white after he infused his mana into it. [Ice attribute energy has been detected.] The Ego system Karvis responded to Han-Yeol¡¯s mana. ¡®Oh, hi, Karvis.¡¯ [Hello, Han-Yeol-nim. It has been a long time.] ¡®Yeah, it¡¯s really been a while since west talked. Ah, you¡¯re now the chain itself, so what do you think? I¡¯m trying tobine the ice attribute energy with the chain, do you think it will work?¡¯ [It sounds like a good idea. The chain was a bit nd whenever you used it, but the ice attribute is definitely going to kick things up a notch.] ¡®Hmm¡­ Give me an example why?¡¯ [For example... By freezing your target, you can unleash double crowd control effects instead of merely restraining them. Additionally, with the ice attribute, you can inflict greater damage instead of simply striking your target with the weapon attached to the end of the chain. I firmly believe that, when used correctly, the chain has the potential to surpass your sword in strength, especially when Sword Breath is activated.] ''Oh!'' [Moreover, the chain itself is a unique item with me integrated into it, making it inherently more versatile and efficient than your sword.] ¡®Perfect! I have no other words for it!¡¯ Han-Yeol''s primary weapon had always been the chain, as opposed to the sword. However, in recent times, he had relied more on the sword, as the chain proved effective only against weaker monsters. Nevertheless, if he could achieve what Karvis had suggested, this dynamic was bound to shift. Moreover, the chain served as an incredibly flexible weapon, allowing him to wield it in conjunction with his sword. Undoubtedly, this would significantly amplify hisbat prowess, multiplying it several times over. ¡®This is really awesome!¡¯ [I think so too, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Hehehe¡­!¡¯ Motivated by Karvis'' advice, Han-Yeol persevered in his pursuit of creating new skills, particrly those involving the ice attribute inbination with his chain. ¡®Ah... Why is it so challenging, though?¡¯ However, he soon realized that things were not as straightforward as he had anticipated. The unique nature of the chain made it less receptive to external mana. In fact, it seemed as though the chain actively resisted the mana Han-Yeol attempted to infuse into it. Chapter 190: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (1)

Chapter 190: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (1)

Han-Yeol, after a long while, focused for the first time on infusing the Ice Attribute into his unique chain. His white frosty mana made repeated attempts to merge with the unique chain, but the chain steadfastly rejected the mana. After all, being a unique-rated item, it appeared to possess considerable pride. [The chain is not showing any reactions.] ¡®Damn it¡­ I¡¯m also doing my best!¡¯ This was the first time Han-Yeol was struggling to control his mana after bing an S Rank Hunter. Woooong! ¡®This is quite difficult¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth. He was not the type to give up merely because a challenge was difficult. Granted, he might abandon an endeavor if it entailed significant risks, as his life motto always prioritized safety first. However, acquiring a new skill posed no immediate danger to him, so he began to find pleasure in the challenge. ¡®This being difficult means that the rewards will be worthwhile¡­!¡¯?he smirked as he believed that he was currently in the process of reaping the benefits. ¡°HAP!¡±? Wooooong! Han-Yeol drew out his mana from the depths of his cells and channeled all of it into the chain. Crack¡­! Crack¡­! Crack¡­! Crack¡­!? [Just a bit more! You are almost there!] Karvis'' voice rose a tone, and Han-Yeol could discern from her tone that she was nearing the finish line. Boom! ¡°Argh!¡± The chain unleashed a mana explosion, causing a sharp pain to surge through Han-Yeol''s head, eliciting a grimace and a groan. However, what ensued after the pain was a piece of good news. Ding! [You have sessfully imbued your Ice Attribute into the Unique-Rated Chain.] [A new skill has been created: Cold Chain.] [The rank of ¡®Ice Attribute¡¯ has risen from (F) to (E).] The messages appeared before his eyes, apanied by the voice of his Ego system. [Congrattions, Han-Yeol-nim. You have sessfully created the skill.] ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Thanks, Karvis¡­ It¡¯s all thanks to you.¡± [Not at all. You were the one that did all the work, Han-Yeol-nim.] The process was quite tedious and agonizing, but Han-Yeol had noints as he was sessful in the end. He checked the details of his newly acquired skill. [Cold Chain (F)] [Type: Active] [Description: A skill that allows the user to imbue ice attributes into their chain. All of the chain¡¯s attacks will inflict ice attribute damage, and the target¡¯s movement will be slowed by ten percent and restricted if any restraining skill is used with the chain. The skill¡¯s effect will be stronger the higher this skill¡¯s level bes.] ¡®Wow! This is really awesome!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly after realizing that Cold Chain was even better than his current main weapon, Sword Breath. It was not as destructive as Sword Breath or Explosion, but Han-Yeol knew that Cold Chain was definitely a step above those skills when used together with his other chain skills. ¡®Well, I don¡¯t really have topare the two since they¡¯re both my skills and I¡¯ll be using both of them. I guess it¡¯s decided that I¡¯m going to be a true dual-wielder from now on.¡¯ Han-Yeol had predominantly relied on Sword Breath as his primary weapon, with his chain serving more of a supportive role. However, with the inclusion of Cold Chain into the equation, he was now able to utilize both his sword and chain as his primary weapons. ¡®I¡¯m really d I was able to make this happen, since I was getting concerned that my chain was starting tog behind my sword. But this is not the end of it¡­¡¯?he knew that there was something more important right now. He might have gained three skills, Ice Attribute, Freeze Hand, and Cold Chain, but he was not satisfied with three skills alone. ¡®I need at least five skills to be able to deal with any kind of situation¡­¡¯?he knew that Freeze Hand was the only skill he could use inbat among the three new skills. Cold Chain, technically speaking, functioned more as a buff or enchantment rather than an offensive skill. Consequently, Han-Yeol recognized the necessity for additional offensive and defensive capabilities. However, he wasn''t in search of generic skills since he already possessed several formidable ones. Explosion stood out as his most destructive offensive skill, while Force Shield and Reflect provided protection by warding off damage and reflecting it back to the attacker. What he truly sought were specialized skills that fully harnessed the power of the Ice Attribute. Nevertheless, the creation of such skills posed several limitations. While he could generate countless generic skills, he had no desire to clutter his skill list with ones he knew he would never employ. Moreover, he harbored concerns regarding a potential cap on the number of skills he could possess, prompting him to refrain from embarking on a skill-creation spree. ¡®Hmm¡­ The best ice attribute skill will be something that could limit my enemy¡¯s mobility or freeze them to death¡­ That means the most effective skill will be¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered again and again until he looked around his surroundings. Almost the entire backyard was now in ruins thanks to him. ¡®Haha¡­ I don¡¯t think this can be fixed¡­ The workers are probably going to be pissed if they saw this¡­ Geez, why did I have toy waste to this entire ce¡­? Hold on¡­!¡¯?he suddenly thought of something brilliant. ¡®I was able toy waste to my surroundings by simply reducing the temperature¡­ This means that I can finally gain a skill that I¡¯ve always wanted but did not know how to get!¡¯? Chwak¡­! Han-Yeol reverted his chain back to a tattoo. ¡°Phew¡­?I wouldn¡¯t have dared attempt this if I was still a weakling, but¡­¡± Heposed his breathing, gradually gathering all of his mana into his core, before unleashing it in one powerful surge, channeling the Ice Attribute. And then, something truly astounding transpired in his surroundings¡ªeverything froze. Crack¡­! Crack¡­! Crack¡­!? Han-Yeol''s previously drab and colorless mansion had been transformed into a vibrant paradise, thanks to the diligent efforts of his workers. However, his newly acquired skill rendered all their hard work futile, freezing everything solid in his vicinity. If the workers were to witness this scene, they would likely be horrified and mourn the loss. Yet, any other Hunters who beheld this spectacle would marvel at the sheer devastation he had unleashed. This was no ordinary offensive skill; rather, it served as a testament to the raw power one could wield solely through their own mana. ¡®Just a bit more¡­! A bit more¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and ramped up his mana. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!? The frost began to encroach upon the walls of the mansion. Han-Yeol took great care to confine it within a five-meter radius around himself, ensuring that no one inadvertently became entangled in its icy grip. After all, the frost possessed formidable power, capable of instantly freezing any living being that dared venture into its path. Ding! [A new skill has been created: Frozen Field.] ¡®Yes!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed in delight after seeing the message. Typically, it would take Han-Yeol a significant amount of time to refine something he aplished into a fully-developed skill. However, fortune appeared to favor him on this particr day, as he achieved it in an instant. Han-Yeol harbored a strong conviction that today was undeniably his lucky day. [Frozen Field (F)] [Type: Active] [Description: A rare field skill that spans five meters around the user andpletely freezes it. Anything that steps into the field will have their movement speed reduced by ten percent and sustain frost damage per second. The area, effect on speed, and frost damage will increase the higher this skill¡¯s level is.] ¡®Excellent! Marvelous! What I wanted has materialized into a skill!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced after gaining four skills in a short period of time. If most Hunters were to witness this sight, they would likely be filled with overwhelming envy. However, for Han-Yeol, this was just another ordinary day in his life as a Hunter. There was a time when he would be extremely ecstatic upon acquiring a new skill, but over time, he had grown ustomed to it, finding contentment in the simple joy it brought him. One of the most unsettling traits of humanity was perhaps their capacity to adapt. Anything that initially brought immense happiness would inevitably lose its luster once familiarity set in, prompting individuals to seek out new sources of stimtion and potentially leading to corruption. Fortunately, Han-Yeol remained far from sumbing to such corruption, and he had no intention of allowing it to taint him. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ I just need one more skill and I¡¯ll stop working on this Ice Attribute. I wonder what I should get this time¡­¡¯?he wondered. He was trying toe up with a skill when he suddenly sensed a familiar mana. ¡®Oh, it¡¯s Mujahid¡¯s mana? Is it already time for us to leave?¡¯?Han-Yeol checked the time after sensing his mana. ¡®Wow¡­ I thought only thirty minutes passed, but three hours passed already? Time really does pass really quickly if I focus on my mana,¡¯?he thought in amazement at how fast time had passed while clicking his tongue. He probably had to dy gaining another skill now that Mujahid was here. ¡®Well, I¡¯m not in any rush, so¡­¡¯?he figured that they were going to the Cheolwon hunting ground, so he was not in a rush to get any more ice attribute skills. After all, it was more effective for him to use his fire attribute skills against those monsters instead of the same element. Surprisingly, this time Mujahid appeared tock his usual sense of urgency as he entered the mansion through its gates in a proper manner. The security personnel expressed their gratitude that he refrained from leaping over the mansion walls, a habit that had previously thrown the entire estate into chaos whenever he did so. With a sigh of relief, the guards allowed Mujahid to enter, engaging in a casual conversation among themselves. [Haa¡­ I always get nervous whenever Mujahid-nimes.] [Yeah, my family back home is quitefortable now thanks to this job, and I¡¯d hate it if anything happens and we lose this job¡­] [Hey, they say that your words can be reality, so be careful what you wish for!] [Oh, right! Let¡¯s be careful with what we say from now on¡­] The mercenaries assigned to guard the mansion were determined not to lose their current employment. They had previously worked as mercenaries for Ennd, India, and Brunei, allowing them to earn a decent living. However, the shift in the world''s order had left them without work for a considerable period. This predicament left them acutely aware that if they were to lose their present job, they would undoubtedly face significant challenges in finding new employment. The mere thought of Mujahid breaching the mansion walls caused their hearts to sink, for they knew the consequences would be dire if they were to be dismissed from their positions. ¡°Hyung-nim!¡± ¡°Hey, Mujahid. Did you find a suitable weapon?¡± "Yes! The Dwarf Workshop had a fine w that wasmissioned by an S Rank Hunter. However, since that Hunter hasn''te to im it for nearly three months, they agreed to sell it to me instead." ¡°That¡¯s great news. Then, are you ready to go to the Cheolwon hunting ground?¡± ¡°Of course! Hahaha!¡± There were numerous hunting grounds avable in South Korea, making it somewhat unusual for him to be so ted about this particr one. However, once he became engrossed in something, he was the type to stubbornly insist on pursuing it. If he couldn''t hunt in his chosen hunting ground, he would be greatly frustrated and upset. Some might suggest going on another outing, but Mujahid''s unwavering dedication to hunting surpassed everything else. Moreover, he had a notorious reputation for his impatience. "Shall we prepare to depart?" "I am already prepared, hyung-nim! In fact, I have already brought our Porters for the hunt, and they are all stationed outside the mansion! Haha!" Chapter 191: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (2)

Chapter 191: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (2)

Mujahid had both Hunters and Porters under hismand, but they were not officially registered as a team. The reason for this was that their roles were not to fight alongside Mujahid, but rather to support him with logistical issues so that he could fight to his heart¡¯s content. These Porters and Hunters were more like sried workers for apany rather than active hunters on the hunting grounds. "What about your gear for the frost?" Han-Yeol asked. "I''ve prepared the best!" Mujahid confidently replied. "That''s great. Hmm... Is it alright if the Mn team tags along?" "Are you talking about your personal filming crew?" "Yeah, I usually bring them along whenever I go hunting, so I was wondering if it would be alright for them to tag along when they''re not Hunters or Porters." Han-Yeol was not worried about the Mn team because the Cheolwon hunting ground was cold. He could always go to the Hunter Mall and buy the best thermal apparel avable. The thermal apparel sold at the Hunter Mall was not the same as those sold outside, as these thermal apparel were made by awakened beings with mana coating, and they were extremely expensive. These thermal apparel could only be afforded by Hunters, wealthy people, or researchers exploring the North Pole or the South Pole, and it was going to cost Han-Yeol a fortune if he equipped every single member of the Mn team with them. However, the cost was not going to be burdensome for him at all, as he could immediately make the money back once he switched on his broadcast. "Well, I heard it can be a bit dangerous, but we can always proceed with caution, right? We also have the option of not bringing them along if you''re worried about them. Ah, you don''t have to worry about my subordinates, as all of them are trained to withstand all sorts of extreme climates." The Porters that Mujahid brought along were not simple Porters. All of them were soldiers who underwent extreme training in the Egyptian military, and their mission was to assist Mujahid to the best of their abilities until they awakened as Hunters. Then, they were free to decide if they wanted to be independent or if they wanted to join one of the raid parties operated by the government. This was the reason why Mujahid''s personal team and the Horus raid party''s Porter slots were always full, even though they selected only the best of the best. ¡°Should we do that?¡± Han-Yeol would have brought along the Mn team if they were going to a normal hunting ground or if this was an excursion from the Horus raid party. However, the Cheolwon hunting ground had many lurking dangers, making it quite risky to bring these untrained civilian women there. "Yes, I think that is for the best," Mujahid said. "Haa... I guess we have no choice," Han-Yeol replied with a sigh. Han-Yeol really enjoyed his broadcasts, so he wanted the Mn team to tag along whenever he went out on a hunt. He also heard from Su-In that she had finally found a suitable host to rece Yoo-Bi, which Han-Yeol was looking forward to as well. "The Mn team will definitely think it''s a shame they can''te this time. Those girls are willing to go through hoops on fire if it means they could film something good," Han-Yeol said with augh. Mujahid shrugged in response and said, "But there''s nothing we can do about it, hyung-nim. I mean, who will take responsibility if they die while trying to film? Their families might get a huge payout because you¡¯ve insured them quite well, but what''s more important than life itself in this world?" "Yeah, I guess you''re right," Han-Yeol nodded in agreement. It was good for Han-Yeol to consider the Mn team''s desire to film and broadcast his hunts, but bringing civilians to a hunting ground that even seasoned Hunters found dangerous was pushing it. "Alright, we''re the only ones going this time." "Yes, hyung-nim!" "Then, I hope both of you will take care of yourselves over there," Shin Yoo-Kyung said with a bow. His main duty was to assist Mujahid and act as his brain, so he had no business tagging along the hunt since he was just a normal civilian. "Oh, you can go home now, Yoo-Kyung." "I was about to do that." "Wow... Lucky you... Your employer is going to suffer for five days, but you''re already thinking of taking the week off?" Mujahid sneered in his typical fashion. Then, a blood vessel popped on Shin Yoo-Kyung''s forehead after hearing those words. It was true that he was going to take the week off while Mujahid was away hunting, but that didn''t mean he could nonchntly rx without a care. Mujahid was different from the average Hunter. He was a Prince of Egypt and a sessful businessman with numerouspanies under his name and a personal worth of more than thirty trillion won. Surprisingly, all of hispanies ran smoothly even without him lifting a finger, and the main reason behind that was none other than Shin Yoo-Kyung. That was the reason Shin Yoo-Kyung couldn''t help but be pissed off when he heard the carefree ''chairman'' tease him for taking the week off. ¡°Mujahid-nim!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Yoo-Kyung is upset again~ I¡¯m so scared~ Well, I¡¯ll be going first, hyung-nim!¡± Mujahid sneered once more before running off as fast as he could. "Haa... I wonder when he''ll grow up... I apologize for themotion, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. I feel that I have only been showing you unsightly scenes ever since we met." "Haha, don''t worry about it. It''s actually nice to see the employer and employee getting along so well. In fact, I''m jealous that Mujahid has someone he can trust beside him." It was mentioned before, but Mujahid was not someone who showed his true colors to just anyone. He usually acted quite charismatic or even cruel toward other people, but he revealed his true personality to only a select few. He showed his mischievous, carefree, and cute self to those he fully trusted, and that was why his subordinates hadplete trust in him. "I will leave Mujahid-nim in your care, Han-Yeol-nim." "Don''t worry about him. He is strong enough to survive even if I don''t help him." "Yes, I agree with you." Shin Yoo-Kyung was well aware that his employer was quite strong, but he couldn''t help but worry about him since the hunting grounds were unpredictable ces where anything could happen. Mujahid''spanies would be in danger if something happened to him, and the livelihoods of the millions of people he employed would be at risk. Shin Yoo-Kyung once had a younger brother who dreamed of bing a Hunter, but he tragically died in an ident while working as a Porter. ¡®A single time of experiencing such pain is more than enough for me,¡¯?he thought as he saw Mujahid as his little brother. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be off now.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Please have a safe trip, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± ¡®Heh¡­ He¡¯s quite a nice guy,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after reading Shin Yoo-Kyung¡¯s mind with Telepathy. He bid farewell to Shin Yoo-Kyung and departed from the mansion. As he stepped outside, he was greeted by the workers, and then he boarded the vehicle that Mujahid had prepared in front of the mansion gates. The trucks carrying the Porters followed closely behind in a convoy. ¡°We¡¯re going to depart now, hyung-nim!¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go.¡± [Move out!] [Yes, sir!] Mujahid¡¯s knight, who was also his team¡¯s Manager, gave the signal to set out. *** After Han-Yeol left the mansion. ¡°Lla~¡± The highest-ranking female worker in the mansion, Tina, happily hummed as she went about her tasks. Like every day, she was heading to the backyard to tend to the nts. The Egyptian workers were exceptionally well-trained and diligent. They never cked off in managing the mansion, ensuring that even the smallest details were taken care of. While their employer may not be concerned with these minor aspects, they strived to maintain the mansion in perfect condition. ¡®Hmm¡­ I wonder what kind of concept the backyard should go with for this winter?¡¯?Tina wondered while walking toward the backyard. The backyard was quite an important part of the mansion, so it needed a lot of care and attention. ¡°Huh? Where am I? Wasn¡¯t this the backyard¡­?¡± Tina muttered while tilting her head in confusion. She came here almost every single day to tend to the nts, so there was no way she could be mistaken. However, this ce was definitely not the beautifully maintained backyard she knew. The nts were frozen and withered, giving the entire area a deste appearance. It seemed as if the entire ce had reverted back to its original state. One¡­ two¡­ three¡­ ¡°KYAAAAAH!?HAN-YEOL-NIM!¡± she screamed at the top of her lungs after realizing who the culprit behind this mess was. A rumor began circting among the workers that Han-Yeol wasn''t summoning demons due to his ability, but instead, he was the devil himself. *** Vrooom! Thud! Mujahid''s team and Han-Yeol zipped through the highway. ¡°Hum~ Hum~ Hum~¡± Mujahid seemed to be happy about something as he merrily hummed a tune. ¡°Are you that happy?¡± Han-Yeol asked. "Yes! Egypt is quite arid, so it''s impossible for it to snow there. Forget about snow, it''s quite rare for us to even get rain. We would have suffered droughts if not for the Nile River. But with recent technological advancements, we no longer face the risk of running out of water. Anyway, snow is something I''m always eager to see because Ie from such a ce. You won''t believe how excited I was when I first came across snow in Europe!" "Well, I guess that makes sense..." Han-Yeol found it difficult to understand why Mujahid was so obsessed with snow. Seoul was always knee-deep in snow during winter, and there were many idents because of it. However, he somewhat understood how Mujahid felt, as there were some things that he himself longed to see at least once in his life. "Let''s sweep that hunting ground clean, hyung-nim!" "Keke! Sure, let''s run wild!" "OH YES!" Han-Yeol was slowly starting to itch for a fight after resting for a long time, and he needed an outlet to vent all the mana he had stored up so far. He was certain that the Cheolwon hunting ground would be an excellent outlet for him. ¡®The first hunting ground I¡¯m going to after obtaining the Ice Attribute skill is an ice field¡­ It can¡¯t get any more ironic than this,¡¯?heughed inwardly as life seemed to be quite interesting these days. Whooosh! ¡®The temperature is dropping now that we¡¯re almost at the Ice Hell¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol was not affected by the cold since his mana kept him warm, but he was more sensitive to changes in temperature than anyone else. He noticed that the temperature was dropping as they neared the hunting ground. Pssht! [We will be arriving at the Cheolwon hunting ground in ten minutes. Put on the clothing you¡¯ve prepared.] . Pssht! [Roger that.] Mujahid''s team grew busier as they approached the hunting ground. Their roles were quite different from those of a normal team, so they had many things to prepare before the hunt. Their objective was to ensure that Mujahid could hunt in peace, so they had to wlessly prepare everything in advance. ¡°Hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard it too.¡± Click¡­ ck! Han-Yeol loaded the pistol in his waist, then checked his HSK-447P on his back. ¡®Alright, I¡¯m ready to roll.¡¯ Han-Yeol possessed a versatile arsenal of skills that enabled him to excel in both melee and rangedbat. His proficiency with guns was particrly lethal, as he had the ability to infuse his mana into the bullets. Chapter 192: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (3)

Chapter 192: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (3)

Creak¡­! [We have arrived, Mujahid-nim.] [We¡¯re here, hyung-nim!] [Okay, let¡¯s go.] Thud¡­! Han-Yeol was the first to get off the vehicle, followed by Mujahid. Thud! Thud! Thud!? The rest of the team followed suit and they immediately moved about frantically. [Take this equipment!] [Hey! Hurry up!] [Hey, where did you put the cartridges and ammunition boxes?] The Porters were especially busy, hastily setting everything up while Mujahid busied himself with stretching and warming up. Then, ten team members suddenly gathered around Mujahid. ¡®They¡¯re probably the Hunters,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. With a single nce, he could tell that they were awakened beings, judging by the presence of their mana. Although their mana wasn''t overwhelmingly strong, it was pure and dense, indicating that they were not just a random group, but rather highly trained Hunters. [We greet the prince!] The Hunter at the front greeted Mujahid, and the nine others behind him followed. [I hope all of you are ready for your trip to hell.] [Yes, sir! We will go to the depths of hell itself if it is with the prince!] [Good.] These Hunters were somewhat looked down upon by the Horus raid party Hunters, but they held unwavering loyalty toward Mujahid. Egypt''s strengthy in the unwavering loyalty of its people toward their rulers. Many foreign countries criticized this practice, considering it a form of dictatorship or the promotion of outdated traditions. However, the Egyptian people did not mind worshiping Phaophator and his family. They recognized that Phaophator had rescued the country from the brink of copse and elevated it to its current position. With a poption of over a hundred million, the Egyptians were prepared to follow anymand given by their pharaoh, Phaophator. Their unity and dedication to their leader promised a bright future for the country. [Manager!] [Yes, prince!] One of the Porters rushed over at Mujahid¡¯s call. [How¡¯s the preparation?] [We are ready!] [Good, let¡¯s move out!] [Yes, sir!] The team entered the Cheolwon hunting ground, known as Ice Hell, with Mujahid and Han-Yeol leading the way. As they advanced, the Korean soldiers guarding the entrance noticed the team and rushed out to meet them. However, something unexpected urred when one of the soldiers stationed at the entrance unexpectedly blocked Han-Yeol''s path. "Excuse me..." the soldier muttered. "Yes, what is it?" Han-Yeol responded. The soldier was set toplete his mandatory military service in just two days, and he decided to act on a whim, breaking away from his usual military protocol. "Please give me your autograph!" "Huh...?" Han-Yeol was taken aback. "I''m a huge fan of yours, Han-Yeol-nim! Once I''m discharged, I hope to be a Porter and be a Hunter just like you!" Unfortunately, anyone bing a Porter was exempt from their mandatory military service. However, they couldn''t change their circumstances while serving. "Hahaha! I''m delighted to hear that you''re a fan of mine. I''ll dly give you my autograph if you can find me a pen and paper." Initially taken aback by the soldier blocking his path, Han-Yeol''s mood instantly shifted upon realizing that the soldier simply had a lighthearted request. Seuk¡­! Seuk¡­! Seuk¡­! Seuk¡­!? Han-Yeol signed the piece of paper with a signature he had practiced in high school with his friends. ¡°Thank you very much! Loyalty!¡± ¡°Haha! Loyalty!¡± Han-Yeol entered the Cheolwon hunting ground with a smile, feeling good about himself. *** Ten minutes had passed since the team entered the Cheolwon hunting ground. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? Whiiiing! Han-Yeol led the way, with Mujahid following closely behind him. The Hunters followed behind them, while the Porters and their vehicle maintained a distance behind the Hunters. The team had brought caterpir-type tractors this time, as regr wheels would have sunk in the thick snow. However, even the caterpir tractors struggled to make progress in these harsh environments, forcing the three Porters to walk behind the tractor. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­!¡± After walking for only three minutes, they were already exhausted. The waist-high snow greedily sapped away at their stamina. The Porters swiftlypleted the final touches on the tractor, and once they were done, all of them hopped onto the luggagepartment of the tractor. ¡°Haa¡­?This is quite the environment we¡¯re in...¡± ¡°Seeing snow for the first time is quite the experience, but I already feel like I hate this ce¡­¡± ¡°I want to go home¡­¡± The Porters, being born and raised in Egypt, were initially excited when they entered the Cheolwon hunting ground. However, it didn''t take them long to grow to despise the snow, wishing they could wield a gigantic methrower to melt it all away. But their feelings didn''t hold much significance in the grand scheme of things. The team had already reached a location known as Kangpori within the Cheolwon hunting ground. "I think you can use your observation ability now, hyung-nim," Mujahid said. ¡°Okay,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Then, he used his skill, ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯ His eyes turned red and everything within ten kilometers around him entered his vision. ¡®It¡¯s over there,¡¯?Han-Yeol spotted a target. With his Demon Eyes, Han-Yeol could pinpoint the location more urately as the mana density increased. In the Cheolwon hunting ground, it was particrly easy for him to spot the monsters due to their powerful mana. If the monsters possessed cloaking abilities, it would have been a different story, but such abilities were rare among monsters. "Han-Yeol-nim?" "I see a monster that appears to be a Yeti at one o''clock, approximately eight hundred meters from here." [You heard that?] [Yes, sir!] The information was quickly shared with the entire party, marking the official start of the hunt. Mujahid and Han-Yeol, being powerful enough, had no intention of dying in this hunting ground. However, it was a different story for the Hunters and Porters who apanied them. Nevertheless, the Hunters and Porters showed no signs of worry. They had spent a significant amount of time with Mujahid, bing ustomed to facing death''s door on numerous asions. [Let¡¯s go, Mujahid.] [Yes, hyung-nim!] It was imperative that the entire team understood each other from now on, so Han-Yeol and Mujahid switched back to using Arabic. Sniff! Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!? ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°Kireuk!¡± The ck dragon on Han-Yeol¡¯s head, Mavros, and the ck panther at the back of the tractor, Furion, cried out at the same time after sensing that it was time to fight. ¡°Change tobat mode, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyuuuu!¡± Woooong! After Han-Yeol gave themand, Mavros let out a cry and began to slowly grow in size. Chwaaak! In an instant, the baby ck dragon disappeared, reced by a majestic and charismatic dragon. ¡°Grrr¡­!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do our best today, Mavros,¡± Han-Yeol said while caressing the ck dragon¡¯s snout. ¡°Kieeek!¡±?Mavros cried out gleefully as he rubbed his snout on Han-Yeol¡¯s face. Mavros loved Han-Yeol more than anything in the world, caring only for him and disregarding anyone else. The reason he was able to love Han-Yeol so wholeheartedly was because he had been loved in the same manner by Han-Yeol first. Han-Yeol never treated Mavros as a mere tool for battle but genuinely cared for him. The ck dragon knew without a doubt that he was cherished by his owner. [Let¡¯s go, Furion!] [Kyaong!] While Mujahid and Furion might not share the same closeness as Han-Yeol and Mavros, they still regarded each other aspanions. [Shall we take one each to warm up, Mujahid?] [Sounds like a fun idea, hyung-nim! I would love to make a bet to see who can kill the Yeti first, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t wager with Master Rank Hunters. Hahaha!] [Tsk¡­ Anyway, I¡¯ll lure them in.] [Yes, hyung-nim.] Click¡­ ck! There was no need for them to approach the Yetis when the monsters coulde to them. Han-Yeol drew out his HSK-447P, a weapon capable of killing a target within a range of five hundred meters or inflicting significant damage within one thousand two hundred meters. He spotted two Yetis approximately eight hundred meters away. They presented a sizable target, and Han-Yeol felt confident in his ability to hit them. Taking aim at one of the Yetis, he pulled the trigger. Ratatatata! Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!? ¡°Kwuoooooh!¡±? All of Han-Yeol''s bullets hit the Yeti urately on the head, thanks to the Homing Bullet skill. However, despite the precise hits, the distance between them was too great, and the Yeti''s hide was so thick that the damage inflicted was not enough to kill it. Instead, the bullets triggered the already violent and aggressive nature of the Yeti, causing it to focus its attention on Han-Yeol and the rest of the team. "Kwuok! Kwuok!" The Yeti cried out to itspanion. The gazes of the Yetis followed the direction from which the bullets came until theynded on Han-Yeol and the rest of the humans. With a furious roar, the Yetis charged madly toward them. [Mujahid.] [Ah¡­ It¡¯s finally time for me to test out my new weapon!] Shak! Shak! Mujahid swung both of his arms, causing sharp ws to protrude from his hands. [Oh!] [Hohoho! These are the Psy des I purchased from the Dwarf Workshop. These aren¡¯t made out of ordinary steel, but they¡¯re crafted from the fangs of a Saber Toothed Tiger. These ws are stronger than ordinary ws, and it¡¯s much more durable inparison. These are definitely rare items that are hard to find these days!] [Wow¡­ You seem to have gotten lucky.] The Psy des were exquisite ws crafted from exceptional materials. It was quite a fortunate discovery considering that Mujahid had purchased them hastily. [I can¡¯t lose to you now, can I?] Han-Yeol said with a smirk before he pulled out his sword. Shiiing¡­! If Mujahid''s Psy des were crafted from the fangs of the boss monster, Saber-Toothed Tiger, then Han-Yeol''s sword was forged from the skin of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, the most formidable boss monster the world had ever witnessed. To say that the two weapons should not bepared would be an understatement; they were truly iparable from the start. Furthermore, Han-Yeol possessed a fire attribute skill, which happened to be the attribute that the Yetis detested the most. ¡®Sword Breath.¡¯ Fwaaaaah! The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva¡¯s sword was set aze. [Bring it on.] Mujahid and Han-Yeol lowered their stance as they waited for the Yetis charging at them, but¡­ Whoosh! Something swiftly passed by Han-Yeol, and he soon realized that it was none other than Mavros, the ck dragon that was supposed to be behind him. "Mavros!" Han-Yeol eximed in surprise. It appeared that the ck dragon was equally impatient as its owner, as it charged at the Yetis without hesitation. Han-Yeol was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. He was about to rush in and assist Mavros, but the battle took an unexpectedly intriguing course. ¡°Kiek!¡± ¡°Kwaaaak!¡± The Yetis and Mavros shed almost instantaneously as they charged toward each other. As Mavros closed in on them, one of the Yetis infused its fist with ice energy. While some might perceive the Yeti''s attack as straightforward, it would be a grave mistake to underestimate it. As a high-ranking monster, the Yeti possessed formidable strength and abilities. Among high-ranking monsters, there were no easy opponents. Each one possessed skills and intelligence that far surpassed those of normal monsters. Chapter 193: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (4)

Chapter 193: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (4)

¡°Mavros!¡± Han-Yeol was extremely worried that the ck dragon would be hurt, but what happened nextpletely erased those worries from his mind. Whoosh! ¡°Kwuok?!¡±? The Yeti was startled when its vision turned pitch-ck, and it was pulled by a powerful force. Mavros easily dodged the Yeti''s fist, bit its leg, and dragged it up into the sky. ¡°Kwuooooook!¡± The Yeti screamed in agony as it ¡®flew¡¯ for the first time in its life, but there was no way that Mavros was going to let go of it just yet. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!? ¡°M-Mavros¡­!¡± Han-Yeol was speechless. Mavros was spinning in the air with the Yeti in tow, and the Yeti appeared to be losing its mind from being taken on a ride by the ck dragon. The sight was so absurd that the remaining Yeti on the ground halted its run and gazed at the bizarre spectacle of itspanion being iled around. ¡°K-Kwuok¡­?!¡±? The Yeti on the ground appeared to be concerned that it might also be dragged into the sky, so it cautiously edged closer to Mujahid, attempting to avoid the ck dragon. All monsters possessed an uncontroble bloodlust toward humans, and while the Yeti was slightly wary of the ck dragon, its instinct as a monster urged it to continue pursuing the humans. Mavros flew to Han-Yeol''s side and hurled the Yeti toward him, prompting Han-Yeol to instantly grasp Mavros'' intentions. ¡°Oh! Aren¡¯t you too perfect, Mavros?¡± ¡°Kiek!¡± Tak! Shiiiing! Han-Yeol propelled himself off the ground and leaped toward the oing Yeti. With his sword aze from Sword Breath, he swung it with precision. Sukeok! ¡°Kwuooooooh!¡±?The dazed Yeti cried in agony after it felt something hot sh its waist. But that was not the end of it. ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡±?The Yeti let out another shriek as the wound on its waist grew hotter and hotter. However, screaming at the top of its lungs wouldn''t make the pain subside in any way. ¡®Ex¡­plosion!¡¯? Kaboom! An explosion was triggered on the Yeti''s waist where it had been wounded moments before, causing the monster to copse lifeless on the ground. Han-Yeol had managed to hunt down one of the primary monsters in the Cheolwon hunting ground with a single sh. In reality, Mavros had done eighty percent of the work, and Han-Yeol simply delivered the final blow. He was only able tond a clean hit on the Yeti because his ck dragon hadpletely incapacitated the monster. ¡°Kiek!¡±? Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ After the Yeti was defeated, Mavros nudged his head toward Han-Yeol, requesting pats on his head. It was as if the ck dragon was asking, "I did well, didn''t I?" through his gestures. Han-Yeol responded by affectionately patting Mavros on the head. [Hey, Mujahid. What¡¯s taking so long?] [Ah¡­ That¡¯s cheating, hyung-nim¡­ You would¡¯ve made a fool out of me if I agreed to the wager!] [Who knows?] [You¡¯re mean!] [Hahaha! You should try cooperating with Furion as well.] [I was about to do that, hyung-nim! Let¡¯s go! Furion!] ¡°Kyaoh!¡± Furion finally unleashed the ferocity it had been concealing. The ck panther appeared quite docile when it was with Mujahid, but in reality, it was a cruel and vicious beast, much like its owner. One could say they were a perfect match, as Mujahid also transformed into apletely different person once a fightmenced. Mujahid unchained Furion, and the ck panther began to unleash its primal mana. ¡®Oh? That¡¯s quite impressive?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while observing Mujahid and Furion. Han-Yeol had fought alongside Mujahid in the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva raid, but he hadn''t had the chance to observe him inbat as he was preupied at the time. This presented him with the perfect opportunity to witness Mujahid''s fighting style and learn more about it. Han-Yeol had already discovered that the Cheolwon hunting ground was sparsely popted with scattered monsters. As they delved deeper, only the types of monsters changed, while the density of mana remained constant. The current hunting party consisted of only two damage dealers: Han-Yeol and Mujahid. Venturing deeper into the hunting ground with such aposition was undeniably risky, but that didn''t mean they would refrain from exploring further. [Furion!] ¡°Kyaoh!¡± Both Mujahid and Furion were melee fighters. Han-Yeol may not have been aware of it, but Mujahid and Furion had diligently hunted together even after the ck panther reached its first evolution stage. They had even trained to cooperate seamlessly in battles, moving in perfect unison as if they were a single entity. ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?The Yeti cried out in agony after Furion scratched its face with its powerful ws. Mujahid seized the opportunity and swiftly dashed behind the Yeti, driving both of his ws deep into the monster''s neck. Puuuk! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±? The Yeti becamepletely disoriented after being attacked from both the front and back. Hunting down the towering, upright primate-like monster was certainly no easy task. However, Mujahid and Furion''sbined assault swiftly put an end to it, preventing the duo from even having the opportunity to showcase the full extent of their abilities. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!? The Yeti continued to put up a fight, iling its arms around even with both ws deeply embedded in its neck. While subdued and no longer a direct threat, its stubborn tenacity prevented it from sumbing quickly. Mujahid let out a sigh of relief while watching the Yeti trying to cling to life. ¡®This monster¡­ If it didn¡¯t die from this and it¡¯s immune to striking damage, then¡­ Would I have been able to kill it without using that skill?¡¯ Mujahid primarily relied on his fists inbat, but he possessed one skill that differed from his striking techniques: a peculiar pressure shockwave he used against the zodiac monsters. However, this skill required him to have at least two embers on his back, and it consumed an exorbitant amount of mana. Consequently, using it on a single monster proved highly inefficient. Mujahid felt relieved that he had recently acquired the w and modified his fighting style just before the hunt. Otherwise, he would have resorted to punching the Yeti as if it were a mere sandbag. If the monster stubbornly persisted in not yielding, Mujahid would have to rely on Han-Yeol to deliver the final blow. ¡®Ugh¡­ The thought of it alone is scary¡­¡¯?Mujahid grumbled inwardly. The infamous battle maniac couldn''t help but shudder at the thought of being unable to contribute anything in the hunting ground, bing nothing more than dead weight to others. The prospect of such a scenario sent chills down his spine, as he was certain that it would be a shock from which he would never recover. [What are you doing? Hurry up and finish it off.] [Ah, yes, hyung-nim.] Mujahid ceased dwelling on the worst-case scenario and snapped back to reality upon hearing Han-Yeol''s voice. Gathering his monstrous strength, he readied himself to deliver the final blow, intending to bring an end to the Yeti''s life. Shwik! Mujahid may have appeared carefree and aloof in Han-Yeol''s presence, but he was far from being a simpleton. His battle instincts alone surpassed Han-Yeol''s, and he had beenmitted to rigorous training since childhood, never skipping a single day. Although it was his first time using a weapon like the Psy de, his innate battle maniac DNA instantly made it feel familiar in his hands. As a result, he improvised a new attack on the spot. With a powerful leap into the air, Mujahid descended upon the Yeti, both hands aimed at its vulnerable point. He executed a spin in midair,nding on the monster with remarkable precision. Kwachiiiik! ¡°Kieeeeeeeeek!¡±? The Yeti, despite its tenacity, stood no chance of surviving an attack that left its neck in utter disarray. Surprisingly, it still fought to cling to life, attempting to grab the human on its neck and pull him down. However, the relentless interference from the ck panther prevented it from grasping hold of the human. As a result, the Yeti''s neck was gruesomely mangled by Mujahid''s assault, leaving it in a dire state. Thud! The monster fell dead to the ground with its eyes rolled back. Crunch¡­ Crunch¡­ Crunch¡­ Crunch¡­? Mujahid got off the Yeti¡¯s back and stepped on the snow. It was an overwhelming victory. Some might argue that Mujahid was weakerpared to Han-Yeol, who managed to defeat the Yeti in a single strike. However, it''s important to note that Han-Yeol was on par with Master Rank Hunters and possessed the formidable skill ''Explosion,'' which was highly effective against a single target. Naturally, the ''Explosion'' skill consumed a significant amount of mana, making it impractical for frequent use. In fact, the mana consumption was so substantial that only a few individuals,cking the mana-regeneration cheat-like skill possessed by Han-Yeol, would be able to employ it even once. In contrast, Mujahid didn''t use any skills at all. He didn''t ignite any embers on his back, nor did he exhaust his mana in attacking the Yeti. Although it took him longer to defeat the Yetipared to Han-Yeol, the fact that he aplished it solely with his raw strength was truly remarkable. While it''s true that Mujahid was still weakerpared to Han-Yeol, no one would dare underestimate him simply because he took a bit more time to dispatch the Yeti. [Nice skills you have there.] [Haha! One Yeti is not even a warm-up for me!] [Yeah, looks like it. Then, should we kick things up a notch?] [I would love to! Haha!] Tak! In response to Han-Yeol''s slight taunt, Mujahid mmed his fists together. He wasn''t the type to back down simply because he waspeting against a Master Rank Hunter. He possessed apetitive spirit and had great confidence in his own strength. ¡®I?will grow stronger if I can beat hyung-nim¡­¡¯?he thought. Although it didn''t show on his face, Mujahid had been feeling troubled recently. His sister, who held the same Osiris Rank as him, had suddenly advanced to Ra Rank and returned to Egypt. The fact that she left him behind in Korea wasn''t a concern, as they didn''t often travel together. What really bothered him was the realization that Tayarana had achieved something unprecedented in the entire history of Egypt. Mujahid wasn''t foolish; in fact, he was highly intelligent. He tirelessly pondered day and night, seeking toprehend how Tayarana had aplished something of such magnitude. Eventually, he narrowed it down to a single reason. ¡®There was only one difference my sister hadpared to the other Osiris Rank Hunters, and that was the fact that she hunted alongside hyung-nim!¡¯ This was the theory Mujahid came up with. Han-Yeol was a growth-type Hunter, which meant that his emitted mana carried traces of his growth-type ability, whether he intended it or not. Mujahid firmly believed that hunting alongside Han-Yeol would influence his own mana and enable him to grow stronger. ¡®I can be a Ra Rank Hunter, just like my sister, if I hunt alongside hyung-nim, and that means I can acquire two more skills!¡¯ Mujahid clenched his fists. He was already envious of Tayarana for bing a Ra Rank Hunter, but the fact that she gained two more skills intensified his jealousy. ¡®Gaining two more skills would make fighting even more enjoyable! It''s frustrating to think that she can have more fun than me now¡­¡¯ True to his nature, Mujahid''s mind was consumed with thoughts ofbat, showing little concern for bing stronger. All he cared about was pushing his limits in battles against formidable opponents. He knew that acquiring two more skills would greatly enhance his efficiency inbat. In short, Mujahid felt extreme jealousy that Tayarana could experience more excitement than him. [Haa¡­] Mujahid let out a sigh. Then, the Egyptian manager suddenly approached Han-Yeo, cutting into their conversation. [Excuse me¡­ Han-Yeol-nim?] [Yes?] [I think I should report this to you, but¡­ The corpse of the Yeti you killed with Explosion just now has lost its value, and it will be ssified as F Grade and sold for almost dirt cheap¡­ I am not telling you to stop hunting, but I just felt that you should be aware of it¡­] Chapter 194: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (5)

Chapter 194: Mavros Flying Above the Snowman (5)

The Manager was speaking as carefully as he could. Han-Yeol was just a foreigner to him, but he was well aware of Han-Yeol''s rtionship with his employer, Mujahid, and Han-Yeol was someone who belonged to apletely different sspared to him. Therefore, the Manager tried to speak as carefully and courteously as he possibly could so as not to offend Han-Yeol. [Haha! Sorry about that. I wanted to test out my skill, so I didn''t hold back. I''ll make sure to clean it up next time, so you don''t have to worry about it.] [Thank you, Han-Yeol-nim. Also, I would like to apologize if I offended you.] The Manager was slightly taken aback by Han-Yeol''s response, but he quickly bowed his head and apologized. [Not at all. It''s good that you brought it to my attention.] [Thank you, and please feel free to speakfortably to me. It''s not necessary for you to speak respectfully toward me when you''re friends with Mujahid-nim.] [Hmm... Should I?] Han-Yeol initially found it difficult to speakfortably to others, even if asked to, but he had slowly started getting used to it by now. [Thank you, Han-Yeol-nim. I''ll now go back to my post.] [Sure.] The Manager gave a bow before going to the Porters dismembering the Yeti. [Hey, manager!] Han-Yeol called out to the Manager. [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] [We¡¯re going to be hunting for five days, so just throw away any corpses you think are F Grade. We will be hunting to our heart¡¯s content, until we can¡¯t fit anymore in the tractors, so feel free to discard the corpses and just collect the mana stones.] [Y-Yes, I understand.] The Manager awkwardly nodded in response to Han-Yeol¡¯s instruction. It was the Manager''s first time going on a hunt where they were told they could hunt to their heart''s content, not stopping until they couldn''t carry anymore, and to dispose of low-grade corpses. It was quite a peculiar instruction, but the Manager chose not to dwell on it too much since Mujahid hadn''t voiced any objections. After all, a manager''s duty was to fulfill their employer''s wishes. The Manager proceeded to instruct the Porters to collect the mana stones and discard the Yeti''s corpse, which had beenpletely destroyed by the explosion. *** Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes turned red as he scouted his surroundings. [Let¡¯s kick it up a notch this time.] [Haha! You know I¡¯m up for that, hyung-nim!] ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±?Mavros cried out while looking up at the sky. He was usually calm, but today he appeared agitated after experiencing the taste of blood. His transformation was evident in the aggressive pping of his wings. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mavros?¡± ¡°Kiek!¡± ¡°You want to fight more?¡± ¡°Kiek!¡± It was as if he was responding "yes!" to Han-Yeol''s question. ¡®Wait a minute... Mavros yed quite the role during the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva raid, right...? Don''t tell me!¡¯ Han-Yeol thought as he immediately brought up Mavros'' status screen. [Mavros (Mini ck Dragon)] Level: 51 Traits: Darkness, Poison Innate Ability: Dragon Breath, Mode Change Stats: STR: 309 AGI: 380 VIT: 520 Flying: 720 Flight Speed: 220 Skills: Magic (D), Dragon Buff (D), Dragon Fear (F) [Dragon Fear (F)] Type: Active Description: It is a wide area debuff skill of dragons that incapacitates the enemies in its vicinity. However, the effectiveness of this skill is diminished against stronger foes. The debuff effect of this skill bes more potent as its level increases. ¡®Wow¡­ No wonder he seemed too strong.¡¯? Han-Yeol was certain that Mavros was at Level 12 thest time he checked, and there was no way he could have reached Level 51. He hadpletely forgotten about the ck dragon''s level since he hadn''t received any notifications whenever it leveled up. ¡°Kiek!¡± Han-Yeol patted Mavros¡¯ head while smiling brightly. ¡°Grrr!?Grrr!¡± On the other hand, Mavros seemed to be hinting of his desire to fight a monster as soon as possible. ¡®He acts like a dog or a cat at times¡­ He¡¯s really cute¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while patting Mavros. He might look like a scary dragon in the eyes of others, but he was still an adorable pet in Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes. After all, Han-Yeol was extremely biased toward Mavros since he had always wanted to raise a pet. "This is excellent, Mavros. You''re stronger, and I''m stronger now, so we can truly go all out on this hunt. Let''s savor every moment and enjoy this hunt to the fullest!" ¡°Kiek!¡± Mavros gleefully cried out in response to Han-Yeol¡¯s words, but he was not the only one delighted by what Han-Yeol had said. [Oh! Does that mean we¡¯re done warming up?!] [Yeah, Mavros seems to be itching for a fight, so I think it¡¯s time for us to get serious.] [YES!] The Porters were already done working on the Yeti corpses, so Han-Yeol and Mujahid went for their next target. Han-Yeol already scouted ten Yetis in the distance, and the team made their way toward them. ¡°Mavros.¡± ¡°Kiek!¡± ¡°Can you see those ten Yetis five hundred meters from us?¡± ¡°Kieeek!¡±?Mavros cried out and nodded. The ck dragon was undoubtedly not an ordinary monster. It possessed exceptional senses, and its nose could detect the scent of mana from a distance of at least twenty kilometers. However, only Mavros knew about this, as the ck dragon couldn''tmunicate through words. Even Han-Yeol, its owner, only had a vague understanding that the ck dragon''s senses extended far due to its strength. "Shoot a Poison Arrow over there to lure them in. It would be fantastic if you could also inflict poison damage on them." ¡°Kiek!¡± Chwak! Mavros nodded before spreading hisrge wings. Tak! Then, he shot into the sky almost instantaneously. [Hyung-nim, I know Mavros is strong, but won¡¯t it be a bit dangerous for him to go against ten Yetis?] [Yeah, it will be dangerous if he fights them one on ten.] [Then why did you send him alone?] [I asked Mavros to shoot at the Yetis from the air and lure them over here. He¡¯s quite smart, so I¡¯m sure he understood what I meant.] [I see¡­] Mujahid nodded, understanding Han-Yeol''s n. While the Yetis were formidable monsters, theycked the means to attack a flying enemy, ensuring Mavros'' safety as long as he maintained a safe distance from them. Though it would be challenging for Mavros to kill the Yetis using Poison Arrow due to their thick hides, he would certainly be able to damage them and lure them in. Shwooong! A sudden surge of mana urred where the Yetis were clumped up. Baaaam! The mana sent shockwaves when Mavros started his skirmish against the Yetis. ¡®But will Mavros lose¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but wonder. It was impossible for Mavros to defeat all ten Yetis alone, but Han-Yeol''s instincts were telling him that the ck dragon was capable of hunting all the enemies single-handedly. ¡®Hmm¡­ Nah, there¡¯s no way,¡¯?he thought with augh and shook his head. He might trust his instincts and be biased toward his pet monsters, but there was one thing he always did when his instincts told him somethingpletely illogical. While his instincts were correct ny-nine percent of the time, that did not mean they were right one hundred percent of the time. After all, even a shaman could not be urate all the time, so there was no way Han-Yeol could rely solely on his instincts. A few minutes passed. ¡°¡­¡± [Hyung-nim¡­ Why isn¡¯t Mavrosing with the monsters¡­?] . [Give me a second¡­] ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯ Wooong! Han-Yeol¡¯s eyes turned red as he scanned where the ten Yetis had been a while ago. ¡®What?!¡¯? What awaited him was a shocking sight. ¡®Mavros hunted all of them alone?!¡¯ He was certain that he had seen ten monsters a while ago, but now the mana of a few of those monsters was nowhere to be seen, and the remaining mana was slowly fading away. There was only one conclusion: Mavros had hunted all ten Yetis alone. [Mujahid¡­] [Yes, hyung-nim?] [I think I was mistaken¡­] [D-Don¡¯t tell me¡­?] [Yeah, it seems that Mavros killed all ten Yetis alone¡­] [Wow¡­ It seems that Mavros is also a growth-type just like you, hyung-nim¡­ That¡¯s something even Furion can¡¯t do¡­] [I think so¡­] ¡®Sorry, Mujahid¡­ I¡¯m actually aware that Mavros is a growth-type just like me¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. However, what was important to Han-Yeol was not whether Mavros was a growth-type monster pet or not, but rather the fact that he was powerful enough to single-handedly fight against ten Yetis. Of course, Han-Yeol himself was capable of taking on ten or even twenty Yetis alone, but he never expected Mavros to grow so strong so quickly. ¡®Hahaha¡­¡¯?Han-Yeolughed inwardly in disbelief. [Let¡¯s go take a look, Mujahid.] [Yes, hyung-nim.] Han-Yeol, Mujahid, and the rest of the team proceeded toward the location where the ten Yetis were supposed to be, as they hadpleted their tasks in their previous area. The ce where Mavros had battled the ten Yetis might have been only five hundred meters away in a straight line. However, the terrain of the Cheolwon hunting ground was rugged and mountainous, making it challenging to traverse. Additionally, the thick snow covering the entire area reflected the sunlight, forcing them to squint their eyes and making it difficult to keep them open for extended periods. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? On top of that, the tractor Mujahid¡¯s team had brought made a lot of creaking sounds. The team finally arrived at their destination, and what awaited them was a truly surprising sight. [Hahaha¡­] Mujahidughed in disbelief. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± Chwak! Mavros appeared to have been patiently waiting for Han-Yeol and Mujahid to arrive. As they approached, he let out a triumphant cry and proudly spread his wings wide while perched on top of a tree. The ground was tainted with poison, and the area was strewn with the corpses of the Yetis, their blood staining the surroundings. The devastation caused by Mavros resembled the destructive scenes often depicted in fictional dragon tales. Mavros was undoubtedly showing off at that moment, and the Egyptian Porters and Hunters stood with their mouths agape, gazing in awe at the charismatic and majestic creature. [H-How can this be¡­?] [I know the monster pets are strong, but¡­ How can a single one cause all of this¡­?] [A-Amazing¡­] The Hunters and Porters were not a haphazard group oblivious to the ways of the world. They were seasoned elites who had honed their skills alongside Mujahid, possessing considerable experience in this line of work. While some had remained as Porters for what felt like an eternity without awakening, it did not diminish their status as veterans in the industry. Each of them fullyprehended the significance of Mavros'' recent feat. [The monster pets are even more remarkable than I had imagined...] [If this had been broadcasted live, its value would have skyrocketed...] [Well, there will be other opportunities to showcase it to the world, right?] [Isn''t that simply astonishing...?!] [It''s utterly astonishing.] [Wow...] The Egyptians could only express their awe at the spectacle before them, as it was undoubtedly the most extraordinary sight they had ever witnessed in their entire lives. Chapter 195: The Phenomenal Hunter (1)

Chapter 195: The Phenomenal Hunter (1)

Han-Yeol was undoubtedly a phenomenal person. No, he was a Master Rank Hunter who had the potential to be an even more extraordinary Phenomenal Hunter. Additionally, he possessed the ability to summon demons to assist him inbat and could hatch monster pets from monster eggs, which allowed him to earn easy money. The monster pet he owned was known as a Mini Dragon, surpassing the strength of most high-leveled monsters. [I don¡¯t care what people say. He¡¯s a phenom¡­ a Phenomenal Hunter¡­] [The Phenomenal Hunter, Lee Han-Yeol¡­] This was going to happen in the future, but everyone present in the Cheolwon hunting ground would start referring to Han-Yeol as the Phenomenal Hunter once they finished the hunt. It was amon practice for people to give nicknames to Hunters based on their abilities or traits, but it proved challenging for them toe up with one for Han-Yeol due to his multitude of skills. It was the Egyptians who eventually coined the term ''phenomenal'' to urately capture Han-Yeol''s exceptional qualities, and this term quickly gained poprity. ¡®I''m going hunting with the Phenomenal Hunter!¡¯?The Egyptians grew excited at the prospect of hunting alongside Han-Yeol. While it could be argued that Mavros yed a role in this whole situation, it was Han-Yeol who received the praise of the people, as he was the one controlling the ck dragon. [Stop spacing out and go dismember the monsters Mavros hunted!] [Yes, Manager-nim!] The Porters immediately sprang into action upon receiving themand, and most of them appeared to be content with their job. While some Korean Porters might have grumbled about being overworked, the Egyptian Porters showed no signs ofining whatsoever. However, this didn''t imply that the Korean Porters were cking offpared to their Egyptian counterparts. In fact, the Korean Hunters were known for their diligence and superior skillspared to the Egyptians. After all, Koreans were culturally inclined toward hard work, making them naturally more industrious than the Egyptians. Nheless, the most significant distinction between the two groupsy in the incentives they received. The incentives provided to the Egyptian Porters brought smiles to their faces, while the incentives given to the Korean Porters often resulted in tears orints. Developed countries like the United States, Germany, and others focused not only on incentivizing Hunters but also on providing benefits to Porters. Working as Porters in these countries allowed people to enjoy a good standard of living. Egypt also made simr efforts to improve the pay and living conditions for all Porters. They witnessed a remarkable twelve percent increase in Porter applications within just one month after announcing their initiative. Their approach involved offering decent wages and incentives to Porters, and those who failed to awaken after four years were recognized as Veteran Porters. These individuals were then recruited by guilds or government raid parties, which offered significantly higher wages. ¡°Come here, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Mavros¡¯ charisma was strong enough to overwhelm anyone in the vicinity, but he turned into a docile puppy the moment Han-Yeol called him over. . ¡°Good job, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± It was said that praises could make even a whale dance, and this proved to be true as the ck dragon was ted after receiving Han-Yeol''s praise. It seemed as though the dragon was on cloud nine. ¡®Mavros'' temperament resembles that of a hunter. Could it be because he is a dragon? Why did he feel the need to engage in a fight that was unnecessary for him?¡¯?Han-Yeol was able to learn more about the ck dragon¡¯s temperament through this opportunity. ¡°Should we go have more fun, Mavros?¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡±? In response to the question, Mavros cried out as if to say, "Ready when you are!" After witnessing Mavros'' power, Han-Yeol, Mujahid, and the rest of the team ventured deeper into the hunting ground. With Han-Yeol''s watchful eyes on their side, they had no concerns about being ambushed or overwhelmed. [There are twelve Yetis, two Snowmans, and three Ice Trolls three kilometers in front of us. They are at our two o¡¯clock.] [Yes, hyung-nim! Get ready, you guys!] [Yes, sir!] Click¡­ ck! Even though the monsters were still three kilometers away, the Porters prepared their guns. This was the hunting style they had be ustomed to while hunting alongside Han-Yeol and Mujahid. They followed a different approach to hunting, where the monsters woulde to them instead of the other way around. ¡°Mavros.¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Chwak! Shwooong! Mavros spread hisrge wings and swiftly soared into the air, gradually ascending until he transformed into a mere dot. Meanwhile, a mana vortex materialized in the sky, indicating the ck dragon''s umtion of mana in preparation to unleash its innate ability. As mana filled his lungs, Mavros¡¯ chest expanded, and the energy ascended to his mouth, gathering there. A momentter, he released the gathered mana toward the location where the monsters had gathered. Shwaaaaaa! Despite being a considerable distance away from the ck dragon, Han-Yeol, Mujahid, and the team members could sense the powerful surge of mana permeating the air. [Poison Breath] Mavros'' innate ability as a dragon surged fiercely toward the monsters, unleashing its devastating force. Shwaaaaa...! Kabooom! The resounding explosion, apanied by slight tremors, echoed from the three-kilometer distance, a testament to the immense power of Mavros'' skill. Gulp¡­! [Amazing¡­] [I-Is that even possible¡­?] The Egyptians were stunned once again as they watched the thick green smoke rising up in the distance. But that did notst long as¡­ Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? [T-They¡¯reing!] [Prepare to fire!] An enraged horde of monsters charged toward the team, kicking up snow in their wake. The Porters swiftly readied themselves to open fire, aiming to fend off the approaching creatures. Secretly, they held a glimmer of hope that the bullets they discharged would be the catalyst to awaken their own hidden potential. Han-Yeol suddenly had this thought while watching the Porters, ¡®The Porters will be treated better if they can shoot mana bullets and deal damage to monsters.¡¯ The primary reason for the mistreatment and disdain toward the Porters stemmed from their inability to inflict any damage on intermediate-level monsters, regardless of the number of bullets they fired. While this, in itself, was not a significant issue, what frustrated the Hunters was the legal obligation to give the Porters time to shoot, allowing them a chance to awaken as Hunters. The Hunters'' Association staunchly upheld this rule, leaving the Hunters with no recourse, despite their annoyance. The Porters persisted in their work, enduring mistreatment, driven solely by the hope of awakening as a Hunter. Even if they were to awaken as F Rank Hunters, it would secure them a minimum annual wage of one hundred million won frompanies. In the present era, F Rank Hunters had ample opportunities to earn substantial sums of money without having to risk their lives on the hunting grounds. Corporations sought their services to expand into industries that would otherwise be perilous for ordinary individuals. While it was undeniable that the true essence of being a Huntery in hunting in the dangerous hunting grounds, some F Rank Hunters found contentment in the earnings they made, without the need to risk their lives fighting against monsters. Ultimately, these reasons alone were more than sufficient for the Porters to endure and hold onto the hope of awakening, even if it meant achieving the rank of an F Rank Hunter. ¡®What a great country I live in¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. South Korea considered itself a developed country, but its politics were worse than those of most underdeveloped nations. In recent years, the country had suffered from severe mismanagement and was gued by numerous scandals. This situation had led to the current shortage of Porters in the country. As the monsters closed in, Han-Yeol became momentarily distracted. However, it appeared that Manager was apetent individual. He timed themand to fire perfectly, waiting until the veryst second before the monsters entered the firing range of the Porters. This strategy aimed to maximize their uracy in dealing with the approaching threat. [Fire!] Ratatatatatata! Hundreds of bullets flew toward the monsters. ¡°Kyaoh!¡± ¡°Kwuooh!¡± [Hmm? What¡¯s going on?] The Manager had a sense that something was amiss as he witnessed the monsters'' reaction to the bullets. They shouldn''t have reacted at all to the impact of the bullets, yet some of them cried out in pain upon being hit, and their speed even diminished. [Don¡¯t tell me!] He immediately looked at Han-Yeol after remembering something he had heard about him. ¡®As expected!¡¯? Han-Yeol was one of the rare kinds of Hunters who used guns, and he was quite proficient with it too. ¡®I totally forgot about it.¡¯?The Managerughed in disbelief. Ratatatata! Upon closer inspection, it became evident that the HSK-447P emitted a blue spark whenever it was fired. Unlike a normal gun, which produced bright red sparks upon shooting a bullet, Han-Yeol''s gun discharged mana instead, resulting in the blue spark. ¡®He''s truly remarkable¡­¡¯ While there were many Hunters who engaged in long-rangebat, it was rtively umon to find a Hunter who possessed exceptional skill with guns. Moreover, most of those who relied on guns forbat were low-ranking Hunters. However, this conventional logic did not apply to Han-Yeol, as he proved to be an exceptional and versatile character, defying expectations and possessing an array of exceptional abilities. Ratatatata! [They¡¯reing!] The Manager gave the signal when the monsters were in close proximity, prompting the Porters to gradually stop firing. They quickly moved to the back lines, ensuring they wouldn''t obstruct Han-Yeol and Mujahid in the ensuing battle. The fierce duo eagerly stepped forward as the Porters retreated, with the other Hunters providing support from the rear positions. One of the Egyptian Hunters raised his hands and shouted, [Crying Shockwaves!] Wooong! Wooong! Wooong!? ¡®Hmm?¡¯?Han-Yeol could sense a subtle increase in the density of his mana following the Hunter''s skill usage. He was confident that this enhancement would result in more potent attacks, knowing that his denser mana would augment his offensive capabilities. It was then¡­ Ding! [Your attack power has increased by 2% due to the Crying Shockwave¡¯s effect.] The system''s confirmation of his suspicions brought a sense of reassurance to Han-Yeol. However, he couldn''t help but feel perplexed as the system had remained silent during the numerous buffs he received in the past during the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva raid. Despite the strangeness of the situation, Han-Yeol chose to overlook it, considering it as a peculiar yet positive urrence. ¡®This is nothingpared to the buff Mavros gives me, but it¡¯s quite useful since it stacks.¡¯ Two percent was nothing by itself, but the important part was that it stacked with the other buffs. [Mujahid!] [Yes, hyung-nim!] Tak! ¡°Kyaong!¡± Despite knowing that taking on a group of seventeen monsters with just the two of them was a formidable challenge, Mujahid fearlessly charged into the midst of the crowd alongside Furion. In typical situations, he would have considered such encounters highly dangerous and opted to retreat. However, this particr hunt was different because he had a reliable backup in Han-Yeol. With this reassurance, Mujahid harbored no concerns for his own safety. [Haaaap!] ¡°Kyaong!¡± ¡°Kwuoooooh!¡± Just as Mujahid, Furion, and the monsters were on the verge of shing, a colossal figure plummeted from the sky. Mavros, with his immense presence, forcefully body-mmed into the midst of the monsters, sending some of them flying and preventing Mujahid and Furion from being surrounded. His intervention ensured their safety and disrupted the impending sh. ¡®Shall I start joining the fray?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he walked toward the monsters with a smirk. Chapter 196: The Phenomenal Hunter (2)

Chapter 196: The Phenomenal Hunter (2)

Chwik¡­! Han-Yeol conjured his chain and decided to use something he had not used for quite a while now¡ªthe w. He held his chain in his left hand and his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword in his right hand, which was set aze with Sword Breath. Tak!? He kicked off the ground and lunged at the monsters at lightning speed. "Kwaaaaak!"? Blinded by their bloodlust for humans, the monsters bared their fangs at Han-Yeol after sensing him, and all of them growled in preparation to devour the iing prey. "Crowd Restraint!" Han-Yeol shouted and threw his chain. Chwaaaak! The chain was divided into ten pieces and bound up ten of the monsters. ¡®Huh? Ten?¡¯? Han-Yeol was surprised when his chain, which originally split into five, suddenly split into ten. ¡®Is it because the skill leveled up?¡¯ He realized that this was the first time he was using the skill after it leveled up to E Rank. His skills were highly vtile, so it was no longer strange that such a thing could happen simply because the skill went up a rank. ¡®Hmm... Does this mean the skill duration increased as well?¡¯ Han-Yeol aimed at the frontmost Yeti and shed it across its chest with Sword Breath. Sukeok! Sukeok! "Kueeeeek!" The Yeti cried in agony after an X-shaped wound appeared on its chest. ¡®For the finale... Head Cutter!¡¯ Sukeok! Thud...! Han-Yeol cut off the Yeti''s head in one fell swoop, and its head fell with a thud on the ground. The three-stepbo Han-Yeol had just used was quite a difficult skill to execute, serving as proof of how much his control over his body and mana had improved recently. The Yeti was a tough and tenacious monster, making it extremely difficult to kill in one fell swoop. However, the X-shaped wound on its chest disoriented it for a moment and forced it to concentrate all of its mana to defend that area. Han-Yeol seized that opening in the monster''s defense and swiftly employed Head Cutter to sever its defenseless neck. Thud! The Yeti''s headless body fell to the ground, a mere three seconds after facing the human. "Kwuoooook!" The other Yetis roared in anger, witnessing the demise of one of their own right before their eyes. It was as if they were issuing a threat to Han-Yeol, indicating that they would not spare him for what he had done to their kin. However, their anger only served to blind them from their surroundings. Their entire focus became fixated on Han-Yeol alone, causing them to forget that he was not their only enemy in this fight. ¡°Hap!¡± Chwak! Mujahid swung his Psy des and stabbed them into a Yeti¡¯s chest. ¡°Kwuooook!¡± Whoosh! The Yeti roared in pain after being stabbed and immediately swung its fist in anger. However, it failed to hit the battle-crazed maniac as he nimbly evaded the punch. This only served to further enrage the Yeti, fueling its determination to attack the puny human once again. It seemed resolute in its intent to squash the human this time. But¡­ ¡°Kyaong!¡± ¡°Kiek?!¡± A ck panther suddenly popped out from nowhere and bit the Yeti¡¯s neck before twisting its entire body like a screw. Kwachik! ¡°Kie¡­eeek¡­!¡± The ck panther''s attack, carrying its full weight, could only be described as gruesome. Its powerful fangs and jaws mped onto the Yeti''s neck, refusing to let go even as it spiraled around its prey. This twisted not only the monster''s neck but also its body. "Kwuoook!" But the fight was far from over. This time, an Ice Troll joined the fray, targeting Mujahid. Unlike the normal Trolls with green skin, the Ice Troll possessed light blue skin. It wielded a spear in its right hand and a blunt weapon adorned with human skulls in its left. If the Yeti was the monster that weed the Hunters to the Cheolwon hunting ground, then the Ice Troll was the primary threat. Ice Trolls shared the regenerative innate ability of normal Trolls but also had an ice attribute that nullified striking damages against them. This was a distinct contrast to the Yeti and Snowman, which had high defense and near-immunity to striking damages. The Ice Troll, on the other hand, waspletely immune to striking damages due to its unique trait. If the Ice Trolls were not present, Mujahid wouldn''t have had to alter hisbat style for the Cheolwon hunting ground. He could have simply pummeled the other monsters, considering them nothing more than a group of highly durable sandbags. [Ah, so you¡¯re the bastard who forced me to change mybat style.] ¡°Kyaooong!¡± The Ice Troll was a remarkably intelligent monster, although it had no capability to speak orprehend humannguage. The reason it roared back at Mujahid was simply because it was preparing to kill its prey and nned to decorate its club with the human''s skull. With a swift motion, the Ice Troll swung its spear at Mujahid. Shwoosh! Shwoosh! Shwoosh! Despite towering over three meters tall, the monster''s movements were surprisingly quick and agile, a stark contrast to its imposing size. [Oh? You¡¯re quite skilled with the spear. I thought you were just a dumb troll! Haha!] ¡°Kyao!¡±?The Ice Troll roared in frustration when its prey continued to avoid its attacks. Meanwhile, Mujahid gave a hand signal to Furion, and the both of them immediately went to their positions tounch another joint attack they had practiced together. [Let¡¯s fight for real now! Troll bastard!] ¡°Kyao!¡± On the other hand, Han-Yeol was slicing through the Yetis like a hot knife cutting through butter. Sukeok! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Sukeok!¡± ¡°Kwuooook!¡± Of course, he couldn''t always sever their heads in one swift motion, but that didn''t bother him much. He wasn''t in a hurry to finish them off. There were numerous rumors circting that Han-Yeol was actually a swordsman, judging by the grace and ir of his sword movements. However, he never once considered himself a swordsman. ¡®I only care about winning or losing. It doesn''t matter what kind of Hunter I am.¡¯ Han-Yeol never viewed himself as a swordsman because he didn''t consider the sword to be his primary weapon. He had used a chain before the sword, so to him, the sword was merely a secondary weapon supporting his primary weapon¡ªthe chain. ¡°Restrain!¡± Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol¡¯s main weapon simultaneously bound two Yetis¡¯ legs. ¡°Kiek?¡± Thud! Both Yetis fell to the ground after having their legs tied up while running at full speed. Han-Yeol was not one to miss such an opportunity as¡­ ¡®sh Strike! sh Strike!¡¯? He instantly appeared before the Yetis and viciously stabbed the back of their necks with his sword, and the sword prated through their necks and snuffed out their lives. Whoosh! However, there were still many Yetis remaining, and they gave him no time to recover as they charged at him. Han-Yeol paid no attention to the closest Yeti and simply raised his left hand, opening it toward the oing monster. ¡°Kireuk?¡±?The Yeti was confused while running toward the human. Then, a fireball shot out from the human¡¯s palm that was aimed straight at the Yeti. ¡°Kiek?!¡± The Yeti flinched in surprise upon seeing the fireball hurtling straight toward it. It desperately attempted to halt its momentum, hoping to avoid the iing fireball. However, running at full speed made it impossible to alter its course, resulting in a direct hit from the fireball. Kaboom! Upon contact with the Yeti, the fireball unleashed a powerful explosion, engulfing the monster''s entire body in mes. While not as potent as Han-Yeol''s Mana Explosion skill, it still surpassed the explosive capabilities of other Hunters'' skills. Han-Yeol''s Fire Attribute was not a mere skill that conjured mes. Most of the explosions triggered by his other skills borrowed the fiery nature of this attribute, making them significantly more powerful. Fwaaaa¡­! ¡°Kwuook!¡± Han-Yeol''s Fire Ball skill was only ranked as D, so its lethality against monsters was limited. However, the Fire Ball''s attribute exploited the weakness of Ice-Type monsters, allowing it to inflict significant damage despite its lower level. Tak! Sukeok! The explosion left the Yeti incapacitated, and Han-Yeol wasted no time in delivering the final blow to the monster. ¡®Ex¡­plosion!¡¯? Kaboom! Han-Yeol unleashed his most powerful melee attack skill, which had already reached a formidable B Rank. Its immense destructive force was more than enough to send the monsters to the afterlife. Single-handedly, he swiftly dealt with the eleven Yetis, leaving no survivors. Without hesitation, he immediately rushed to aid Mavros, who was currently engaged in a battle against two Snowmen. "Gwuooooh!" The Snowman was one of the primary monsters in the Cheolwon hunting ground, alongside the Ice Troll. These monsters were iparably stronger than the Yeti, rendering anyparison an insult. Mavros couldn''t disy the same level of dominance he had demonstrated earlier against the Snowmen. However, it didn''t mean that Mavros was losing against the two Snowmen. ¡°Kiek!¡± Pukeok! Mavros forcefully smashed his tail into the body of one of the Snowmen, causing the snow and ice creature to be flung a considerable distance. Unfortunately, the tail strike failed to inflict any damage on the resilient monster. ¡°Gwuooooh!¡±?The Snowman stood up and roared before brandishing its ws, and then it charged at Mavros once again. However, Mavros was no longer fighting alone. ¡°Fire Ball!¡± Shwoosh¡­ Kaboom! ¡°Ugwaaaaah!¡± The Snowman was takenpletely by surprise as the fireball struck its body directly, engulfing it in mes. Although the Fire Ball skill was not highly leveled, it proved to be almost fatal to the Snowman,posed as it was of snow and ice. "Gwuooooh!" Having been hit by the fireball, the Snowman shifted its focus from Mavros to Han-Yeol. It seemed to have determined that the human posed a greater threat due to his utilization of fire attribute skills, which happened to be the absolute weakness of the monster. Gliding swiftly through the snow, the monster charged toward Han-Yeol and swiped its ws at him. Whoosh! The attack urred in an instant, but Han-Yeol possessed the cheat skill, Sixth Sense, which allowed him to easily evade the attack. Despite the Snowman being a high-tier monster, it was no match for the top-tier monsters that Master Rank Hunters hunted, making it impossible for Han-Yeol to lose against it. ng! Han-Yeol skillfully blocked the ws with his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword, still engulfed in the fiery aura of Sword Breath. Then, with a determined step forward, he positioned himself right in front of the Snowman''s face. "Gwuoooh!" The Snowman became flustered as the human it expected to retreat suddenly advanced toward it. Frantically, it swung its ws at Han-Yeol, unaware of the fact that the human was far stronger than itself and held the advantage in this encounter. Fwaaaah! Sukeok! The mes surrounding the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword burned brighter as Han-Yeol swung it. Of course, he did not swing it normally. ¡®Vicious Strike!¡¯? A powerful surge of mana swept across the Snowman. ¡°Gwuoh?¡± Thud¡­! The immensely heavy arm of the Snowman was lost, causing the monster to lose bnce and tilt sideways before eventually falling. Han-Yeol seized the opportunity without hesitation. Using his skill once again, he cleanly severed the Snowman''s other remaining arm. Chapter 197: The Phenomenal Hunter (3)

Chapter 197: The Phenomenal Hunter (3)

Sukeok! Thud! ¡°Gwuoooh!¡± The Snowman roared in agony and writhed on the ground, repeatedly attempting to get up but failing due to its severed limbs throwing off the bnce of its massive body. Han-Yeol had apelling reason to incapacitate the monster instead of killing it¡ªto preserve its life. The Snowman was one of the rare creatures that possessed a valuable material within its body, known as the Frozen Mana Shard. Weapons and armor forged from this material acquired unique attributes. For instance, armor crafted with Frozen Mana Shard would gain resistance against ice-based attacks, while weapons would be imbued with the power of ice, inflicting icy damage upon enemies. Consequently, equipment made from this material was highly sought after by Hunters who relied on physical prowess. However, there was a significant hurdle in obtaining the Frozen Mana Shard: it could only be extracted while the Snowman was alive. ¡®Tsk¡­ It''s such an annoying material to get,¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled. Han-Yeol was dumbfounded when he first discovered the process of obtaining the Frozen Mana shards on the inte. It was not as simple as stumbling upon a hidden material; rather, it had to be extracted specifically from a Snowman''s body while it was still alive. He couldn''t help but ponder whether this method was devised by some omnipotent being with a truly sadistic taste. After restraining the movements of the Snowman, Han-Yeol shifted his attention to Mavros, who was still engaged in battle. "Kiiieeek!" Mavros had no trouble fighting against both Snowmen simultaneously, and it became even easier after Han-Yeol dealt with one of them. Feeling relieved that everything was under control on Mavros'' side, Han-Yeol sighed and redirected his focus to the limbless and incapacitated Snowman on the ground. He mounted the Snowman, and the monster thrashed violently in an attempt to shake the human off. . "Hey, will you hold still? Restrain!" Han-Yeol grumbled in annoyance as he activated his crowd control skill. Shwiiiik...! Han-Yeol''s chain slithered and coiled around the monster''s body like a snake, constricting it like a predator preparing to feast on its prey. ¡°Gwuooooh!!¡±?the Snowman roared in anger. The monster''s instincts screamed at it to resist being bound, and it exerted every ounce of its strength in a desperate attempt to break free from the chains. Han-Yeol noticed that the creature''s arms were slowly regenerating. ¡®I don¡¯t have much time,¡¯?Han-Yeol realized. Shooowsh¡­! Han-Yeol climbed atop the struggling Snowman and began hacking away with his sword at what he believed to be the creature''s heart, based on what he had seen on the inte. Chaak¡­! Chaak¡­! Chaak¡­! ¡°GWUOOOH!¡± the Snowman roared out in agony. Han-Yeol felt like he was digging through a pile of snow, but the same couldn''t be said for the Snowman. It thrashed violently in agony, torn apart and unable to escape with both of its arms missing and tightly bound by the chains. Harvesting organs from living beings was typically considered hical or even abhorrent. However, when the subject in question was not a human or an animal, but rather a dangerous monster that posed a threat to humanity, the situation changed. In such cases, nobody would bat an eye or criticize Han-Yeol for his current actions. ¡®There will always be people who get upset. After all, there are those who follow the misguided cult known as Monsterism, believing that the Earth will be reborn under the leadership of monsters once humanity perishes. I''m certain that if those individuals witnessed what I''m doing right now, they would be outraged,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Monsterism emerged as one of the new religions following the appearance of dimensional gates. Originating from Japan, it swiftly gained millions of followers worldwide. Althoughbeled as the most dubious and potentially dangerous cult among those that worshiped monsters, it didn''t pose a significant threat, prompting governments to take no action. After all, religious freedom was still considered a human right, and their beliefs, no matter how absurd, were categorized as a religion. Moreover, the only "dangerous activity" the cult engaged in was posting inmmatoryments online regarding Hunters. Chwak! Badump! Badump! Han-Yeol continued digging through the finalyer of snow, revealing the monster''s heart, which beat wildly. It appeared as a stunning jewel, intricately crafted with shades of white, blue, and sky blue. ¡®Woah¡­ Not only is this valuable as a crafting material, but it could also fetch a good price when turned into a gemstone,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he admired the beauty of the Snowman¡¯s heart. It would be an understatement to say that the current global gemstones market was dominated by mana gemstones. Mana stones had versatile applications: they could serve as an energy source, be used in construction, or be transformed into exquisite gemstones, depending on the processing method. On the other hand, mana gemstones were renowned for their simple colors and patterns. Despite their unassuming appearance, they offered incredible benefits to the wearer, greatly enhancing their health and vitality by simply adorning them. This was precisely why these gemstones were highly coveted by wealthy individuals, despite their hefty price tags. Whenever news broke of a new luxury mana gemstone essory being avable, numerous affluent individuals would flock to auction houses in a rush. Crafting mana gemstones was an exclusive skill possessed only by a select group of production-type Hunters. Whenever theypleted a new masterpiece, they would garner immense attention and admiration from around the world. Tak¡­ Chwak! ¡°Geuuk¡­?Ughhh¡­¡±?The Snowman gasped itsst breath and died as Han-Yeol pulled out its jewel-like heart. The Egyptian Manager, who was looking at Han-Yeol from afar, tilted his head in confusion. He muttered in confusion, [What is he doing?] [Manager-nim is something wrong?] the Porter asked. [No, I¡¯m just confused about why Han-Yeol-nim is doing our job right now,] the Manager answered. [What do you mean?] the Porters asked once again. [We could have easily extracted the Snowman heart, or rather, the Frozen Mana Crystal, when we dismembered the corpseter... I have no idea why he is in such a hurry to do the work himself?] The Manager was confused, unable toprehend Han-Yeol''s actions. Among foreigners, the Frozen Mana Crystal wasmonly referred to as the Snowman Heart. That''s why the Manager used the term Snowman Heart. Koreans, on the other hand, called it Frozen Mana Crystal because of its crystal-like beauty. [Well, maybe he was just curious and wanted to see the heart for himself? It looks incredibly beautiful in the picture,] the Porter suggested. [No, even if you try to exin it that way, what I don''t understand is why he had to extract the heart while the Snowman was still alive?] the Manager grumbled, sounding repulsed. [What?!] the Porter eximed, surprised by the Manager''s words, and looked at him in utter shock. [Why would he do such a thing?] [How would I know?] The Manager was slightly annoyed by the ridiculous question. [Well, I heard rumors about Han-Yeol-nim''s strange personality, but I never imagined it would be this strange. To think that he would extract the heart without even killing the monster¡­ I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s going to be a good influence on Mujahid-nim...] the Manager said. The Manager wasn''t speaking ill of Han-Yeol. It was simply that extracting a living creature''s heart was a highly controversial act. Some people might overlook it because the creature was a monster, but most would agree that Han-Yeol had gone too far. [H-Hold on... I heard there was a satire article circting on the Korean forums about the Snowman Heart... Don''t tell me he fell for it...] the Porter muttered. That satire article had spread like wildfire across the inte, bing known as the most outrageous joke of the week. As it turned out, the person who posted the satire article had admitted, just a few hourster, that it was all a joke. The individual revealed themselves as a mere E Rank Hunter, sharing the article as a way to vent their frustrations due to recent hunting difficulties. The incident was ultimately dismissed as a humorous prank, and people soon forgot about it. The Manager refused to believe that Han-Yeol would fall victim to such childish jokes. [Haha... No way, you know very well that the truth was revealed, and that article received a lot of criticism even in Korea, where satire is a part of their culture. I mean, does it make any sense that an item needs to be extracted while the monster is alive? Not to mention, the monster in question isn''t a low-tier one but a high-tier creature, and only Master Rank Hunters like Han-Yeol-nim would be capable of obtaining such an item. Besides, there are already a few Snowman Hearts circting in the market, right? So that article was undoubtedly just nonsense.] [Well, that is true, but it is too much of a coincidence,] the Portermented. [I understand that it can lead to some misunderstandings, but it''s ridiculous to specte about. Anyway, it looks like the battle is about to end. Go inform all the Porters to stop resting and prepare to get to work,] the Manager ordered. [Yes, sir!] the Porter replied. Having received the instructions from the Manager, the Porter turned around and headed toward the resting area where the other Porters were. He ryed the instructions for them to get up and prepare their equipment. The well-trained Porters promptly rose to their feet and swiftly began gathering their gear. [Hurry up!] Meanwhile, Han-Yeol concluded his hunt, and Mavros unleashed his magic for the final time. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Swhoooosh¡­ Kaboom! ¡°Gwuooooh!¡± One of the ck dragon¡¯s main skills, Poison Breath,pletely engulfed the Snowman. ¡°Gwuoooh¡­¡±? The Snowman fell backward with a thud after getting holes drilled all over its body. Thud¡­! ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Mavros raised his head and cried out in victory. It was the cry of the monster fabled to be the most powerful, the dragon. ¡®I hope to never meet a real dragon if a mini dragon is already this strong,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Fortunately for him, there had been no instances of dragons emerging from the dimensional gates or appearing in anymonly known hunting grounds. If a mythical dragon were sighted, it would instantly attract global attention, as the very presence of this legendary creature would be synonymous with a worldwide death sentence. The destruction caused by this creature, existing only in legends, would undoubtedly lead to a global catastrophe. It would be an immense challenge to subdue it, no matter how many Master Rank Hunters joined forces. Initially, the Korean government celebrated when the dimensional rifts unleashed the boss monsters. The country''s credit rating skyrocketed, attracting a rush of foreign investments. However, where there is light, there are bound to be shadows. The nation had to invest significant manpower, money, and deploy all of its Master Rank Hunters tobat the boss monsters. While the Master Rank Hunters werepensated with spoils and the remains of the defeated monsters, easing financial burdens, the fact that over thirty percent of the raid participants lost their lives inflicted considerable damage on the country''s forces. Theplete annihtion of the Swastika Guild, for instance, dealt a severe blow to South Korea, especially as the country was already experiencing a decline in the number of active Hunters. Spections arose about whether the country could recover from such devastating losses. This serious issue had the potential to impact the economy and overall power of the nation if the government and Hunters'' Association failed to find a solution. Thud! Meanwhile, Mujahid and Furion¡¯s bodies were set aze by a ferocious fire. Fwaaaah! It was one of Mujahid¡¯s signature skills, the Dokkaebi Ember. Seuk¡­ Mujahid wiped the blood dripping from his mouth with the back of his hand, skillfully evading the spear swung by the Ice Troll. In response, the Ice Troll swung its club, seemingly anticipating Mujahid''s evasion. Although Mujahid clearly saw the iing club, he intentionally allowed himself to be struck by it. While avoiding the monster''s spear was crucial to prevent a critical wound, getting hit by the club served his purpose of increasing his ember count. "Kyaaaooooh!" The Ice Troll let out a cry of victory, believing it had won. The other Ice Trolls followed suit, assuming the puny human would soon be their meal. Little did they realize the smile on the human''s face. [Heh, you''re quite strong, I''ll give you that. Igniting three embers was quite a challenge for the monster rabbits, but you managed to do it in such a short time.] "Kyaoh?" The Ice Troll tilted its head in confusion. Of course, it couldn''tprehend Mujahid''s words. Itcked the intelligence to understand humannguage, let alone thenguage from a country thousands of miles away from its ce of origin. [I express my gratitude for igniting my embers, and before you meet your demise, there''s something I want to share with you.] Mujahid''s chilling smirk apanied his words. Chapter 198: The Phenomenal Hunter (4)

Chapter 198: The Phenomenal Hunter (4)

Mujahid bent down and clenched his fists, channeling his mana. Then, he retracted his Psy des before infusing his clenched fists with mana. A smile formed on his face as he looked up at the monsters. [Bye-bye~] He bid goodbye to the monsters before mming his fist into the ground. Whoosh¡­ Baaam! It was one of the powerful skills that Mujahid could use once he had obtained three embers: Compressed Punch. The ground cracked as mana slithered across the terrain, finding its way to the two Ice Trolls. Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± ¡°Kyaaaaaaok!¡± The Ice Trolls were already damaged from their brawl with Mujahid, rendering them unable to withstand the sudden impact of Compressed Punch. As a result, they started bleeding profusely. Their cries filled the air as they slowly sumbed to their agony and met their demise. [Phew!] ¡°Kyaong!¡± Mujahid focused on calming his breathing after expending a tremendous amount of mana with the use of Compressed Punch. This powerful skill heavily drained both his mana and stamina. If only he had four embers on his back, using it would have been much easier. However, progressing from three to four embers proved to be an incredibly arduous task for him. Tak! Han-Yeol ced his hand on Mujahid¡¯s shoulder. [Good job.] [Haha! I still have a long way to gopared to you, hyung-nim!] [You still did good. Haha!] [Hahaha!] Both of them smiled at each other. A bromance was gradually blossoming between the strongest Hunter in Korea and a Prince of Egypt, and the female viewers of Han-Yeol''s channel were already rushing to fan fiction novel sites to write various BL stories about them. However, it was unfortunate that ordinary people had no way of joining them in this hunting ground, which even experienced Porters found challenging to navigate. As a result, the Mn film crew was currently at their office, carrying on with their day. [Alright, start working!] [Yes, sir!] Whiiiiiing! The Egyptian Porters busily moved about and started their work. ¡®Hmm¡­ It¡¯s quite good to bring trained Porters, and we don¡¯t have to worry about their safety because they¡¯re military-trained. On top of that, they¡¯re quite quick on their feet and efficient with their work¡­ I should probably create a department that trains Porters once I start my group ofpanies¡­ or I can just hire veteran Porters to work for me,¡¯?Han-Yeol made up his mind. He couldn''t help but feel a twinge of jealousy as he witnessed the remarkable speed and efficiency of Mujahid''s Porters. Finding Porters that met his specific requirements had proven to be quite challenging, leading him to the decision of training them himself. While a normal Hunter would settle for any randomly-trained Porter, Han-Yeol''s hunting speed was known to be on the extreme side, as he frequently ventured into demanding hunting grounds. Moreover, having Porters who were capable of looking after themselves would be advantageous for him, considering he had the responsibility of protecting numerous individuals during his hunts, particrly the Mn film crew. ¡®I¡¯d probably have to pay them a lot, but that¡¯s not really burdensome for me.¡¯?He was a bit put off by the cost, but he easily shrugged it off. Han-Yeol now stood shoulder to shoulder with the world''s elite, having increased his wealth to eighty trillion won. Not only that, but his future prospects promised even greater financial gains. As a result, he technically had the means to hire F Rank Hunters as his Porters, rather than ordinary individuals. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I do that?¡¯?he suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. He gave serious consideration to the idea, but he soon realized that implementing it would be redundant. ¡®It¡¯s going to be good in the short term, but there¡¯s no growth in the long term. Besides, that¡¯s not my style at all,¡¯?he thought with a smirk. Han-Yeol spent the remaining time ying with Mavros while awaiting thepletion of the Egyptian Porters'' dismemberment of the corpses. Meanwhile, Mujahid experimented with different attack patterns alongside Furion. The Egyptian Porters disyed impressive dedication and worked together like a well-oiled machine. However, a notable issue with the team was that nine of its members seemed idle, with only the Hunters providing a modest three percent buff actively involved in the work. These Hunters often participated in Mujahid''s hunts and intervened when he appeared to require assistance. Yet, it seemed unlikely that Mujahid would require help anytime soon as long as he hunted alongside Han-Yeol. Moreover, Mujahid didn''t particrly appreciate it when the Hunters stepped in to aid him, although there were times when he reluctantly epted their assistance in dangerous situations. ¡®Where am I¡­?¡¯ ¡®Who am I¡­?¡¯ ¡®Am I really a Hunter?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m doing less work than Porters¡­¡¯ ¡®My life is futile¡­¡¯ The Hunters began to feel demotivated due to theirck of involvement. While ordinary Hunters might have been content with being paid despite minimal work, the Egyptian Hunters were highly skilled professionals. Although they weren''tbat-ss Hunters, they took pride in being among the best in Egypt when it came to supporting skills. Furthermore, their warrior nature ran deep within them. The sight of standing idly by and observing a battle unfolding before their eyes ignited their warrior blood, causing frustration to boil within them. The inability to participate in the fight slowly gnawed at them, eating away at their spirits. ¡®I want to fight too¡­¡¯? At that precise moment, as Han-Yeol was engrossed in ying with Mavros, he coincidentally nced toward one of the Egyptian Hunters who let out a sigh, his head hanging low. Han-Yeol''s curiosity was piqued, and he immediately sensed that something was amiss with the Hunter. Deciding to tap into his Telepathy ability, he aimed to delve into the Hunter''s thoughts and gain insight into his concerns. Wooong! ¡°Haa¡­¡± ¡®It¡¯s quite effective,¡¯?he thought. Despite the fact that Han-Yeol''s Telepathy II might not be as potent as Mariam''s ability, he discovered that he was unable to prate Mujahid''s thoughts. His skill was promptly repelled by Mujahid''s mana, preventing Han-Yeol from delving further into his mind. However, in an ironic twist, Han-Yeol''s Telepathy II effortlessly read the mind of the Egyptian Hunter. It was during this moment of testing his skills that Han-Yeol stumbled upon the thoughts that had cast a gloomy shadow over the Egyptian Hunters. ¡®Wow¡­ These guys are quite diligent¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was amused by their work ethics. Han-Yeol observed with surprise that the Egyptian Hunters wereining about theirck of work, which was a rare sight for him. In his life, he had encountered many individuals who would be ecstatic to receive payment without having to exert much effort. Though there were exceptions, such as people deliberately being denied work at the office to force them to resign, they were umon cases. ¡®I wonder if they will have anything to do when we kick things up a notch?¡¯ Currently, they were only at the outskirts of the Cheolwon hunting ground, and as they ventured closer to the center, there would undoubtedly be an increase in the number of monsters. In other words, the hunt would be more challenging as they delved deeper into the hunting ground. ¡®Just wait a while. I¡¯ll make it so that you¡¯ll want toe back to such a rxing time,¡¯?Han-Yeol shed an evil smirk with that thought. Meanwhile, Mavros tilted his head in confusion and wondered why his owner was acting strange once again. ¡°Kyu?¡± *** The hunting speed could only be described as extremely fast. ¡°Gwuooooh!¡± . An endless wave of Yetis, Snowmen, and Ice Trolls charged at them. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Mavros wasn''t luring just one group of monsters at a time; instead, he was scouring the vicinity and drawing in every single monster he could find, bringing them toward the team. This action was not an independent decision of the ck dragon, as he would never engage in such behavior without Han-Yeol''smand. Thus, Han-Yeol was undoubtedly the mastermind behind this monster stampede. Having hunted the monsters in this hunting ground multiple times, Han-Yeol hade to the conclusion that they were no longer a formidable challenge for him. Seeking to make things more exciting, he decided to "kick things up a notch" by orchestrating this monster frenzy. Kabooom!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± [Bwahahaha! This is fun! This is the best stage for such an intense battle!] This time, Han-Yeol even summoned Balrog to further enhance the effectiveness of hunting monsters inrge numbers. Balrog proved to be a cost-effective ally as he desired nothing more than to have fun and showed no interest in coveting mana stones. Moreover, the demon possessed an innate fire attribute, which happened to be the critical weakness of the monsters in the Cheolwon hunting ground. This allowed Balrog to inflict significant damage upon them, making him a valuable asset in the hunt. Ratatatata! [Fire! Empty your cartridges!] [Hahaha! How long has it been since we were allowed to let loose like this?!] The presence of Balrog brought immense delight to the Egyptian Porters, who could now shoot at the monsters to their hearts'' content while the demon expertly tanked all of the aggro. Although the bullets they fired didn''t inflict significant damage, there was no risk of the monsters suddenly redirecting their attention. Nheless, the Porters took extra precautions and only targeted the monsters that Balrog was actively engaging, ensuring their safety by avoiding drawing any aggro toward themselves. In essence, this method of hunting was considered the best and safest way for a Porter to awaken their abilities. As the Egyptian Hunters observed this remarkable scene, their mouths were left agape in awe and astonishment. ¡®H-How is this possible¡­?¡¯ ¡®Impossible¡­¡¯ ¡®The monsters aren¡¯t reacting even though the Porters are shooting at them?¡¯ It wasmon knowledge that Porters were advised not to use their guns while monsters were actively engaged in battle. This was due to the risk of drawing the monster''s aggro toward them or the possibility of the bullets identally hitting the Hunter instead. Such distractions could prove fatal in critical moments. However, the situation was different when it came to Balrog. [Kwahahaha! Bring it on! Shoot at me all you want and scratch my itch!] [Balrog] Level: 45 Rank: Intermediate Experience Points: 44,231/1,845,000 Innate Skill: Absorb mes Stats: STR: 120 VIT: 177 AGI: 95 MAG: 195 TEN: 330 Skills: Fire Shield, Hell Spear, Breath of Fire, Fire Explosion. Invoke Required: 100 The skill that allowed the Porters to shoot to their hearts¡¯ content was ¡®Fire Explosion¡¯ which he had acquired at Level 30. Kaboom! Kaboom! Although the skill might sound like an active skill, it was, in fact, a passive skill that frequently triggered during battles, causing mes to erupt around Balrog. This fiery disy effectively diverted all of the aggro toward the demon, making it an incredibly valuable skill for Tankers. [Bwahahahaha!] Balrog let out another burst of boisterousughter. Bam! [Hap!] Thud! Chwaaak! Whoosh! Mujahid was forcefully flung by an Ice Troll, and propelled toward the astonished Egyptian Hunters, who couldn''t help but gape at the sudden esction of the hunt. Swiftly recovering, Mujahid rose to his feet and fixed a piercing gaze upon the Hunters. [What are you guys doing?!] [P-Pardon¡­?!] [Hyung-nim lured these monsters and even summoned Balrog for you! What are you doing, just standing around and doing nothing?!] [Y-Yes, sir!] [Move!] Tak! After issuing amand to the Hunters to assist Furion, who was engaged in a solo battle against two Ice Trolls, Mujahid swiftly leaped back into the fray. [Hap!] Chwak! ¡°Gwuooook!¡± Mujahid stabbed his Psy de into an Ice Troll¡¯s shoulder while Furion was distracting the monster. [How dare you try and hit my cute pet?!] Despite the intensity of the battle, Mujahid appeared remarkably content and even found amusement in the chaotic events unfolding around him. ¡®It¡¯s really fun to hunt with hyung-nim!¡¯?he eximed inwardly in pure joy. Mariam''s statement about their abilities being boosted by ten percent while hunting with Han-Yeol turned out to be no exaggeration. Additionally, Mujahid had his own group of Buffers, effectively increasing the total buff percentage to thirteen percent. While it might not seem like a substantial figure at first nce, it was certainly not a factor to be dismissed lightly. The mere fact that a formidable Hunter like Mujahid was receiving a ten percent buff was a significant advantage in its own right. ¡®It¡¯s fun! This is too fun!¡¯?he smiled brightly while¡­ Sukeok! Sukeok! Whoosh! ¡°Kwuooooooh!¡± He was simultaneously fighting against three Ice Trolls this time¡­ Well, it was more urate to say that he was getting a one-sided beating¡­ Chapter 199: The Phenomenal Hunter (5)

Chapter 199: The Phenomenal Hunter (5)

It had been a while since Mujahidst summoned the fourth ember. ''The fourth ember ces quite the burden on my body, but what does it matter as long as I''m having fun?!'' Tak! He explosively increased his mana and relentlessly attacked the Ice Trolls. "Grr¡­!" The Ice Trolls started to slowly retreat from the human, who was growing stronger and stronger. Kwaaaaang! Mujahid and Furion kept the Ice Trolls at bay while Balrog and the Egyptian Hunters took care of the other monsters. Then, everyone''s eyes immediately darted toward Han-Yeol and Mavros, who were both disying overwhelming power. "Kieeeeeek!" "Gwuoooooh!" The monsters slowly lost their sanity in the face of the powerful mana. The hunt sequence was extremely simple. Macros would lure the monsters to the team, and Han-Yeol would unleash his potent mana to annihte them. Any stragglers left were dealt with by Mujahid''s team. It was a truly effective and efficient sequence. Ding! [Your level has risen.] Ding! [Your level has risen.] ''Luring mobs in and finishing them off in one go is the best way to hunt,''?Han-Yeol thought as he was extremely satisfied with the result. He gained two levels after killing almost one hundred monsters. The monsters in the Cheolwon hunting ground seemed to give a lot of experience points for their level. Thanks to this, the hunt was kicked up a notch after Han-Yeol got motivated, and they were able to fill three of the four transport vehicles they brought right before the sun started to set on the first day. It was around that time that the Porters were diligently going about their work after the hunt ended. The Manager seemed to be deep in thought before he shook his head and stood up. Then, he went to Mujahid and gave a report of their situation. [Mujahid-nim, we have filled three of the tractor trucks and a fifth of the fourth one. We might fill the fourth one before the sun fully sets at our current pace.] [Already?] [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim''s hunting method of luringrge mobs and killing them in one go is simply too effective that our trucks are filling up much faster than usual.] [That''s a surprise¡­] They initially nned to send the trucks back once every two days, but it turned out that things were not going to progress as they had nned. Mujahid pondered the issue for a while before he nodded and said, [It''s already quitete, and we''re almost done wrapping this ce up, so let''s go out after filling up thest truck and send the monster corpses to the factory.] [Yes, Mujahid-nim!] The Manager bowed toward Mujahid and quickly rushed to the Porters as the sun was going to start setting soon. [Are you alright, hyung-nim?] [Yeah, I''m fine. I was able to finally let off some steam, and I''m looking forward to our hunt tomorrow.] Mujahid smiled brightly and gave a thumbs-up. [Hahaha! As expected of hyung-nim!] [Haha!] Han-Yeol could not help but find Mujahid to be quite cute whenever he did that. [Hurry up!] [Yes, Manager-nim!] The Porters were able to finish their work before sunset, thanks to the Manager rushing them. Han-Yeol and Mujahid filled up the trucks to the brim and left the Cheolwon hunting ground. The soldiers at the checkpoint checked to make sure that none of the monsters were alive before giving them the clearance to pass. Meanwhile, the Manager contacted the factory. Ring! Ring! Ring! [Hello? Yes, Manager-nim?] [Hey, the hunt is progressing faster than we expected, right? Do you remember that collection agency we scheduled for tomorrow?] [Yes, I remember. What about them, sir?] [Ask them toe at once.] [P-Pardon me, sir¡­? Do you want them toe now?] [Yes, tell them toe now.] Mujahid''s manager held the same position as a department head in one of hispanies, and the staff was a bit scared after sensing the hint of frustration in the Manager''s voice. [Yes, sir! I will tell them toe at this instant!] [Good.] The Manager was quite polite toward Han-Yeol and Mujahid, but he was infamous among his colleagues for being hot-tempered. Mujahid was not a part of the Horus raid party, so he did not exclusively deal with the Sung Jin Factory. In fact, he had his own factory that he dealt with, which was a well-known multinational corporation. It went without saying that Mujahid established a Korean branch of hispany as soon as hended in Korea to process whatever monster he hunted. Of course, half of the monster corpses could have been sent to the Sung Jin Factory as Han-Yeol was also a participant in this raid. However, Han-Yeol did not have any objections regarding which factory they were going to deal with since he hade to help Mujahid hunt, and Mujahid was the leader of his hunt. The people should havee to collect the monster corpses tomorrow, but they were forced toe a day earlier as the trucks were already full. Things might be happening against their original schedule, but nobody had any qualms about it. Around two hourster... Vroom! Vroom! Ten specially modified trucks arrived at the Cheolwon hunting ground. [They are about to arrive, Mujahid-nim.] [Yeah, I can see that.] This time, the ten trucks were not the usual open-type ones but rather the closed-type cargo trucks. While it was far more efficient to use open-type trucks in the hunting ground to pile up the corpses as much as possible, for security reasons, closedpartment trucks were used outside. The sides of the trucks were decorated with the word ''GOBLIN,'' which came from the name of Mujahid''s group, ''Goblin Group of Companies.'' Initially called ''Mujahid Group,'' his trusted assistant, Shin Yoo-Kyung, changed it to ''Goblin Group,'' stating that ''Mujahid Group'' sounded too tacky. The reason for naming the group ''Goblin Group'' was due to the ''Goblin Embers'', and Mujahid instantly liked the new name. [We greet the prince.] The executives of the Goblin Factory personally came all the way to the hunting ground to greet Mujahid. They were the branch manager and vice branch manager of the Seoul Branch of the Goblin Factory. There was no need for them toe personally to the hunting ground, but they rushed there after hearing about the change in Mujahid''s schedule to ensure everything was alright. [Huh? Why are you guys here?] Mujahid asked, tilting his head in confusion. He found it strange that they came all the way here when there was no need for them to do so. ''I wonder if something happened¡­''?he wondered but he could not think of anything. After all, he might be the owner of the group, but the actual person that ran it was Shin Yoo-Kyung. This meant that the executives were supposed to go to Shin Yoo-Kyung if anything happened instead ofing to him. [Ah¡­ T-That is¡­] The executives had no idea what to say since they had rushed here thinking something had happened to Mujahid. Nudge¡­ Nudge¡­ The branch manager nudged the vice branch on his waist as if saying, ''Hurry up and say something,'' but the vice branch manager couldn''t speak as he had been dragged here by the branch manager. Nheless, he had climbed all the way to his current position through his glib tongue alone, so he decided to put his talent to use. [T-That is¡­ We were worried that something happened to your highness, since you asked us toe a day earlier than nned.] [OH, really?] Mujahid tilted his head once again. The branch manager didn''t miss this opportunity and immediately added, [Yes, this is the first time your highness has asked us toe earlier than nned, so we were worried that something might have happened.] In the end, both of them decided toe clean as there was no point in lying to Mujahid. [Haha! It''s understandable that you were worried. Hmm¡­ Why don''t you guys stay and direct the workers?] [Yes, your highness!] Both of them were quite embarrassed and immediately rushed to the trucks to instruct the workers. The work progressed much faster than usual, thanks to thebined leadership of both the branch manager and vice branch manager. Thud! Meanwhile, the Manager passed a bag made out of bulletproof material to the foreman after they were done moving the corpses. [Here you go.] [Phew¡­?I still get nervous whenever I get this bag.] The bag was much more valuable than all of the monster corpsesbined as it contained all of the mana stones hunted. What scared the foreman the most was the fact that the bag was much easier to stealpared to the monster corpses. This single bag in his hand was worth more than tens of billions of won, even though it was just a day''s worth of hunting for Han-Yeol. It would be extremely tempting for anyone to try their luck and rob this bag if they knew just how valuable it was. [Alright, I''ll leave the rest to you.] [Thank you, Manager-nim. And please take care of yourself.] [Haha! No need to worry about me.] Most might think that the branch manager was higher up the corporatedder than the Manager, but the Manager was actually higher in rankpared to him. On top of that, the Manager was more senior than the branch manager, and that was the reason the branch manager was speaking to him so politely. The branch manager and vice branch manager greeted Mujahid and left the Cheolwon hunting ground. The sun had set, and it was now dark by the time they finished sending out the trucks. The hunting grounds at night were definitely dangerous, even for Hunters, and it was all the more perilous for Porters and ordinary people. In fact, it was so hazardous that the association went as far as banning people from entering the hunting grounds at night unless there were any urgent issues. [Hey, Manager!] [Yes, Mujahid-nim!] The Manager rushed over and started rubbing his hands together after Mujahid called him. [It''s dark now, and the Porters are tired. Pitch the tents and prepare to rest. It''s quite a hassle to pitch tents at night, so why don''t you go over to those soldiers and bribe them to pitch it for you instead?] [Haha! Please do not concern yourself with that. I will immediately pitch the tents!] The Manager skillfullymanded the Porters and pitched the tents in no time, despite it being dark by now. The campfire smoke, cooking their dinner, slowly started to rise from the camp. "Ugh¡­?I''m so tired¡­" Seuk¡­ Tak¡­! Han-Yeol entered his tent and crashed on the bed, with not a hint of the charisma he had shown during the day to be found anywhere on him. "Kyu!" The same could be said for Mavros, as he decreased greatly in size and was apletely different creature from his majestic look earlier in the day. The ck dragon started excitedly running around the tent''s living room. Despite disying an overwhelmingly powerful presence in the hunt today, he was still a baby that had been born less than six months ago. It was only natural that he would be curious about any new environment he was in. Beep¡­! "Hmm?" After working really hard all day, Han-Yeol was finally about to rest when he received a message. [Are you free now, oppa?] The message was from Yoo-Bi. ¡®Huh? Why''s she messaging at this hour?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered and gave her a call. [HI, oppa. I didn''t know you were on the hunting ground. I just texted you out of a whim.] She definitely knew that Han-Yeol was at the Cheolwon hunting ground, and he was not able to receive her messages. She had sent the message as she thought that he would be able to check his message around this time. But she was a bit flustered when he suddenly called out of the blue before even replying. "Yeah, we came out for a while to send the monster corpses to the factory. What''s up?" [Ah, I developed something new for you this time, and I was wondering if you coulde straight to my workshop after your hunt.] "I definitely will. It''s a different matter altogether since you¡¯ve made something for me, so you bet that I''ll be there." [Hihi! Do you promise?] "Yeah, I promise. I''ll be there even if you tell me not toe." [Then, I''ll be waiting for you!] "Okay!" Beep! "Hmm¡­ I wonder what she has prepared for me¡­?" 1. Will-O-Wisps/soul embers are called Dokkaebi Embers in Korea. Dokkaebi trantes to Goblin in English, but it''s not an exact trantion. Still, there was no room forpromise here since the author specifically wrote GOBLIN in English. Chapter 200: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (1)

Chapter 200: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (1)

Han-Yeol was eagerly looking forward to Yoo-Bi''stest creation. Despite having to study on her own, her growth was quite slow, but she held the immense potential to be the world''s first and best awakened mechanic. This was the reason Han-Yeol could not help but feel excited whenever Yoo-Bi mentioned developing something, no matter how small it was. ''I should probably pay her a visit as soon as this hunt ends,''?he thought right before he fell asleep on the bed with Mavros. Han-Yeol did not need a lot of sleep as a Hunter, so he got up a few hourster and left the tent with Mavros. The two of them went for a walk through the thick fog enveloping the entire area in the early morning. Kwak¡­ Kwak¡­ "Phew¡­" It was still a bit early for it to snow at this time of the year, but the area around the Cheolwon hunting ground was already packed with snow. Not only that, but the temperature in the surrounding areas was always at least five degrees below Celsius year-round, making it difficult for anyone to actually live here. That was the reason why this area, once inhabited by people, was suddenly abandoned, and the only ones residing here were the soldiers stationed on rotation to guard the entrance to the hunting ground. Oink! Oink! On the other hand, theck of humans in the area allowed the poption of wild animals to thrive. However, the near-permafrost turned this ce into a destend. Today, a family of wild boars was forced to desperately forage for food as well, and they finally came in contact with another creature that could potentially be their meal. Wild boars usually recognized humans as their prey and relentlessly charged toward them, but these wild boars instinctively recognized that the human in front of them was no prey. They could sense that this particr human was far more powerful than any other creature in this ce, so they immediately took their young and ran away from the human. After all, these wild boars were ordinary animals that could not use mana at all, and their sharpened survival instincts screamed at them to avoid the human at all costs. "It''s good out here, right?" Han-Yeol asked. "Kyu!"?Mavros cried out in response. Han-Yeol liked serene and tranquil atmospheres like the one he was currently experiencing. In his younger days, he might have enjoyed going to rowdy ces with his friends, but as he grew up, he was forced to work in ear-splittingly noisy environments just to make ends meet. That experiencepletely changed his preferences, making him prefer quiet ces. The area around the Cheolwon hunting ground was densely packed with trees, contributing to the excellent air quality there. The start of mankind''s reliance on mana stones for fuel helped the world recover from the pollution it had been subjected to, and over the past thirty years, the environment that mankind had destroyed throughout its history was gradually healing. Still, the fresh air exhaled by the densely packed forests in this ce made the air iparably fresher than the air found in busy cities. As the sun rose, the fog slowly started to recede, revealing the beauty of the surroundings. "Time to go back, Mavros." Kwak! Kwak! "Kyu!"?Mavros responded. The ck dragon was ying in the snow, but he immediately ran to Han-Yeol after being called. The beautiful snow in the area was truly an eye-catching treat that made it extremely tempting to start a snowball fight, but they did not have the luxury to y around. It was at that moment, as the two were about to return to camp, that... Kwak! Kwak! ''Hmm?''?Han-Yeol''s sensitive ears picked up someone''s presence. ''Who could that be?'' He was not that far away from the main road leading to the Cheolwon hunting ground. It went without saying that the Cheolwon hunting ground did not belong to Han-Yeol, and it did not matter if someone else came to hunt in it. However, this hunting ground was not that famous, so it was extremely rare for anyone toe to it. Han-Yeol could tell that ten people were approaching the hunting ground, judging from the sound of the snow crunching under their boots and the mana they were emitting. But what piqued Han-Yeol''s interest was the fact that all ten of them were Hunters. Some might wonder what the big deal was, but those who were sharp could immediately tell why this was something that would catch Han-Yeol''s interest. ''They didn''t bring a Porter with them?'' Han-Yeol wondered. The Cheolwon hunting ground was covered in a thick nket of snow, making it inessible with normal vehicles. A hunting party would typically require a special vehicle like the caterpir tractor to navigate through such terrain, but these Hunters did not even bring one with them. This was quite strange because Hunters capable of hunting in the Cheolwon hunting ground would undoubtedly be able to afford such a vehicle in the first ce. ''Is it possible toe to a hunting ground without Porters¡­?''?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. This was reality, not some video game. While it might be possible for the Hunters to gain experience by hunting monsters, they couldn''t earn experience points and level up like in a game¡ªexcept for one person. That ability was probably reserved for Han-Yeol and Han-Yeol alone. In short, the only logical reason for the Hunters to risking to this dangerous hunting ground was to make money, and the main ''tool'' they required to achieve this was none other than the Porters. After all, it was extremely rare for the Hunters to both hunt and do the work of Porters. The proud Hunters were not going to bother themselves with doing work that could be done by slightly trained ordinary people. This meant that it was impossible for the Hunters to make money unless they brought Porters along for the hunt. Han-Yeol used Demon Eyes just to make sure, and he could not find any Porters or tractors together with the group of Hunters. ''Ah, could it be that rumored raid party?''?he suddenly remembered something he had heard while working as a Porter. Rumors said that there was an elite raid partyposed only of S Rank Hunters, and one of their leader''s skills was powerful yet strange. The leader of the raid party was rumored to be able to open a portal to another dimension and store things inside of it. Anything that was ced in this dimension would not rot or go bad, so the raid party used that ability to shove whatever monster they hunted into it and take them outter at a factory after they finished their hunt. The group of Hunters was probably that rumored raid party. ''I think they are called the Special S raid party if I recall correctly¡­''?Han-Yeol could still remember the raid party''s name, despite a long time having passed, as their name sounded quite unique. Although Han-Yeol was no longer interested in S Rank Hunters, he couldn''t help but feel quite curious about the raid party leader''s peculiar skill. Then, a thought suddenly came to his head. ''Hmm¡­ Will it be possible for me to get that skill¡­?''?he wondered. It would have been impossible for him to acquire the skill if he were a normal Hunter, and he probably would have found it amazing, gotten jealous, and cursed his own abilities. However, Han-Yeol was extremely far from an ordinary Hunter. If there was anyone who could covet someone else''s skill, it was probably him, as he had the ability to create new skills out of nothing. Of course, there was the hassle of not being able to outright steal someone else''s skill; instead, he had to create it by performing certain actions. ''But will it even be possible to create that skill? My skills are created through action, but how am I supposed to do anything rted to Dimensional spaces¡­?''?he wondered. It was only natural for him to question the possibility of creating such a skill, since his cheat-like skill had its limitations no matter how overpowered it was. ''Well, I guess there''s no harm in trying?''?he shrugged,ing to the conclusion that it was probably a good idea to join the Special S raid party for now. ''Shall we make the first move?''?he thought with a smirk. Then, he said, "Let''s go, Mavros." "Kyu!" Whoosh! Han-Yeol immediately made a move, thinking it best not to run into them in this secluded mountain trail. Instead, he nned to encounter them at the main road to make their ''chance encounter'' seem as natural as possible. So, he decided to meet themter at the entrance and pretend to be just another Hunter hunting in the Cheolwon hunting ground. He first returned to camp and was weed by Mujahid. "Did you go for a walk, hyung-nim?" Mujahid asked. "Yeah, these kinds of tranquil mountains put me in a good mood." "Haha! That''s great to hear! I agree with you, hyung-nim. I think that Korea''s nature has a simple yet exquisite charm to them. I have seen different kinds of nature far grander than Korea while traveling through Europe, China, and Southeast Asia, but this country has a certain vibe that only it could create." "Well, I guess you''re right? I''m not sure, I haven''t been overseas yet, so I can''t reallyment on that." "Haha! I see!" The two of them chatted for a while before Mujahid finally noticed the ten mana approaching them. He muttered, "Hmm? Hyung-nim?" "So, you finally noticed them too." "Yes, I sense ten powerful peopleing toward us." "Yeah, you''re right. They¡¯ve probably noticed us by now too." "I agree. They seem to be weaker than me, but it would be difficult for me to guarantee victory if at least two of them ganged up on me." It was not all too surprising that Mujahid would think that the Special S raid party members were weaker than him despite being the same S Rank Hunters. The Special S raid party might be made up of elite members, but it was known that they were not that powerful. After all, a truly powerful S Rank Hunter could establish his own raid or be a high-ranking executive of a guild instead of bunching up together with other S Rank Hunters. In short, the S Rank Hunters of the Special S raid party were not that powerful. However, this did not mean that they were weak orcking in any way, as they were only considered weak whenpared to other ''monster-like'' S Rank Hunters. "Oh, there are others that got here before us." "Hmm¡­ They don''t seem to be Koreans¡­" "Do foreigners hunt in here too?" "Hey, isn''t it surprising that a raid party made up of foreigners is active in our country?" "Yeah, you''re right." Each country had its own unique approach to how their Hunters operated. It was not umon for Hunters from developed countries to venture to vast and undeveloped territories for hunting. However, South Korea had a distinct practice of sending its Hunters abroad instead of hosting foreign ones, making it a rare urrence to encounter foreign Hunters within the country. Thus, the members of the Special S raid party couldn''t help but feel surprised when they stumbled upon a group of foreigners in the hunting ground. "Hold on a second¡­ Those people look like Arabs¡­" "Arabs¡­? The only Arabs in our country would be¡­!" "Don''t tell me they''re the Horus raid party?" ''Can you not generalize everyone from that part of the world as Arabs? They''re going to get offended, you know?''?Han-Yeol thought. There was nothing wrong with referring to Arabians as Arabs, but many Egyptians took pride in identifying themselves primarily as Egyptians rather than being grouped under the general term "Arabs." The rise of Egypt under the leadership of Phaophator filled the Egyptians with immense pride, as they were gradually bing a formidable powerhouse in the world. This new-found glory instilled a strong sense of national identity, leading them to prefer being recognized as Egyptians rather than simply as Arabs. Consequently, foreigners who mistakenly referred to the locals as Arabs would often receive scolding from the Egyptians. The Egyptians wanted to be acknowledged and known as Egyptians, which reflected their pride in being part of a powerful nation. However, despite their preference for being recognized as Egyptians, many people still referred to them as Arabs due to their shared Arabguage. Additionally, some far-right wing individuals in the country began advocating for the development of their ownnguage based on ancient Coptic texts. In fact, a few impatient people had already started working on creating their ownnguage. Some Egyptian schrs who saw the need for their ownnguage traveled to South Korea to study the only knownnguage in the world that was created by a single individual at a specific date¡ªthe Korean alphabet. Thisnguage system fascinated schrs and inspired them in their quest to disassociate themselves from other Arab countries both culturally and religiously. As the conversation about the Horus raid party continued, the Special S raid party members remembered that the Horus raid party had returned to Egypt two months ago. However, they realized that the prince, Tayarana''s brother, Mujahid, had stayed behind and considered the possibility that the group they encountered might be his raid party. They deduced the situation on their own, arrived at a conclusion independently, and nodded in satisfaction among themselves. "Hmm¡­ That Mujahid is also an S Rank, right?" "Yeah, I think they call him an Osiric Rank Hunter or something in their country." "Excellent. We''re going to ask him to join our hunt then." "Huh?" "What?" "W-What did you say?" "R-Really?" "Wow¡­" "That''s crazy¡­" Chapter 201: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (2)

Chapter 201: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (2)

The Hunters were taken aback by the sudden absurd proposal. ¡®They¡¯re a talkative bunch,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol''s initial impression was that they were quite the rowdy bunch. The name ¡®Special S¡¯ made them sound like a cool and prestigious raid party, but they looked more like a social gathering of people in their twenties and thirties, judging from the way they acted. The raid party consisted of seven males and three female Hunters. It was quite rare to find female Hunters these days, so it was quite surprising that thirty percent of the raid party wasposed of women. This was the subject of envy from most other Hunters wherever the Special S raid party went. The Special S raid party members were busy talking to each other while walking. ¡°Huh?!¡± the Hunter walking at the forefront eximed after he saw Han-Yeol. ¡°W-What?!¡± the Hunter eximed once again. The other members of the raid party were confused as the Hunter kept eximing iprehensible words while pointing into the distance. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± They asked before looking toward where the Hunter was pointing, half wondering if he had gone mad or what, and it was then that they saw it too. ¡°Heok!¡± ¡°Gasp!¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s L-Lee Han-Yeol, the Hunter?!¡± ¡°Whaaaat?!¡± The group reacted in quite an exaggerated manner, but it was quite normal for someone to be starstruck whenever they met someone famous from their generation. The Special S raid party members were still rtively young. Most of them were in their twenties, and only one of them looked like they were in their thirties. It could be said that they were youngsters who were perfectly aware of these days¡¯ trends better than anyone else. ¡°C-Can I have your autograph?!¡± ¡°P-Paper!¡± ¡°Kyaaah!¡± ¡°Who would¡¯ve known we would meet someone like him here!¡± ¡°This is amazing!¡± They were incredibly starstruck and started to act like fans who had just met their favorite idol group. ¡®How amusing.¡¯?Han-Yeol looked at the Special S raiding party, who were so starstruck with him, with amusement. Then, he politely introduced himself, ¡°Hello. My name is Lee Han-Yeol, Hunter. It is nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oooh!¡± ¡°Lee Han-Yeol, Hunter-nim, introduced himself to us first!¡± one of the Hunters excitedly shouted in glee. Han-Yeol approached the group with a warm smile and extended his hand toward them. The young man who first noticed his gesture smiled brightly and firmly shook Han-Yeol''s hand with both hands while bowing his head at a ny-degree angle. ¡°H-Hello! M-My name is Kwon Yoon-Ho, and I am the leader of the Special S raid party. It is an honor to meet you, Han-Yeol, Hunter-nim!¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho blurted out in an exaggerated manner. Han-Yeol was not bothered by the pair of pure twinkling eyes gazing at him. In fact, he found the Hunter¡¯s attitude quite amusing. ¡°It is nice meeting you too,¡± Han-Yeol replied in a warm tone. ¡°Hahaha¡­ Thank you very much,¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho said while seemingly embarrassed by what he had shown until now. Meanwhile, Kwon Yoon-Ho looked extremely flustered while thinking, ¡®Is this a dream? Am I dreaming? I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m meeting Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim in person! Aaack!¡¯ To put things in perspective, all the members of the Special S raiding party were top-tier S-rank Hunters, yet none of them were invited to join any of the private Hunter gatherings. As a result, they had missed the meeting hostedst time as well. They had probably downloaded the video of the event from the inte, and that was probably the first time for some of them to see Han-Yeol in action. Of course, it was obviously difficult for them not to be a fan of him after seeing what he showed at the event. They religiously watched every single video avable of Han-Yeol from that point onward, and they started to fall deeper and deeper into the Han-Yeol fandom train. But why were they not invited to the meeting when they were S Rank Hunters? The answer was actually quite simple. South Korea was not the ideal ce for a person to awaken as a Hunter, but Koreans were an extremely tenacious group of people. The country with the highest ratio of S Rank Hunters among the OECD countries was none other than South Korea. Japan, at one point in time, possessed one hundred twenty thousand Hunters, and fifteen of them were Master Rank Hunters, while six hundred of them were S Rank Hunters. This meant that 0.5% of Japan¡¯s Hunter poption were S Rank Hunters. On the other hand, South Korea had five hundred S Rank Hunters, which was a whole percent of their Hunter poption. South Korea possessed twice the percentage of S Rank Hunters whenpared to Japan, but this was an even bigger figure when taking into ount that South Korea¡¯s poption was only forty-one percent of Japan¡¯s total poption. Japan was considered above the average 0.4% among OECD countries, but South Korea was at least 2.5 times the average. This was the reason that the United States and the rising star in the Middle East, Egypt, decided to enter into an alliance with South Korea. South Korea possessed five hundred S Rank Hunters, and that was the reason that not a single one of the Special S raid party members was invited to the meeting as all of them were not within the top two hundred rankings. ¡°Hello!¡± ¡°Han-Yeol, Hunter-nim!¡± The rest of the raid party members took turns shaking Han-Yeol¡¯s hand and greeting him after Kwon Yoon-Ho first took the initiative. ¡°Haha¡­ It¡¯s nice to meet you all,¡± Han-Yeol greeted them back. There was no particr reason for him to be so nice and friendly to the raid party members, but he put on a smile and pretended to be genuinely happy to meet them as he was particrly interested in the group¡¯s leader, Kwon Yoon-Ho. Of course, the young Hunters from the Special S raid partycked real-life experience, so they were not able to easily see through the fake smile Han-Yeol was putting on. After all, Han-Yeol had mastered the art of putting on a smile no matter the circumstances throughout the years he had worked both as a Porter and a factory worker. *** The two groups exchanged greetings and got to know each other first before they decided to join forces and hunt together. It was quite a surprise for a Master Rank Hunter like Han-Yeol to join the Special S raid party that was mostlyposed of S Rank Hunters, and they should have probably suspected his motive at least once before agreeing to hunt together. However, their fandom and admiration for Han-Yeol clouded their judgment, so not a single one of them thought that it was strange for him to hunt with them. After all, the only thing that mattered to them right now was the experience of being able to hunt with the famous figure, Lee Han-Yeol. One of the raid party members walked up to Han-Yeol and excitedly exined, ¡°It is true that we are not as strong as other S Rank raid parties, but we have been working on our teamwork for a long time. We have been able to hunt with the same members ever since we formed the raid party without any major problems thanks to the leadership of our leader, Yoon-Ho.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. The raid party had quite a lively atmosphere. It was difficult to tell whether that was because they were an elite group, so they were quite rxed about hunting, or if every single one of them simply had friendly personalities, but none of them seemed to be troublemakers. Han-Yeol could sense that the raid party had strong camaraderie, and it felt more like a gathering of close friends rather than a raid party. ¡®It reminds me of the old days,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. He had initially approached them to acquire their secret to being able to hunt without any Porters, but speaking to them a few times made him feel nostalgic for his high school days. ¡®Those days were quite fun,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought nostalgically. He recalled how he was able to ovee all of the hardships his impoverished childhood had thrown at him through the support and help of his friends. Kwak¡­! Kwak¡­! Kwak¡­!? Han-Yeol was nked by the three female Hunters as they walked through the Cheolwon hunting ground. The women crossed their arms over their chests and nced at him with a smile from time to time. However, Han-Yeol could immediately tell that their eyes were pure while stealing nces at him. ¡®They have no intention to seduce me,¡¯?he thought. He could tell the moment he saw their eyes that they had no ill intentions. He had been subjected to countless temptations from the opposite sex ever since he awakened as a Hunter, and he had naturally developed the ability to tell whether someone was being genuine or was simply looking at him in hopes of seducing him. And his experience was telling him that the three Hunters were approaching him with no ulterior motives. ¡®Their names were Ji-Soon, Hae-Mi, and Ji-Yoon, right?¡¯ he recalled their names while thinking that all three of them seemed to have their own distinct personalities. ¡°How old are you, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°I¡¯m twenty-nine years old,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Wow, you look so young! I thought you were about twenty-five years old!¡± ¡°I thought that as well!¡± ¡°Haha! Thanks for thepliment. It feels good beingplimented by three beauties!¡± Han-Yeol replied with a chuckle. ¡°Omo~ Omo~¡± Then, one of the Hunters, who was a beautiful blonde, asked, ¡°Wow~ Han-Yeol Hunter-nim has quite the good eye~ Is it alright if I call you oppa instead? I am turning twenty-six years old, so I hope you won¡¯t find it too rude~¡± ¡°I am turning twenty-four this year!¡± It was the Hunter with curly blonde hair with pink tips that chimed in this time. ¡°I am twenty-two years old, and the most adorable and youngest of the group!¡± The petite one among them added. She had a small face, big eyes, and long brown hair that gave her a very cute look, befitting of being the youngest in the group. ¡°I will be honored ifdies like you will call me oppa,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. ¡°Eh~? You can drop the honorifics with us and just speak casually, oppa~ It¡¯s fate that we met this way, don¡¯t you think so~?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Should I?¡± Han-Yeol used to not befortable with speaking casually to other people, but he had slowly changed after awakening. Now, he had no qualms talking casually to others. ¡°Hehe~ See? It¡¯s so much better when we speak casually. It feels like we¡¯ve already be closer, right?¡± Ji-Yoon asked with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Han-Yeol nodded in agreement. The youngest of the three, Ji-Yoon, was the bubbliest one among them, but that did not mean that the other two were not as goodpared to her or anything. The friendly atmosphere became even better among them after they started talking casually with each other. ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Mujahid greeted the group. ¡°Wow! You can speak Korean?¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho asked in surprise. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Mujahid initially could not understand why Han-Yeol was so interested in such an ordinary raid party, but he figured that there must be a good reason why, so he decided to treat the Special S raid party members with respect. ¡®It¡¯s something to do with hyung-nim anyway, so I might as well act along,¡¯?he thought with a shrug. It was a no-brainer for him to go along with the flow right now, but this was only possible as hepletely trusted Han-Yeol¡¯s judgment. Han-Yeol and the Special S raid party moved together and hunted at a rapid pace. Kabooom! ¡°W-Woah!¡± ¡°S-So this is the power of a Master Rank Hunter¡­!¡± ¡°Look! Mavros is really strong too!¡± Twinkle¡­ Twinkle¡­ The Special S raid party had seen Han-Yeol¡¯s power on videos before, but seeing it in person was apletely different experiencepared to seeing it on a screen. His skills, which looked like simply shy attacks on the screen, were actually a powerful burst of mana that shook the ground, heated the air, and whipped up a powerful gust of wind that could be felt with their entire bodies. ¡°Damn¡­ Seeing a Master Rank Hunter is making me realize just howcking I was¡­¡± ¡°What can we do about it?¡± ¡°We have to work harder!¡± ¡°Alright, everybody! Let¡¯s go show them what we got!¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Most people would say that the Special S raid party was not as powerful or shy as Han-Yeol and Mujahid, but the ten Hunters moved in near-wless unison in battle, thanks to their outstanding teamwork and skillbinations. ¡®They seem quite capable,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while observing the group. The Special S raid party members seemed quite reliable despite being so young, and this was quite a rare sight these days. Ironically, Han-Yeol himself was still a young person, so for him to think that was a bit¡­ Whoosh¡­! ¡°Phew!?It¡¯s finally over.¡± The hunt was a breeze. Han-Yeol and Mujahid were used to hunting up to one hundred monsters simultaneously, so the hunt was more like child¡¯s y to them. In fact, the two of them nearly got bored while hunting as the monsters failed to excite them. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s heart started to beat faster and faster as the moment he had been eagerly waiting for was getting nearer. ¡®Now, show it to me. Show me how you can hunt without bringing any Porters with you!¡¯?Han-Yeol pretended to be resting while eagerly anticipating and observing the Special S raid party¡¯s every move. ¡°It¡¯s all yours, leader.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho replied with a nod. Then, he walked toward the monster corpses as the other Hunters stepped back. Looking at the two Snowmen lying motionlessly on the ground, he extended his right hand at them. ¡°Open Sesame!¡± Shwiiiik¡­ Kwaaaak! ¡®Hmm¡­ Interesting¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was intrigued by the skill, and he could not help but covet it. He enjoyed hunting as part of a group with others, but he preferred to hunt alone. This was the reason that to him, having a skill that could act as something like an inventory from video games was quite appealing. However, these types of skills were frowned upon by society. ¡®It would be bad for the Porters if Hunters with these kinds of skills appeared,¡¯?he thought. It was imperative for Porters to participate in monster hunts in order to awaken and be Hunters, but¡­ ¡®I want that skill!¡¯?he could not help but covet the skill regardless. After all, social issues should be dealt with as a society, and it was not Han-Yeol¡¯s job as an individual to try and fix them in one go. Han-Yeol could not help but covet Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s skill, even though it was a bit different from the dimensional storage concept that he initially thought of. Still, a skill that allowed him to hunt without needing Porters or trucks was simply too fascinating and tempting for him to pass on. Chapter 202: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (3)

Chapter 202: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (3)

Han-Yeol''s eyes were filled with greed for the first time in a long time. The skill before him was incredibly powerful, making it even more alluring. However, he knew that he was not the infamous ck Hunter, so there was no way for him to obtain it. The ck Hunter was a wanted criminal, and his identity remained a mystery. No one knew his true name, and he was so enigmatic that nobody could even recall his face; all that was known to the public was his skill. This cunning and intelligent psychopath was far more dangerous than people initially thought. Rumors said that when he awakened, he only had one skill¡ªthe ability to steal the skills of his victims. However, he was limited to being able to steal three skills at a time. In a strange twist of fate, the ck Hunter was actually a cunning and ruthless psychopath even before he awakened. He first targeted and deceived nonbat F Rank Hunters to steal their skills. Then, he wouldbine those skills to prey upon higher-ranking Hunters before repeating the process to steal even better skills. One day, the ck Hunter sessfully hunted an A Rank Hunter before vanishing without a trace, making it impossible to track him down. The Hunters Association put forth every effort and resource at their disposal to apprehend him, but they failed not only to arrest him but even to locate him. After that, nobody knew whether he was dead or alive as it was impossible to even get a glimpse of him. The Hunter who once instilled fear in the hearts of all Hunters was now forgotten by all but a few. Ironically, the ck Hunter was not as well-known among ordinary people as he only went after Hunters. He never harmed any ordinary civilians, as doing so could end up escting the issue from a squabble between Hunters into a Hunter harming innocent civilians. This made it easy for the Hunters¡¯ Association to prevent the issue regarding the ck Hunter from making its way to the news, as there were no civilian casualties involved. Anyway, Kang Yoon-Ho¡¯s skill was just a pie in the sky for Han-Yeol since he was not the ck Hunter. ¡®Hmm¡­ I still can¡¯t quite figure out how that skill works¡­ It looks like a skill that can control time and space,¡¯?Han-Yeol pondered. He was unable to figure out how the skill worked despite seeing it numerous times while hunting together with the Special S raid party. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Han-Yeol sighed in frustration. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, oppa?¡± ¡°Is there something bothering you?¡± ¡°Sighing can be detrimental to your mental health~ Hihi!¡± The moment Han-Yeol let out a sigh, the three girls were all over him in an instant. ¡°Do you want us to cheer you up with a dance if you¡¯re feeling down?¡± ¡°Dance?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Yeah, we used to be a three-member dance team before we awakened as Hunters.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Han-Yeol muttered before quickly scanning their figures. The girls were not simply slender; they were quite toned, and he personally preferred these kinds of toned figures more than simply slender ones. Of course, that did not mean that he harbored any hidden desires toward them or anything. The reason he could be indifferent toward them, in the first ce, was that he was used to being around beautiful women. For example, Yoo-Bi was quite the beauty, constantly maintaining her figure through exercise, but Han-Yeol only saw her as a little sister now. On the other hand, there were the beautiful Caucasian, Scarlett, and the cold yet beautiful Mariam. However, what really skewed Han-Yeol¡¯s sense of beauty was the goddess without a single w, worshiped by her fans from all over the world, Tayarana. It was truly understandable that the three girls would not catch his eyes after he was exposed to far greater beauties. "What motivated you to suddenly form a dance group?" Han-Yeol asked the girls. ¡°Actually, we started getting bored of our life as Hunters and were nning to debut in the entertainment industry. The three of us formed a group and practiced singing and dancing in preparation for our debut stage someday in the future,¡± Ji-Yoon excitedly exined their ns while giggling. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea,¡± Han-Yeol responded. However, he found it really strange that they were willing to abandon their lucrative careers as S Rank Hunters and be celebrities instead. Then again, not all Hunters were battle freaks like Mujahid and Han-Yeol himself, and the tedious, repetitive cycle of fighting monsters while putting their lives on the line was a source of great stress for them. This was the reason that some of the Hunters chose to change their careers to something else once they started getting bored of hunting monsters. Of course, the Hunters did not immediately get bored from the start, as there was some thrill to hunting monsters as well. But hunting the same monster in the same hunting ground for a year or two was bound to start boring most of them. Some might argue that they could simply move to other hunting grounds, but that was not as easily done as said, as the reason that Hunters stayed in the same hunting ground was for their own safety. In the end, some Hunters would end up developing vices such as gambling, alcohol, women, and, in some extreme cases, drugs. Of course, these vices were not detrimental to the Hunters, as their bodies would naturally cleanse themselves from all toxins after a good night¡¯s sleep, and a single sessful hunt was usually more than enough to settle whatever gambling debts they had. This was another reason why so many Hunters felt bored and mundane with their lives, as they had no outlet to vent their stress, but pursuing a different career was an excellent way for them to break free from the monotonous lifestyle. ¡°Do you think so?¡± "Yeah, being a Hunter can be quite demanding, so it¡¯s important to have hobbies and other interests outside of work. This can prevent you from being burned out and keep you refreshed for another day of hunting. Also, you¡¯re already financially secure as Hunters, so having another passion without having to worry about money will definitely make your life happier," Han-Yeol said. "Wow! I knew you would understand us!" she eximed while giggling. "Huh? How can you say that when this is our first time meeting?" he tilted his head in confusion. "But I¡¯ve ¡®met¡¯ you before~" "When?¡± "Hmm¡­ When I first saw you in that video?" "What video?" "Hihi~" she simply giggled in response before she stood up and struck a cute pose. Her hands were on her hips, and she stuck out her tongue to show her refusal to answer while obviously trying to look cute. "Alright, let¡¯s save the dance for another time. Do you have a group name?" Han-Yeol asked. "Yes!" Ji-Yoon enthusiastically replied. "What is it?" "Diamond!" "Diamond¡­?" "Yes!" "Why did you choose Diamond? I¡¯m sure there are plenty of other pretty and meaningful names out there, right?" Han-Yeol thought that there were other trendier names out there like ¡®TT¡¯, ¡®Excuse Me¡¯, or ¡®ying with Fire¡¯ these days. Knowing that, he could not understand why they would choose the name of a mineral that made them sound outdated. "Hmm¡­ We don¡¯t really have any special meaning behind it. The CEO backing us up proposed to his wife with a diamond ring, and it turned out that diamonds were her favorite gemstone. That¡¯s why we decided to go with the name ¡®Diamond¡¯ for our group." ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s admirable that you care so much about your CEO.¡± ¡°Right? Aren¡¯t we really good girls?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hihi!¡± Ji-Yoon was quite the easygoing and charming type, able to effortlessly bypass the walls Han-Yeol put up around him whenever he was dealing with people. He was the kind of person who was difficult to be close to, but once someone managed to break through, he would spare no effort to help them. One technique people could use was to smile a lot around him since he was soft toward cheerful individuals, and the girls seemed to have unintentionally used that on him. ¡®It¡¯s still worth my time building rtionships with other Hunters besides Yoo-Bi, even if I can¡¯t learn that skill,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Special S raid party was not one of the established raid parties in the country, so he saw value in building rapport with them. The established raid parties were usually hard to befriend, since they were usually stuck-up and they had a tendency to look down on ordinary people and Porters. In other words, they were notpatible with Han-Yeol. It was then that the Egyptian Manager approached Han-Yeol and reported, [We have finished, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡°Alright, let¡¯s keep moving! We still have plenty of time to hunt!¡± Han-Yeol announced. ¡°Yes, oppa!¡± the girls enthusiastically replied. And the rest of the Special S raid party followed suit, ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!¡± The Special S raid party, Han-Yeol, and Mujahid¡¯s team continued their hunt for three days without taking a break. *** ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­!¡± ¡°C-Cough¡­?I-I¡¯m about to die!¡± ¡°Hiing¡­?It¡¯s the first time I got a leg cramp since awakening.¡± ¡°H-Hungry¡­¡± The Special S raid party members moaned. Mujahid''s team was still in good shape as they were ustomed to this hunting pace and mindful of their stamina. On the other hand, the Special S raid party was not familiar with hunting so rigorously; it was their first time hunting in such an intense manner, and all of them were extremely exhausted after the continuous hunt. ¡°Ack!?My leg is cramping!¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho cried out in pain. The hunt was so intense that an awakened being suddenly got cramps in their leg¡­ ¡°Tsk tsk¡­?You should exercise more. How can you call yourselves Hunters after getting tired from this?¡± Han-Yeol yfully sneered. Tak! Han-Yeol lightly tapped Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s cramping leg. ¡°Aaaack!?H-Han-Yeol-nim!¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho cried out in agony. Leg cramps were indeed so painful that even awakened beings were no match for them. ¡°Oops~ Sorry~¡± Han-Yeol feigned ignorance. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The others might think that Han-Yeol was simply pulling a prank on Kwon Yoon-Ho since they got closer while hunting together these past few days, but Han-Yeol was not pulling a prank at all. Although Han-Yeol appeared fully focused on the hunt during these past few days, he was actually keeping a close eye on and observing Kwon Yoon-Ho. He used Demon Eyes whenever Kwon Yoon-Ho opened his dimensional storage ability to better understand the mechanics behind it. The ability to control space and time was trulyplex and difficult to understand, but Han-Yeol believed that he could replicate the skill and create something simr if he understood the mechanics behind it. That''s why he diligently observed every single move Kwon Yoon-Ho made, with the intention of gaining insight into the skill. ¡®How does he control that skill?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Unfortunately, copying a skill was not an easy task. Han-Yeol did not have ess to intricate machinery¡ªnot that they existed¡ªto analyze Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s skill, and he was not that smart in the first ce. In the end, he could not analyze the movement of mana he observed whenever the dimensional storage skill was used. Han-Yeol felt like his head was about to explode. ¡®This is thest day of the hunt. I need to think of something to buy more time.¡¯ He decided to convene a meeting. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, hyung-nim?¡± Mujahid asked, since it was unbing of Han-Yeol to suddenly call a meeting mid-hunt. ¡°Is there something wrong, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, oppa?¡± The Special S raid party members asked as well. ¡°Hmm¡­ I was thinking, what if we hunted the boss of this hunting ground since this is ourst day hunting together?¡± Han-Yeol suggested. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°T-The boss monster?!¡± The entire group was shocked after hearing his suggestion. ¡°I understand what you mean, but I believe it is against the rules to hunt the boss monster of a hunting ground, Han-Yeol-nim¡­¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho said. The hunting ground stopped spawning monsters when its boss monster was in, and it would only start spawning monsters again once the boss monster respawned. Since waiting for the monsters to spawn was detrimental to the Hunters who relied on the hunting grounds for their ie, there was an unwritten rule among Hunters not to hunt the boss monster without any probable cause. However, Han-Yeol was not someone to bother himself with unwritten rules in the first ce. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter. Cheolwon hunting ground isn¡¯t that popr anyway, so not that many peoplee here. Besides, it¡¯s not an official rule in the first ce, right? Also, we won¡¯t being back to this ce after this hunt, so we¡¯re doing a favor in controlling the monster poption,¡± Han-Yeol exined with a shrug. ¡°B-But still¡­¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho seemed hesitant. However, he was actually intrigued and secretly leaning toward epting Han-Yeol¡¯s suggestion. ¡°But the biggest motivation would be that the mana stone and corpse of the boss monster of this hunting ground are definitely going to be extremely valuable,¡± Han-Yeol added. Gulp¡­! The Special S raid party was made up of mostly positive and pure-hearted individuals, but their ultimate goal was still to make money. That was the reason the words "mana stone," "corpse," "valuable," and "boss monster" sounded simply too appealing to them. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not forcing you or anything. You can stay here and hunt the regr monsters while we go and hunt the boss monster by ourselves if you don¡¯t feelfortable with it,¡± Han-Yeol added with a shrug. Most of the monsters around them had already been taken down. Han-Yeol and Mujahid alone were more than enough to deal with the monsters here, but the addition of ten S Rank Hunters further elerated the hunt to the point that it turned into a massacre. Also, the tractor was almost full, but it still had enough space to load up the boss monster¡¯s corpse. In short, this was definitely going to be thest hunt in this hunting ground. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°W-What should we do?¡± The Special S raid party members seemed to be wavering. Chapter 203: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (4)

Chapter 203: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (4)

The members of the Special S raid party immediately looked at their decision maker, Kwon Yoon-Ho. They usually discussed everything before making a decision, but he was the one who ultimately made the decisions. After all, he was the leader of their raid party. The reason they trusted and followed Kwon Yoon-Ho was not that he was strong or amazing, but rather because the average age of the raid party members was quite young. Most of them were still immature and found it difficult to be part of an organization, but they were not mature enough to make decisions on their own yet. It went without saying that not all Hunters were capable. This was true for the Special S raid party members as well since it had only been a few years since they awakened, and all of them lived normal lives before bing Hunters. Hence, they depended on Kwon Yoon-Ho to make critical decisions on their behalf. "Excuse me¡­ Han-Yeol-nim¡­?" One of the Special S raid party members raised his hand. "Hmm? Yeah?" Han-Yeol was already speaking casually to all of the Special S raid party members, except for the member who was over thirty years old. Technically, that member was older than Han-Yeol, so he could not bring himself to talk casually to him. There was no need for him to speak so respectfully based on social status, as the hierarchy of Hunters was decided by their rank and not their age. Therefore, nobody would object if he spoke casually to the older man. However, Han-Yeol was not raised to be disrespectful to someone he just met, especially someone older, simply because he held a higher social status. "Is there a reason for us to hunt the boss monster no matter what?" This was amon question asked by peoplecking confidence. They would inquire if the action was justifiable instead of honestly expressing their fear orck of confidence. Han-Yeol understood how it felt to be in the other person¡¯s shoes, as he toocked confidence during his school days due to his childhood marred by poverty. That was why hepletely understood what the Special S raid party members were thinking." ¡°Hey, Yoon-Ho.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°We¡¯re already at the end of our hunt, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And this was the most profitable hunt you guys have ever been on in your entire life, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± The Special S raid party was actually in a festive mood deep inside. They were no match for Han-Yeol and Mujahid in terms of hunting speed, but they were able to hitch a ride on the backs of the two battle maniacs and experience the best hunt of their lives. Of course, extending their trip for another day might have been necessary, but most of them had nothing else to do after the hunt, so it wasn''t much of a burden for them. In fact, they were more than d to extend the hunt as it allowed them to safely take down many more monsters than they usually could. "Well, I don''t really understand why I need to exin myself in the first ce. I already told you that Mujahid and I can handle it ourselves if you guys don''t want to tag along, right?" Tak! Han-Yeol ced his hand on Mujahid''s shoulder. Despite being much more handsome than Han-Yeol, Mujahid had one w: he was short. Nevertheless, the prince was fired up after experiencing Han-Yeol''s touch for the first time. Tak! He clenched his fists and banged them together before shouting, "Oh! I will wipe them all out for you, hyung-nim!" Kwon Yoon-Ho was shaken after seeing Mujahid get fired up. Despite the fact that acquiring Kwon Yoon-Ho''s dimensional skill was more important than hunting the boss monster, Han-Yeol decided to roll the dice. Most peoplecking self-confidence would find themselves caught up in the pace of charismatic people like Han-Yeol. The fact that Prince Mujahid openly professed his confidence in Han-Yeol further shook Kwon Yoon-Ho. "W-We will go with you. No, please take us with you!" Kwon Yoon-Ho eximed. It seemed that Han-Yeol''s gambit paid off as Kwon Yoon-Ho waspletely absorbed by his charisma. Being able to attract people was a skill Han-Yeol possessed even before awakening as a Hunter. "Alright, we started hunting together, so let''s end the hunt together as well," Han-Yeol said. It was decided that they would hunt together from now on until the end of this hunt. "Thank you very much!" "I''m d I can stay longer with oppa! Heehee!" "Me too!" The three girls quickly surrounded Han-Yeol, grabbing his arms and trying their best to look as charming as possible. Han-Yeol was already used to women trying to charm him, so he was not bothered by them at all. Still, it was quite ironic that he did not spare them a nce, even though the three girls might be a bitckingpared to the women around him, as they were still pretty enough to debut in the entertainment industry. "Then, let''s get moving," Han-Yeol said. "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!" The Special S raid party followed Han-Yeol, determined to hunt the Cheolwon hunting ground''s boss monster. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? All of them were currently riding the tractor trucks. The Cheolwon hunting ground was quite vast, with the boss monster located in the northeastern area known as the former Woljeong-ri, while the ce Han-Yeol and the others were hunting in was the ''hotspot'' of the Cheolwon hunting ground, Mount Bukgyesan. The group traveled on the trucks for quite a while until... ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Chwak! Mavros cried out as he flew past the group. ¡°Whoa!¡± And Han-Yeol was riding on the ck dragon. It wasn''t that there was no space on the truck, but Han-Yeol preferred to fly with Mavros instead of being crammed with the others. Moreover, there were restrictions on flying outside the hunting grounds, so he decided to make the most out of this opportunity. ¡°Flying with you is the best, Mavros!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?Mavros cried out as if asking why he was stating the obvious. The ck dragon still didn''t have a saddle, and since a saddle wasn''t a mechanical object, Yoo-Bi couldn''t create one for him. Han-Yeol searched online and discovered that there were a few maestros who specialized in saddle-making. Unfortunately, none of those skilled artisans could be found in South Korea. ¡®They said that there are some in Nepal and Mongolia, right?¡¯?he thought. It was while he was thinking of who to call that the walkie-talkie on his waist suddenly buzzed. Pshht! [Are you having fun in the sky, hyung-nim?] It was Mujahid, and his voice was full of envy. The only other thing he enjoyed aside from fighting was flying, and he possessed an impressive collection of private nes and jets. Moreover, he was an avid aficionado of paragliding, skydiving, and basically any other activity that involved flying. Unfortunately, South Korea was not as developed when it came to those kinds of extreme leisure activities, so he was currently suffering from flight withdrawal. That was the reason he couldn''t help but feel extremely jealous after seeing Han-Yeol freely flying through the sky on Mavros. Psshht! ¡°Keke! It feels like I¡¯m walking on the clouds!¡± Han-Yeol replied. Psshhht! [Ah¡­ I¡¯m so jealous¡­ Furion is an awesome partner, but a flying pet monster is simply too amazing¡­] Psshhht! ¡°I agree! Keke!¡± Psshhht! [I¡¯m already so jealous of noonim¡¯s flight ability, but even hyung-nim is flying now! I guess I¡¯m destined to be jealous of others for the rest of my life!] ¡°Hahahaha!¡± It was quite funny to hear Mujahid talk about being jealous of others. Psshht! [Oh right, speaking of noonim¡­] ¡°What about her?¡± Han-Yeol''s focus sharpened as he heard Mujahid mention Tayarana. Despite pretending not to be interested in her during the time they were together, he was still a man, after all. There was no way a man could not be attracted to the woman who had been picked as the most beautiful woman in the world for numerous consecutive years. He had been suppressing whatever infatuation he had for her. Han-Yeol''s rough past had trained him to suppress his emotions, enabling him to control himself. However, most ordinary men would probably have started confessing their feelings to her after spending just a few hours in her presence. Psshhht! [Do you know what kind of unique item, the suit, noonim is wearing?] ¡°I have no idea, but it¡¯s definitely a good one, right?¡± Han-Yeol had noticed a long time ago that the suit Tayarana was wearing was no ordinary unique item, judging by its extraordinary abilities. The suit possessed absurd defense and its own attacking capability, allowing its user to zip through the air at near-supersonic speed. On top of that, Han-Yeol used his Demon Eyes to examine the suit and discovered that it even had the ability to replenish its user''s mana. Han-Yeol suspected that the suit probably had one or two additional abilities, but he was not sure what they were as he did not get the chance to inspect it with his own hands. Nheless, he was certain that the suit Tayarana used was no ordinary unique item. Psshht! [Haha! That suit is made up of numerous unique items. In other words, every piece of it is a unique item.] ¡°WHAT?!¡± Han-Yeol was bbergasted. Psshhttt! [I bet you are surprised, hyung-nim. Noonim is Father¡¯s most beloved child, as well as the future of our country. Not only that, but she is also the role model for all of us Egyptian Hunters!] ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± [The United States might be powerful, but there is one thing that our country, Egypt, is better than them at.] ¡°The massive deposit of unique items¡­¡± Psshtt! [Bingo! Haha!] Egypt possessed the most unique items in theirnds. The Egyptian Government never publicly announced how many unique items were in their possession or how many had been discovered so far, and only a select few knew this information. It was normal for most countries to hide the number of unique items they possessed, and there were ways for people to find out. However, Egypt was different; they possessed an overwhelming number of unique items, making it impossible for anyone to count urately. The only certainty was that it numbered in the hundreds. The spection of Egypt having hundreds of unique items alone was more than enough to surpass the United States, cing them in second ce in terms of unique items possessed. The reason Egypt had so many unique items was all thanks to the dungeons unique to theirnds, the Pyramids. Some schrs even deduced that there were still many more unique items hidden in the country. Psshhht! [That is why Father gave the best kind of unique item, a unique set item, to noonim. I recall that Father personally went to great lengths toplete the set after hearing about it, but I was surprised when he gave it to noonim instead of using it himself. He really is an amazing man in many ways. Haha!] ¡°T-That¡¯s amazing¡­¡± [Well, I had no problems with it, but that caused quite the ruckus among us siblings.] ¡°Huh? But why? Your father and the two of you are the only awakened beings in your family, right?¡± Psshht! [Yes, but those fools were blinded by greed and dared to go against Father. Of course, Father was not someone to let things slide by, so he executed a few of the retainers and royals.] ¡°Wow¡­ He really is amazing in many ways¡­¡± Psshhht! [I guess we both agree on that.] Han-Yeol was truly amazed to hear that every part of the suit was a unique item on its own. What amazed him even more was the fact that Phaophator had gone to great lengths toplete it, only to give it to his daughter as a gift. ¡®Would I be able to do the same thing?¡¯?he wondered. He could tell from the first time he met Phaophator that he was an amazing person, but he never imagined that the man was this amazing. ¡®Will I be able to be someone as amazing as he is if I start my own country¡­?¡¯?he wondered before he shook his head. Han-Yeol was in the process of starting his ownpany and guild, but suddenly, he felt the desire to be a ruler like Phaophator. Some might use him of turning a country into a monarchy to cement his rule, but his outstanding leadership and charisma squashed all dissent against him. Phaophator was a ruler beloved by his people, and almost every Egyptian worshiped him as their pharaoh. ¡®I should probably learn a few things from him when I go to Egypt,¡¯?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve to learn from the pharaoh. Psshhtt! [Hyung-nim?] ¡°Ah, sorry about that. I was thinking about something else for a moment. Anyway, that¡¯s quite amazing. Who knew that someone would be able to cover themselves from head to toe with unique items, right?¡± [Keke! Yeah, I agree. By the way, I think noonim suddenly reached the Master Rank for some reason.] ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Han-Yeol awkwardlyughed while thinking, ¡®So he was aware of it all this while.¡¯ Han-Yeol had a hunch as to how Tayarana suddenly became a Master Rank Hunter, and it seemed that Mujahid had caught up on it too. Psshht! [A Master Rank Hunter covered from head to toe with unique items¡­ I can¡¯t imagine just how powerful noonim is going to be from now on¡­] ¡°Hahaha! Yeah, I agree with you on that one!¡± ¡®Yeah, now that he mentioned it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol realized. Tayarana was already the strongest S Rank Hunter in the world, but her sudden rise to Master Rank was undoubtedly going to send shockwaves all over the world. In fact, this could be the birth of the most powerful Master Rank Hunter the world has ever seen. Chapter 204: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (5)

Chapter 204: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (5)

Han-Yeol could not help but smile after thinking of Tayarana. Being able to be with her alone was already more than enough to make him happy. Pssht! [Ah, I wonder if a miracle will happen to me and let me be a Master Rank like noonim¡­] Mujahid was obviously grumbling, but he was being serious at the same time. He might be the carefree type, but he was quite proud as well. It was impossible for him not to feel left behind when Tayarana, whom he considered to be his rival, suddenly became a Master Rank Hunter and went back home. The only thing Han-Yeol could tell him at this time was¡­ Psshhht! ¡°It would be possible if you desperately wished for it and did your best.¡± [Thank you, hyung-nim!] Mujahid would have t-out ignored it if someone else had told him this, but he was extremely grateful that Han-Yeol would tell him this, as he somewhat spected that he was the key behind Tayarana''s awakening into a Master Rank Hunter. Psshhht! [I¡¯ll be in your care, hyung-nim!] ¡°Keke! Sure!¡± Han-Yeol and Mujahid continued chatting in their secured channel so nobody else aside from the two of them could listen to the conversation. Of course, the Special S raid party did not have ess to the walkie-talkies, and none of Mujahid''s subordinates knew how to speak Korean, so they could not listen in on their conversation in the first ce. There was nobody else who could listen in on their conversation, but prevention was always key, so the two of them made sure to speak in a secured channel. *** Right after they finished chatting¡­ Psshht! ¡°That¡¯s the nds of Cheolwon, Mujahid,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Roger that, hyung-nim.] They had finally reached their destination. The tractor trucks were specially modified to be able to move in snowy terrain, but this came at the cost of their mobility. A normal truck would have covered this distance in less than an hour, but it took them more than two and a half hours to reach here. ¡°Kweeeeek!¡± ¡°Gwuoh!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The ins were teeming with monsters. This ce was once famous as a stop for migratory birds, but many years had passed since the birdsst visited this ce. There were no other entrances to this ce aside from the entrance heavily guarded by the soldiers. As a result, the migratory birds were forced to look for another ce to stop during their migration season. Instead, the birds were reced by vicious and aggressive monsters that would not hesitate to attack anyone who dared toe to see them. The entire nd was visible from the edge of a mountain not too far away from it. ¡°Hiiik!¡±?Kwon Yoon-Ho shrieked in horror after seeing the nds teeming with monsters. He had experienced huntingrge quantities of monsters with Han-Yeol, but both Han-Yeol and Mavros were actually controlling the number of monsters they were luring, unbeknownst to the Special S raid party. In fact, they were luring fewer monsters than when Han-Yeol and Mujahid were hunting together. However, the monsters in front of their eyes right now were as vast as the ocean, and every single one of them was exuding a tremendous amount of bloodlust. ¡°H-Han-Yeol-nim¡­ Y-You told us that we areing to hunt the boss, right¡­?¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho asked while stuttering. Raiding the boss of a hunting ground was never a necessity, but that did not mean it did not happen at all. Even the Special S raid party received a few requests from the association to raid a hunting ground¡¯s boss monster to stop new monsters from spawning in overpopted hunting grounds. However, the ordinary monsters were usually taken care of by the association before they entered the hunting ground to raid the boss monster, so they were able to fully focus their attention on the boss monster alone. In other words, the Special S raid party did not face much difficulty in raiding the boss monsters as they only had to concern themselves with the boss monster alone. However, the sight in front of their eyes right now was akin to hell on earth. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going to raid the boss monster, but it¡¯s only obvious that we will have to go through the ordinary monsters first before raiding the boss monster, right?¡± Han-Yeol said. There was nothing obvious about what was going on right now for the Special S raid party. ¡°Hmm¡­ I heard that the peak of the mountain where the boss monster resides will only be essible once we clear all of the monsters here in the ins,¡± Han-Yeol added. ¡°H-Heok!¡± ¡®W-We¡¯re going to die¡­!¡¯? The Special S raid party members knew from their experience so far that there was a close to zero chance of them dying in battle despite the overwhelming number of monsters in front of their eyes. What they meant by "they were going to die" was death from exhaustion after hunting the monsters nonstop, which was Han-Yeol and Mujahid¡¯s type of fighting style. All of the Special S raid party members closed their eyes and uttered a prayer as they steeled their resolve. They might be scared of what was toe, but they could not simply back out now that they hade all the way here. The only thing they could pray for right now was for everything to go as smoothly as possible¡ªand that they would get some rest in between. ¡°Mujahid,¡± Han-Yeol called out. Tak! Mujahid smashed his fists together after Han-Yeol called his name. It was not important to him how many monsters were there, as he loved to fight more than anything else, and he was actually itching to dive straight into the horde of monsters right now. He did not care whether it was dangerous or not, as long as he was able to swing his fists to his heart''s content. "Leave it to me, hyung-nim! I''ll sweep them all away!" Mujahid eximed as he exuded his mana. Wooooong! ¡®His mana capacity is the same, but it feels like his mana has be denser than before,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he could tell that Mujahid had grown stronger during this hunt. He could see that the quality of Mujahid''s mana had be much stronger even though its quantity stayed the same, and he knew that the increase in his mana density was more than enough to make Mujahid several times stronger than he was before. ¡°Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Chwak! Whoosh! Mavros spread his wings and shot up to the sky as soon as Han-Yeol gave themand. Han-Yeol could tell that the ck dragon¡¯s mana control was getting better by the day, and he was now able to gather his mana to his heart while flying at frightening speeds into the sky. Mavros gathered more and more mana into his heart as his poison attribute started to well up from within him. Then, he stopped climbing as soon as he reached his desired altitude and redirected his gaze toward a spot in the nds. His mana slowly started to gather in his mouth and... [Poison Breath!] He used his innate dragon skill. It was barely something whenpared to an actual Dragon Breath, but the ck dragon¡¯s breath, carrying its deadly poison mana, was more than enough to inflict agonizing pain on the monsters of the Cheolwon hunting ground. Fwaaaaaaaah!? ¡°Kwueeeeeek!¡± ¡°Gwuoooooh!¡± ¡°Kieeeeeeek! Mavros aimed his Poison Breath at a spot a bit further in the nds that had the densest cluster of monsters, but Han-Yeol and the others could smell the nasty stench of poison from where they were. ¡°Kwueeeeek!¡± ¡°Gwuoooh!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± A lot of the monsters died or were gravely injured from the powerful breath attack, and this infuriated the horde of monsters. Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­!? The monsters charged toward Han-Yeol and the others without even sparing a nce anywhere else. "H-Han-Yeol-nim¡­?" Kwon Yoon-Ho and the other raid party members nervously muttered after seeing the horde of enraged vicious monsters making a beeline for them. On the other hand¡­ [Fire!] Ratatatatata! Mujahid''s subordinates perfectly executed their roles without caring if the monsters wereing in a horde or not, and the Porters let their guns rip once the first line of monsters was in their range. "Hmm¡­ Should I join in on the fun?" Han-Yeol muttered with a smirk before he took out his HSK-447P. ¡®Enhance.¡¯?He immediately took out a mana stone and used his enhancing skill this time. ¡°Hiiiik!¡±?Kwon Yoon-Ho shrieked in horror after seeing Han-Yeol crush a mana stone with his bare hand. ¡®H-He destroyed a m-m-mana stone¡­?!¡¯?he eximed inwardly. It was normal for him to be so surprised, as mana stones were a huge chunk of ie for Hunters. After all, the monster corpses were like the hourly wage, while the mana stone was where the real money was. The mana stones were extremely precious things that all Hunters took extra caution of, but Han-Yeol crushed one with his bare hand like it was nothing. This was something thatpletely bbergasted Kwon Yoon-Ho, who thought, ¡®J-Just what kind of a Hunter is he¡­?¡¯ Kwon Yoon-Ho had watched a lot of Han-Yeol¡¯s videos and meticulously studied him, but he was not aware of every single one of his skills. Han-Yeol showed his skills in his broadcast numerous times, but it was impossible for the viewers to know the effects of his skills and what type of skills they were, since Han-Yeol never bothered to exin his skills to them. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± Han-Yeol unleashed one of his trademark skills, Mana Explosion, at the horde of monsters charging toward them. The Mana Explosion he used this time was mixed with a hint of Fire Attribute, triggering explosions iparablyrger than the ones before. The air was filled with the cries of the monsters and the stench of their blood and burning bodies, but Han-Yeol did not show any signs of stopping and kept shooting. After all, Mana Explosion was a skill that consumed a lot of mana, but it was the most efficient skill when it came to dealing with hordes of enemies. [Mujahid,mand the Egyptian Hunters to make it as difficult as possible for the monsters toe up here.] [Yes, hyung-nim! Leave it to me!] The Egyptian Hunters were delighted after Mujahid ryed Han-Yeol¡¯smand. ¡®It¡¯s finally our turn!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m going to kill them all!¡¯ ¡®Yes!¡¯ The Egyptian Hunters did not have any chances to showcase their abilities as they were not needed in the previous hunts, but now it was their time to shine. While they did not possess the ability or power to sweep away the monsters like Han-Yeol was doing, they were happy to be of assistance to Han-Yeol and Mujahid. [Cruel Swamp!] [Anthell!] [Insurmountable Walls!] All of them specialized in support skills, and they unleashed their skills at the ramp leading up to where the party was at. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? ¡°Kweuk!¡± ¡°Kiek?!¡± ¡°Gwuoh?!¡± It was already difficult for the monsters to climb up the steep mountain slope, but the Egyptian Hunters¡¯ interference made it near-impossible for them to climb it. Ratatatatata! Boom! Boom! Boom!? The explosion and gunfire continued while the monsters were stuck at the foot of the mountain, unable to climb the slope. Mavrosnded to rest after unleashing his powerful Poison Breath, and he was now ready to fly into the sky once again to unleash a second breath attack. Kaboooom! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡°Gwuoooooh!¡± This was the perfect example of a mass-scale hunt. Ding! [You have gained a level.] Han-Yeol was already Level 269, which could be considered to be quite high, but he was easily able to gain a level after killing the monsters in droves. ¡®Hohoho! There¡¯s nothing as good as mass-scale hunting when ites to leveling up!¡¯?Han-Yeol was extremely satisfied with the hunt¡¯s progress. Some might mistake that Han-Yeol and Mavros were specialized in mass hunting, but they had already proven themselves long ago that they were as capable, if not even more capable, when it came to hunting a single monster. However, it could not be denied that some of their main skills were perfect for hunting monsters en masse. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? The monsters started to ascend the mountain one by one despite the skills of the Egyptian Hunters blocking the slope. The skills were extremely effective when it came to blocking the slope, but the slope was simply too wide for them to cover every single opening in it. In fact, it was impossible for just ten Hunters to hold back the mass of monsters longer than they currently were. Actually, Han-Yeol did not expect them to block the slope in the first ce. ¡°Balrog-nim!¡± he shouted. Bam! [Bwahaha! I have been waiting for this moment!] The mes of hell shot up from the ground and Balrog made a grand appearance. The way he appeared was quite simr to Han-Yeol¡¯s favorite wrestler, that was called the ¡®Big Red Machine¡¯. [Fire Explosion! Breath of Fire!] Fwaaaaaa! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The mes of hell roasted the monsters attempting to climb the slope. [Bwahaha! Bring it on!] Balrog was quite the dependable gatekeeper when it came to defending, but the slope was still too wide for him to cover it entirely. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? Mujahid stepped in and beat the monsters that managed to slip past Balrog. Kwang! Kwang! Then, he mmed his fist into the ground and shook the ground to incapacitate the monsters attempting to scale the slope. On the other hand, the Special S raid party was... ¡°L-Let¡¯s fight too!¡± ¡°Y-Yeah!¡± Tak! They were ovee with fear even until the moment they decided to join the fray. ¡°Hap!¡± ¡°Vicious Storm!¡± ¡°Unrelenting mes!¡± However, their fear slowly faded away after they joined the battle, and they skillfully started to get rid of the monsters one by one. ¡®Hehe, these guys are doing quite well. What was all that drama for then?¡¯?Han-Yeolughed inwardly while looking at the Special S raid party. Chapter 205: Asus (1)

Chapter 205: Asus (1)

Crack¡­! ¡°K-Kieeeek¡­!¡± Thest standing Yeti had its neck twisted all the way back before dropping dead. Thud¡­! ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­¡± ¡°Argh¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m so tired¡­¡± The monsters on the nds werepletely annihted. Han-Yeol took down seventy-five percent of the monsters, Mujahid and Balrog took down fifteen percent, and the Special S raid party took down ten percent of the monsters. Ironically, the Special S raid party was the most exhausted among them, despite killing the least number of monsters. ¡®You seem to match quite well with Mujahid, Balrog-nim,¡¯?Han-Yeol said. Mujahid contemted numerous ways that he could catch up to Han-Yeol''s hunting speed in the Cheolwon hunting ground. He might have gotten used to his Psy des, which he was using for the first time in this hunt, but the Cheolwon hunting ground was a difficult ce that was definitely not suitable for testing out new fighting styles. Also, the monsters at the Cheolwon hunting ground were kind of on par with Mujahid¡¯s level, and fighting one on one against monsters of the same level was quite difficult for most Hunters. The strategy Mujahid decided to go with to catch up to Han-Yeol''s hunting speed was none other than to cooperate with the summoned demon, Balrog. Surprisingly, both of them matched quite well as Balrog specialized in defense while Mujahid specialized in offense, and both of them were battle maniacs, which made thempatible with each other. Han-Yeol did not really summon Balrog unless he felt that the demon was required, so Mujahid never got the chance to fight alongside the demon. However, both these battle maniacs possessed keen battle senses that allowed them to get in sync in a short period of time, and they fought so efficiently together that they looked like a duo that fought together for years. [Bwahahaha! Of course! That human is quite good at fighting despite being a human, and I don¡¯t mind whatever race you are as long as you like to fight like me!] ¡®Haha¡­ As expected of Balrog-nim.¡¯ [Hahaha! A warrior is always wee to fight alongside me!] Han-Yeol was d that Balrog and Mujahid got along. He noticed that he did not really need the demons these days, after he had explosively grown stronger in a short period of time, and he realized that the demons needed to level up if they were going to be of use to him from now on. However, it was technically a waste of his time to summon the demons just to level them up, so he was a bit hesitant to do so. But the fact that Balrog was matching quite well with Mujahid was indeed good news to him. No, it was more than good news. It was actually excellent news that was definitely going to prove helpful to him. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡°I know, Mavros. You have worked the hardest till now. Let¡¯s keep it up just a bit longer, okay?¡± ¡°Kiek!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s best partner right now was not the demons, but rather Mavros. The ck dragon was strong regardless of his level, thanks to the numerous skills he possessed, as well as the intelligence to use them inbos. However, the most important thing that cemented him as Han-Yeol¡¯s best partner was the fact that he was trying his best to sync with Han-Yeol in battle to the best of his abilities. There were a lot of times that Mavros failed to contain his excitement and ran wild, but he slowly started to change as if he was maturing and tried his best to sync with Han-Yeol inbat. On top of that, Mavros seemed to have learned a few things while observing Mujahid and Balrog fight together, and it looked like he was starting to try various ways to support Han-Yeol in battle. ¡®I guess it¡¯s true that there¡¯s something to learn from everyone,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a shrug. Mujahid might have looked up to him as a hyung-nim and a teacher, but it seemed that Han-Yeol was the one who benefited from him this time after Mavros learned something new. After all, they say that people never stop learning until the day they die, and the same seemed to be true for creatures as well. "Rest up as much as you can¡ªwhile you can. We''re going to climb the peak and raid the ruler of this hunting groundter on. The only thing we can do now is to pray that we''re going to face a weak boss monster," Han-Yeol said. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The Special S raid party members groaned at what he said. They were already exhausted from fighting the ordinary monsters, and they did not want to imagine how tired they were going to be when they faced the boss monsterter. On the other hand, the Porters from Mujahid''s team gave up on dismembering the corpses for now, and they retreated back to where the tractor trucks were parked. These Porters were extremely well-trained both physically and mentally; they were technically elite soldiers currently working as Porters in hopes of awakening. Still, that did not mean they were going to be of any help during a boss raid, so they knew better than anyone that the best they could do to help was to get out of the way and not be a nuisance. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Hunters gathered together and rested. [Hmm¡­ A boss raid¡­ How long has it been since we raided one?] [Well, it''s not like we ever got the chance to raid one since Mujahid-nim prefers to solo hunt, right?] [Yeah, it was impossible for even Mujahid-nim to solo raid a boss monster, no matter how strong he is.] [Hey, I think you''re forgetting that Mujahid-nim sessfully raided a boss monster before, it''s just that we weren''t the ones with him at that time¡­] [Yeah, he usually raids boss monsters with the other raid party instead of us.] These Hunters were no different from Mujahid''s personal Hunters, so they usually stayed behind whenever he went to join another raid party. This was especially true whenever he went to join a boss monster raid, as most raid parties disliked having a lot of outsiders that could potentially pose a threat to the raid. Communication and cooperation were key in boss raids. There was actually a backstory to this. There was a boss monster raid a few years ago, and an extremely rare item was dropped by the boss after it died. However, the item had an equally rare option that made it soul-bound to the person that dealt the final blow against the boss monster. Ironically, the person that dealt the final blow was none other than the weakest Hunter among the mercenaries hired by the guild, and that proved to be a huge blow to the guild. Fortunately, the situation had a silver lining since the weak Hunter was quitepatible with the item, and the guild agreed to recruit him as a guild member. However, this event quickly spread all over the world, and most raid parties and guilds restricted the participation of outsiders in their boss monster raids. True enough, there were numerous instances after that where the boss monster dropped soul-bound items, and that further made the raid parties and guilds enforce their restriction on the participation of outsiders in the boss raids. It was at that moment that the party was resting as much as they could when the ground started trembling. Ddruu¡­! Ddruu¡­! Ddruu¡­!? ¡°Is it finally starting?¡± [All forces! Prepare for battle!] The Egyptian Hunters quickly prepared for battle at Mujahid¡¯smand. Gulp! It went without saying that both the Egyptian Hunters and the Special S raid party members were feeling nervous. Han-Yeol and Mujahid were probably going to be facing the boss head-on, while the others attacked or supported from the rear, but the sheer thought of fighting against a boss monster was more than enough to instill fear in their hearts. In fact, it would probably be strange if they were not scared. Ironically, Han-Yeol was never a normal one, as he was currently looking forward to the appearance of the boss monster. Some people might think that he was mad since he was technically not a Master Rank Hunter yet, but his status as a Master Rank was already cemented the moment he defeated the S Rank brothers. But most importantly, Han-Yeol himself was aware that he was stronger than he was before. Of course, he was not arrogant enough to think of facing the boss monster one-on-one, as he knew that he would be in danger if he attempted to do that. However, he was not alone, as he was apanied by Mujahid, who was a top-ranking S Rank Hunter, and by the Special S raid party, which wasposed of ten S Rank Hunters. On top of that, Balrog and the Egyptian Hunters were there to support him as well. However, the one ally that gave Han-Yeol the most confidence was none other than Mavros. ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± Han-Yeol knew that the chances of them losing to the boss monster were quite slim with their current lineup, so he could not help but look forward to what kind of monster was going to emerge from the peak. He did not mind if a powerful boss appeared, as the loot was going to be better the stronger the boss monster was, and the corpse of a powerful boss monster was definitely going to be worth a pretty penny. ¡®I might as well get the best I can get if I¡¯m going to hunt it anyway, right?¡¯?he smirked. The others were currently praying for a weak boss to appear, but Han-Yeol was probably the odd one who wished the boss monster would be a powerful one. He probably was not going to visit this ce ever again after raiding the boss monster, so he wanted to make the most out of his current trip as much as possible, and the only way for that to happen was for a powerful boss to appear. ¡®Hmm¡­ I hope that monster will appear. What was its name again¡­? Demon Hunter? Or something like that¡­¡¯?he thought. There were rumors that the condition of the boss monster appearing in the Cheolwon hunting ground was quite different from other ces, and it was rumored that there were twenty different kinds of boss monsters for this hunting ground, and one of them was going to appear at random. The boss monster that was going to be the most valuable was definitely the Demon Hunter. The Demon Hunter towered three meters tall and was covered in mes, armed with twin swords that were set aze by ck fire in both hands. The Demon Hunter''s main attack skill was to summon the mes of hell, but the twin swords in its hands were definitely nothing to scoff at. This was one of the main reasons that the ce was teeming with monsters in the first ce, as Hunters tended to avoid suffering the misfortune ofing up against the Demon Hunter. The Hunters'' Association was forced to send raid parties to kill the boss monster and control the monster poption in this hunting ground, and that was the reason there was a lot of information regarding the hunting ground''s boss monsters aspared to other ces. Crack¡­ Crack¡­ Crack¡­! The tremors ended and the peak opened up to unleash a massive amount of mana before a single monster emerged from it. The monster, presumed to be the boss monster, slowly made its way to the nds. ¡®Hmm? This guy¡¯s mana is not bad at all,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after feeling his sense tingling. He was now certain that he was going to lose if he faced the boss monster alone. ¡®I guess I can say I¡¯m quite lucky. This guy looks really strong,¡¯?he thought with a smirk. On the other hand¡­ ¡°W-We¡¯re screwed!¡± ¡°W-Why?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure but¡­ that looks like the most powerful boss monster that could appear in the Cheolwon hunting ground¡­!¡± ¡°Hiiiik!¡± ¡°W-What are we going to do?¡± ¡°Is this how we¡¯re going to die¡­?¡± The Special S raid party started to panic and wanted to run away. However, they could not run away now aftering all the way here, and they knew better than anyone that running away was not an option. They might have seemed hopeless since they were hunting alongside Han-Yeol at his pace, but they were still S Rank Hunters that were somewhat renowned in the Hunter industry. Besides, they probably would not have dared to hunt in the Cheolwon hunting ground with just ten members if they were not strong in the first ce. "Stop wavering and focus!" Kwon Yoon-Ho shouted as he seemed to have gotten a grip on himself. Then, he continued, "We came all the way here, so we have no choice but to fight! Put your trust in Han-Yeol-nim and don''t look back!" "Y-Yeah¡­" "That''s right! Han-Yeol-nim is a Master Rank Hunter!" "We just have to support Han-Yeol-nim!" "Yeah!" Kwon Yoon-Ho was able to raise the morale of his raid party members. He knew that the battle was lost even before it started if their morale was low and everyone was fearing for their lives. ¡®Oh? That guy¡¯s quite dependable,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was impressed that Kwon Yoon-Ho was able to step up as the leader in times like this. ¡®Well, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to be mostly fighting against the boss, so it¡¯s quite funny how they¡¯re the ones crying right now,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as heughed inside. Whoosh¡­ Thud! The boss monster jumped from the peak andnded on the nds. ¡®Huh? Wait a minute¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion after seeing the monster¡¯s appearance, and then he realized, ¡®That¡¯s not the Demon Hunter¡­¡¯ The appearance of the Cheolwon hunting ground¡¯s most powerful boss monster, the Demon Hunter, was already uploaded on the Hunters¡¯ Association website, and it was impossible for him to forget about its appearance as it resembled one of those cool-looking boss monsters from video games. He was certain that the boss monster standing on the nds was nothing like the image of the Demon Hunter that he knew of. ¡®What the hell is that thing¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. The boss monster resembled both a king and a knight for some odd reason. A diamond-shaped helmet covered the entirety of its face, but the opening in the middle where its eyes, nose, and lips should be was pitch-ck for some reason. It was as if the boss monster''s face was reced by a deep abyss. But what made the boss monster look extremely threatening yet majestic was its body suited with tough-looking armor, a majestic cape on its back, and arge, dangerous-looking greatsword on its waist. The boss monster''s presence alone was more than enough to intimidate the party once again. Chapter 206: Asus (2)

Chapter 206: Asus (2)

Whooooosh¡­! A sudden blizzard swept through the Cheolwon hunting ground. ¡°Ugh¡­?I-It¡¯s so c-c-cold¡­ a-all of a s¡­ s-sudden¡­!¡± ¡°W-What¡¯s g¡­ g-going on¡­.?¡± The Hunters'' mana kept them warm no matter how strong the blizzards were, even if the temperature dropped to negative fifty Celsius. However, the members of the Special S raid party started to shiver uncontrobly all of a sudden after the blizzard raged on. [C-Cold¡­ I th¡­ th-think I might f¡­ freeze to death¡­!] [W-W-W-Warm¡­.! Give me s-so¡­ something warm¡­!] It was not only the Special S raid party members who were shivering. The Egyptian Hunters, who were not used to the cold, were on the verge of freezing to death. ¡®Damn it! What¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t tell me that monster is stronger than the Demon Hunter? This blizzard is definitely not normal! It must be that monster¡¯s skill!¡¯?Han-Yeol immediately got a grasp of the situation. ¡®But what should I do now¡­?¡¯?he thought in confusion. Both the Egyptian Hunters and the dependable Special S raid party members found themselvespletely incapacitated by the cold. Han-Yeol took the first initiative and ordered the Egyptian Hunters to retreat, knowing they were more susceptible to the harsh weather. The Egyptian Hunters were renowned for their pride as warriors, but this time their pride was utterly trampled as they were forced to withdraw even before the fight had begun. Despite their inner struggle, they realized that refusing to leave would only hold the rest of the team back. Thus, they gritted their teeth, swallowed their pride, and made their way to where the Porters were waiting. [Haa¡­ That¡¯s much better¡­] [I really thought I was going to die¡­] Bam! One of them punched a tractor truck. [Damn it! What shameful disy is this?!] [¡­] None of them could say anything, and all of them had their gazes down with sullen faces. Meanwhile¡­ [Wow¡­ It¡¯s quite cold. I don¡¯t think that boss monster is a normal one if it¡¯s able to make Hunters feel cold, hyung-nim.] ¡®Phew¡­ It¡¯s a relief that Mujahid seems fine,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he let out a sigh of relief. It was going to be catastrophic if even Mujahid was incapacitated by the cold as he was the only other Hunter that Han-Yeol fully depended on. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± ¡°Kyaong!¡± Fortunately, both Mavros and Furion seemed to be unaffected by the cold, but seemed to be on the edge after sensing the tremendous pressure the boss monster was emitting. ¡®There¡¯s nothing we can do about it. I¡¯ll have to ask the others to retreat and take the boss monster on with the four of us,¡¯?Han-Yeol clenched his fist and made his decision. He knew this was not going to be an easy fight, but they had no choice but to fight. There was no escaping in front of a boss monster. It was now an all-or-nothing type of scenario. [Bwahahaha! Long time no see!] Balrog, being a demon in control of fire, appeared unaffected by the cold, as expected. However, he said something that caused Han-Yeol to tilt his head in confusion. ¡®Balrog-nim¡­?¡¯ [Ah, I was supposed to keep that to myself, but I ended up blurting it out. Bwahaha! Alright, I think it''s time to tell you the truth about how things turned out this way. The fact is, I actually know that guy.] ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was taken aback. The fact that the intermediate demon, Balrog, knew the boss monster meant that it was a demon or a creature rted to the demons. This made Han-Yeol pay close attention to what Balrog was going to say. [That guy¡¯s name is Asus, and he is also known as the Cursed King or the Corrupted King. He was a king of the humans in another dimension before he turned into a demon.] ¡®I see¡­¡¯ [The humans from that dimension made a dire choice by selling their souls to the demons, seeking power for various reasons. While they gained immense strength during their mortal lives, humans are not immortal beings. Despite trying every trick to achieve immortality, death eventually caught up with them. As a result, their souls were dragged into the demon world, where they were forced to serve other demons.] ¡®Then, that means¡­?¡¯ [Yes, that guy is a servant of the demon Agares. By the way, Agares holds the second-highest rank in the demon world and is the only one capable of standing up against my lord, Baal-nim. That individual you encountered is a demon of ice and corruption, simr to my intermediate rank. However, unlike me, his powers were not sealed upon arriving in the human world, for some inexplicable reason. In other words, that guy can utilize one hundred percent of his abilities, making him incredibly dangerous.] It was quite strange to see Balrog get all serious when he was usually the carefree type. ¡®Oh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol never expected the boss monster to be a demon, and it felt like he had been hit at the back of his head by a hammer. [I find myself frequently crossing paths with that guy on the battlefield since we share the same task. It''s quite embarrassing to encounter my rival in this world when most of my strength is sealed! Bwahahaha!] Balrog had only been serious for a second, not taking long to revert back to his old self. ¡®Your abilities might be sealed, but we¡¯re still the ones that will win in the end, Balrog-nim,¡¯?Han-Yeol confidently said. [Bwahahaha! That is why I¡¯m fine with it!] Just as Han-Yeol was about to make a move, a strange sensation started to creep into his mind. Shwiiii¡­! ¡®What¡¯s this¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. The strange sensation did not feel threatening at all, but it was a foreign feeling that he had never felt before. It was then¡­ [Summon me.] A voice resounded in his head, and he instantly recognized the owner of that voice. Han-Yeol wasn''t particrly adept at remembering people''s faces; in fact, his ability in this regard was socking that he once wondered in high school if he had some sort of disability hindering his recognition of others. However, he possessed an exceptional talent for remembering people''s voices. ¡®Arch Lich-nim?!¡¯ [Yes¡­ Summon me¡­] A contracted demon was prohibited from appearing in the human world unless summoned by their contractor. The origin of this rule remained a mystery, but it was an absolute decree no demon could defy. However, there was a concession given to the demons¡ªthey were allowed to make their voices heard by their contractors in the human world. This was the reason why the Arch Lich couldmunicate with Han-Yeol. The Arch Lich held a high-ranking position among the demons, but he was demoted a rank for not being a true demon. His case differed significantly from Asus, as he didn''t be a demon by selling his soul to them. Instead, he willingly transformed himself into an undead and gathered strength to be a demon. This meant hecked a proper pedigree in the demon world, which resulted in his ssification as an intermediate demon despite possessing the powers of a high-ranking one. Although the Arch Lich could have had the opportunity to elevate his rank by ying one high-ranking demon or a hundred intermediate demons, he had no interest in such pursuits. His sole passiony in the study of magic, which earned him the reputation of a recluse hiding in a corner of the demon world, dedicated to his research. ¡®Well, I guess it makes sense since I¡¯ll need all the hands I can get¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He then asked the Arch Lich, ¡®Pleasee to this world, Arch Lich-nim.¡¯ [Alright¡­!] The Arch Lich''s sigil materialized on the ground, and soon after, a pale-white skeleton emerged from its depths. As the Arch Lich made his appearance, the temperature in the vicinity plummeted even furtherpared to before. However, unlike earlier encounters, this time the freezing cold that emanated from the Arch Lich did not cause harm or difort to those around him. The Egyptian Hunters and Special S raid party members remained unaffected by the bone-chilling cold, thanks to some mysterious change that urred. [Oh? You managed to contract that guy?] ¡®Yes, I somehow managed to.¡¯ [Bwahaha! Fascinating! Asus gains the ability to use ice magic through a curse from Agares, while an Arch Lich masters magic on their own. It appears that this particr Arch Lich specializes in ice attribute spells... How marvelous!] ¡®Pardon me¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol could not understand what Balrog meant by that. Seuk¡­ It was then that the Arch Lich raised both of his hands and shot out his mana in all directions. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ [Frozen Aura.] Ding! [Resistance to ice attribute has increased by twenty percent.] [Resistance to cold has risen.] ¡®Oh?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised at the messages that appeared in front of him. Then, he noticed that the temperature around him became slightly warmer and he was less affected by the boss monster¡¯s blizzard. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­?It¡¯s gotten easier to breathe.¡± ¡°Yeah, me too. I think I feel much better now.¡± ¡°Oh? It¡¯s no longer cold?¡± ¡°Phew! We made it out alive!¡± The Special S raid party members who were shivering a while ago werepletely fine now. ¡®Is this your doing, Arch Lich-nim?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [Yes¡­ This is nothing¡­ to me¡­ that can control¡­ ice attribute¡­] ¡®Wow, that¡¯s really amazing!¡¯ [¡­] The Arch Lich did not bother to respond to Han-Yeol¡¯s praises. Meanwhile, Asus stared in Han-Yeol¡¯s direction after it noticed that its blizzard was no longer effective. Whoooooosh! Then, it infused its mana into the blizzard and made it rage even strongerpared to a while ago. [Scram!] The Arch Lich unleashed his mana and nullified the blizzard once again. A bit of time passed and even the Egyptian Hunters recovered from the incapacitating cold. [T-That damn boss monster!] [I¡¯ll grind that bastard to fine dust!] They were enraged after almost being relegated to the sidelines. Woooong! The Egyptian Hunters weren''t the only ones infuriated; Asus also became incensed upon realizing that the freezing mana in its blizzard was no longer effective against the Arch Lich''s controlled cold. In response, it swiftly altered its tactics, unleashing a potent burst of mana that brimmed with malice and bloodlust. ¡®I won¡¯t let you do as you wish!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly before kicking off the ground toward the boss monster. Tak! [I will¡­ assist you¡­] Fwaaa! Han-Yeol¡¯s body suddenly heated up as his body surged with power. Ding! [The Arch Lich¡¯s support magic ¡®Strength¡¯ has been cast on you.] [Your STR has increased by twenty percent.] [The Arch Lich¡¯s support magic ¡®Haste¡¯ has been cast on you.] [Your AGI has increased by twenty percent.] [The Arch Lich¡¯s support magic ¡®Stone Skin¡¯ has been cast on you.] [Your defense has increased by ten percent.] [Your resistance to debuff has increased by five percent.] ¡®Wow¡­ What¡¯s all this?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised. He had believed that the Arch Lich could only wield ice attribute magic, which was why he hadn''t bothered summoning him for this hunt. However, it became evident that his assumption was way off the mark, as the Arch Lich possessed far greater capabilities than he had previously imagined. ¡®Wow¡­ He¡¯s really using other magic as well?¡¯? Armed with the Arch Lich''s buff, Han-Yeol had be remarkably agile, and his fears hadpletely dissipated. He now felt invincible, as if he could annihte anything and anyone standing in his path without a second thought. ¡®Eat this!¡¯? Shwiiiiik! Han-Yeol threw his hammer attached to his chain at the boss monster. ¡°Chain Smite!¡± Chwaaaak! The hammer was infused with powerful mana as it zipped through the air and flew toward its target. Any monster that was hit by Han-Yeol¡¯s powerful attack was bound to suffer damage and be flung back, but that was not the case this time. ng! ¡®What?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked when Asus lightly swung its sword and parried the hammer effortlessly. "Hmph, looks like you won''t be an easy opponent," Han-Yeol remarked with a smirk. The boss monster disyed astonishing speed and precision as it swung its greatsword, a weapon evenrger than a typical two-handed sword. There was not a single moment of hesitation in its movements. ¡®It looks like this boss raid won¡¯t be easy¡­¡¯?he could tell that he was in for a rough ride this time. Still, he brushed the shock away and stood a distance away from the boss monster. ¡®Hmm¡­ The ground is a bit slippery¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol was not sure if the ground was slippery because it melted and froze again or if the boss monster intentionally made it slippery, but that did not matter to him. It would have been a different story for normal Hunters, but Han-Yeol was definitely not an ordinary Hunter. ¡®That has nothing to do with me,¡¯?he thought with a confident smirk. His mobility skill, ''Cat Walk,'' not only allowed him to move swiftly but also endowed him with an excellent sense of bnce, akin to that of a cat. The slippery ground was definitely not going to hinder him anytime soon. Chapter 207: Asus (3)

Chapter 207: Asus (3)

¡°Hey! Tin can!¡± Han-Yeol taunted the boss monster. Shwooo¡­! Then, a breeze blew from deep within the void of the helmet as the boss monster, Asus, turned toward him. Han-Yeol felt goosebumps all over his body upon meeting Asus'' gaze. ¡®Ugh¡­ I can tell it¡¯s strong before even fighting it. I¡¯d probably be busy running away or just die in a few minutes if I fight it one on one¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol could tell that the boss monster was strong. That did not mean that Asus was stronger than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. The raid party that had confronted the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva did not have a Master Rank Hunter at that time, but it still consisted of the strongest Hunters from Egypt. The boss monster raid had been supported by both the quality of the raid members and the budget to acquire whatever equipment they needed. Moreover, a significant number of powerful Egyptian Hunters had fallen during that raid, despite the Horus raid party¡¯s best efforts. Thus, it was absurd to even entertain the thought that Asus could be more powerful than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Seuk¡­! Han-Yeol pulled out his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword. Sueeek! Asus responded by raising the gigantic sword, which was evenrger than a two-handed sword, and pointed it menacingly. Han-Yeol could feel the chilling mana being emitted by the sword, and he was certain that even a single cut from it would be enough to spell his doom. ¡®So, this is a showdown between fire and ice? Sword Breath!¡¯?Han-Yeol infused his mana into his sword and set it aze with a raging me that instantly heated his surroundings. Bam! Balrog jumped from the cliff andnded next to Han-Yeol. The intermediate demon jumped from nearly thirty meters above ground, but his sturdy muscles protected him from any fall damage. Tak! Then, Mujahidnded on the left side of Han-Yeol. Bam! [Ack!] He let out a scream after slipping on the slippery ground. ¡°Mujahid¡­¡± Whoosh! Mujahid immediately stood up and scratched his head in embarrassment but¡­ Bam! [Ack!] He slipped once again and fell on his butt. ¡°Sigh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol shook his head. [I-I¡¯m sorry,] Mujahid said while rubbing his butt after getting up for the second time. The ground was as slippery as ever, but Mujahid was not considered one of Egypt''s most powerful Hunters solely because of his abilities. He had been subjected to harsh training ever since he was young, including the challenging ''walking on slippery ice'' exercise. As a result of this intense training from an early age, he had be one of the most powerful brawlers in the country, effortlessly maintaining his bnce on all sorts of terrain. However, during their current situation, he slipped twice on the ice, not due to anyck of skill or sense of bnce, but rather because of his inherently carefree personality. Observing Mujahid, Han-Yeol noticed that he already had four embers on his back. ¡®He seems to be doing alright,¡¯?he thought with a smile. The preparation was finished, and all that remained was to fight. [Bwahahaha! I feel bad for ganging up on an old foe, but I¡¯ll make myself feel better by having your head!] Balrog seemed to be intent on killing Asus. Sseuuuu¡­! Last but not least, the Arch Lich floated in the air and slowlynded right behind Han-Yeol. Shwaaa¡­! Shwaaa¡­!? The boss monster did not seem to be fazed at all, despite having to face the four powerful beings all alone. The only reaction it showed was the rough breathinging from within the void in its helmet. ¡°I¡¯m going first,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Okay, hyung-nim.¡± Seuk¡­ Tak! Han-Yeol shot forward like a bullet toward Asus. ¡®He¡¯s quiterge, so let¡¯s test his speed out,¡¯?he thought. He had invested quite a lot in his AGI stat, so he was confident not only in his strength but also in his agility. After all, he possessed quite a low risk tolerance, so he was against the idea of putting all of his eggs in one basket. Well, it was more like putting all his points into one stat in this case. Shwiiiik! ¡®sh Strike!¡¯?Han-Yeol used his skill, swinging his sword at extreme speeds that a burst of light shone from his sword. He was already a Master Rank Hunter, so his skills were far more powerful than they used to be, and his movement was so fast that it was nearly impossible for it to be tracked by the naked eye. However¡­ . ng! Asus swung its sword and easily blocked Han-Yeol¡¯s skill. ¡®Ack!¡¯? But that was not the end of it. Ding! [You have been affected by the Ice Aura of the boss monster, Asus.] [Ice damage will be inflicted upon you for one minute.] ¡®D-Damn it!?Fire Ball!¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised by the message that appeared in front of him and hurriedly threw a Fire Ball to obscure the boss monster''s vision before quickly retreating. Boom! Chwak! The ground was quite slippery, so he was forced to crouch down while sliding back to maintain his bnce. ¡®Keuk¡­!¡¯ Han-Yeol''s arm felt numb after shing swords with Asus, and the reason was that he had been affected by the boss monster''s Ice Aura. Fortunately, the Ice Aura only affected his right arm and did not spread throughout his body. Han-Yeol couldn''t fully understand how the aura worked, but he assumed that it was all thanks to the ice resistance spell the Arch Lich had buffed him with. [Bwahaha! That guy¡¯s still as good as ever. Is it because he¡¯s able to use one hundred percent of his abilities? My human contractor can¡¯t do anything against him! Haha!] ¡®Tsk¡­ I was just caught off guard, Balrog-nim.¡¯ [Bwahaha! Sure~ Sure~ Whatever you say~] Han-Yeol grimaced at Balrog¡¯s sarcastic response, but he decided to just shrug it off. Why? It was true that Asus was really strong, but that did not mean that Han-Yeol was scared or fazed by the boss monster. ¡®There are a lot of powerful enemies in this world,¡¯?he thought with a smirk. He was someone who had started as an F Rank Hunter and climbed all the way to Master Rank. He could have gotten stuck in a rut by now, but he did not have time to get stuck, as fighting against stronger opponents was simply too fun for him. It was Asus¡¯ self-proimed rival, Balrog, who made a move this time. [Breath of Fire!] Fwaaaaaah! The skill was not that powerful since Balrog was a demon specializing in defense rather than offense, but the mes he breathed out were enough to deal painful damage to the boss monster. Chwak! However, Asus was not simply going to stand and fall victim to the mes. It raised its sword and cut the fire right down the middle. Crack¡­ Crack¡­? ¡®Huh? What the hell? The fire froze in midair¡­? What absurdity is that?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised. On the other hand, Balrog was furious after seeing his mes freeze in midair. This proved that the differences in their power were simply far too great, and seeing his rival to be much more powerful than him was more than enough to enrage the battle-crazed demon. [Bwahahaha! Damn it! Why are my powers sealed and that I have to suffer being humiliated by that guy?!] ¡®Haha¡­ My bad¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol awkwardlyughed and apologized inwardly. While summoning Balrog, it was technically his fault for not being strong enough. However, the situation could have been worse for the intermediate demon if a different human had summoned him, as his abilities would have been fixed at that time. The unique aspect of Han-Yeol''s power was his ability to level up, which allowed the demons he summoned to gradually unseal their powers and grow stronger over time. In essence, the human who summoned Balrog could be considered both the right and wrong one. As Asus'' attention was directed toward Balrog, someone took full advantage of that opening. Shwik! It was none other than Mujahid, who had be quite close to Balrog despite not being able tomunicate with him. The moment Balrog used Breath of Fire to grab the boss monster¡¯s attention, Mujahid was already positioned behind Asus. Of course, the boss monster had already noticed Mujahid''s presence, so it was about to turn around and face him but... [I won¡¯t let you! Fire Explosion!] Kaboom! Balrog did not miss the opening presented when the boss monster was about to turn around. The Breath of Fire, which was frozen in midair, exploded, engulfing Asus. The boss monster covered its face in an attempt to minimize the damage it received. [Bwahahaha! How about that?! I might be weakerpared to when I was in the demon world, but I have dependable allies here too! That¡¯s something you don¡¯t have, Asus! Kwahaha!] Balrog let out a burst of boisterousughter after sessfully damaging the boss monster. However, the boss monster was not an ordinary demon, sonding a single blow was nowhere near enough to bring it down. Kieeeeeeek! [Hmm?] An ear-splitting shriek rang from within the mes. Shwak! The mes from the explosion were absorbed by something in the air before they disappeared without a trace. Asus appeared from behind the disappearing mes with its sword raised up high. Whoosh¡­! Then, the boss monster started to gather its mana into its sword. Wooooong! A powerful surge of mana surrounded Asus before arge dimensional gate appeared behind it. ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?!¡± Han-Yeol was shocked. It was absolutely unheard of that a monster possessed the ability to summon a dimensional gate. ¡°C-Crazy!¡± Unfortunately, that was not the end of the boss monster¡¯s antics. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? Sounds of footsteps rang from within the dimensional gate before it grew louder and louder. Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­!? Then, monsters started emerging one by one. ¡°I¡­ Ice Demons?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed in horror. The Ice Demons were the most powerful monsters in the Cheolwon hunting ground, but they were not really much of a threat as they only formed small groups of two or three. Not only that, they were usually spread far away from other monsters, so they were not that big of a deal. In fact, they were quite a hassle to locate and hunt, and during this particr hunt, Han-Yeol had only managed to kill two of them. However, the boss monster just summoned all of the remaining Ice Demons in the hunting ground to the nds. "How is this possible?! Damn it¡­ Should we have hunted those too beforeing here¡­?" Han-Yeol cursed under his breath. It turned out that Asus was not an ordinary boss monster that used ice magic and its humongous sword. It was hiding an ace under its sleeve that could summon monsters to its present location, and this trump card could be the deciding factor in this battle. ¡®I knew this guy was something special, but who would¡¯ve known it could summon a dimensional gate?!¡¯? Han-Yeol¡¯s party might have had numerical superiority, but that was no longer the case after nearly one hundred Ice Demons emerged from the dimensional gate. ¡°Kwuoooooooh!¡± The Ice Demons had a peculiar appearance, diverging from the typical Western concept associated with the term ''demons'' and leaning more toward the demons found in Eastern culture. They resembled malnourished dinosaurs, walking on their hind legs, with their skinny arms resembling wings. Although these ''wings'' were not capable of flight, they functioned as normal arms for attacking and defending. Despite the cool and vicious connotations of the name ''demon,'' these creatures were more urately described as hideously ugly monsters. However, underestimating them based on their appearance would be a grave error, as they were remarkably adept inbat and employed a highly potent poison in their attacks. Known for being challenging to defeat, those who managed to kill them often paid a high price, as the monsters resorted to poisoning their enemies with their dying breath. The first Hunter to encounter these creatures and give them the name ''Ice Demons'' had managed to survive the encounter. However, he ended up in intensive care for two weeks before eventually sumbing to the poison. Truly, these were terrifying monsters worthy of beingbeled the most formidable creatures in this hunting ground. ¡°Special S raid party!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. ¡°Yes, Hunter-nim!¡± [All forces! Gather up!] Mujahid called his subordinates. [Yes, Mujahid-nim!] They had initially nned to involve themter in the fight against Asus, as they had no information on the boss monster. However, the situation waspletely different now that they had lost their numerical advantage. In fact, the situation seemed quite dire as they were outnumbered by more than two to one. ¡®Tsk¡­ We¡¯re still outnumbered¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth. Shwooooosh¡­! The mana-filled blizzard raged across the Cheolwon hunting ground as both sides were in an intense stand-off. [Everything is meaningless¡­] [Meaningless¡­] ¡®I¡¯vepletely neglected these two for quite a long time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he summoned the Void Devils. These two were a bit left behindpared to Balrog and the others, as their main task was to watch over his father instead of joining him on hunts. In fact, there was no level difference between these demons that Han-Yeol summoned first and the intermediate demon he summonedter, Balrog. Han-Yeol could not see the stats of these low-ranking demons, but he was certain that their stats were probably hopelesspared to Balrog''s. ¡®There is no point leveling them up since they¡¯d only leech experience points away from the others. Besides, it¡¯s not like I could evolve them to intermediate demons, since I don¡¯t have the Invoke for it,¡¯?Han-Yeol justified his actions with his own way of thinking. Still, he had no choice but to summon both of them right now as every head and pair of hands counted in their current situation. Chapter 208: Asus (4)

Chapter 208: Asus (4)

[Wow, this is the first time you¡¯re summoning all of them since the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva raid, right?] Mujahid whistled and asked after seeing the Void Devils. [Yeah, you¡¯re right.] [Hohoho! It¡¯s over for those monsters. Is there any monster that can survive once hyung-nim gets serious?] Mujahid buttered up to Han-Yeol in an awkward manner. He was not the type to curry favor with another person, so he felt a bit ufortable doing it. Nevertheless, he did it merely for the sake of doing it, and there wasn''t much meaning behind it. [Quit ying around and focus on the battle. I have a feeling it¡¯s going to start real soon.] [Hehe~ Just leave it to me! I¡¯ll sweep all of them up!] Mujahid showed no signs of slowing down, despite not having properly rested for the past five days. On the contrary, he seemed to be even more fired up and in much better shape than when the hunt first started. The secret behind his current state was none other than Han-Yeol. Being around Han-Yeol gave him a ten percent buff to his stats, and the Enhance Han-Yeol spell kept his mana always at its peak. Furthermore, Han-Yeol would draw mana from his Mana Pouch and replenish Mujahid''s mana whenever it ran low, making him feel almost invincible during this hunt. In fact, Mujahid''s mana in this hunt was close to infinite, with Han-Yeol continuously replenishing it on top of Mujahid''s innate ability that replenished mana whenever he was hit. Mujahid couldn''t help but feel on cloud nine during this hunt, and he was gradually starting to believe that hunting with Han-Yeol alone was far superior to hunting with raid parties. After all, like Han-Yeol, Mujahid detested the conservative hunting style of raid parties, and both of them synced incredibly well in their daring and crazy way of hunting. ¡®Enhance! Mana Explosion!¡¯? Shwooong¡­ Kabooom! Han-Yeol¡¯s skill signaled the start of the sh as the Mana Explosion he sneakily shot wreaked havoc amongst the Ice Demons. However, he was not satisfied with the result of his sneak attack. ¡®Hmm¡­ Mana Explosion is slowly starting to show limitations¡­ I think I need to get a new area of?effect ranged?offensive skill¡­¡¯?he thought. Only briefly lost in his thoughts, Han-Yeol was forced to snap out of it when the Ice Demons charged toward him and his party after being hit by the sneaky explosion. ¡°Kwuoooooooh!¡± The Ice Demons let out a hideous cry as theymenced their charge. ¡°Aaaaack!¡± ¡°Please god¡­ Watch over us so that we could live to see another day¡­¡± The members of the Special S raid party were quitemendable, as they did their best to follow every single one of Han-Yeol''smands. The sight of the horde of Ice Demons rushing toward them definitely scared them out of their wits, and some of them started to consider running away from the battle. However, all of them were S Rank Hunters, and they knew that they would not amount to much if they ran from this battle. ¡°Haa¡­ Let¡¯s win and make it out alive¡­¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Should we go to Hawaii with the money we earned after this hunt, Yoon-Ho?¡± ¡°Oh? That sounds like a great idea.¡± ¡°¡­if we make it out alive.¡± The Special S raid party consisted of only ten members, which was quite umon in the current trend where raid parties moved in groups of at least thirty Hunters. The recent changes in dimensional holes appearing inside the hunting grounds, triggering monster waves, had made most raid parties opt for safety, fearing being wiped out. The Hunters'' Association, witnessing a steep rise in Hunter fatalities in hunting grounds, suggestedrger groups as a precautionary measure. Initially, many Hunters ignored the association''s suggestions due to being unustomed to moving inrger groups. However, the continuous rise in fatalities forced the Hunters'' Association to take action. While they couldn''t force the Hunters to change their ways, the association decided to use the media to convince them. The association utilized its influence to ensure that fatalities were reported not only by major news outlets but also by online tforms. They even arranged programs analyzing the causes of fatalities in the hunting grounds, with some TV stations airing three-hour specials on the topic. The inundation of such news convinced the Hunters to change their approach, and they began entering hunting grounds in groups of thirty or more. The association''s tactic proved sessful, stabilizing the death rate of Hunters in the hunting grounds and making hunting inrge groups the norm. However, the Special S raid party remained steadfast in their format of having only ten members. Each of them was considered an elite, and their chemistry with each other was absolutely solid. Their small numbers facilitated natural bonding, significantly contributing to their strong chemistry. ¡°We¡¯re going to Hawaii and have a good time with the babes on the beach!¡± Hunters were sought after anywhere in the world, and most women would try their luck to seduce them anywhere they went. ¡°Keke! Crazy bastard!¡± The Special S raid party members joked with each other while the Ice Demons were rushing toward them. ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± ¡°Bring it on!¡± BAAAAAAM! The Ice Demons rammed into the Special S raid party. *** Meanwhile, Mujahid and Balrog led the Egyptian Hunters to fight against the horde of Ice Demons. [Bwahahaha! Bring it on, fools!] Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? There were all sorts of skills flying around the battlefield, but Mujahid and Balrog stood out among them as they bravely fought against the monsters. The Special S raid party might beposed of elite S Rank Hunters, but facing one hundred Ice Demons was simply too much for them. It was not that the S Rank Hunters were weak orcking, but going up against one hundred monsters considered to be the strongest in this hunting ground was simply too overwhelming. However, the reason they were able to fight against the Ice Demons without being annihted was thanks to Mujahid, Balrog, and... ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Bam! ¡°Kwuoooooh!¡± ¡­Mavros. Poison Arrows rained from above, incapacitating dozens of the Ice Demons. It might seem strange that these monsters were getting damaged by poison when they used poisons themselves, but the Ice Demons did not produce their poison in their bodies, so they did not have much resistance to it. Furthermore, the Poison Arrows raining from above were not ordinary skills; they were conjured from the mana of a dragon. The ck dragon seemed to be upset about something as he unleashed a torrent of Poison Arrows from above, and the barrage dealt massive damage against the horde of Ice Demons. ¡®Good¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol nodded in satisfaction after seeing that Mavros was carrying out hismand very well. Crack¡­ Crack¡­? Han-Yeol redirected his focus toward the boss monster, Asus, and walked toward it while stretching and cracking his neck. Sseuuu¡­ Of course, the Arch Lich was floating close behind him. ¡®Mavros is useful againstrge boss monsters or masses of enemies, but the Arch Lich¡¯s buffs and debuffs are much more useful against boss monsters like this one,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. This was the reason Mavros was venting his anger at the Ice Demons. He had expected to fight against the boss monster alongside Han-Yeol, as they always did. However, he was surprised when Han-Yeol asked him to go and help the others against the Ice Demons. This greatly upset him, as he loved fighting against strong enemies alongside Han-Yeol more than anything else in this world. In the end, the obedient ck dragon had no choice but to carry out Han-Yeol¡¯s order, but he could not help but redirect the frustration and anger inside him against the Ice Demons. "Hey, Tin can. It¡¯s one versus two now, are you happy?" Han-Yeol taunted the boss monster once again. Shwooo¡­ Asus simply exhaled in response, just as it always did. ¡®Hmm¡­ Is this guy just slow or stupid?¡¯? Han-Yeol could tell that the demon could understand humannguage, as there were numerous cases of boss monsters understanding and even speaking humannguage. This was the reason it was not strange at all for Asus to understand what Han-Yeol was saying. Oddly enough, Asus reacted to whatever Han-Yeol said, but its exhales were just about it. There were a couple more strange things about the boss monster. Asus managed to block every single attack thrown at it, but it never once made the first move against them. The only ''attack,'' if it could be considered one at all, it did was to summon the blizzard and unleash its mana, and that was just about it. "I have no idea who you are, but I know for a fact that you¡¯re going to lose against me," Han-Yeol confidently said. It did not matter to him what or who the boss monster was, as his main objective was to hunt it. ¡®I¡¯ll leave the?supporting?to you, Arch Lich-nim.¡¯ [As you wish¡­] Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and rushed at the boss monster. Whoosh! ¡®As expected,¡¯?Han-Yeol expected the boss monster to only move once he made a move himself. Asus was disying theplete opposite of what most boss monsters do. While typical boss monsters would not concern themselves with anything happening in the hunting ground, they would suddenly be extremely aggressive once a Hunter stepped into their territory. On the other hand, Asus did not seem to react much unless and until it was attacked first. ¡®Well, that¡¯s not important since they¡¯re all just mana stones in the end! Chain Smite!¡¯?Han-Yeol threw his chain attached with a hammer at the end toward the boss monster. It was an attack that had already failed once, but the previous attempt was merely a warm-up to test the boss monster out. Han-Yeol was serious this time as he threw his chain with the intent of following it up with Sword Breath. ng! As expected, Asus deflected the chain with its sword, and Han-Yeol did not miss the opening to get near the boss monster and swing his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword, which was set aze by Sword Breath. ng! Their swords shed against each other. Ding! [You have been affected by the Ice Aura of the boss monster, Asus.] [Ice damage will be inflicted upon you for one minute.] As expected, the same message popped up this time as well. ¡®Not so fast!¡¯? However, the situation was quite different now from a while ago. Ding! [The Arch Lich has temporarily increased your resistance to ice attribute.] [Your resistance has nullified Asus¡¯ Ice Aura.] [Your resistance to ice attribute has slightly increased.] ¡®Now we¡¯re talking!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, now able to withstand the boss monster''s aura. ¡°Haaaaap!¡± ng! ng! ng! ng! ng!? Han-Yeol went on the offensive. ¡°Restrain!¡± Chwiiiiik! He had no problems using both hands after getting drilled¡ªno, trained¡ªby the Demon Sergeant, Kajikar. Han-Yeol swung his sword while simultaneously controlling his chain. "Have a taste of this, you tin can!" Han-Yeol shouted. He was doing whatever he could to gain the upper hand, even shouting loudly to distract the boss monster by even a split second. Shwooo¡­ ng! However, Asus skillfully evaded Han-Yeol¡¯s sword before deflecting the chain. ¡®Tsk¡­!¡¯ It was an attack that Han-Yeol was certain would work, but he could not help but click his tongue after seeing it fail so easily. ¡®Oh¡­ Is this how Jung Woo-Hyun and Jung Soo-Hyun felt when fighting against me¡­?¡¯?he suddenly remembered the two S Rank Hunters. Of course, he was only talking about the frustration they might have felt and not the despair and hopelessness they actually felt against him. It was true that he felt frustrated by his attacks not working against the boss monster, but he felt really good right now. He was having a lot of fun fighting against Asus. The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva had simply been colossal, and it had definitely felt more like a raid than a regr fight. On the other hand, Asus was slightly taller than an average human, but the boss monster possessed skills far greater than most Hunters. This was the reason that this fight felt more like a duel to Han-Yeol than an actual boss raid, and he loved the thrill and adrenaline he got from dueling with his life on the line. He felt like some kind of brave warrior fighting against evil¡­ or something like that¡­ Chapter 209: Asus (5)

Chapter 209: Asus (5)

Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and swung his sword at Asus once again. ¡°Haaap!¡± Whoosh! ng! Asus blocked the sword, and they were now locked in a contest of strength. Woooong! Two massive balls of mana shed against each other, with neither side trying to give an edge to the other. The collision of these two gigantic mana balls sent shockwaves rippling throughout their surroundings, wreaking havoc along the way. On Asus'' side, ice and blizzard raged, while on Han-Yeol''s side, a firestorm roared. Of course, Han-Yeol remained unaffected by the blizzard due to his possession of the Ice Attribute skill. While he could have potentially controlled Asus'' blizzard and utilized it, his skill level was still too low, making any attempt pointless. Besides, there was no reason for him to waste his mana trying to control ice when he could simply use fire, which naturally countered ice. ¡°Keuuu¡­!¡±? Whooosh! Just as they were still locked in their contest of mana and strength, Han-Yeol sent a signal to the Arch Lich, [Now!] ¡°Hey! Tin can!¡± ng! Han-Yeol gave up on the contest of strength and pulled back his sword before jumping up in the air. [Mana Rocket.] Shwoooong¡­ Kabooom! The skill that the Arch Lich had been channeling for the past three minutes was finallypleted, and a powerful burst of mana mmed into Asus¡¯ body. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±?Asus finally made a different sound as it cried out in agony. It did not matter how powerful the boss monster was as it was not invincible to begin with. ¡®I can just fight together with myrades if it¡¯s too much for me to handle alone. I¡¯m not that stupid, you know? Heh,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Yes, he was obsessed with fighting, but that did not mean he was a fool who would rush into a losing battle. He could tell that Asus¡¯ mana was far more powerful than his, so he had no choice but to devise a n with the Arch Lich bymunicating through Telepathy II. ¡®Nice, Arch Lich-nim!¡¯ [This is nothing¡­ for me¡­] Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel that the Arch Lich''s voice and manner of speech sounded familiar the more he listened. However, for some reason, he couldn''t quite put a finger on it. ¡®Hmm¡­ It feels like it''s right around the back of my mind, but I just can''t seem to grasp it,¡¯ he thought in frustration. Nevertheless, he decided to ignore the feeling for now. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± Bam! The boss monster was down on one knee after taking a direct hit from the powerful Mana Rocket of the Arch Lich, but it quickly unleashed its own powerful mana in response, getting back up to its feet. "Wow, you''re quite the tough one," Han-Yeol remarked. The Mana Rocket shot by the Arch Lich was formidable even by Han-Yeol''s standards, but the boss monster that withstood it was truly a formidable foe. ¡°Tsk tsk¡­?I guess I¡¯ll be exerting myself today.¡± Han-Yeol clicked his tongue before setting his sword aze once again. Fwaaaaa! Crack! Crack!? He cracked his neck and prepared to start another round with the boss monster. *** The boss monster raid continued on for nearly four hours. There was only one hour left before the sun was going to set, but the boss monster gathered whatever remaining monsters to the nds, allowing Han-Yeol and his party to continue the raid without worrying about being ambushed. However, Han-Yeol had to defeat the boss monster within seven hours if he wanted to make it in time to meet the Americans. Unfortunately, the raid did not seem like it was going to be over anytime soon. Whoosh! ng! ng! ng!? ¡°Keuk!¡±? Han-Yeol and the Arch Lichbined their strength against Asus, but the boss monster showed no signs of slowing down. Despite getting hit by numerous attacks, it would simply get back up as if nothing had happened. ¡®What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s the problem?!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly in frustration. He could not help but slowly start to get annoyed after seeing the boss monster brush off any damage they dealt and get up nonchntly. He was sure that the damage they inflicted was considerable, but the boss monster seemed unscathed every single time. Wooong! Shwoooo! Asus got back up once again and unleashed its mana. ¡°Ugh¡­?This is getting quite frustrating,¡± Han-Yeol grumbled under his breath. The situation was not looking good for him. While he might be able to recover mana faster than most Hunters, he could feel that he was starting to consume more and more mana as the battle progressed. Whooosh! ng! His concentration was thrown off for a second after worrying about his depleting mana, and he threw his chain in a manner that resembled a mistake he would seldom make. The chain flew toward the boss monster without a hint of killing intent, as if it was thrown for the sake of throwing rather than achieving anything. However, Asus gave it its all to block the chain, treating it as if it were a lethal attack. It swung its sword as hard as it could to parry Han-Yeol¡¯s attack. ¡®Huh? Does he have magic resistance¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol came up with a theory after seeing the boss monster¡¯s reaction. He and the Arch Lich cooperated quite closely, dealing significant magic damage to the boss monster¡ªor so they thought. However, the boss monster emerged unscathed every single time it was hit by the Arch Lich''s magic attack. Han-Yeol had failed to notice this during the battle due to his adrenaline pumping, but now in hindsight, he realized that the normal response of any creature would be to intentionally get hit by his physical attack while evading the powerful magic attack. No, Asus could have evaded both Han-Yeol''s attack and the Arch Lich''s magic attack, but the boss monster seemed more focused on blocking Han-Yeol''s attack, even if it meant getting hit by the Arch Lich''s powerful magic attack. ¡®What if he''s not really tough but actually weak against physical damage, while being extremely strong against magic damage¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol was not certain of his theory, but he believed that it was definitely worth a shot. ¡®But do you agree that it is worth testing out, Arch Lich-nim?¡¯ [I see¡­ Alright¡­] They weremunicating through telepathy, allowing the Arch Lich to effortlessly read Han-Yeol''s thoughts without the need for him to convey them verbally. ¡®I don¡¯t know what¡¯s the right answer, but you¡¯ll never know until you try it out!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly before he jumped. Tak! Shwiiiiiik! ¡®Restrain!¡¯ He employed his most basicbat maneuver, which involved throwing the chain and using Retrain. However, this time, he held his HSK-447P instead of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword, and his gun was loaded with a 7.76mm armor-piercing bullet coated with his mana, rather than the mana bullets he usually used. He made this choice because shooting mana bullets was essentially equivalent to dealing magic damage. Therefore, he opted to load real bullets to deal physical damage instead. Ratatatata! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!? As expected, Asus reacted strongly to the bullets, immediately raising its sword to block them the moment it realized they were going to deal physical damage this time. It was theplete opposite of how the boss monster nonchntly allowed magic attacks to hit it directly. ¡®This means¡­ That bastard is almost immune against magic damage but weak against physical damage.¡¯?Han-Yeol understood the boss monster now. He might have found out the strategy to raid the boss monster, but that did not mean things were going to be any easier from now on. ¡®But that bastard¡¯s swordsmanship is on a whole different level, and its reflexes are lightning quick¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. It was futile to try and distract the boss monster with the Arch Lich''s magic, as it solely focused on Han-Yeol and Han-Yeol alone. In fact, it didn''t even bother evading any of the attacks the Arch Lich threw at it since they were all magic attacks. Whoosh! ng! ¡°Keuk¡­!?As expected¡­!¡± Han-Yeol gritted his teeth after his sneak attack failed. As expected, the boss monster was still only defending and did not show any signs of wanting to attack. ¡®What¡¯s this bastard trying to do?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­¡±? This was the first time he had run out of breath since bing a Master Rank Hunter. He had reached a level where training at the Hunter Gym no longer tired him, even if he pushed himself to the limits. Most Hunters would supplement their stamina with their mana, enabling them to push their bodies to the extremes. However, that was not the case for Han-Yeol. His physical stats had reached a point where physicalbor no longer ced any strain on his body, and his monstrous mana recovery made it almost impossible for him to run out of mana simply by performing exercises. Han-Yeol had tried countless times to tire himself out at the gym, but he soon realized that it was all in vain. In other words, training no longer had any effect on him. *** There were only five hours left. Han-Yeol had learned how to raid the boss monster, but that knowledge could not be put into action as the boss monster stubbornly blocked every single one of his attacks. However, it wasn''t that Han-Yeol hadn''t achieved anything within the two hours; he managed to remove the boss monster''s epaulet and cause its cape to fly away. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­?As expected, it can¡¯t recover from physical damages,¡± Han-Yeol muttered with a smirk while catching his breath. The boss monster instantly recovered from any magic damage it suffered, no matter how powerful it was, but it couldn''t recover from the physical damage it received. However, the situation was not looking favorable for Han-Yeol. He had been running around and attacking ceaselessly for the past two hours, but the only result he managed to achieve was the removal of the boss monster''s cape. ¡®Haa¡­ Damn it¡­ I¡¯m starting to get exhausted now¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol slowly started to feel his body slowing down. He was the type of person who started to getzy whenever he was tired, and he wanted nothing more than to finish this raid before his frustration took a toll on him. Whoosh! "Hey, Tin can. Let''s end this once and for all!" Han-Yeol confidently said. Ironically, he didn''t have any good strategy in mind, but that didn''t mean he could let this drag on forever. Tak! He kicked off the ground and swung his sword once again. Whoosh! Asus was about to swing its sword to block the attack, but something suddenly popped up behind the boss monster that shocked Han-Yeol. ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± ¡°Mavros!¡± The ck dragon suddenly appeared behind Asus, and a brilliant idea shed in Han-Yeol¡¯s head. ¡®Arch Lich-nim! Please go handle the Ice Demons!¡¯?he immediately conveyed. [Alright¡­] He asked the Arch Lich to handle the Ice Demon in Mavros¡¯ absence. Then, he sped toward Mavros and Asus. Puk! Puk!? Mavros was so close to the boss monster that they were entangled with each other at this moment, leaving no space for Asus to swing its humongous sword. As a result, it started to punch the ck dragon instead. Puk! Cold mana reverberated across Mavros'' body whenever he was punched by Asus. The ck dragon appeared to be in obvious pain from the punches, but he withstood the agony and retaliated by biting Asus on the neck. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The biting force of a dragon was bound to be iparably stronger than any normal monster or beast. C-Craaaack! On top of that, Mavros possessed the Poison Attribute that allowed his teeth to go through the boss monster¡¯s armor. Tak! Han-Yeol hopped onto Mavros and said, ¡°Let¡¯s fly, Mavros!¡± He finally thought of an idea that could finish the boss monster, Asus, once and for all. He felt sorry for Mavros since he was going to be in a lot of pain, but this was the only method he could think of at the moment. He couldn''t pass up this golden opportunity that presented itself. There was only one method in Han-Yeol''s mind right now, and he was certain that this method would definitely kill this stubbornly tenacious boss monster. Chwak! Mavros might have found themand cruel, but he followed Han-Yeol''smand despite experiencing excruciating pain whenever Asus punched him. He spread out his wings and flew up to the sky with the boss monster in tow. Asus seemed to realize what was going on and viciously punched the ck dragon''s body, but the ck dragon stubbornly held onto the boss monster despite the agonizing pain he was subjected to. Then, in the process, Asus made a fatal mistake... ng! The boss monster dropped its sword, a mistake that was definitely going to cost it its life. Han-Yeol smiled upon seeing Asus drop its sword, and he was now certain that the chances of his strategy being sessful had increased significantly. "This is the end for you, Asus! Mavros! Go up as high as you can!" Han-Yeol shouted. Mavros replied by biting down harder on the boss monster''s neck and vigorously pping his wings, carrying them higher and higher into the sky. Chapter 210: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (1)

Chapter 210: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (1)

Shwooooosh! Mavros was extremely strong in hisbat mode, and he flew up like a rocket into the sky. ¡®Keeuuuh¡­!¡¯?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and tried to withstand the air pressure. He was not wearing any special suits that would reduce the pressure he felt, and even as a Master Rank Hunter, his body was having a hard time withstanding it. They continued flying up until they reached the thermosphere. The thermosphere was void of not only air but everything else, making it a ce where one would be confused whether they were already in space or still on Earth. Han-Yeol could see space right in front of his eyes, but that was not what was important right now. Whoosh! Tak! He could not speak due to theck of air in the thermosphere, so he tapped Mavros to tell him to start their descent. Shwooooooosh¡­! ¡®Keuuuuh¡­!¡¯? Han-Yeol felt as if his entire body was burning like a crashinget, but he was able to withstand the pain thanks to his stats and mana. Seuk¡­ He snapped out of it and started to focus once he felt that they were getting nearer to the ground. Slowly, he climbed his way up Mavros¡¯ body. Shwaaaaaaa! As they neared the ground, he could feel his body heating up even more. Fortunately, Han-Yeol possessed the Fire Attribute, granting him some resistance against heat and mes. It was at that moment, just before they were about to crash into the ground... ¡°Throw that guy and fly up, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Whoosh! Puuuk! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Mavros had been preupied with biting down on Asus, which was why he hadn''t responded earlier. However, as soon as Han-Yeol gave themand, Mavros immediately opened his mouth and let out a cry. Then, with a swift motion, he kicked Asus with both of his hind legs, propelling himself into the air. Whoosh! Han-Yeol jumped off Mavros'' back and flew toward Asus. ¡°Eat this! sh Strike!¡± Shwiiik! A sh appeared before Han-Yeol swung his sword, almost at the speed of light. Asus tried to avoid the attack, but it no longer had any power in it after its entire body was burned from the drop. After all, Asus possessed the Ice Attribute, and fire was its biggest weakness. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? Of course, Han-Yeol was not one to miss such an opportunity. He repeatedly stabbed his sword before finally thrusting it into the empty void at the center of Asus¡¯ helmet. Pukeok! The helmet might have appeared empty, but Han-Yeol could feel something the moment his sword ''entered'' it. He was certain that there was something inside the helmet, but it did not feel like flesh at all. Nheless, he pushed the sword deeper and felt something break within the helmet. Then¡­ Baaaam! ¡°Kwaaah!¡± Both of them crashed into the ground with the full force of gravity, starting from the thermosphere, and the kic energy their bodies held spread shockwaves throughout the ground the moment they hit it. Han-Yeol and Asus suffered from the same energy upon impact, and both of them could feel excruciating pain, as if their bodies were being ripped apart. ¡°Aaaargh!¡± The force was so strong that Han-Yeol let out a scream, despite being a Master Rank Hunter. However, it was because of this energy that Asus could not easily pull out the sword that had been stabbed into its helmet. Puuuuuk! Strangely enough, Han-Yeol could plunge his sword deeper and deeper into the helmet. Tak! Asus squeezed whatever strength it had remaining and grabbed Han-Yeol¡¯s arm in a desperate attempt to pull the sword out of its helmet. ¡°Cough!?Not so fast, tin can!¡± However, Han-Yeol had no ns of letting the boss monster go free even though he was coughing up blood. ¡°Die! Explosion!¡± Han-Yeol prepared to deal the finishing blow. Shwiiiik¡­! Silence ensued for a second before¡­ KABOOOM! A massive explosion was triggered from within Asus¡¯ helmet and blew away everything around it, including Han-Yeol. Ding! [The rank of Explosion has risen from (B) to (A).] A message popped up as Han-Yeol was flung back. Tak! Mavros suddenly swooped in and caught Han-Yeol. The ck dragon truly came at the most optimal timing as Han-Yeol waspletely void of energy right now. ¡°Hahaha¡­ Thanks, Mavros.¡± ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± Mavros looked extremely fierce in battle, but he suddenly turned into a docile, cute creature the moment Han-Yeol praised him. This was the reason Han-Yeol could not help but dote on his ck dragon. Despite spending most of his mana by triggering Explosion, Han-Yeol was not an ordinary Hunter but an overpowered one. ¡®Restore.¡¯ Wooong! White-colored mana emanated from Han-Yeol¡¯s hand and healed all of the injuries he sustained from the explosion. This was the skill that would allow him topletely heal himself as long as he was still alive and had some mana remaining. ¡°Phew¡­?It¡¯s done,¡± Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief before hopping off Mavros. The ce where the battle took ce was aplete mess. A sizable crater had formed from a meteorite that was only five centimeters in diameter. With thebined weight of both Han-Yeol and Asus being more than two hundred kilograms, and the fact that Han-Yeol used his mana to further elerate their descent, a massive crater was created in the Cheolwon hunting ground. Shwiiiiiik¡­! A thick ck smoke was rising from the spot Asus fell. ¡®I didn¡¯t gain any levels, but that guy is?probably de¡­¡¯ ¡°Grrr¡­!¡±?Mavros growled before Han-Yeol could finish his thoughts. ck¡­! ¡°Kieeeeee¡­!¡± Asus appeared from within the thick ck smoke. Its eyes were glowing bright red and its armor was in tatters. ¡®H-How can this be?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was shocked. The damage the boss monster suffered was not from an ordinary attack. It was an attack carrying thebined forces of Han-Yeol, Mavros, and the drop from the thermosphere. However, Asus withstood that attack, even though it was exposed to extreme heat during the drop, which was its natural weakness as a monster of ice attribute. ¡°Tsk¡­?You¡¯re quite tough.¡± Han-Yeol clicked his tongue. Whiiish! Tak! Han-Yeol caught his sword and thought, ¡®Damn it¡­ What should I do? I doubt the same attack is going to work twice¡­¡¯ The only silver lining right now would be the fact that the boss monster was in absolute tatters, and Han-Yeol was confident that he could still win this fight. It was then¡­ [I will finish this¡­] ¡®Arch Lich-nim?¡¯ Seuk¡­! The Arch Lich appeared in front of Han-Yeol. ck! ck! ck! ck!? Asus did not seem to be threatened by the presence of the Arch Lich as it made its way toward Han-Yeol. The boss monster finally went on the offensive only after its body was in tatters. Seuk¡­ The Arch Lich floated toward Asus and stopped when they were about five meters apart. He then raised both of his hands toward the boss monster and spoke with authority: [Imand you with the cold powers of the abyss¡­ Heed mymands and return to eternal rest, oh cursed soul, as I am the lord of death, the Arch Lich. This is thew of darkness and death, Death Mind!] Chwaaak! The Arch Lich shot out his mana from both hands toward Asus. Crack¡­! Asus continued walking forward, but started to slow down until he came to a full stop. ¡®Huh? Is that some sort of mind control magic?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. One could pick up clues on what kind of magic it was from the incantation used, but that did not mean that one could listen to the incantation to avoid the spell, as it would probably be toote by that time. ¡°Kweeeeeee!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Han-Yeol was shocked after seeing the dozens of Ice Demons nearby suddenly shriek in agony before turning into smoke. Ding! [You have sessfully hunted the final boss of the Cheolwon hunting ground, the intermediate demon, Asus.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] [Your level has risen.] ¡­ [Your level has risen.] Han-Yeol immediately gained more than ten levels after killing the boss monster, but that was not the end of it. Ding! [The Arch Lich has sessfully brainwashed an intermediate demon.] [Your Invoke has increased by 100.] [You have automatically contracted the intermediate demon, Asus.] ¡°What?!¡± Han-Yeol was shocked once again. He somewhat deduced that the Arch Lich was using a mind control-type magic on the boss monster, but he did not expect it to be automatically contracted to him. ¡°Haha¡­ What the hell is this¡­?¡± Han-Yeol was bbergasted. Thud¡­! It was at that moment when Han-Yeol waspletely out of it that something dropped beside Asus, who was standing nkly after getting brainwashed by the Arch Lich. ¡°What was that?¡± Han-Yeol wondered as he approached Asus. He cautiously moved toward Asus, not being one hundred percent sure, even though the message appeared a while ago. However, his worries seemed to be unfounded as Asus only stood still without moving an inch. ¡°Hmm¡­ This is quite intriguing¡­¡± he muttered. Han-Yeol had studied a lot about monsters and hunting grounds ever since he was a Porter, but this was the first time he ever heard of being able to raid a boss monster in such a manner. There were no such instances of a boss monster being brainwashed in books, reports, papers, or the news. Han-Yeol was shocked once again after reaching where Asus was standing. ¡°What?!¡± he eximed after seeing the object that dropped beside Asus. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect any loot since I technically didn¡¯t kill it, but it¡¯s quite surprising that there¡¯s still loot regardless¡­ This is amazing,¡± he muttered in awe. Indeed, it was amazing, just as he said. The loot that would probably have dropped if Asus died wasid out on the ground. Han-Yeol concluded that these were probably the loot due to a mana stone the size of a basketball being among them. A mana stone of this size was usually dropped by boss monsters, and these mana stones held a denser concentration of manapared to the normal ones dropped by ordinary monsters. However, that was still not the end of the surprise. Woooong! There was other loot on the ground, such as a longsword, a magic shard, an epaulet, a cape, a pair of leggings, and a belt. The longsword looked quite different from the humongous sword Asus was using, but it still emitted powerful mana while surrounding itself in a blue luster. The magic shard looked quite peculiar as loot, but he could instinctively tell that it was going to be useful, judging from the absurd amount of ice energy it was emitting. In fact, the ice energy was so strong that it felt as if anyone daring to grab the shard would have their hand frozen solid by it. Gulp¡­! ¡°Am¡­ Am I dreaming right now¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief. These were all treasures dropped by the boss monster, and every single one of them was going to be immensely valuable. Whoosh! Whoosh!? Han-Yeol looked around and saw that only the Arch Lich and Mavros were with him. The rest of the party members seemed to be exhausted, fighting against the remaining Ice Demons, and they were quite a distance away from him. ¡°Hehehe¡­ These are all mine¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while sheepishly grinning. Nobody could dispute that Han-Yeol was the one who hunted the boss monster. Also, he could simply feign ignorance and pretend nothing was dropped since the boss monster was still standing. In fact, it was going to be harder for him to convince them that these items were dropped since the boss monster was still ¡®alive¡¯. Still, avoiding any suspicion was going to be the best course of action, so he had to hide the loot as soon as possible. However, it was not going to be easy to conceal these items as there were quite a lot of them, and they were too big for him to hide from the others. In the end, Han-Yeol had no other choice but to¡­ ¡°I wanted to do it slowly, but I guess I have no other choice¡­¡± he muttered before he gathered his remaining mana and started to expand it. Chapter 211: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (2)

Chapter 211: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (2)

The reason Han-Yeol allowed the Special S raid party, which was nothing more than dead weight, was to obtain Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s dimensional storage skill. Han-Yeol had observed the mana pattern Kwon Yoon-Ho emitted whenever he used his skill, but there was an invisible wall that prevented him from using the skill. Woooong! Han-Yeol would have given up by now, but the dimensional storage was a skill he really needed. ¡®Tsk¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just have to improvise if I can¡¯t create the exact same skill!¡¯?Han-Yeol decided. He used the same mana pattern Kwon Yoon-Ho emitted but added a slight variation to it. Then, he could feel his mana move much more freelypared to when he was copying Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s mana pattern. Woooong! ¡®It¡­ It¡¯sing!¡¯? This was right after he had hunted the boss monster, so he could feel that his mana was much more sensitive and easier to control. ¡®I should¡¯ve done this sooner¡­ Tsk¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue after realizing that he was wasting time by having tunnel vision on Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s mana when he could have simply added his own touch to the skill. Han-Yeol¡¯s ability was to create skills from his actions rather than copy someone else¡¯s skill. In other words, he had to adjust the way he controlled his mana to suit himself instead of outright copying someone else¡¯s. Woooong! ¡®What kind of dimensional storage do I want?¡¯?he wondered. He pondered for a few seconds before arriving at the conclusion that he wanted something better than what Kwon Yoon-Ho used. ¡®I don¡¯t want something so simple like putting things in and out.¡¯?He then imagined the skill he wanted. It felt like he was ying with y as he started to mold his mana. What he was doing might look extremely easy if someone else saw it, but shaping one¡¯s mana required extreme precision and near-perfect control over their mana. It was at that moment that Han-Yeol¡¯s concentration was about to reach its peak! Woooong! An ordinary-looking door appeared in front of him. Han-Yeol would have been disappointed by the in-looking door if he had just awakened, but he knew that this door was special. He knew that this in-looking ordinary door was going to evolve thanks to his ability that allowed his skills to level up. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it. ck¡­! ¡®It sounds just as normal as it looks,¡¯?he thought after hearing the sound of the doorknob turning. ¡®Hmm? So this is how it works?¡¯? He entered the door and saw a shed that one would usually find in rural areas. It was made of wood and resembled an old storage used in old army bases to store various misceneous things. Han-Yeol was nevertheless amazed at what he had created and entered the storage. Ding! [A new skill has been created: Dimensional Storage (F).] ¡®Oh! As expected!¡¯?he rejoiced after confirming that the skill was indeed what he had envisioned. ¡°Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± p! p! p! p!? Mavrosnded in front of the storage at Han-Yeol¡¯s call. ¡°Can you move those items in here?¡± he asked. ¡°Kieee¡­ek?¡±?Mavros tilted his head in confusion, but he soon nodded and did as he was told. Wooooong¡­! Just as Mavros was about to grab the loot, the Arch Lich suddenly interrupted. [Let me help¡­] The loot floated in mid-air before slowly going into the storage. Then, the Arch Lich floated behind the loot and went toward Han-Yeol. ¡®He looks quite vile and evil, but he¡¯s quite nice, isn¡¯t he?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Most people would imagine a lich to be wearing an old, tattered, dirty robe and emitting malice. Of course, the Arch Lich Han-Yeol summoned was not that far off from what most people would think of. However, one minor difference between them would be that the Arch Lich emittedposure rather than malice. It still emitted a chilling aura, but it did not exude any hostility at all. Not only that, the Arch Lich was wearing an expensive-looking, clean robe as opposed to what other liches would normally wear. ¡®Hmm¡­ He looks quite handsome for a lich now that I take a closer look¡­¡¯ The Arch Lich¡¯s bones were so clean that nobody would dare call him a dposed pile of bones. ¡®Thank you very much, Arch Lich-nim.¡¯ [It is a demon¡¯s duty to help the one they are contracted with¡­] ¡®Hahaha! You are truly different from the other demons, Arch Lich-nim!¡¯ [Why, of course¡­ I might have chosen to be a demon to further my research of magic, but I am technically a human too. I simply chose this path to figure out the mysteries of magic, and the fact that I am a magician won¡¯t change no matter what form I take.] Han-Yeol could feel that the Arch Lich was bing more prominentpared to the first time he had been summoned. His appearance became much better, and he was now forming longer sentences. Fortunately, Han-Yeol was able to tell that the Arch Lich looked favorably upon him as his contractor and that he was a magician, rather than a demon, who knew right from wrong. He was enjoying his conversation with the Arch Lich right now. ¡®Hoho! I will be in your care from now on then, Arch Lich-nim.¡¯ [I would prefer if you could call me more often from now on. I was getting bored of my repetitive research, but being in a new world and obtaining the corpses of unfamiliar monster specimens have reignited the fire within me.] ¡®Yes, I understand. I will definitely call you more often from now on.¡¯ [Thank you. In return, I shall give you a ¡®small¡¯ yet special gift.] ¡®A gift?¡¯ [Yes¡­] The Arch Lich extended both of his arms and gathered his mana into them. Then, he shot his mana toward the storage that Han-Yeol had conjured with his new skill. Shwaaaaaa! The Arch Lich¡¯s mana enveloped the storage. Ding! [The Arch Lich has used space expansion magic.] [The rank of ¡®Dimensional Storage¡¯ has explosively increased from (F) to (M).] [¡®Dimensional Storage¡¯ has reached Master Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.] [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ¡®Dimensional Storage¡¯.] [The skill has started to evolve.] [The skill ¡®Dimensional Storage¡¯ has evolved into ¡®Dimensional Storage II¡¯.] [Dimensional Storage (M) has disappeared.] [A new skill has been created: ¡®Dimensional Storage II¡¯ (F)] ¡®W-What?!¡¯?Han-Yeol was extremely shocked. The skill he had created just five minutes ago suddenly ranked up to Master Rank before immediately evolving to its next stage. What surprised Han-Yeol the most about this was the fact that he had done nothing, and it was purely the Arch Lich¡¯s doing that had evolved his skill. ¡®This is really awesome¡­¡¯?he muttered inwardly in disbelief. [I have researched spatial magic quite a bit, but your dimensional magic seems a bit different from what I am aware of¡­ Tsk¡­ I could have done more if I had a dragon¡¯s heart to tinker with¡­ or perhaps I could summon a bone dragon if I could get my hands on a dragon¡¯s bone¡­ Hmm¡­] ¡®Hahaha¡­ Can you create undead monsters as well?¡¯ [Certainly, why do you think I¡¯m a lich in the first ce?] ¡®Ah¡­!¡¯ [Ha! The losers from my world referred to themselves as white magicians, gray magicians, dark magicians, or whatnot. Ignorant fools¡­ That¡¯s why you guys were stuck at the sixth circle until the day you died! You could not even unlock your mana heart before dying. Tsk¡­] ¡®T-This lich is quite¡­ chatty¡­ Hahaha¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Of course, he did not voice these thoughts in his head, so the Arch Lich did not hear them. The Arch Lich gave a few more items to Han-Yeol before continuing to grumble about things. There were a lot of unfamiliar words the Arch Lich was grumbling, so he did not quite understand everything the Arch Lich was saying. However, Han-Yeol yed along with the grumbling as he could somewhat make out that the Arch Lich was cursing the magicians from another world. ¡®Well, what¡¯s the problem?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He did not care what kind of past the Arch Lich had because the only thing important to him was the fact that he was contracted to such an amazing demon. ¡®I basically hit the jackpot by contracting this guy. He¡¯s an intermediate demon, yet he can do so many things!¡¯? Of course, the Arch Lich was not perfect. He might be able to do a lot of things, but he was not that useful inbat. Still, he could use a variety of magic, so he was quite a flexible ally to have. Han-Yeol felt that he gained an army simply by having the Arch Lich on his side, and the evolution of his Dimensional Storage was a great example of that. He knew that leveling up the Dimensional Storage was certainly not going to be easy since he was not going to use it as often as his other active skills, but the skill was able to evolve in one go, all thanks to the Arch Lich¡¯s magic. The Dimensional Storage that looked like an old rural shed was now the size of a forty-foot container, and the extra space was definitely going to allow him to put more things from now on. ¡®Hmm¡­ The storage would probably modernize the more I evolve the skill. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Maybe it won¡¯t end at II, but there are III, IV, and V too¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought that he literally hit the jackpot if that was the case. Then, he suddenly remembered, ¡®Oh right! Skill details!¡¯ [Dimensional Storage II (F)] [Type: Active] [Description: A skill that uses dimensional space magic to create a space that exists only for the user. The time within the dimensional space is distorted to be a tenth of the normal speed of time, and whatever object the user ces in this space willst ten times longerpared to an ordinary storage. The area of the dimensional space will expand as the skill''s level increases, and the space will modernize every time it evolves.] [Warning: Only the user may choose who may enter the dimensional space created, and the user may also choose to restrict entry to others. This space may not be opened when mana is unstable (e.g., duringbat, sex, or massive consumption of stamina).] ¡®Wow¡­ This is damn amazing!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced after reading the skill description. He initially envisioned something like an ¡®inventory¡¯ often found in video games, but that did not matter now. He was happy with the fact that he gained such a skill, and the fact that the skill held great potential was excellent news to him. Han-Yeol inspected the Dimensional Storage before cing the loot Asus dropped in it. Then, he exited the storage and made the door connecting to it disappear. [¡­] As expected, Asus was still rooted in the same spot after getting brainwashed by the Arch Lich. ¡®What are we going to do about this guy, Arch Lich-nim?¡¯?Han-Yeol asked. [Don¡¯t be concerned. He might be contracted to you, but he is my property too. I have himpletely brainwashed, so he will do anything youmand him to.] ¡®I see¡­¡¯ ¡°Asus,¡± Han-Yeol decided to try giving the boss monster amand. Shwooo¡­ Then, the sound of wind blowing from the empty helmet urred before Asus got in front of Han-Yeol and knelt down. ck! ck!? ¡°Wow¡­¡± Han-Yeol was impressed. This was his first time dealing with a demon like Asus. His rtionship with the demons was one of contractual nature and not of servitude, but the fact that Asus knelt in front of him meant that his rtionship with this demon was different from the others. [He might be my property, but your strange power has made it possible for you to have ownership of him as well. It will assist you just like your other demons regardless of whether I am present or not.] ¡®I see¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol nodded. He was trying to look as calm as possible, but he was actually dying from happiness inside. ¡®I gained an intermediate demon just like that?! Whoa!¡¯? His heart rejoiced with utmost delight. He was so happy that he would have started dancing butt-naked if nobody was around him right now. [I have requested mana stones and monster corpses in exchange for summoning me, but I will waive it off this time since I was able to gain this guy as my property.] ¡®Haha, thank you very much, Arch Lich-nim!¡¯ [Till we meet again¡­] ¡®Yes, thank you very much for your hard work!¡¯ [Hohoho¡­] The Arch Lich let out augh and turned into ck smoke, along with Asus. It seemed that both of them had returned to the demon world. ¡°Phew¡­?This was quite a tiring day in so many ways¡­¡± Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief after realizing that it was finally over. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±?Mavros cried out in agreement before rubbing his head against him. ¡°Haha! You think so too, Mavros?¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± It did not matter to Mavros how difficult the day was, as long as he was with and could fight alongside Han-Yeol. Also, he wished that he could fight alongside his owner forever and ever. Mavros could not speak the human tongue, but he was a creature capable of critical thinking. Of course, his thought process was a bit childish and immature right now¡­ Well, he was still a kid after all. Chapter 212: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (3)

Chapter 212: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (3)

On the other hand, Mujahid and the others were busy fighting against the remaining Ice Demons that had not been eliminated by the Arch Lich. ¡°Haaaaap!¡± Booom! ¡°Kwuuooooh¡­!¡± An Ice Demon was hit by Mujahid¡¯s mana-condensed fists and had its bones shattered. Mujahid and the others had reduced the nearly one hundred Ice Demons by half, and the remaining ones suddenly lost their strength for some reason after Asus was defeated. The remaining fifty Ice Demons that lost their strength were no longer a match for Mujahid, and they were so weak that even Balrog could defeat them by himself now. [Bwahahaha! Bring it on, maggots!] Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? Balrog swung his fiery spear and killed the Ice Demons one after another. Then, around thirty minutes passed before Mujahid mmed his fist through an Ice Demon¡¯s skull, bringing an end to the battle. The intense battle that raged on for hours was finally over, and the Hunters emerged victorious. Victory was always sweet as nectar. ¡°W-We won!¡± ¡°Waaaaah!¡± [Bwahahaha!] [Yahoo!] The Hunters, regardless of whether they were Korean or Egyptian, raised their arms triumphantly and celebrated their victory. Han-Yeol might have been the one that defeated the boss monster, but they could not help but feel triumphant as the one hundred Ice Demons were not an easy opponent for them. Mujahid tried his best to carry the battle, but he could not do everything by himself. On top of that, the fact that Mavros and the Arch Lich left the battle halfway made things difficult for him. To be frank, the fact that there was only one injured and no casualty was definitely a miracle, and this was more than enough to make the Hunters celebrate their victories together, whether they were acquainted or not. Everyone was drunk on the drug called Victory, except for Mujahid. He immediately analyzed the situation before running over to Han-Yeol. ¡°Hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Great work today, Mujahid. I was able to fight one on one against the boss monster today because you took on the Ice Demons. Ah, I did fight alongside Mavros and the Arch Lich, so it wasn¡¯t a real one-on-one,¡± Han-Yeol said before tapping him on the shoulder. Han-Yeol was the one that garnered the biggest victory today, but it was not strange at all to say that Mujahid was the one that worked the hardest. ¡°Ah, not at all. We were able to live to see another day thanks to you killing the boss monster, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Yeah, both of us worked hard then.¡± ¡°Hyung-nim¡­¡± ¡°Haha! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± *** The Cheolwon hunting ground was a mess now, thanks to the huge crater formed, but that did not matter to Han-Yeol and his party. They set up camp on a mountain a short distance away from the nds where the battle urred, and Han-Yeol used his Demon Eyes to scout their surroundings while flying with Mavros, just in case there were any threats remaining. He confirmed that all of the monsters were killed, and it was only after he gave the confirmation that the Porters got to work and started dismembering the corpses strewn on the battlefield. [Hey! We need more equipment here!] [We need more people here!] However, there was a problem. They were severelycking in manpower and equipment to dismember and collect the corpses of the Yetis, Ice Trolls, Ice Goblins, Snowmen, and the one hundred Ice Demons that Asus had summoned. They only had one and a half worth of tractor truck space remaining, but there were still more than three hundred corpses strewn on the floor that ten Porters had to process. They had already given the Special S raid party¡¯s share, but there were still too many monster corpses and mana stones to process. In fact, they evencked the special containers used to store mana stones. ¡°Hey, Mujahid¡­ I think someone needs to go outside,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes? Oh, okay, hyung-nim,¡± Mujahid replied. He immediately understood that they needed to do something right away, as he was thinking about the same thing as well. ¡°I will go ande back,¡± Mujahid said. ¡°You will?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion. Han-Yeol initially mentioned it to Mujahid so that they could delegate someone with the task, but he did not expect him to volunteer without even consulting him. ¡°Hmm¡­ I won¡¯t stop you if you want to go, but why are you volunteering?¡± Han-Yeol asked. It was quite a hassle to go all the way out just toe back, and that was why Han-Yeol was thinking of making the Egyptian Hunters draw lots among themselves. ¡°It will be better if one of us goes, and I think it will be better for you to be here and guard this ce instead of me and Furion in case monsters appear. Don¡¯t you think so, hyung-nim?¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­ I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡± Furion might not be able to fly, but it was an extremely agile four-legged monster. The monsters in this hunting ground were all two-legged, so they were much slower than Furion. It was impossible for two-legged creatures to be faster than the four-legged ones in the first ce, and this was proven in numerous battles where Furion was much faster than them. ¡°Also, I won¡¯t have any problems going since none of the monsters will be able to catch up to Furion,¡± Mujahid said with a shrug. Then, he hopped on top of Furion and said, ¡°Juste and meet us at the southwest entrance of the hunting ground three hourster. I might be able to leave without any problems, but I will definitely need your help on the way back.¡± It was a piece of cake for Mujahid to leave the hunting ground, but it was a stretch for him to escort a whole group of support crew alone. It would have been a different story if there was a highway in the hunting ground where the trucks could run at 100km/h, but the terrain here was quite mountainous and the roads were covered in thick snow, so it was not going to be easy for the tractor trucks to outmaneuver the monsters. That was the reason that Mujahid asked for helpter on, just in case the support crew he was escorting were suddenly ambushed by monsters. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send Mavros to you three hourster,¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Oh, that would do. As expected of hyung-nim! You¡¯re quite smart! Hahaha!¡± Mujahid started buttering Han-Yeol up again, and Han-Yeol was already used to his unprince-like demeanor. ¡°Furion!¡± ¡°Kyaong!¡± Tak! Furion was grooming itself underneath a tree before it suddenly stood up and rushed over at Mujahid¡¯s call. Then, he mounted his monster pet and ran off into the distance. Meanwhile, the Special S raid party members were trembling in excitement while Han-Yeol and Mujahid were contemting how to bring the additional support crew to process what they hunted. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°D-Did we really hunt all of these¡­?¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± They hunted more monsters than they did in their entire lives after awakening today. Well, most of these monsters were killed by Han-Yeol and Mujahid, but the ten S Rank Hunters killed quite a fair share too. They might be a bitckingpared to Mujahid¡¯s personal raid party or the Horus raid party, but they had one good thing about them. They knew their level and were not greedy over what was not theirs, and this allowed them to survive until now. Well, some might consider this to be a weakness since they would be easy to take advantage of, but this was something crucial for a weak raid party to survive in the world of Hunters. The Special S raid party had already agreed among themselves not to get greedy and prioritize their survival over anything else, and that had worked out quite well for them. Tak! ¡°Hiiiik!¡±?Kwon Yoon-Ho shrieked in horror when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder. ¡°Huh? Why are you so startled?¡± Han-Yeol asked in disbelief. He could not believe that an S Rank Hunter would shriek like this in the first ce. ¡®These guys are quite the oddballs¡­ How can they fight so well yet be so timid at the same time¡­?¡¯?he could not understand these Hunters. There were a lot of weak raid parties out there, but the Special S raid party considered themselves to be weak as well. In fact, they were right in their own assessment as they were indeed weak whenpared to other raid parties possessing S Rank Hunters hunting in the same hunting grounds. Not only that, they were quite few in numbers, so they had to rely on their teamwork most of the time. Their teamwork was the backbone of their raid party, so they dedicated a day or two every week to meet at a training facility on the outskirts of Seoul to test out numerousbinations they could make in battle. There were times when they would train for an entire week or even a month just to perfect their teamwork and chemistry to make up for their weakness. ¡°Ah, I apologize¡­ Haha¡­ I get easily startled, so¡­¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho said while awkwardly scratching his head. ¡°Sure, I came by to tell you guys that you did great today,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Thank you, oppa!¡± ¡°Thank you very much, hyung-nim!¡± The Special S raid party members bowed and thanked Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol¡¯s conscience was a bit pricked since he hid the boss monster loot from them, but he decided to think that giving them the chance to experience such a hunt was already more than enough for them. ¡°Hey, Yoon-Ho¡­ About your dimensional space skill,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°How much can you fit inside it?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I never got the chance to fill it to the brim, so I am not sure myself¡­¡± ¡°Just give me a rough estimate if you¡¯re not sure.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I think¡­ probably around two five-ton trucks? Yes, I think that is a good estimate.¡± In other words, Kwon Yoon-Ho could fit the same amount as a ten-ton truck in his dimensional space. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, that was the most I managed to fill up so far, and the factory workers told me that they needed two five-ton trucks to transport the monster corpses.¡± Han-Yeol thought that Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s dimensional space skill was quite decent. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t bring any trucks or Porters with you, right?¡± ¡°Yes, you are correct, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.¡± The Special S raid party wasposed of only ten S Rank Hunters and no other support crew. They decided to forgo hiring any Porters thanks to Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s peculiar ability. It could be said that they were an extremely efficient and mobile raid party because of Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s ability. However, there was a disadvantage to this as they were only able to hunt as much as Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s dimensional space could store. Their mobility and efficiency certainly gave them an extrayer of security in the hunting ground, but that also meant that they could not hunt as much as they wanted to. This also meant that they have only been hunting on the outskirts of the hunting grounds and never ventured deeper, which was one of the main reasons why they were considered weak in the first ce. Han-Yeol was able to analyze the Special S raid party from what he had seen so far. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m not going to tally what you killed and not, so¡­ Take as much as your dimensional space can hold,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smirk. ¡°WOW!¡± ¡°Jackpot!¡± ¡°C-Can we really do that?¡± The Special S raid party members were shocked, but all of them looked extremely happy at the same time. ¡°No problem,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied with a shrug. ¡°T-Thank you!¡± The Special S raid party members bowed toward him once again with their eyes sparkling. Han-Yeol felt a bit burdened by their gazes oozing with respect, and the fact that the men were looking at him with near infatuation in their eyes did not help at all. ¡°T-This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!¡± ¡°Go! Go choose the expensive ones!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± Chapter 213: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (4)

Chapter 213: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (4)

The Special S raid party members immediately scrambled to select the most expensive monster corpses after the generous offer Han-Yeol made. This was the second time they were shocked after meeting him. ¡®Hehe¡­¡¯?Han-Yeolughed inwardly after seeing the S Rank Hunters scurry around. Did he do something stupid by making such an offer? Not at all! ''Not having Porters means that they have to collect the whole corpse. In other words¡­ they will have to take the useless parts as well! Hohoho!'' he let out an evilugh inside. Most raid parties would bring a group of Porters to dismember the monster corpses and get rid of the useless body parts before carrying them out of the hunting ground, and then the factory would process these monster corpses once again. In other words, the fact that the Special S raid party did not have any Porters meant that they were basically forgoing the first process and directly bringing the whole monster to the factory. Of course, most factories did not mind even if a whole monster was brought, so not having any Porters did not really matter. However, there was one huge reason that the Special S raid party could not make a name for themselves despite being made up of elite S Rank Hunters and a uniqueposition of no support crews. ¡®Because they can¡¯t hunt a lot,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Kwon Yoon-Ho was not Han-Yeol, so his skills were not going to level up no matter how much he used them. This meant that his dimensional space was going to be limited to the size of a ten-ton truck and was never going to expand. ¡®Tsk tsk¡­ Yoon-Ho would have been much more valuable if he entered a guild and acted as their emergency storage instead of forming his own raid party¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and shook his head. Han-Yeol had been influenced by Mujahid and Tayarana in recent days, and he developed a habit of looking down on people. This was the reason why he hade up with the idea to limit the Special S raid party in the first ce. Some might use him of being arrogant and proud, but Han-Yeol did not see any problem with it, judging by his status. He was soon going to establish his own major corporation that was going to dominate both the financial world and the Hunter world, so he considered this as an advanced lesson on how to be a CEO. It might seem like Han-Yeol was looking down on Kwon Yoon-Ho, but he was just saying things as they were. ¡®They might think that Yoon-Ho¡¯s skill is good and convenient since it can carry ten tons of monster corpses and bring them directly to the factory, but it has a crucial w of restricting them from hunting to their heart¡¯s content. After all, they will have to go back once his dimensional space is full. The irony is that they aren¡¯t bringing any Porters since they don¡¯t need them, but the Porters would be able to allow them to carry more since they would cut off the unnecessary parts.¡¯ Han-Yeol shook his head at the irony. ¡®They should at least bring a Manager and some Porters with them¡­ Tsk¡­¡¯ Hiring Porters and bringing them around was not some social responsibility the Hunters had. The Porters might be pushed around and looked down on by the Hunters, but they yed a key role that allowed raid parties or guilds to hunt longer. In other words, it was the Porters who helped the Hunters save time by hunting longer. The Porters were a vital part of the party that even Mujahid invested a lot in hiring well-trained Porters and Managers for his personal party. He hired them because their training and hardened bodies would benefit him in the end. On the other hand, the Special S raid party might beposed of S Rank Hunters, but they were no different from ordinary people when excluding the fact that they were Hunters. They could not be bothered with gathering information about Porters, and most of what they knew about Porters was based on their own experience and the mistreatment they had been subjected to when they had been Porters themselves. In gaming terms, they were the yers that preferred to enjoy what the game had to offer rather than analyze every bit of the game like hardcore gamers do. Of course, this only applied to the issue with the Porters, as the Special S raid party diligently trained to improve themselves, which was the main difference between them and other raid parties that failed. This was the reason that Han-Yeol decided to maintain a good rtionship with them, even though his initial n was to cut ties with them after gaining Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s dimensional space ability. However, this did not mean that he allowed them to take as many monster corpses as Kwon Yoon-Ho¡¯s dimensional space could handle out of gratitude for having obtained the skill. Rather, it was a well-calcted decision he made because he was looking down on them. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter how many monster corpses they take, since they don¡¯t have the equipment to dismember them,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. An Ice Demon towered nearly five meters and weighed one thousand kilograms. In other words, a single Ice Demon was already a ton. On the other hand, the Yeti and Snowman were a bit on the lighter side, but that still meant that the Special S raid party was only going to be able to take around eleven monster corpses in total. ¡®They''re so happy over being able to take just eleven monster corpses when there are hundreds of them on the ground? How foolish,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he shook his head. Mujahid''s party hade fully prepared with a Manager, Porters, extra equipment, and tractor trucks. This was only possible as Mujahid possessed his own factory that processed monster corpses. Some would argue that the Special S raid party could simply carry their own dismembering equipment, but most ordinary Hunters did not have ess to such equipment. These tools were quite expensive and difficult to find, and the only way for ordinary Hunters to get their hands on them was to hire Porters through the Hunters'' Association. Hiring a Porter would cost around one and a half million won to five million won, depending on how dangerous the hunting ground was, and the Porters would borrow their equipment from the Porter Department of the association. There was also the option of hiring a seasoned team of Porters from the association itself, but that would cost around six and a half million won to ten million won per Porter. Not to mention, the equipment and truck that the Porters would use were excluded from this price. It might look expensive at first nce, but it was definitely money well spent when taking into consideration the time and effort the Porters would save the raid party. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Special S raid party was oblivious to this fact. ¡®They have the potential, but they won¡¯t grow anymore than this unless someone guides them properly,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before deciding to stop thinking about it. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± Chwak! Meanwhile, Mavros was still patrolling the skies and scouting for any potential danger lurking in the area. ¡®There have been many cases of random dimensional holes appearing in hunting grounds, so we have to be alert and careful¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol¡¯s motto in life was safety first, and he had no ns on changing it now. *** After three and a half hours, Mujahid finally returned. ¡°Hyung-nim!¡± ¡°Hey, Mujahid.¡± Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? The sound of tractor trucks reverberated in the surroundings as a massive convoy followed behind Mujahid, and all of these trucks had the ''Goblin'' mark on them. Whoosh! Tak! Mujahid hopped down from a tractor truck andnded in front of Han-Yeol. ¡°I¡¯m back, hyung-nim!¡± "Wee back. Did you encounter any problems on the way?" Han-Yeol asked. He had tasked scouting to Mavros, but whenever he felt bored, he would join in on the scouting using his Demon Eyes. However, during their reconnaissance, they did not spot a single monster within a ten-kilometer radius. "It''s quite strange. It''s like all the monsters suddenly disappeared," Mujahid replied. "I thought so too. We hunted aggressively, but it''s unlikely we have exterminated them all," Han-Yeol said, feeling troubled by the silence that had befallen the Cheolwon hunting ground since Mujahid''s departure. "There have been reports of dimensional holes or riftstely, so we can''t let our guard down," Han-Yeol continued. Mujahid nodded in agreement and shared, "Indeed, hyung-nim. I heard that a massive dimensional rift appeared in Egypt not long ago, and it caused a standstill in Cairo." "Cairo? That''s concerning," Han-Yeol replied, realizing the severity of the situation if a major city like Cairo was affected by a dimensional rift. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure there was no problem since President Phaophator is over there,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a shrug. Still, the situation was undeniably concerning, especially since it had even rmed the Egyptians, who were currently considered one of the rising powers in the world. This only reinforced Han-Yeol''s belief that he could not afford to let his guard down. "Do you have any idea why the monsters suddenly disappeared?" Han-Yeol asked. Mujahid shook his head. "I have no idea. I mostly receive reports about these incidents, so I''ve never really thought deeply about it." "I suppose you''re not the best person to ask about this then," Han-Yeol said, chuckling. They continued their conversation as they worked, and thanks to the fifty Porters and thirty tractor trucks that Mujahid had brought, they managed to finish dismembering and collecting the monster corpses by three in the morning. ¡°Yawn¡­!?I guess we somehow managed to make it in time,¡± Han-Yeol said while letting out a yawn. During the entire five days they spent in the Cheolwon hunting ground, Han-Yeol hadn''t gotten a wink of sleep. Being a Hunter didn''t exempt him from feeling sleepy after staying up for so long. "Yeah, you''re right, hyung-nim." "Damn it... I guess I won''t get to sleep today as well." "Hehehe, I n to finish things up here and then go take a nap." "You filthy traitor... Do you n to abandon yourrade who fought with you on the battlefield?!" Han-Yeol knew he couldn''t afford to sleep right now, as he had to meet with the Americanster to pass on the monster pets to them. On the other hand, Mujahid was free to rest after this hunt, and that made Han-Yeol feel a bit betrayed, considering they had fought together for five consecutive days. ¡°The oneughing at the end is the true victor. Don¡¯t you agree, hyung-nim?¡± ¡°HEY!¡± Mujahid sheepishly grinned, intentionally annoying Han-Yeol. Of course, they were just fooling around for fun, but there was indeed a hint of emotion mixed in their words... While Han-Yeol and Mujahid had the luxury to fool around, the members of the Special S raid party were quite busy. ¡°Hiiik!?Hiiiik!¡± ¡°Argh¡­!?Why is it so difficult to sort these monsters out?!¡± ¡°M¡­ My arms hurt¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± ¡°Did anyone bring some food?¡± ¡°I still have some lunch boxes. We need to fill my dimensional space with as many monster corpses as we can, so let¡¯s eat these now.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Kwon Yoon-Ho took out thirteen lunchboxes from his dimensional space, leaving three extra lunch boxes for the ten members in the raid party. The Special S raid party members sat on the mountain edge, enjoying their meal in full view of Han-Yeol and Mujahid. Despite the darkness of the early morning, the surroundings were brightly illuminated by the floodlights Mujahid had brought to assist the Porters. ¡°Hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°What should we do about them?¡± Mujahid asked, pointing at the Special S raid party members. He was essentially reporting their presence. However, the raid party was eating quite far away, and they didn''t see Mujahid pointing over at them. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m thinking about what to do with them¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied. ¡°Thinking about what to do with them¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, I n to hire them once I start my own corporation that will dominate both the financial and Hunter world.¡± As an underdog for most of his life, Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel a connection to the Special S raid party, which was also an underdog. He recognized theirbat potential and saw their potential for growth if guided properly, so he was contemting the idea of bringing them on board. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m already looking forward to it, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Look forward to what?¡± ¡°The corporation you will be making.¡± ¡°You already have your Goblin Group, so stop eyeing mine.¡± The Goblin Group, owned by Mujahid, was not as prominent in the financial worldpared to other established conglomerates. However, they were well-known among ordinary people for their ownership of an EPL football club. ¡°Hahaha! I formed my group just to hunt more efficiently! Business is just a hobby that I''m not really interested in. Besides, Yoo-Kyung is the one taking care of it, not me.¡± ¡°No wonder Yoo-Kyung looks so tired¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha! I feel sorry for him, but I''ll never let him go!¡± ¡°You sound like those evil business owners¡­¡± ¡°I''ll take that as apliment, hyung-nim!¡± Shin Yoo-Kyung, the one responsible for Mujahid''s business group, would probably be infuriated if he heard this conversation between them. ¡°I can see a different kind of passion in your eyespared to mine, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim.¡± Chapter 214: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (5)

Chapter 214: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (5)

Mujahid held an interest solely inbat, andbat alone. Initially, the Egyptian executives of the Goblin Group had belittled Shin Yoo-Kyung, engaging in various corrupt activities during the group''s early days. Unbeknownst to them, Mujahid had delegated all his authority to Shin Yoo-Kyung. The man they dismissed as a mere scarecrow turned out to be the most potent figure in the group after Mujahid himself. Subsequently, those responsible for the corruption began to vanish one by one. To this day, nobody knows their whereabouts. The timing of these disappearances coincided with rural rumors in Egypt about nocturnal screams and torturous sounds. However, these ounts ultimately amounted to nothing more than baseless hearsay. "That''s why I want to stay with you longer, regardless of my father''smands." "Hey... You''re giving me goosebumps... Knock it off." "I''m genuinely sincere, hyung-nim," Mujahid dered, his eyes gleaming with fervent determination. His eyes burned with an intense passion that might have unsettled most people. "I wouldn''tin if I had someone like you by my side." "Yes! Thank you, hyung-nim!" Mujahid eximed, leaping for joy. Though Mujahid might have initially been stronger than Han-Yeol, their roles had since reversed, and Han-Yeol had grown even mightier than him. While their stats differed, the gap between an S Rank and a Master Rank was too vast to draw a directparison. Han-Yeol had evolved into an insurmountable force for Mujahid. Yet, it could be argued that Han-Yeol benefited from having someone like Mujahid at his side. Not only was Mujahid a potent S Rank Hunter, but he also held the title of a prince in a burgeoning nation and owned a global corporation. Establishing a positive rtionship with someone of his stature was undeniably advantageous for Han-Yeol. Furthermore, Mujahid''s longer tenure as a Hunter meant he could offer guidance and advice on matters beyond Han-Yeol''s awareness. "Hahaha!" Mujahid found joy in the prospect of being alongside Han-Yeol. Seated at the mountain''s edge, the two of them shared a ss of beer. Whoosh! Whoosh!? Soon after they began enjoying their drinks, a signal arrived, indicating thepletion of all their tasks. "It''s finally done, hyung-nim." "Yeah, it was a long but enjoyable day. Wouldn''t you agree?" "Haha! I suppose I have a talent for choosing hunting grounds!" Both of them had ascended to this mountain''s edge for a specific reason. From their vantage point, they could survey the entire snow-coveredndscape that had been under the monsters'' dominion for the past three decades. The Cheolwon hunting ground stood as one of the rare ces on Earth that managed to reim the innate beauty bestowed upon it by Mother Nature. Originally, Cheolwon had been a locale with little beyond an army base. However, the diminished human presence following the emergence of dimensional gates facilitated the area''s recuperation. Earth had carried the burdens of pollution, a consequence of humanity''s heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Over the course of three decades, these wounds began to heal as humanity shifted its energy source from fossil fuels to mana stones. Nheless, humanity''s ongoing need for natural resources¡ªlike wood, stone, minerals, and sustenance¡ªensured that pollution persisted as an enduring global challenge. Yet, the astonishing rejuvenation and revival of the Cheolwon hunting ground''s natural magnificence could be attributed entirely to the hunting ground itself. Situated within a natural reserve area, it remained untarnished by logging or mining activities. The irony was profound: the presence of monsters acted as a protective barrier against pollution, serving as a shield that preserved thend''s innate grandeur until it could be fully restored. ¡®This ce would be awesome as a natural retreat,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while admiring the scenery. ¡°Let¡¯s go down, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Whoosh! Tak! Both of them leaped from a height of seventy meters, yet this was an ordinary feat for them, given their statuses as an S Rank and Master Rank Hunter. [My prince!] As soon as Mujahid touched down, he was weed by Mahomet, the leader of the Porters associated with the Goblin Group. [Are you guys done?] [Yes, sir. The ounts are as follows: ny-six Ice Demon corpses and their mana stones, one hundred one Snowman corpses and their mana stones, one hundred eighty-nine Ice Troll corpses and their mana stones, and three hundred eleven Ice Goblin corpses and their mana stones, for a grand total of eight hundred neen monster corpses.] The figures Mahomet just mentioned were truly astounding, and the fact that all these monsters were felled in a single raid could potentially earn it a ce in the Guinness Book of World Records. However, both Han-Yeol and Mujahid were not the sort to concern themselves with such trivialities. Moreover, the hunt wouldn''t qualify anyway, as it wasn''t an official one. ¡°Phew¡­?It seems that we did hunt a lot after hearing the numbers,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Keke! I agree, hyung-nim!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wrap it up and go home. It¡¯s just going to be troublesome if the monsters suddenly start spawning for some reason.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± Vroom! The dozens of tractor trucks revved their engines in readiness for departure, while Han-Yeol cast another nce across the area using his Demon Eyes. Once he ensured that no lurking threats were present, he promptly issued the order to proceed. [All forces, move out!] [Yes, sir!] Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­? The tractor trucks started moving until they left the hunting ground. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Chwak! Mavros soared through the sky with Han-Yeol on his back, maintaining their reconnaissance until thest tractor truck departed, vignt for any potential lurking dangers. Han-Yeol looked back at the hunting ground before exiting and said inwardly, ¡®Take care. It was fun while itsted.¡¯ Then, he bid goodbye to the icy mountains before finally leaving them after days of hunting. *** The Cheolwon hunting ground hunt was over, but Han-Yeol¡¯s work was just starting. ¡®Ugh¡­ So bothersome¡­¡¯?he grumbled at the thought of having to meet the ten American Hunters as well as their ambassador. Han-Yeol and his party first went to his mansion after the hunt. ¡°Haaap¡­!?I should get some sleep now,¡± Mujahid said with a yawn. ¡°Ugh¡­!?Mujahid, you bastard!¡± Han-Yeol growled while trembling in anger. He was quite exhausted, and hearing Mujahid talk about resting annoyed him. However, life had a peculiar way of being both unfair and fair, precisely when it was necessary. ¡°Where are you going, Mujahid-nim?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Mujahid turned around and saw Shin Yoo-Kyung looking at him. ¡°Yoo-Kyung¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, it is I, Shin Yoo-Kyung!¡± ¡°What brings you here¡­?¡± Mujahid tilted his head and asked. A vein protruded on Shin Yoo-Kyung¡¯s forehead after hearing Mujahid feign ignorance. Kwachik! "Are you seriously asking that right now? What kind of sleep are you thinking of having? You''ve got a mountain of documents to sign! You can only rest after you''ve finished signing all of them!" ¡°H-Hiiiik!¡± Mujahid''s love for fighting surpassed all else in this world, while his disdain for paperwork ranked as his most detested activity. He had initially enlisted Shin Yoo-Kyung to shoulder the load of his tasks and responsibilities, yet he still found himself obligated to personally endorse crucial documents essential for hispanies. Given the global scope of the Goblin Group, there was no way Shin Yoo-Kyung could simply append his signature to these significant papers, despite Mujahid''s unwavering trust. Nevertheless, this did not imply that Mujahid was required to sign every single document, as Shin Yoo-Kyung capably handled the day-to-day and minor matters in his stead. It was evident that Mujahid faced an imposing stack of documents demanding his signature, and his ns of indulging in a day of uninterrupted sleep began to fracture before ultimately shattering into pieces. "N-No! I refuse!" Mujahid protested vehemently. "You don''t have a choice, and you''re not a twelve-year-old child. Please refrain fromining and follow me." Kwak!? ¡°Ugh¡­?H-Hyung-nim¡­ Please save me¡­¡± Mujahid pleaded while being dragged away by Shin Yoo-Kyung. ¡°Best of luck to you, Mujahid~¡± Han-Yeol sneered. ¡°Noooo! Hyung-niiiiim!¡± Mujahid screamed before he disappeared into the distance. He paid a heavy price for betraying Han-Yeol and attempting to rest alone. "That''s why loyalty matters, Mujahid," Han-Yeol chuckled, casting a nce in the direction he had vanished. As the Special S raid party approached, Han-Yeol greeted them warmly. "Excuse me, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim...?" "Hello, Yoon-Ho," Han-Yeol responded with a gentle smile, his manner gracious even though their interaction had concluded. This courtesy was extended partly due to the valuable skill ''Dimensional Storage'' he had gained from Kwon Yoon-Ho. Han-Yeol wasn''t one to dismiss someone without cause simply because he had obtained what he needed. "It was a short hunt, but thank you for everything!" Kwon Yoon-Ho expressed his gratitude. This time, the Special S raid party reaped substantial benefits from their coboration with Han-Yeol. Despite their fric hunting over the past five days, the frequent appearance of trucks to collect monster corpses bolstered their gains significantly. Han-Yeol''s generosity in allowing them to utilize the trucks during the hunt painted him as a benefactor in their eyes. Already respected as a Master Rank Hunter, Han-Yeol''s substantial assistance added anotheryer of gratitude from the Special S raid party. Han-Yeol was someone from a totally different worldpared to them, and being able to hunt with someone like that was a great honor and privilege in their eyes. ¡°Yeah, you guys worked hard too.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± . ¡°How can we ever repay you, oppa?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone, except the Hunter who was older than Han-Yeol, expressed their gratitude individually. Naturally, Han-Yeol wasn''t particrly concerned whether the older Hunter thanked him or not, as that individual held little significance to him. "No need for repayment; simply give your best in all your future endeavors," Han-Yeol responded with aposed demeanor. He didn''t perceive any debt owed to him, thus repayment wasn''t something he expected. "That''s... um..." Kwon Yoon-Ho hesitated. ¡®Hmm? It seems they want to say something,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after seeing how everyone was squirming and stealing nces at him. ¡°What is it? Is there something you want to tell me?¡± he asked. Tak! Kwon Yoon-Ho suddenly executed a deep bow of ny degrees before Han-Yeol, eximing, "Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!" Subsequently, the remaining members of the Special S raid party also bowed in his direction. "What''s happening?" Han-Yeol questioned, his surprise evident. The Egyptian Hunters and Porters assembled around him. "I apologize for my audacity, but we implore you to guide us!" Kwon Yoon-Ho fervently requested. "Huh?" Han-Yeol''s confusion deepened at the abrupt entreaty. Lead them? Out of the blue? The notion seemed so incredible to Han-Yeol that he resorted to employing his Telepathy II skill¡ªa talent he hadn''t used within the hunting ground. ¡®W-We need a leader¡­!¡¯ ¡®Yoon-Ho is good, but he¡¯s too timid like the rest of us¡­¡¯ ¡®Our raid party needs Han-Yeol Hunter-nim if we are to survive from now on!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s better to hunt with a safe and consistent raid party and receive a monthly sry instead of risking our lives by ourselves¡­¡¯ ¡®Please¡­ Please¡­!¡¯ The Special S raid party members did not seem to have any hidden motives. ¡®I see¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Initially, he entertained the idea of amodating them, given his impending ns to establish apany. However, he concluded that it was premature to entertain such considerations and opted to defer the decision. Nheless, the circumstances took an unexpected turn when the Special S raid party approached him, requesting his leadership. ¡°Alright,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°W-What?!¡± ¡°Are you serious?!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m serious, but¡­!¡± Han-Yeol added. ¡°¡­?¡± "I''m quite upied these days, so not at the moment. I''m on the verge of establishing my ownpany soon, and I''ll be recruiting Hunters for that venture. I assure you that once mypany is up and running, I''ll extend an offer to all of you." "T-Thank you very much!" Upon his agreement, the members of the Special S raid party once again bowed in appreciation. They couldn''t help but ceplete trust in him. Hismitment wasn''t mere empty words; it was evident he possessed a well-defined vision. "However!" "Y-Yes...?" "You need to be stronger than your current state." "Yes, weprehend!" A fervent determination burned in the eyes of each member of the Special S raid party. ¡®W-Wow! Han-Yeol Hunter-nim agreed to take us in!¡¯ ¡®The world is truly a mysterious ce¡­¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t care how it is as all I care about is hunting with a Master Rank Hunter!¡¯? Everyone appeared exceedingly content with this achievement, except for a solitary individual. ¡®Tsk¡­ Seeing such a young kid act like a big shot pisses me off¡­ I should probably leave this raid party once they distribute the goods.¡¯ The only elder Hunter within the raid party was the exception, harboring negative thoughts about Han-Yeol. As Han-Yeol gradually gleaned his inner sentiments, a growing anger began to simmer within him. He thought, ''Tsk tsk¡­ What''s the use of growing older if he''s still behaving like a fourth-grader? His arrogance essentially squandered a chance of a lifetime!'' Han-Yeol didn''t see the necessity of trying to persuade someone who had already made the decision to depart. ¡®Fucking farewell and good riddance, loser!¡¯ Han-Yeol chuckled inwardly. It was actually better and healthier for Han-Yeol to keep these kinds of people as far away as possible. Tak! "Alright! I trust you''ll train diligently until the day we cross paths once more!" Han-Yeol eximed, giving a hearty p. "Yes, captain!" They all offered a deep bow of ny degrees to Han-Yeol. He couldn''t help but muse that they were a small yet spirited raid party... Chapter 215: A Short Rest (1)

Chapter 215: A Short Rest (1)

¡®I really need to enjoy my break while itsts,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after sending the Special S raid party away. His schedule was jam-packed, even without needing to go on a hunt. ¡®I have to deliver the ten monster pets to the Americans... Check out Yoo-Bi''s new invention... Get ready tounch my ownpanies... Form my own raid party... Take the Master Rank test... Ugh... Why is my life so incredibly busy? So busy!¡¯ Han-Yeol used to lead an incredibly busy life just to make ends meet, but now he stood as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. Ironically, the nature of his work had changed, yet he remained immersed in ceaseless busyness. In fact, it seemed that his current workload might even surpass his past engagements, given the intricate and multifaceted tasks that now consumed him. This turn of events had been predictable. The work that once consumed him during his earlier days was rtively straightforward and monotonous, but his present upation involved intricate challenges from various directions. As Han-Yeol returned home, he began topile a list of tasks he needed to tackle moving forward. "Wee back, Han-Yeol, esteemed Hunter!" Tak! The mansion''s staff had already formed a line to wee his return. From the guards to the maids, everyone stood in two rows, bowing deeply at a ny-degree angle to show their respect. Among this group, the two leaders, Albert and Purva, were positioned at the forefront of the line. "Excellent job, Han-Yeol-nim." "We trust you didn''t overexert yourself, Han-Yeol-nim." "Thank you, Albert. Thank you, Purva." Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Han-Yeol gently tapped Purva on the shoulder. While Albert was an employee of his, he was significantly older, so Han-Yeol refrained from being overly casual in his interactions with him. "We have prepared bath salts from Switzend for your bathtub, Han-Yeol-nim. Please take a moment to rx and soak. It might notpletely rejuvenate you before the arrival of the Americans, but it should help alleviate some of your fatigue," Albert suggested. "Wow, that''s a fantastic idea." "Hoho! It''s merely a simple trick I''ve picked up over the years." Han-Yeol was feeling quite worn out due tock of sleep and excessive use of his mana. While sleep could easily restore his energy, he couldn''t afford to indulge in it with his guests set to arrive soon. Thankfully, Albert appeared to have anticipated this and had prepared ahead of time to help ease Han-Yeol''s fatigue. "Alright, please return to your tasks. I''ll entrust the guests to you once they arrive, Purva." "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!" Purva''s loyalty and proficiency in Korean seemed to be growing day by day. *** Plop¡­! Plop¡­! Plop¡­! Plop¡­!? ¡°Ahhh¡­?That hits the spot¡­¡± Han-Yeol moaned after getting in the bathtub. The current residence Han-Yeol upied appeared impressive from an exterior perspective. The principal structure was where his father resided, while Han-Yeol lived in the guest wing. Regrettably, the previous proprietor seemed to have neglected the mansion, leaving evident signs of wear and damage. Notably, the costly furniture and interior finishes had been reced with cheaper alternatives. In essence, the prior caretakers of the estate should consider themselves fortunate that Han-Yeol merely dismissed them without pursuing legal action. However, a significant transformation had taken ce after Han-Yeol invested a substantial amount of money to renovate the entire property. Additionally, under Albert''s guidance and the expertise of the other staff members ustomed to catering to affluent individuals, only the finest materials and resources were employed. The mansion underwent aplete metamorphosis as Han-Yeol''s financial resources merged with Albert''s expertise and the Egyptian Worker''s skill. One of the impressive results of their collective "talents" was the 1.2 billion won bathtub in which Han-Yeol was currently luxuriating. The Egyptians had a particr affinity for gold, which was evident in the tub''s real gold coating. Moreover, the primary tub was outfitted with mana stones for water heating, eschewing the need for a conventional water heater. "Ah... This is truly delightful..." "It''s heartening that you find it pleasing, Han-Yeol-nim." "Yes, I had heard about the bathtub''sprehensive renovation, but I hadn''t anticipated it being this remarkable." Albert and his team invested substantial effort into the thorough refurbishment of the bathtub, even though Han-Yeol hadn''t had the leisure to enjoy it until now. In fact, he had previously been rather indifferent about taking hot baths, deeming them too bothersome and not to his preference. Nheless, his perspective underwent aplete transformation after his dip in the bathtub. This marked Han-Yeol''s first experience of soaking in a tub since his early days of apanying his father to public bathhouses when he was young. As he grew older, he had abstained from indulging in hot baths due to the perceived effort involved and hisck of enthusiasm. Yet, his perception had undergone a profound shift following his current immersion. Chwaaak¡­ Plop! ¡°Wow¡­ I never knew taking a bath can feel this heavenly¡­ Howe I never knew about it all my life?¡± ¡°Hoho! You still have a lot of time to enjoy it from now on, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Ughhh¡­!¡±?Han-Yeol stretched and replied, ¡°Yeah, I n to do so from now on.¡± ¡°Hohoho!¡± Albert''s contentment grew as he witnessed Han-Yeol relishing his bath, yet he abruptly shifted to a somber smile. ¡®If Kevin were still alive, he would have be a Hunter just like him¡­¡¯?he recalled his son, who had once been a renowned S Rank Hunter in the United States. Kevin had awoken with exceptional skills, and the family Albert served spared no effort in supporting him. Everything seemed promising for Kevin until the tragic day when he met his demise at the hands of monsters. Albert''s wife had been bedridden due to the shock, eventually sumbing to illness, leaving Albert suddenly and utterly alone. He relinquished his position as a butler and wandered aimlessly for a considerable time until Tayarana rescued him from his dire circumstances. Her visit to the United States, representing Egypt, had been marked by numerous events, and Albert had been by her side every step of the way. Subsequently, she summoned him to South Korea, where he now served Han-Yeol. ¡®This must be my final work¡­¡¯?he thought. At over seventy years of age, the time hade for him to retire. He had already imparted his knowledge to his sessor, leaving him with only one task remaining: to return to his hometown and peacefully begin his retirement. ¡®I will be in your care until then, Han-Yeol-nim,¡¯?he thought. "This reminds me, Han-Yeol-nim, I have something to report." "Ah, right. Was there anything noteworthy during my hunting absence?" "Well, nothing particrly noteworthy. There were some issues involving corruption and chaebols, but none of those are of concern to us." "True," Han-Yeol replied with a nod, agreeing with the butler''s assessment. Life had been harsh for Han-Yeol in the past, leading him to attribute his misfortunes to politics, the economy, society, and the government. While the country did indeed have its share of problems, Han-Yeol''s perspective had shifted. He no longer found himself bothered by such trivial matters; instead, he focused on creating afortable life for himself and his family. Even the social welfare project he was preparing was more of a fleeting idea than a grand undertaking. "Lawyer Han called and wishes to inform you that everything is ready." "Ah, I suppose it''s time to appoint the new director of the foundation... Hmm... There''s still so much on my te..." "Hohoho! Being busy is better than being bored, Han-Yeol-nim." "Yes, that''s true. I''ll probably need to discuss this matter with Secretary Kim." "I concur, Han-Yeol-nim. He''s remarkably intelligent and quick-witted, so he''ll undoubtedly provide you with sound advice... despite his busy schedule. Hohoho!" "Hahaha, that does make me feel a bit guilty..." Indeed, Secretary Kim was incredibly swamped. He had to manage the aftermath of the auction that raked in over fifty trillion won while simultaneously preparing for the Harvard alumni event. ¡®I should hire more people as soon as possible to cut him some ck.¡¯?Han-Yeol knew the only thing he could do to help his secretary was to hire more people and¡­ ¡®Secretary Kim will be better suited to manage things from now on,¡¯?he thought as he was nning on promoting him. Han-Yeol learned from Mujahid and devised ns to implement simr strategies once his own group was established. The Goblin Group''s owner was Mujahid, but it was under the leadership of Shin Yoo-Kyung. Observing Secretary Kim closely, Han-Yeol concluded that he was better suited to oversee the business operations¡ªmuch like Mujahid delegated responsibilities to Shin Yoo-Kyung. "Well, I''ll talk to Secretary Kim about it, and... apologize for burdening him with the mansion issue." "Hohoho! I was just about to brief you on that matter as well. Tina put in considerable effort during your absence, Han-Yeol-nim. She managed to fully restore the garden that had been ravaged. At the outset, she grumbled and voiced her frustrations toward you, but soon enough, she was all smiles, expressing her delight in having the opportunity to fix parts of the garden she had disliked." "Haha... I see... That''s also a great relief. It turned out that way as I was training, often unaware of my surroundings... My initial intention was to test the skill in a smaller area, but it spiraled out of control and became muchrger." "Hoho! It happens, but I hope you''ll consider the children''s difort before attempting something simr in the future." "Haha, I will." Albert''s charismatic presencepelled Han-Yeol to listen, rather than dismiss or be defensive. He epted the gentle ''reminder'' without causing anymotion. Among the few individuals that earned Han-Yeol''s respect, Albert held a significant ce, and Han-Yeol made it a point to heed his advice. Their conversation continued, with Albert providing various updates, and it was only thirty minutester that they concluded their discussions on work-rted matters. Chwak! Han-Yeol was almost done with his bath when Albert suddenly pped his hands. p! p!? ¡°You may now enter,¡± he said. ¡°Yes, head butler-nim.¡± Creak¡­! The door to the bathroom''s side swung open, revealing two Egyptian beauties dressed in ck bikinis and carrying shower kits. Ironically, Han-Yeol was quite familiar with these two women. "Huh? Albert?" "Hoho! I''m not entirely sure about the customs in South Korea, but it appears that the Egyptians have recently revived their ancient practice of attending to their masters'' bathing needs. Besides, isn''t it more pleasant to be bathed by beauties on both sides instead of doing it alone?" Albert exined. "Huh...? I... I suppose...?" Han-Yeol was momentarily taken aback, yet he quickly acquiesced upon learning that this was a customary practice nowadays. ¡®It¡¯s nothing illegal and I¡¯m just taking a bath so there should be no problem¡­¡¯?he thought. Also, Han-Yeol found the two maidservants to be quite the eye candies. ¡®Wow... I never truly noticed before, but they are really beautiful,¡¯ he thought. ¡°Hohoho!¡± Albert may not have possessed telepathic abilities like Han-Yeol or Mariam, but his wealth of life experiences more than made up for it. With almost fifty years of service as a butler, he had attended to a multitude of individuals over the years. Naturally, these experiences had transformed him into a master at deciphering people''s facial expressions. Observing Han-Yeol''s smile, he deduced that Han-Yeol was far from displeased with what he had arranged. ¡®Yes, you can slowly grow up like that, Han-Yeol-nim. I will make sure to assist you to the best of my abilities,¡¯?Albert thought of this as one of his final missions before retiring. He desired to witness the new master he was serving to embody the mannerisms of a genuinely affluent individual. While some might contend that exuding ss and wealth had be outdated, Albert held a divergent perspective. ¡®The reason new money doesn''t endure is due to theck of ss. They be so fixated on spending money that they fail to grasp how money should serve them.¡¯ He held a firm belief in the distinct disparity between being rich and being truly wealthy. Albert was resolute in his determination to transform Han-Yeol into a refined and affluent individual before his retirement. Indeed, the seasoned butler had an abundance of ns already formted in his mind for his master. Chapter 216: A Short Rest (2)

Chapter 216: A Short Rest (2)

The two beauties approached Han-Yeol. [We will start bathing you, Han-Yeol-nim.] [Alright.] Both of them skillfully moved their hands across Han-Yeol¡¯s body while blushing. ¡®It¡¯s quite tough¡­¡¯ ¡®Is this a Master Rank Hunter¡¯s body¡­?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s different from a normal person¡¯s body¡­!¡¯ They could not help but stare at his muscles. Being professionals in the art of bathing others, they had bathed countless individuals throughout their careers. The men they had previously bathed were all wealthy but otherwise ordinary people. They had consistently maintained their professionalism and focus while performing their work. However, this asion marked their first experience bathing a Hunter, and not just any Hunter, but a Master Rank Hunter. The transformation a Hunter''s body underwent upon achieving Master Rank was substantial, as their mana ''reconfigured'' their physique. Of course, this transformation didn''t imply an immediate shift from fat to slim; rather, their mana reconfigured their body to better amodate mana''s functional needs rather than for aesthetic purposes. In Han-Yeol''s case, his extensive time at the Hunter Gym had boosted his stats, leading his mana to adapt and reconfigure his body into a well-defined, muscr form. As a result, even though he had ceased going to the gym, Han-Yeol''s body remained incredibly fit. ¡®Kyah! His body is so beautiful!¡¯? ¡®His face is a bitcking, but his body is really the best!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m so happy!¡¯ Kwachik! Han-Yeol clenched his fist after reading their thoughts. ¡®Why are you talking about my face?!¡¯ Their clientele primarily consisted of affluent individuals, frequently including male celebrities. In their perspective, whenpared to these celebrities, Han-Yeol''s facial appearance appeared rather ordinary. Kwachik! Han-Yeol¡¯s rock-hard muscles started squirming once he got annoyed at their thoughts. [Kyah!] [Oh my!] The women let out shrieks upon witnessing his muscles squirm, not due to disgust, but rather because they appeared incredibly impressive and captivating. It was then¡­ ¡°What are you doing? Focus on your work!¡± Albert scolded the women in a booming voice. [Y-Yes!] The women momentarily flinched before redirecting their attention to their task. With that, Han-Yeol''s initial experience of being bathed by another person as an adult reached its conclusion. *** Thud! ¡°Wow¡­ That felt really good¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while buried in his sofa. [Here is your cappino, Han-Yeol-nim.] [Ah, thank you.] Han-Yeol asked for a cup of sweet cappino to invigorate his body, which had be overly rxed from the bath. The vor of the cappino, brewed from Geisha coffee, proved to be truly exquisite. All he yearned for was to savor a nap afterward. Regrettably, indulging in such luxury was not an option, given the impending arrival of his guests. Psshhht! [The Americans have just arrived.] Albert grabbed the walkie-talkie and replied, ¡°Send them in.¡± Psshhht! [Roger that.] ¡°Phew¡­?So they¡¯re finally here¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered. While he was relishing his moment of rxation, a slight annoyance crept in as they arrived, interrupting his respite. Nheless, the stakes for this deal amounted to thirty trillion won. Ultimately, he rationalized that he could indulge in sleep after concluding this significant deal. He resolved to expedite the process as swiftly as possible. "Shall we proceed to finalize this deal?" "Hoho! Then you can take your rest right after." "Yes, that''s my n." Han-Yeol might not have been the most meticulous individual, yet his strong sense of responsibility guided him. He was not one to cancel an appointment merely due to fatigue. Moreover, he preferred wrapping up his tasks before enjoying a leisurely and uninterrupted rest, rather than rxing under time constraints. ¡°Heave-Ho!¡± . Han-Yeol jumped up from the sofa and headed toward the main door to greet his American guests. Albert followed right behind him. *** "Hahaha! It''s been a while, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!" Ambassador Rupert eximed with a cheerful grin, extending his hand in a manner that suggested a reunion with an old acquaintance. Han-Yeol reciprocated the gesture with a handshake. ¡®He¡¯s quite an outgoing guy¡­ Well, I guess you have to be if you want to be an ambassador of the United States,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Being a diplomat for a powerful nation like the United States was certainly not a role that just anyone could fulfill. This held even truer for the esteemed position of ambassador, arguably the most vital role of all. In simpler terms, Ambassador Rupert may have projected an affable and carefree demeanor, but he was by no means an easy individual to engage with. Of course, this wasn''t to suggest that Han-Yeol felt intimidated by him. While Rupert held the title of United States Ambassador, their current location was within Korea. South Korea had evolved beyond relying on the United States for military cooperation, particrly due to the less vtile situation with North Korea inparison to previous times. In fact, one could argue that the rtionship between South Korea and the United States had undergone a recent deterioration. With tensions reduced between the two Korean states, the public''s focus had shifted to a new target: neighboring Japan. A multitude of contentious issues had fueled the animosity between the two countries. However, the most prominent recent issue was the territorial dispute involving Dokdo Ind. Unfortunately, the United States had maintained a neutral stance on this matter. Nevertheless, there was a growing perception of secret favoritism toward Japan, causing public dissatisfaction. Consequently, sentiments of anger toward the United States were mounting, especially now that the North Korean issue was less pressing. This shift had made it increasingly challenging for the United States to exert its influence over South Korea. "It''s wonderful to see you again, Mr. Rupert. I''m pleased to observe that all of you are in good health," Han-Yeol responded. "Hmm? Healthy?" "It''s nothing of great significance. While I might be the one nurturing the monster egg, it will ultimately be the Hunters who infuse their mana into it. Clearly, the quality of mana is of utmost importance, which in turn necessitates their optimal condition. Would you agree?" ¡°Ah! Hahaha! I see¡­ I understand now, but you do not have to worry about anything. These guys are quite healthy and they took excellent care of their condition beforeing here.¡± Then, Ambassador Rupert looked back at the American Hunters and asked, ¡°Right?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The American Hunters may have been dressed casually at the moment, yet their innate soldierly bearing was unmistakable; each of them stood upright and responded in perfect unison. After all, the discipline within the American military remained among the finest worldwide. "Now, shall we proceed?" "Hoho! Please lead the way." The Americans trailed after Han-Yeol into the mansion, and the ensuing proceedings unfolded seamlessly. The Hunters were already acquainted with the hatching procedure, having witnessed it at the auction. However, this didn''t trante to a sense of ease; unpredictability lingered in the air, as no one could predict sudden urrences. Han-Yeolmenced the hatching of the monster eggs for the American Hunters, who systematically infused their mana into each egg, one by one. *** ¡°Kiek! Kiek!¡± It took two hours for thest monster pet to hatch from its egg. ¡®Phew¡­ That was a close call¡­ I didn¡¯t know that things could get dangerous when a low-ranked Hunter tries to hatch it¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief. All the victorious bidders in the auction held the esteemed rank of Master Hunter, ensuring that the proceedings unfolded with remarkable ease. However, the scenario was quite distinct for Ambassador Rupert and his contingent of ten American Hunters. In contrast to the Master Rank Hunters, most of them held considerably lower ranks. In fact, it wouldn''t even be appropriate to make a directparison, considering that the American Hunters spanned from E Rank to a maximum of C Rank. It was the E Rank Hunters who nearly caused an ident during their attempts to hatch the monster eggs. Thankfully, Han-Yeol remained vignt, averting a potential disaster. Nevertheless, the fact remained that it had been a perilously close call. "Hmm¡­ I''ve learned something valuable from this experience. It appears that having a high-ranking Hunter oversee the hatching process when it involves lower-ranking Hunters is crucial," Han-Yeol remarked. "You''re quite right," Ambassador Rupert concurred. Han-Yeol had certainly gained valuable insights from the Americans during this encounter. ¡®I should pay extra attention when hatching Yoo-Bi¡¯s monster egg¡­¡¯?he thought. From this particr event, he gleaned two pivotal insights. Firstly, as previously mentioned, having a high-ranking Hunter oversee the hatching process when a lower-ranking Hunter was involved proved essential. Secondly, the resultant quality of a monster hatched by a lower-ranking Hunter was inevitablypromised. The creature that emerged from the egg of the E Rank Hunter turned out to be a Kobold. A Kobold was a bipedal monster frequently encountered in video games, often serving as a low-level adversary. yers would ruthlessly dispatch them to progress in their leveling journey, making them decidedly unremarkable. Consequently, Han-Yeol surmised that the exceptional quality of the monster pets acquired by the Master Rank Hunters in the auction was far from coincidental. Then, a sudden question popped into his head, ¡®That''s peculiar... I distinctly recall being just an S Rank Hunter when I hatched Mavros. Yet, how did I seed in hatching a dragon while the other Master Rank Hunters struggled?¡¯ It was indeed a valid question. The current hatching provided answers to many of his questions, yet the enigma of how he had seeded in hatching Mavros remained unsolved. ¡®Well, I¡¯m not sure how it happened, but it¡¯s indeed quite strange,¡¯?he thought, but decided to shrug it off in the end since it was not a bad thing for him. He wasn''t particrly inclined to delve into this mystery, as he wasn''t someone obsessively driven by research. Ultimately, the enigma would remain just that until circumstances decided to unravel it on their own. "Alright, we''ll be departing shortly," Ambassador Rupert announced. "Yes, sir!" While Ambassador Rupert had numerous matters he wished to discuss with Han-Yeol, the time hade for him to return. He needed to promptly dispatch the ten monster pets back to the United States. "We''re about to head back, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. By the way, the payment for the monster pets should have been transferred to your ount by now, and we''ve taken care of all the associated taxes," Ambassador Rupert informed. Then¡­ Ring! Ring!? Han-Yeol checked his phone and discovered the payment for the monster pets in his ount. However, the amount wasn''t the anticipated thirty trillion won. ¡®Hmm¡­ I really need to take the test and be a Master Rank Hunter¡­¡¯?he thought after seeing that tax had been deducted from the thirty trillion won. Hunters enjoyed the privilege of tax reductions, yetplete exemption from taxes was reserved for those who attained the esteemed status of Master Rank Hunter. Despite any shorings, South Korea wasn''t foolish enough to mistreat even the most aplished Master Rank Hunters. Once a Hunter reached Master Rank, they gained the exclusive privilege of being entirely tax-exempt. If Han-Yeol had officially held the title of Master Rank Hunter, not a single cent from the thirty trillion won would have been deducted. While it stung to witness a portion of his earnings vanish in this manner, Han-Yeol endeavored to feign indifference. "Ah, I''ve just confirmed it. It''s been a pleasure doing business with you," he remarked. "Hahaha! Although I''m well-versed in American history, you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, can undoubtedly boast of being the singlergest transaction the United States Government has ever undertaken in its history! That''s truly something to take pride in! Hahaha!" Ambassador Rupert responded. ¡°Ah¡­ Okay¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in response. At the same time, he thought, ¡®It¡¯s nothing to be proud of and not something I want to be proud of¡­¡¯ Ambassador Rupert''s words didn''t evoke any sense of pride in him. The agreement he had reached with the United States Government was purely a business transaction; he was solely interested in the marypensation they had offered, without any desire for boasting rights. "Then, we''ll be taking our leave now," Ambassador Rupert announced. "Ah, I apologize for not personally seeing you off. I''m rather fatigued today," Han-Yeol responded. "Hahaha! No need for apologies! Until we meet again," Ambassador Rupert replied, offering a slight bow. Earlier in the day, he had heard that Han-Yeol had endured nearly a whole week without rest due to a recent hunt. He surmised that Han-Yeol was likely quite exhausted. It was important to note that this information hade to him purely by chance, and he hadn''tmissioned anyone to follow Han-Yeol. Ordinary Hunters could never elude the heightened senses of a Master Rank Hunter, and no Hunter possessed cloaking or camouge abilities that could outwit someone of Master Rank. Following the sessful acquisition of their desired items, Ambassador Rupert and the ten American Hunters promptly made their way to the airport. Crack¡­! Crack¡­!? ¡°Ugh¡­?It¡¯s finally over!¡± Han-Yeol eximed out of pure joy. He stretched his body, causing the sound of his cracking bones to echo in the air. "Congrattions, Han-Yeol-nim. You can finally get some rest," Albert remarked. "Yeah, I believe I''ll be sleeping for ten hours today, Albert. Please don''t wake me up, no matter what urs," Han-Yeol responded. "Absolutely. Feel free to sleep as long as you need." "Thanks!" With a yawn, Han-Yeol made his way to his bedroom, yet it appeared that sleep was once again evading him. Psshhht! [Albert-nim. The Ambassador of Nepal is requesting a meeting with Han-Yeol-nim, and he is outside the mansion gates right now.] ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hmm? What brings them here?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion and asked. Albert picked up the walkie-talkie and asked, ¡°What are you talking about? Why would the Ambassador of Nepal request a meeting with Han-Yeol-nim?¡± Psshhh! [I am not sure, Albert-nim. However, the ambassador is iming he has something to tell Han-Yeol-nim in person and is requesting entrance. What should we do?] Albert turned his gaze toward Han-Yeol, aware that mishandling this matter could potentially escte into a diplomatic predicament. As the leader, this was a decision Han-Yeol had to personally make. Chapter 217: A Short Rest (3)

Chapter 217: A Short Rest (3)

¡°Albert.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°Haa¡­?I don¡¯t think I am destined to sleep¡­¡± ¡°Pardon me?¡± Albert struggled toprehend the meaning behind Han-Yeol¡¯s words. Understanding his employer''s thoughts was crucial for a butler at all times, and possessing this ability could be deemed the most vital trait a butler could possess. Albert took pride in his considerable skill in this aspect, having served as a butler for nearly fifty years. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that his employer¡¯s mindset could shift based on circumstances. After all, when dealing with human beings, nothing remained fixed, and he recognized the need to continually adjust. After pondering for about thirty seconds, Albert finally grasped Han-Yeol''s intention. ¡®N-No way¡­?!¡¯ ¡°Han-Yeol-nim¡­?¡± ¡°Yawn!?Can you tell the ambassador to wait for three hours?¡± ¡®As expected¡­¡¯ ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Albert understood Han-Yeol¡¯s intention a hundred percent now. ¡®He¡¯s nning to test the ambassador¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol upied a position that even gave pause to the United States when interacting with him. An illustrative instance of this was their readiness to promptly offer the full sum of thirty trillion won he requested, without any inclination to engage in negotiation. Indeed, they might have consented to a higher payment if Han-Yeol had escted the price, given that the creature pets were being auctioned off for five trillion won each. Yet, he opted to adhere to his original proposal. Why? The rationale behind this decision stemmed from his anticipation of two pivotal factors. The first factor was rooted in the understanding that five trillion won was the sum the Master Rank Hunters were willing to expend. The second factor revolved around his difort with reneging on his word, despite the potential to amass nearly double the amount. Though it could be argued that Han-Yeol forwent additional profits from the Americans, he didn''t perceive it in such terms. The critical insight that lower-ranking Hunters could only incubate low-ranking creature pets altered his perspective. Given that American Hunters were predominantly of the E to C Rank, they effectively paid over half of what the Master Rank Hunters did for these lower-tier creature pets. Returning to the current predicament, Han-Yeol harbored little apprehension about refusing to meet with the Nepalese Ambassador. Nepal bore the moniker of the ''safest country in the world,'' not due to robust public security but more as a derisive epithet. The country housed a solitary hunting ground, valued at half that of a typical hunting ground. Consequently, Nepal faced minimal risk of rampant creature activity within its borders, earning it the aforementioned title. Ironically, Nepal held the distinction of being both the safest and the most impoverished nation globally,cking any high-quality hunting grounds for ''farming'' mana stones¡ªa resource vital to the global economy. Paradoxically, the entire country possessed fewer financial resources than Han-Yeol himself, rendering him disinclined to engage with the Nepalese Ambassador solely on ount of their ambassadorial status. This reasoning informed Han-Yeol''s decision to subject the ambassador to a preliminary assessment. ¡®Ah¡­ He is growing day by day¡­¡¯?Albert thought with a smile. Han-Yeol chose to assess the ambassador, prompted by his drowsiness and a desire to catch a nap. However, Albert discerned a gradual transformation in his employer''s demeanor, aligning more closely with theportment expected of his stature. ¡®He''s gradually recognizing his value and refraining from engaging with just anyone.¡¯ The veteran butler couldn''t help but experience a sense of contentment, observing his employer''s perceptible elevation in demeanor. ¡°Hohoho¡­¡± ¡®I wonder how the ambassador is going to appear at this moment?¡¯?he thought with a mischievous smile. Albert neatly cleaned and arranged everything before he headed for the main gate to personally greet the Nepalese Ambassador and ry Han-Yeol¡¯s message. *** ¡°Yawn¡­!¡±? Han-Yeol awoke after a three-hour nap. As he walked toward the living room, he absentmindedly scratched his head, his instincts indicating the presence of four individuals awaiting him. Assuming them to be mansion staff, he had entirely overlooked the Nepalese Ambassador. After all, he couldn''t fathom taking seriously an ambassador who consented to wait for three hours merely because he desired a nap. [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!] ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol was taken aback by the sight of an unfamiliar individual seated in his living room. The person bore a distinct resemnce to Purva and the other Gurkhas in some manner. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡¯? [Hello, I am the Nepalese Ambassador, Kaman Lama. I have been waiting to meet you.] The Nepalese Ambassador greeted Han-Yeol in his native Nepalesenguage. Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion and nced at Purva. "Ah, he is our ambassador, Kaman Lama, and he has been waiting to meet you," Purva tranted. The ambassador had brought along his own trantor. It was quite umon for a Korean to speak the Nepalesenguage, so the trantor was evidently a Nepalese individual with a basic grasp of Korean. However, the trantor proved unnecessary, as Purva''s fluency in Korean surpassed that of the trantor. "Please convey to him that I''m delighted to make his acquaintance." "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim." Through the intermediary of Purva, they exchanged a brief salutation before Han-Yeol settled onto the sofa, and Ambassador Lama, along with his trantor, took their seats as well. Both individuals appeared rather apprehensive for reasons unclear. "So, what is the purpose of your unexpected visit at this moment?" Han-Yeol inquired. [T-That is¡­ We have heard that you hired our Gurkhas on excellent terms, and our government wanted to express gratitude for that.] ¡®Tsk¡­ What an absurd reason.¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue inwardly. He would have been inclined to pay attention had the ambassador arrived to discuss business. However, any enthusiasm he had for this conversation promptly waned upon learning that the ambassador''s sole purpose was to express gratitude. "Ah, okay¡­" Han-Yeol responded with a nonchnt shrug. The ambassador detected Han-Yeol''sck of interest in his government''s appreciation, prompting him to brainstorm an alternative topic. ¡®Yeah, technically, he''s a Master Rank Hunter pending official confirmation... What value does the gratitude of an impoverished nation hold for him?¡¯?he thought. He was raised in a modest family in Nepal,cking ess to top-notch education. Nheless, through sheer intellect and adept decision-making, he managed to ascend to the summit of the bureaucraticdder. ¡®I''ll need to entice him! If I can somehow persuade him to invest in our country, it could bring significant benefits!¡¯ Han-Yeol would have employed Telepathy II to delve into the ambassador''s thoughts if he were conversing in Korean or Arabic. However, the skill had a significant restriction: it could only decipher thoughts in thenguage being contemted. Consequently, even if Han-Yeol were to read the ambassador''s mind, it would merelye across as gibberish, rendering him unable toprehend anything. ¡®Tsk¡­ I should learn how to speak morenguages or upgrade Telepathy II to Telepathy III, and hope ites with automatic trantion¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue once again. Ultimately, he lost interest in the ambassador''s discourse and began to grow distracted. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I buy all of thend in the Cheolwon hunting ground?¡¯?he wondered. Investing in real estate within hunting grounds might appear exceedingly peculiar, despite its feasibility. Thend wasn''t suitable for development or rental, and ownership served more as a status symbol than a financial gain. Predictably, numerous affluent individuals acquired suchnd to unt their substantial wealth. On the other hand, others viewed it as a prospective investment, given the rtively modest cost of thends for them. ¡®It would be wonderful if the hunting ground vanished, and I could possess that exquisite natural haven all to myself¡­¡¯ He couldn''t shake off the memory of the Cheolwon hunting ground''s splendor; it marked the first time he had encountered something of such breathtaking beauty. ¡®Well, it''s not of much concern whether the hunting ground remains, as the monsters wouldn''t stand a chance against me even if I ventured in alone.¡¯ With his thoughts aligned, he ultimately reached a conclusion, ¡®Let''s purchase it!¡¯ But there was something he had to do before that, and that was to get rid of this annoying ambassador talking in front of him. [Ah, you''re wee to visit our country anytime. While we may only possess one hunting ground, there''s something I''d like to share with you about it¡­] ¡®You guys can¡¯t even use that single hunting ground properly¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. He was quite well-acquainted with Nepal, having extensively researched it after being impressed by the work ethics of the mercenaries he employed. Regrettably, the country''s prospects appeared grim, devoid of any glimmer of hope. Nepal was already economically challenged before the emergence of the dimensional gates. Ironically, despite the advent of these gates, the country failed to reap any benefits, seemingly under a sort of curse. In a curious turn of events, Fiji, a diminutive ind nation, boasted a solitary hunting ground. This starkly underscored the absurdity of Nepal having only one hunting ground despite its expansive territory. In a twist of fate, the lone hunting ground in Nepal was positioned on the border shared with India, resulting in an ongoing dispute with the neighboring country. The future of Nepal indeed loomed somber. [But the recent surge in wages has no connection to Nepal whatsoever! I''m confident that no one would be willing to work for as meager wages as our countrymen would.] ¡®Oh, that¡¯s quite interesting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. With ns to expand his business in the near future, he found himself in need of a substantial workforce. He was already considering the prospect of hiring more Nepali individuals, a preference stemming from their impressive work ethic coupled with their willingness to ept lower wages withoutints or grievances. [Furthermore, should you choose to invest in our country, we will grant you full tax exemption. We would desire to provide moreprehensive benefits given your esteemed stature, but, as you may be aware... our nation''s financial resources are somewhat limited.] "Hmm... is that so?" Han-Yeol''s curiosity began to stir. To be frank, the Nepalese Government''s proposition might not pique the interest of most other Master Rank Hunters. After all, what viable ventures could one undertake in a financially challenged country? Moreover, the offer of tax exemption was already amonce privilege extended to all Master Rank Hunters, rendering it somewhat unremarkable. [Furthermore, we assure you that all your requests will be expedited if you choose to establish a business in Nepal! Our government will work diligently to facilitate the acquisition of any necessary licenses and permits for your enterprise.] Nepal found itself in a dire struggle to halt the economic downward spiral it was ensnared in. A significant portion of its skilled popce had migrated to other nations, leaving the country reliant on meager revenue from its tourism sector. The nation had unfortunately earned a reputation as a hub for illicit drug distribution, a source of revenue tainted by its untraceable nature and ineligibility for taxation, given its illicit status. Ironically, this illicit drug trade had brought more harm than good to the country. As the globalmunity intensified efforts tobat illegal drugs, Nepal came under severe scrutiny for failing to curb drug trafficking within its borders. These criticismspounded the country''s predicament, causing it to face increasing istion due to its economic strife. Desperate for a breakthrough, Nepal had approached numerous Master Rank Hunters in hopes of attracting investments. Yet, not a single one had shown interest, primarily because the government had failed to providepelling incentives for investment. The Nepalese Government now clung to the hope that the bond between Han-Yeol and his Gurkha mercenaries could sway him to invest in the country. They were acutely aware, however, that this was a mere flight of fancy, given the slim chances of sess. Regardless, their desperation was such that merely having Han-Yeol establish a small factory was all they dared wish for. ¡°Hmm¡­ I understand,¡± Han-Yeol said. [T-Then¡­!] Ambassador Lama was hoping for a positive response from Han-Yeol, but it was still too early for him to give any definitive answer. ¡°I will think about it for now,¡± Han-Yeol said. [Ah¡­ Y-Yes! Thank you very much!] The ambassador was slightly disappointed by the response, but he figured that there was still hope. ¡®He didn¡¯t reject it, so that means we still have a chance!¡¯? ¡°Anyway, I am still quite tired. Shall we end this meeting here?¡± [Ah¡­ I understand¡­] ¡°I will reach out to you once I have made a decision.¡± [I will be waiting for your answer then.] The ambassador got up and gave a slight bow to Han-Yeol before leaving the mansion. Purva wished to personally escort them out, being that they were his fellow countrymen. ¡®Hmm¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought about what the ambassador said. ¡°Ah, whatever. I¡¯m tired.¡± But he decided to ignore it for now. Chapter 218: A Short Rest (4)

Chapter 218: A Short Rest (4)

Han-Yeol sank into his sofa after the ambassador''s departure. The brief three-hour nap he had taken a while ago had effectively dispelled the fatigue from his body, but it failed to alleviate his ''mental fatigue.'' Mentally drained from hunting at the Cheolwon hunting ground and promptly diving into work upon his return, he found himself quite tired. ¡°Hoho, excellent work, Han-Yeol-nim,¡± Albertmended. ¡°I would love to rest now, but I still have more tasks to address¡­¡± Han-Yeol grumbled. ¡°Hmm¡­ I see¡­¡± Albert''s concern grew as he noticed Han-Yeol potentially overexerting himself. ¡°Tsk¡­ I believe I will need to enlist someone other than Secretary Kim to represent me,¡± Han-Yeol remarked with a click of his tongue. ¡°Hoho! Jason would certainly relish that news.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ I suddenly feel a sense of guilt toward him¡­¡± ¡°Hohoho!¡± *** Initially, Jason Kim had been concerned that he would be relegated to secretarial tasks, squandering his time. However, those concerns proved groundless, as the responsibilities Han-Yeol had in mind were of substantial magnitude. Jason found himself working tirelessly to ensure the realization of these ambitions, as he stood as the sole individual Han-Yeol could confide in and entrust with such matters at present. Upon receiving the opportunity to act on Han-Yeol''s behalf, Jason''s tion was palpable. He viewed this as the significant breakthrough he had been seeking, an avenue to finally showcase his talents and gain recognition. Regrettably, his current workload was so overwhelming that he scarcely had a moment to attend to his personal hygiene, reaching a point where he felt on the brink of exhaustion. ¡°AAAAAAAH!¡±?Jason screamed out of frustration. There seemed to be no end in sight for his tasks. ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore!¡± Jason screamed and decided that he had to do something about his current situation. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? Just then, his phone rang. It was the monotonous standard ringtone as he was not interested in pop culture. The caller? [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.] Kwachik! Upon spotting the name on his phone screen, Jason''s blood pressure surged. It belonged to the individual who offloaded tasks onto him without a care and then casually indulged in a hunting excursion. Regrettably, this same man held the position of his employer, leaving Jason with no room for protest. Consequently, he had no choice but to suppress his frustration and respond to the call. "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?" [Hello, Secretary Kim! How¡¯s work going? I hope you¡¯re not cking off! Haha!] Kwachik! Han-Yeol''s nonchnt tone sent another surge of blood pressure coursing through him, causing the veins on his forehead to visibly protrude. ¡®Keep it in¡­ Keep it in¡­¡¯?Jason thought as he exerted superhuman self-control to suppress his anger. He held a personal fondness and deep respect for Han-Yeol, the current idol of today''s youth. However, having him as an employer could prove to be quite draining. ¡°Yes, I am doing my best.¡± [That¡¯s good. Anyway, I realized that you¡¯re doing too many things these days. Am I right?] ¡°Yes, you are correct.¡± ¡®You only realized it now?!?!?!?!?!¡¯?Jason was infuriated as his blood pressure shot up even higher. [So, I was thinking that it¡¯s unfair for you to handle such a heavy workload as a mere secretary...] ¡°¡­!¡± Jason felt a nervous gulp escape him as he awaited Han-Yeol''s forting words. [Why don¡¯t you take charge of the new venture I¡¯m setting up?] "Are you being serious, Han-Yeol-nim?" Jason''s question emerged in a stutter, reflecting his astonishment. While he had anticipated this possibility, hearing it from Han-Yeol carried an entirely different weight. Running apany had been a lifelong aspiration for Jason, and now, it appeared that dream might finally be reality. [Yes, I''m entirely serious. In fact, I''ve long decided that you would head thepany I nned to establish. Circumstances just got busier, but your performance exceeded my expectations.] "Thank you immensely!" Jason''s anger and frustration toward Han-Yeol seemed to dissipate as swiftly as a droplet of water vanishing in contact with magma. In their ce bloomed profound respect and admiration. [I¡¯m going to hand over the reins to you, so you''re free to shape things as you see fit. You can build a team, recruit personnel, or continue flying solo, as you currently are. The decision rests with you, and I''ll provide funding ordingly.] "Yes! I''m determined to give my utmost and not let you down, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!" Though they conversed via phone, Jason executed a ny-degree bow as if Han-Yeol stood before him. This disy of respect was expected, given that Han-Yeol wasn''t a manager or CEO; he was the proprietor himself. [This is all thanks to your diligent efforts, Secretary Kim. Ah, I suppose I should address you appropriately moving forward. President Kim?] ¡°I will do my best!¡± This marked the moment when Jason Kim transitioned from being Secretary Kim to assuming the mantle of President Kim. The new title left Jason, or rather President Kim, exhrated and ted. [Oh right, President Kim.] ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± [Regarding the Cheolwon hunting ground¡­] ¡°Yes?¡± [I intend to acquire it. Can you make the purchase in my name? Make this your top priority.] ¡°Yes, I understand!¡± Whileplying, Jason couldn''t help but wonder why Han-Yeol was suddenly interested in purchasing the Cheolwon hunting ground. Nevertheless, he resolved to follow the directive, still riding high from his recent promotion topany president. [Very well then, work diligently~] ¡°Yes, certainly! Have a wonderful day!¡± Despite the additional workload, the newly minted President Kim remained unfazed. In fact, he weed the increased responsibilities with genuine enthusiasm. Initially, it had seemed as though Han-Yeol was merely unloading undesirable tasks so he could engage in hunting. However, Jason came to recognize that Han-Yeol entrusted him with these responsibilities due to his valued skills and unwavering trust. The knowledge that someone believed in him served as a potent motivator. "Absolutely! Let''s redouble our efforts moving forward!" With newfound energy and determination, President Jason appeared poised to work harder than ever before in his life. *** Han-Yeol''s next destination after delegating his tasks to President Kim was Yoo-Bi''s workshop. Beep! He ced his thumb on the scanner, causing the barricade to open. Tak! As he entered, the Gurkhas stationed to protect Yoo-Bi''s factory saluted him. Han-Yeol rolled down his car window and surveyed the unassuming appearance of the factory. To an outsider, it might appear like an ordinary facility, yet the true significancey beneath its surface. ¡°The security measures seem to be quite stringent,¡± Han-Yeol remarked. ¡°Yes, indeed. You had instructed me to fortify security here, considering this as the future cornerstone of our group. Consequently, I''ve ensured that I''ve gathered the finest from my Gurkharades to safeguard this ce,¡± Purva responded. This focus on security was a factor that had drawn the attention of the Government of Nepal toward Han-Yeol, even though he had not yet attained the rank of Master Hunter. He was actively hiring Gurkhas in substantial numbers, employing them under his personal banner. The count of these skilled mercenaries he had enlisted had already surpassed five hundred. ''While this extensive security might appear excessive, it would still be inadequate should a determined Hunter attempt to breach this facility¡­''?Han-Yeol thought while looking around. He held Yoo-Bi''s abilities in exceptionally high regard. She stood as the world''s inaugural individual to manifest the power of machine maniption, a capability poised to spearhead a revolutionary era of industrial modernization. Her prowess could be aptly described as overpowered, considering her seemingly boundless potential. In a simr vein, if Han-Yeol''s dominancey inbat, Yoo-Bi undeniably reigned supreme in her distinctive domain. ¡®I need to start gathering Hunters to better protect Yoo-Bi,¡¯?he thought while looking around. He had already acquired the neighboringnds and issued instructions for the recruitment of Hunters to serve as guards. However, the responsibility for this had been entrusted to President Kim, and it was evident that the progress had been hindered due to Jason''s overwhelming workload. ¡®Hmm¡­ I can leave the construction to Mujahid and¡­ Sigh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol realized that he still had a mountain load of work to do from now on. Ziiing! The elevator descending to the underground facility boasted robust security measures, making it imusible for anyone, including Han-Yeol, to carry electronic devices inside. Yoo-Bi, of course, was an exception, given her pseudo-ownership of the premises. Ding! Han-Yeol reached the basement level, and the doors to Yoo-Bi''sboratory slid open. "Oppa!" Yoo-Bi weed Han-Yeol with a radiant smile. Dressed in a white gown thatplemented her remarkably, her smile consistently had a positive effect on Han-Yeol whenever he encountered it. ¡°Hey, Yoo-Bi~¡± Tak! Both of them greeted each other by bumping fists. ¡°Hehe~ I thought you had just finished hunting this morning? And here you are already?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t want to miss this opportunity for anything.¡± ¡°Hehe!¡± Yoo-Bi yfully stuck out her tongue and struck a cute pose. Her transformation following her awakening was remarkable. Herplexion was wless, her physique had be leaner and more athletic, and her financial circumstances had significantly improved. This positive shift allowed her more time for self-care than before. ¡®It¡¯s going to be problematic if you be even more attractive,¡¯?Han-Yeol jokingly thought. ¡°So, what¡¯s the new thing you invented?¡± "Ah! Are you prepared?!" Yoo-Bi eximed before unveiling an object concealed beneath a cloth. Herboratory had undergone aplete transformation from its previous state as a vacant storage space. Now, it brimmed with an array of cutting-edge equipment, a testament to Han-Yeol''s substantial funding and unwavering support. This transformation showcased the remarkable influence of wealth, of which Han-Yeol had a generous share. With a flourish, Yoo-Bi positioned the object on a table, presenting it for Han-Yeol¡¯s inspection. Chwak! ¡°Ta-dah!¡± Yoo-Bi pulled the cloth and proudly showed the object. ¡°Erm¡­ What¡¯s this¡­?¡± Han-Yeol asked while seemingly confused. To Han-Yeol''s eyes, the object resembled a weapon plucked directly from a science fiction film. While he was convinced of its weapon-like nature, he struggled to locate any discernible handle or trigger for its operation. Consequently, he surmised that it likely stood as a prototype, one that remained unfinished at this stage. ''While I had been curious about the project that led her to postpone the mana battery''s development, I never anticipated... What is this...?'' he wondered. This marked Yoo-Bi''s inaugural invention. While she had previously augmented numerous preexisting objects by integrating her ability, this ''object'' represented her maiden endeavor in crafting something entirely from the ground up. Although its appearance might lean toward being iplete and slightly unconventional, Han-Yeol chose to adopt a supportive and empathetic stance. ¡°Tsk tsk¡­ This is not as simple of an invention as you think it is, oppa,¡± Yoo-Bi confidently said. ¡°Then? What is it?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Hoho!¡± Yoo-Bi chuckled, moving to a corner of herboratory to sift through her belongings. After a brief search, she retrieved a curious contraption and set it down on the table. Next, she tapped the chair opposite the table and beckoned, ¡°Take a seat here, oppa.¡± "A-Alright¡­" Though uncertain about the unfolding situation, Han-Yeolplied, abiding by Yoo-Bi''s guidance. Thud¡­ Once Han-Yeol sat down, Yoo-Bi picked up the contraption and ced it over his shoulders. ck! ck!? Then, she sped it on his shoulders. ¡°Hmm?¡± Afterward, she proceeded to secure her new invention on his shoulders. Slightly caught off guard, Han-Yeol found himself in a state of bewilderment. With no means to visually assess the situation due to the absence of mirrors in theboratory, he remained in the dark regarding the proceedings. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡¯?he made an assumption only after piecing the puzzle together. ¡®A shoulder cannon¡­?¡¯? ¡°Ta-dah!¡± Yoo-Bi proudly puffed her chest and showed off her invention. ¡°It still needs some work, but this is a shoulder cannon I personally developed from scratch!¡± ¡°W-Wow¡­!¡± Han-Yeol was amazed. Naturally, he was considerably more astounded by the fact that she had indeed mentioned a ''shoulder cannon,'' just as he had anticipated. ¡°Well, there''s still a substantial amount of refinement needed, and my ability does have its limitations, so I haven''t been able to create a wless model just yet. Hehe~" she admitted while scratching the back of her head, a hint of embarrassment causing her to stick out her tongue. Yoo-Bi''s demeanor in that moment was undeniably endearing. Badump! ¡°T-That¡¯s not the problem, Yoo-Bi¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She tilted her head in confusion and had question marks all over her face, but even that looked quite cute. Badump! Badump!? Observing this unique charm radiating from Yoo-Bi, distinct from Tayarana''s, set Han-Yeol''s heart racing. While Tayarana might undoubtedly be considered the most stunning woman on the, Yoo-Bi possessed a distinctive allure that rendered her equally captivating and appealing. ¡®No! I shouldn¡¯t!¡¯?Han-Yeol tried his best to calm his beating heart. ¡°I mean, developing a shoulder cannon is genuinely impressive! While the rest of the world is fixated on adapting conventional weapons for Hunters, you''ve taken a groundbreaking step by creating an entirely new type of weapon! That''s absolutely remarkable!¡± Chapter 219: A Short Rest (5)

Chapter 219: A Short Rest (5)

Yoo-Bi¡¯s invention was truly shocking as it stood to elevate the world''s technological standard to a new level oncepleted. In fact, it might be even more astounding than the monster pets Han-Yeol had hatched. The monster pets were limited to the ones Han-Yeol sold them to, but this technology was different. ¡°No way! This is still iplete, and it didn''t turn out the way I intended it to be. I wanted to create a minigun mounted on your shoulders, but it proved quite challenging to mount mini-guns on a person¡¯s shoulders due to their high rate of fire. Hehe!¡± Yoo-Bi eximed, releasing an awkwardugh. Then, she continued, ¡°So, I developed the shoulder cannon as an alternative. It doesn¡¯t require any ammo, and I''ve designed sensors that will channel mana from its rechargeable battery for use as ammunition. Oh, the battery can also absorb your mana and recharge itself! And also!" Tak! Yoo-Bi handed him a pair of goggles, which seemed to be the remote controller for the shoulder cannon. Han-Yeol epted the goggles and inquired, ¡°So, I just need to wear these?¡± "Yes," she confirmed. "I initially aimed to enable control using your mana, but I''m still working on refining that aspect. So, for now, you''ll need to use the remote controller." "I understand," Han-Yeol replied. Although Han-Yeol wasn''t the most academically inclined person and couldn''t fully grasp Yoo-Bi''s technical exnations, he tried his best to feignprehension. "I''m determined to find a way to facilitate the flow of mana, but it seems challenging given that my expertise lies in mechanical technology... It''s quite perplexing for me to even decide how to proceed with this," Yoo-Bi continued. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol patted her head and cheered her up. ¡°Haha! You don¡¯t have to rush things.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± Yoo-Bi''s frustration initially arose upon her awakening. Engineering had never held her interest, and she had never envisioned herself venturing into it. Yet, circumstancespelled her to dive into the subject, regardless of her inclinations. Over time, an unexpected fondness for mechanical engineering grew within her. She becamepelled to disassemble mechanical objects, dissect their workings, and reimagine them in her own way. However, mastering mechanical engineering wasn''t a simple feat of observation. Yoo-Bi invested extensive time and effort into its study, often locking herself in herboratory for days and nights. ¡®Hmm¡­ I should probably ask them to build proper amodation down here for Yoo-Bi,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. ¡°Oppa?¡± "Ah, yeah. It¡¯s still iplete, but I can try using it, right?" "Of course! Did you really think I''d give you something that doesn''t work?" "Haha! I guess you''re right." Yoo-Bi wouldn''t have contacted Han-Yeol in the first ce if the invention wasn''t functional; she understood how busy he was. "Shall we go test it?" she asked. "Sounds good to me!" The underground facility was still under construction. Yoo-Bi was currently alone, but they were bound to start hiring more researchers and mechanics once their operations expanded. Han-Yeol believed that waiting for expansion might be toote, so he opted to engage Mujahid¡¯spany to initiate the expansion ahead of time. Although a testing room was currently being built, it remained far frompletion, prompting them to decide on above-ground testing for the new invention. Ding! They got off the elevator and went out of the building. ¡°Ugh¡­?My eyes¡­!¡± Yoo-Bi squinted and covered her eyes. ¡°Tsk tsk¡­?Just how long has it been since youst saw sunlight?¡± "I think it''s been about a month...?" "Aren''t you worried about your mother?" "Not really, she''s been quite busy with her trips these days." "You mentioned that your mother goes to church, correct?" "Yes, she''s been really involved in ittely, to the point where she''s not even noticing my absence!" She appeared somewhat upset about her mother seemingly ''abandoning'' her, but she understood that her mother had been struggling to make ends meet for a while, leaving her with little personal time. Nheless, it wasn''t entirely negative, as there was no one around to nag her for noting home. Yoo-Bi was an independent individual and found her mother''s nagging to be quite bothersome. "It''s good that she has her own life now." "Yeah, I guess you''re right." They headed toward an unused storage unit. Creak¡­! ¡°Ugh¡­?Look at how dusty it is¡­¡± Whoosh! Whoosh!? ¡°Cough!¡± Han-Yeol waved his hand around to disperse the dust that had risen as soon as they opened the door. The buildings above ground remained untouched, with the main focus being onpleting the basement as quickly as possible. The storage unit contained a few items left behind by the previous owner. The valuable equipment had already been sold, leaving only the useless items behind. "I''m suddenly hesitant to use the cannon..." "Why?" "Just imagining the dust that''s going toe from it is giving me a headache..." It was ironic to see how one of the up-anding Hunters was afraid of dust, but Han-Yeol quickly snapped out of it after being smacked by Yoo-Bi. Tak! ¡°Stopining and fire!¡± she eximed while pointing at a pile of scrap metal. ¡°Sigh¡­?Alright¡­¡± Han-Yeol let out a sigh and took a step forward. He really hated dust, but there was nothing he could do as they had to test out the new invention. ¡°Do you see that button on the side of the goggles, oppa?¡± Yoo-Bi asked while pointing at the side of the goggles. Han-Yeol reached for the button and touched it. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s right here.¡± ¡°Push it.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Beep! He pressed the button as instructed, and something resembling aputer screen appeared in front of his eyes. It bore a resemnce to the screen of a superhero from a sci-fi movie who soared through the skies in an iron suit. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? The goggles began beeping once the loading wasplete, and this time, an aiming cursor emerged. It enabled him to aim wherever his gaze was directed. Whiiiing! The cannons mounted on his shoulders began to move, aligning with the cursor''s position. "Oh, so this is how it moves¡­" Yoo-Bi muttered, seemingly amazed. While the shoulder cannon was her invention, Yoo-Bi hadn''t had the opportunity to thoroughly test it yet. She diligently recorded her observations in her notes, recognizing the value of every bit of information. "Wow, this is quite impressive," Han-Yeol eximed, thoroughly impressed by the technology within the unassuming goggles. The world had made significant strides in technological advancement, yet progress in weapon technology had stagnated. This was because there was little incentive to develop new weaponry when the Hunters themselves were already formidable weapons. Now, it was Yoo-Bi''s time to spearhead the resurgence of weapons development, although Han-Yeol intended to keep her involvement a secret for the time being. "Now, you just need to infuse your mana into the cannon while envisioning a recharge. Don''t rush, take your time to get ustomed to it," Yoo-Bi exined. However, before she could finish her sentence, Han-Yeol infused his mana into the cannons, and... Woooong¡­ Kaboom! The cannon emitted a cry as it glowed bright blue, subsequently firing a potent ball of mana. "Yahoo!" Han-Yeol eximed upon witnessing the cannon''s shot. Meanwhile, Yoo-Bi remained upied, jotting down notes on her memo. ¡®Hmm¡­ There¡¯s a lot of noiseing from the mana battery¡­¡¯? Until now, she had primarily focused on theoretical work for the shoulder cannon, leaving numerous parts in need of improvement. Her abilitycked utility inbat, resulting in inadequate mana control for her to personally test the shoulder cannon. ¡°Again! Again!¡± Han-Yeol excitedly shouted like a little kid. Wooooong! Boom! The pile of scrap metal disintegrated after just two shots from the shoulder cannon. ¡®It¡¯s certainlycking in firepower¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while trying his best not to show it. The shoulder cannon was undeniably an intriguing weapon, but it fell short of meeting the standards for a Master Rank Hunter like him to utilize. Woooong! Boom! ¡°This is really fun!¡± While it might be deficient in firepower, it certainly didn''tck in enjoyment. Fshwooo¡­ Han-Yeol went trigger-happy, firing the shoulder cannons in all directions, causing the entire storage unit to be filled with dust and smoke. ¡®I think this will be a fine weapon if some improvements are made,¡¯?he thought. Han-Yeol''sbat style might appear wless to others, but anyone with fighting expertise would undoubtedly recognize certain ws within it¡ªperhaps even deeming it disorderly. A prime illustration of this was his utilization of a rifle. Operating a rifle demanded both hands, yet both of his hands were already upied with his sword and chain. Thispelled him to engage inbat with the rifle affixed to his back, a considerable hindrance in battle. Furthermore, he was required to stow his sword and chain each time he employed his rifle. ¡®But it¡¯s a different story if this shoulder cannon getspleted!¡¯? The shoulder cannon was a hands-free weapon, meaning Han-Yeol didn''t need to employ his hands to control it. ¡°Hmm¡­ It really has a lot of limitations¡­¡± Yoo-Bi muttered. ¡°Do you think so?¡± "Yes, your trigger-happy antics actually helped me gather a substantial amount of data." ¡°Really?¡± "Yes! Hoho! Just thinking about it is making me feel hot!" "W-What? W-Where are you feeling hot...?" ¡°Pervert!¡± Chwak! A handprint appeared on Han-Yeol¡¯s face. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Of course, it was not painful at all, so he simplyughed out of embarrassment. ¡°Then, Yoo-Bi¡­¡± ¡°Yes, oppa?¡± ¡°How long do you think you will need to improve the shoulder cannon?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Yoo-Bi pondered for a moment. She began to form a rough draft in her mind and tried to establish a timeline. Han-Yeol was genuinely impressed by her seriousness, considering she had initially been unfamiliar with anything mechanical. Yet, she had managed to progress this far solely through her hard work. If mana bestowed an excellent physique and skills upon Han-Yeol, it appeared that Yoo-Bi was gifted with intellect. Her stats would likely focus on INT if it were possible to view her status screen. Unfortunately, only Han-Yeol possessed the ability to ess a status screen and level up, leaving her INT stat a mystery. ¡°Hmm¡­ I suppose you want me to finish it as soon as possible, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I intend to use it for my uing Master Rank test.¡± ¡°Oh! Then I absolutely have toplete it quickly! Give me four days!¡± ¡°Four days¡­?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Han-Yeol deemed this timeline reasonable, considering his uing busy schedule. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you again in four days.¡± ¡°Okay! See youter!¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get going now. Work hard, Yoo-Bi~¡± ¡°I will~ Bye bye~¡± Yoo-Bi replied with a smile. ¡®Hehe¡­ Her smile is really refreshing whenever I see it. I¡¯m d nobody else can see it except for me,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while passing through the security points located around the factory. He inquired with the person in charge of the factory''s security and learned that Yoo-Bi seldom left the facility. asionally, she would visit her mother, but for the most part, her time was consumed by relentless research. Han-Yeol began to feel a creeping concern that she might be on the path to bing an obsessed mad scientist, consumed by her research... Chapter 220: A Surprising Miracle (1)

Chapter 220: A Surprising Miracle (1)

¡®Well, her working harder would bring me even more benefits,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a shrug. Yoo-Bi''s inventions were not yet at the stage where they could bemercialized, but the mana battery was certainly nearing that point. Han-Yeol had already set his sights on the mana battery as the firstmercial product of his group. Currently, no mana batteries had been developed that could run on one hundred percent mana alone, but the demand for such a product, once developed, would be substantial. Han-Yeol would be sitting on a pile of cash if Yoo-Bi managed to develop the mana battery for him. Of course, he did not rush her or anything, as he believed that she was going to make a breakthrough for him very soon. He had done his part by funding her research, so the only thing he could do now was wait. ¡®Good luck, Yoo-Bi. I¡¯m passionately rooting for you!¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smile. *** After witnessing Yoo-Bi''stest invention, the shoulder cannon, Han-Yeol could finally allow himself some rest. It marked the first time he had slept in a week, though his sleep wasn''t the typical twelve, fourteen, or twenty-four hours that most people would indulge in after such a long period. Instead, it was more urate to say that he couldn''t sleep in that manner. The mana coursing through his body granted him superhuman regeneration, allowing him to rebound from fatigue with just a few hours of slumber. Regrettably, it wasn''t his body that needed reprieve; it was his mind. His physical fatigue had already dissipated, thanks to the three hours of sleep he had managed before his encounter with the Nepalese Ambassador. ¡°Yawn¡­?That felt good.¡± Han-Yeol yawned while walking around the garden that Tina and the others had worked hard to restore. Referring to it as a garden was a considerable understatement, given the substantial amount of time and money Tina had invested alongside the other mansion workers. This exquisitely crafted space could more aptly be described as a masterpiece. Tina''s mind teemed with ideas, each contributing to her vision of a splendid garden, yet the perennial obstacle of budget constraints had consistently impeded her progress. Thankfully, her affluent employer''s overflowing resources ultimately breathed life into her long-held aspiration. Paradoxically, the garden''s proprietor, Han-Yeol, appeared unfazed by the distinction between a masterpiece and an ordinary garden. His sole concern revolved around the presence of fresh air, crystalline water, afortable hammock, and a cool, inviting shade. ¡°Lla~¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Han-Yeol was rxing on the hammock while Mavros was busy ying ball. The baby ck dragon recently learned how to y with a ball, and it yed alone with a ball every chance it got. He would kick the ball and run after it before kicking it again. A thought suddenly came to Han-Yeol after seeing the baby ck dragon ying, ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I make a friend for Mavros now? I think my Charisma stat is high enough¡­¡¯ Mavros had consistently demonstrated remarkable prowess inbat, leaving Han-Yeol with little incentive to acquire another monster pet. However, Han-Yeol¡¯s current stats allowed him to summon an additional potent monsterpanion. There was truly no valid justification for refraining from hatching another monster pet, aside from Han-Yeol''s momentary bout ofziness. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­ Where should I go to get the monster egg and fruit this time¡­?¡¯?he wondered whilezily going through his tablet PC on the hammock. A substantial amount of information regarding monster pets had be avable on the inte after the auction. The same could be said for monster eggs and nutritional fruits. Guilds and Hunter''s Associations from all around the world were vigorously working to obtain these monster eggs and nutritional fruits. They were meticulously scouring every hunting ground in hopes of discovering them. The guilds and raid parties were currently driven by unbridled greed, caring solely about obtaining the monster eggs and attempting to hatch them themselves. Naturally, every single one of these attempts to hatch a monster egg ended in failure. The endeavor of taming monsters had long been a fruitless pursuit, with no sessful oues. In the past, there had even been a catastrophic incident in which an entire city, with a poption of one hundred fifty thousand, was brought to ruin due to such experiments. This disaster had prompted governments to enact strict enforcement measures. Anyone leaving the hunting grounds was subjected to thorough inspections to prevent the unauthorized transportation of live monsters. They were only permitted to carry out the corpses and mana stones. ¡®Hmm¡­ The easiest ce I can go to right now would be¡­¡¯?he thought while scrolling down a list. While he could have delegated the task to someone else, he was determined to personally select the egg he would hatch, rather than relying on chance. ¡®A monster pet is technically myrade, so¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol disliked the notion of hatching a random egg brought by someone else, especially since the monster pet would be the one guarding his back. As he continued scrolling down in search of a suitable hunting ground, a brilliant idea suddenly popped into his head. ¡®Hold on! The demon world should have monster eggs and something?like the nutritional?fruit, right?¡¯? The act of hatching a monster pet was truly a special moment. Essentially, he was about to be a ''parent'' to the monster, making it only natural that he would want to provide the very best for his newpanion. With determination, Han-Yeol picked up his walkie-talkie. Psshht! ¡°Albert?¡± [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] The old butler¡¯s response was almost instant. Psshht! ¡°Did the Shine raid party bring some gold for us?¡± [Yes, they did. While their pace has slowed down in recent days, they initially worked diligently, resulting in a considerable stockpile.] ¡°How much gold do we have right now?¡± [It was exactly 1,212 tons the day before yesterday.] ¡°Wow¡­ That¡¯s a lot¡­¡± [Hoho! Yes, it is.] ¡°Alright then.¡± [Please let me know if you need anything else.] ¡°Okay.¡± Han-Yeol put down the walkie-talkie and thought, ¡®Good¡­ The Shine raid party is doing much better than I expected¡­¡¯ The leader of the Shine raid party was his friend''s brother, someone Han-Yeol personally knew as well. They had crossed paths frequently during their younger years, and Han-Yeol recalled him as a remarkably diligent individual even from an early age. ¡®Then, there¡¯s no reason for me to hesitate,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. ¡°Mavros.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros swiftly flew toward Han-Yeol the moment his name was called. While he would have typically nestled on top of Han-Yeol''s head, his increased size prevented him from doing so now. Instead, he perched both of his feet on Han-Yeol''s shoulders and clung to the back of his neck. Though the position might appear ufortable, the baby ck dragon''s remarkable flexibility rendered it inconsequential to him. With a focused mind, Han-Yeol closed his eyes and visualized Delchant''s sigil. Gathering his mana, he summoned forth, ''Pleasee out, Delchant-nim.'' As of the present, there existed no formal contract between Delchant and Han-Yeol. Consequently, summoning the demon merchant demanded a substantial amount of mana. Most Hunters would likely have sumbed to mana exhaustion by now had they attempted such a summoning. Shwaaaa¡­! Delchant¡¯s sigil appeared on the ground and spat out smoke before the demon merchant made its appearance. [Kikikiki! It has been a while since you called me to your world, human!] It had indeed been a while since Han-Yeolst summoned Delchant. Perhaps due to this, the demon merchant''s appearance differed noticeably from the norm. The clown-like aspect was entirely absent, reced by an appearance that suggested an individual who had achieved unexpected sess. Draped in a thick gold ne and adorned with sizable gold rings on each of his ten fingers, he bore a resemnce to a gangster rapper. ¡°My my, you have quite the fashion sense,¡± Han-Yeolmented. [Kihihihi! The human world has a lot of interesting things!] The demon merchant''s appearancecked any sense of coherence; his outfit and essories shed in a way that could only be described as uncool. If anything, this hodgepodge only served to entuate his repulsiveness. Yet, such superficial considerations were of little importance to Han-Yeol at the moment. He had summoned Delchant with a specific purpose in mind¡ªto conduct business. That singr objective consumed his attention entirely. "I seek monster eggs and nutritional fruits from the demon world," Han-Yeol stated firmly. In response, the demon merchant narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze upon Han-Yeol, seemingly intrigued by the request. [Oh~ I''ve got an idea about your ability, but I had no clue you could pull off something like that too! Kehehehehe!] It was difficult to pinpoint the demon merchant''s personality. In the past, Delchant used to kowtow to Han-Yeol, treating him with the motto ''customer is king''. However, that no longer seemed to be the case. The changes within the demon merchant were profound, yet it remained impossible to discern his current thoughts. "Then this trade should proceed smoothly. Can you amodate my request?" Han-Yeol inquired. [Kehehehe! Of course! But, it will cost you a pretty penny~ Those items are of no use to demons and are deemed as trash. Nheless, I must gratify my desire for profit! Kehehehe!] Not only had his appearance changed, but also the way he interacted with Han-Yeol and even hisughter bore signs of transformation. ¡°Tell me your price.¡± [Kehehehehe!] Seuk¡­! Delchant produced a monster egg adorned with purple lines, presenting it in one hand, while his other hand held a fruit with a cluster of twister-shaped purple formations, resembling a grape. [These items hold little value for a regr human! The fruit''s taste is dreadful, and only a demon possesses the ability to hatch this egg!] "I understand," Han-Yeol replied. [However! The situation changes when your peculiar ability is taken into ount! In your hands, these items be immensely valuable!] Han-Yeol hesitated before countering, "Could you perhaps offer me a discount? The contents of the egg are uncertain, and I''d rather not overpay for something with such uncertainty." [Kihihihihi! That¡¯s not my problem~] ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Delchant seemed intent on not giving any discount. No, it was more like he was resolved to squeeze as much as he could from Han-Yeol. ¡®Geez¡­¡¯? Was Han-Yeol going to give up on the monster egg simply because he felt cheated by the demon merchant? ¡®Nope. Never.¡¯ Money was no longer a concern for him. Conversely, the monster egg and nutritional fruit held by the demon merchant were exclusive to the demon world. In essence, acquiring them was an unattainable feat as long as he remained on Earth. Yet, Han-Yeol also recognized that the very act of summoning Delchant granted him a privilege unique to himself. The demon merchant provided him with items unavable in the human realm, all in exchange for gold: a task that could be delegated to others with ease. ¡®Life truly is unfair,¡¯?he thought with a smirk. Who else aside from Han-Yeol had such an unfair advantage over others? The advantages Han-Yeol possessed were more than enough to give the other Master Rank Hunters a run for their money. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s trade.¡± [Kihihihi! I knew you would say that!] ¡°So, how much will you sell it for?¡± [Hmm¡­ How much can I fleece you for, I wonder¡­] ¡®Hahaha¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but simplyugh in disbelief at the brazenness of the demon merchant. This was precisely why monopolies were frightening. Despite knowing they were being overcharged, individuals found themselves powerless to prevent it. [What I want is¡­ five hundred tons of gold!] ¡°¡­¡± It certainly wasn''t a sum that Han-Yeol couldn''t afford. However, it seemed ludicrous when considering that the demon merchant demanded five hundred tons of gold for the monster egg and nutritional fruit. This was especially bewildering when a scroll that temporarily summoned a thousand demons only cost one hundred tons of gold. ''Tsk¡­ I still need to purchase other items, and now forty percent of my budget is gone¡­'' Han-Yeol clicked his tongue in frustration. Despite his ability to replenish his funds, he couldn''t shake the feeling that the gold was being squandered. Such sentiments were rooted in his instincts from his days of poverty. ¡®Well, I guess I have no choice,¡¯?Han-Yeol sighed inwardly. [Kehehehe! Here you go, human!] ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡± Tak! Han-Yeol was able to easily, but expensively, obtain the monster egg and nutritional fruit from hell. However, that was not the end of the trade. ¡°I need something else.¡± [Oh? What¡¯s gotten into you this time, human? This is the first time you¡¯re buying two things from me at once!] ¡°I will be doing business with you much more frequently from now on.¡± [Kihihihihi! That¡¯s excellent news! It¡¯s a shame that you¡¯re the only human I can deal with in this dimension¡­ Kihihihi!] ¡®As expected, he can do business in other dimensions as well¡­¡¯? It was somewhat evident in a sense, considering that the ones who had saved Earth from destruction were none other than the aliens. Moreover, the idea that humans were alone in the universe had been debunked decades ago. [This dimension is so boring because there are no magicians! Kehehehe!] ¡°Are you talking about someone like the Arch Lich-nim?¡± [Ah, that old fart has quite the nasty temper, but his skill is top-notch. Kihihihi!] As expected, Delchant seemed to be aware of who the Arch Lich was. [A merchant¡¯s life depends on his informationwork, after all! Kihihihi!] ¡®I guess¡­¡¯ It''s also possible that the Arch Lich acquired whatever ingredients he needed from the demon merchant, but that detail wasn''t pertinent to Han-Yeol. [So, what is the other thing you need, human?] ¡°The second item I need is a dragon saddle.¡± [Hmm¡­ A dragon saddle, eh?] Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? Delchant scratched his long chin and muttered for quite a while. [Kihihihi! Well, I guess you would need a dragon saddle to efficiently use that mini dragon around your neck!] ¡°Yes, you are correct,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Meanwhile, he thought, ''It''s not about efficient utilization, but about fighting together¡­¡¯ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? ¡°Kyu~¡±?Mavros let out a satisfied cry after Han-Yeol scratched his chin. Han-Yeol held a deep affection for his baby ck dragon, a sentiment so profound that he was prepared to expend thousands of tons of gold on its behalf. [Kehehehehe! A mini dragon is indeed a precious creature, even in the demon world!] "Is the mini dragon truly that valuable?" Han-Yeol inquired, slightly taken aback by the revtion. After all, a mini dragon was essentially a pseudo-dragon, wasn''t it? [Kihihihi! I''m afraid I can''t provide you with any additional information, considering you only requested the dragon saddle~]" ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡± Han-Yeol replied with a shrug. ¡®Ugh¡­ I¡¯m quite curious though¡­¡¯?he grimaced and grumbled inwardly.. Chapter 221: A Surprising Miracle (2)

Chapter 221: A Surprising Miracle (2)

Han-Yeol knew that the demon merchant was not the kind of person who would teach him something just because he asked. Seuk¡­ Delchant produced something from his pocket that resembled a saddle. ¡®Wow¡­ Is he Doraemon or something? Just how much stuff can he fit into that pocket?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He couldn''t help but be amazed by Delchant¡¯s ability to store so many things in that small pocket. In fact, the demon merchant¡¯s pocket was leagues above his recently acquired dimensional storage skill. However, that didn''t mean he was jealous of the demon merchant¡¯s ability. Though his current dimensional storage might becking, he was confident that with enough leveling up in the future, it would surpass the demon merchant¡¯s pocket. Believing in his own abilities, especially given how far they had brought him, Han-Yeol inspected the saddle in Delchant¡¯s hand and found himself unable to suppress his surprise. ¡®Wow¡­ T-That looks really amazing¡­¡¯? The saddle had transformed into a dragon armor, unmistakably an item from the demon world, boasting a dark purple hue that bordered on ck. Surprisingly, the material used imbued the dragon armor with a captivating shine, instantly conveying its high-quality nature to anyone who cast a single nce upon it. ¡®I¡­ I want to check it out¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he gulped. He already possessed the skill to appraise items, allowing him to discern an item''s nature as long as he could hold it. Regrettably, acquiring the item remained out of his reach while it remained in the demon merchant¡¯s grasp. Gulp¡­! Han-Yeol nervously swallowed a hard lump in his throat, bracing himself as he was well aware that the demon merchant would demand an exorbitant amount of gold in exchange for it. Delchant was the sole determiner of his wares'' prices, which could fluctuate wildly depending on his mood that day. This, once again, underscored the privilege of holding a monopoly, a situation that led countries to strive to preventrge corporations from monopolizing certain products or services. However, it wasn''t as if the government ever properly fulfilled its duty... "I am curious about the price you intend to set for that dragon armor," Han-Yeol nonchntly remarked. [Kihihihi! I can feel it! I can feel your greed well up from within you the moment youid your eyes on this!] ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Maintaining a poker face was crucial in negotiating deals of this sort, yet Delchant had already seen through Han-Yeol. [Kihihihi! Well, not that it matters, since you won¡¯t find anywhere selling armor for your mini dragon! Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll require one thousand two hundred tons of gold, premium included. What do you think?] ¡°Ugh¡­?As expected¡­¡± Han-Yeol had anticipated a high cost, but he hadn''t foreseen depleting his entire gold reserve and still owing more after just two deals. This was a quantity that the Shine raid party would struggle to replenish unless they embarked on an extended hunting expedition. ¡®I guess I should use my connections from now on¡­¡¯?he thought. He did not n to refuse the offer just because it was expensive. "Alright, I can provide full payment for the dragon armor, but I''ll need a month to pay for the monster egg and nutritional fruit." [Kehehehe! Fine by me!] ¡°Then, we have a deal?¡± [Kehehehe! Yes! We have a deal!] Han-Yeol guided Delchant to the gold storage on his mansion grounds. ¡°Salute!¡± The three Gurkha mercenaries stationed at the storage area saluted and greeted him. "Ah, thank you for your hard work. I need to ess the storage, so please proceed to open it," Han-Yeol said. "Yes, sir!" The mercenaries promptly sprung into action, pressing the button to activate the doors. Creak¡­! The thick doors, designed to withstand even a ballistic missile, began to open slowly. Han-Yeol and Delchant stepped into the dimly lit storage area. Tak! The light came on and illuminated the entire storage. ¡®Oh? Everything is stored in gold bars?¡¯?Han-Yeol was impressed as he looked around. This marked Han-Yeol''s inaugural visit to the storage since itsmissioning. He remained uncertain whether it was Albert''s or Si-Hyun¡¯s initiative, but he observed that all the gold had been stored in the form of gold bars. ¡®Wow¡­ These yellow things look really beautiful¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but be mesmerized by the shining metals. By the time Han-Yeol had matured enough to beginprehending the concept of money''s value, the value of gold had already plummeted. Nheless, now he grasped why the world had been consumed by gold fever prior to the advent of mana stones. This insight amplified the allure of the gold bars arrayed before him. [Oh? You used to settle debts with those tarnished chunks of gold, yet this time you''ve presented them meticulously as gold bars?] ¡°Yes, previously I gathered them whenever I needed to make payments, but I''ve been umting them more methodically as ofte.¡± [Kehehehe! Good! Excellent! So, theseprise the entire one thousand-two hundred tons?] ¡°It''s precisely 1,212 tons.¡± [Who cares! Kehehehe!] ¡°Ugh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol let out a disgusted groan as the demon merchant attempted to take the twelve gold bars for free. Delchant then opened his pocket, effortlessly vacuuming in all the gold from the storage. It was no longer a surprise that every bit of it fit snugly within the pocket. ¡®That¡¯s really amazing¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after seeing all of the gold fit in the pocket. Delchant set down the dragon armor, the monster egg, and the nutritional fruit on the ground. Atst, these items were within Han-Yeol''s reach. The demon merchant employed an unusual ability, summoning the image of the product into his hand while the actual item remained in the demon world. Only after he handed it over would it materialize into the tangible product itself. [Kehehehe! I guess that¡¯s the end of our business?] ¡°Yes, you are correct.¡± [Then, I hope to see you again, human! Kehehehe!] Shwaaaaak! Delchant left the items behind and vanished into the demon world. ¡®Phew¡­ He¡¯s really quite the handful to deal with¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief after the demon merchant left. Delchant''s presence was undeniably one that left Han-Yeol feeling drained whenever he surfaced, yet he couldn''t ignore the fact that his merchandise had proven immensely beneficial to him in various ways. Furthermore, since he wasn''t bound by any contract with the demon merchant, summoning him wouldn''t impact his Invoke ability in the slightest. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s a good idea to reject the association¡¯s proposal, after all,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The Hunters¡¯ Association was well aware of his ability to summon the demon merchant and obtain items from the demon world. They had previously approached him with a proposition to serve as their intermediary for acquiring items from that realm. Nevertheless, Han-Yeol staunchly rejected their offer. ¡®Why would I agree when there''s no gain for me? Are they out of their minds?¡¯ Han-Yeol grumbled to himself. The Hunters¡¯ Association had borated on various grand promises within their proposal, but they had neglected to suggest anything that could be advantageous to Han-Yeol. ¡®I mean, even middlemen trading daily goods get a cut of the pie¡­ What on earth are those association people thinking? Did they truly believe I''d ept such a foolish proposal?¡¯ Han-Yeol found no reason to assist the association withoutpensation. This very rationale underpinned his rejection of the association''s request for renegotiation. ¡®I won''t be at a loss even if I steer clear of them.¡¯ With substantial wealth already in his possession, Han-Yeol sought to avoidplicating matters by entangling himself with the ineffectual and inept Hunters¡¯ Association. His current motto prioritized undertaking tasks with the least possible stress, and he held a firm conviction that coboration with the association would inevitably lead to intense frustration and exasperation. Han-Yeol decided to set aside the matter with the association and walked toward the items on the ground. ¡°Hmm¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­¡± he muttered while inspecting the dragon armor. The dragon armor didn''t possess the mboyancemonly seen in video games. Those saddles were originally crafted by individuals who had neverid eyes on an actual dragon, thus their designs were inevitably unrealistic. Dragons depicted with borate saddles and full-body armor akin to warhorses were products of creative imagination. The notion of encasing a dragon''s entire physique in armor remained impractical due to their intricate and robust bodily structure, far moreplex than that of a horse. Nevertheless, the dragon armor left behind by Delchant appeared to be an impable fit for Mavros. Not only that, it seemed exceptionally durable, enabling its rider to maintain a secure seat even during high-speed flight. [Mini Dragon Stirrup and Saddle] [Rating: Rare (Normal < Magic < Rare < Unique < ???)] [Type: Dragon Armor Set] [Description: A saddle set crafted from the metal of the demon world, Amantarium, and provides 11% resistance against darkness, poison, and curses.] [Mana Amplification: +3%] [Special Effects: +5% speed of the mini dragon, Resistance to wind increases while flying.] The dragon armor even included a helmet, effectively shielding the mini dragon''s most vulnerable aspect. [Mini Dragon Dark Helmet] [Rating: Rare] [Type: Dragon Armor Set] [Description: A helmet crafted from the metal of the demon world, Amantarium, and the heart of the demonic beast, Keshers.] [Mana Amplification: +3%] [Special Effects: Inherit Kershers¡¯ ability of 360¡ã view, +11% resistance to attacks on the head, +15% resistance to mental attacks.] It also featured a specialized piece of armor designed to safeguard yet another vulnerability of a dragon - its chest, which housed the creature''s heart. [Amantarium Breath Armor] [Rating: Rare] [Type: Dragon Armor Set] [Description: A saddle set crafted from the metal of the demon world, Amantarium, and provides 7% resistance against darkness, poison, and curses.] [Mana Amplification: +2%] [Special Effects: +2% resistance to all attributes, +5% resistance to critical damage] Last but not least, it also included tail armor that would enable Mavros to both defend andunch attacks with his tail. [Mini Dragon Tail Armor] [Rating: Rare] [Type: Dragon Armor Set] [Description: A helmet crafted from the metal of the demon world, Amantarium, and the bones of a thorn demon. Increases poison resistance by 3%] [Special Effects: +3% defense increase.] This was the item for which Han-Yeol had paid one thousand two hundred tons of gold. The rating might have been somewhat underwhelming, but this minor drawback ceased to be an issue when one considered the absence of any humans currently capable of crafting an armor set tailored for a dragon. The dragon armor set could indeed be deemed excellent, given that it transcended both normal and magic ratings. Han-Yeol felt genuinely content with his acquisition. ¡°Mavros!¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± ¡°Transform into battle mode.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros wasn''t so devoted to Han-Yeol that he would unquestionably sacrifice himself if instructed to do so. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Mavros turned from a cute little baby dragon into a fierce mini dragon. Chwak! He extended his wings, disying his grandeur, a sight reminiscent of a fighter jet priming for takeoff. ¡®Ah, no matter how many times I see him, he''s still incredibly impressive¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol mused. Some might argue that he was showing favoritism, but there was no harm in that, for Mavros was undeniably endearing and captivating in his perspective. ¡°I''ll be putting these on you, so please remain still, alright?¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Kreuk!¡±?Mavros nodded in response. He might not be able to speak, but he understood everything that Han-Yeol said. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ How am I supposed to put this on¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered before he decided to start with the stirrup and saddle. ¡°Hum~ Hum~ Hum~¡±?he hummed a tune while putting the stirrup and saddle on Mavros. He had a basic understanding of how to fit these onto Mavros, having observed a few videos on the proper way to saddle horses. With that knowledge in mind, he meticulously positioned the helmet onto Mavros¡¯ head. ¡°Kieek¡­¡±? This marked the very first asion Mavros had ever worn anything since his birth, inevitably causing a sense of unease. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? Han-Yeol worked to soothe Mavros before gently fastening the helmet strap around his head. ¡°Alright¡­ You''re doing great, Mavros¡­ Take it easy¡­¡± Han-Yeol dedicated a substantial amount of time to calming the dragon''s nerves. To Han-Yeol, it was paramount to uphold a sense of respect and partnership with Mavros. He recognized Mavros as more than a possession; he was a cherishedpanion capable of experiencing emotions and signaling difort. Ultimately, a dragon remained a dragon, regardless of the circumstances. While Mavros might appear exceptionally docile, this was primarily in response to Han-Yeol, who essentially served as his parent. However, it was essential to bear in mind that a dragon was a formidable entity, capable of causing devastation and eliminating any obstacles in its path. As a result, Han-Yeol deemed it vital to assuage Mavros'' agitation whenever it arose. ¡°Puff!¡± As Han-Yeol managed to secure the helmet onto Mavros'' head, the dragon emitted a gentle huff of air through his nostrils. Once the helmet was in ce, the process became notably smoother. Although Mavros might have initially found the helmet diforting, given its contact with his face and head, he seemed unaffected by the presence of the Breath Armor and the Tail Armor. ¡°Alright! You look really cool, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡± Initially, Mavros experienced a sense of unease once Han-Yeol adorned him with the unfamiliar gear. However, his perspective swiftly shifted as Han-Yeol unexpectedly showered him with des. Chwak! ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± In fact, Mavros was feeling pumped up as he spread out his wings and showed off his new look. Han-Yeol gave him a thumbs-up in response and said, ¡°You¡¯re the best, Mavros!¡± ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Mavros appeared to still feel a hint of unease, yet an underlying positive disposition was evident. The ck dragon seemed to relish the praise and admiration bestowed upon him by Han-Yeol. ¡°Haha! Mavros!¡± Han-Yeol chuckled heartily as he affectionately patted the ck dragon''s neck. In this moment of shared affection between Han-Yeol and Mavros, an unforeseen event unfolded... Psshhht! [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! We have a big problem!] Chapter 222: A Surprising Miracle (3)

Chapter 222: A Surprising Miracle (3)

"Hmm? What''s that?" Han-Yeol muttered, looking down at his walkie-talkie as Purva''s voice emanated from it. The walkie-talkie Han-Yeol used was an old model, characterized by impressive design and excellent functionality. Although newer models were avable, designed as earpieces, Han-Yeol stubbornly rejected them. In Han-Yeol''s mansion, only three individuals utilized these outdated models: Albert, his father, and himself. The remaining workers and guards relied on the new earpiece models. Han-Yeol harbored several reasons for his steadfast refusal to adopt the new model, with the primary concern being his difort with constantly having something in his ear. He shared this aversion to items like rings, earrings, nes, and even watches¡ªanything making contact with his skin proved rather bothersome. Consequently, he favored the old model walkie-talkies over the newer counterparts. Psshht! ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s the big problem?¡± Han-Yeol asked. [T-That is¡­ I think you will need to see it for yourself¡­] ¡®Huh? What''s going on? Is there something that might pose a problem for me at this moment?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered, struggling to identify any significant issues that could arise. Nevertheless, he opted to investigate, driven by Purva''s evident rm over this purported predicament. ¡°Hmm¡­ Mavros?¡± ¡°Kiek?¡± ¡°What do you think is going to happen to your armor if you go back to your cute mode?¡± ¡°Kiek!¡±?Mavros cried out before shrinking back to his baby-sized form. ¡°What?!¡± Han-Yeol eximed. He was taken aback to discover that the dragon armor had diminished in size along with Mavros. What astonished him even further, however, was the dragon armor''splete absence once the ck dragon had shrunk. ¡°M-Mavros¡­? Did you just shrink together with your armor¡­?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried out and nodded in response. ¡°Will you be equipped with your armor if you grow big again?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros responded once again. ¡°Wow¡­ That¡¯s really amazing¡­¡± It seemed that the armor was not limited to shrinking and could hide itself when not needed. ¡®He might be a mini dragon, but a dragon is still a dragon, at the end of the day,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The dragons were undeniably an enigmatic and mystical species, andbeling the mini dragon as a mere monster seemed akin to insulting the entire dragon lineage. Nevertheless, the matter concerning Mavros'' dragon armor concluded there. Han-Yeol retrieved the monster egg and the nutritional fruit from the demon world, proceeding to his residence on the mansion grounds, as requested by Purva. Creak¡­! Han-Yeol headed straight to the living room after entering through the back door. ¡°H-Han-Yeol-nim!¡± Purva shouted while seemingly fuming. He was watching the TV with Albert. ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°P-Please take a look at this!¡± he eximed while pointing at the TV, which was showing a live news broadcast. . Dududududu! A reporter''s voice reverberated from a helicopter, its propeller noise distinct, while he peered down at something on the ground. The scene before him was all too familiar to Han-Yeol, causing his eyes to widen dramatically as the camera zoomed in. "T-This! What?!" he eximed, shock evident in his voice, upon witnessing the Cheolwon hunting ground he had recently visited being broadcasted on the news. "How?" he questioned, his mind racing toprehend the situation. Yet, this was not the core predicament. The real issuey in the impossibility of broadcasting helicopters entering a hunting ground due to the surrounding barrier that effectively prevented their entry. Moreover, rying images from within the hunting ground required specialized antennas, which posed a logistical challenge. Lastly, the peril posed by the menacing monsters within the hunting ground made it a highly dangerous environment for any group of reporters to venture into. Despite theseplications, there was no denying that the broadcast was, indeed, live at that very moment. [We are currently above the Cheolwon hunting ground. As you can see, there is nothing in this ce that was once teeming with monsters.] ¡°T-There are no monsters?!¡± It was a series of surprises for Han-Yeol. The news reporter was essentially conveying that the monsters within the Cheolwon hunting ground had vanished, or more urately, the hunting ground itself had be devoid of these creatures. ¡®What? Is that even possible¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was in utter disbelief and denial. However, it was impossible to deny the live broadcast showing on the news right now. [As the Hunters'' Association and various researchers grapple with formting theories to exin this urrence, we, at KBC broadcasting, have obtained information indicating that the most recent individuals to engage in hunting within the grounds were none other than the esteemed hunters Lee Han-Yeol and Mujahid.] ¡°What?!¡± [There were no other Hunters that came here after that.] ¡°Whaaat?!¡± This was the very reason Purva had urgently contacted Han-Yeol, as the news continued to reiterate the same information. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!? Han-Yeol¡¯s smartphone started to ring loudly. [President Kim] It was Secretary Kim¡¯s new name on Han-Yeol¡¯s phone. ¡®Oh right, I asked him to buy the Cheolwon hunting ground,¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered. ¡°Hello?¡± [Did you watch the news just now, Han-Yeol-nim?] ¡°Yeah, I saw it. Did you obtain ownership of the Cheolwon hunting ground?¡± [Yes, we were fortunate enough to conclude negotiations with the TK Group a mere five hours ago, securing ownership of the Cheolwon hunting ground for a million dors.] Upon conversion to Korean won, this amounted to approximately 1.2 billion, a price Han-Yeol found reasonable given the vast expanse ofnd. Yet, owning a hunting ground had more to do with boasting rights than tangible value. It didn''t grant the owner the authority to restrict ess or impose entry fees on Hunters. In essence, most corporations acquired hunting grounds as a branding strategy. However, for the Cheolwon hunting ground, there had been a limited influx of Hunters initially. Thus, the TK Group deemed it an ineffective means of brand promotion. Consequently, they opted to capitalize on the situation by doubling the price for Han-Yeol¡ªselling thend they had acquired for half a million dors at the inted price of one million. The individual overseeing the transaction wasvished with des from the TK Group''s management for the profitable deal. Regrettably, the circumstances had now taken aplete U-turn... "Great work. We managed to secure that vast expanse for a mere 1.2 billion? Quite the steal." [Haha! Absolutely. If we hadn''t finalized the deal when we did, it could have unraveled.] "I''m immensely relieved that you did." [Oh, by the way, were you aware of this aspect when you acquired the hunting ground from them?] ¡°No way.¡± Han-Yeol was indeed speaking the truth. He possessed no prescient abilities that could have forewarned him about this turn of events. The notion of foreseeing the future was beyond his capabilities. His initial motivation for acquiring the hunting ground was rooted in its serene natural beauty, offering a calming respite. Little did he anticipate that his seemingly innocuous decision would send shockwaves reverberating throughout the entire industry. [Han-Yeol-nim, might I suggest that you pay a personal visit to the location now that it falls under your ownership?] "Perhaps I should, shouldn''t I?" [Indeed, it''s advisable. This marks the first instance of a hunting ground vanishing, and no researcher or schr can provide an exnation. Given your stature as a Master Rank Hunter, your direct investigation would be highly valuable. Moreover, the timing is opportune to underscore your ownership of the site.] "Hmm... Yes, you''re absolutely correct," Han-Yeol concurred. ¡®Ha! I guess I have an excellent eye for people!¡¯ Jason''s ability to consistently make astute decisions never ceased to amaze Han-Yeol. Once again, he had urately assessed the appropriate course of action in this situation. [Are you nning to depart now, Han-Yeol-nim?] "Why? Do you intend to join me?" [Indeed, as there may be some administrative matters to attend to. Having me apany you would be advantageous.] "Well, if you believe it''s necessary. I''ll head directly to the Cheolwon hunting ground then. See you there." [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.] Beep! Han-Yeol ended the call and looked at Purva. Purva walked toward him and said, ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?¡± ¡°Get the car ready.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Unfortunately, there were no airfields or helipads in the Cheolwon hunting ground, so he had to take a car all the way there. Purva rushed out and instructed the staffers to get ready for Han-Yeol¡¯s departure. ¡®Hmm¡­ I wonder what¡¯s going to happen¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol hoped that there were not going to be any huge problems. At the same time, he was slowly starting to feel excited at how things were developing. *** Han-Yeol arrived at the Cheolwon hunting ground after forty minutes of driving. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? Whistle! Whistle! Whistle!? ¡°Hey! You over there! Please do not cross the safety line!¡± The Cheolwon hunting ground had plunged into utter chaos. The inaugural manifestation of a dimensional rift had transpired in South Korea, subsequently followed by the emergence of the inaugural boss monsters within the same nation. Now, a peculiar incident involving the vanishing of a dimensional gate had unfolded in South Korea as well. This sequence of enigmatic urrences directed an immense spotlight onto the country, prompting news outlets from around the globe to converge upon it. Several astute foreign media organizations, sensing the gravity of the situation, swiftly established offices within South Korea, anticipating further anomalies within its borders. Regrettably for these foreign entities, the path leading to the Cheolwon hunting ground had been meticulously barricaded by soldiers. Consequently, a tense standoff ensued between the soldiers and the journalists, escting the already turbulent situation. Vroom! Han-Yeol''s car attempted to advance to the forefront, but its progress was thwarted by a wall of reporters who remained resolute, seemingly engrossed in their quest to bypass the soldiers. The presence of the car behind them appeared to elude their awareness entirely. "My apologies. I will promptly clear a path," Purva offered. Notably, two additional cars trailed behind Han-Yeol''s, apanied by a contingent of ten Gurkha Mercenaries. This formidable assemblyprised battle-hardened individuals, each Gurkha considered equivalent in prowess to approximately fifty ordinary individuals. Gurkha Mercenaries held a distinguished reputation as elite soldiers, with retired Gurkhas capable of single-handedly fending off as many as fifty adversaries. ¡°No, let¡¯s get down here,¡± Han-Yeol said. ¡°Pardon me, sir?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to give way, and I want to see what¡¯s going on with my own eyes too.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Purva immediately got out of the car and opened the door for Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol stepped out of the car, greeted by Jason, who had arrived earlier. "Wee, Han-Yeol-nim." "Ah, hello, President Kim. Thank you for your efforts." "It was my pleasure, merely following the instructions you provided." Jason''s recent frustration and anger toward Han-Yeol appeared to have dissipated entirely, leaving no trace in his current demeanor. The potent influence of promotion on altering one''s perspective was evident, showcasing its effectiveness in securing loyalty. "So, have you managed to gather any information about the situation?" "Not yet. The association and the government are actively suppressing media coverage. All we know is that the dimensional field has vanished." "Hmm... I understand." In the midst of Han-Yeol''s contemtion, a formidable surge of mana drew near. "Hyung-nim!" It was Mujahid. "Huh? Mujahid?" "Hahaha! Yes, it''s me!" Mujahid had been forcibly taken away during theirst encounter, but now he returned, sporting pronounced bags under his eyes. "What happened? You seem incredibly tired." "Haha... I couldn''t help but be curious after seeing the news. This is the first instance of a dimensional gate in a hunting ground disappearing, and the hunting ground in question is the very one you and I hunted in!" "Well, that''s also the reason I''m here. Oh, by the way, I purchased that hunting ground." "Wow! That''s incredible!" "You think so too? Keke!" "Yes, hyung-nim!" The vanishing of an entire hunting ground was remarkable in itself, but the fact that Han-Yeol had procured the extensive 99.27 square kilometers ofnd was even more astounding to Mujahid. Acquiring such a vast expanse ofnd was no small feat in South Korea, and obtaining it for a mere one million dors was akin to a bargain. "I wonder who the previous owner is, but they must be in utter disbelief right now. Keke!" Mujahid chuckled. "I''m sure they are," Han-Yeol concurred. Then, he suddenly remembered, ¡®Hmm¡­ It¡¯s strange how I keep getting involved in strange ways with the TK Group¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol had harbored a distinct aversion toward the TK Group ever since the Sung Jin Factory incident. In fact, they had gone so far as to dispatch assassins after him, a response he had not anticipated after his aid to the factory. However, amidst the whirlwind of his busy lifestyle, these memories had receded into the background, nearly forgotten. ¡®They are my next target after the Hunters¡¯ Association and the Hunter Alliance¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol had already administered the initial repercussions to the TK Group, but this marked merely the inception of his response, as he had further ns in store for them. Chapter 223: A Surprising Miracle (4)

Chapter 223: A Surprising Miracle (4)

¡®Ah¡­ It feels good to let them have a taste of their own medicine¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk. He held a deep disdain for the TK Group and took great pleasure in messing with them whenever an opportunity arose. While Han-Yeol was engrossed in thoughts about the TK Group, reporters and onlookers struggled to push through the soldiers. At that moment, frustration boiled over. "Why did we have to arrivete?" Two reporters from BMC broadcasting station grumbled, their unease evident as they realized they couldn''t make their way to the front. "I already told you we needed to move faster, senior," the taller of the two, seemingly in his twenties,ined. "Well, I had no idea it would turn out to be such a significant scoop. I thought it was just a rumor floating around the inte... Ah, I shouldn''t have spent so much time ying Overwatchst night," the short, chubby man in his thirties muttered, scratching his head in frustration. ¡°Sigh¡­?So pitiful¡­¡± Despite their apparent age difference of at least a decade, people might have found it awkward that the younger one spoke so bluntly to his senior. Surprisingly, though, both of them were merely a year apart in age, and their gap narrowed to just five months if counted by months. Moreover, their rtionship was remarkably close, akin to that of friends when they were alone together. ¡°Tsk tsk¡­?ying games all day at your age, hyung, aren''t you embarrassed? I mean, you have a job, you know? How can you even consider staying up all night ying games when you have work the next day?" ¡°Ahem¡­?My bad¡­ It¡¯s just that my n wanted to y together¡­ They don¡¯t have a job, you see¡­¡± ¡°Tsk tsk¡­¡± The junior reporter could not help but let out a sigh. ¡®What the hell is this¡­ This could be one of the biggest scoops of the decade, but we can¡¯t even get close¡­¡¯ Lee Han-Yeol had be the focal point of attention in recent days due to his involvement in most major issues. Unfortunately, these reporters were not tasked with covering Han-Yeol. Adding to the challenge, securing an interview with Han-Yeol proved exceedingly difficult, as he seldom left his mansion except for his hunting excursions. This contrasted sharply with how some Hunters aggressively pursued interviews andmercial deals once they achieved poprity, all in a bid to boost their earnings. However, Han-Yeol didn''t need to engage in such efforts, as he could amass an astonishing fortune whenever he pleased without actively seeking the limelight. Recognizing the futility of making progress in their current direction, the junior reporter concluded that it was best to change course, hoping to find an alternative path. ¡®H-Huh? W-What?! I-Is that Han-Yeol Hunter?!¡¯?he was bbergasted at what he saw. ¡°Ah¡­ Uh¡­ Ha¡­ ha¡­¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden?¡± the senior reporter asked after seeing his junior stutter all of a sudden. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Then, he followed his junior''s gaze to see what shocked him so much. His jaw dropped. ¡°Heok!¡±? That was how shocking Han-Yeol¡¯s presence was to them. ¡°Ha! Ha! HAA!¡± Tak! The senior reporter almost screamed, but his junior immediately covered his mouth. ¡°Eup! Eup!¡± ¡°Shh!?It appears that we''re the only ones who have spotted Han-Yeol the Hunter at the moment. This is a significant development! We must approach him, whether he''s willing to speak with us or not, hyung!" ¡°Eup! Eup!¡± After a brief struggle, the senior reporter eventually nodded,prehending his junior''s point. This presented an invaluable opportunity for both of them, especially given the recent sluggishness of their work and the mounting pressure from higher-ups to secure a breakthrough. Consider the possibilities: What if they couldnd an exclusive interview with the hottest global sensation, Lee Han-Yeol, at this very moment? Han-Yeol had essentially be a walking scoop, capturing the fascination of audiences not only in South Korea but across the entire world. He was revered as the most admired Hunter in South Korea, hailed as the realest, and celebrated as the coolest among the country''s Hunters. Indeed, Han-Yeol was sweeping all surveys as the most beloved Hunter in South Korea, a conclusion substantiated by extensive big data analysis. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ Let¡¯s go¡­¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­!¡± The two of them carefully approached Han-Yeol while making sure that nobody saw them. Tak! However, they were stopped not longter. ¡°Do note near.¡± Two of Han-Yeol''s bodyguards swiftly blocked their path. The other guards, unlike Purva who was fluent in Korean, possessed only a basic grasp of thenguage. They couldmunicate and understand to some extent, but often stuttered, spoke slowly, and struggled with pronunciation. Thisnguage barrier prompted them to default to English for official matters, as using Korean, anguage they were not proficient in, might lead to judgments from others. The Gurkha Mercenaries had served in the British army for the majority of their lives, making learning English as essential asbat training. However, this was changing gradually, as they were now being phased out. In a voice audible to Han-Yeol but not the other reporters, the junior reporter hesitantly said, "We were hoping to request an interview with Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, if possible. Is his presence rted to the recent report by KBC Broadcasting Station?" "Hmm¡­" Han-Yeol considered the two reporters before him. At that moment, Jason offered a suggestion, "Han-Yeol-nim, what if you were to grant them an interview?" "Ah, you mean to highlight that the Cheolwon hunting ground belongs to me?" "Yes, precisely. While I don''t believe these two are seasoned reporters, they should suffice for now." "Why not just hold a press conference instead?" "Why bother with such a hassle and time-consuming endeavor? These two will be over the moon after scoring an exclusive interview with you, and their broadcasting station will interrupt whatever they''re airing to present it as breaking news." "Ah, I see your point¡­" Han-Yeolprehended Jason''s rationale and signaled Purva. Having followed the conversation attentively, Purva knew exactly what to do. He issued orders to the other Gurkhas, granting permission for the two reporters to proceed. ¡°Pleasee over here. Han-Yeol-nim has agreed to a short interview.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°Thank you very much!¡± ¡®What did we do to deserve such a blessing?!¡¯ Neither of them had anticipated his agreement to the interview. They had hoped, at best, to capture a few photographs of him. However, in their wildest dreams, they never imagined that Han-Yeol would actually agree to their interview request. ¡®D-Don¡¯t screw this up¡­!¡¯? Both of them hurried over to Han-Yeol, quickly extending a microphone just in case he had a change of heart. Click! Click! Click! Click!? The senior reporter skillfully took photographs, ensuring that his sh was turned off so as not to offend Han-Yeol. Meanwhile, the more reliable junior reporter initiated the interview. "We have a few questions for you. Were you aware of the disappearance of the dimensional gate in the hunting ground when you arrived today?" "Yes, that''s correct." "Is it true that you hunted in this area recently?" "Yes, that''s also correct. I hunted until the morning of yesterday, to be precise." "Hmm¡­ Could you share your thoughts on the dimensional gate''s disappearance?" This was an opportune moment for the reporters, but they were well aware that time was limited and they couldn''t ask too many questions. Moreover, their own knowledge was limited to what had been reported by KBC Broadcasting Station. They hesitated to delve too deeply into discussions with Han-Yeol, partly due to the apprehension that the Gurkhas might escort them out if they pushed too far. "Hmm¡­ I''m actually not well-informed about the current situation. I only just heard about it in the news, so I don''t have much information. However, I can state with certainty that I purchased the entire Cheolwon hunting ground merely five hours ago." ¡°T-That means?!¡± Though the reporters might have appeared less knowledgeable, they were still part of the department responsible for Hunter affairs and had acquired an understanding of how things operated during their internships. After all, it would be inconceivable for them to cover Hunter-rted topics without a grasp of the industry and its regtions, wouldn''t it? ¡°Yes, I am currently the legal owner of the Cheolwon hunting ground, but I have no idea why there are so many people intruding on my property¡­¡± ¡®Heok!¡¯ ¡®T-This is huge! Experiencing this firsthand is like being a living news story... Who could have predicted that he would ignite such a frenzy once more!¡¯ The reporters could not help but be in awe of Han-Yeol. "And that concludes the interview," Jason interjected. Jason was cautious, ensuring that the reporters wouldn''t venture into unnecessary inquiries once their intended purpose had been fulfilled. In a casual tone, he then continued, "This seems like quite the exclusive scoop... Perhaps you should be on your way?" ¡°A-Ah! Yes!¡± The two reporters immediately took out their phones and called their office. ¡°Shall we go, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± Jason asked. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± Han-Yeol replied. Both of them casually strolled away from the reporters, with the Gurkhas taking the lead. Only when the Gurkhas cleared a path, pushing back the other reporters, did the crowd finally take notice of Han-Yeol''s presence. ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim! It¡¯s Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± ¡°Please do a quick interview with us! PLEASE!¡± ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!¡± ¡°Are you rted to the dimensional gate¡¯s disappearance by any chance?!¡± The reporters mored loudly, resembling a brood of hungry chicks seeking sustenance from their mother hen, but Han-Yeol paid them no heed. The Gurkhas diligently worked to maintain order and create a passage for Han-Yeol to move through. Unfortunately, the reporters outnumbered them by at least tenfold, making it a challenging task to hold them back. Moreover, these reporters were seasoned in such scenarios, persistently advancing in their quest to secure an interview with Han-Yeol. Nheless, the Gurkha warriors, having undergone rigorous training, were seasoned veterans who wouldn''t yield to a group of wiry reporters. They employed their strength to push back the reporters, ensuring a pathway for Han-Yeol until he reached the barricade established by the soldiers. ¡°Salute! Wee, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. What brings you here today?¡± the soldier asked. Hunters upied a higher rung on the social hierarchy than soldiers, making it customary for them to offer a salute upon encountering Han-Yeol. However, this practice was reserved for distinguished Hunters, and soldiers wouldn''t extend this honor to those of lower status. "Well, considering that I''m the proprietor of this domain now, it seems only natural for me to investigate if anything has urred on my property," Han-Yeol remarked. ¡°I-I see¡­¡± The soldiers stationed at the entrance to the Cheolwon hunting ground stood in silence, their expressions a mix of bewilderment and confusion, as they had received no prior information regarding Han-Yeol''s visit. ¡®W-What should we do¡­?¡¯ The orders they had received were crystal clear: to prevent anyone from passing through. Fearing potential repercussions and disciplinary action, the soldiers were caught in a quandary. Yet, their decision was swiftly reached. "Please refrain frommitting the unwise error of obstructing a Hunter''s passage. A Hunter holds the capability to reduce this entire vicinity to ashes with a mere gesture," Han-Yeol remarked. ¡°Heok!¡± Then, Han-Yeol slowly emitted his aura directed at the soldiers. The prospect of Han-Yeol resorting to force against the soldiers was exceedingly imusible, given the strict prohibition outlined by internationalws preventing Hunters from employing their abilities against civilians. However, Han-Yeol possessed an arsenal of other capabilities. With his wealth, influence, connections, and every conceivable resource at his disposal, he could effortlessly orchestrate the vanishing of a soldier without leaving a trace. ¡°I¡­ I will open it¡­¡± ¡°Good thinking,¡± Han-Yeol said with a gentle smile. Han-Yeol¡¯s aura instantly disappeared the moment the soldier agreed to open the barricade for him. Any S Rank Hunter possessed the ability to emanate their aura, exerting pressure on others. However, Han-Yeol''s aura surpassed that of the majority of S Rank Hunters by a considerable margin. Creak¡­! After the soldiers opened the barricade, Han-Yeol said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!¡± And so, Han-Yeol and his party gained entry into the Cheolwon hunting ground. The captain of the soldiers manning the barricade retrieved his walkie-talkie, reluctantly preparing to transmit a message. It was amunication he wished he didn''t have to make, but the gravity of the situation demanded reporting, for failure to do so could potentially lead to even greater repercussions. Psshhht! ¡°Han-Yeol Hunter has entered just now¡­¡± the captain said. [What? Hey, you bastard! I told you not to let anyone in! Am I a joke to you?!] ''As I thought...'' the captain had foreseen the impending reprimand from his superior. The currentmander overseeing the Cheolwon hunting ground was notorious for his sharp tongue and quick temper. He particrly had zero tolerance for soldiers who failed to heed his directives. ''Given the choice, I''d rather face the wrath of themander than risk earning the ire of Han-Yeol Hunter...'' Psshhht! "He insisted that the Cheolwon hunting ground is his personal property. You''re surely aware that we''re presently upying it without legal authority under the guise of security. Refusing him passage could have escted into a legal dispute. Remember, we''re dealing with none other than Han-Yeol Hunter,mander," the captain exined. [Damn it¡­!] While themander had a reputation for his acerbic tongue and quick temper, he was not one to act impulsively, especially when dealing with a Hunter. This held even truer when the said Hunter happened to be Han-Yeol. Regrettably for themander, the current situation was far from favorable for him... Chapter 224: A Surprising Miracle (5)

Chapter 224: A Surprising Miracle (5)

Themander could no longer berate the captain for opening the barricade for Han-Yeol. Normally, he would have concocted various reasons to vent his anger, but he didn''t have the luxury to do so this time, as he had to devise a n for Han-Yeol''s next course of action. Psshhht! [Damn it! This is your final warning! Don¡¯t ever let anyone else pass through!] ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± That marked the conclusion of the transmission. ording to protocol, a captain was expected to offer a verbal salute to themander before ending themunication. However, the captain chose to skip this formality due to his sour mood. Such interactions between soldiers and officers were a familiar sight. Bam! The captain delivered a forceful punch to the whiteboard beside him, causing the soldiers standing nearby to instinctively recoil at his abrupt disy of anger. Both the captain and themander were often regarded as unconventional individuals by the soldiers. ¡®These crazy bastards... Hmph, I could take them on anytime, even without their uniforms,¡¯?was a recurring daydream shared among soldiers about their superiors within the military hierarchy. ¡°Phew¡­?Why the hell is he so confident when he¡¯s going away in six months?!¡± the captain clenched his fist and shouted in anger. Despite his intense frustration, he had to suppress his anger, considering the other party was amander. While the world had seen significant progress, a distinct hierarchy still prevailed among soldiers based on their ranks. The captain couldn''t risk jeopardizing his position as a soldier, especially given the current job market challenges. Finding stable employment had be increasingly challenging in recent times. *** Wooong! Han-Yeol employed his Demon Eyes to scan the Cheolwon hunting ground, quickly spotting something unusual. "Animals?" "Huh?" "I can''t detect any signs of monsters. All I see are animals. It''s as though the monsters have been reced by animals..." "I see..." "But these animals also possess mana stones within them..." "What?!" Mujahid eximed, his shock nearly causing him to stumble backward. Mana stones were extraordinary gems that had propelled humanity''s advancement, exclusively extracted from monsters. The notion that such mana stones could be found within ordinary animals defied all logic Mujahid had ever known. Nheless, Han-Yeol''s Demon Eyes were unfailing. He observed mana stones embedded within the bodies of wild boars, elks, rabbits, roons, and various other creatures inhabiting the Cheolwon hunting ground. "They''re quite small,parable to the ones from the Vxes." "That''s... moreprehensible," Mujahid stammered, relieved that the normal animals didn''t bearrger mana stones, a revtion that might have caused him to faint. Still, the size of the mana stones didn''t belittle the significance of the discovery. "Hyung-nim," Mujahid began. "Yeah," Han-Yeol replied, raising his hand. He employed one of his skills and... Wooong! ¡°Oink! Oink!¡± Chwak! A wild boar concealed behind the thicket abruptly lifted into the air, its body writhing in a desperate attempt to break free, its confusion evident. Soon, the animal''s instincts kicked in, recognizing that the humans drawing near didn''t harbor benevolent intentions. Regrettably, no ordinary creature could elude Han-Yeol''s grasp through Psychokinesis. Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol pulled out his sword after reaching a few steps away from the wild boar. Sukeok! Han-Yeol didn''t derive any satisfaction from needlessly causing harm to animals. Thus, he opted to swiftly end the wild boar''s life with a single, precise strike. The strike was executed so seamlessly that the wild boar likely departed without experiencing any pain. Subsequently, he activated his Demon Eyes and scanned the lifeless body of the animal. Sukeok! Tak! He excised the section containing the mana stone and employed Psychokinesis to extract it, avoiding any bloodstains on his hands for the day. ¡®Tsk¡­ It would have been awesome if I could use water-type skills to wash this thing¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled. He recognized the inconvenience of having to travel to a restroom or water source for cleaning, which he found bothersome. Strangely, he noticed a trend of growingziness with the umtion of new skills. Yet, this wasn''t unexpected, given his inherent inclination towardziness from the outset. Seuk¡­ Although the mana stone extracted from the wild boar''s remains was rtively small andcked exceptional purity, Han-Yeol disyed no signs of disappointment. On the contrary, he appeared genuinely intrigued by its characteristics. ¡®Hmm¡­ Will these animals produce offspring that possess mana stones as well¡­?¡¯?he wondered. The prospect of cultivating and harvesting mana stones safely held the promise of a profound revolution for humanity. Presently, hunters worldwide ced their lives at risk to gather mana stones from monsters. However, this primitive "hunter-gatherer" approach fell short of meeting the global demand for these vital resources. It was this scarcity that underpinned the exorbitant prices of mana stones. Yet, what if a method existed to safely procure mana stones, even if they were smaller and of lesser quality? This potential development had the potential to usher in a transformative era, reshaping entire industries. High-quality mana stones could find use in critical sectors and applications, while the lower-quality stones obtained from animals could satisfy less crucial industries and uses. The resulting efficiency boost across various sectors could drastically reduce the cost of mana stones, rendering them more essible than their current pricey status. While such a shift might spell adversity for hunters, it held tremendous promise for the entire human race, offering widespread benefits if realized. ¡®Who would''ve thought that thend where the next revolution could unfold belongs to me,¡¯?Han-Yeol mused, a wry smile ying on his lips. ¡°Wow, this is amazing¡­¡± Mujahid said while looking at the mana stone. Then, he added, ¡°I guess Lady Luck really loves you, hyung-nim.¡± ¡°To be honest, I think so too.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Mujahidughed loudly at Han-Yeol¡¯s honest admission. He then asked, ¡°So, what do you n to do with this ce?¡± "What''s next?" Han-Yeol contemted aloud, his expression thoughtful. "I''m going to establish a ranch here and observe whether these animals can produce offspring with mana stones as well. If that urs, I won''t hesitate to expand the ranch further." ¡°Hmm¡­ I see¡­ Then, hyung-nim!¡± ¡°What?¡± Mujahid hesitated for a second before he asked, ¡°I¡­ Can I invest in this business?¡± ¡°Invest?¡± "Absolutely, I''ve been looking for a chance to start something new and invest, and I believe this venture could be quite enjoyable in its own right. I''ll cover all the construction expenses if you allow me to be an investor." "That''s apelling proposition." Han-Yeol had reservations about entrusting construction work to others due to concerns about trust and quality. However, he held a different view when it came to Mujahid''s Goblin Group, knowing they would deliver both quality and punctuality. Furthermore, having Mujahid as an investor would provide substantial support against potential critics or opportunists attempting to exploit the business. "How much equity are you aiming for?" "Hmm... How about eight percent?" "Sounds reasonable." "Hahaha! Thanks, hyung-nim!" Given that Han-Yeol didn''t anticipate substantial profits from this venture, he readily agreed to allocate eight percent to Mujahid. It was implicit that Mujahid''s share also epassed the cost of the construction services he was providing for free. "But before anything else... Should we deal with those intruders on mynd?" "Hoho! I''m all for that!" Han-Yeol activated his Demon Eyes, scouring the area for any signs of trespassers. Crack¡­ Crack¡­? The Cheolwon hunting ground remained nketed in snow, although not as densely as during Han-Yeol''s previous hunts. The intense cold that once rendered this area uninhabitable had dissipated, now resembling any other winter destination in South Korea. The sun emerged from behind the clouds, its gentle raysmencing the gradual thawing of the snow. *** Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? "Commander! Our mana detection devices have registered two significant mana signatures. It appears to be Han-Yeol Hunter and Mujahid Hunter, the ones granted ess by the soldiers." "Damn it!" Bam! Lt. Colonel Kim Sun-Cheol, themanding officer overseeing the exploration of the Cheolwon hunting ground, mmed his fist against the truck''s door in frustration. "Why must thisnd fall into his hands of all people?!" As far as he knew, this territory was owned by the TK Group. He vaguely recalled rumors of thepany considering a sale due to theck of Hunter activity in the area. Unfortunately, there had been no concrete information about thend changing hands. While localpanies could typically be coerced into coborating with military operations, the dynamics shifted when thendowner was a Hunter¡ªespecially a Master Rank Hunter. The immediate assessment of thend''s value following the dimensional gate''s closure would be within the Master Rank Hunter''s grasp. Traditional tactics of military or governmental pressure were unlikely to sway someone of his stature. "Have we heard anything from the Hunters'' Association?" "No, sir. Apart from an instruction to await their response, we haven''t received any furthermunication." ¡°Those crazy bastards! Why am I going through this in the first ce? I¡¯m doing this for them! I¡¯m setting the table for those imbeciles!¡± Lt. Colonel Kim Sung-Cheol was a man of great ambition. Having not graduated from the military academy, the prospect of attaining the rank of general appeared nearly insurmountable. However, he possessed a keen intellect that allowed him to strategically forge connections within the Hunters'' Association using his military position. Kim Sung-Cheol harbored aspirations of securing a favorable position within the association by the time his retirement rolled around, effectively trading his services for afortable role. This very ambition drove him to assert his authority over the Cheolwon hunting ground on this asion. Regrettably, his ns didn''t unfold as anticipated. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? Han-Yeol, apanied by Mujahid and a group of twelve others, arrived at the scene. "Salute! What brings you here?" a patrolling soldier inquired, adhering to protocol and seeking rification from Han-Yeol. Han-Yeol, however, turned the tables, asserting his authority over the situation. "I believe it''s I who should be asking that question. You and your group are presently trespassing on private property. What brings you to mynd?" The soldier found himself utterly dumbfounded, struggling to formte a coherent response. Hisck of a clear purpose for being there left him at a loss. "Could you summon the person in charge here?" Han-Yeol requested. "Yes, of course," the soldier replied, quickly signaling to a private. "Sir, yes, sir!" The private promptly hurried off to notify theirmander. Informing their superior, he said, "Salute! Han-Yeol Hunter is requesting to speak with you,mander!" ¡°Tsk¡­?So he¡¯s already here¡­¡± One of the adjutants clicked his tongue. ¡°Argh¡­¡±?Kim Sung-Cheol gritted his teeth and groaned. He might have been an experienced officer ustomed to dealing with diverse individuals, but the opponent he was facing now was of an entirely different caliber. Managing a regr Hunter would have posed challenges, yet the individual before him was none other than South Korea''s most renowned Hunter¡ªa supposedly Master Rank Hunter, no less. "I will personally meet him," Kim Sung-Cheol dered. "Yes, sir! Salute!" the private responded, then returned to his designated position. Kim Sung-Cheol was neither audacious nor foolhardy enough tomand a Master Rank Hunter''s actions. Thus, he opted to extend a greeting to Han-Yeol. "Salute! What brings you here, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?" Kim Sung-Cheol inquired, though his salute appeared somewhatckluster. Han-Yeol, however, was unconcerned with such trivialities. In fact, it could be said that themander was inconsequential enough to not warrant Han-Yeol''s attention. "We should be asking that question. We understand that an unusual incident has urred here, but why are you on another person''s property without obtaining the owner''s consent or even informing them?!" Surprisingly, it was Jason Kim who interjected, assuming a more fitting role in such situations. Kim Sung-Cheol flinched momentarily at Jason Kim''s forceful outburst, yet he swiftly regathered hisposure and responded, "The vanishing of the dimensional gate could potentially pose a threat to our national security! This is a situation where arguing overnd ownership is secondary. In fact, you should consider surrendering thisnd to the government as a disy of your patriotic allegiance!" Kim Sung-Cheol asserted himself vigorously. ¡°Pfft!¡± However, Han-Yeol simplyughed in response. ¡°¡­¡± Kim Sung-Cheol could not get angry at the sudden insult. No, he must not get angry at all. ¡®How old-fashioned can this guy be? Talking about patriotism and all that cringey stuff¡­ Does he really think this will convince me?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He found it puzzling that themander would raise such a nonsensical argument in this context. Soldiers were trained to achieve the seemingly unattainable using any means necessary, and it appeared that Kim Sung-Cheol''s immersion in this peculiar culture over the years had somewhat skewed his rational thinking. Ironically, Kim Sung-Cheol appeared genuinely persuaded by his own ''logical'' reasoning, disying a smug demeanor as he awaited a response. Regrettably for him, engaging in a battle of wits with Jason Kim, a Harvard University graduate, held no chance of victory. "Tell me, is there any specificw that explicitly permits the military to seize private property during an emergency? Furthermore, is there a defined legal framework for determining what constitutes a state of emergency that warrants such appropriation? Lastly, do you possess the authority, as a Lieutenant Colonel, to dere and enforce such a state of emergency?" Jason Kim''s questions were pointed and precise. ¡°T-That is¡­ Argh¡­¡±? Aplete defeat. Kim Sung-Cheol had barged into the Cheolwon hunting ground under the assumption that the TK Group wouldn''t challenge his actions. Legalities, regtions, protocols, authority, ownership¡ªnone of these concerned him in the slightest. He had given no consideration to the potentialplications that might arise, rendering him unable to address Jason Kim''s pointed queries. "We will officially report this incident to the Ministry of Defense. How dare you attempt to uwfully seize a Hunter''s property! Our actions won''t be confined to filing a mereint; we intend to thoroughly investigate this matter and bring it into the public eye!" "Th-That''s..." Kim Sung-Cheol''s predicament was dire. The prospect of this incident bing a public spectacle was his worst nightmare. His ascent from the bottom to his current rank hung precariously, with only a few steps left to secure afortable position within the Hunters'' Association. However, if this incident escted into a major controversy, all his achievements would crumble to dust. The thought of losing everything he had diligently worked for due to this incident was utterly inconceivable to him. Chapter 225: Invitation From Egypt (1)

Chapter 225: Invitation From Egypt (1)

The only thing that mattered to Jason Kim right now was to correct the wrong that was happening in this ce; he did not care at all about what Kim Sung-Cheol was thinking. ¡°We will be taking action against what happened here today, and we would like to request you to leave this property immediately,¡± Jason Kim said. ¡°Do you really have to escte things¡­? I think I made a mistake this time, so I will be grateful if we can pretend this never happened. Also, it will not be good for you to be at odds with the Ministry of Defense too,¡± Kim Sung-Cheol responded, suppressing his temper and appearing docile. Of course, him suppressing his temper had nothing to do with Jason Kim. In fact, Jason actually thought that it was quite baffling that the officer did not get on his knees and start begging for leniency. ¡°Did you threaten Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, just now?!¡± Jason Kim shouted. Kim Sung-Cheol was doing quite well at the start, but what he had saidter on could be considered a direct insult to Han-Yeol. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°How dare a mere Lt. Colonel threaten Lee Han-Yeol, Hunter-nim, who is soon to be a Master Rank Hunter!¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Kim Sung-Cheol began trembling with anger, feeling the weight of the humiliation he was enduring. While he had experienced numerous moments of disgrace while climbing the military hierarchy, this marked the first time he had been subjected to such a severe level of humiliation by someone he had just met. Within military circles, it was umon for an officer to face such degradation in their initial encounter. Moreover, when Jason Kim mentioned the possibility of submitting a formalint to the Ministry of Defense, Kim Sung-Cheol''s panic heightened. He was acutely aware that the likelihood of his demotion and subsequent punishment for this incident exceeded ny-nine percent. Lacking connections, support, or the means to bribe his way out, he faced the grim prospect of being relegated to the position of a provincial military base''s battalionmander. This predicament seemed to guarantee that he would remain there until his retirement, forever denying the prospect of promotion. ¡°Ha! I can¡¯t believe this guy. Look here, I¡¯m going to do everything in my power to get you fired, so you better prepare yourself,¡± Jason Kim continued his attack. Kim Sung-Cheol was enraged by those words and felt the rage he had been suppressing well up from inside him. Snap! Then, something snapped inside his head, unleashing the foul-mouthed ill-temper he had been hiding all this while. ¡°Hey, you son of a bitch!¡± Kim Sung-Cheol screamed and gripped the K-5 handgun holster on his waist. The K-5 was a handgun used by the Korean military, and it had been around fifty years since they first started using it. The military had never bothered to upgrade their gear as there were no longer any conflicts between countries. Kim Sung-Cheol wanted to draw his gun and shoot Jason Kim dead, but he forced himself to stop. He had to maintain control, even if it meant risking his job as a military officer. The arrogant young man was not alone; he was surrounded by Gurkha Mercenaries, as well as an S Rank Hunter and a Master Rank Hunter. Anyone who dared to mess with this group was certainly not going to have a bright and rosy future ahead of them. Seuk¡­ In the end, Kim Sung-Cheol did not even get the chance to use his gun as¡­ Pukeok! ¡°Kwaaaaah!¡± Han-Yeol approached and struck him in the abdomen, sending excruciating pain surging all the way up to his brain. Kim Sung-Cheol''s mind cleared of all other thoughts, focusing solely on one thing: survival. Thud...! He copsed to the ground as his legs lost all strength. The intense agony radiating from his abdomen rendered him incapable of uttering a single word. Tak...! Han-Yeol stepped on Kim Sung-Cheol''s face. "Hey, you piece of shit. Did you truly believe I wouldn''t discover that your presence here was driven by your own selfish greed? This situation could have been avoided if you had simply left when instructed. But no, you chose to draw your gun." Han-Yeol held a deep disdain for individuals like Kim Sung-Cheol, and he yearned to end his life right then and there. Unfortunately, he was bound by a fundamental pir of modern society known as w.'' ¡®Laws can be quite annoying in these kinds of situations¡­ Tsk¡­¡¯?he clicked his tongue out of frustration. Laws were established to safeguard the vulnerable from the powerful, yet in this instance, they served as a convenient instrument to ensure that those in power would not face severe consequences. Han-Yeol was well aware that if Jason Kim had arrived here alone, he might have faced a gunshot, potentially resulting in the gravest of oues. ¡°Phew¡­¡±?he decided to suppress his anger for now. Of course, it didn''t prove to be as effortless as he desired, for he yearned to do nothing more than shatter the bastard''s head at that very moment. However, another reason fueled Han-Yeol''s current fury. Ding! [The rank of Telepathy II has risen from (D) to (C).] He could perceive Kim Sung-Cheol''s putrid thoughts after Telepathy II leveled up, revealing his core corruption. Han-Yeol was convinced that a decayed tree had to be felled, and in this case, Kim Sung-Cheol needed to be relieved of his duties, regardless of his personal circumstances. Unfortunately, in a country governed by the rule ofw, cutting down a decayed tree without proper authorization was impossible, even if that tree was corrupting the entire forest. "Killing a piece of trash like you would only sour my mood and soil my hands. Hey, you all over there!" Han-Yeol shouted. "Y-Yes, sir!" The soldiers flinched, responding as if addressing a general. "Pick up this trash and get the hell out of mynd." "Yes, sir!" The soldiers immediately sprang into action, lifting their incapacitatedmander and hurrying out of the hunting ground. "Purva." "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!" "Request reinforcements from the mansion and ensure the area remains secure." "Yes, sir!" Purva replied, swiftly taking out his smartphone. This marked his first experience owning a smartphone, having spent his entire life as a soldier. Initially struggling to use it, he gradually became ustomed to the device over time. Continuing, Han-Yeol said, "Mujahid." "Yes, hyung-nim!" "I believe we need to begin improving and managing this ce more effectively and safely." "I concur." Surprisingly, Han-Yeol was currently treating Mujahid as a subordinate. Strangely, Mujahid actually appreciated being treated this way, as it indicated Han-Yeol''s trust and confidence in him. In fact, Mujahid desired for Han-Yeol to treat him even more informally and sometimes sternly. A trace of masochistic tendency could be discerned in the prince''s demeanor... A research study once investigated a direct corrtion between a Hunter''s personality and their awakened abilities, yet this research faced condemnation from academia and was ultimately dismissed as nonsensical. "I''d like to engage Goblin Construction to build robust, insurmountable walls and establish a ranch." "Haha! Leave it to me! I''ll make sure they do an exceptional job, hyung-nim!" "Tsk... You''re talking big, but it''s obvious Yoo-Kyung will be doing all the work." "Hahaha... Was it that obvious?" Recently, Han-Yeol began conversing casually with Shin Yoo-Kyung. Finding it peculiar that he spoke informally with Mujahid while maintaining formality with his aide, Han-Yeol decided to adopt a more casual tone with him. Tak¡­ Han-Yeol ced his hand on Mujahid¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll leave it up to you.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± Mujahid replied and hit his chest twice. Thud! Thud!? Then, he took out his smartphone to call his one and only trusted assistant, Shin Yoo-Kyung. *** The episode involving the trespassing soldiers reached its conclusion, and Han-Yeol assumed control over the Cheolwon hunting ground by deploying his Gurkhas. The magnitude of manpower needed to safeguard the entire Cheolwon hunting ground was immense,pelling him to seek the assistance of eight hundred additional Gurkhas from Nepal. This marked an unprecedented aggregation in recent times and likely stood as the sole instance where such a considerable number of Gurkhas had assembled since the emergence of dimensional gates. Enlisting such a substantial Gurkha force would undoubtedlye at a substantial cost, yet Han-Yeol disyed no hesitation or concern. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? In an empty lot near the vicinity of the Cheolwon hunting ground: "Hey, isn''t this truly incredible?" . "Yeah, it''s almost unbelievable how everything happening these days revolves around Han-Yeol Hunter." "And all the events tied to him are positive. There''s not a single negative one." "If there''s anyone favored by the gods, it''s definitely him." "Absolutely, I couldn''t agree more." Word had spread that the Cheolwon hunting ground was now under Han-Yeol''s ownership, thanks to the two reporters. Even the Hunters'' Association had been informed of this change, which was why they hadn''t responded to Lt. Colonel Kim Sung-Cheol''s waiting. While Lt. Colonel Kim had helped the association on numerous asions, their rtionship wasn''t strong enough to risk antagonizing Han-Yeol, a soon-to-be official Master Rank Hunter. Some might criticize the association for appearing fearful of an individual, given their substantial size, but a Master Rank Hunter was no longer a mere "individual." Indeed, if a conflict erupted between the six Master Rank Hunters and the fifty thousand regr Hunters in Korea, it was estimated that the fifty thousand would be wiped out within a mere three days. Although there were debates regarding the exact timeline, all researchers agreed that the six Master Rank Hunters would undoubtedly dominate. The reporters had gathered in this empty lot following Han-Yeol''s announcement of a briefing scheduled for six in the evening. Every reporter in South Korea, including those from foreign news outlets, rushed to Cheolwon upon hearing this news, fearful of missing out on a monumental story. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? The clock finally struck six. Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­ Thud¡­? Jason Kim walked onto the podium. Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!? A group of Gurkhas rushed out and encircled the entire area. ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that? Where¡¯s Han-Yeol Hunter?!¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± The sudden turn of events left the reporters bewildered, yet their reporter instincts kicked in, driving them to capture the unfolding scene through photographs and detailed notes. sh! sh! sh! sh!? Jason Kim walked up to the microphone on the podium and adjusted it to his height. [Ah¡­ ah¡­ Hello, my name is Jason Kim, and I report directly to Han-Yeol Hunter-nim.] sh! sh! sh! sh! sh!? "I-I understand now!" "Well, even those inept politicians have aides, so it''s only logical that someone like Han-Yeol Hunter would have one too." "True, sessful individuals don''t usually handle every press conference themselves." "Oh! This seems like a potential scoop!" "He''s quite attractive." "Do you think we can craft a story out of this...?" The reporters had already shared Jason Kim''s photograph with various contacts in the hopes of gathering information about him. While this could be viewed as an invasion of privacy, the reporters, driven by their pursuit of an exclusive story, showed little concern for personal boundaries. [I will start the briefing regarding the disappearance of the dimensional gate.] Ahem¡­ Ahem¡­ Jason Kim cleared his throat before continuing. [Furthermore, I want to emphasize that this press conference is being held to reject any efforts by the Hunters'' Association, Hunter Alliance, the government, or any other organizations to conduct additional investigations into this location.] ¡®I see¡­¡¯ ''Well, it does seem rather unusual for them to convene a press conference regarding their discoveries, especially considering they aren''t researchers themselves...'' [First and foremost, the cause behind the disappearance of the dimensional gate remains indeterminate. However, we have formted a few theories regarding its urrence. Approximately two days ago, my superior, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, along with Prince Mujahid of Egypt, entered the Cheolwon hunting ground.] "Oh!" "So, it was urate!" This had already been previously reported by the KBC Broadcasting Station, and Jason Kim''s recent statement only served to validate the information. [The hunt transpired in a typical manner, with the only deviation being that they pushed their limits during the hunt. Additionally, they achieved a sessful takedown of the boss monster.] Murmur! Murmur!? "Hey, doesn''t that vitemon norms and etiquette?" "I believe he''s really pushing the boundaries this time..." "Quiet down, rookies!" "Yes, sir..." Jason Kim remained quiet, refraining from speaking as the reporters grew noisy. Eventually, the senior reporters promptly hushed their junior colleagues. Only once the mor had subsided did Jason Kim continue. [Moreover, they eliminated everyst monster within the hunting ground, leaving none remaining.] ¡®Huh?¡¯ ¡®How is that even possible?¡¯ A hunting ground typically spanned a vast expanse, with monsters in a constant cycle of regeneration. As such, the task of exterminating every single one of them was undoubtedly a formidable aplishment. Had it not been for Asus summoning the monsters to their specific location, even Han-Yeol and Mujahid would have found it insurmountable to eradicate the entire poption within the hunting ground. [Subsequently, the dimensional gate copsed precisely twenty-four hourster, resulting in the vanishing of the hunting ground.] "I-Incredible!" "T-This is an entirely novel paradigm!" "Could humanity be on the brink of newfound hope?!" Extensive data analysis indicated that Hunters favored dimensional gates for their production of mana stones, oftenbeling these gates as ''mana stone factories''. However, for the general popce, these gates were perceived as potential time bombs capable of unleashing destruction upon humanity at any moment, earning them the title of ''monster factories'' instead. While ordinary individuals acknowledged the significance of dimensional gates, nothing surpassed the importance of their own survival in their eyes. But what if the supply of mana stones ceased along with the dimensional gates? They could readily adapt their current technologies to operate on fossil fuels instead of relying on mana stones. [We hereby dere that the Cheolwon hunting ground''s dimensional gate situation is entirely under control. However, we will enforce a state of emergency in this location until the enigma is thoroughly unraveled.] Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? [That is the end of the briefing for the Cheolwon hunting ground incident. Thank you very much.] Chapter 226: Invitation From Egypt (2)

Chapter 226: Invitation From Egypt (2)

Jason Kim offered a slight bow before departing from the podium. "E-Excuse me!" "O-One question!" "Mr. Jason Kim!" Reporters hurried toward the podium, eager to intercept Jason Kim, but the Gurkhas swiftly formed an insurmountable human barrier, thwarting the reporters'' attempts. Under the vignt protection of the Gurkhas, Jason Kim managed to effortlessly exit the press conference. *** While Jason Kim attended to the reporters, Han-Yeol took a leisurely stroll through the Cheolwon hunting ground. Kwachik! "Hmm... So this is where the dimensional gate was..." "Yes, I believe so, hyung-nim." Han-Yeol''s eyes continued to radiate a red glow as he maintained his Demon Eyes, prepared for any potential surprises lurking around. ''I can''t afford to lower my guard just because the dimensional gate disappeared. Who''s to say arger gate won''t suddenly take its ce...'' he pondered. While he might have been less cautious if the dimensional gate vanished prior to the emergence of dimensional holes and rifts, he recognized the necessity of heightened vignce now that unpredictable events were unfolding. In a world where phenomena once relegated to fantasy novels were bing reality, he understood that a momentarypse in attention could result in swift and deadly consequences. Han-Yeol firmly believed that no defeat in battle or war could be attributed to mere coincidence; rather, every loss stemmed directly from apse in vignce. ''Certainty demands the utmost caution...'' The observatory atop the mountain''s summit appeared on the brink of crumbling, seemingly on the verge of copse at even the slightest touch. "Purva." "Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!" "Summon the Gurkhas to secure the perimeter. If the observatory copses, Mujahid and I will likely be unharmed, but the same cannot be assumed for your group." "Understood! On it!" "Yes, sir!" The Gurkhas promptly mobilized, swiftly establishing a protective perimeter around the area. Thud¡­ Thud¡­? ¡°Phew¡­?This ce still gives off a strange vibe, hyung-nim,¡± Mujahid said. "Yeah, I concur. I believe it''s partly because we''ve already encountered the unsettling aura emanating from this ce," Han-Yeol responded. After scouring the vicinity for approximately thirty minutes, their efforts yielded no anomalies. The sole revtion they unearthed was confirmation of the dimensional gate''s disappearance. "Let''s head back," Han-Yeol proposed. "Alright, hyung-nim!" Mujahid acknowledged. Though they hadn''t anticipated a groundbreaking discovery, a tinge of disappointment crept in as they concluded their search empty-handed. ¡®Well, there¡¯s always next time,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he walked away. What was he looking forward to next time? He had no idea. *** Once more, Han-Yeol sent shockwaves rippling through the entire nation, and Jason Kim''s press conference only added to the nation''s astonishment. News articles rting to the Cheolwon hunting ground proliferated like mushrooms after rainfall, with the revtion that thend''s ownership had transferred a mere five hours prior to the events leaving the nation further astounded. [I believe Han-Yeol Hunter is favored by the gods.] [How did he secure ownership of thend just five hours before the dimensional gate''s disappearance was unveiled?] [Wait, is it usible that he was already aware of it?] [That seems highly probable. He might have observed or sensed something while battling the boss monster.] [Yet, that doesn''t alter the fact that the TK Group initially listed it for sale.] [Indeed, it''s imusible for Han-Yeol Hunter to forcibly seize something from the TK Group, no matter how famous he''s be. They likely sold it of their own ord.] [It''d be a different story if the government were involved...] [Yes, had that ousted president remained in power, it might have been seized forcefully. But I doubt a Hunter wields the same authority as the president.] [Then he''s struck gold.] [The entire world has its eyes on our nation now!] [Ah! Such tion!] Even those generally uninterested in Hunter-rted news found themselves drawn to the current events. The surge of dimensional holes and rifts appearing in popted regions had captured nearly everyone''s curiosity, rendering the dimensional gate''s disappearance a topic of widespread intrigue. Han-Yeol, indeed, once again sent shockwaves across the globe, yet he remained indifferent to whether the world marveled at him or not. *** "Hmm..." Han-Yeol mumbled as he perused a letter delivered to his residence. While electronic mail had be the norm in this era, certain letters held significance or symbolic value and continued to be dispatched through traditional means. One such example was thevishly adorned invitation letter for the Hunter Alliance event. On this asion, Han-Yeol had received two letters. The first was from the International Hunters'' Association (HUN), urging him to undertake the Master Rank test. The second was an invitation letter from Egypt. "Huh? Is that from noonim?" Mujahid inquired. "Yes, it is. She expresses her intention to participate in the Master Rank test this time as well, and she''s proposing that we spend a few months in Egypt while we''re at it," Han-Yeol exined. "Wow! You should definitely ept it, hyung-nim, sir!" "Why are you suddenly speaking like a soldier?" "Hahaha! My Korean not very good. Me no speak Korean." "You only say that when you''re in a tight spot..." "Hahaha¡­" Mujahid awkwardly scratched the back of his head, conceding that Han-Yeol''s observation held truth. He then added, "Hyung-nim~" "Why the distasteful tone...?" "You''ve never been abroad, have you?" "No, I haven''t." In truth, Han-Yeol had been presented with an opportunity earlier in his life. The high school he attended might not have been the most prestigious, but its governing foundation was affluent, resulting in grandiose school events. Among these was the school trip, a pinnacle of such events. During Han-Yeol''s academic year, the school excursion was ted for Okinawa. The foundation bore the majority of the expenses, with each student required to contribute five hundred thousand won for the five-day trip. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol found himself grappling with financial strain during that period, unable to afford the trip. While he could have sought assistance or borrowed funds from others to partake in the excursion, he staunchly refused topromise his pride by doing so. He opted to abstain from the trip, albeit attributing his decision to a ''rebellion'' against the school. Deep down, he yearned to participate. Following that incident, ack of both funds and time precluded him from embarking on an overseas journey. "Well, why not seize this opportunity for your inaugural overseas adventure? Father does hold you in high regard, and with noonim and me around, you''d receive an exclusive royal tour of Egypt!" "Oh? That does sound quite enticing." Han-Yeol, despite his penchant for indolence and aversion to inconvenience, couldn''t help but be intrigued by the prospect of a ''royal tour.'' Furthermore, the allure of avoiding the typical travel hassles and enjoying a private jet excursion was too appealing to ignore. ¡°Alright, I made up my mind.¡± ¡°Then¡­!¡± ¡°Pack up.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Roger that!¡± Han-Yeol belonged to the category of individuals who required an extended period to arrive at a decision, yet once his mind was made up, he acted with swiftness and determination. Indeed, his response was so prompt that he promptly instructed Mujahid to initiate packing. "When do you propose we depart?" queried Mujahid. "Is there any valid reason to postpone it? Let''s depart four days from now." "Yes, hyung-nim!" And thus, Han-Yeol resolved to embark on his maiden overseas voyage. *** Later that evening, Han-Yeol found himself in the solitude of his mansion. Well, to be urate, he wasn''t entirely alone, as Mavros was in his presence, although presently sound asleep. The pup had expended his energy chasing after a ball and was now in a state of restful slumber. Preferring not to disturb Mavros, Han-Yeol descended to his living room before activating his skill. ¡®Dimensional Storage.¡¯ Wooong! Upon employing his skill, a door materialized before him. However, its appearance was somewhatckluster, bearing a certain gaudiness reflective of Han-Yeol''s skill level, which had yet to attain significant advancement. ck¡­ Creak¡­! He slowly opened the tacky door and went inside. ¡®Well, there¡¯s nothing much in it for now¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while looking around the spacious room. The only things in his dimension storage were some important documents, emergency money, and the items he had bought from the demon merchant. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± He did not have the time to check the items before, but he finally had the time now. ¡®Item Appraisal!¡¯ Ding! [The rank of ¡®Item Appraisal¡¯ has risen from (C) to (B).] ¡®Oh! Sweet!¡¯?Han-Yeol was ted to see his skill level up, but he decided to leave that forter and focused on the item description. [Mystery Demon Egg] [Type: Egg] [Special Trait: An egg filled with dark mana.] [Description: Demons propagate through various methods, one of which involves theying of eggs. The intricate process by which demons generate these eggs remains shrouded in mystery, as they do not partake in reproductive intercourse. It is established, however, that demons emerge from these eggs, leaving the remainder of the mechanism enigmatic.] ¡®Oh?¡¯?Han-Yeol suddenly thought that he could gain another demon without using his Invoke stat if he managed to hatch the egg. Technically speaking, his current action did not involve summoning a demon; instead, he was facilitating the emergence of a demon from the egg andpelling it to serve him as its master. Having attended to the demon egg, it was now time for him to inspect the nutritional fruit. ¡®Item Appraisal.¡¯ [Demon Fruit] [Type: Nutritional Fruit] [Special Trait: A fruit filled withplex dark mana.] [Description: The taste of this fruit is so unpleasant that even demons refrain from consuming it. The origins and nature of this fruit remain undisclosed, as trees are absent in the demon realm. Nevertheless, the fruit is a frequent sight in the demon world, albeitrgely disregarded or trodden upon by most demons due to its unptable vor.] ¡®Hmm¡­ There¡¯s no specific information at all¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol possessed a general understanding of the intended purposes of these items, yet he couldn''t help but express his dissatisfaction with the dearth of apanying details. Nevertheless, hisck ofprehensive information did not preclude him from employing the items. Taking hold of the Demon Egg and Demon Fruit, Han-Yeol replicated the procedure he had utilized to fertilize monster eggs. Notably, he discerned that the Demon Egg demanded a considerably greater expenditure of mana in contrast to a standard monster egg. However, this elevated mana requirement remained well within the limits of his mana capacity. ¡®I can hatch it in a week, I guess.¡¯ Han-Yeol harbored lofty anticipations for this particr egg, given its distinction as a Demon Egg hailing from the demon realm, rather than a conventional monster egg. ¡®Hohoho! If I continue on this path, I might amass my personal legions of demons and a vast array of monsters. With such forces, establishing my own empire could be a tangible goal without the need to deplete my coffers!¡¯ Naturally, contemporary circumstances rendered the notion of territorial conquest obsolete. In the present era, Han-Yeol could acquirend through purchase, establish enterprises, assemble his own faction, and assert dominion over an existing nation. Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­ Seuk¡­? . Han-Yeol affectionately tapped the fertilized Demon Egg before carefully extracting it from his dimensional storage. Though logically, retaining the egg within the dimensional storage might seem more secure, a pressing concerny in the fact that time psed tenfold slower within that realm. While he hadn''t subjected this hypothesis to empirical validation, he surmised that nurturing the egg in his dimensional storage would necessitate seventy days to achieve hatching. However, he found little rationale in prolonging the process to such an extent when the same oue could be attained in merely seven days. His inclination toward impatience factored significantly into this decision... *** Four days psed, and Han-Yeolmenced his itinerary by visiting the Yoo-Biboratory prior to embarking for the airport. "You''re going on a solo vacation?" she pouted, an air of reproach permeating her words. Chuckling awkwardly, Han-Yeol scratched the back of his head. "Haha... Sorry." He experienced a pang of guilt, recognizing that he had inadvertently excluded her from his ns in his enthusiasm. "I''m just teasing you, oppa," she responded, her tone light. "Enjoy yourself." "Are you certain you don''t want to join me?" "Hehe~ I''d rather remain here, engaged in my research, than embark on a vacation." "Tsk tsk... If you say so." Ultimately, after retrieving thepleted shoulder cannon, Han-Yeol progressed to the airport. To his surprise, Jason Kim awaited his arrival at the terminal. Evidently, Jason Kim had yed a pivotal role in facilitating this vacation, despite Han-Yeol unceremoniously delegating his responsibilities. In the past, such a situation would undoubtedly have incited Jason Kim''s wrath. However, his recent promotion seemed to have cultivated a more measured demeanor. "Wishing you a safe journey, Han-Yeol-nim." "Huh? You''re not upset?" "Why would I be?" "Hmm... You''ve be quite audacious. Remember how your brow used to furrow every time I requested something from you?" "T-That''s...!" Jason Kim couldn''t bring himself to convey his true sentiments - his irritation at being inundated with tasks as a mere secretary. The prospect of being perceived as ungrateful precluded him from voicing his exasperation. "In any case, please travel safely and entrust matters here to me. I''ll ensure that everything remains in order during your absence, Han-Yeol-nim," Jason Kim asserted, punctuating his statement with a bow. "Keke! You''re aware that you''re the only one I truly rely on, right?" Han-Yeol retorted, apanied by a yful grin. Chapter 227: Invitation From Egypt (3)

Chapter 227: Invitation From Egypt (3)

Han-Yeol was able to board his private jet without much trouble at the Incheon International Airport. ¡®Phew¡­ My first trip overseas¡­¡¯??he thought in excitement. There was nothing special about going overseas, but the fact that this was his ¡®first¡¯ time going overseas filled him with excitement. ¡®I hope only good things happen on this trip,¡¯?he thought as he closed his eyes. Mujahid did not tag along with him because he was quite busy. He still had many things to take care of before returning to Egypt, so he nned to stay back for a few days and meet up with Han-Yeol thereter. Whiiiiiing! The aircraft engine roared outside, yet the noise did not prate the jet cabin. Thud¡­! A beautiful cabin crew member approached Han-Yeol while he was closing his eyes and enjoying the serene atmosphere inside the aircraft. Her physique was so striking that it could take any man''s breath away at a single nce. Finding a cabin crew member as stunning as her was quite challenging, but it was an entirely different story when the ne in question belonged to a Master Rank Hunter. In fact, it was the opposite, as securing a cabin crew job on this private jet was extremelypetitive. The Airbus A909 model that Han-Yeol had purchased was smallerpared to other private jets. However, its durability and safety exceeded that of other aircraft, with the capacity to seat four hundred people. Ironically, the only upants on board were the captain, co-pilot, twenty cabin crew members, fifty Gurkhas, and Han-Yeol. Seuk¡­ The beautiful cabin crew gently touched Han-Yeol''s arm. "Hmm? What is it?" he asked, his eyes still closed. He didn''t require much sleep, but he cherished the serene tranquility offered by the luxurious cabin of the private jet. Mavros no longer disturbed Han-Yeol as much now that he had grown up; he upied an entire couch and wasfortably sleeping on it. ¡°Phew¡­ Phew¡­ Phew¡­¡± The baby ck dragon seemed to be slowly growing into its dragon nature, as it slept the whole day, resembling the legends of dragons hibernating. In response to this, the beautiful cabin crew softly spoke, "I have prepared a ss of whiskey for you, Han-Yeol-nim." "Leave it there," he replied. "Alright, and please don''t hesitate to call me if you need anything else," she said before furrowing her brow and departing. Her actions made it clear that women all over the world were interested in Han-Yeol. After all, being a Master Rank Hunter who was still single made him an extremely rare and sought-after bachelor, not only in South Korea but worldwide. Of course, the most sought-after woman in the world was undoubtedly Tayarana. ¡®Hmm¡­ I miss Tayarana,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Months had already passed since hest saw her. Initially, it didn''t really bother him, but gradually, he began to miss her presence. He was the type of man who preferred women to make the first move rather than being reserved, but Tayarana was different. Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump!? ¡®What¡¯s wrong with my heart?¡¯?Han-Yeol was flustered. His heart had never beaten this hard for someone before. Fortunately, Han-Yeol was not like some oblivious Japanese anime protagonist. ¡®Tsk¡­ I might have be stronger, but going after Tayarana is still a stretch¡­¡¯? Tayarana was a beauty that seemed otherworldly, and her beauty was matched by her origin from an incredibly wealthy and royal family. She was an exceedingly precious woman, sought after by suitors from all corners of the world, all vying for her hand in marriage. Yet, in Han-Yeol''s eyes, none of them truly deserved her. He knew he had no chance at all. ¡®Sigh¡­ Why is my love life so difficult¡­?¡¯? He finally opened his eyes after the wave of sadness had ovee him. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!? ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol sensed that something was amiss in the cockpit. ¡°Kyu?¡±? Even Mavros raised his head after sensing it as well. Then, someone started running toward Han-Yeol. ¡®Geez¡­ Why can¡¯t I ever get a break?¡¯?he grumbled. Han-Yeol could tell from the sounds he was picking up that there was an urgent message from the ground. He couldn''t discern the exact content of the message, but its urgency was apparent given that they were contacting a ne mid-flight. However, he instinctively knew there was a good chance it was a request for his help. "Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!" It was the co-pilot. "What happened?" Han-Yeol asked. "A dimensional rift has appeared in Nepal, and they have requested assistance not only from neighboring countries but from all nearby nes." "What?!" Han-Yeol eximed, his eyes shooting wide open. ¡®Nepal is one of the world''s poorest countries!¡¯?he thought. Indeed, Nepal was not only poor but alsocked strength. Its sole hunting ground couldn''t even be considered a proper one, and as a result, there were no proper Hunters in the country. Nepal had been fortunate initially when the dimensional gates appeared. They had suffered minimal damage, mainly from a few monsters crossing the border from India. Until now, there had been no reports of monsters appearing within Nepal''s borders, making the country rtively safe. However, things had taken a dire turn. A dimensional rift had appeared in what was once considered a safe area. But that wasn''t the worst of it, as the co-pilot had more to report. "They said that it does not seem to be an ordinary dimensional rift," the co-pilot exined. "What do you mean by that?" Han-Yeol asked. "They said that the dimensional rift is not the same as those that appeared in cities around the world, but¡­ it seems to be the size that can threaten an entire country. It first appeared in Dhankuta District and decimated the entire area in less than thirty minutes, and the monsters have startedying siege to Dharan City now." Then, he continued, "The casualties are not that high as the dimensional rift appeared away from the capital, Kathmandu City, where most of the poption resides, but Nepal does not have the capacity to block a dimensional rift of this scale at present. Based on the transmission just now, it is not going to take long before Dharan City falls, and the monsters are definitely going to march toward Kathmandu City after smelling the scent of the humans over there." "Damn it¡­" Han-Yeol muttered. The co-pilot was wearing an earpiece that ryed the news in real-time, and Han-Yeol could sense the desperation in the situation from the report alone. "What should we do, Han-Yeol-nim?" the co-pilot asked. Han-Yeol immediately stood up and dered, "What else? We need to go to them right now!" "Yes, I understand!" The co-pilot responded with a bright smile. Although he was South Korean, his wife was Nepalese, and her brother was one of the Gurkhas Han-Yeol had hired. The co-pilot had been initially hired by Han-Yeol due to these family connections, and there was no way he could turn a blind eye to what was happening in Nepal at this moment. ¡®There might be hope if Han-Yeol Hunter-nim helps¡­!¡¯? He believed that there was hope for Nepal if Han-Yeol was going to get involved. *** The peaceful mountain viges were nowhere to be seen. Kaboom! ¡°Kyaaaak!¡± ¡°Ack!¡± [Help me!] [Waaah!?Mommy!] The eastern region of Nepal had turned into a living hell on Earth. While it wasn''t as densely popted as the central or western regions, it was still inhabited by people. The stench of blood permeated the air, and nearly every house was engulfed in mes. The agonized cries of children who had lost their parents echoed through the air, only to be silenced as they, too, fell victim to the relentless onught of the monsters. Ratatatata! The soldiers stationed in the eastern region mobilized and tried to push back the monsters. Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!? ¡°Kwuooooh!¡± However, their bullets were utterly futile against the mana-enhanced hides of the monsters. All it aplished was broadcasting their location to the relentless creatures. Ratatatata! The Nepalese soldiers could not help but curse their current predicament. Bang! ¡°Argh!¡± A massive caterpir-like monster unleashed a spit bomb that demolished an entire building, burying three soldiers who had been shooting at the creatures under the rubble. The destruction around them was overwhelming, and hope was dwindling rapidly. [Damn it! When are they going to send us reinforcements!] shouted themander of the eastern region''s forces at the signalman. He had already lost many of his soldiers, and their ammunition was running critically low. It was bing painfully clear that they couldn''t hold out much longer against these monsters. An armyposed of ordinary people was ill-equipped to battle such creatures. Their primary role had always been to defend their country against other ordinary people, and now they faced an unprecedented threat. Psshht! [C-Commander¡­ The entire region is overrun by monsters, so it¡­ it will be difficult for them to send reinforcements,] the signalman ryed the message, his face drained of color. [What?!] [We¡­ We have been abandoned¡­] [¡­] Themander was left speechless. He had desperately requested reinforcements to buy time for the evacuation of civilians, but it was bing painfully clear that this might not be a feasible option. Thud¡­! He dropped his pistol. [Commander!] The signalman was horrified after seeing themander give up hope. [Run.] [Pardon me, sir?] [Run if you want to live!] Themander issued an order that he shouldn''t have been forced to give as a leader. The situation had grown so dire that he had no alternative but to make this difficult decision. [Commander!] [Look at the situation we''re in! Our guns can''t even scratch those bastards! If you stay here, all of you will die a dog''s death! At least one of you should survive so I''ll feel less guilty in hell!] [¡­Roger.] Psshhht! The signalman ryed themander''smand throughout the battalion. The instruction was straightforward. [Run.] [Survive.] [See you in hell if ever.] Unfortunately, there was no response. It appeared that all the soldiers were either dead or had fled long ago. ¡°Sigh¡­¡±?themander let out a sigh and took out a picture of his family back in Kathmandu. [Is that your wife, sir?] the signalman asked. [Yeah, but why are you still here?] [Where am I supposed to go? Haha¡­ I am supposed to be beside you at all times, sir.] The signalman had been beside themander since his first transfer to this battalion, and over the years, they had developed a strong bond. Their friendship went beyond their roles as soldiers. [Idiot¡­ You¡¯re going to die, you know that.] [Hmm¡­ To be honest, I do not think I can escape. Thest message I received was that the rear battalions have already been annihted.] [Haha¡­] Themander let out apletely defeatedugh. Kaboom! He waspelled to witness the peaceful mountain viges he had protected for years reduced to ashes, and all he could do was pray. [God¡­ please save our country¡­] The situation unfolding in Nepal was an absolute nightmare, with a person losing their life every second. The entire eastern region had fallen to the invading monsters. The country was utterly unprepared and ill-equipped tobat these creatures, and most of its residents had never even seen a monster in real life. Though thirty years had passed since the dimensional gates first appeared, the number of Nepalese who had encountered a monster was rtively small. Despite its poverty, the country had been rtively peacefulpared to the rest of the world¡ªuntil now. [Did we hear anything from China?!] The President of Nepal, Madame Vidya, shouted at her vice president, who was drenched in sweat. [T-That is¡­] [Hurry up and say it! What did the Chinese say?! Are they going to send us their Hunters?!] Every passing second was critical at this moment, especially with reports confirming that Bagmati Province and Narayani Province had already fallen. Both soldiers and civilians were losing their lives inrge numbers, and hope appeared to be slipping away for the country. Chapter 228: Invitation From Egypt (4)

Chapter 228: Invitation From Egypt (4)

Nepal had only a handful of Hunters, and most of them lived far from the capital, where the hunting ground was located. This meant that the capital city, Kathmandu, was essentially defenseless against the invading monsters. Desperation had set in, and Nepal urgently needed assistance from China. Nepal''s rtionship with its neighbor, India, was strained, leaving them no choice but to turn to China for help. While they had good rtions with their other neighboring countries, all of them, except for these two, were facing simr challenges in terms of their Hunter resources. The nation was confronting the most severe crisis in its history. Nepal relied heavily on tourism revenue to sustain itself, but what if monstrous creatures suddenly ran rampant, wreaking havoc? What if these monsters caused the destruction of countless lives and infrastructure? This disaster was on a scale far beyond mere security concerns. It had the potential to tarnish the country''s reputation and deter tourists from visiting. Nepal''s sole and final hope rested with China and its Hunters. [T-That is¡­ We are trying to reach them, but they are telling us to wait¡­] [What?!] The president shouted, rising abruptly from her seat. However, she suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit back down. [How can this be¡­? China has abandoned us¡­] She wasn''t naive. She was aware that China had stationed a substantial number of Hunters on their border due to the abundance of hunting grounds in Tibet. It would have been immensely beneficial if the Chinese Government had dispatched the guilds located in Tibet alone, but it appeared that they had no intention of doing so. In essence, China had forsaken Nepal. While they had cultivated a strong rtionship through trade and various initiatives, Nepal''s diminishing reserves of mana stones had gradually led China to distance itself from the country. Nepal no longer held any economic advantages to offer. Nepal was the only country in the world that had virtually no native mana stones. [China has abandoned us¡­] [I apologize, Madame President. I do not think we have any hope¡­] [Haa¡­] The president closed her eyes. The International Hunters'' Association, also known as the HUN, was established precisely for situations like this. Regrettably, Nepal had never seen the necessity of joining the HUN, as they were situated in the so-called ''Green Zone,'' an area rtively untouched by monster incursions. Nevertheless, the HUN was on its way to provide assistance, but it would likely be too little, toote, as the country was on the brink of being devastated by then. [It seems the gods have forsaken our country...] The vice president appeared to have lost all hope of surviving this nightmare. [Madame President, we''ve received word that the airport is in absolute chaos due to the sudden influx of both tourists and our people trying to escape the country.] [Ah... That''s only normal, given the situation... Even I wouldn''t want to throw away my life trying to protect a lost cause...] President Vidya possessed a fiery temperament, but she didn''t have the energy to get angry right now. There were no countries willing to help Nepal at this point. If China wasn''t willing to assist them, there was even less of a chance for India to do so. Furthermore, India was grappling with its own problems and not in a position to contend with a dimensional rift of this magnitude. The only other countries Nepal could turn to for help were Bhutan and Bandesh. [What did Bhutan or Bandesh say?] [That is... They assessed the current situation and apologized... They said they could notbat such a massive dimensional rift...] [DAMN IT!] Bam! She mmed the table in anger as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She had entered politics to forge a brighter future for her country, unable to ignore the suffering of her people. However, the realization that all her efforts were about to crumble into nothingness made her tremble in anger and cry tears of despair. [Vice President Nanda.] [Yes, Madame President?] [Apply for asylum in China immediately.] [M-Madame President!] [Madame President!] The vice president, along with the other ministers, cried out. Applying for asylum signified that the government was relinquishing their im on their country, a shocking revtion for the officials. Some inwardly breathed sighs of relief, as not everyone had entered politics solely for their country''s welfare. [I... will stay behind, so all of you should go ahead and seek refuge in China. I doubt they will refuse our request.] In truth, China would likely wee the request with open arms. Once Nepal fell, it would be a wastnd with no owner, and China could provide sanctuary to government officials, eventually reiming the entire country after dealing with the monsters at ater date. [But¡­!] [¡­] The vice president found it challenging to ept the president''s directive, but the faces of his family and his subordinates shed in his mind. [¡­I understand.] [Good.] [¡­] Silence descended upon the meeting room after the decision to seek asylum in China was made. However, the vice president struggled to lift the phone receiver. ¡°Haa¡­¡± It was at that very moment, as the vice president was about to call China, that... Bam! Someone barged into the meeting room. [What do you think you¡¯re doing?!] The defense minister shouted in anger, but the staffer who barged inpletely ignored him. [Madame President!] [What is it?] [H-Help! Come!] [Speak properly! I can¡¯t understand you!] [M-Master Hunter! Lee Han-Yeol! He hase to help us! He justnded at Lamidanda Airport!] [What?!] Thud! The president stood up from her seat and knocked it over upon hearing the report. [What did you say just now? Who came to help?!] [L-Lee Han-Yeol Hunter! I am certain they said it was him!] [OH~!] Hope swept through the entire meeting room, illuminating everyone''s faces. The vice president promptly rose with a broad smile. [Madame President! He is not just any Master Rank Hunter, he is Hunter Lee Han-Yeol! He has the power to stop the dimensional rift!] [The vice president is right, Madame President! He is not just a powerful Hunter, but he has numerous demons and the ck dragon with him! He is no different from a one-man raid party!] The president was a devoted fan of Han-Yeol, so they didn''t need to remind her who he was. She was such an avid fan that she would watch all the reys of his broadcasts, no matter how busy she was, so she knew just how exceptional a Hunter Han-Yeol was. Her once lifeless eyes, devoid of hope, instantly regained their spark. [An ember of hope has been kindled with his arrival!] [You are absolutely right, Madame President!] It was challenging to guarantee with absolute certainty that he could single-handedly stop the dimensional rift. The rift in Nepal was of an unprecedented scale, and it was impossible for Han-Yeol to defend such an extensive area alone. However, his mere presence infused them with hope. [Mobilize the entire army at once to support him! Follow his everymand!] [Yes, Madame President!] [Hurry!] The government officials sprang into action, rushing out of the meeting room, even those who had been considering seeking refuge in China, albeit reluctantly. None of these individuals were indifferent to their country''s future. ¡®Tsk¡­ Why does he have to show up now of all times and give false hope?¡¯ ¡®I don''t think he can handle this one, no matter how great he is. It''s impossible for him to stop it when he''s outnumbered; who knows how many¡­¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s monitor the situation and make a run for it once things go south¡­¡¯ China had long been preparing to annex Nepal into its territory, employing various ndestine tactics to nt numerous pro-Chinese government officials. These officials had pledged allegiance to China over their mothend, essentially bing treacherous traitors. Their actions made it clear that their foremost concern was reporting Han-Yeol''s arrival to the Chinese government, rather than the safety of their homnd. Regardless of their intentions, the world these officials were envisioning was not going to easily materialize due to Han-Yeol''s intervention. *** The Lamidanda Airport was on the verge of descending into absolute chaos. [Hurry up! We need to get out of here!] [Ticket! Give me the first avable flight!] Lamidanda Airport was an exceptionally small airport situated in a sparsely popted region, with only a few domestic flights servicing it. Normally, it remained nearly empty, except for the staff working there. However, today was different. The airport was located just seventy kilometers from Dhankuta, where the national-scale dimensional rift had emerged. People had to evacuate as quickly as possible, but not a single ne could take off from the airport. [P-Please calm down! We don''t have any outgoing flights right now!] [What nonsense is that?! Are you asking us to believe these lies when there''s a ne right there!] The people protested while pointing at therge airne parked on the runway. However, none of them knew the owner of ''that'' airne. [T-That airne is not amercial ne! It belongs to a VVIP who visited our airport!] [It doesn''t matter who that ne belongs to! What''s more important than our lives right now!] [Yeah! He''s right!] The people retorted, their lives hanging in the bnce, but the airport staff had a different perspective. ¡®Hey, do you really think your?lives?is as valuable as?his life?¡¯ The airport staff were informed of the identity of the passenger in the private jet, and that person was none other than the one who hade to their country''s rescue when everyone else had turned a blind eye to their plight: the Master Rank Hunter from South Korea, Lee Han-Yeol. [That private jet has justnded and will remain here for now. In other words, there will be no more departures from this airport! Please return now!] The airport staff had learned that Han-Yeol intended to use the airport as his operational base to intercept the monsters heading toward Kathmandu. [What nonsense is that!] [So, are you telling us to die?!] [No, please make your way to Kathmandu. The government ns to use this ce as thest line of defense against the monsters!] [Ha! Do you really expect us to believe your lies?!] [You''re nning to evacuate those wealthy people with that ne, aren''t you?!] . [Yeah! They''re lying to us!] The people''s fear of the monsters swiftly transformed into distrust of their own government. They were acutely aware of their government''s ipetence in this situation and its impotence against the monsters. [They certainly are! We don''t even have a single capable Hunter in this country! How do they intend to stop those monsters?!] [Move!] [Let us on that ne!] The people grew rowdier once again, but the airport staff appeared strangelyposed. [Fortunately, a Master Hunter from another country hase to assist us!] [What?!] [I-Is that true?!] This time, the people fell silent, exchanging murmurs among themselves after hearing the airport staffer''s announcement. Not everyone was entirely convinced, but they had no alternative but to ept it, as there were no other options avable. Consequently, all the people living around the airport, except for a few elderly individuals who refused to leave their ancestralnds, headed to Kathmandu to seek refuge. [Let''s try to get to Rumjatar. It might be better than staying here.] Some of the people still harbored doubts about the airport staffer''s words, so they opted to go to another airport instead of heading to Kathmandu. After all, the country had zero Hunters, so their situation would likely be the same no matter where they went. They preferred to forge their own path to survival rather than rely on the inept government. Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Creak¡­ Since most Nepalese were quite poor and didn''t own vehicles, they resorted to using rickshaws to transport their belongings and children during the evacuation. [Haa¡­] [What are we going to do¡­?] ¡°Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!¡± [Oh no¡­ What¡¯s going to happen to us now¡­?] They walked with heavy hearts as they evacuated to safety. Chapter 229: Invitation From Egypt (5)

Chapter 229: Invitation From Egypt (5)

"Is this Lamidanda Airport?" Han-Yeol inquired, adjusting his sunsses. The first thought that crossed his mind uponnding at Lamidanda Airport was... ''This ce is so rural and old...'' His observation was spot on. Lamidanda Airport was situated in a rather rural area, and it was an extremely modest airport with unpaved runways that appeared to be barely maintained. ''Well, I suppose it''s to be expected from a poor country that relies on tourism revenue to maintain its infrastructure. They likely scraped together whatever resources they could to construct this facility for tourists but didn''t have enough to do it properly.'' The country''s elongated geographicalyout posed a significant challenge for building proper infrastructure. Since the majority of the poption did not own vehicles, most of the roads in the country were not adequately paved, and tourists relied on air transport for travel. This exined why Nepal had a rtively high number of airports given its economic situation. However, like Lamidanda Airport, most of these airports had barely one properly maintained runway. "Han-Yeol-nim!" Purva called out to him, rushing in his direction. "Have you inquired about the current situation?" "Yes... The monsters have just passed Buipa. Unfortunately, that area is quite rural, so they didn''t receive the warning in time, and... everyone there died..." Han-Yeol grimaced at the report. ¡®I knew this ce was not that developed, but it¡¯s worse than I thought¡­¡¯ The country was even poorer than he had imagined. ¡®Geez¡­ I can¡¯t believe this is real¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol shook his head. Their current situation truly befitted their status as the only country without local mana stone production, and it was a stark contrast whenpared to South Korea. Psshhht! [The monsters areing!] Purva''s walkie-talkie rang as one of the scouts urgently reported. ¡°Han-Yeol-nim!¡± ¡°Okay! Leave it to me!¡± ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯ Wooong! Han-Yeol''s eyes turned red, and something surprising happened. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ has risen from (A) to (M).] [¡®Demon Eyes¡¯ has reached Master Rank.] [There is a possibility of the skill evolving or creating a new skill if certain conditions are met.] ¡®Oh! Finally!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed in delight. The reason he frequently used Demon Eyes was to level it up as quickly as possible because it had a multitude of applications. His efforts paid off, as the skill finally reached Master Rank just as he had hoped. ¡®Hmm¡­ Good things usually happen when a skill reaches Master Rank¡­¡¯?he thought while expecting something great to happen. He already knew quite a bit about his game-like ability. There were some exceptions, but skills like these, with various applications, typically provided some sort of bonus. And it yed out exactly as he had predicted. Ding! ¡®It¡¯s here!¡¯?Han-Yeol rejoiced at the familiar sound. [You have sessfully fulfilled the requirements to gain a new skill.] [A new skill has been created: Analytic Eyes.] ¡®Oh!¡¯ He had no idea what the skill entailed, but just from its name, he could tell that he was going to be quite satisfied with it. ¡®Let''s see what you''ve got.¡¯ [Analytic Eyes (F)] [Type: Passive] [Description: A passive skill linked with Demon Eyes that analyzes everything visible based on its mana. It will provide the user with basic information for now, but it will start offering more detailed information as it levels up.] ¡®Wow! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get sick of this!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed inwardly, thoroughly satisfied with his new skill. No longer would he need to make assumptions when observing mana balls with Demon Eyes; his new skill would conduct the analysis for him. [Excuse me.] ¡°Hiiik!?You shocked me, Karvis!¡± Karvismunicated directly with Han-Yeol''s mind, and it never failed to startle him whenever she suddenly spoke. While most people might experience jump scares from sudden sounds they hear with their ears, for Han-Yeol, it was the opposite, as Karvis''s voice resonated within his mind. [I am bored, Han-Yeol-nim.] Karvis was as unpredictable as ever. ¡°Ah, my bad¡­ Hahaha¡­¡± [The skill you obtained just now synergizes very well with me. Would you like my assistance?] ¡°Oh, really?¡± [Yes.] Karvis seemed to be quite excited for some reason. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it then, Karvis.¡± [Thank you, Han-Yeol-nim.] Karvis didn''t have many chances to showcase her abilities. Initially, she appeared as a guide when Han-Yeol awakened, but she couldn''t fulfill her role adequately because she didn''t have much knowledge herself. Consequently, she became Han-Yeol''s chat buddy when he was bored, but their interactions dwindled over time after he gained hispanions and Mavros. Ultimately, she was somewhat "promoted" to the role of being the Ego of the chain during battles. However, all of this was about to change. [I am not in sync with your skills most of the time, but I am able to see what you see. Therefore, I will be able to ry the information analyzed by the skill to you without you having to look at it.] ¡®Oh? That sounds really convenient.¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but be happy that Karvis was willing to do the mundane task of analyzing information. He wasted no time to immediately ask, ¡°So, what do you think of the monstersing our way?¡± Wooong! A sound emitted from his eyes as soon as he finished his question, and it appeared that the passive skill was instantly activated. [There are a total of one thousand five hundred monsters heading this way, but these are the monsters that are within the range of Demon Eyes so far.] "What? That many?" [Those are only the monsters headed this way.] "Then?" [I have picked up a total of 2,155 monsters. They are spread out in different directions, but their destination is the same. They are headed for the capital city while mercilessly killing any humans theye across and leaving a trail of destruction.] ¡°Damn it¡­ We need to funnel them here and get rid of them all at once¡­¡± Han-Yeol might be a Master Rank Hunter, but he was all alone. Hunting down the monsters one by one in such a vast area would be impossible. He needed a solution, and he needed it fast. [I advise that you use Mavros.] ¡°Mavros?¡± Han-Yeol muttered as he looked up at the baby ck dragon on his shoulders. ¡°Kyu?¡±?Mavros tilted his head in a cute manner. Badump! Han-Yeol saw Mavros almost every single day, but he could never get enough of his cuteness. [Please focus, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡°Roger¡­¡± [Please ask Mavros to transform intobat mode and fly around to lure the monsters here. This way, it will be easier for you to deal with most of the monsters at once without having to move around.] ¡°Do you think it will be a stretch to lure all of them?¡± [Yes, Mavros might be fast, but there are so many monsters that even Demon Eyes is having a hard time picking up all of them.] ¡°Ah¡­ That sucks¡­¡± It appeared that preventing further casualties in Nepal was going to be difficult. ¡°Mavros!¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°Combat mode!¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros immediately transformed, as if he had been waiting for this moment. Chwak! He grew as big as the private jet and spread his wings out, and the dragon armor that Han-Yeol had purchased from Delchant looked quite majestic on him. Mavros seemed to exude much more charisma now that he was wearing the cool-looking armor. ¡°Mavros?¡± ¡°Kiek?!¡± ¡°Fly around and lure the monsters here.¡± ¡°Kieeeek!¡±?Mavros let out a cry and nodded in response. Then, he folded his wings and licked his lips as he prepared to take off. Han-Yeol was quite worried about the current situation, but it appeared that Mavros was d to have the opportunity to fight again. Boom! Mavros unleashed a sonic boom as he darted into the sky. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll leave the luring to him.¡± [It is now time for you to bring out everything.] ¡°Hmm¡­ Already?¡± [Yes, the monsters might not be powerful¡­ no, most of them are weak monsters, but you cannot lower your guard. There are a few strong ones mixed in among them. Oh, the monsters just increased. There are 2,813 of them now.] ¡°Again?!¡± [Yes.] ¡°Damn it!¡± Han-Yeol could not help but start to feel nervous. ¡°Hey, Karvis.¡± [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?] ¡°There are no Master Rank boss monsters in this dimensional rift, right?¡± This was his main concern. [No, there are none.] ¡°Then that¡¯s a relief.¡± He might have gotten a lot stronger, but it was a stretch for him to fight a boss monster on the caliber of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. It would have been a different story if the Horus raid party was with him, but he was currently alone. ¡°Heh¡­ Who¡¯s alone?¡± he smirked and muttered under his breath. Yes, he was notpletely alone. [Bwahahaha! The thought of fighting against tens of thousands of monsters is making my blood boil!] He had his demonpanions with him. Han-Yeol could not help but feel d that he had such dependable allies. ¡°It is an honor to fight alongside you, Balrog-nim and Arch Lich-nim.¡± [Bwahahaha! The same goes for me!] [Alright¡­] Shwaaa¡­ As expected, Asus was still quiet and only letting out his strange breathing. ¡°The same goes for you, Asus,¡± Han-Yeol added. He was contracted to the other demons, which was why he treated them with respect, but that was not the case for Asus as he was not contracted to him. Asus was currently under the control of the Arch Lich, so he was indirectly under Han-Yeol. ¡®These three demons can annihte an S Rank raid party,¡¯?he thought whileparing them to the Special S raid party. [Meaningless¡­] [Everything is meaningless¡­] Of course, there were also the Void Devils that had been with Han-Yeol for the longest time. ¡®I hope I can evolve these guys this time¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol spent quite a lot of time with the Void Devils, but he did not see any growth in them. The reason behind this was that he tasked them with protecting his father more than hunting, which obviously stunted their growth. However, it did not mean that they did not get anything out of it as they took quite a lot of monster corpses as payment as they worked around the clock. While Han-Yeol was waiting for the monster horde to arrive, a powerful burst of mana illuminated the sky in the distance. sh! Kaboooom! Then, a foul stench spread throughout the area. ¡°It seems that Mavros has gotten started,¡± hemented with a smile. Mavros¡¯ mission was to lure the monsters to Han-Yeol, and he hoped that the ck dragon would faithfully carry out his mission to perfection. Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­! Thud¡­!? ¡°They¡¯reing!¡± [Bring it on!] [Ready.] Shwaaa! [Meaningless¡­] [Everything is meaningless¡­] Gulp¡­! Han-Yeol nervously gulped for a second but shook his head. ¡®Well, most of them are just small fry¡­¡¯? Then, he put on the goggles Yoo-Bi had made and¡­ Beep! Wooong¡­! Ziiiing! A beep, followed by a mechanical sound, rang as the goggles were switched on. Then, the shoulder cannons were activated. ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion after looking through the goggles. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡± The reason was that somethingpletely unexpected happened. Chapter 230: Savior of Nepal (1)

Chapter 230: Savior of Nepal (1)

Beep! Beep!? ¡®Oh? You managed to add more functions in that short period of time?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. When he first put on the goggles, there was nothing special about them, as their sole purpose was to aim the shoulder cannons. However, today, there was something different about the goggles, although it wasn''t incredibly amazing. A software had been added to disy a summary of today''s weather, humidity, and a GPS map. This might not seem particrly impressive, but Han-Yeol was genuinely amazed because Yoo-Bi had managed to aplish all of this in just four days. ¡®Hehehe¡­ I¡¯ll use it well, Yoo-Bi.¡¯ Having gained a new weapon, he was on cloud nine right now. Zhiiiing! His perspective shifted after putting on the goggles, and now he could see it. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!? ¡°Kieeeeeeeek!¡± ¡°Kwuaaak!¡± Lamidanda Airport was located on elevated terrain, and the monsters were currently climbing uphill toward it. ¡°What a lovely day to shoot cannons~¡±?Han-Yeol hummed a tune as he aimed at the horde of monsters. Zhiiing¡­ Kaboom! His easy-going demeanor was nowhere to be found as he suddenly turned serious, unleashing a barrage of sts from his shoulder cannons. Moreover, he didn''t forget to employ one of his favorite skills to cause even more chaos. Wooong! It was none other than Enhance. When he first acquired this skill, he never imagined he would be using it so frequently. After all, it required a mana stone to activate. However, his current situation was entirely different from before, as his financial stability was no longer at risk from the expenditure of a few mana stones. Zhiiiing! Kaboom! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡°Kwuaaak!¡± Han-Yeol¡¯s mana would gather in his shoulder cannons, form a ball of mana, fly toward the monsters, and cause absolute destruction. ¡°Gwuoooh!¡± A monster known as ''Big Foot,'' running on all fours, came rushing up the slope at terrifying speeds. However, it didn''t get very far as a cannon mana shell exploded right beside it. Shwiiiing¡­ Kaboom! ¡°Gwuooooh!¡± Thud! The Big Foot, along with three other insect-type monsters, were hit by the cannon mana shell. The stench of their burning bodies lingered in the air. *** A thought suddenly came to Han-Yeol¡¯s head while he was busy shooting his shoulder cannons. ¡®Hold on¡­ Maybe that would work?¡¯ He gathered his mana and formed an even denser ball before using one of his favorite skills. ¡®Mana Explosion!¡¯ Whiiiiing¡­ Kaboooom! Mana Explosion had been used in tandem with the HSK-447P''s grenadeuncher until now, but that didn''t mean the skill had to be exclusively used with it. After using his skill and firing his shoulder cannons, a significant portion of his mana was depleted. ¡®Heok!¡¯?Han-Yeol gasped after feeling his mana deplete, but it wasn''t enough to put him in any danger. Kwaaaaaang! The destruction caused by the skill was directly proportional to the amount of mana it drained. "Wow," he muttered while gazing at the massive explosion triggered by the skill. This explosion was on apletely different scalepared to the usual ones, as it swept away the entire surroundings with powerful mana, burning the mana within the monsters'' bodies. ¡®Wow, I think I hit the jackpot?¡¯?Han-Yeol was stunned after seeing the explosion. However, the skill consumed quite a lot of his mana, so he could not use it in quick session. Still, he knew that he was going to use it quite often from now on. ¡®Mana Explosion, when used with the grenadeuncher, did not leave any trace of the monsters, but this shoulder cannon kills them by burning their mana?¡¯ The shoulder cannons could indeed be considered a revolutionary invention. Han-Yeol was genuinely impressed by Yoo-Bi''s creation, but he couldn''t afford to linger in admiration, as he had to focus on blocking the iing wave of monsters. Shwoosh! A faint odor of poison emanated from a considerable distance, and only one creature was capable of emitting such a potent toxin. ¡®Mavros!¡¯ It was Mavros¡¯ Poison Breath! Han-Yeol knew that the ck dragon was performing his duties diligently, so he turned his attention to his own battle. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± He relentlessly fired his shoulder cannons, but their effectiveness was limited. The shoulder cannons were no different from firing mana cannon shells, so the number of monsters didn''t visibly decrease unless he used Mana Explosion in conjunction with them. The sheer quantity of monsters was so overwhelming that relying solely on the shoulder cannons was a stretch to begin with. ¡°But¡­¡± Han-Yeol smirked. ¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡± The enraged monsters continued rushing toward Han-Yeol while exuding powerful bloodlust, and they already traversed two hills located on the way to the Lamidanda Airport. Crack¡­ Kwaaaang! The ground split before mes shot out. [Bwahahaha! The Great Balrog-nim hase! Bring it on, you bastards!] Fwaaaa! Balrog made quite the grand entrance as he spread out his mes and provoked as many monsters as he could. [Meaningless¡­] [Everything is meaningless¡­] The Void Devils were right behind, supporting Balrog inbat. Balrog might have been an intermediate demon, but it was quite burdensome for him to fight against a swarm of monsters all alone. And it was still burdensome even with the Void Devils helping him, as the demons couldn''t disy the same powers they possessed in the demon world. [Bwahahaha! It has been ages since Ist felt the thrill of dying!] As expected, Balrog seemed to be enjoying his current situation. [me Explosion!] Kaboom! Balrog shot mes around himself to draw the attention of the monsters, but he was eventually forced onto the defensive as they began to overwhelm him. [Fire Shield!] Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!? Therge shield blocked the slope leading up to the airport and kept the monsters at bay. It wasn''t that there were no other paths to the airport, but this was the widest road, and most of the monsters had gathered here. The monsters pounded on therge shield, but it remained steadfast. [Void Storm!] [Void Wave!] The Void Devils utilized their attack skills whenever possible, but theycked the strength topletely eliminate the oing monsters. Nevertheless, their objective was merely to dy the monsters rather than attempting to eliminate them in the first ce. [Good¡­!] ¡°Shwooo!¡± The area a bit further away from Balrog gradually began to freeze as the Arch Lich and Asus made their entrance onto the battlefield. [Everything will be frozen by my magic!] The Arch Lich spread out his arms and shot out his terrifying mana, freezing everything in its path. Shiver! Shiver! Shiver!? The monsters began to shiver from the cold, and then they gradually froze stiff due to the fearsome area of effect magic. Seuk¡­! Then, Asus pulled out his de and rushed into the swarm of monsters. Chwak! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± He cleanly sliced a monster in half with a single sh, and the cut was so precise that not a single droplet of blood could be seen anywhere, thanks to Asus'' mana instantly freezing the cut. Asus was unable to freeze Han-Yeol during their battle, thanks to Arch Lich''s defensive magic. Han-Yeol would surely have perished in that battle if his Ice Resistance had not been bolstered by the defensive magic. It could be said that Asus was quite unfortunate that his most potent ability was neutralized by the Arch Lich in that battle. He appeared to be venting his frustration over suffering a humiliating defeat against the monsters in front of him by going on a rampage. Shwak! Chwak! Chwak! ¡°Kieeeek!¡± The surroundings froze whenever Asus swung his sword, asserting dominance on the battlefield. "Hoho, they''re doing quite well." Han-Yeol chuckled after witnessing his summoned demons¡¯ splendid performance. However, it was still too early for him to rx, as there were still many monsters, and Mavros continued to lure more toward them. "Well, I suppose we need to clean up before the next wave arrives," he casually muttered, taking a step forward. Now, it was his turn to join the fray. Seuk¡­ Chwak¡­! He walked toward the front, his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva sword in his right hand and his chain infused with Karvis¡¯ Ego in his left hand. As expected, the hammer was his preferred choice to attach to the end of the chain. While he could attach other types of weapons to it, he preferred using the hammer for now since he had acquired skills rted to it. Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and flew up into the air. ¡°Haaaaaaap!¡±?He let out a cry as hended right at the center of the monsters. ¡°Tornado Smash!¡± Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Pukeok! Pukeok! Pukeok!? The chain infused with Karvis'' power flew in all directions, smashing the monsters into minced meat as if they had entered a giant blender. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± ¡°Kyak! Kyak! Kyak!¡± The insect-type monsters surrounding Han-Yeol were eradicated. These were low-ranking monsters that would have never dared to challenge Han-Yeol, but their instincts drove them to fearlessly pursue him, despite the bloody mess he had created. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m thankful if you¡¯reing to me,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smirk as he did not have to chase them down one by one. Woooong! Han-Yeol gathered mana in his heart. ¡®Well, this is my first time using it¡­¡¯ He finally had the opportunity to utilize the skill he had recently acquired but never had the chance to use. ¡®Its level might be low right now, but¡­ Frozen Field!¡¯? Wooong! C-Crack¡­! Crack! ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± It was the skill he had acquired after transforming his mansion garden into a wastnd. The monsters that swarmed around Han-Yeol were instantly frozen or suffered severe damage when the five-meter radius around him turned into solid ice. Whoosh! Pukeok! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Han-Yeol swung his chain and shattered the monsters, frozen stiff as if they had been exposed to liquid nitrogen. However, that was not the end of it. ¡°Cold Chain!¡± It was another skill he had recently obtained. Sseuuuu¡­! A powerful cold aura surrounded his chain. ¡°Sword Breath!¡± Fwaaaaa! Han-Yeol dual-wielded both fire and ice on each hand. ¡°I¡¯ll crush all of you¡­!¡± Han-Yeol gritted his teeth before moving at supersonic speed. Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!? He only had one brain, so it was impossible for him to swing both weapons against different targets. It would be possible if he practiced it, but this ce was swarming with monsters that such practice would be useless anyway. However, Han-Yeol had something that no one else possessed. [Three monstersing from your ten.] Chwak! Puk! Puk! ¡°Kiek!¡± [Target neutralized.] And that was none other than Karvis. Her role underwent a dramatic transformation after she was infused into the chain. She was no longer limited to merely rying information to Han-Yeol; now, she could actively control the chain and participate inbat. Karvis had shifted from being a passive assistant to an active one. ¡°Nice! Karvis!¡± [Heh. This is nothing, Han-Yeol-nim.] Additionally, Karvis'' Ego seemed to be more defined as Han-Yeol grew stronger. She used tomunicate in a one-dimensional manner, like an AI, but recently, she had started to disy her own emotions as well. Han-Yeol had no idea whether this was a positive or negative development, but he decided to ponder it at ater date. ¡®It¡¯s not a bad thing that Karvis is bing more active, after all,¡¯?he thought. After all, Karvis could better assist him the more active she became, so he decided it was not that big of a deal right now. [Three monsters behind you, Han-Yeol-nim!] Whoosh! As soon as Karvis warned him, Han-Yeol leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding three poison darts that had been aimed at the spot where he had stood just moments before. He was severely outnumbered at this point, and some of the monsters had managed to sneak up right behind him. ¡°You dare!¡± Chwaaaak! Puk! Puk! ¡°Kiek!¡± The monsters'' sneak attack failed miserably, and they paid dearly for it as the hammer infused with the Cold Chain smashed their heads. However, this time the monsters'' heads were crushed in a different manner; upon contact with the hammer, they instantly froze and shattered into pieces a split secondter. "Wow? This is quite impressive," Han-Yeol remarked, slightly taken aback. Ding! [The rank of ¡®Frozen Field¡¯ has increased from (F) to (E).] [The rank of ¡®Cold Chain¡¯ has increased from (F) to (E).] ¡°Alright!¡± Han-Yeol eximed and raised his fist triumphantly. The battle had just started, but two of his skills had already leveled up. Woooong! Then, as soon as the message disappeared, the area covered by the Frozen Field expanded. Chapter 231: Savior of Nepal (2)

Chapter 231: Savior of Nepal (2)

The monsters that were rushing at Han-Yeol a while ago hesitated after sensing the chilling aura around him. Woooong! Puk! Puk! ¡°Kiek!¡± Han-Yeol used his shoulder cannons to shoot the hesitating monster. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The monsters screeched in anger. Han-Yeol was truly a formidable opponent for them, surrounded by a strange, chilling aura that made him unapproachable. However, there were also cannons that would fire at them if they maintained their distance from him. What if they braved the chill and attacked him? His hammer would crush their heads into a bloody pulp. The monsters were caught between a rock and a hard ce against Han-Yeol. ¡°Kieeeek!¡± ¡°Kieeek!¡± Hundreds of monsters met their demise at Han-Yeol¡¯s hands, and the screams of these creatures reverberated across the hills. ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol muttered upon noticing the presence of mana in the air. The monsters were not simply screeching out of agony; their voices carried mana within them, as if they were using it to amplify their cries. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... Are they calling something here...?¡± Han-Yeol wondered, sensing it. He wasn''t certain, but it felt as though they were summoning something, realizing they couldn''t defeat him. The monsters could hold him off for now, but that wouldn''t be the case for long. The human continued to emit mana from his shoulders, which killed dozens of them every time it erupted. However, Han-Yeol didn''t care whether they were summoning reinforcements or not. ¡®I¡¯ll have to fight them eventually, so it¡¯s better to take care of them earlier,¡¯?he thought. The battle had only just begun, and he didn''t mind if things became a bit more challenging. Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­ Rumble¡­? The ground started to shake. ¡®Is iting?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he activated Demon Eyes. Then, he sensed a powerful surge of mana rapidly approaching, but it wasn''t emanating from aboveground. ¡®Underground? Geez, is it a sandworm or something?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after seeing the creature slithering underground like a worm. He recalled a movie he had watched back in high school, where a creature slithered underground, sensing its prey through vibrations before emerging to devour them. However, this monster was far from a simple predator like the one in the movie. No, this monster was undoubtedly a high-ranking creature and would prove to be a formidable adversary. Krrwaaang!? The monster burst forth from beneath Han-Yeol''s feet. ¡°Kiiiiiiik!¡± Tak! Han-Yeol immediately leaped up, anticipating the monster''s attack. Hisbat sense had developed sufficiently to predict the enemy''s movements, and Sixth Sense activating just before the monster surfaced made it exceptionally easy for him to evade it. Time seemed to slow down, courtesy of Sixth Sense, and Han-Yeol jumped to avoid the monster''s ambush. ¡®Huh? What¡¯s this thing?¡¯?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion after seeing the monster. It was indeed a worm, but it looked different than the sandworm he was imagining. However, he recognized that the monster bore a resemnce to something he had seen on TV before. ¡®Ah¡­ It¡¯s that Mongolian Death Worm.¡¯ The Mongolian Death Worm was a creature rumored to inhabit the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. It would hide beneath the sand, seeking prey aboveground and then drag it underground. Its range of activity was confined to the desert, as the Mongolian Death Wormcked the ability to burrow through hard, rocky soil. However, the situation was different now that this creature had transformed into a monster. It had appeared here, far from the Gobi Desert, in the mountainous terrain of Nepal, where the ground primarily consisted of hard boulders. ¡®Well, I guess it''s not that surprising since it came out of the dimensional rift.¡¯ ¡°Kiiiiiiiiik!¡± Bzzzt! The Mongolian Death Worm was rumored to eject acidic poison at its prey, but that wasn''t the primary reason why Mongolians dreaded this creature. It was feared precisely because of the electric current emanating from its body, an ability that had harmed numerous nomads wandering the Gobi Desert. Of course, it remained uncertain whether the Mongolian Death Worm truly possessed this ability. Nevertheless, after the emergence of dimensional gates and the monsters they brought, nothing seemed impossible. Moreover, Mongolia had been ssified as one of the most perilous countries, primarily due to its highly unpredictable dimensional gates. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± The monster made a grand entrance that created an impression of immense power, but to Han-Yeol, it was just another monster. ¡®You¡¯re just another high-ranking monster to me! Restrain!¡¯ [Roger!] Han-Yeol employed his skill, and Karvis responded instantly. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Bzzzt! The monster unleashed its electric currents once it was bound by the chain. It was an exceptionally wise choice that deserved praise, but Han-Yeol''s reaction suggested that he had anticipated such a response from the monster. He smirked and activated another skill, ''Mana Absorption!'' Chwak!? The electric current released by the monster traveled up the chain toward Han-Yeol. However, it failed to harm him as he effortlessly absorbed it with his skill. ¡®Keke! This skill is really awesome!¡¯?Han-Yeol eximed while enjoying the tingling sensation spreading across his body. He absorbed the electricity discharged by the Monster Mongolian Death Worm without a scratch. It might seem peculiar that Han-Yeol deliberately allowed himself to be hit by the electric current, but he had a very good reason for doing so. ¡®Fire, ice, and next is electricity.¡¯ He wanted to acquire another attribute to master. Some might wonder if two attributes weren''t sufficient, but the answer was a resounding no! Han-Yeol aimed to control not just fire, ice, and electricity but every element he could absorb. Unfortunately, gaining an attribute was no walk in the park. While he might have lucked out with the Fire Attribute initially, merely subjecting himself to that attribute wouldn''t necessarily make it easier to acquire the skill. He had experimented with exposing himself to different attributes, but simply zapping himself with electricity didn''t seem to yield results. His game-like ability wasn''t so easy to manipte, and the attribute he absorbed had to be from mana. Then, the sudden appearance of the Monster Mongolian Death Worm sparked an idea in his mind, prompting him to exim, "Eureka!" ¡®I might be able to obtain the Lightning Attribute if I absorb it from the Monster Mongolian Death Worm!¡¯?Han-Yeol regarded the monster¡¯s appearance as a blessing from the heavens. ¡°Kieeeeek!¡± Han-Yeol could feel his mana replenishing, even though the message confirming the creation of a skill hadn''t appeared yet. Nevertheless, he was able to restore his mana by absorbing the electric current, so he had gained something from his actions, one way or another. Shwooosh! ¡°Kiiiiik!¡± Han-Yeolunched a counter-offensive by simultaneously using Cold Chain and Frozen Hand, causing the Monster Mongolian Death Worm to be frozen solid, unable to break free from the chain. From that point on, dealing with the monster was a breeze. Sukeok! ng! Han-Yeol shattered the monster, which was now a block of ice, with Sword Breath. The creature couldn''t even emit a screech as it was annihted into pieces. Ding! [Your level has risen.] ¡°Keke! Awesome!¡± Han-Yeol was ted after seeing the level-up message. Leveling up was one of Han-Yeol''s primary motivations for hunting monsters. He relished facing monster waves more than anything else in this world because it was essential for him to eliminate monsters and earn experience points to level up. This was the primary reason he had intervened to assist Nepal, even though it wasn''t directly rted to his concerns. Dududududu! The sound of helicopters echoed behind him. ¡®I guess they''ve finally arrived,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, observing the helicopters approaching the airport. Now, it was time for the true hunt tomence. Why? ¡°Kiiiiiiik!¡± The low-ranking monsters didn''t just summon one Monster Mongolian Death Worm; they summoned multiple Monster Mongolian Death Worms, and these creatures emerged from the ground in dozens. However, Han-Yeol simply smiled and remarked, "Well, I might just get lucky and acquire the Lightning Attribute today." [There is a fifty-six percent chance of that happening, Han-Yeol-nim.] Karvis appeared to be getting more attuned to Han-Yeol''s thoughts as she grew more active. Initially, she would only respond when he posed a question, but now she began to anticipate his thoughts and reply before he even asked. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!] Tak! Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped into the air. ¡°Haaaaap!¡± *** Thick ck smoke enveloped the entire mountain. [T-This... I don''t think we need to get involved...] [How does this even make sense?! I know he''s a Master Rank Hunter, but...!] [What are we witnessing right now...?] These were the soldiers the Nepalese Government had sent to assist Han-Yeol, but there was nothing they could do to help. After all, they were ordinary people who wouldn''t be of any assistance against the monster. The soldiers simply stood and watched in awe as Han-Yeol put on a magnificent disy, wreaking havoc against the monster wave. Thud! ¡°Kiiiiik!¡± The Monster Mongolian Death Worms were not the end of it; even more formidable monsters began to emerge from the dimensional rift. ¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­?It would¡¯ve been extremely tiring if not for Mana Absorption¡­¡± Han-Yeol grumbled after he killed a Monster Mongolian Death Worm and stretched. Crack! Crack!? Fifteen hours had psed since he first started battling the monster wave, but there were still a significant number of monsters left. ¡°Kiiiiik!¡± Han-Yeol still had a considerable amount of mana left, courtesy of Mana Absorption, but he refrained from rushing to dispatch the monsters. He understood that he would be exhausted if he hurried, so he maintained his pace, prepared to fight until the end. ''I know this country doesn''t have much to offer, but... Are they really not going to offer any assistance?'' Han-Yeol found it puzzling that no one hade to the country''s aid, regardless of its poverty. Nepal shared a direct border with China to the north, and there were neighboring countries such as Bhutan and Bandesh as well. ¡®Are they abandoned¡­? Hmm¡­ if that¡¯s the case, then China must be behind this¡­¡¯ International politics could be quite ruthless at times, and Han-Yeol believed it was highly likely in this case. The powerful nations in the world hadn''t changed, whether before or after the emergence of the dimensional gates, and China was no exception. China possessed the thirdrgestndmass globally, but their appetite for conquering more territory had only grown stronger. "Tsk... Those guys are still at it..." Han-Yeol grumbled. He had thought that Nepal had good rtions with China, but it seemed thetter had decided to abandon the former, letting the monster wave do its work before potentially seizing thend. ¡®Those bastards are probably nning to wait until Nepal bes a wastnd teeming with monsters before taking it for themselves¡­¡¯ China''s control over their Hunters was on an unparalleled scale globally, with a system where Master Rank Hunters held immense power and privileges. The current ''premier'' of China was a Master Rank Hunter, making it exceptionally easy for them to keep their Hunters in line. In fact, they could conscript their Hunters as if they were regr soldiers, which would allow them to rapidly eliminate all the monsters in Nepal once it turned into a wastnd. ¡®Well, I¡¯m sorry to say that I¡¯ve ruined their ns! Keke!¡¯ While some might use him of jumping to conclusions, logic supported his suspicions. China shared a direct border with Nepal, and it had been twenty hours since the dimensional rift first appeared. This meant they had ample time to prepare and send their Hunters to aid their neighbor. However, not a single Chinese Hunter could be seen in Nepal at the moment, suggesting that they had abandoned their neighbor. ¡®Tsk... They have no one but themselves to me for trusting China¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol inwardly clicked his tongue. Han-Yeol had a strong belief that China was a country that could not be trusted. It was precisely at that moment, when he was mentally cursing China, that the insect-type monsters finally stirred and rushed at him once again. ¡°Kieeeeeek!¡± ¡°Hap!¡± Sukeok! ¡°Kweeek!¡± However, they couldn''ty a single finger on Han-Yeol, as they were either cut down or struck down by Asus before getting anywhere near him. And even the high-ranking monsters were no match for Asus. Asus was already quite strong, but he became even stronger with the buffs from both the Arch Lich and Han-Yeol. In other words, the monsters were powerless against Asus, who stood like an insurmountable wall. ¡®Hmm... I''ve realized something this time.¡¯?Han-Yeol noticed that his personal growth was important, but the growth of his demons and monster pets was equally significant. A person alone could be extremely strong, but having a powerful group behind him would make him virtually invulnerable. Initially, Han-Yeol had disapproved of the idea of creating his own raid partyposed of humans and hunting alongside them, as he believed that ''betrayal'' was always a possibility with humans. ¡®There¡¯s an age-old saying that humans can¡¯t be trusted anyway,¡¯?he thought with a shrug. [Hmm¡­ I¡¯m tired¡­] Han-Yeol¡¯s thought was suddenly interrupted by Balrog¡¯s grumbling. It was the first time the intermediate demon had everined of being tired of fighting, which made it quite surprising for Han-Yeol. ¡®Please hang in there, Balrog-nim. There are still a lot of monsters left,¡¯?he said. [Bwahaha! Don¡¯t worry about me! But I think I¡¯ve gotten old now. I used to fight for four consecutive days without getting tired back in the day! Kekekeke!] Balrog chuckled even more, attempting to conceal his embarrassment for grumbling. Chapter 232: Savior of Nepal (3)

Chapter 232: Savior of Nepal (3)

¡°Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­?Ahh¡­ I¡¯m so tired!¡± Thud! Han-Yeoly t on the ground, which was drenched in the blood of the monsters. However, he didn''t care at all, as long as he could lie down. "Ah¡­ I''m dying," he muttered while gazing up at the sky. The only thing he cared about right now was getting some rest, even if it meant getting dirty. He had been fighting for forty-eight hours straight, and fatigue had begun to take its toll both physically and mentally. Nevertheless, he emerged victorious after the bloody battle, which resembled more of a war based on the aftermath. ¡°Damn it¡­ I¡¯m so tired¡­¡± ¡°Kyu¡­!¡± Mavros was on the ground beside Han-Yeol, having returned to his cute size. He had worked tirelessly for thest forty-eight hours and was now extremely tired. He had flown around, luring the monsters toward Han-Yeol. He had even joined the battle once there were no monsters left to lure. Around the thirty-eighth hour mark, the demons Han-Yeol had summoned began to return to the demon world one by one. While they might be quite strong in their own ways, quantity was bound to triumph over quality if there were enough of them. Fortunately, the demons simply returned to the demon world and did not die, which meant that Han-Yeol could summon them again at ater date. After all, a demon was not a being that would easily perish. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim,¡± Purva said. ¡°What hard work?¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly replied with a smirk. Dududududu! When the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance, Han-Yeolmented, ¡°I guess those are the government people.¡± "Yes, the soldiers stationed here at Lamidanda Airport probably reported some time ago that the monster numbers had decreased. They probably sent another report recently, stating that all threats have been neutralized," Purva replied. Then, he added, "That is most likely the president confirming that the monsters have been dealt with. She is probablying to gain your favor, hoping that you would help again if another dimensional rift urs." ¡°Really?¡± ¡°That is only my assumption, but it is most likely.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± It was difficult to ascertain how confident Purva was in his assumption, as it was impossible to read someone''s mind. However, this didn''t apply to Han-Yeol, as he possessed the ability to read other people''s minds. Unfortunately, his skill had the limitation of not being able to read the minds of individuals who were far away. ¡®I wonder if Mariam can do that¡­?¡¯?he wondered. Han-Yeol was so exhausted that his mind began to wander, thinking of all sorts of irrelevant things... *** [Hahaha! Please! Have another ss, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!] [Aigoo! Thank you very much!] They were currently in the president''s office at the presidential pce in Kathmandu, and President Vidya poured a ss for Han-Yeol. The fatigue that had weighed on Han-Yeol''s body was washed away after a good night''s sleep in the presidential pce. Following that, a small banquet was hosted by the president in honor of Han-Yeol, and that was how he found himself currently drinking with her. ¡®Hmm¡­ It''s quite modest. I was expecting the pce to be more luxurious, despite how poor the people are,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he looked around. It wasn''t umon for the residences or pces of rulers to bevishly decorated, regardless of the suffering their people endured. Good examples of this were certain resource-rich countries where the popce remained poor due to rampant corruption. A country where the majority of the poption lived in poverty while politicians and their associates reaped the nation''s riches was a sadlymon urrence in the world. However, the presidential pce appeared weathered and humble. There were signs of repairs here and there, but it was evident that they could only do so much with the limited budget they had. Han-Yeol''s appreciation for the Nepalese Government grew slightly after witnessing their modesty. ¡®I guess they disagree with livingvishly while their people suffer.¡¯?He was quite content with what he was seeing. [Ah¡­ Is there really no hope for our country¡­?] ¡®Here it is¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol''s eyes shed at those words. He had been waiting for the president to mention something like that long before the party even started. [Is there something wrong?] he asked while feigning ignorance. [That is¡­ As you may be aware, our country only has half a hunting ground.] [Yes. I am aware of that.] The reason Han-Yeol could fluentlymunicate in Nepalese right now was all thanks to¡­ Ding! [The rank of ¡®Trantion¡¯ has increased from (F) to (E).] [Nepalese has been added to the list ofnguages.] Han-Yeol was listening to Purva and his countrymen speaking in theirnguage when a message suddenly appeared in front of Han-Yeol''s eyes. People diligently studyingnguages would probably curse at him if they saw how easy it was for him. Most people had to study until they were exhausted to learn anguage, but Han-Yeol could be fluent in a newnguage just by listening to it, thanks to his skill. The Trantion skill undoubtedly made Han-Yeol an overpowered character, even though it was useless in battle. [The age of fossil fuels came to an end with the emergence of the dimensional gates thirty years ago, but the gods have forsaken our country by not bestowing us with hunting grounds.] ¡®Yeah, I''m sure everyone who''s heard of this country would think the same,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. The president was quite polite in the way she spoke. In fact, she sounded genuinely desperate. She had never sounded this desperate, not even when she was talking to their ''supposed'' shield, China. [But it is not like I can abandon my mothend¡­] The Nepalese people did not have a strong attachment to their country, but they held deep attachments to theirnds, families, and hometowns. This was the reason these people continued to live in this country, never abandoning it no matter how difficult life became. [Well, that is understandable¡­] On the other hand, Han-Yeol was entirely different. He wouldn''t have hesitated to abandon his homnd if he were in this situation. After all, many countries were willing to ept immigrants, especially if they were willing to work as Porters. [I am embarrassed to make such a request, but¡­ I would like to ask a favor from you, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim¡­] [A favor¡­?] ¡®I wonder what kind of favor she¡¯s going to ask¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He had somewhat of an idea of what she was going to ask, but her request was far from what he had expected. [Please do not forsake our country!] The president suddenly got up from her seat and knelt in front of Han-Yeol. [What?!] Han-Yeol did not expect her to get down on her knees in front of him. ¡®Geez¡­ I thought they had something prepared in detail, but what the hell is this¡­?¡¯?he grumbled inwardly at the odd turn of events. He had expected the president to make an unreasonable request, but it turned out that she only wanted one thing from him: not to abandon Nepal. It was truly a pitiful request that highlighted the dire situation the country was in. Nepal had been a peaceful nation that relied on tourism revenue and support from China to survive, but the recent emergence of the dimensional rift had changed everything. Their tourism industry was virtually dead now that a dimensional rift had appeared in the country, and their once dependable neighbor had proven to be treacherous. The pirs that had supported the country had crumbled overnight. [You are the only one we can rely on now, Han-Yeol-nim!] [Ugh¡­] ¡®Ah¡­ This is a bit too burdensome¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He then decided to read the president''s thoughts, and she was not lying at all. In fact, in her mind, she was even more desperate than her spoken words revealed. [Please help us! Savior-nim!] Indeed, it was not proper for a country''s leader to beg, but her desperate pleas touched Han-Yeol''s heart. Knock¡­! Knock¡­! Somebody knocked on the office door. [Ah¡­!] President Vadiya flinched at the knock. Since she hadn''t received a response from Han-Yeol, she couldn''t get up yet. [Please stand up for now.] Tak¡­ Han-Yeol grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. [I apologize for my actions¡­ I must have put you in a difficult spot¡­] [No, it''s alright. I''m sure you did it for a reason. I must say, I was moved by your love for your country and people.] [Thank you very much¡­ Thank you¡­!] It was a shame that she didn''t receive the answer she had hoped for, but she decided to be content with leaving a good impression on Han-Yeol for the time being. [Come in.] Creak¡­ The door opened before the president¡¯s chief of staff came in. [What is it?] [Madame President, we have just received word that a delegation of Hunters from Egypt has justnded at Tribhuvan International Airport.] [What?!] President Vadiya was so shocked that she ended up screaming. Why would the Egyptianse all of a sudden? It was then that Han-Yeol stepped in and asked. [Did they mention who came by any chance?] It was quite rude for him to suddenly speak up while standing beside the president of a country, but neither the president nor the chief of staff seemed to mind at all. [Yes, savior-nim. The Egyptian delegation that just arrived is the Horus raid party.] [Really?!] [Yes, savior-nim.] Han-Yeol could tell that it was true from reading the chief of staff''s mind. ''Don''t tell me Tara is here¡­?!''? Just because the Horus raid party was here did not necessarily mean that Tayarana was here too. However, Tayarana was the Horus raid party''s leader, so Han-Yeol couldn''t see any reason for the raid party toe all the way here without her. *** Unfortunately, his assumptions were way off the mark. ¡°Mariam¡­?¡± Han-Yeol muttered. Tak! The Egyptian Hunters greeted Han-Yeol by crossing their arms over their chests in an X-shape and bowing. This was the traditional way Egyptian Warriors greeted those they respected. "It''s been a while, Han-Yeol-nim." "Ah, you''re right. It''s been quite a while since west saw each other, Mariam," Han-Yeol replied. "You seem to be slightly disappointed. Unfortunately, Tayarana had some business to attend to in Egypt, so she had to stay back," Mariam noted, her sharp observation evident. "I''m not! Also, I''m pretty sure I told you not to read my mind!" Han-Yeol retorted while stuttering. However, Mariam''s expression remained unchanged as she applied salt to his wounds. "I did not read your mind, Han-Yeol-nim. I simply read your expression, which was all too obvious," she added. Despite her words, it seemed like she might be sulking for some reason, though Han-Yeol decided he was probably imagining things. ¡°Was it that obvious¡­? Hahaha¡­¡± In the end, he could only let out an awkwardugh while thinking, ¡®I can¡¯t seem to win against her¡­¡¯ It had been quite a while since theyst saw each other, but Mariam was still as charismatic as ever. ¡°Oh right, Mariam.¡± ¡°Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?¡± ¡°What brings you all the way here?¡± ¡°Is it not obvious?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± "You are the vice leader of the Horus raid party, so there''s no way our raid party will allow you to struggle all alone in a foreignnd. In fact, doing so would tarnish our raid party''s reputation. We might have arrived quitete, but we need to help with the clean-up at least to save face." ¡°Ah¡­!¡± Han-Yeol eximed after understanding what she meant. ¡®It seems that Nepal just got lucky¡­!¡¯?he thought. This wasn''t just any random country offering help; it was Egypt, the pseudo-ruler of Africa. Egypt already had experience in supporting impoverished African countries, so they would undoubtedly y a significant role if they decided to support Nepal as well. ¡®Hehe¡­ It looks like China is left empty-handed.¡¯ This event was likely to fuel anti-Chinese sentiments among the local Nepalese, and Egypt seemed poised to step in and take China''s ce in the country. "Also, the Horus raid party''s representative will be you, Han-Yeol-nim," Mariam added. "Hey! I told you not to read my mind!" Han-Yeol retorted. "I didn''t read your mind this time either. Your grin already says it all." "What...? You can now read minds through expressions alone...?" "No, but you tend to wear your emotions on your face, Han-Yeol-nim." "You''re scary!" Han-Yeol eximed. He was quite surprised that Mariam had the ability to read people''s expressions, but he didn''t want to admit that he was an open book. "Haa..." Mariam let out a sigh. Han-Yeol was usually charismatic and cool, but he somehow became childish whenever he was talking to her. Mariam couldn''t help but feel like she had gained another younger sibling, aside from Tayarana, and this little brother was still quite childish and immature. Chapter 233: Savior of Nepal (4)

Chapter 233: Savior of Nepal (4)

The political delegation that apanied the Horus raid party immediately began their work. Nepal had significantly stabilized after the arrival of the Horus raid party, with the most notable change being the absence of monsters in the country. Regrettably, the departing tourists showed no indication of returning, and certain countries had ced Nepal on their travel cklist for the time being. The country required a swift solution. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol agreed to stay in the presidential pce until a resolution could be found for Nepal, and the Nepalese people were relieved that he had chosen to extend his stay. [Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is the best Hunter out there!] [That¡¯s right! Everyone turned their backs on us, but he is the only one who came to help!] [Yeah! He is our country¡¯s savior!] Everywhere they went, the Nepalese people were singing Han-Yeol''s praises. In fact, his poprity was soaring so much that he could easily emerge victorious if a snap election were to be held at this very moment. However, this did not imply that he could or wanted to be the president of a foreign country. ¡°Phew¡­?You stirred up quite the scene, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± ¡°I did not say you canugh.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡±?Mariam let out a sigh once again. The monsters werepletely eradicated. Well, almost... Mavros had found it frustrating to lure the more distant monsters all the way back to Han-Yeol, so he had simply directed them toward India or China, depending on which was closer. The number of monsters he had redirected in this manner numbered in the thousands. Of course, it went without saying that Han-Yeol had no knowledge of this. Anyway, Nepal was finally free of monsters, but the work was far from over, as there remained a mountain of corpses to dispose of. Fortunately, the Horus raid party had brought along an army of Porters who worked tirelessly day and night to dismember all the monsters that Han-Yeol had killed. "It''s quite worrisome. Not long ago, a dimensional rift urred in Cairo, but it also appeared in this country, which had no defensive capabilities whatsoever... What is happening to the world?" Mariam muttered. The appearance of dimensional rifts wasn''t exclusive to Cairo or Nepal; they had begun appearing all over the world. However, if there was one stark difference between the other dimensional rifts and the one that appeared in Nepal, it would be the scale of it. The dimensional rift in Nepal had been on an unprecedented scale, and it was quite ironic that such a massive rift had appeared in a country with the worst defensive readiness against monsters. "It''s a relief that no boss monsters came out, unlike what happened back in Korea," Han-Yeol said. "Yes, I agree," Mariam replied. It was truly a stroke of luck that no boss monsters had emerged from the dimensional rift, as the country would have been in ruins if a single boss monster like the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva had appeared. Han-Yeol might have be strongerpared to before, but it was still a stretch for him to fight the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva one-on-one. A boss monster of that scale was a fearsome opponent that Han-Yeol wouldn''t be able to defeat, even if he gave it his all. *** Han-Yeol spent a week in Nepal, where he was regarded as the guest of honor by the entire country. However, the treatment he received was far from luxurious, as the countrycked the funds to provide such amenities, being on the brink of bankruptcy. Fortunately, Egypt extended a lifeline by pledging support, which drew criticism from China. Nevertheless, China''s options were limited because they had no justification to escte the issue, having been the first to abandon Nepal. ¡®They will manage to stay afloat for now with Egypt''s support, but the future looks bleak for them if they don''t find a way to be self-sufficient,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. Han-Yeol didn''t turn a blind eye to the Nepalese people''s plight. He had single-handedly in all the monsters emerging from the dimensional rift, amassing a staggering number of monster corpses and their mana stones. Even though no one would have questioned him if he chose not to pay taxes, Han-Yeol opted to adhere to international taxationws and contribute to the country''s finances. Consequently, Nepal received an unprecedented windfall of funds that it had never seen before. However, this didn''t imply that the country was suddenly well-off. Many of its citizens had perished in the recent dimensional rift, and the government had topensate for the loss of property and loved ones, a burden that would consume a significant portion of the money. "Tsk tsk... This country is in disarray, Han-Yeol-nim. The irony of expecting assistance from a nation that doesn''t produce mana stones is evident," Mariam remarked, her tone as cold as ever. "Well, I can''t disagree with you on that," Han-Yeol responded. "Things have be rather troublesome for me too. His Excellency instructed me to aid the country in getting back on its feet before I came here." "Really?" "Yes." "Wow, that''s unexpected." "What do you mean by that?" "I mean, I know your country is wealthy, but I didn''t expect you guys to assist an entirely unrted nation." International rtions between countries were often driven by self-interest, with decisions made primarily when there was something to gain from helping another nation. "If I may specte on His Excellency''s intentions, he''s probably eyeing a foothold in Asia as well," Mariam replied. "Why Asia when there are still many countries left in Africa?" "Africa is effectively under Egypt''s influence, and things will naturally stabilize over time." "Ah, I see..." Egypt''s ambition was indeed formidable, as they were essentially dering their aim topete with the United States and China for global supremacy. ¡®Tsk¡­ I can¡¯t help but feel jealous¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. South Korea had the potential to achieve what Egypt was doing, but the current government struggled to govern itself effectively and was often influenced by its neighbors, China and Japan. Consequently, Han-Yeol didn''t anticipate any significant developments from South Korea in the near future. ¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t matter as long as I¡¯m doing well.¡¯? Then, after shrugging the thought out of his head, he got a new idea. He eximed, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Mariam asked. "I was thinking of recruiting more security staff, so I probably should build a training center here for the Gurkha Mercenaries!" "A training center for the Gurkhas?" "Yeah, I need professionals, and the Gurkhas are among the best in the world!" "Hmm¡­ I guess that makes sense. Alright, we will invest in that venture as well." "Huh?" Han-Yeol was puzzled when Mariam mentioned that Egypt was going to invest in his idea. Why? Did Egypt need the Gurkhas? The answer was a resounding NO! Egypt was already filled with brave warriors, so it didn''t seem logical that they required the Gurkhas. Mariam appeared to have picked up on his thoughts and exined, "The reason is quite simple. We need to give the Nepalese people a reason to appreciate Egypt in order for us to exert influence over them. Besides, these people are renowned for their bravery." "Ah, that sounds good. They could also be Hunters if they enlist in your military, right?" "It appears that Mujahid-nim has informed you about a few things." "Haha! You know how talkative he is." "Yes, and I despise him for it." "Hahaha!" Han-Yeol found Mariam rather endearing when she got annoyed. ¡®I think your chances of marrying her are close to zero, Mujahid,¡¯?he thought as he wished the prince luck. ¡°Anyway, Egypt will be investing in your idea of training the Gurkhas.¡± ¡°That sounds good to me, but you guys should take care of all the small details. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, but the equity will be divided fifty-fifty.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± *** Han-Yeol and Mariam finalized their agreement and announced their intention to build arge training center for the Gurkhas to the Nepali government, and the presidential pce was in a festive mood right now thanks to the news. [Hahaha! Are you sure?!] [Yes, I am. Han-Yeol Hunter-nim and the Egyptians have agreed to invest in building a training center for the Gurkhas in Nepal. Also, it will not be a simple training center but an educational campus for others as well!] [Really? They¡¯re willing to spend that much?!] [Yes!] The president¡¯s face brightened after hearing that an educational campus was going to be built in the country. This was the first time that someone made such an investment on an unprecedented scale in the country. An educational campus with ties to another country was definitely going to be a huge boost to the local economy and potentially be a sturdy foundation for the country¡¯s revival. Such an idea had been discussed in the past, but the country simply had no money to spare for other projects aside from keeping itself afloat. However, the sudden interest from Han-Yeol and Egypt to make the investment for them solved all problems for Nepal. [Ah! He is truly our country¡¯s savior!] [Yes, Madame President!] [Hahaha!] However, the country was far from stable even with Han-Yeol and Egypt¡¯s investment. The education campus was surely going to bring massive opportunities for the people, but their current main source of revenue had taken a massive hit from the emergence of the dimensional rift. Still, the president was confident that the revival of the Gurkha Mercenaries was going to be a strong foundation for the country to slowly build upon. [I hope that this is proof that the gods have not abandoned us¡­] President Vidya made an earnest prayer, which was probably the prayer of all Nepali people right now. *** The time for Han-Yeol to leave Nepal finally came. [Do you really have to go, Han-Yeol-nim?] the president asked while holding onto Han-Yeol¡¯s hands. There was nothing else for Han-Yeol to do here, but he remained a great symbol of hope and security for the people. The Egyptian Hunters were going to be stationed in Nepal just in case any mishaps urred, but the people preferred to have Han-Yeol stay with them, as they were still traumatized from the dimensional rift incident. [Hahaha¡­ I cannot stay forever here, right?] Han-Yeol politely said. Meanwhile, he thought, ¡®I¡¯m quite busy, you know¡­?¡¯ Besides, Nepal was rather mundane and boring for him. There weren''t many fun activities he could engage in here, and the only redeeming factor was that things were extremely affordable. Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­ Murmur¡­? [Oh! That person is Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!] [He looks really cool!] [He is our country¡¯s savior!] [Hurray for Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!] Tribhuvan Airport was packed with people trying to catch a glimpse of him when the news got out that he was leaving. He is currently the most famous person in the country. ¡®Ah¡­ What am I going to do with my fame? It feels like I just keep getting famous everywhere I go! Kekeke!¡¯ ¡°There is no medicine for being delusional, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t read me¡­!¡± ¡°I did not.¡± ¡°Tsk¡­!?Where did the cute and docile Mariam go?¡±?Han-Yeol grumbled and clicked his tongue. ¡°I was never cute and docile, Han-Yeol-nim.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡±?Mariam let out a sigh once again. Han-Yeol let out a mischievous smirk before he was about to hop into his private jet. However... ¡°Huh? Why are youing with me?¡± he asked. Mariam casually ascended the stepdder right behind Han-Yeol. She had her own ne but had somehow followed him all the way to his private jet. "Ah, I forgot to inform you that the airne I took from Egypt will be quite busy from now on. The Hunters and Porters will be using them, and there are a lot of materials we have to move to build the training center." "Ah, so you''re asking me for a ride?" "Yes." "Alright, hop in~" Han-Yeol coolly agreed to give Mariam a lift. He was indebted to her in many ways, so the least he could do was give her a ride. "Thank you," Mariam replied with a bow before boarding the ne. Han-Yeol took a final look at Nepal before making his way to Egypt. Thud¡­! "Ah¡­ I''m so tired..." Han-Yeol muttered as he slumped into his seat. Mariam sat across from him, sipping on a ss of whiskey. She asked, "I think you rested for an entire week, right?" A Hunter could be fully rejuvenated after resting for a few hours, so it seemed strange that he was tired after a whole week. "Yeah, but it''s tiring to be dragged around here and there, you know?" Han-Yeolined, continuing to vent about various things. He felt slightly guilty for ranting when they had just met after a long time, but she somehow exuded a motherly feeling that put him at ease. She mighte across as cold from time to time, but there were cold mothers out there too, so it didn''t matter. ¡®It¡¯s a bit strange to think about her in this way when she hasn¡¯t gotten married?yet, but¡­¡¯?he thought while feeling nervous that she might read his mind. Han-Yeol possessed the skill Telepathy II, but it amounted to nothing more than a cheap parlor trick in Mariam''s presence. Her telepathic ability was on a level that could control a monster''s mind, which meant she could thoroughly explore every corner of his thoughts and teach him a lesson if he dared to peer into hers with his feeble skill. ¡®No! Let¡¯s be careful around her from now on¡­!¡¯?he thought. It wasn''t that he was suspecting her or anything, but the risks of having his mind read were simply too great for him to handle. After all, Han-Yeol''s life motto was "safety first," and he didn''t want to take any chances with her. Chapter 234: Savior of Nepal (5)

Chapter 234: Savior of Nepal (5)

The private jet that departed from Nepalnded in Cairo after thirteen hours. ¡°Yawn¡­!?Have we arrived?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Yes, I believe so,¡± Mariam replied. "Oh, it''s convenient that it''s so close." The private jet was exceptionallyfortable and cozy for Han-Yeol, and his flying experience exceeded his expectations. In fact, it was superior to the amodations provided by the Nepalese government during his stay in Nepal. Additionally, he yed chess with Mariam whenever he felt bored during the flight. However, he couldn''tpete with her, even when she didn''t use her telepathic abilities against him. Han-Yeol yed a total of seventy-five matches against her and lost every single one. ¡°I will win against you one day, Mariam!¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡±?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and looked out the window. "Huh?! Hahaha... Mariam..." he chuckled in disbelief at what he saw. "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?" "Is this for real?" "I have no idea what you''re talking about." Mariam was not seated beside a window, so she did not have a view of the outside. Instead, she chose to sit on afortable sofa across from Han-Yeol, whichcked ess to a window. However, she had an inkling about what Han-Yeol was witnessing. "Judging by your reaction... Yes, it should be real," she casually replied. "Wow..." Han-Yeol murmured in amazement. What he observed outside was truly spectacr. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!? There was a band beatingrge drums, and soldiers were lined up in an orderly manner, each with a gun resting on their shoulder. "This isn''t because of me, is it? Is there another guest arriving?" Han-Yeol asked. He couldn''t believe what he was witnessing. Actually, it was more like he didn''t want to believe it. Bambambambaam! The sound of trumpets red. "Ah... Damn it." "It would be wiser to surrender." ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The military had even brought their marching band along, and they started ying their instruments to signal his arrival. The whole spectacle made it seem like an important guest was arriving, and Han-Yeol couldn''t help but develop a migraine since he detested such events. However, that wasn''t the end of it. Swarms of cameras and reporters were waiting for him outside. "Hey, I told you I didn''t want any fuss, right?" "Well, I''d like to apologize first. This wasn''t our initial n..." Mariam decided toe clean after enjoying the look on Han-Yeol''s face. "But there was a need to announce to the world that Egypt was contributing to stabilizing the dimensional rifts appearing all over the world." "And one of your cards was to show that you guys are on friendly terms with me?" "Yes, you are correct." Han-Yeol wasn''t naive. He understood the significance of the incident in Nepal. Dimensional rifts were indiscriminately urring worldwide, affecting both developed and underdeveloped countries. Many nations were suffering from these rifts, and an international body was deliberating the creation of an international task force tobat them, alongside research to detect rifts before they formed. The HUN existed to safeguard humanity from monster threats, but it was acknowledged that theycked the manpower and expertise to handle dimensional rifts. In the midst of this, Han-Yeol had suddenly appeared and ''single-handedly'' closed thergest dimensional rift the world had ever seen. While the reality was moreplex, the rift''s sheer scale was undeniable. The media focused on the fact that a Hunter had stopped thergest dimensional rift alone, and Egypt highlighted their strong rtions with this Hunter. Thebination of these stories was a significant boost for the Egyptian people, as having such a dependable ally was seen as a considerable advantage. "Well, I guess I have no choice," Han-Yeol said. "Then?" Mariam asked. "There should be something in it for me, right?" "That goes without saying," she replied nonchntly. However, she let out a sigh of relief inwardly, ¡®Phew¡­ That¡¯s a huge relief¡­¡¯ She was concerned that Han-Yeol might feel offended at being used and ask for the ne to fly back to South Korea. Some might think she was excessively worried, but Hunters were extremely proud and stubborn individuals who despised being used in such a manner without prior discussion. Comparatively, Han-Yeol was being amodating in his current attitude, and it was well within his rights to seek benefits in this situation. Egypt, on the other hand, was not shameless enough to request such a favor for free, so there was no issue in that regard. "Then, let''s go." "Okay, Han-Yeol-nim." The fact that Mariam stood next to Han-Yeol provided Egypt with ample publicity. While it didn''t quitepare to him walking alongside Tayarana, Mariam was quite popr in Egypt as well. She was known as the little light shining beside the big light, but she didn''t particrly appreciate the way people referred to her. Ziiing...!? The stedder descended after the private jet doors opened. Han-Yeol emerged from the door with Mariam right beside him. sh! sh! sh! sh! sh!? They were greeted by a barrage of camera shes as the waiting photographers went trigger-happy. Bambam Bam Baaam! [Salute!] Chwak! The soldiers raised their rifles and offered a salute to Han-Yeol. Seuk¡­ ng! Then, the soldiers lined up beside the red carpet, drew their swords, and formed an arc for him to walk through. ¡®Ah¡­ This is so embarrassing¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol muttered inwardly while trying hard not to blush. This was overwhelming for someone like him, who had grown up in poverty. Being a Hunter didn''t mean he hadplete control over his emotions. Inside, he was dying of embarrassment while making a concerted effort to smile and wave at the crowd. ¡°Hahaha!¡± [You are doing great, Han-Yeol-nim.] There were a lot of cameras in front of them, so he had to do his best and keep up appearances. ¡®You¡¯re not making it any better!¡¯ [That is not my problem.] Kwachik! Han-Yeol felt something snap inside him due to Mariam''s attitude, but with numerous cameras present, he had to regain hisposure. Soon, two people approached him. [Hahaha! Look who this is! It¡¯s the Hero of Nepal! The Savior of Nepal! Wee to Egypt, Lee Han-Yeol Hunter!] The first to approach him was none other than President Phaophator, and right behind him was¡­ ¡°Wow!¡± sh! sh! sh! sh!? The woman was so beautiful that even the reporters momentarily forgot their duties. Tayarana was dressed in traditional Egyptian attire. [Wee to Egypt.] She lifted her dress with both hands and greeted him with a bow. Gulp!? Han-Yeol was captivated by Tayarana''s beauty. Badump! Badump!? His heart raced, remembering theirst encounter. Now, seeing her after a long time, it beat even faster. ¡®Ah¡­ Stop it! Calm down! Why are you going crazy all of a sudden?!¡¯?Han-Yeol struggled. He was never the type to fall for someone first. His self-esteem had been quite low due to growing up in poverty. He managed to regain his confidence after awakening, but he still found it difficult to approach women. However, Tayarana was an exception. ¡®Wow¡­ She¡¯s so beautiful¡­¡¯?he thought. It wasn''t a matter of whether he should pursue her or not; her beauty had captivated him entirely. He was genuinely delighted to see her after such a long time, but she wasn''t his top priority at the moment. [Hello, President Phaophator. Thank you very much for your invitation.] [Hahaha! Wee to Egypt!] Phaophator hugged Han-Yeol, disying his immense joy. This was a side of the president that he typically didn''t reveal, and the reporters were shocked by what they were witnessing just now. *** The Egyptian reporters were busy taking pictures. [Wow! The rumors must have been true then!] [What rumors?] Reporters were adept at chatting while taking pictures, amon trait regardless of their home country. [That rumor that President Phaophator has chosen Lee Han-Yeol as his son-inw!] [What?! Really?!] One reporter was taken aback by this news. He typically covered economic stories and was here as a stand-in, as his news outlet didn''t have enough personnel for this assignment. For him, this was a startling revtion, as Tayarana was adored not only by Egyptians but by the entire world. [N-No way!] [Why are you so surprised?] In contrast, the other reporter seemed nonchnt. [Hey! Do you even know what ''son-inw'' means?! Besides, there are plenty of other men who would suit Tayarana-nim better!] [Like who?] [Huh?] [Who?] [Erm¡­] The reporter was left speechless, his mind buffering for a while before failing toe up with an answer. He tried to salvage his point. [T-There are the princes of other kingdoms or those Master Hunters with good pedigrees! Yeah! They would suit her better than him!] [Ah, you¡¯re talking about that?] [Yeah! What about it?!] While some might argue he had a valid point, it was riddled with ws. [Do you even know our constitution for the presidency?] [Huh? Yeah, only the Hunters from the pharaoh¡¯s bloodline can run for president.] The reporter was proud of finally providing an answer, but the response wasn''t what he expected. [Then who¡¯s our next president?] [Of course, it¡¯s Tayarana¡­ What?!] [You realize only now?] [Yeah¡­] Finally, the reporter grasped the point his colleague was making. [A conflict could ur if Tayarana-nim marries a prince from another country¡­] [Yes, the world might have changed a lot, but having a president married to the prince of another country is still a huge conflict of interest. But what if her partner is a foreign Hunter?] [Then there should be no problem¡­] [Exactly, and credible sources im that Lee Han-Yeol does not have much patriotism for his country too.] [Really?] [Yeah, that¡¯s what they say. Anyway, he is the most suitable candidate for her as of now. Ah, you mentioned the Master Rank Hunters from other renowned families, right? You better forget about them since almost all of them hold crucial roles in their countries, so the same conflict would arise anyway.] [Ah¡­ I see¡­] The reporter was relieved he hadn''t mentioned the other Master Rank Hunters from renowned families, sparing himself from embarrassment. He understood why there was credibility to the rumors but remained irked by one thing. [I can¡¯t agree to the princess getting married! No!] [I feel the same way, but what can we do?] [NOOO!] Both reporters shared the same sentiment about Tayarana''s marriage, and it was likely to be echoed by men worldwide once the news spread. After all, she wasn''t just Egypt''s princess but the princess of every man in the world. *** President Phaophator brought Han-Yeol to his pce in the center of Cairo, away from the soldiers and the reporters. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered in amazement while surveying the pce. ''I guess they called it the Golden Pce for a reason¡­ It''s truly astonishing¡­'' he thought. It wasmon knowledge that the Egyptians revered gold, believing they had to offer a gold coin to their god to enter heaven. Constructing such an extravagant pce before the appearance of dimensional gates would have sparked severe public bacsh. Gold was the world''s currency, and building a pce entirely from it would have been exorbitantly expensive. However, times had changed. Gold remained valuable but had lost some of its former allure, now considered a beautiful metal rather than the ultimate wealth. The most crucial point was that Phaophator hadn''t spent a single cent of taxpayer money on the pce. He was already immensely wealthy, and constructing a golden pce didn''t dent his finances. This disy of opulence elevated his prestige among the people, who now revered him like a deity. Consequently, nobody dared to oppose him, and even Egypt''s divided congress, known for frequent disagreements, fell silent with a single word from him. [What do you think, Lee Han-Yeol, Hunter? Isn''t it extravagant?] [Yes, it indeed is. The ceiling height isn''t excessively high, and I can see that no expense or effort was spared in its construction.] [Hahaha! It''s heartwarming to hearpliments from you!] [Oh¡­ but what good is getting praised by me¡­?] Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion, feeling somewhat burdened by President Phaophator''s excessive friendliness. President Phaophator personally ensured Han-Yeol''sfort, frequently inquiring if there was anything he needed or wanted. Ironically, all of this was new to Han-Yeol, and the fact that someone kept asking if he needed anything made him ufortable. Chapter 235: A New Monster (1)

Chapter 235: A New Monster (1)

There were still more events scheduled even after Han-Yeol arrived at the Golden Pce. The next event on the agenda was a party attended by reporters and VIPs, and it appeared that Egypt was using this opportunity to disy its influence on a global scale. Naturally, the magnitude of the party was enormous. [Hahaha! I¡¯m extremely happy that the hero who saved Nepal is none other than the vice leader of the Horus raid party!] Tak! Tak!? President Phaophator eximed while smacking Han-Yeol on his back. ¡®Ouch¡­ That hurts, you know¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. President Phaophator was a Master Rank Hunter, and his strength made it difficult to believe that he was turning seventy-six years old this year. Han-Yeol enjoyed the party, except for the few times when President Phaophator would pat him on the back a bit too hard. Of course, there were a few people who appeared disgruntled for some reason... *** The atmosphere was quite pleasant, but not everyone was enjoying the party. After all, where there is light, there are bound to be shadows. [Damn it¡­ Why do I have to be overshadowed by somemoner?] [You¡¯re right, brother.] [Ha! He might be a Master Rank Hunter, but he is still amoner in the end. I wonder why father is doting on him so much?] [Yes, you¡¯re right, brother!] Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!? Houssam and Issam, the two sons of Phaophator, grumbled and quickly downed their drinks. They despised the fact that Han-Yeol was receiving more attention than they were, regardless of his Master Rank Hunter status. [Ha! What¡¯s so great about that bastard?!] [You¡¯re right, brother!] The elder brother, Houssam, held more power between the two, so his younger brother, Issam, did his utmost to gain favor with him. [But have you heard of that rumor, brother?] [What?!] Houssam was in an extremely bad mood today. [Father ns to marry Tara off to thatmoner.] [Yeah, I heard that too. Damn it! I know incest is not allowed, but they could¡¯ve made an exception for us royalty!] He was admiring Tayarana, despite her being his younger sister. Contrary to what one might expect, it wasn''t solely because of her exceptional beauty. . [You are correct, brother. It''s widely known that Tara is the next in line for the presidency.] [Yes, that''s precisely why I, the descendant of the pharaoh, should be her spouse!] Houssamcked the courage to be a Hunter. He had once led a raid party into the hunting grounds when he was younger but witnessed the Hunters and Porters getting ughtered by monsters, leading to the development of severe trauma. His monster-rted trauma was so profound that he refused to go anywhere near a hunting ground or face a monster. Meanwhile, Issam was simply a coward who couldn''t even shoot a gun from a distance. Both of them chose not to be Hunters due to their fears, and Phaophator had cast them aside for their cowardice. [I need to teach that arrogantmoner a lesson¡­] Houssam said with frustration. Despite not being a Hunter himself, he took pride in being the owner of not one, but two mid-sized raid parties in Egypt. The fact that someone else was receiving more attention than him wounded his pride deeply. [But brother, he''s still a Master Rank Hunter, so how do you n to teach him a lesson? You''d need a Master Rank Hunter at the very least, and even that wouldn''t guarantee a hundred percent victory. Besides, the coteral damage from their fight would be catastrophic, leading to issues of responsibility. Where would you find a Master Rank Hunter willing to go through all that trouble just for money?] Issam raised a valid point, despite his asional foolishness. [Who said I didn¡¯t know about that?!] Pukeok! [Ouch!] Issam cried out in pain after being punched by Houssam. His voice was quite loud, but nobody at the party seemed to even nce in their direction. Houssam knew that despite his superior royal bloodlinepared to Han-Yeol, amoner, there was nothing he could do against a Master Rank Hunter, regardless of their lineage. He was well aware of the capabilities of a Master Rank Hunter. Egypt had nine Master Rank Hunters, totaling eleven when including the two royals, Phaophator and Tayarana. None of these Master Rank Hunters faced government intervention in their actions, as their status equaled that of royalty. Of course, they still had to adhere to thews and were ineligible to run for the presidency. However, the fact that they were treated as equals to royalty bestowed upon them significant power. [Ha! Just wait and see. I¡¯m going to find that bastard¡¯s weakness and make him kneel in front of me!] [Yes! You will definitely do that, brother!] [Shut up!] Gulp! Gulp!? *** "Wow!" Han-Yeol stretched his tired body and eximed while standing on the roof of the pce where he was staying. He felt a bit tipsy from drinking so much, but he decided not to use his mana to burn it away this time because he was enjoying the tipsy feeling. "Hmm... I had a great time today," Han-Yeol mused, genuinely enjoying his time in Egypt. "The party was quite fun too." Of course, he relished the opportunity to be with Tayarana as much as he wanted, even more so than being with President Phaophator. She typically dressed casually when with him, but tonight, she wore a revealing dress that made her quite the sight to behold. "Haa... Tara was really pretty today..." Han-Yeol couldn''t help but reminisce about her appearance and hoped she would appear in his dreams tonight. He figured that since he had no chance with her in real life, he might as well indulge his desires in his dreams. "I will be able to touch her smooth skin...!" Han-Yeol admitted, acknowledging his desires. "N-No! I shouldn''t! I can''t do that to Tara!" he eximed while scratching his head. Despite being a Master Rank Hunter, Tayarana was the princess of a country, the Goddess of Africa, and the object of desire for all men. Han-Yeol believed that her father, President Phaophator, would find a more suitable man for her, someone far better than him, who had nothing else to offer apart from being a Master Rank Hunter. "Ah... Just thinking about it is making me feel depressed," Han-Yeol grumbled before jumping onto the bed. Thud! ¡°I should just sleep¡­¡± His mood soured after thinking about Tayarana, so he decided to call it a day, but... Knock! Knock!? "Hmm?" Han-Yeol wasn''t using his mana at the moment, so he didn''t sense anyone approaching the door. However, that didn''t matter because the security in this pce was airtight, and the soldiers protecting this ce were highly trained individuals. They would undoubtedly detect any intruders, and Han-Yeol could easily pick up any sounds of battle thanks to his heightened senses. In other words, Han-Yeol knew that the person knocking on his door was someone trusted by the soldiers. ¡®Who is it? Is it room service?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought before he opened the door. Creak¡­ ¡°What?!¡± The person who appeared on the other side of the doorpletely caught him off guard. [H-Hello¡­] [T-Tara?!] It was none other than Tayarana, and she was wearing the exact same dress she had worn at the party. [Can Ie in?] [Y-Yeah, of course.] ¡®I¡¯m grateful if you do¡­ Wait¡­ Am I dreaming right now?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered if all of this was just a dream. However, he could tell that all of this was really happening, judging by the powerful mana he could feel emanating from her. ¡®No, there''s no way a dream can recreate the mana of a Master Rank Hunter¡­¡¯ he thought to himself. Tayarana entered the room, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft rustle of her steps and her dress fluttering. [S-So, what brings you here at this hour?] [Why? Aren¡¯t I allowed to visit you at this hour?] [Huh?!] Tayarana''s innocent yet seductive eyes gazed into Han-Yeol¡¯s, feeling as if they were peering right into his soul. She exuded a surprisingly provocative aura today, quite different from her usual self. ''I guess she''s drunk too. Did she want to get drunk like I did?'' he wondered, observing her flushed cheeks. Han-Yeol sobered up almost instantly after seeing Tayarana, not because she was beautiful, but because he was simply too shocked. However, it didn''t mean she wasn''t beautiful at that moment; her slightly unfocused eyes were extremely seductive and alluring. "N-No, you''re always wee anytime," Han-Yeol stammered, telling the truth. There was no way he could refuse a visit from the woman blessed by the gods. [Really~?] [Y-Yes!] ¡®Ah¡­ This is killing me¡­!¡¯ Han-Yeol''s heart started pounding wildly after witnessing Tayarana acting cute while under the influence of alcohol. [Han-Yeol.] [Yes?] [I''m going to ask you a serious question, so you better reply seriously!] [Y-Yes!] Tayarana appeared both cute andmanding simultaneously, and Han-Yeol found himself utterly captivated by her charismatic authority. Han-Yeol wasn''t usually the type to be overwhelmed by someone else''s charisma, but Tayarana was bending the rules by blending it with her adorableness. Tak! ¡®Haap!¡¯ Tayarana suddenly seized his hands. Han-Yeol couldn''t react quickly because his Sixth Sense didn''t activate, as there was no imminent danger. [What do you think of me?] [Huh?] Han-Yeol was taken aback by her question. [I asked you, what do you think of me?!] [T-That is¡­] ¡®I like you¡­¡¯ He had these words right at the tip of his tongue, eager to say them. ¡®I like you. I love you.¡¯ Still, he hesitated due to the gap in their social statuses. But a part of him yearned to im her as his own. He wished to bring her into his bed and lose himself in her until daylight, but he couldn''t allow himself to do so. ¡®I''m just amoner while she is a princess¡­¡¯ The world might have evolved, but social sses still divided people. Unfortunately, Tayarana upied a much higher rung on the socialdderpared to him, deserving someone better. "T-That is...!" Just as he was about to respond, at that very moment... Thud¡­! Snore¡­ Snore¡­ Snore¡­ Snore¡­? [Hahaha¡­ There goes my luck¡­] Tayarana copsed and fell asleep on his chest. Han-Yeol simply chuckled and carefully carried her to the bed. Even though he could have easily sobered her up using his skills, he chose not to. Snore... Snore... Snore... Snore... She appeared to be peacefully asleep, and he didn''t want to disturb her rest. Seuk¡­ Han-Yeol sat beside the bed, gazing at her peaceful sleeping face. It was a visage he never grew tired of and, in fact, seemed to grow even more beautiful the longer he looked at it. "How can a human being be so beautiful?" he wondered. Normally, Tayarana carried an air of aloofness around her, but today he had witnessed apletely different side of her. "Hmm... I guess her weakness was alcohol. Haha! I wonder if anyone else knows about this?" The Tayarana he was acquainted with wasn''t much of a socialite, so there probably weren''t many people aware of her vulnerability. "I suppose Mariam might be an exception, though..." Suddenly, he remembered that Mariam, who was always at Tayarana''s side, was nowhere to be found. It was at that precise moment that a voice unexpectedly echoed in his head. [I will personally kill you if you darey a single finger on Tayarana-nim.] It was Mariammunicating with him through her telepathic ability, and she was currently issuing a rather ominous threat. ¡®Don¡¯t read my mind!¡¯ [¡­this is an unavoidable situation.] ¡®Mariam!¡¯?Han-Yeol roared inwardly in anger. Then, he suddenly said, ¡®Ha! I''m not going to do anything; I''ll just gaze at her all night long!¡¯ [¡­] Han-Yeol wasn''t certain whether Mariam could not or simply chose not to respond, but she remained oddly silent. It appeared that her silence was her way of signaling her approval for him to proceed as he had suggested. Chapter 236: A New Monster (2)

Chapter 236: A New Monster (2)

[Mmm¡­] The next morning, Tayarana slowly opened her eyes. However, she felt a sense of fluster as her gaze met an unfamiliar ceiling. This was not the ceiling of her room, yet there was something oddly familiar about it. ¡®Where am I¡­?¡¯?she wondered. She racked her brain, attempting to figure out where this ce could be, but then all sorts of memories suddenly came rushing back to her. It didn''t take her long to piece together what had happened, as she was quite smart. However, that didn''t spare her from her face turning bright red with embarrassment. ¡®Oh my¡­!¡¯? Chwak! She immediately covered herself with the nket in embarrassment upon recalling everything she had done to Han-Yeol. This marked the first time in her life that she had revealed such a side of herself to someone else, and she couldn''t help but be shocked by her actions. ¡®Ah... I''m so embarrassed¡­¡¯? Tayarana found it challenging to summon the courage needed to peek out from under the nket, which was in stark contrast to her valiant self who had bravely battled monsters on the hunting grounds. ¡°Kyu!¡± [Tara?] Flinch! Han-Yeol could sense that Tayarana had woken up while he was ying with Mavros on the balcony. He could tell for certain by the way she moved, which seemed rather rough. Moreover, her mana was surprisingly active for someone who had been asleep, leaving no doubt that she was now awake. [What are you doing? Let¡¯s have breakfast if you¡¯re up.] "Kyu!" Mavros cried out, seemingly echoing the sentiment of ''let''s eat!'' Tayarana slightly lowered the nket and peeked at them. Han-Yeol found her actions quite cute, but he didn''t want to continue staring. [Nothing happened, right?] Tayarana asked, her voice tinged with nervousness. Despite being drunk, she remembered everything that had urred, but she decided to inquire just in case she had missed something. While she trusted that Han-Yeol wouldn''t take advantage of her while she was intoxicated, she had been taught all her life not to fully trust men. [Haha! Don''t worry, nothing happened. To be honest, I wanted to do something, but you fell asleep too quickly. Come to think of it, you¡¯re quite susceptible to alcohol when you don¡¯t use your mana to burn it off.] [Hmph!] Tayarana scoffed as if she were upset, but for some reason, she felt like she had missed out on something. ¡®W-What''s wrong with me?¡¯ Tayarana was flustered after realizing her feelings. She should have been relieved that nothing had happened, so why did it seem like she had missed out on something? ¡®Why?¡¯ she wondered. In the end, she chose to bury those emotions deep within her heart. Her head understood what those feelings were, but her heart found them hard toprehend. ¡®I was drunk yesterday, and it''s probably because he''s the first man I found interesting¡­¡¯ Of course, she didn''t mean she was romantically interested, as she had no ns to go down that path just yet. *** [¡­] [¡­] Tayarana and Han-Yeol sat quietly across from each other at a long table, savoring their steaks. There was a slight air of awkwardness between them, but she made an effort to treat him as a guest. Han-Yeol patiently waited and continued to eat, allowing Tayarana to gradually ovee the awkwardness. ¡°Kyu!¡± Munch! Munch! Munch!? On the other hand, Mavros was busy munching on raw chicken. Han-Yeol had made several attempts to teach him how to eat cooked food, hoping to introduce him to delicious cuisine. However, Mavros stubbornly refused to eat anything that had been cooked. Eventually, Han-Yeol decided not to force the issue any longer and continued to feed him raw meat. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Perhaps it was because he took after his owner, but it was quite evident what he was thinking based solely on his expression. In this instance, his expression undoubtedly conveyed "delicious!" [Oh right, Tara.] [Y-Yes?!] Tayarana flinched when she was called. [Huh? Why so jumpy?] [N-Nothing¡­] ¡®Haha! She''s nothing like a princess today,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought,ughing inwardly. The events that transpiredst night had made it more than worthwhile for him toe all the way to Egypt. He wouldn''tin if nothing else interesting happened after this. ¡®Ah, but I won¡¯t be able to see her anymore after this¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol couldn''t pinpoint the exact reason, but Tayarana had suddenly be a Master Rank Hunter. She used to move about freely, as there were plenty of S Rank Hunters in Egypt, but that was no longer the case now that she was a Master Rank Hunter. She had be a strategic weapon for Egypt. Master Rank Hunters had reced nuclear missiles as strategic weapons, now considered the most destructive assets a country could possess in times of war. There were no longer any nuclear missiles left in the world; they had all been disposed of. This wasn''t a choice made by greedy, power-hungry politicians. The first monsters emerging from the dimensional gates had rushed toward anything radioactive, devouring them like candies. Governments worldwide dered a state of emergency to protect their nuclear assets, but to no avail. Every nuclear missile in the world had been devoured by monsters before the Transdimensional Space Association could intervene. The situation was so chaotic that one country, Iran, decided tounch its nuclear missile at its rival, Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, a flying monster intercepted the missile, devouring it. Ironically, Iran''s attempt to cause destruction resulted in a smoke signal that attracted monsters to their country. The monsters that had consumed most of the nuclear missiles began rampaging in search of more radioactive materials to feast upon. Iran shooting the missile attracted all the monsters in the region to their country, leading to its ultimate destruction. Once a mighty nation, Iran had vanished into the annals of history as a country that met a tragic end. So, could a Master Rank Hunter stay in another country? That wasn''t possible. ¡®Tsk¡­ Too bad¡­ Well, I guess I should visit more often,¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and sulked. On the other hand, South Korea didn''t restrict their Master Rank Hunters as much. Korean Hunters resented having their freedom curtailed. While the government did tend to meddle in the affairs of Master Rank Hunters, considering them valuable assets for the country, it didn''t mean they couldn''t do as they pleased. [Oh right, Tara.] [Yes?] [How¡¯s Candalus doing?] ¡°Kyu!¡±?Mavros cried as if he were asking about Tayarana¡¯s pet too. Her monster pet wasn''t as rare as the mini-dragon, but it was still quite a rare creature. After all, a griffon was a famous monster that appeared in most fantasy novels. However, Han-Yeol hadn''t caught sight of it ever since he came to Egypt. [Candalus is doing well.] [Really?] [Yes, Candalus grew significantly after evolving. We built a special nest to amodate his size.] [Ah, it seems he can¡¯t control his size¡­] [Yes, unfortunately.] [Haha¡­] ¡®It''s quite rare for a monster to adjust their size like Mavros does. Maybe it''s something only Mavros could do?¡¯ Mavros might be a mini-dragon, but it seemed that he was a dragon, in the end. After finishing their meal, Tayarana left the pce first, as she had a busy schedule. [Hey, Tara.] [Yes?] [When will you take the Master Rank Hunter test?] [Ah, I n to leave three dayster.] [Really?] [Yes.] Han-Yeol had initially found it difficult to adjust to her short replies, but he gradually got used to them the longer he spent with her. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should I tour Egypt for now, then?¡¯? He didn''t mind it, as Egypt was quite a popr tourist destination. However, Han-Yeol was more interested in touring the pyramid hunting grounds than the normal tourist attractions that ordinary people would visit. The secret behind Egypt''s rise as a superpower, behind the United States and China, was none other than the hunting grounds within their pyramids. *** Han-Yeol went in and out of one pyramid for three days. The pyramid he chose was one of the most challenging hunting grounds in the country, inhabited by giant scarabs of various colors. Each giant scarab possessed different attributes based on their colors, but onemon factor was their tremendous strength. Due to this, Han-Yeol found it tough to hunt alone, and he realized that no matter how strong he had be, he needed to hunt with a party. It was quite unusual for someone to attempt these difficult hunting grounds alone, especially on their first try. ¡°Hyung-nim!¡± Mujahid finally arrived and joined Han-Yeol. His schedule had been significantly dyed in Korea, so it took him a few days to get back. ¡°Good morning, Mujahid.¡± ¡°Hahaha! The hunt yesterday was quite fun! As expected, hunting with you is always a st!¡± Mujahid was as lively as ever. ¡°Oh right, Mujahid.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± ¡°I need around five hundred tons of gold right now. Is there a way I can obtain it here?¡± Han-Yeol asked. He hadpletely forgotten about his deal with Delchant, and it was fortunate that he remembered it before leaving Egypt. Egypt was renowned for being a country of gold, as its citizens loved gold more than anything else. While the Chinese also had a fondness for gold, the Egyptians took it to another level. ¡°Yes! The gold market might have crashed internationally because of the mana stones, but the only reason it still holds some value is thanks to us and China! Haha!¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Hoho! I can procure five hundred tons in three hours. Should I instruct them to prepare it at once?¡± ¡°Yes, I''ll leave it to you then.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I can wire the payment to your ount, right?¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± Although they had be quite close, they still maintained a line when it came to money. Han-Yeol transferred the payment for the five hundred tons of gold and summoned Delchant to facilitate the payment. [Kihihihihi! I hope to do business with you again, human!] ¡°Sure.¡± Shwaaaa! Delchant disappeared after that. ¡®Hmm¡­ What should I buy next from that guy?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He felt delighted whenever he faced these kinds of dilemmas because the items from the demon world were truly astonishing. That''s why he didn''t make an immediate decision to buy something else from the demon merchant. Delchant appeared slightly disappointed that Han-Yeol hadn''t made a purchase this time, but he was more than happy to return with the five hundred tons of gold. ¡®Hmm¡­ I have a feeling all of this won''t end with just the dimensional rifts. I''m sure something else will surface soon enough. That means¡­ Being a Master Rank Hunter won''t be enough. I need to transcend being a Master Rank Hunter if I want to survive whatever challenges the future holds¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol had a tendency to prepare for things that hadn''t happened yet. Since he was young, he had a habit of worrying about things unnecessarily, which had earned him quite a few scoldings. However, this habit had proven useful on numerous asions, and it was urging him to trust his instincts once again. ¡®Now that I think about it¡­ I haven''t reached Level 300 yet,¡¯ he thought as he inspected his status screen. [I believe you will have to wait for your second awakening.] ¡®Second awakening?¡¯ [Yes, but I am afraid I do not know anything aside from that.] ¡®I¡¯m not surprised anymore. You never seem to have the full details, Karvis.¡¯ [I know it''s a fact, but it still hurts, Han-Yeol-nim¡­] ¡®Hahaha! Sorry, my bad~¡¯ Both of them had be quite close in recent days after Karvis had be more expressive, and they had started to exchange banter with each other from time to time. [But one thing¡¯s for sure, you will need to satisfy a certain condition before being able to have your second awakening. Also, you will most likely obtain new abilities after your second awakening.] ¡®Hmm¡­ So I¡¯m going to obtain new abilities instead of bing stronger?¡¯ [You will be stronger without a doubt, but your new ability will be the main thing.] ¡®I wonder what it will be? Ah, I¡¯m really curious now¡­¡¯ [I am curious too. My instincts tell me that I will also evolve once you have your second awakening.] ¡®Well, I¡¯m sure your instinct is right since you¡¯re living inside me and my instinct can be quite spot on.¡¯ Han-Yeol believed that his gut feeling had an uracy of ny percent. [I would like to find out who I am, why I am here, and why I was born within you, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Hmm¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m curious too, now that you mention it.¡¯ Chapter 237: A New Monster (3)

Chapter 237: A New Monster (3)

Han-Yeol learned that it was possible for him to have a second awakening, but there was a big problem. ¡®Ugh¡­ I don¡¯t have a clue how to aplish that¡­¡¯ [I apologize¡­] Karvis felt bad that she couldn''t be of much help to Han-Yeol, but he knew that this matter was not something she could do anything about. How could he scold her for being born that way in the first ce? ¡®Well, I guess there¡¯s nothing we can do about it¡­¡¯ ¡°Hyung-nim?¡± ¡°Yes, Mujahid?¡± ¡°What are you thinking about right now?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Mujahid seemed to have noticed that Han-Yeol was troubled about something but decided to put the matter to rest. He was quite the curious type but didn''t want to pry into Han-Yeol''s secrets. Why? What was important to him right now was to hunt alongside Han-Yeol instead of satisfying his own curiosity at the expense of offending him. "Oh, right!" "Huh?" "I have a fertilized egg! I need to go hatch it!" "Oh! Can I watch, hyung-nim?" "Sure." It didn''t matter since the ownership of the monster was automatically set to Han-Yeol, regardless of whether there were other people around or not. "Alright!" Mujahid eximed with joy after being allowed to watch. The prince always found joy in spending time with Han-Yeol, as the things he did were quite interesting. That''s why he persistently tried to follow him around. The Gurkhas that Han-Yeol brought along with him saluted the moment he approached them. ¡°Keep up the good work.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Creak¡­! Han-Yeol opened the door and entered the hastily prepared incubation room. President Phaophator had instructed him to request anything he needed from the pce manager, and he immediately asked for an incubation room to be set up for his monster egg. "Hmm?" Han-Yeol noticed some soundsing from the egg as soon as he stepped into the room. "Wow, hyung-nim! This one looks feisty even before it''s born!" "Y-Yeah, I think you''re right." The demon egg from the demon world differed significantly from the monster eggs Han-Yeol had hatched until now. While the monster eggs remained dormant during incubation, the demon egg was slightly moving and emitting ck smoke. The room gradually filled with dark smoke since it wasn''t being ventted, so Han-Yeol opened the vents to air it out.[1] "Wow! This is quite the strange egg you have here, hyung-nim!" Mujahid eximed, appearing excited. Life had been mundane and boring for him, given that he received everything he desired as royalty. Hunting was one of the few activities he enjoyed, but even that had slowly started to feel mundane with repeated outings. He longed to learn and experience new things to add some excitement to his life, and being around Han-Yeol aplished just that. Han-Yeol always seemed to have something new happening to him, and Mujahid couldn''t help but be instinctively drawn to him. Han-Yeol awkwardly scratched his cheek and said, "T-This is a bit surprising¡­" His reaction was theplete opposite of Mujahid''s. While Mujahid might be the type who loved the unexpected, Han-Yeol was not a huge fan of surprises. He preferred new things to happen within the bounds of his expectations, as he disliked being taken by surprise. ¡®Ugh¡­¡¯ His instincts were remarkably urate to the extent that he often had premonitions about events that were going to happen. This was why he had started to rely on them a bit too much, finding it difficult to react when unexpected things urred. ¡®Well, I doubt anything big is going to happen,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought and shrugged it off. He became much moreidback after bing a Master Rank Hunter, and he was confident that he could resolve any problem that arose if they ever did. ¡°Hyung-nim!¡± Mujahid eximed with sparkles in his eyes. Han-Yeol understood what the prince¡¯s sparkling eyes meant and replied, ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll get started.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Mujahid eximed triumphantly after getting what he wanted. Han-Yeol approached the demon egg, which was still emitting smoke, and gently ced his hand on it. Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump! His heart started to beat wildly as his expectations soared. ''Mavros was born when I was an S Rank... I wonder what''s going to emerge now that I''m a Master Rank Hunter?''? His curiosity was intense. The creature about to hatch from this egg would be his lifelongpanion, fighting alongside him for the rest of his life. ¡°Haa¡­¡±?Han-Yeol exhaled before concentrating on the demon egg. Woooong! ¡®Keuk! It¡¯s strong¡­!¡¯ He could sense that the demon egg possessed much stronger manapared to a monster egg. The demon egg was absorbing every bit of mana flowing from his hand, creating the sensation of a vacuum trying to draw out every drop of mana in his body. At this rate, he was going to be in danger, whether he was a Master Rank Hunter or not. However, Han-Yeol had one ability that could address this perilous situation. ¡°Mujahid, mana stone.¡± ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡± Whoosh! Tak! Mujahid tossed a mana stone from a distance and then stepped away from Han-Yeol and the demon egg, just in case. Han-Yeol caught the mana stone with his other hand and immediately activated Enhance. Crack! ¡®Enhance!¡¯ The mana stone cracked and enhanced his mana. ¡®Oh!¡¯ The demon egg started reacting even more after the Master Rank Hunter''s mana was enhanced. ¡®I wonder what kind of monster is going to emerge from this egg after absorbing the enhanced mana of a Master Rank Hunter?¡¯ he wondered. Woooong! C-Crack...! The demon egg''s shell began to crack, and it sucked even more of Han-Yeol''s mana as the cracks spread. Seuk...! Just as the situation was about to reach its peak, the demon egg suddenly stopped spewing out smoke. Silence followed. Chwaaaaak! As if the demon egg had feigned stillness for a moment, it abruptly released even more smoke,pletely obscuring Han-Yeol and Mujahid''s vision. The sudden surge of smoke forced Han-Yeol to cease supplying his mana to the demon egg. "Did it work?" He wasn''t sure if it was a sess or not, as his vision was entirely obstructed by the smoke. Although he could have used Demon Eyes to check the result, he chose to wait instead, feeling no urgency. ck... ck... Something within the room started making noises. ¡®Finally?¡¯ Han-Yeol realized that the noises were not originating from him or Mujahid, judging by their source. The only other entity capable of producing such sounds was the creature that had hatched from the egg. ¡®I wonder what kind of monster it is¡­?¡¯ ¡°Hohoho!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Han-Yeol and Mujahid were both taken aback by the suddenughter. ¡®What the heck? Should I use Demon Eyes?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He had already expended a significant amount of his mana during the hatching process, so he preferred to avoid using Demon Eyes, which required a considerable amount of mana to activate. ¡°Mujahid, can you do something about this smoke?¡± Han-Yeol asked. ¡°Leave it to me, hyung-nim!¡± Mujahid replied. Then, he lowered his stance before throwing a punch into the air. ¡°Hap!¡± Whoosh! Tak! The wind pressure from his punch pushed the smoke into the vents. For an S Rank Hunter, manipting the air like this using mana was a piece of cake. Han-Yeol could have easily done it himself, but after expending so much of his mana just now, he couldn''t be bothered. Besides, Mujahid was right beside him, so he thought it was better to leave such a hassle to him. "Heok!" "H-Hyung-nim...!" Both of them were shocked by what they saw in front of them once the smoke cleared. ¡°Hmm¡­ Not bad?¡± Slurp! A stunning woman with short blonde hair and striking red eyes stood before them, sensually licking her lips in a manner that could easily ensnare any man. ¡®I didn''t even notice when she''s this close?!¡¯ What shocked Han-Yeol even more than her beauty was the fact that her face had been right under his nose without him realizing it. Even though Han-Yeol''s senses had be sharper since he became a Master Rank Hunter, he had only detected the woman''s presence after seeing her face. Gulp...! He nervously contemted, ¡®What if this were a real battle?¡¯ He was certain that he would have lost his life before even realizing what had happened. Well, it was highly unlikely to ur if he had been using Demon Eyes, but that was merely an excuse, as he had indeed let his guard down just now. ¡°W-Who might you be?¡± ¡°Omo~ Why so formal when I¡¯m just a creature birthed by you~?¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°Hohoho!¡± ck¡­! ck¡­! ck¡­!? ¡°H-Hyung-nim¡­!¡± ¡°What?¡± Mujahid appeared to be shocked about somethingpletely different. "T-That monster is¡­!" "What?!" It was only then that Han-Yeol finally realized why Mujahid was so shocked and why there was a cking noise in the room. "A-Arachnid?!" "Hohoho! Bingo~" The woman was no ordinary creature. Her upper body resembled that of a sexy woman, but her lower body had eight spider-like legs. In other words, she was a monster known as an Arachnid. "H-How can this be? Why would... from a demon egg...?" "Omo~ Why are you so flustered~?" "U-Ugh¡­" It''s important to note that Han-Yeol was extremely susceptible to the charms of assertive women. He liked Scarlett because she took the initiative while being gentle and meek like a cat, but this Arachnid was on a whole different levelpared to her. In fact, the way she touched him was more than enough to send chills down his spine... Seuk¡­ ¡°Hiiik!¡± She began touching Han-Yeol with her hands as if she were determined to explore every nook and cranny of his body. "Hmm¡­ You smell quite good, master." "R-Really?" "Oh right, you''re correct that my race is called Arachnid, but I''d be sad if you keep calling me Arachnid, you know? Why don''t you give me a proper name, master?" He waspletely caught up in her pace. Most of the monsters he had hatched were still in their infancy, but this Arachnid was already in her adolescent stage the moment she was born. "T-Tia?" Han-Yeol muttered in response. Tia meant ''charm'' in Greek[2], and it was the only thing he coulde up with in his mind right now. "Omo~ That''s a cute name, but I don''t think it really suits me. Whatever, as long as it sounds cute~ Hoho!" Ding! [You have contracted Tia from the Arachnid race found in legends.] [Your Charisma stat has increased by 10.] [Tia (Arachnid)] Level: 55 Traits: Darkness, Poison, Charm Innate Ability: Spider Web Stats: STR: 200 AGI: 200 VIT: 200 EP[3]: 200 Charm: 200 Skills: Restrain (B), Spider Bomb (B), Scarecrow of Death (C), Poison Web (A), Killing Strike (D) ¡®Heok! What the hell is this?! Are these really the stats of a newborn creature?¡¯ Han-Yeol was shocked once again after reading her stats. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Mavros had started at Level 1 when he was born, but the Arachnid, Tia, began at a staggering Level 55, and it was hard to believe she was a newborn creature. ¡°Hoho! Are you surprised after seeing my abilities~ So cute~!¡± ¡°H-How did you know?¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah~ It¡¯s really cute to see such an innocent master! You¡¯re making me want to tie you down with my webs and tease you all night long~¡± Gulp¡­! ¡°T-Thanks?¡± "I was born from your mana, so it''s only obvious that I obtained some of your power and memories while being born. Although, I could''ve simply sucked all of your mana before devouring you as soon as I was born, but that was only possible if you were a bit weaker than you currently are. Hoho!" Tia said before baring her fangs at him. "H-Hiiik!" Han-Yeol shrieked, feeling chills run all over his body. "Hoho! But don''t worry, you''re much stronger than me, and I fell in love with you at first sight!" ''S-She''s quite the handful, and it''s going to be ufortable from now on,'' Han-Yeol thought as his sensitive instincts kicked in. His instincts were telling him to say goodbye to his peaceful days, and they were also telling him that it was one hundred percent certain right now. "Sigh..." "Hohoho! I''ll be in your care from now on, master~" In the end, the whole fiasco was over, and things were settling down... or were they? Bam! [Your Highness! Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!] 1. Venttion is crucial when incubating eggs, but maybe not in this world. ?? 2. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what it means in Greek, but I had to stick with what author-nim wrote. ?? 3. Elemental Power. ?? Chapter 238: A New Monster (4)

Chapter 238: A New Monster (4)

The doors swung open, and a group of Egyptian Special Forces soldiers rushed in. Phaophator had gathered F Rank Hunters with average mana infusion abilities from all over Africa and trained them into hardened soldiers. The result was an elite group capable of firing mana-infused bullets, tasked with defending Cairo from its enemies. Phaophator divided them into two groups, naming them the Mut Forces and Khonsu Forces, respectively. Both names were derived from the patron deities of Thebes, and the soldiers took great pride in this. [Are you alright, your highness?] [W-What''s that?] [A spider?] The elite soldiers were shocked upon entering the room. Their prince, Mujahid, and the esteemed guest, Lee Han-Yeol, were apanied by a creature they had not expected. Her lower body resembled that of a gigantic spider, while her upper body possessed an extremely charming womanly appearance. She was so captivating that even these men, ustomed to seeing Tayarana almost daily, couldn''t take their eyes off the spider woman. Of course, this didn''t imply that the spider woman was more beautiful than Tayarana, but the creature undeniably exuded a different kind of charm. Tia easily sensed the emotions of the elite soldiers who had barged into the room unannounced. "Hohoho, where are your manners, humans? Hmm... I suppose you would make a good snack," Tia remarked while licking her lips. Tak¡­ "H-Hey, control yourself. It would be troublesome if you caused a scene here," Han-Yeol said as he pulled the arachnid back. Han-Yeol knew that the elite soldiers meant no harm, and no harm should befall them if he wanted to maintain his good rtionship with Egypt. "Omo~ Are you already making a move on me, master? I''m so happy~" ¡°Ugh¡­¡± "Hoho~ I was just joking. I might be a monster, but I won''t do anything that master doesn''t want me to." She was telling the truth. Tia was a monster born from Han-Yeol''s mana, so she was subservient to him. Unfortunately, Han-Yeol was weak against charming women, so she ended up toying with him. She would have been quite a docile and charming monster pet if he had managed to control her from the start, but hepletely missed his chance, unfortunately. Of course, dominating her was not going to be an easy task as she possessed the ability to charm people. [Your highness?] [Ah, it''s nothing. Hyung-nim just hatched another monster pet, that''s all.] [Is it true?!] [Yeah, so hurry up and scram.] [Yes, sir!] Tak! The elite soldiers from the Khonsu Forces saluted and left the room. They had already been briefed regarding Han-Yeol¡¯s abilities, so they were aware that he could hatch monster eggs. As they made their way back to their positions, the elite soldiers chatted among themselves. [Did you see that?] [Yeah¡­ That was quite the beauty.] [I was mesmerized even after seeing she was a half-spider.] [Exactly, she was so beautiful I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of her¡­] [More than Tayarana-nim?] [Come on, there¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible.] [Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right.] Of course, they ranked Tia lower than Tayarana. Their loyalty toward Tayarana did not allow them to rank anyone else higher than her, but they would probably have ranked them the same way even if they were not loyal to her. After all, Tayarana was a beauty that nobody in the world could match up to. *** Tia''s birth became known not only to the elite soldiers of the Khonsu Forces but also to the servants working in the pce. Han-Yeol and Mujahid didn''t really see the need to keep it a secret, so the news of Tia''s birth spread like wildfire throughout the pce as the servants gossiped about Han-Yeol obtaining another mysterious monster as a pet. Han-Yeol continued to stay in the pce for the time being. "Kyu!" "Omo! He''s so cute! So, this cute little mini-dragon is my senior? Ah~ I wouldn''t mind being his junior~" ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± ¡®Phew¡­ It¡¯s a relief they¡¯re getting along¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that both of them were getting along quite well. Mavros looked extremely cute as he tried to act like a senior, and Tia smiled and epted him as her senior. Han-Yeol was able to rx now that they were getting along just fine. ¡®Is it because both of them possess dark attributes?¡¯ he wondered. Whatever the reason might be, what mattered to him right now was that they were getting along. ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­? ¡°What are you thinking about right now, master~?¡± ¡°Hiiik!¡± Tia sneaked up behind Han-Yeol and hugged him. Her hands slithered all over his body in an extremely sensual manner that would have been inappropriate for kids to watch. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem like nothing, but I won¡¯t pry further.¡± ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, master~¡± Seuk¡­ ¡°Hiiik!¡± Tia brushed her hand against something inappropriate while releasing Han-Yeol from the hug, making him squeal again. It might seem ironic that he was overreacting to a simple touch, considering he had already spent numerous hot nights with Scarlett. However, he didn''t have much experience with women in general, so he was sensitive to such indiscriminate touching. ¡®I can''t really tell if she''s human or a beast,¡¯?he thought. However, what mattered to him was that the monster pet that hatched from the demon egg was powerful. Her personality was not a problem since he could get used to it, but what he really wanted to do right now was to test how strong she was. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. [It¡¯s time to leave for the Master Rank Hunter Test.] Tayarana came to pick Han-Yeol up. [Oh, it¡¯s already that time?] [Yeah.] It was shocking that Tayarana would go to the trouble of visiting the pce just to remind him of the test. This was not something she would typically do, not even for Mariam, who was her closest confidante. In fact, she rarely visited her own father, the President of Egypt unless explicitly summoned by him. But who was Tayarana? She was the goddess of Egypt and the next in line to rule the country after Phaophator. She already held prestige and honor in the country as an Osiris Rank Hunter, but her recent elevation to a Ra Rank Hunter further solidified her status. The fact that she made the trip for amoner from another country was something that would have sent shockwaves across Egypt if politicians had found out about it. "Omo~ Who is this beautiful unni?" Tia asked. Tia''s innate ability to charm others seemed to have piqued her interest in Tayarana after seeing her immense beauty. Unfortunately, they couldn''tmunicate due to thenguage barrier. [Is this the monster you recently hatched, Han-Yeol?] [Yeah, her name is Tia.] [Tia¡­] Tayarana¡¯s eyes suddenly shed in a strange way. ¡®Huh? What was that?¡¯?Han-Yeol was a bit flustered after seeing her gaze. However, Han-Yeol decided that he was just imagining things when she didn''t react in any particr manner. Besides, was there a reason for Tayarana to be wary of Tia in the first ce? Tia might be strong, but that didn''t mean she was a match for a Master Rank Hunter. ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯tmunicate with this beautiful unni¡­¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Tia was born speaking Han-Yeol¡¯s mother tongue only, so she was not able to speak Arabic. ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros flew in the air and patted Tia on her shoulder with his paw. ¡°Omo~ Are you consoling me, senior~?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good senior~¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Mavros held his head high and enjoyed the feeling of being called a senior. ¡°Hoho~¡± Tia simplyughed in response at seeing how cute Mavros was. [She seems to be getting along with Mavros.] [Thankfully.] Han-Yeol smiled while looking at Mavros and Tia. It was then that Tayarana looked at him while raising an eyebrow. ¡®Ah¡­ What¡¯s wrong with me¡­?¡¯?she could not understand why she was feeling this way. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Only one person in the room noticed what Tayarana was feeling at that moment, and that was none other than the Arachnid, Tia. ¡®Oh~ So that''s how it is?¡¯ Tia shed a mischievous smile after realizing what was going on. Tia was especially sensitive to the emotions of other creatures around her, thanks to her charm ability. Of course, this ability was notmon among all Arachnids and was unique to her. ¡®Hoho~ This is getting quite interesting,¡¯ she thought after reading Tayarana''s emotions. For now, she didn''t n to do anything aside from watching from the sidelines. ¡®I''m sorry, but I still need master''s love. I''ll help youter once I get enough love from him. Hoho~¡¯ Nobody knew what cunning n the arachnid had in mind at that moment. *** Egypt assembled a group to escort Han-Yeol and Tayarana to Switzend, where the Master Rank Hunter Test would be held. This escort group was not ordinary; it consisted of arge and diverse team. Initially, Han-Yeol had wanted to go quietly, but Egypt had different ns. Their own princess was taking the test this time, so they intended to showcase their might to the world through the escort group. Why was it so important for them to attract attention? Because if Tayarana managed to pass the test and be an official Master Rank Hunter, it would mark the first time in history that an S Rank Hunter evolved into a Master Rank Hunter. This unprecedented event was one for the history books, and it even drew the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records, which sent an official observer. Zurich International Airport was swarming with reporters from all over the world. [They¡¯reing!] A single shout from a reporter sent the crowd into motion. This was a golden opportunity for the reporters to create news about Tayarana, especially since she was currently outside Egypt. None of them had dared to report on her while she was in Egypt, as the entire country was ruled with an iron fist by Phaophator. [Please tell us how you feel right now!] [Do you think you can pass the test?!] sh! sh! sh! sh!? The airport staff were shocked by the huge crowd that had gathered at the airport. Recognizing that it was impossible to control the crowd with just their security staff, airport security requested assistance from the local police. In the end, the police had toe to the airport to help manage the crowd, but even they struggled to control the situation due to the sheer number of people. [Please don''t push!] [You can''t cross this line!] Reporters were pushing against the police line in their efforts to get closer to their targets. [Han-Yeol,] Tayarana called out. [Hmm?] [What are they saying right now?] [Beats me¡­] Han-Yeol awkwardly scratched his cheek in response. The international reporters were asking questions in English, while the local Swiss reporters were asking in German. Unfortunately, neither Han-Yeol nor Tayarana knew how to speak eithernguage. Tayarana was not particrly interested in other countries, while Han-Yeol could only speak Korean and thenguages he had acquired through his skill, Nepali and Arabic. [Let¡¯s just walk past them,] Tayarana said calmly. [I agree.] Han-Yeol nodded in agreement. It was then. [What?!] [W-What¡¯s that?!] The airport was turned upside down right after Han-Yeol and Tayarana were about to walk past the reporters. ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­ ck¡­? ¡°Omo~ There are a lot of tasty humans here~¡± Slurp! Tia licked her lips while eyeing the reporters lined up at the airport. She was a carnivore who wouldn''t hesitate to devour humans. Taboos such as cannibalism held no significance for her, as she considered herself an Arachnid rather than a human in the first ce. Of course, she couldn''t and wouldn''t feast on humans without her master''s approval, as she knew he would strongly disapprove. However, this didn''t mean she couldn''t express her voracious appetite toward them. [W-What?!] [D-Did that monster just lick its lips at us?!] [What in the¡­] [Kuheok!] Some of the reporters grabbed their chest and copsed. [S-Someone help! This guy fainted just now!] The airport had numerous paramedics on standby in case of unforeseen events, and they rushed into the crowd to attend to the reporters who had copsed and transported them to the hospital. It seemed quite absurd that they would copse just because Tia had yed a prank on them. ¡°Omo~ Sorry~ My bad~ Hehe~¡± Tia said in a mischievous voice before sticking her tongue out. ¡°Haa¡­ Tia¡­¡± Han-Yeol muttered while shaking his head out of frustration. Chapter 239: A New Monster (5)

Chapter 239: A New Monster (5)

Han-Yeol left the airport as quickly as possible since he saw no reason to stay in such a hectic ce. Switzend maintained its neutral stance even after the dimensional gates appeared, and this decision led to the establishment of the International Hunters¡¯ Association headquarters in the country. Switzend was known to have two capital cities. Bern was the traditional capital, but the more widely recognized capital was Zurich, famous for housing the headquarters of the International Hunters¡¯ Association. Creak¡­ [We have arrived.] [Alright.] The escorts hurriedly exited their vehicle and formed a line before opening the doors for them. Han-Yeol and Tayarana finally arrived in Zollikon, Switzend, where they would be taking their Master Rank test. Switzend endured immense destruction when a dimensional gate first appeared, resulting in over eighty percent of the city being devastated. Moreover, the city lost seventy percent of its poption, rendering it unfit to be called a capital city. However, the country astutely utilized this disaster to house the headquarters of the International Hunters¡¯ Association. How did they manage it? Theypletely redesigned the city from scratch to cater exclusively to the needs of Hunters. Zurich was reborn as a city for Hunters, with every corner of the city equipped with state-of-the-art mana tech technologies. [Wow, they really did an excellent job here.] [I agree.] While this was Tayarana''s second visit to Zurich, so she wasn''t as surprised, Han-Yeol was utterly astonished by what he saw. The city didn''t conform to the typical European image one might imagine, but it was more than enough to amaze any visitor. ck! ck! ck!? ¡°Omo~ You¡¯re such a bad master for putting your pets in the luggagepartment~¡± ¡®Hiiik!¡¯ Han-Yeol squealed after Tia suddenly grabbed him inappropriately. Tia was quite tall, with her upper body resembling that of a human while her lower body resembled that of a spider,plete with incredibly long spider legs. Due to this unique physique, she had to bend her spider legs whenever she wanted to hug Han-Yeol. It was somewhat ufortable, but she didn''t hesitate to wrap her hands and some of her front legs around him from time to time. ¡®Ugh¡­ A woman is taller than me¡­!¡¯ Han-Yeol was slowly bing ustomed to her physical touch, which allowed him to notice other things. "Hoho~ I guess you''ve finally gotten used to me, master~ I''m so happy!" Tia eximed. "Ahem..." "Hohoho~" Tia smiled upon witnessing Han-Yeol''s fake cough, and then she discreetly nced at Tayarana. ''Hoho~ Just as I expected~'' she thought, sensing Tayarana''s emotions. Tayarana wasn''t openly disying it, but she was clearly feeling jealous at the moment. Tia yfully winked to tease her. ''Huh?!'' It was only then that Tayarana realized she had been watching Han-Yeol and Tia in an odd manner. ¡°Ahem¡­¡±?Tayarana cleared her throat. [Are you alright, Tayarana-nim?] Mariam immediately reacted upon seeing her master cough. After all, she was responsible for Tayarana''s health, so she had to be alert to any signs of illness she disyed. [N-No, I''m alright.] [Please let me know immediately if you feel unwell, Tayarana-nim.] [Alright, I''m sorry for making you worry.] [N-Not at all!] Mariam blushed and retorted. This was the only time she allowed her emotions to show. [Let''s go.] [Okay.] [Yes, Tayarana-nim!] Things were bing quite hectic as their party wasrge, and it was even more chaotic due to the variousnguages being spoken. *** [We will nowmence the Master Rank Hunter Test.] Fortunately, the process for taking the Master Rank test wasn''t overlyplicated, thanks to the presence of several Egyptians working at the headquarters. The International Hunters'' Association headquarters was situated in Zurich, a city with a high foreign poption due to its unique appeal to Hunters. Egypt, once ater on the international stage, had risen to be the third-strongest nation in the world. It was only natural for its citizens to be employed at the International Hunters'' Association headquarters. . The executives of the association would oversee the test, but all the administrative work was handled by Egyptian staff members. Click...! Click...! Click...! Click...! Click...! The Master Rank test that Han-Yeol and Tayarana were about to take would be supervised by a brilliant Egyptian researcher named Mohammed Sh. Dr. Mohammed, in his thirties, held a pivotal position in the International Hunters'' Association, and Phaophator had sent him, one of the brightest minds in the country, with the specific goal of solidifying Egypt''s influence within the association. It went without saying that he fulfilled his duties exceptionally well. [We are ready to begin.] [Alright, we will nowmence the Master Rank Hunter Test.] [Roger that.] Tayarana decided to be the first to take the test. [I will go first.] [Alright.] She couldn''t wait any longer. She was eager to test her newfound strength and see how much more powerful she had be. Even if she didn''t pass the test and attain the rank of Master Hunter, what mattered most to her was assessing her own capabilities. Tayarana entered the testing area and positioned herself in the center. The testing area was situated within a dome-like structure, but there was no one else there besides her. It was an empty dome. ¡®What kind of test are they going to conduct in a ce like this?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered. He had no clue about the test''s format. While he had diligently studied and gathered extensive information about Hunters, he had purposefully avoided delving into the subject of Master Rank Hunters. The Master Rank was a designation bestowed upon only six individuals out of twenty thousand five hundred awakened Hunters in South Korea. At that point in his life, with his self-esteem hitting rock bottom, he couldn''t even entertain the idea of bing a Master Rank Hunter. The only information he had about the Master Rank Hunter Test was that it determined if one truly deserved the title of Master Rank Hunter or not. Furthermore, there was little point in attempting to study for it, as very little was known about the test, and it was infrequently administered. It wasn''t a test one could simply take at will; only those with the potential to be a Master Rank Hunter received invitations. Tayarana had the opportunity to take the test based on documents and reports submitted by the Egyptian Hunters'' Association, while Han-Yeol secured his chance after a video of him easily handling two S Rank Hunters went viral. [Then, we will nowmence the test.] [Begin!] Beep! Dr. Mohammed pressed a button. Whiiiing! A mechanical sound filled the testing area before a bright light covered the entire area. Zhiiiing! ¡®Oh?¡¯? The entire scenery changed immediately after the bright light subsided, and the testing area now resembled some sort of cave. Thud! Arge golem made its appearance from the far end of the cave, and it exuded a very threatening aura. ¡®What¡¯s that?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. Someone suddenly approached him and said, ¡°H-Hello, you are Han-Yeol Hunter-nim, right?¡± "Hi?" Han-Yeol replied, turning toward the person. A blonde man, wearing spectacles and a whiteb gown, stood beside him. Despite his blonde hair, it was evident that he was Korean. "My name is Jung Han-Bin, and I am the Deputy Chief Researcher of the Master Rank Hunter Research Department. It is truly an honor to meet the most famous Hunter in the world right now," the researcher introduced himself and extended his hand. "Ah, it''s nice to meet you," Han-Yeol replied, shaking the researcher''s hand. However, he wasn''t particrly pleased about encountering another Korean in this situation. "Do you have any information about the Master Rank Hunter Test?" Jung Han-Bin inquired. "No, nobody informed me about it," Han-Yeol replied. "Ah, I apologize for that. We were supposed to brief you on the test, but our staff were simply too intimidated by Tayarana-nim and the spider woman beside you a while ago." "Hahaha... Is that so?" ¡®That¡¯s understandable, since almost everyone is scared of monsters¡­¡¯ Bing a Hunter was a lucrative career that allowed individuals to earn substantial amounts of money. However, the reason people didn''t readily embrace this profession was their fear of monsters. This fear was a good thing, as normal people were essential for society to function. Having too few Hunters would have an adverse effect, as they wouldn''t be able to manage all the hunting grounds. A country that failed to manage its hunting grounds had no future. Liechtenstein, Switzend''s neighbor, was a prime example of this. They couldn''t control their hunting grounds, and the dimensional gates within them went on a rampage, unleashing hordes of monsters that overran the entire country. This incident urred quite recently, about fifteen years ago, serving as a wake-up call for Europe to improve the benefits offered to Hunters in the hope of attracting more people to the profession. Fortunately, the EU stepped in and assisted Liechtenstein in stabilizing the situation. "The test has the grand name of ''Master Rank Hunter Test,'' but frankly speaking, it''s not that special. We simply attach some machinery to your body and summon fake monsters that are around the level of an S Rank Hunter and a Master Rank Hunter." "Well, that sounds quite straightforward," Han-Yeol remarked, appearing somewhat perplexed. "Haha! Yes, it indeed is. However, that doesn''t diminish the impressiveness of Master Rank Hunters, as these pieces of machinery cannot fully gauge your abilities," Jung Han-Bin added. Han-Yeol nodded in agreement. ¡®Yeah, he¡¯s right.¡¯ It was impossible to urately measure the strength of a Master Rank Hunter. "Ah, but did you say fake monsters?" Han-Yeol asked, recalling this detail for the first time. "Oh, I should probably exin that first. This ce is the best research center in the world, thanks to our association''s investment and efforts. We''re able to create a barrier and summon fake monsters within it," Jung Han-Bin exined. "Is something like that even possible...?" Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief. Turning something fake into something real seemed impossible, despite the technological advancements mankind had made. "I understand what you''re thinking, and it is indeed impossible with our current technology," Jung Han-Bin replied with a smile. "Then?" "Do you remember the Fall of Liechtenstein fifteen years ago?" "Yes." Han-Yeol couldn''t have missed it; it was major news at the time. "One of the Hunters who miraculously escaped from Liechtenstein possessed a rather unique ability. The ability to possess mana equal to that of a Master Rank Hunter, despite not being abat-type Hunter. Quite interesting, wouldn''t you say?" "What?! A nonbatant with mana equal to a Master Rank Hunter?!" "Hahaha! Exactly!" It was truly surprising news for Han-Yeol. How could a nonbatant possess the same amount of mana as a Master Rank Hunter? "That Hunter was a rather secretive figure even in Liechtenstein. They were fortunate enough to escape to Switzend while working on a secret project right on our border. We were quite surprised to discover that this Hunter possessed the unique ability to turn their imagination into reality," Jung Han-Bin borated. Gulp! Han-Yeol was stunned and rendered speechless for a few minutes after hearing what the researcher had revealed. "I-Is it okay for you to share something like that?" he asked cautiously. "Haha! It''s ssified information, but all Master Rank Hunters are aware of it. I hope you''ll keep it a secret too, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim." "Haha..." Han-Yeol chuckled nervously. He thought to himself,?''But I''m not yet a Master Rank Hunter...'' Jung Han-Bin smiled before continuing, "But turning imagination into reality is not that simple." "Yes, I agree with you," Han-Yeol replied. After all, the concept of turning one''s imagination into reality defied the boundaries of logic. "Also..." Jung Han-Bin began but then grimaced. ''What''s wrong with him?'' Han-Yeol wondered. "That Hunter ''was'' afflicted with a disease called Mana Evaporation Syndrome..." "What?!" Han-Yeol was shocked once again. Mana Evaporation Syndrome was a rare disease affecting less than five percent of the entire poption, and only one in every one hundred thousand Hunters suffered from it. It was a deadly disease characterized by the gradual loss of mana over five years until eventual death, and there was no known cure due to limited knowledge about mana. "T-Then...?" "Yes, we somehow managed to use the Hunter''s brain and integrate it into one of our systems. In other words, we are using her brain to project her abilities for the test." "Hahaha... Something like that..." Han-Yeolughed in disbelief while saying a brief prayer for the deceased Hunter. She seemed to have had an unfortunate fate, surviving a monster invasion only to sumb to an incredibly rare disease. "That''s quite unfortunate..." "We are profoundly grateful for that Hunter''s decision to allow us to use her brain. In return, she asked us to use her abilities to ensure there will never be another country like Liechtenstein." Suddenly, words appeared in mid-air. [Don¡¯t go killing me off!] ¡°What?!¡± Han-Yeol was yet again shocked when the words appeared. ¡°Hahaha! My apologies, Yulia-nim.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol muttered like a fool. ¡®What¡¯s going on right now?¡¯?he was utterly confused by what was going on. "Hahaha! I forgot to mention that Yulia-nim did give us her brain, but she is not dead," Jung Han-Bin chuckled before borating. "What...?" She had donated her brain to them, but she wasn''t deceased? Han-Yeol struggled toprehend what that meant. "I-Is something like that even possible...?" Han-Yeol asked, his confusion evident. "Yes, it is," Jung Han-Bin replied with a smile. Then, another set of words appeared in mid-air. [Ha! That is how great I am!] Chapter 240: Bastro Dimension (1)

Chapter 240: Bastro Dimension (1)

¡°Ugh¡­?I waspletely fooled¡­¡± Han-Yeol groaned and grumbled, not taking offense but feeling rather strange after realizing he had been fooled. "Haha! I apologize for fooling you," said Jung Han-Bin. "You were the first person to take the Master Rank test without any prior knowledge, so I felt slightly mischievous." [You''re too yful to be the deputy of this ce.] "I apologize, Yulia-nim," Jung Han-Bin said, scratching his head out of embarrassment. [It''s fine. Right, Han-Yeol Hunter?] "Don''t you think you''re being overly friendly on our first meeting, Ms. Yulia?" Han-Yeol remarked. "Anyone would be offended if someone they met for the first time talked too casually with them." [Then why don''t you try being friendly too?] "Sure," Han-Yeol replied with a shrug. [Hihi.] "So, why did you suddenly decide to appear in front of me? I don''t think you''re the type to appear in front of every single Hunter whoes here to take the test." [Omo! You''re quite sharp.] "Yeah, I get that a lot," Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. In reality, he had been rather slow and dense, but his Telepathy II skill had recently made him ''sharp.'' The words did not appear for quite a while; it seemed that they were speechless after what Han-Yeol had said. Then, the words finally appeared after a long silence. [Hoho! You''re right. You are the first, Han-Yeol.] Jung Han-Jin nodded in agreement at those words. He had beenuded as a genius before joining the International Hunters'' Association, but he had failed to be the Head Researcher, as the current head was even more of a geniuspared to him. However, he was the one running the day-to-day operations of this ce, so he was closer to Yulia than anyone else. This was the first time he had witnessed Yulia speak to a Hunter who hade to take the Master Rank test. In fact, he was slightly surprised when the words appeared. ¡®I wonder what¡¯s so special about Han-Yeol Hunter that Yulia decided to speak to him?¡¯?he wondered. Frankly speaking, Jung Han-Bin didn''t really consider Han-Yeol to be a great Hunter. Han-Yeol might have been a growth-type Hunter who had managed to be a Master Rank Hunter, but that was about it. There were plenty of other Master Rank Hunters in the world, after all, and most of them were far superior to him in terms of abilities and strength. ¡®Well, everyone¡¯s entitled to their own opinions¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He was using Telepathy II to read Jung Han-Bin''s mind. He wasn''t offended by what Jung Han-Bin was thinking, as he wasn''t that fickle in the first ce. Besides, Han-Yeol had never officially revealed that he possessed this skill in the first ce, so he decided not to say anything about it. [Hmm¡­ I like men with a lot of secrets~] Flinch! Han-Yeol was surprised at the words that popped up in front of him. He was certain that Yulia knew something about him. ¡°Ahem¡­?Anyway, what is it you wanted to tell me?¡± [Ah, it¡¯s quite simple. It¡¯s something the researchers would¡¯ve told you, but¡­] Jung Han-Bin butted in and exined, "That is correct. There is one secret we only divulge to those who sessfully be an official Master Rank Hunter." Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion because there was something he couldn''t understand at the moment. "But I haven''t passed the test yet?" he asked. He hadn''t even started the test, but they were already acting as if he had already passed it. Ironically, there was someone else taking the test right now. Bam!? "Hap!"? This was the first time Han-Yeol saw Tayarana fight without her suit. She was using a traditional Egyptian sword known as the Khopesh, which was bent twice, to fight against the golem. Bam!? She disyed significant destructiveness while looking mesmerizing at the same time. ¡®Ah, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol shook his head. His priority right now was his discussion with Yulia, as he sensed that the conversation between them was not going to be a normal one. [It''s fine. My genius brain has already calcted that you will pass the test with a probability of 99.9%, Han-Yeol.] "What about the remaining 0.01%?" Han-Yeol inquired. [That is if you purposely fail the test.] "Ah, does that mean I''ll pass 100% as long as I don''t intentionally flunk it?" [That''s right.] Yulia seemed absolutely sure, and she was not wrong. Han-Yeol was aware of how powerful he had be after easily defeating two S Rank Hunters. He had no idea how to gauge his strength when fighting monsters, but he realized after facing other Hunters that he was likely among the upper echelons of Master Rank Hunters. "Fine, that''s probably correct if you say so. Anyway, what is it you wanted to tell me then?" he asked. [Ah, but you will have to promise to keep what I''m about to tell you a secret from ordinary people.] Han-Yeol shrugged and replied, "Well, it''s not like I have a choice if that''s what the International Hunters'' Association wants." He was quite tight-lipped anyway, so keeping a secret wouldn''t be that difficult for him. [I knew you would easily agree! You¡¯re such a cool guy! ^_^b] Yulia added an emoji from out of nowhere. ¡°E-Emoji?¡± [Hihi! I scour chatrooms across the globe whenever I''m free, and I think you Koreans are the funniest!] "R-Really?" Han-Yeol started to question whether Yulia was really a foreigner or secretly a Korean deep inside. [Hmm... We keep sidetracking. Let''s go back to the main point.] "Sure." Yulia began writing down what she wanted to say seriously. Han-Yeol muttered, "Hmm..." He slowly started to grimace the more he read her words. To sum it up, her ability was not limited to recreating things from her imagination; her brain itself was enhanced far beyond the capabilities of a human being. Her brain was not normal but had been enhanced to equal the capabilities of a Master Rank Hunter. There was a famous theory that a person could use supernatural abilities more as they tapped into their brain power, and that was probably the best theory to describe what was happening with Yulia. Unfortunately, her heart had caught an untreatable disease, and she was forced to let her brain be extracted to continue living. This was not a decision someone else had made and forced upon her; it was a decision she had made herself. Thus, she was able to miraculously live on after having her brain extracted from her body, thanks to her ability that greatly enhanced her brain. She might have ended up being stuck in a ss container, but she felt even more freedompared to when she was living in her own body. Her brain possessed the ability to intercept electromaic waves, allowing her to freely surf the inte. Ironically, she could see more of the world now that she was trapped in a ss container, although her version of the world was nowposed of zeroes and ones. She might be nothing but a brain now, but she continued to research more about her own abilities. In fact, she was not alone in her research; she conducted various tests on her abilities with the brightest minds avable in the association. [I was able to transcend into apletely different level three years ago.] "Apletely different level?" [Yes, I was finally able to travel to another dimension... although it was only my consciousness that traveled there.] "What?! Really?!" [Yes... and I was able to see one of the Transdimensional Space Association''s dimensions called the Bastro Dimension.] "What... How is that even possible...?" [I''m not entirely sure, but I was able to travel by pure coincidence thanks to my ability.] "Anyway, so why is this important?" [Because¡­] Yulia proceeded to exin once again. The Bastro Dimension was apletely different worldpared to Earth. The beings that lived there used mana, just like the awakened beings on Earth, but that dimension was filled with powerful individuals. Additionally, Yulia had discovered one crucial piece of information. A door connecting to other dimensions would open up once a dimension officially joined the Transdimensional Space Association. This meant that the world was going to change once again when that happened. However, Yulia exined that Earth was far toocking to join the space association at this time. ¡®Bastro Dimension¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol decided to ask if she was able to visit any other dimensions, just in case. [Unfortunately, it seemed that I was only able to reach the Bastro Dimension since they were the closest to Earth. I tried going to the other dimensions but failed to do so.] "I see." Han-Yeol was quite troubled by what he learned this time. ''Other dimensions...''? He had studied whatever he could find about Hunters, so he knew what the Transdimensional Space Association was. Earth did not face extinction thanks to them, but what he learned from the materials made avable was that the Transdimensional Space Association mentioned they were helping Earth secure inter-dimensional trade. That was the reason they provided mankind protection for thirty years. [The thirty years will be over soon.] "It should be the end of next year, right?" [Yes, that''s right. We don''t have much time remaining.] "How do you think the world is going to change after the protection period is finished?" [I can''t say for certain. I was able to go to the Bastro Dimension, but I wasn''t able to understand theirnguage.] "Even with your amazing brain?" [Yeah. Crossing dimensions is quite taxing on my mana, so it was impossible for me to even try and decipher theirnguage.] "By taxing, you mean you spent most of your mana just going there?" [Yes.] "Even if it''s the nearest dimension to our?" [Exactly.] ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Han-Yeol was speechless. This whole thing was simply tooplicated for him right now. Zhiiing! The light shed once again, and the testing area returned to normal. The door opened, and Tayarana walked in. [Ah, I''m so tired.] She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand. [Great work, Tayarana-nim.] Mariam suddenly popped out of nowhere and handed her a towel. [Thank you, Mariam.] [Not at all, Tayarana-nim.] She wiped her sweat with the towel. It was quite funny how someone could look so elegant while wiping their sweat. ¡®Wow¡­ She¡¯s so gorgeous even when she¡¯s wiping her sweat¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought while fully mesmerized by her. Then, he shook his head and thought, ¡®No, this isn¡¯t the time for this!¡¯ He approached Tayarana. [Great job. I guess you passed without much trouble.] [Yes, I heard the test to be a Ra Rank Hunter was quite difficult, but it was a piece of cake for me.] [Hahaha! Really?] Tayarana was as honest as ever. Most people would probably try to be humble about what they achieved just now, but she was born a princess, so there was no need for her to be humble. [It''s now our turn, Han-Yeol.] [Alright.] A message was broadcast as soon as he replied to her words. [Mr. Lee Han-Yeol, please enter the training area for your Master Rank Hunter Test.] The person in charge of the test this time was not Dr. Mohammed, but the Korean, Jung Han-Bin. He might not be as genius as Dr. Mohammed Sh, but he was a renowned genius as well. The ce was teeming with Egyptian executives of the International Hunters'' Association when Tayarana took the test, but Jung Han-Bin was the only Korean present when it was Han-Yeol''s turn to take the test. There were quite a few Korean executives at the International Hunters'' Association, but none of them attended Han-Yeol''s Master Rank Hunter Test. It was their form of protest against him because he was neither close to the Korean Government nor the Korean Hunters'' Association. To be more precise, they had tried to use him for their benefit but failed miserably after he refused to be controlled, and this was their way of getting back at him. Han-Yeol was not foolish enough to be toyed around by the greedy politicians in the Korean government. Of course, none of this would have been possible if he were alone. He currently had Albert and Jason Kim supporting him from behind the scenes, so he was always able to make the right decision thanks to their advice. Because of him, the South Korean congress was currently discussing repealing and enacting newws pertaining to Master Rank Hunters, but it still remained to be seen if it would be passed or not. Chapter 241: Bastro Dimension (2)

Chapter 241: Bastro Dimension (2)

Han-Yeol warmed up in preparation to take the test, while the Korean government, doing what it does best, remained ipetent. [Good luck.] [Thanks, but don¡¯t worry.] Crack! Crack!? Han-Yeol cracked his neck while walking toward the testing area. ¡®Shall we have some fun?¡¯ [Yes, I will assist you to the best of my abilities, Han-Yeol-nim.] Karvis suddenly responded when she was not even called. ¡®Okay, then I¡¯ll leave my back to you.¡¯ Han-Yeol stood at the center of the testing area and calmed his breathing. ¡°Haa¡­¡±? [We will nowmence the test.] ¡°Okay.¡± Whiiiing¡­! The mechanical sound rang throughout the testing area once again before a bright light engulfed it. Zhiiiing! It was truly a spectacr sight. Zhiiiiing! The light grew brighter and brighter. Shwoooosh! Until it enveloped Han-Yeol¡¯s entire body. ¡®Oh? So this is how it feels?¡¯?he was slightly taken aback. He saw Tayarana do the test, but experiencing it personally was an entirely different matter. Anyway, it didn''t make any difference to Han-Yeol. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I wonder what monster is going toe out?¡± A few seconds passed before the light faded, and his vision returned. ¡°Huh? Whaaaat?!¡± *** Han-Yeol was shocked the moment his vision returned. What was supposed to be in front of him was a fake monster used for the test, but... ¡®They said these monsters are fake ones created by the barrier, right?¡¯ [Yes, you are correct. But this does not look fake to me¡­] ¡®Ugh¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol groaned without even realizing it. There was something strange about the situation he found himself in. He stood in an unfamiliar ce surrounded by forests, and he did not like the look of it. [Han-Yeol-nim, what if you use Demon Eyes?] Karvis gave sound advice. ¡®Oh, good idea.¡¯? Han-Yeol decided he had nothing to lose. ¡®Demon Eyes!¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What?!¡± Nothing happened. His mana would usually react from his mana hall in his heart, allowing him to scan his surroundings for mana, but there was no reaction whatsoever this time. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± [It seems that your skill did not activate at all, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡°H-How is that possible?!¡± Han-Yeol cried out while seemingly shocked. How was it possible that his skill had suddenly stopped working? ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­?¡¯ Han-Yeol opened his status window, just in case there was something he had to check. [Name: Harkan] Level: 10 Race: Beastman (Canine) Titles: Weak and Pathetic Apprentice Warrior Stats: STR: 30+3 VIT: 20+2 AGI: 25 MAG: 20 LUK: 20 Instinct: 50 Skills: Hard Counter (E), Howling (E), Sudden eleration (E), Waist sh (E), Scent Tracker (M) *This beast race gains +10 STR and VIT. *This beast race gains Scent Tracker (M) *Title ¡®Weak and Pathetic Apprentice Warrior¡¯ earns you the scorn of adult beastmen. "Whaaaaat?!" Han-Yeol cried out in horror upon reading his status screen. He had been certain that his name was Lee Han-Yeol, but suddenly, it changed to Harkan. ¡°W-What in the world is going on?!¡± [I¡­ I have no idea, Han-Yeol-nim. I just checked your appearance, and you took on the form of a beast race after scanning your current appearance with my database. The beast race you turned into is the canine race, but you are able to walk on two legs because¡­] "What?!" Han-Yeol screamed this time after looking at his hands. His hands were covered in hair, or rather, fur, and he even had a squishy paw. ¡®Oh, these aren¡¯t so bad¡­¡¯ he thought while pressing his paws. Han-Yeol was an animal lover, so this did not seem all that bad to him¡­ [Han-Yeol-nim!] Karvis shouted in Han-Yeol¡¯s head after he got distracted. ¡°Ahem¡­ Yeah, you¡¯re right. We don¡¯t have time to sit around like this,¡± Han-Yeol muttered while seemingly embarrassed. He tried his best to understand what was going on, but it was nearly impossible to do so. ¡®What did they do to me¡­?¡¯ ¡°Ugh¡­¡±?He groaned out of frustration once more. Rustle¡­ It was then that a rustling sound came from the bush behind him. Gulp¡­! Han-Yeol nervously gulped down a hard lump in his throat, bracing himself because he knew he was extremely weak at the moment. His stats and skills were mediocre at best, and he was certain that he would be in danger even if a low-ranking monster appeared. ¡®Damn it¡­ There¡¯s nothing¡­¡¯ He looked around in hopes of finding anything he could use as a weapon, but there was nothing in his vicinity. It was quite strange, considering Harkan''s race seemed to be the type that used weapons. ¡®I guess I have no choice¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he clenched his fist. He was prepared to use his bare fists if he did not have a weapon. But¡­ ¡°Harkan!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± What appeared from behind the bush was a pink-furred beast that even Han-Yeol, a human, found to be quite beautiful. The beast did not look primitive or primal at all. It possessed the body of a beast, yet it had all the features required to make it recognizable as a female at first nce. However, what stood out the most was the ferocious look she had. ¡°How many times did I tell you not to go around without your weapon?!¡± Whoosh! ¡°Ack!¡±?Han-Yeol screamed before catching the curved de she threw. The de appeared flexible in shape, but it was exceptionally tough and sharp. ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡± ¡°Sigh¡­?Seriously, do I always have to take care of you?¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Moron!¡± ¡®W-Why does it feel like this guy is a pushover¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was even more confused now. ¡°Okay! Hurry up!¡± ¡°What?¡± Tak! ¡°Hurry!¡± ¡°W-What? Aaaaack!¡± The female beast grabbed Han-Yeol''s hand and dragged him through the forest. He was perplexed by the sudden turn of events, but he decided to follow her for now. He knew nothing about this ce or his current situation, so this was probably the best course of action he could take. Whoosh! Tak! ¡®Hmm¡­ It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m currently a Beastman, but I¡¯m quite fast for a Level 10.¡¯ Harkan''s stats were superior to Han-Yeol''s when he was at Level 10. No, they were far superior to his. ¡®Is this a bonus given to the other races?¡¯?he wondered. Anyway, the ce he arrived at after being escorted, which was actually no different from being abducted, by the female beastman, was a vast in. However, there was a problem... Woof! Woof!? Awoooo! ¡®What is this dogshit mess?¡¯?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. There were dogs all over. He wasn''t certain if they were wolves or dogs, but there were beastmen walking on two legs all over the ce. ''I should put on my best act.'' He decided to y along for now since he had no idea what was going on, and he couldn''t continue standing around like a fool either. He believed that everything happened for a reason, and it was unlikely that all of this had urred out of pure coincidence. ¡®I¡¯m not sure how it¡¯s going to go though¡­¡¯ [Good luck, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ It was at that moment when he was thinking that he needed all the luck he could get that arge beastman approached him. Then, therge beastman, resembling a werewolf, pointed his finger at Han-Yeol and said, ¡°What? I thought you ran away, but you came back holding your momma¡¯s hand?¡± ¡°Bahahaha!¡± ¡°He still can¡¯t let go of his momma¡¯s hand! Keke!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± The beastwoman snapped at the beastmen, ¡°Hey! Harkan is not a coward, you musclebrains!¡± ¡®Oh? It seems this beastwoman is Harkan¡¯s girlfriend?¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. This was the only exnation he coulde up with based on how the beastwoman was acting. ¡®Damn it¡­ Even this guy has a girlfriend! Lucky bastard!¡¯?Han-Yeol could not help but be extremely jealous as he was still single. ¡°Oh? He¡¯s not a coward? Then he should be able to win at least once in the uing warrior cement exam, right?¡± ¡°O-Of course!¡± The beastwoman was slightly taken aback for a moment, but she refused to back down and retorted. Slurp! ¡®Hmm?¡¯? Han-Yeol definitely saw it. The werewolf was unmistakably looking at the beastwoman with eyes filled with lust, scanning her from head to toe. ¡®It¡¯s none of my business, but that¡¯s pissing me off,¡¯?he grumbled inwardly. ¡°Then shall we have a wager?¡± ¡°W-What wager?¡± ¡°I''ll be Harkan¡¯s subordinate if he manages to win even once in the warrior cement exam!¡± ¡°You¡¯re on!¡± ¡°However! You will have to marry me if he fails to win even once, Riru!¡± ¡°W-What?!¡± The beastwoman was shocked at the proposal that was no different from a threat. Han-Yeol was confident that the beastwoman named Riru was going to reject the wager. Whistle! ¡°Wow! Is Kandir finally going to get married?!¡± "His effort following Riru around is finally paying off!" "Bwahahaha!" The beastmen around them started talking as if the result had been decided. ¡°Damn it! Alright! You¡¯re on!¡± Riru eximed. ¡®W-What should I do?¡¯?Han-Yeol was surprised. He found two things strange. The first was if Riru was indeed Harkan¡¯s girlfriend, then did she really agree to marry another guy in front of her boyfriend? The second was, if she was not Harkan¡¯s girlfriend, then why was she going so far as to agree to marry someone else for the sake of a wager? ¡®Why¡­?¡¯ ¡°Hahaha! Excellent! Oh right, but did you hear about that?¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Harkan¡¯s first opponent.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Riru was shocked at what she heard. Kandir shed a smile full of lust and malice. ¡°Kekeke! I¡¯m his first opponent, and I don¡¯t n on going easy on him. I¡¯ll crush every bone in his body and make sure that he won¡¯t be able to move ever again!¡± ¡®Crazy bastard¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol growled inwardly. He had no idea what was going on right now, but there was one thing he was certain of, and that was he did not like Kandir. ¡®Tsk¡­ I wanted to stay quiet until I made sense of what was going on, but¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled inwardly. He could feel his body itching for a fight after seeing how obnoxious the werewolf was. ¡®But he does look quite strong¡­¡¯? However, he decided that he could not afford to lose for the sake of the beastwoman, Riru. This was not his body, and he had no idea about their rtionship, but he could tell that their rtionship was not a simple one. ¡°H-Harkan!¡± Riru shouted as she turned around and looked at Han-Yeol with eyes full of concern. ¡°Hmm? ¡°L-Let¡¯s give up¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°As you know, Kandir was the runner-up for the warrior cement exam heldst year. I know I told them otherwise, but there¡¯s no way you can win against him even if he fights with one hand,¡± Riru said as she shed a sad smile. Han-Yeol felt his anger well up from inside of him after seeing Riru¡¯s face. He hated seeing that face more than anything, as his father would show that smile quite often when he was young. ¡®I¡¯m sorry you can¡¯t live in a normal household. I¡¯m sorry, this is all my fault.¡¯ Han-Yeol never considered anyone else as his family after his mother and older sister left. Also, he did not feel the need to look for them and meet them in person. Tak! ¡°Huh?¡± Han-Yeol ced his hand on Riru¡¯s shoulder, and that was more than enough to shock the beastwoman. Chapter 242: Bastro Dimension (3)

Chapter 242: Bastro Dimension (3)

¡®Yeah¡­ That looks better¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol was fine with anything, except for that sad smile. ¡°What about you, Riru?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yeah, you made a wager with them just a while ago. Doesn¡¯t that mean you will have to marry that musclebrain Kandir if I fail to win even once?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, but there¡¯s no way you can win against Kandir! You could even die if you fight him!¡± Han-Yeol could see that Riru¡¯s eyes were full of worry. He knew that she was not Harkan¡¯s family member, judging by the color of her fur and appearance, and it seemed that she was an entirely different canine species from Harkan. Then, he could onlye to one conclusion based on what he had observed so far. ¡®I often read about this in Japanese light novels: the guy is a loser, but the childhood friend is smart and famous. They like each other but can''t confess their feelings.¡¯ Han-Yeol was an avid fan of novels, particrly enjoying Japanese light novels and watching anime. There was a time during his school days when he was addicted to anime, which is why he immediately realized what was going on. ¡®I have no idea what kind of world this is, but¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol decided he could not simply sit around and do nothing after seeing Riru¡¯s sad smile from a while ago. ¡°I¡¯m alright, Riru.¡± ¡°S-Still¡­¡± ]. Han-Yeol simply smiled in response. ¡°D-Don¡¯t smile like that when you¡¯re nothing but an idiot!¡± Riru eximed. ¡®Hey¡­ Don¡¯t do that¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought after seeing the way she reacted. Then, he wondered, ¡®Ah¡­ Maybe this is how Mariam feels?¡¯ He patted Riru¡¯s head before stepping in front of Kandir. "Hey, why don''t we give it a try?" Han-Yeol said. "Oh? Why is Harkan the Coward suddenly so brave?" "He''s acting all tough!" "Why all the boasting when he''s going to fall in one punch?" "Hahahaha!" The beastmen beganughing at him, and he could sense their contemptuous res. Suddenly, Riru grabbed Han-Yeol''s arm and pulled him back. She pleaded, "Harkan... I''m okay, so please don''t fight." It seemed she was worried after hearing that Kandir would be Harkan''s first opponent. ¡®It¡¯s all because I agreed to that wager¡­!¡¯ She agreed to the wager because some of the beastmen who applied for the cement exam weren''t as weak as Harkan, though they were still quite weak and not significantly stronger than him. However, she didn''t anticipate Kandir being his first opponent, and it was an entirely different situation for Harkan to face Kandir right from the start. The reason Kandir failed to qualifyst year was solely because he had broken the one rule in the cement exam. The cement exam had no rules except for one that prohibited killing one''s opponent, but Kandir failed to control himself and ended up killing one of his opponents. In other words, he didn''t fail because hecked qualifications, but rather because he had killed another beastman. Riru was fine with Harkan not bing a warrior, and she didn''t want to see him die or be disabled for the rest of his life. After all, there was another exam taking ce next year, so he still had another chance. "I already told you it will be alright, Riru," Han-Yeol said before patting her twice on the shoulder. "Whew!" "Wow! What''s gotten into Harkan the Coward today?" "Yeah, he was always the first to run away with his tail tucked between his legs!" "Hahaha!" Harkan had be aughingstock. ¡®Tsk¡­ How did this guy live like this?¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue in frustration. Han-Yeol had grown up in poverty, but he had refused to allow himself to be aughingstock. In fact, he had formed his own group in school, resembling a gang, and had earned quite a reputation for being at the pinnacle of the school''s social hierarchy. Unfortunately, this status was short-lived and came to an end as soon as he graduated from high school. Han-Yeol found Harkan''s situation to be profoundly frustrating, and he couldn''t bear to witness the ridicule Harkan was enduring because of it. ¡®I mean¡­ This guy¡¯s life has nothing to do with me, to be honest, but¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol thought for a second, but he immediately changed his mind. ¡®Ah, whatever¡­ I¡¯m the one controlling him right now, so it¡¯s my body.¡¯ He had no idea how he was going to return to reality, but he resolved to think positively and give his best for as long as he remained in this world. The first task at hand was defeating that Kandir fellow. "Let''s have a good fight, Kandir," Han-Yeol said. "Kekeke! Did you eat something strange this morning, Harkan?" Kandir sneered in response, his voiceced with a threatening growl. Grrr¡­! However, Han-Yeol didn''t even flinch and remainedpletely unfazed by it. "Tsk! What a loser." Kandir clicked his tongue and walked away. The rest of the beastmen followed suit since there was no fun in bullying someone who wasn''t reacting. "Harkan..." On the other hand, Riru looked at Han-Yeol with eyes filled with concern. Then, the cement exam finallymenced. *** Thud! ¡°The winner is, Sulradkhan!¡± ¡°Whoooooo!¡± ¡°As expected of Sulradkhan! He¡¯s amazing!¡± The cement exam was quite straightforward. Both participants would engage inbat until one of them became incapacitated, and the exam followed a knockout tournament format. "Really?" "Yeah, there are one hundred participants this year, and they willpete until only twenty remain," Riru answered every single question Han-Yeol had. "Harkan... What were you doing in ss?!" "Hahaha... My bad..." "Geez... That''s why you should pay attention in ss, you know!" Riru scolded him, but she still patiently answered every single question he had. Her eyes were filled with warmth and affection for him, and Han-Yeol couldn''t help but feel frustrated with Harkan whenever he saw her gaze. ¡®Hey, are you dumb? Just what in the world were you doing when such a beautiful woman, no, beautiful beast is practically throwing herself at you?!¡¯? Han-Yeol couldn''t understand why they weren''t dating yet when Riru openly expressed her love for Harkan. He still hadn''t seen what Harkan looked like, but he figured he probably wasn''t that good-looking. On the other hand, Riru was simply stunning, even in his eyes as a human. In fact, she was so beautiful that the beastman named Kandir seemed to have been pursuing her for quite a while now. ¡®Tsk tsk¡­ This is why those dogs are looking down on you, my man¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue out of frustration. ¡°Are you feeling sick, Harkan?¡± Riru asked. ¡°N-No¡­¡± ¡°You can forfeit the match if you¡¯re worried about facing Kandir. I¡¯m really going to be alright.¡± Riru seemed dead-set on stopping Han-Yeol from fighting Kandir. ng! ng! ng! ng!? Han-Yeol ignored her for now and turned his focus to the other ongoing matches. ¡®Hmm... Their movements aren''t that great. Maybe it''s because they''re still in training? But the problem is... How long will this darn body withstand a fight?¡¯ he wondered. Han-Yeol was no longer a normal human being. He had undergone hellish training under the Demon Drill Sergeant, mastering numerous weapons as well as hand-to-handbat. Though he might have lost his skills and was not in his own body, that didn''t mean all those training experiences had disappeared. Whoosh! Whoosh! Crack! Han-Yeol warmed up while watching the other battles, as there was nothing else he could do at the moment. It would beical if he suddenly began training when there were so many eyes in the crowd, and he didn''t have enough time to aplish anything. He concluded that the best use of his limited time right now was to warm up and be ustomed to his body as quickly as possible. "What are you doing, Harkan?" Riru asked. "Can''t you tell? I''m warming up," Han-Yeol replied. "Warming... up...?" Riru muttered, tilting her head in confusion. She appeared clueless about what he was talking about. ¡®Oh, don¡¯t tell me these guys don¡¯t know what warming up is¡­?¡¯?Han-Yeol was baffled for a second, but he figured it was not that strange. After all, they weren''t human to begin with; they were beasts, which meant they had different muscles and body functionspared to humans. Of course, that didn''t mean he was going to stop warming up. His muscles might be those of a beastman right now, but he still needed to get used to Harkan''s body. Time passed quickly while Han-Yeol was warming up and watching the other matches. ¡°The next match is between¡­ Harkan and Kandir!¡± ¡°Boooo!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too boring!¡± The crowd pointed their furry thumbs down while jeering from the stands. Both of them were quite famous trainees, although one was famous while the other was infamous. Kandir was renowned for his strength and vicious temperament; he had already been acknowledged as a warrior despite being a trainee. On the other hand, Harkan was infamous for his meek temperament, cowardice, and weakness. Everyone knew the oue even before the match began. "Harkan..." Riru was concerned about Harkan, despite herself being in danger of marrying a beast with a vicious temperament. "I''ll be alright, so don''t worry. Oh, right, Riru?" "Yes?" "If you''re okay, then..." Han-Yeol said before approaching her. "W-What?" Riru muttered in surprise, her cheeks turning red. ¡®Wow, is she shy or what?¡¯? Of course, he didn''t dislike her reaction, even though he thought that way. However, the problem was that this wasn''t his body to enjoy. "Can you lend me that sword?" he asked. "What?!" Riru was shocked. She didn''t expect Harkan to make such a request, as he usually used a de rather than a sword. "S-Sure...!" Despite her surprise, she took off her sword belt and handed it over to him while looking at the ground, just in case he noticed her blushing. "H-Here..." "Thanks," Han-Yeol said nonchntly as he grabbed the sword and swung it around a few times. Whoosh! Whoosh!? The sword¡¯s weight was well-distributed, and it was a much better weapon than the cheap de Harkan was using. ¡®It¡¯s nice. I guess Riru already passed the exam, judging by her weapon.¡¯ Han-Yeol didn''t possess Harkan''s memories, but he could roughly discern what was going on based on the information around him. "Hurry up, Harkan!" an adult beastman called to him. "Yes, I''ming!" Han-Yeol replied. "H-Harkan!" Riru cried out upon seeing him nonchntly walking away. Han-Yeol didn''t bother looking back and simply waved his hand as he walked away from her. Then, she was surprised when Harkan did something unexpected. She had expected him to change weapons, as the de he was using was quite cheap, and it would have been better for him to use her sword, even though he wasn''t used to it. However, Harkan didn''t change his weapon; instead, he took both weapons with him. "Harkan..." Riru prayed that nothing would happen to him. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol stood in front of the adult beastman, and Kandir was already standing across from him. Grr¡­! Kandir threateningly growled before he sneered, ¡°Keke! I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t run away like a coward.¡± ¡°Pfft!?Run away?¡± Han-Yeol replied with augh. This might not be his body, but his opponent was just a trainee greenhorn. It wasn''t important that he had almost qualifiedst year, as he would likely be at Level 10 at most. That level wasughable for someone like Han-Yeol, who had already reached Level 299. Crack! Crack! "You dareugh, you piece of trash? I''m going to make you beg for death today!" Kandir snarled. The adult beastman didn''t say anything in response to Kandir''s murderous threat. Instead, he remained silent, as if he were encouraging the two to further intensify their confrontation before the match. ¡®Ah, I guess thew of the jungle applies here since they¡¯re all beasts,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He understood how things worked here, and he nned to do as the beasts did. Chapter 243: Bastro Dimension (4)

Chapter 243: Bastro Dimension (4)

They were not humans but beasts. "Have you finished provoking each other?" inquired the adult beastman. He appeared disinterested in officiating a match with such an obvious oue. "Yes." "I''m also finished." "The rules are straightforward: subdue your opponent without killing them." Both Han-Yeol and Kandir nodded in agreement. "Prepare yourselves," announced the adult beastman officiating the match. They both took a step back. Han-Yeol assumed a lower stance and drew his original weapon, the curved de. ¡®It¡¯s a shame that I don¡¯t have a chain, but oh well, beggars can¡¯t be choosers¡­¡¯?he decided to forget about it. Kandir scoffed after seeing Han-Yeol dual-wield a sword and a de. He thought with a smirk, ¡®Ha! The coward thinks he can do something by using two weapons.¡¯ Chwak! Kandir took an additional step back with his sizeable left foot and shifted his weight onto it. ¡°Fight!¡± Boom! Kandir forcefully propelled himself off the ground and sped forward. Would he not take it easy on Harkan the Coward? No, a beastman warrior never lowered their guard. Their instinct was to incapacitate weaker opponents as quickly as possible and then toy with them until they grew bored. This mentality was ingrained in them from a young age, as they were taught that a warrior''s defeat often resulted from overconfidence. "Die!" Kandir yelled as he swung his weapon of choice, a mace. It suited his fiery temperament perfectly. However, the issue was that his attack carried a strong intent to kill, as if he were prepared to end the coward''s life. "Harkan!" Riru screamed, her voice echoing. She feared that the mace might shatter Harkan''s skull, causing brain matter to stter across the floor. However, Han-Yeol simply clicked his tongue in disapproval. ¡®Tsk¡­ I expected that, but¡­¡¯ ng! Thud¡­! ¡°Kuheok!¡± Han-Yeol sidestepped the mace and swiftly struck Kandir on the waist with the t surface of his sword. The movement was so rapid that Kandir couldn''t react in time and tumbled face-first onto the ground. "H-Huh?" "What happened?!" "What''s going on?" "Hey, Kandir! Fight properly!" ¡°Tsk tsk¡­?How can you call yourself a warrior?¡± That didn''t make any sense at all, as a proud beastman warrior would never let their guard down. However, what had just happened was so shocking that everyone could only assume Kandir had dropped his guard as the most usible exnation. "Harkan! You''re so cool!" eximed Riru as she jumped up and down. She didn''t fully understand what had transpired, but she had faith in Harkan. This didn''t mean she believed Harkan would defeat Kandir, but at least she stood apart from the other beast people watching the match. Every single beast in the audience looked down on Harkan and were certain he would lose. After all, he was considered an irredeemable coward whocked understanding of a warrior''s honor. However, Riru believed that Harkan would show everyone else just how impressive he could be. ¡®H-Harkan¡­¡¯? Riru was moved by what he had just demonstrated. ¡®Finally¡­!¡¯ She could tell that she was finally going to see Harkan¡¯s true potential. ¡°Damn it¡­ I dropped my guard for a second¡­¡± Kandir growled as he got up. He turned around and red at Han-Yeol. His eyes were red with anger, and he emanated a strong aura of killing intent toward him. "I''m going to tear you to shreds, even if it means I get disqualified," Kandir threatened, essentially dering his intent tomit murder. Though it was against the rules to kill one''s opponent, the adult beastman officiating the match didn''t seem to be bothered at all. ¡°Yawn¡­¡± Hezily yawned and rubbed his eyes, as if officiating the match was a bother to him. ¡®Does this mean they won''t make a move until someone shows signs of breaking the rule?¡¯ Han-Yeol wondered. Well, that didn''t matter at all. Harkan might be physically disadvantaged as a beastman, but Han-Yeol possessed the knowledge and experience that would easilypensate for the physical weakness. ¡°Grrrrr¡­¡±?Kandir threateningly growled while dragging his mace on the ground. However, Han-Yeol simplyughed inside, ¡®Tsk tsk¡­ Look at how immature this guy is.¡¯ Of course, Harkan would have been scared by what Kandir was doing, but not Han-Yeol. Tak! Kandir kicked off the ground once again and lunged at Han-Yeol. It was an incredibly swift movement that would have been nearly impossible to see, assuming they were of the same age and skill level, of course. ¡®Hmm¡­ What should I do? I¡¯m not allowed to kill him, right?¡¯?Han-Yeol wondered. He faced a significant dilemma now. His opponent wanted to kill him, but he wasn''t allowed to resort to lethal self-defense. Apart from Harkan''s disposition, the rules explicitly stated that killing one''s opponent would lead to disqualification, and Han-Yeol had no intention of losing. After all, there was no point in participating in a tournament like this unless he emerged as the victor. ¡®Tsk¡­ I guess I have no choice,¡¯?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and thought. There was another reason why he could not kill Kandir, but that was going to be revealedter on. ¡°Kwaaaaaah!¡±?Kandir roared like a beast as he lunged at Han-Yeol. Whoosh! Han-Yeol tightly gripped his weapons and used a skill, ¡®Hard Counter!¡¯ Harkan might have been physically weak, but he was still a beastman who possessed a particr skill. Han-Yeol chose a skill that he believed perfectlyplemented hisbat style from the limited skills Harkan had. Shwooosh! ¡®Oh?¡¯ Han-Yeol could discern Kandir''s movement pattern, anticipate the trajectory of his mace, and determine how to counterattack immediately after employing the skill. It was somewhat akin to how the Sixth Sense worked, but this skill disyed his counterattack options by highlighting his enemy''s body parts. ¡®I see¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol smirked. ¡®Hmm? This arrogant coward!¡¯ Kandir was perplexed and enraged after noticing Harkan¡¯s smirk. Harkan was nothing more than trash to Kandir, yet that "trash" was arrogantly smirking while facing him? This was something unforgivable. Whoosh! Kandir aimed his mace at Harkan¡¯s head. ¡®Oh? This skill is quite useful. I didn¡¯t learn how to properly counterattack from Kajikar, but this skill is doing it for me,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he saw the mace¡¯s trajectory change, making it easier for him to counterattack. He moved his body just as the skill told him to before swinging his sword. ng! Puuuuk! ¡°Kuheok!¡± If Kandir had followed the sword trajectory that the skill was suggesting, he would have been beheaded. However, Han-Yeol had to ensure that he didn''t kill his opponent due to the rules. So, he parried the mace and instead smashed his elbow into Kandir''s face. ¡°Argh!?You dare to hit me, you piece of trash?!¡± Kandir raged. It was a clean hit, but it was not effective at all. ¡®Oh?¡¯? However, the adult beastman, who had appeared bored until a moment ago, suddenly became interested in Han-Yeol''s recent movement, which was both efficient and lethal. ¡®He could have killed him just now, but he deliberately changed his approach at thest second?¡¯ The adult beastman could easily decipher Han-Yeol''s actions. Although Han-Yeol was a Master Rank Hunter, he currently inhabited Harkan''s feeble body. Moreover, Hard Counter was rated E Rank, making it challenging for him to execute a wless counterattack. However, that wasn''t the most crucial issue at the moment. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!? Kandir swung his mace in an attempt to hit his target. ¡®Tsk¡­¡¯?Han-Yeol jumped back and retreated for now. Tak! ¡®This skill uses quite a bit of mana¡­¡¯?he could sense a substantial amount of mana being depleted, even though he had only used the skill once. "You little rat! Face me head-on instead of skulking around!" Kandir shouted, clearly frustrated. The crowd was now stirred up, with nearly every spectator cheering for Kandir. "Crush him to a pulp!" "Just hurry up and finish him, Kandir!" Despite Kandir''s vicious temperament, it wasn''t necessarily a bad thing for a beastman. His temper had led to him killing his opponentst year and getting disqualified, but he hadn''t faced any other punishment for it. "You''re doing great, Harkan!" Riru continued to cheer for Harkan. She had noticed that he seemed different today, and she weed this change, as he was no longer the same pitiable Harkan. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!? Kandir unleashed a barrage of attacks at Han-Yeol, but he failed to make a single connection. He narrowly grazed his fur twice, but those were the closest instances to hitting him. The only reason Kandir came close to hitting Harkan was that Han-Yeol was not fully ustomed to his current body. He calcted the mace''s trajectory but moved as if he were still a human, resulting in him almost getting hit twice. Naturally, Kandir grew even more infuriated after repeatedly failing tond a single blow. ¡°Grrrr¡­!?You dare evade my attacks?!¡± Kandir might not have attained the status of a warrior yet, but he already possessed the pride of one. His pride couldn''t ept the fact that he couldn''tnd a single hit on Harkan. ¡°Yawn¡­?Your mace is too slow. Was that an attack just now? This is so boring¡­¡± Han-Yeol sneered while faking a yawn. ¡°You!¡± Kandir screamed as his anger reached its peak. He couldn''t control his rage and entered ''Rage Mode,'' his entire body enveloped in a red aura. Han-Yeol was clueless about what was happening, but he instinctively sensed that something was amiss. ¡®Did I taunt him too much¡­?¡¯? Han-Yeol realized that he had gotten carried away and made a mistake. ¡°Grrrwaaaaah!¡± Boom! Kandir kicked off the ground and shot forward like a bullet. Whoosh! Bam! ng! His attacks became faster all of a sudden. ¡°Keuk!¡± Kandir was stronger and faster than Harkan. In fact, it was more urate to say that Harkan actually possessed far superior physical abilitiespared to Kandir. However, if this body were being controlled by its original owner, Harkan, then this match would have been over even before Kandir broke a sweat. Kandir could have achieved victory, honor, and his woman in a matter of a few seconds. Unfortunately, luck was not on Kandir''s side, as Han-Yeol could clearly see Kandir''s attacks without much difficulty. Whoosh! Kandir swung his mace with all his strength but ended up being shocked. ¡°H-Huh?!¡± Why? It was because Han-Yeol used his skill once again. ¡®Hard Counter!¡¯ And used Kandir¡¯s strength against him. It was a move notmonly used by the beastmen, but it was undoubtedly effective. Han-Yeol immediately followed it up with another skill. ¡®Waist sh!¡¯ Chwak! ¡°Grrwaaaah!¡±?Kandir roared in agony as blood sttered on the ground. ¡®Wow~ This is quite exciting,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought, having managed to cut Kandir deeper than he thought he would. ¡°Grrr¡­!¡±? However, Kandir did not fall down; instead, he growled even more menacingly. A human being would have already copsed if they had sustained a wound like this, but Kandir was a beastman, belonging to an extremely resilient race. Han-Yeol wasn''t surprised in the least, as he had already anticipated this. Tak! He jumped into the air and twisted his body. . ¡°¡­?!¡± Kandir was utterly shocked and baffled by the unusual movements Harkan had just disyed. He had never learned or seen anything like it before, and witnessing such a strange movement caused him to drop his guard. Whoosh! Pukeok! ¡°Argh!¡± Han-Yeol jumped about a meter high before making a somersault to smack his heel on top of Kandir¡¯s head. ¡®I¡¯ve always wanted to try this out!¡¯?he thought while feeling his adrenaline pumping. It would have been inefficient and outright foolish to attempt something like this against a monster. Moreover, it wasn''t even possible because a monster''s body differed from that of a human being. However, the situation was different in this match between Harkan and Kandir. Both of them were beastmen and possessed a simr anatomy to humanoids. Additionally, despite Kandir''srger sizepared to Han-Yeol, hecked greater experience. That was the reason using such a shy attack didn''t carry many risks for Han-Yeol. But the story didn''t end there. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? ¡°Yelp! Yelp!¡± ¡°Hahaha! Die! Dieee!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Han-Yeol mercilessly pummeled Kandir, leaving the watching beastmenpletely speechless. "H-Hey... Are you seeing what I''m seeing right now...?" "Yeah, that''s Harkan the Coward, isn''t it?" "He''s actually beating that tyrant, Kandir?" "No, he''s giving him a one-sided beating right now! Look!" The beastmen were utterly speechless at what they were witnessing. ¡°Kyah!?Harkan!¡± On the other hand, Riru screamed and jumped like a cheerleader. Puk! ¡°You!¡± Puk! ¡°Talk!¡± Puk! ¡°Too!¡± Puk! ¡°Much!¡± Chapter 244: Bastro Dimension (5)

Chapter 244: Bastro Dimension (5)

Han-Yeol mounted Kandir and delivered a punch for every word he uttered. Harkan was undeniably weaker than Kandir, even though they were the same age. Kandir''s strength didn''t matter, as Harkan also hailed from a warrior lineage and was a beastman himself. ¡°Grr¡­?Krraang Mir Jami¡­!¡± Kandir roared. ¡°I can¡¯t understand you,¡± Han-Yeol nonchntly said before throwing punches. Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!? Han-Yeol appeared quite intimidating as he relentlessly focused his strikes solely on Kandir''s face. "Stop!" The adult beastman suddenly intervened. Han-Yeol immediately halted, almost as though he had been awaiting the signal, before turning his gaze toward the beastman and inquiring, "Did I win?" "A resounding victory," the adult beastman replied. He then approached Han-Yeol, raised his hand, and shouted, "The victor! Harkan!" ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± The crowd fell into stunned silence at the oue of the match, making one individual''s voice stand out even more. ¡°Kyah!?You¡¯re the best! Harkan!¡± Riru gleefully shouted before rushing over and wrapping her arms around Han-Yeol¡¯s neck. She was slightly taller than him, so he found himself in her embrace instead. ]. "Hahaha¡­ I won," Han-Yeol awkwardly eximed. "Yes! You''re the best, Harkan!" Rub¡­ Rub¡­? ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Riru began rubbing her face against Han-Yeol''s, but he had no clue that this was a customary gesture among the beast people in romantic rtionships. Riru, acting on pure impulse, rubbed her face against Han-Yeol¡¯s, even though they weren''t currently dating. Ironically, he merely stood there, allowing her to proceed, as he remained oblivious to its significance. He believed that this might be a customary way for beast people to greet each other or something... Seuk... Seuk... Han-Yeol patted her back in return, reciprocating her disy of affection. ¡®Hiiik!¡¯ It was only at that moment that Riru realized what she had done, and her face turned red. ¡®H-Harkan¡­! This is what lovers do, right?¡¯?she thought. She was delighted that he was finally reciprocating her feelings after rejecting her advances for so long. Han-Yeol patted her back for a moment before gently pulling her away. "Harkan?" "Give me a minute, Riru," he said. He patted her head once before heading toward Kandir. "W-What do you want?" Kandir growled, still retaining his temper despite his significant loss to Han-Yeol. "I hope you haven''t forgotten your promise." "W-What promise?" "What did you say you''d do if I managed to win even once?" "W-What are you talking about¡­?!" Kandirshed out before finally recalling the wager. He had promised to be Harkan''s subordinate if Harkan won even once. "T-That was¡­!" "Huh? How can an honorable warrior go back on his own word?" ¡°Argh¡­!¡± Unbeknownst to Han-Yeol, in the world of the beastmen, a warrior never reneged on their promises, and they held even greater significance onmitments made among their kind. A warrior who broke their word was considered unworthy of the title¡ªa fundamental principle of the beast people''s way of life. ¡°So?¡± ¡°Keuh¡­!¡± Kandir gritted his teeth and began to enter a state of denial. ¡®Am I dreaming right now?¡¯ Indeed, there was no way this could be reality. It all must be a terrible dream; that was the only usible exnation for what was unfolding. ¡®Yes! This is just a dream!¡¯?Kandir decided before standing up. In a desperate attempt, he bolted into the forest, hoping to buy some time until he could awaken from this dreadful nightmare.¡°Grwaaaaah!¡± ¡°Hmm? Heh, serves you right,¡± Han-Yeol said with a smirk. ¡°Hmph!?Look at him,¡± Riru scoffed. She had numerous reasons stacked against Kandir. How could it possibly make sense that he desired her when he was weaker than she was? "I''ll have to fight in the next round too, right?" Han-Yeol asked. "Yes, Harkan!" Riru enthusiastically replied, her tail wagging. Han-Yeol awkwardly scratched his cheek at the sight of the beautiful beastwoman wagging her tail at him. *** Things became quite straightforward after that. Kandir was the favorite to win this cement exam tournament, yet Harkan effortlessly eliminated him in the first round. The other beastmen Han-Yeol facedter on were confident that Kandir had lost the match simply because he had dropped his guard, so they attempted to defeat Harkan swiftly. However, Han-Yeol easily bested them without breaking a sweat and won the cement exam tournament without losing a single match. "The winner! Harkan!" Chwak! Han-Yeol¡¯s arm was raised and he basked in the glory of emerging the victor. ¡®This is fun,¡¯?he thought. He really had fun participating in the tournament as it was quite a refreshing experience. ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the best, Harkan!¡± ¡°Harkan the Coward is no more!¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The beastmen who had been mocking him just a while ago had aplete change in their attitude toward him. This was the way of the beast people. They lived in a martial society that revered the strong while looking down upon the weak. Harkan had once been considered a weakling and a coward, the target of everyone''s jests. However, all of that had changed today. He now stood tall as the victor of the cement exam, recognized as an outstanding warrior by the beastmen. The old Harkan was gone, reced by a warrior acknowledged by his peers. Tak¡­ ¡°Harkan was quite impressive today.¡± ¡°Yeah, did you watch all of his matches?¡± The beastmen were now gathering around Harkan one by one, drawn by his newfound fame as he had be recognized as a formidable warrior. However, there was one individual who was not pleased with how things had unfolded. "Hmph! You all looked down on him until now, and now you''re trying to be nice?" ¡°S-Sorry¡­ We just¡­¡± ¡°Just what?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The beastmen were silenced by Riru¡¯s sharp criticism. It was true that they had looked down on Harkan and treated him with contempt, and that fact would never change. Han-Yeol observed what was going on and wondered, ¡®Hmm¡­ Riru probably became a warrior earlier than this guy. Is she older than him?¡¯ Unfortunately, it was challenging for him to discern who was older, as the beast people typically conversed quite informally with each other. Han-Yeol had to be mindful of numerous details in order to maintain his impersonation of Harkan, and having to consider even the smallest details was giving him a headache. *** Han-Yeol went through numerous challenges after the cement exam, but no matter what he endured, he still failed to return to Earth. ¡®What do I have to do to return to Earth¡­?¡¯?he wondered. A considerable amount of time had psed, but he still hadn''t forgotten about Earth. How long has it been? Ten years. Han-Yeol had fought his way to the top, bing the mightiest warrior among the beast people. It was only after achieving this status that he recognized he was in the Bastro Dimension, the ce Yulia had mentioned. How did hee to this realization? He spent time poring over the records in the library, a ce essible only to the strongest warrior. ¡®So this is the Bastro Dimension?¡¯? [This is quite surprising. I never expected this ce to be the other dimension Ms. Yulia mentioned¡­ The beast people¡¯s individual prowess is quite impressive.] ¡®Yeah, I agree.¡¯ The Master Rank Hunters were Earth''s most formidable assets, but the Bastro Dimension boasted a substantial number of warriors who were equivalent to Master Rank Hunters. They had as many Master Rank Hunter equivalent warriors as Earth had S Rank Hunters. However, these Master Rank Hunter equivalent warriors were not the most powerful force in this dimension. An even higher echelon existed here, known as ''Special Rank Warriors,'' and Han-Yeol had achieved this status after a decade of effort. For a regr beastman warrior, reaching this rank in just ten years would have been impossible. However, it was achievable for Harkan, as Han-Yeol currently inhabited his body. Name: Lee Han-Yeol Level: 516 Race: Beastman (Canine) Titles: Strongest Beastman Warrior, Lord of Bastro Dimension Stats: STR: 3030+303 VIT: 5020+502 AGI: 4815 MAG: 10,030+5015 LUK: 1220 Instinct: 10,050 Skill: Blood Hard Counter (M), Mass Howling (M), Teleportation (M), Coup de Grace (M), Scent Tracker (M), Crown Laser (M), Bite (M), Death Inferno (M), Blood Vengeance (M), Roar (M), Assemble Army (M), Revive (M), Blood Regeneration (M), Indomitable Will (M), Vicious Vendetta (M), Fatal Strike (M) *This beast race gains +10% STR and VIT. *This beast race gains Scent Tracker (M). *Title ¡®Strongest Beastman Warrior¡¯ allows you tomand all beast people. *Title Lord of Bastro Dimension grants you +50% MAG. His growth could only be described as extraordinary. Harkan, or rather, Han-Yeol, was hailed as a genius among the warriors, and the elders had already decided to appoint him as the next leader of the beast people. However, reaching this point was far from easy. The Bastro Dimension was ruled by Harkan''s race, the canine beast people, but that didn''t mean there were no other beast races residing within it. In fact, the dimension was teeming with various beast races, and they did not get along with each other. A prime example of this was the animosity between the canine beast people and the feline beast people. Despite having amon enemy in the monsters, they frequently waged war against each other, and Han-Yeol had participated in these conflicts a few times. Of course, he emerged victorious and survived. Moreover, he instilled such fear in the hearts of the feline beast people that none of them would dare to attack the canine beast people as long as Harkan was present. "Wake up, Harkan! It''s already morning!" Chwak! ¡°Ugh¡­¡± There was one thing Han-Yeol cherished about inhabiting Harkan''s body: the ability to sleep to his heart''s content, unlike his own human body. His original human form had a rapid recovery rate after awakening as a Hunter, preventing him from indulging in extended periods of rest. However, Harkan''s body allowed him to sleep for an entire day if he wished, and every minute of slumber was precious to Han-Yeol. Riru entered the room where he was sleeping and woke him up. "Just five more minutes..." he groaned. This was something he would never have said in his own body, but it had be his catchphrase since taking over Harkan''s form. ¡°Wake up, you sleepyhead!¡± ¡°Ack!¡± Han-Yeol would only rise from bed when Riru grew irritated and seemed ready to forcibly wake him. "Geez... When will you ever grow up?" she grumbled. "Hehe... I don''t see any issues though," he replied sheepishly. Han-Yeol had a strong affinity for sleep. "Hmph! Juste and eat." "What''s on the menu today?" "What else? Venison." "Oh! You''re truly the best, Riru!" For some reason, Harkan''s taste buds had an affinity for venison, and Han-Yeol had naturally developed a liking for it as well. By the way, Harkan and Riru were still not dating, and they both lived in their separate houses. Riru made the effort to visit every morning to wake him up and cook breakfast, but they did not cohabit or anything of the sort. Han-Yeol was appreciative of her dedication each morning, as he would have likely skipped breakfast if she hadn''t prepared it, but he also felt guilty about it. ¡®Is it alright for me to ept her feelings?¡¯?he wondered. Han-Yeol currently inhabited Harkan''s body, but he was technically not Harkan. This was why he couldn''t easily ept Riru''s feelings. To Han-Yeol, Riru was undeniably beautiful, even in his human eyes. The beast people in this dimension differed significantly from the ones often depicted in Japanese animations. They were not like humans with furry ears and tails; instead, they resembled Earth''s animals with slight variations among them. Furthermore, they didn''t call themselves ''beast people''; the urate term for them was ''Bastroling.'' However, the term ''beast people'' had stuck in Han-Yeol''s mind the moment he saw them. Nheless, Riru was exceptionally beautiful in Han-Yeol''s eyes. However, he grappled with the notion of epting her feelings deeply. ¡®What if I go back to Earth and Harkan returns to this body¡­ and he doesn¡¯t want to be with Riru¡­?¡¯? To be honest, Han-Yeol couldn''t care less about what Harkan thought; he was more concerned about the possibility of Riru getting hurt. He felt a great deal of gratitude toward her because she had assisted him in various ways on his path to bing the strongest warrior. Along the way, Han-Yeol had discovered that Riru was not an ordinary beast warrior. She belonged to the Lycanthrope Race, which had the ability to walk on two legs or shapeshift to move on all fours. Moreover, she was a pure-blood with the finest lineage in that race. Chapter 245: Dragon of Destruction (1)

Chapter 245: Dragon of Destruction (1)

Han-Yeol and Riru had faced numerous battles together, and they had naturally be the best partners on the battlefield, always watching each other''s backs. This was the reason Han-Yeol felt even worse for her. "Hey, Harkan." "Yeah?" "Hmm¡­ Never mind." "A-Alright¡­" Han-Yeol knew exactly what Riru wanted to say, but he pretended to be ignorant until the end. However, he couldn''t help but feel even guiltier when he saw the sadness in her eyes, which tugged at his heartstrings. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Riru¡­ I want to ept your feelings, but I¡¯m not Harkan¡­¡¯? Han-Yeol stayed in the Bastro Dimension for ten years, and she was with him throughout that time. After spending such a long time together, it was impossible for her not to be important to him. However, he kept all his feelings deep inside, solely because he didn''t want to hurt herter on. *** A decade passed once again. Han-Yeol finally reached Level 800, and nothing in the Bastro Dimension could stand up against him. He had be the most powerful being in the dimension, ascending to the position of its lord. Around the time he reached Level 800, a new danger visited the dimension, and this threat was none other than the Dragon of Destruction. "Ah... So the dragon from the legends has finally descended." "Elder-nim?" Han-Yeol was currently atop the holy mountain of the canine beast people, apanied by one of the elders. The leaders of the canine beast people woulde to this mountain seeking guidance whenever disaster befell them. Han-Yeol was the pride of the canine beast people, being the first to attain lordship and great warrior status. He was also the first canine beastman to rule over the dimension. "There is a legend only passed down to the elders. The Dragon of Destruction was prophesied to descend upon our dimension and devour it whole," the elder exined. "But this is the first time I''ve heard about this!" Han-Yeol eximed. One of the privileges Han-Yeol gained after bing the Lord of the Bastro Dimension was the ability to ''peek'' at other dimensions. The Bastro Dimensions engaged in trade with other dimensions, and he had learned many things from them. However, this was the first time he had encountered the legend of the Dragon of Destruction. "Hmm... That''s only normal, as the Dragon of Destruction''s name is regarded as taboo," the elder replied. "But why would that dragon suddenly...?" "I''m afraid I don''t have an answer to that. Legends say that the Dragon of Destruction breathes fire that burns down fields and mountains, and dimensions are devoured by the dragon''s mes." ¡°Ugh¡­¡±?Han-Yeol grimaced after getting a headache. Then, he contemted for a moment before saying, ¡°I will subjugate the Dragon of Destruction.¡± ¡°Harkan!¡± the elder retorted. ¡°I will personally subjugate the dragon no matter what you say, elder-nim.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ Then I will use my position to mobilize all of the Bastrolings for war.¡± ¡°Thank you, elder-nim.¡± An emergency mobilization order was issued throughout the Bastro Dimension under the name of Harkan. The order stated that the Dragon of Destruction was headed toward the Bastro Dimension, and it summoned the valiant warriors of the dimension to defend their homnd against the dragon. Warriors emerged from every corner of the dimension and assembled under Harkan''s banner. None of the beast races treated the mobilization order lightly, as all the elders were well aware of the legend surrounding the Dragon of Destruction. ¡°We can¡¯t have our home taken away by the Dragon of Destruction!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s subjugate the dragon!¡± ¡°Waaaaah!¡± A huge number of warriors gathered under Harkan¡¯s banner. ¡°Kraspo!¡± ¡°Ah! My friend, Harkan!¡± Tak! Han-Yeol embraced the tall, slender bear warrior whom he hadn''t seen for quite some time. "Have you been well?" he inquired. "Hahaha! Of course! Our ck Bear Tribe won''t easily sumb to anyone!" the bear warrior responded. "Is that all? You should obliterate everything in your path instead!" "You''re right!" "Hahaha!" Han-Yeol had rescued these ck bears, marked with crescents on their bodies, from the brink of extinction at the hands of monsters. That''s how he had forged a strong friendship with their greatest warrior, Kraspo. *** While Han-Yeol was engrossed in catching up with Kraspo, a familiar face approached him to deliver a report. "My lord, all of the lords have gathered," said the familiar face, who happened to be none other than Kandir. Kandir had been the first beast to show hostility toward him, attempting to use Han-Yeol to im Riru for himself. However, his n had failed miserably, leading to public humiliation. Despite his initial denial, Kandir eventually had to ept the truth, which had wounded his pride. In time, he had salvaged his remaining pride by keeping his promise to be Han-Yeol''s subordinate. Initially resistant to Han-Yeol''smands, he had gradually started to open up and watch him closely. Now, he had be Han-Yeol''s most loyal subordinate, willing to carry out anymand. If Riru had been the one who had helped Han-Yeol the most, then Kandir was the one who had carried out most of his orders. ¡®I wasn¡¯t that fond of him initially, but I wouldn¡¯t have be the lord this quickly if it wasn¡¯t for this guy,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. He felt grateful for Kandir, and any lingering bitterness from the past had long dissipated. "Yeah, good job, Kandir," Han-Yeol responded. "Not at all, I''m here to carry out your orders, Harkan-nim," Kandir replied with a salute. "Haha..." Han-Yeolughed and gave him two friendly taps on the shoulder. Tak! Tak!? *** The subjugation that would determine the future of the Bastro Dimensionmenced. Unfortunately, not all Bastrolings participated in the subjugation, as Han-Yeol had not managed to gain control over every single beast race. It had been impossible to assert dominion over the entire dimension from the beginning, as some beast races were disgruntled by the fact that the dimension''s lord did not belong to their race. These specific beast races werebeled as Dark Bastrolings. The Dark Bastrolings did not take much action and simply bided their time for an opportunity to arise. In other words, they represented an underlying threat that remained hidden on the surface. Apart from them, all other Bastrolings formed a coalition and gathered at Dragon Mountain. ¡°Krwaaaaah!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the monsters!¡± ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± Dragon Mountain did not allow the coalition forces to easily confront the Dragon of Destruction. It continuously unleashed waves of monsters that were iparably stronger than those found on Earth, and their mana density alone was more than sufficient to outss every monster on Earth. Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!? ¡°Charge!¡± ¡°Waaaaah!¡± The coalition forces could not be stopped with Harkan at the vanguard. They were overpowering the monsters, and this was all thanks to Harkan¡¯s ridiculously powerful abilities. ¡®Coup de Grace!¡¯ Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! ¡°Kieeeeek!¡±? None of the mighty monsters could withstand Harkan''s ''Coup de Grace'' skill. He had acquired this skill while battling on the path to bing the Lord of the Bastro Dimension and absorbing all of its mana. ''Coup de Grace'' was an overpowered skill that inflicted true damage equal to fifty percent of his mana on the enemy. Regardless of the enemy''s defense level, the skillpletely ignored it. ¡°As expected of Lord Harkan!¡± ¡°Follow Lord Harkan!¡± ". ¡°Waaaaah!¡± The coalition forces'' morale soared as they followed behind Harkan, who was massacring the monsters. None of them doubted that they would emerge victorious in this conquest. The battle at Dragon Mountain raged on for four days, and only then did they reach their of the Dragon of Destruction, where the dragon awaited them. [Foolish Bastrolings. You would have met your demise a littleter if you had simply waited, but it appears you have rushed to your own demise.] The dragon was colossal, exuding an overwhelming aura that struck fear into the hearts of the coalition forces. Gulp! Every single beast froze and held their breaths while the Dragon of Destruction gazed down at them. The Dragon of Destruction¡¯s aura was simply far too overwhelming, but it was not enough to faze Han-Yeol. ¡®Hmm¡­ He¡¯s much bigger than Mavros, but they kind of look the same,¡¯?he thought. This was the reason that he was unfazed. Chwak! He drew his sword and aimed it at the Dragon of Destruction. "Are you the cursed being born to sow discord in our dimension, Dragon of Destruction?!" Han-Yeol''s voice reverberated throughout their. He had used Roar before shouting because the dragon was so colossal that he likely wouldn''t have been heard if he had shouted normally. [You must be the lord of these foolish beasts. You dare to utter my name with your insignificant lips?] The Dragon of Destruction did not visibly disy any emotions, but its rage emanated clearly from its words alone. The Bastrolings could feel the dragon''s anger deep in the pits of their stomachs, and fear gripped them, making them tremble. ¡®H-Harkan-nim¡­!¡¯ The beasts hoped that Han-Yeol would speak courteously to the dragon, so as not to incur its wrath, even though they were there to subjugate it. The Dragon of Destruction''s aura was so overwhelmingly powerful that the coalition forces hadpletely forgotten their initial purpose foring to their. ¡°What the hell are you talking about, stupid lizard?!¡± [You are insolent!] Gwuooooooh! The Dragon of Destruction¡¯s expression changed for the first time as it disyed its anger. ¡®As expected, dragons are quite sensitive to being called a lizard,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought. It was expected that they would take offense, as calling a dragon a lizard was equivalent to calling a human a monkey. Dragons considered themselves a superior species to humans, so it was only natural that they would be enraged by such aparison. ¡®Wow¡­ Its name isn¡¯t just for show,¡¯?Han-Yeol thought as he could feel the mana the dragon was emitting. Han-Yeol appeared quite rxed in the way he addressed the dragon, but he couldn''t ignore the immense power of the dragon''s mana. The dragon''s mana was simultaneously potent, malevolent, and repugnant, making Han-Yeol eager to cleanse himself of it as soon as possible. He couldn''t help but feel the need for a bath. The Bastrolings were known for their hygiene and aversion to getting dirty. They would typically bathe in ake or river at least once a day, no matter how busy they were. While they did have bathrooms at home, their civilization was quite advanced despite being beastly. Nevertheless, their instincts still drew them to nature, and that''s why they preferred bathing in natural settings. "Shut up, you damn lizard! You''re going to destroy our dimension anyway, right? Why should we sit around and wait for you to do that? And what do you mean by ''insolent'' when we''re about to fight to the death? Ha! I thought dragons were smart, but it seems you lizards have noodles for brains!" Han-Yeol taunted the dragon. [YOUUUUU!] The Dragon of Destruction was nowpletely enraged after hearing Han-Yeol¡¯s provocations, and its rxed demeanor from a while ago was nowhere to be seen now. [You insignificant creature dares to provoke me?! I was thinking of gracing you insignificant creatures with a little more time before your demise, but I have changed my mind! I shall devour this dimension right this instant!] ¡°Tsk¡­?Don¡¯t talk as if there¡¯s any difference in doing it now orter. Quit yapping and bring it on. I hate talkative lizards like you!¡± Flinch! Kandir suddenly flinched upon hearing that, appearing as if Han-Yeol''s words had stung him. Chwak! Chapter 246: Dragon of Destruction (2)

Chapter 246: Dragon of Destruction (2)

Chwak! The Dragon of Destruction spread its ginormous wings¡­ No, it tried to spread its wings open. ¡®Coup de Grace!¡¯ Sukeok! Han-Yeol suddenly appeared right beside the dragon¡¯s wings and used his overpowered skill on them. [I let my guard down?!] The Dragon of Destruction was powerful enough to detect the movement of even the most insignificant creature. However, this time, the opponent was none other than the most formidable lord of the Bastro Dimension. In the blink of an eye, he covered a distance of fifty meters and materialized behind the dragon. With lightning speed, he swung his sword ferociously to sever the dragon''s wings. Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! [You insolent creature!] Tak! Han-Yeol used his teleportation skill again to appear between the Dragon of Destruction and the Bastro Coalition Forces. This was the chance they had to grasp. ¡°Fellow warriors! Attack!¡± Han-Yeol shouted. ¡°Waaaaaah!¡± The battle against the Dragon of Destruction had finallymenced, marking a historic struggle for the survival of the Bastro Dimension¡ªa tale that would be passed down to future generations for years toe. [mes that ignited atop Dragon Mountain continued to rage for an entire month, diminishing the mountain''s towering ten-thousand-meter height by two thousand meters.] [At the mountain''s base, a river of blood formed, and the scent of death hung heavy in the air.] [The sky wept as blood cascaded from above, a grim reminder that only five hundred of the valiant twenty thousand warriors who had confronted the Dragon of Destruction had survived.] [Victory over the Dragon of Destruction was ultimately achieved by the Bastro Dimension, but it came at the steep price of their mightiest warrior.] [Yet, the fate of the dimension remained uncertain, for no one could predict whaty in store after the loss of their strongest champion¡­] *** ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haaa¡­!¡± Han-Yeol struggled to breathe, his remaining eye open. He hadn''t intentionally closed one eye; it had been lost in his battle against the Dragon of Destruction. However, his eye wasn''t the only thing he had lost; his entire body was in shambles. "Are you alright, Harkan?" "My lord, are you alright?" The five hundred surviving warriors gathered around Harkan. ¡°...¡± Han-Yeol surveyed his surroundings with a horrified expression. "There were twenty thousand of us when we arrived," he muttered. They had known that confronting the Dragon of Destruction woulde at a cost, but seeing his belovedrades nearly annihted in battle pained him deeply. "Riru." "Yes, Harkan?" "Riru¡­" "What''s troubling you, Harkan?" "Can we... defeat the Dragon of Destruction?" "Please, my lord, do not entertain such doubts," Kandir replied with unwavering confidence. "If anyone can defeat the Dragon of Destruction, it''s you, my lord." ¡°Really¡­?¡± Whoosh! Krrwaaaaah! The rivulets of blood descending from the mountain converged to create a river at its base, filling the air with a lingering stench of blood. Dark clouds gathered, unleashing torrential rains. Yet, even this deluge proved inadequate to cleanse the blood flowing down the mountainside. Han-Yeol and the others were situated above the cloud cover, so there was no rain at their location. They could hear the rain and thunder rumbling beneath them, asionally illuminated by shes of lightning within the dark clouds. ¡°Heave-ho¡­!¡± Han-Yeol jumped to his feet. It was then. Ding! [Secret skill of the Lord of Bastor Dimension, Dragon of Destruction Seal, has been acquired.] ¡®Huh?¡¯ Han-Yeol was surprised at the message that popped up in front of him all of a sudden. ¡°Harkan?¡± ¡°My lord?¡± Riru and Kandir called out to him after he suddenly froze in ce, but they were not the focus of Han-Yeol''s attention at this moment. He had finally acquired the key to defeating the Dragon of Destruction, and he hastily examined the details of his new skill. ¡°¡­¡± However, his face stiffened after reading its details. ¡°Harkan?¡± Seuk¡­ Riru gently ced her hand on his shoulder. When they first met, she had beenrger than him, but after twenty years had passed, Han-Yeol had grown to be twice her size. The abundant mana within him had fueled his growth, making him the most powerful warrior in the entire Bastro Dimension. The mana he possessed as a beastman differed from that of humans, which merely enhanced their muscles. He had finallye to understand why mana was referred to as a living energy rather than a simple stimnt. Mana behaved differently depending on the creature harnessing it. Han-Yeol held the hand on his shoulder and said, ¡°Riru¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We made a lot of memories together, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. We did.¡± There was a hint of sadness mingled with joy in Riru¡¯s eyes. They had crafted beautiful memories together over the past twenty years, and for the majority of that time, they had been together. ¡°Riru.¡± ¡°Yes, Harkan?¡± Riru felt nervous as Harkan continued to call her name without uttering anything else. It gave her the unsettling impression that he was preparing to depart for a distant ce, far from her. ¡°I want to ask you for a favor. Can you do it for me?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I will leave our people in your hands when I¡¯m no longer around.¡± ¡°Harkan?!¡± ¡°Also, I¡¯m sorry for not being honest with you.¡± ¡°Harkan!¡± Puk! ¡°Euk¡­!¡± Thud¡­! Han-Yeol swiftly struck Riru''s neck before she couldprehend what had urred. "My lord...?" Kandir stammered, his expression one of shock. "Hey, Kandir." "Yes, my lord...?" "Thank you for standing by me all these years. I''m entrusting our people and Riru to your care." ¡°W-What do you mean?¡± ¡°Then, goodbye.¡± Tak! ¡°My lord!¡± Han-Yeol jumped and headed toward the Dragon of Destruction. *** Tears streamed down Han-Yeol''s eyes, and the Bastro Dimension had vanished from his surroundings. [Han-Yeol! Han-Yeol! Are you alright?!] He had finally returned, and Tayarana''s face was right in front of him. Not only that, Mariam and Purva were also beside her, along with Jung Hyun-Bin, the deputy head researcher. However, that was not the issue at hand. [Tara¡­] Chwak! [¡­!] [S-S-St¡­!] Han-Yeol instinctively embraced Tayarana as soon as he saw her. Mariam quickly attempted to pull him away, but Tayarana shook her head, signaling for her to stop. [...] Mariam withdrew, wearing a forlorn expression, resembling a sad kitten. [Tara... Tara...] Han-Yeol continued to call out her name, and from his voice alone, Tayarana could sense that he was deeply distressed about something. Tak¡­ Tak¡­ She patted his back gently to calm him down. [We are finally back¡­ Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Karvis?¡¯ [Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.] ¡®Ah, thanks for your hard work, Karvis.¡¯ [I hope you will stop being sad soon.] ¡®Okay¡­¡¯ Han-Yeol felt that he wouldn''t easily forget about it. He was about to turn thirty years old, yet he had spent nearly as many years in the Bastro Dimension. It could be argued that he had lived longer in that other dimension if only his adult years were taken into ount. He was torn about leaving the Bastro Dimension, but he knew he had to move on now. Why? Because his life there was over, and he was now back in his real world. Han-Yeol slowly released his embrace of Tayarana. [Do you feel better now?] [Yeah, I do. Sorry about that¡­] [It¡¯s fine.] Tayarana appeared rxed andposed. In fact, she seemed like she wouldn''t mind if he held onto her a little longer. ''What am I feeling right now...?'' Tayarana was bewildered by the emotions surging in her chest. This sensation was entirely unfamiliar to her, as she had never experienced romantic feelings for another person in her entire life. [But Han-Yeol.] [Yes?] [Did something happen?] [Something happened¡­?] [Yeah.] [What?] [???] Han-Yeol looked around him and wondered, ¡®Is this¡­the location of the Master Rank Hunter Exam?¡¯ He found himself in the exact same ce he remembered being in. ''Don''t tell me...?'' As a sudden thought crossed his mind, Han-Yeol called out, [Tara!] [Hmm?] [How long has it been since I entered this ce?] [What are you talking about? You just came in.] [What?] [You just entered, and the light shed, but there was a system error.] [W-What?!] ''Does that mean only ten seconds passed while I lived twenty years over there?'' Han-Yeol was so shocked that it gave him a headache. It was all too perplexing for him toprehend. Tak! Han-Yeol pushed everyone away and retreated to a corner to sit alone for a while. ''Is there something wrong with the flow of time, or was I just dreaming all of it...?'' he wondered. It seemed highly probable that he had been dreaming. After all, he had heard about the Bastro Dimension from Yulia just before the test began, and the realization that the twenty years he had lived there were nothing more than a dream filled him with even greater sadness. It felt as though all his efforts had been in vain since it was just a dream. Then¡­ Ding! ¡®Hmm?¡¯ A message popped up in front of Han-Yeol''s eyes. [You have gathered memories from the Stage 2 Dimension, the Bastro Dimension.] [A clue on your reawakening has been acquired.] [It is now possible for you to reawaken once you reach Level 300.] [Conditions to reach Level 300: Hunt top-tier dungeon boss monster (0/1)] ¡®W-What? It wasn¡¯t a dream?¡¯ Han-Yeol''s confusion deepened. The system had never lied, which meant that the twenty years he had lived in the other dimension were not a dream. ¡®Alright!¡¯ Han-Yeol felt reinvigorated after realizing it wasn''t a dream. His head still throbbed a little, but he felt good nheless. Then, another message popped up in front of Han-Yeol, and it was from Yulia this time. "Yulia?" [YOU!] "What?" [Did you go to the Bastro Dimension?!] "H-How did you know?!" [Oh my god! Earth is still a stage one dimension! How did you go there when even I was only able to peek into it?!] A series of shocked emojis followed her message. Despite being nothing more than a brain, Yulia was still incredibly intelligent. She understood that Han-Yeol entering the Bastro Dimension was no small matter. It was, in fact, something that should have been impossible. [You! Just what on earth are you?! How did a mere human manage to enter the next dimension?! The doors will only open once the allocated period ends!] "I-I''m not so sure," Han-Yeol replied, bewildered by the questions, as he hadn''t voluntarily traveled to the other dimension. "I think it was thanks to you that I was able to go there." [Me?!] Yulia "eximed" before suddenly calming down. It was clear she still had many questions, as her curiosity continued to drive her research even after bing a Hunter. "Yeah, I think it''s because of your powers that I was able to go there. Do you really think I managed to go there by pure coincidence?" [T-That''s not possible! Nothing happens by pure coincidence in this world!] "But who has the power to cross dimensions in our world?" [M-Me...] "Yes, then that means?" [My power and your powerbined in an inexplicable way to open the path to the Bastro Dimension...?] Han-Yeol nodded and replied, ¡°At least that¡¯s what I think.¡± [Hmm¡­] Yulia appeared to be contemting what he had just said, judging by herst message. Even the brightest mind in the world couldn''t exin what had just urred, and she found herself deep in thought for the first time since she had been reduced to a brain. Chapter 247: Dragon of Destruction (3)

Chapter 247: Dragon of Destruction (3)

[But I¡¯m certain of one thing now!] ¡°What is that ¡®one¡¯ thing?¡± [You¡¯re special!] ¡°R-Really?¡± [Yes! Do you have any idea how many Hunters I¡¯ve tested in the decades I¡¯ve been here?] ¡°P-Probably a lot?¡± [Do you think there was someone like you back then?] "Probably not...?" His trip to the Bastro Dimension was still surreal for him, but there was no room for doubt, as his system message had already confirmed its reality. However, how was he supposed to believe something as illogical as dimensional travel urring? Not only that, his body remained in ce, and barely ten seconds passed in this world, while more than two decades had psed in the other world. Han-Yeol felt like he was going to go insane trying to process everything that was happening. [Hmm¡­ This needs to be studied.] ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of bing ab rat¡­¡± [Hmph! I can do it on my own! ??_?? ] Yulia did not forget to add an annoyed emoji at the end of her message. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Han-Yeol could only awkwardlyugh in response. *** Han-Yeol couldn''tplete the remainder of the Master Rank Hunter Test. In fact, he didn''t even have the opportunity to begin the test because he was unexpectedly transported to another dimension. Due to this, he was concerned he might need to retake the test, but to his delight, Yulia decided to pass him. Yulia stated that she couldn''t be bothered to use her abilities since he was undoubtedly a Master Rank Hunter. However, Han-Yeol knew that she was concealing something else. ¡®She¡¯s probably worried that I¡¯ll be sent to another dimension by ident.¡¯ He managed to return alive from his journey to the Bastro Dimension, but there was no assurance that luck would be on his side the next time. In reality, there were numerous instances where he came dangerously close to death in the Bastro Dimension. Although he would likely just wake up back on Earth if he were to die in another dimension, Han-Yeol preferred to err on the side of caution and avoid such risks rather than finding out what would happen if he died. [Ah, I don¡¯t know! I¡¯ll ept Han-Yeol as a Master Rank Hunter! End of discussion!] [B-But, Yulia-nim!] Some of the executives attempted to persuade her otherwise, but there was no chance it was going to seed. [Are you trying to make me angry?] [N-No¡­] Yulia held the ultimate authority in this realm, and no one dared to defy her. The executives who had been observing Han-Yeol''s Master Rank Hunter Test returned with defeated expressions. Finally, Han-Yeol had achieved the status of a Master Rank Hunter. Some might consider it unfair that he had attained this rank in a teststing only ten seconds, especially since he had also fainted during it. However, for Han-Yeol, it had been a long and grueling journey that had spanned more than twenty years. ¡®Haha... I guess I just time-traveled back by twenty years, huh?¡¯ Han-Yeol thought with a touch of humor. He didn''t feel joy as much as emptiness about bing a Master Rank Hunter. The two decades'' worth of memories had vanished in an instant, yet they remained vivid in his mind. Han-Yeol had struggled to preserve his sanity. A normal person would have experienced a mental breakdown if twenty years of memories flooded into their consciousness. That''s how potent memories could be. *** Thud! ¡°Kyu!¡± Han-Yeol opened the door to the guest room he had been provided and found Mavros already inside. Naturally, thetest addition to his party, the new monster pet, Tia, was also present in the room with Mavros. "Omo~ You''re here, master~" "Ah, yeah... I''m feeling tired." Tia could discern Han-Yeol''s exhaustion from his expression. Despite her yful and mischievous nature, she understood that this was not the time to jest. ck! ck! She walked over to Han-Yeol and offered her support as he walked. "Take a nap if you''re tired, and don''t push yourself, master~" "Haha... Thanks..." Han-Yeol felt the need to rest his overloaded mind. He had managed to endure the flood of twenty years'' worth of memories into his brain, but that didn''t mean it hadn''t taken a toll on him. Thud! He crashed on the bed. ¡°Rest well, master~¡± ¡°Thanks, Tia.¡± ¡°Hoho! You have to be healthy for me to tease you, master~¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Han-Yeol seemed to have gotten used to Tia¡¯s antics as he simplyughed it off. ¡®It¡¯s still a bit awkward, but she¡¯s quite funny in her own way,¡¯ he thought. ¡°Then, sleep tight~¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Mavros left the room together with Tia. ck¡­! The door closed, and Han-Yeol found himself all alone. He had made many friends recently, so it had been challenging for him to find some solitude. However, thanks to Tia''s sensitivity to human emotions, he was finally able to enjoy some alone time. ¡®Ah, I¡¯m quite grateful to her¡­¡¯ he thought. Han-Yeol covered his eyes with his forearm, and tears began to stream down his face. The memories from the Bastro Dimension might have felt like a dream, but the two decades he had spent there were far from a dream to him. He had pushed himself to his limits every day, just in case he couldn''t return to Earth, living each day as if it were hisst. The only thing he regretted was not doing more for Riru and hurting her until the very end. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt when it came to her, and he sincerely wanted to apologize if he ever had the chance to see her again. However, that chance was probably never going toe. ¡®I''m no longer Harkan. I''m back to being Han-Yeol again,¡¯ he thought. Everything he had done for the past twenty years was not the doing of Harkan the Coward but rather that of the Master Rank Hunter, Lee Han-Yeol. Now that he was back on Earth, there was nothing he could do, and he had no idea if he could ever return to see them. The flow of time itself was so twisted that they would probably all be long gone by the time he managed to return to the Bastro Dimension. ¡®I''m sorry... Riru, Kandir, and everyone,¡¯ he whispered in his thoughts. He truly wanted to see them again and apologize. Han-Yeol continued to cry until he finally managed to fall asleep, dreaming of the time when Harkan, Riru, and Kandir trained together in their youth. It was a happy dream. He might never be able to return to that dimension, but it was still a joyful memory. Thanks to that dream, Han-Yeol was able to sleep peacefully. What he needed most at this moment was nothing other than a good night''s rest. *** Han-Yeol woke up and took a cold shower to clear his head. Then, he looked into the mirror and strengthened his resolve. ¡®Your life there is over already. Get a grip, Han-Yeol.¡¯ The most important thing to him right now was the original world he lived in, Earth, so he decided not to dwell on the Bastro Dimension any longer. After all, thinking about his life over there was no longer going to benefit him in any way. ¡°Haa¡­ Let¡¯s get a grip¡­¡± Chwak! Chwak! Han-Yeol attempted to maintain his focus by controlling the droplets of water gushing out from the showerhead with Psychokinesis. He discovered that utilizing his mana to manipte delicate objects somehow aided his concentration. Ding! [The rank of Psychokinesis has risen from (B) to (A).] ¡®Oh!¡¯ The skill finally reached A Rank. It had been a skill with its growth stunted for quite a while, so witnessing it level up made him feel quite excited. It was at that moment. ck...! ck¡­! ¡°Omo~ You were taking a shower, master?¡± ¡°H-Hiiik! T-Tia!¡± Tia barged into the bathroom while Han-Yeol waspletely defenseless. Initially, Han-Yeol thought that Tia hade in by mistake, as this ce only had one bathroompared to the dozens of bathrooms avable in the guest pce in Cairo. However, Tia was sharper and much more sensitive than most human beings, so she wouldn''t make such a silly mistake. ck¡­! ck¡­! "Hmm~ Should we wash together, master?" Tia asked. Her lower body might be that of a spider, but her upper body was that of a beautiful woman. Anyone seduced by her in this manner was definitely not capable of rejecting her advances, except for those with arachnophobia. "Hmm¡­ Sure, why not," Han-Yeol nonchntly replied. Chapter 248: Dragon of Destruction (4)

Chapter 248: Dragon of Destruction (4)

President Phaophator greeted them on the runway once again. The entire weing parade was quite simr to the one Han-Yeol received when he first arrived in Egypt. If there was anything different this time, it was the fact that Tayarana was the center of attention instead of him. [Hahaha! Congrattions, my child!] [Thank you, father,] Tayarana greeted Phaophator with the utmost respect. [Oh!] [As expected of the princess!] [She is so beautiful!] All of the congress members and elders of Egypt gathered as well to greet her. She was next in line to be the president, but there were some dissidents who believed she was unfit to inherit the position because she was only an Osiris Rank Hunter. These people were the purists who believed Egypt should be ruled by a Ra Rank Hunter. The dissent was so strong that there were talks of having one of the Ra Rank Hunters inherit the position instead of Tayarana. However, all of those dissensions instantly disappeared the moment she officially stepped foot on Egyptian soil as a Ra Rank Hunter. The dissidents were simply purists who wanted a Ra Rank Hunter to be the president and had no ambitions to stir turmoil in the country. They easily epted her as the next president after she returned as a Ra Rank Hunter. The politicians were no longer opposing her session, but they had other priorities in mind now. ¡®If she marries my son¡­!¡¯ ¡®Hoho! My son is the one who will marry her!¡¯ ¡®My son is the most handsome actor in all of Egypt! Who would dare to win her heart aside from him?¡¯ There was no way these people could ever be royalty. But what if their son were to marry the queen? That could change their fortune for generations toe. ¡®Disgusting¡­¡¯?Mariam could see right through their despicable smiles. These politicians had no idea that Mariam could use her ability to peek into other people''s minds. It wasn''t important whether they knew it or not, as only an extraordinary person could prevent themselves from controlling their own thoughts, after all. [Congrattions to you too, Han-Yeol.] President Phaophator did not forget to greet Han-Yeol as well. He was quite fond of Han-Yeol now, looking at him as if he were gazing upon his treasure. [Thank you very much, Phaophator-nim.] [Hahaha! You might be a foreigner, but you¡¯re as good as my son now!] [Thank you, sir.] [Alright! I have prepared a party for the both of you, let us go.] A new kind of dissident was rising up in Egypt''s political scene due to Phaophator''s recent actions, and this time it had something to do with the candidate for the next president''s husband. ¡®Why is he here?!¡¯ ¡®Thatmoner dares to!¡¯ ¡®Ugh¡­ So the rumors must be true¡­¡¯ ¡®Damn it!¡¯ This was especially true for politicians who had a son around Tayarana''s age, as they dreamt of wielding power through a political marriage. ¡®Hmm¡­ Should we pass aw requiring the leader¡¯s spouse to be an Egyptian?¡¯ Some of them even tried to use thew in their favor. ¡®Haha¡­ These fools¡­¡¯ Mariam shook her head in disbelief while walking right beside Tayarana. She could have spent her time doing much more important things, but she chose to stay right beside Tayarana. Tayarana was always surrounded by people with despicable thoughts, and Mariam considered it her sacred duty to shield her from them. ¡®Is there a way I can teach these imbeciles a lesson?¡¯?she wondered. She could have simply ignored them because nothing was going to change, no matter how much they struggled. After all, they could try every trick they knew, but none of it was going to work on Phaophator and Tayarana. The reason was quite simple. These politicians were ordinarymoners at the end of the day, and they did not have the support of the popce. The one who rescued Egypt from the brink of destruction and turned it into the powerhouse it is today was none other than Phaophator. While the name Egypt may have been retained by the country, its citizens considered it to be a different country altogether. Phaophator''s poprity naturally made the general public adore Hunters as well, creating an environment where ordinary politicians could not sway the general public no matter what they did. Some might ask why the politicians and elders were made up of ordinary people, and the answer was quite simple. There was no way a Hunter was going to be willing to hold such boring and mundane positions in the first ce. A Hunter was guaranteed to win the election if they ran for Congress, but Hunters in the country already made good money without having to go through political drama. Additionally, the Hunters did not require any representation, as the association ensured their rights and provided for their needs in the first ce. ¡®Hmm¡­ Let¡¯s slowly put a n together.¡¯ Mariam had a morbid hobby of subjecting her enemies to a slow and painful demise, and this disturbing penchant appeared to be resurfacing once again. *** The party hosted by the presidentsted for three full days. Abundant varieties of delicacies were prepared, and performers from all corners of the country were summoned to entertain at the event. Fwaaaaaaah! [Wow!] [That¡¯s so cool!] The party came alive with beautiful dancers, muscr men, and skilled acrobats entertaining the guests. However, most importantly, the free flow of alcohol allowed the guests to drink to their heart''s content. Surprisingly, the party was broadcast live for the entire country to watch. There was no bacsh for throwing such avish party because Phaophator personally covered the entire cost. Furthermore, the celebration was not limited to those who attended the pce party. [I want our countrymen to rejoice along with us! I hereby dere the next three days as public holidays!] [Wow!] [Hurray for President Phaophator!] The president granted the entire country a three-day vacation, during which all public services, including parks and theme parks, were free of charge. The entire nation was celebrating Tayarana''s rise to a Ra Rank Hunter. However, covering the costs of these three-day public holidays was still a significant expense for the country, as even Phaophator''s wealth had its limits. [Hahaha! Our princess is finally a Ra Rank Hunter!] [Amazing! She is truly amazing!] [She is the pride of our country!] [What sphemy are you spouting?!] [W-What¡­?] [She is the pride of Africa!] [Hahaha! You¡¯re right! I was wrong!] [Apologize!] [My bad!] [Hahaha!] Egypt''s economy was thriving, attracting people from all over Africa in search of employment. While Tayarana might be the princess of Egypt, all the Africans working in the country also regarded her as their own princess. In the end, it wasn''t just the Egyptians, but also Africans from other regions who celebrated this joyous event. However, it went without saying that pleasing everyone was an impossible task... *** In a remote vige in the northwestern region of Egypt. [Hmm¡­] [Damn it¡­] [Yes¡­] [Haa¡­] The peaceful vige resembled countless other remote viges in the country. However, beneath its tranquilityy a secret¡ªaplexwork of intricate tunnels hidden underground. The inhabitants of this vige were religious extremists and terrorists who harbored anti-Egypt sentiments, asionally causing trouble in the country. Now, these individuals were engrossed in reading thetest news articles, each with slightly different titles but all discussing the same topic: Tayarana, the Princess with a Ra Rank. A nationwide celebration had erupted in honor of Tayarana''s achievement, filling the entire country with a festive mood. However, for these people striving to restore Egypt to its once-religious state, this news was not a cause for celebration. Rather, it dealt a devastating blow to their efforts. They had sought to diminish Egypt''s brightest star to realize their dream of reinstating religious order in the country, but the star they attempted to dim only shone brighter and brighter. [What should we do?] This terrorist group called themselves the ''Sword of God,'' and their leader was Raiden Badi. He was the most notorious terrorist in Egypt''s history, with a bounty of one hundred million won on his head. He was a fugitive pursued by bounty hunters from all over the world, constantly changing his hideout to evade capture. However, his current hideout was right under Egypt''s nose. [I greet the leader.] [Wee, First Sword of God.] [May I give you my humble opinion, leader?] [Speak.] [Thank you. I believe it will be difficult for us to go after that bitch, Tayarana, for now.] [And why do you think so?] [There are too many people around that individual these days, and the chances of us getting caught even before we get anywhere near them are quite high. Not only that, it won''t be an easy fight even if we somehow manage to reach them, now that they are a Master Rank Hunter.] The members of the Sword of God referred to the Hunters by the widely recognized ranking terms. The entirety of Africa followed Egypt¡¯s ranking system of Ra (Master): Osiris (S): Obelisk (A): Isis (B): Seth (C): Nephtys (D): Hathor (E): Horus (F). However, these were all names of gods from Egyptian Mythology, and the religious extremists refused tomit sphemy by uttering their names. Instead, they followed the ranking system set by the United States, which was more neutral and did not promote the worship of idols. Additionally, their primary enemy had shifted from the United States to Egypt. While there was still animosity between the Sword of God organization and the Uni Chapter 249: Dragon of Destruction (5)

Chapter 249: Dragon of Destruction (5)

The Sword of God encountered difficulties when trying to obtain information due to their inability to expand their organization''s influence. One of the world''s three powerhouse countries, Egypt, was actively pursuing them, and any careless attempts to increase their influence carried the risk of exposing their hideout. To mitigate these risks, the organization began sourcing information from social media and the news, as it posed significantly less risk to their operations. [However, we''ve discovered something intriguing,] one member remarked. [The leader of the Hunters sent to Nepal is the woman named Mariam.] [Really?] [Yes, take a look at this,] the member replied, handing a picture to Raiden. The image showed Mariam standing in close proximity to Han-Yeol. [And what does this signify?] [As you can see, the Korean Hunter is seen with Mariam. This is irrefutable evidence of a connection between the two.] [I see. So what''s your point?] Raiden questioned. [What I''m suggesting is that by targeting the Korean Hunter, we can easily draw Mariam out and send a clear message to the Asians for their close association with the Egyptians.] [Oh? I find that idea appealing,] Raiden responded. Although they were aware of Han-Yeol''s recent promotion to Master Rank Hunter through the news, they remained unfazed. After all, they possessed their self-proimed most powerful Hunter, who had held the Master Rank for the past twenty years. They were confident that capturing Han-Yeol would be straightforward, as long as their Zeroth Swordplied with their directives. [In that case, our immediate objective is to capture the Korean Hunter?] [Yes.] [Very well, let''s use all avable resources to craft a foolproof n.] [Yes, leader.] The First Sword of God exited the meeting room. It was now time for him to concentrate on executing his task, now that his n had received approval from Raiden. [Hoho¡­ Egypt is going to fall into my hands soon¡­!] Raiden let out a sinisterugh as he clenched his fist. The appearance of dimensional gates did not eradicate the various terrorist groups around the world; these groups persisted and continued to cause trouble whenever possible. However, the Middle East and Africa were among the regions most severely affected by the dimensional gates. African countries managed to recover only after aligning themselves with Egypt during a golden age spurred by secrism. Surprisingly, Africa became wealthier than before the dimensional gates emerged, while the Middle East struggled with recovery due to ongoing turmoil and internal conflicts. This situation was precisely why terrorist organizations like the Sword of God could maintain their existence. They simply retreated to the war-tornnds of the Middle East whenever they faced imminent capture. *** The party finally came to an end, and Han-Yeol took an entire day to recover from the effects of the celebration. The first thing he did was call one of his teams in Egypt. "Ah... It''s scorching here.¡± "Yeah, I heard the desert can get incredibly hot. Turns out, it''s true¡­¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ I hate getting sweaty¡­¡± ¡°Stop overreacting.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± This rowdy and whiny bunch was none other than the film crew from the Mn production team. Han-Yeol had been quite busy in recent days, so he didn''t livestream as much. He allocated a budget to the Mn film crew to film other raid parties while he was upied, but the response from viewers wasn''t that great. The viewers had already be captivated by Han-Yeol''s broadcasts, to the point where watching other Hunters no longer satisfied them. It wasn''t that the other Hunters werecking, but rather, Han-Yeol''s on-screen presence was just too strong. Of course, this didn''t mean that the Mn film crew abandoned the other Hunters just to film Han-Yeol. Mn had evolved from a small broadcast team that exclusively followed Han-Yeol to a full-fledged media contentpany after receiving Han-Yeol''s approval. They retained the name Mn as their identity and upheld it by only hiring women in thepany. It was a pure coincidence that Han-Yeol ended up hiring all women for the Mn film crew, but they somewhat believed it was his preference, as they only recruited women for thepany. There was significant bacsh from men when they learned that thepany exclusively hired women. Working at thepany came with the perk of the possibility of meeting Han-Yeol in real life, so many media-rted graduates aspired to work at Mn. South Koreacked anti-discriminationws, but there was tant gender discrimination. An example of this disparity was the benefits women received that men did not. Companies could face repercussions for refusing to hire women but not for refusing to hire men. Mn exploited this loophole to exclusively hire women. "Are you the Mn film crew?" Purva and ten other Gurkhas greeted the women as soon as theynded at the airport. "Ah, hello, Mr. Purva. How have you been?" Su-In replied. "Oh, long time no see, Ms. Su-In. I''ve been well, what about you?" "Haha, my life isn''t interesting enough to have any problems," Su-In replied with a chuckle. Purva and Su-In had met a few times already at Han-Yeol''s mansion. "Boo! Couples, get lost!" one of the other women yfully teased. "Screw you two!" "We''re here for work! Excuse you!" the other women eximed, expressing their discontent at the yful banter and the burgeoning connection between Purva and Su-In. ¡®Why those little¡­!¡¯ Su-In raged inwardly. She was attempting to set the mood with the handsome mercenary, but her juniorspletely ruined the moment. Nevertheless, she was here to work, so she decided to let them off this time, but... ¡®Just you wait until we get back to Korea!¡¯ she gritted her teeth and red at her juniors. "Now, now, let''s hurry up as Han-Yeol Hunter-nim is waiting for all of you," Purva intervened. "Okay!" The Mn film crew was escorted to the bus by the Gurkhas. These women had quite a pleasant trip as they didn''t flymercially. No, they took Han-Yeol''s other private jet, which he had purchased just in case his preferred one had to undergo maintenance when he needed it. It might have been a backup jet, but it was still one of the most expensive jets on the market. ¡°We will depart now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Vroom! *** Han-Yeol sipped on a cup of green tea, which helped lighten his mood. This was a much-needed break for him as he hadn''t had the chance to rest properly in recent days. "So, the girls from Mn havended?" he inquired. "Yes, Purva-nim has met with them," the response came. "That''s good." During Purva''s absence, a mercenary named Vidya stood in for him. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Han-Yeol noticed something while sipping on his tea. Someone was rushing toward his location, and he couldn''t help but grimace upon sensing it. ¡®Ugh... It can only mean bad news if someone''s in such a hurry¡­¡¯ Bam! "H-Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!" The door was nearly kicked down as one of the Gurkhas entered. "What is it?" Vidya asked. "W-We have a problem!" "A problem?" ''Damn it... I was right...'' Han-Yeol became annoyed as his bad premonition turned out to be correct. "T-The bus Captain Purva was on...! It''s been hijacked by terrorists!" Bam! "What?!" Han-Yeol jumped up from his seat and shouted. He had expected the problem to be rted to monsters or something, so what the Gurkha had just revealed was truly shocking. He stood up and mmed his hands on the table so hard that the table waspletely destroyed, but the table was not what mattered right now. "Are you sure?" he demanded. "Yes, we are. T-Their names were on the list of foreigners missing after a bomb exploded near the airport." "Damn it!" Bam! Kwachik! Han-Yeol mmed his fist on what little remained of the table, trembling with anger at the thought of his people being held hostage. "H-Han-Yeol-nim..." "What should we do, Han-Yeol-nim?" "What did the Egyptians say?" "They said they''re trying their best to locate them." "That''s it?" "Y-Yes..." Han-Yeol was further enraged by theck of useful information. He had sworn not to abandon his people anymore after turning his back on his friends from high school, and that was why he was so furious now upon hearing about the abduction. "Those damned terrorists...!" He already harbored a grudge against these terrorists for their antics in South Korea, but they hadpletely crossed the line this time by messing with his people. "Vidya." "Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!" "What are the Egyptians doing right now?" "We heard that the entire pce is in a state of emergency, and a special task force team has been set up under themand of the president. That''s all we know as of now, as we cannot gain ess to theirmand center..." Chapter 250: Terror Crisis (1)

Chapter 250: Terror Crisis (1)

The terrorists were bringing the hostages to a ce teeming with powerful monsters. It was apletely illogical move that the Egyptians found difficult toprehend. Then, amotion could be heard outside themand center. [Hmm? What''s going on?] Phaophator asked after his sensitive ears picked up the noise from outside. Bam! [Y-You can''t be here, Han-Yeol-nim!] The door swung open, and Han-Yeol entered despite some Egyptian officers trying to block him. In most cases, they would have subdued an intruder instantly, but this time, the intruder was a Ra Rank Hunter, the most renowned Hunter in the world. The officers couldn''t resort to violence, so they werepelled to reason with him to leave themand center. [It''s alright. Let him through.] Only after President Phaophator gave his approval did they step aside for Han-Yeol. [Yes, sir!] President Phaophator might have instructed his men to stand down for now, but he didn''t appear pleased with Han-Yeol''s actions. He held the young man in high regard and was even contemting marrying his daughter to him, as the rumors suggested. Finding a suitable suitor for Tayarana was an extremely challenging task since she was the next in line to be the country''s president, and marrying her off to royalty from another country seemed absurd. On the other hand, Han-Yeol was neither royalty nor an important political figure in his home country, making it eptable for the marriage to proceed matrilineally. However, this didn''t mean President Phaophator could ignore such a tant act of disrespect¡ªentering the country''smand center during a state of emergency¡ªno matter how favorably he regarded Han-Yeol. After all, President Phaophator was exceedingly strict when it came to separating personal and professional matters. [I hope you have a reasonable exnation for your actions.] He was a man of principle, cing great importance on order, as evidenced by his decision not to directly intervene in the hostage crisis despite being the country''s strongest Hunter. [I have no idea who those terrorists are, but my people are among the foreigners they kidnapped.] [What?!] President Phaophator grimaced and eximed. If there was anything he valued more than his principles, it was his pride. But the subordinates of his esteemed guest had been abducted in broad daylight by terrorists in the capital city. Nothing could be more shameful to the president. Terrorist attacks in Egypt were not umon, as the country was still contending with numerous extremists attempting to overthrow the government. However, the problemy in the fact that this attack urred in broad daylight in the city considered the Heart of Africa. Failure to swiftly deal with the terrorists would undoubtedly deal a severe blow to the country''s prestige. President Phaophator saw this as more than a matter of personal pride; it could sow seeds of distrust from the African bloc toward Egypt. While Egypt might not be heavily affected by this incident at the moment, it was sure to hinder its efforts to establish itself as the world''s strongest superpower. [I would like to apologize to you first.] President Phaophator offered his apologies to Han-Yeol as a preliminary gesture, now understanding why Han-Yeol had barged into themand center. [However, you may not stay here, so please return for now. I can assure you that your people will be rescued soon.] [That will be a bit difficult.] [What?!] President Phaophator was taken aback by Han-Yeol¡¯s tant disrespect directed at him. [I want to personally help rescue them.] [Hmm?] The president was slightly surprised by Han-Yeol''s next statement. He knew that Han-Yeol held his subordinates in high regard, but he didn''t expect him to be willing to personally put himself in danger to rescue them. Entering the hunting ground without knowing what they were up against posed significant risks. After all, the world had made great leaps in technological advancements, and that meant the terrorists had also advanced. Moreover, the terrorists had awakened beings on their side, giving them much greater firepower than most nations. This was why Middle Eastern and African countries employed a significant number of Hunters in their militarypared to other nations. [Are you sure?] President Phaophator inquired, wanting to confirm Han-Yeol¡¯s seriousness. [Yes, I am. My anger will not be quelled unless I make them pay for daring to go after my people.] [Hmm¡­ Alright, I understand.] President Phaophator would have immediately refused if Han-Yeol were an ordinary Hunter driven solely by vengeance, as he would only hinder the rescue operation. However, Han-Yeol was not an average Hunter; he was a Master Rank Hunter, considered the most lethal force in the world. It was impossible for anyone to stand in his way unless they were also a Master Rank Hunter. While the Ra Rank Hunters of Egypt were already on standby, President Phaophator hesitated to allow Han-Yeol, an outsider, to join the operation. [Your Excellency!] one of the officers suddenly shouted. [What is it?] President Phaophator turned around and grimaced the moment he saw the screen. [Hmm?] The main monitor that should have disyed a tactical map was reced with an image featuring a few familiar faces, with masked men armed with AK series rifles standing behind them. The masked men were wearing vests bearing the insignia of a gun and bomb, which belonged to the terrorist group Shabab, responsible for the kidnapping. [T-That''s it!] Shabab believed that revolution could onlye through guns and bombs, and their leader was a Master Rank Hunter with three abilities rted to explosions. Naturally, this terrorist leader was not counted among Egypt''s Ra Rank Hunters. It was difficult to identify the masked men on the screen, but one of them stepped forward and spoke. [Listen, King of the Infidels. You have defied the will of God andmitted sphemy. Your life is insufficient to atone for your transgressions. Therefore, we, the Shabab, will administer divine punishment upon you.] President Phaophator immediately asked the officer in charge of collecting information, [Where is that video being transmitted from?] [It ising from Faiyum, sir!] [I see¡­] President Phaophator let out a sigh and massaged his temples. Things were not looking good at the moment as the terrorists had seemingly established their base within Faiyum, a ce with a hunting ground teeming with powerful monsters. Their motives formitting such terror were not important at this moment, as they could extract that information through interrogation after capturing them. The immediate problem was how to subdue them. Most hostage rescue operations had to be carried out quietly, avoiding the terrorists'' scrutiny, as any misstep could result in harm to the hostages. Unfortunately, that option wasn''t avable due to the presence of monsters in the hunting ground. The masked man from Shabab continued taunting the president, but his next statement infuriated the entiremand center. [Our demands are simple, but we want to negotiate in person. Send that Tayarana bitch as your representative!] [W-What?!] [Those audacious fiends!] [He dared to mention the princess¡¯ name?!] This video was being broadcasted throughout Egypt, causing the entire nation to erupt in outrage. How dare the terrorists demand the princess toe in person! It was evident that they intended to harm her once she entered the hunting ground. The Egyptians were aware that the terrorists harbored intense animosity toward Tayarana, more so than anyone else in the country. Her demise would weaken Egypt¡¯s influence over the entire African region. This would create an opportunity for religious extremists to propagate their beliefs andws across Africa once Tayarana was eliminated. Africa needed a religion to follow, and the prevalent faith in Egypt was Egyptian Mythology. [Let¡¯s go and protest!] [We can¡¯t let them have their way with our princess!] [Yes! You¡¯re right!] [We need to protect our princess!] [Yes!] The video from Shabab had not yet concluded, but thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to protest. [Protect the princess!] [We don¡¯t negotiate with terrorists!] [Protect the princess!] [¡­] The people might have been enraged, but they were not the ones most infuriated by the terrorists'' demands. Not at all. The one who was most enraged right now was none other than President Phaophator. [Those mongrels¡­!] Tayarana was revered as a goddess throughout Africa, and the Egyptians loved their princess. However, to Phaophator, she was his most beloved daughter before she was a princess or a goddess. Phaophator had three sons from his marriages, who were princes of Egypt, and eleven other sons born out of wedlock who couldn''t inherit the title of prince. Among his fourteen children, he had one daughter. She was an exceptional individual, far more capable than all of his sonsbined, and he would not trade her for anything else in this world. But the terrorists dared to call her a bitch and demand her presence? That was more than enough to make Phaophator''s eyes turn bloodshot. Kwak¡­! He gritted his teeth and was about to erupt in anger when the door suddenly swung open. [Father.] Tayarana walked into themand center along with Mariam. [What brings you here, Tara?] Phaophator asked as gently as possible, although his expression clearly indicated he was not in a good mood. He didn''t want his daughter to be entangled in these matters. It might be unreasonable, but he wished for her to experience only the good things in life. There was no reason for her to be involved in this hostage crisis as long as Phaophator was alive and well. Moreover, Egypt was not so weak that they needed their princess to step in to resolve a hostage situation. However, it seemed that Tayarana disagreed. [I will go, Father.] [What are you saying?!] [The terrorists have asked for me.] [Yes, but they know that you are our great nation''s weakness, my daughter.] While he held the highest authority in the country as the president, Phaophator recognized that his daughter was the linchpin holding all of Africa together under Egypt''s rule. What if something happened to her? Egypt''s dominance over Africa would be severely shaken, and the one-hundred-year n he had prepared for the country would be in ruins. He couldn''t simply watch as both his country and his daughter were put in danger. [I will never allow you to go!] President Phaophator was resolute in his decision not to let her go, but Tayarana seemed to have made up her mind.