Leveling Up Alone

[...]

[Is this for real?]

[No way.]

They were members of the demon king army that terrorized what was now China and Southeast Asian countries, and they were the definition of horror. However, if looked at closely, they weren’t completely different from normal Hunters or humans, even though they did have slightly bad personalities.

[Ughh!]

Grrr!

Seeing all of this, the feudal lord clenched his teeth to the point where his dental health could be concerning. His face turned as red as it could possibly be, almost bursting.

[Lee. Han. Yeol!]

‘Huh?’

Krrrr!

The feudal lord’s dark rage filled the air around him.

‘He’s?’

[Judging by his mana and his clothes, he’s probably the leader of this monster army.]

‘Yeah, his pathetic sight tells me so without even having to measure his mana.’

The feudal lord was wearing all sorts of sparkly accessories, as if he was trying to demonstrate the true meaning of flashy. The weather was currently cloudy. Perhaps it was due to the gloomy aura of the monsters, but if the sun were to shine, his clothes would be a better reflector than any other.

[How dare you, Lee Han-Yeol!]

Goooo!

The feudal lord didn’t care what Han-Yeol thought. There was only one thing he wanted, and that was to kill Han-Yeol.

[Take this. Inescapable Plague!]

The black magic he used was a far range attack skill, a type of curse magic that would inflict incredible pain.

This plague was both an attack and debuff skill. It covered very large areas quickly and was not easy to dodge. If a person encountered this plague skill, their entire body would rot and ooze out, and then they would slowly lose their mana and die. Even if they survived, their bodies would be crippled and they would be unable to fight effectively in battles.

This skill was a two in one combo as it had two effects.

But when Karvis saw the skill, she laughed.

[Ha, what a joke.]

‘Haha, let’s not be too harsh. I’m sure he’s just doing it to make a living too, even though it’s completely useless.’

[That’s the most important thing.]

Whoosh!

The grayish, powdery smoke-like plague skill quickly approached Han-Yeol.

[Khaha, great!]

[Ohh!]

As the plague skill covered Han-Yeol, not only did the feudal lord exclaim in admiration, but also did his subordinate dark mages.

They knew better than anyone else how terrible and brutal this skill was. However, they were worried that the skill wouldn't reach Han-Yeol. Regardless of whether they knew it or not, the plague skill hit him.

[W-We won!]

[Haha, Lee Han-Yeol is nothing.]

[The world is now yours, lord. Congratulations!]

[Hahaha.]

The feudal lord rejoiced as if he had already had the world in the palm of his hands.

Shhhhh.

The plague skill ended and Han-Yeol’s figure was revealed.

“Is that it?”

[...W-What?]

Despite the fact that he had been exposed to the plague, a powerful offensive and curse skill, Han-Yeol still looked down with the same expression as if nothing had happened.

“I thought it was some kind of amazing skill, but you actually tried to attack me with this useless skill that can’t even break through my pure mana?”

[...]

Of course the dark mages couldn’t understand Han-Yeol, but from the way he was flicking his ears and speaking with an extremely annoyed expression, they could tell that the plague skill hadn’t worked on him and not even 0.001 milligrams had reached him.

“So, it’s my turn now, right?”

After receiving a gift, it was only natural to reciprocate.

Swish.

Han-Yeol bent at the waist in midair with his sword and chain.

[S-Stop him r-right now!]

Realizing that his power was completely ineffective against Han-Yeol, the dark mage turned pale and ordered his subordinates to stop Han-Yeol immediately. He then prepared to flee.

“Haha, where are you going? You’re free to come, but you’re not allowed to leave.”

Pang!

With a sound that pierced the air, Han-Yeol disappeared.

*

Whoosh! Thud!

[...]

As the commander in charge of the northern defense line in Tuyen Quang collapsed from shock and was admitted to the intensive care unit (collapsed but not yet dead), his temporary replacement took over and looked down in disbelief at the head that Han-Yeol tossed in front of him.

“Is there anyone who can speak English?”

[I-I can speak a little.]

The vice commander, a key figure in the pro-American force, spoke English very fluently. He had spent ten years of special training at a private US Hunter academy.

“Oh, great. This is the head of the leader of the monster army that invaded Vietnam.”

[T-This is?]

“Yes, there may be remnants of the monster army in the north, but the standing army has been wiped out.”

[T-Thank you so much, H-Han-Yeol-nim. H-How will I ever be able to repay…]

He was the one who was by the commander’s side the moment he collapsed. He knew better than anyone that if Han-Yeol hadn’t shown up at that moment, Vietnam would’ve been doomed.

“Well, of course I’ll have to receive compensation of equal value.”

[S-Sorry?]

“Ah, that’s not something you need to worry about. My compensation will be negotiated with the Vietnamese government and the association.”

[Ah, alright…]

In response to Han-Yeol’s comment about his compensation, the vice commander looked at Han-Yeol with slightly less respect, but Han-Yeol didn’t care about receiving respect and admiration from others. For him, practical rewards were more important than honor and respect.

Even if there wasn’t anything he wanted from Vietnam, he wasn’t nice enough to give free help to those who already had plenty. Even if he didn’t want anything from the person he helped, he was the kind of person to take even a grain of rice, and only then would he be satisfied.

*

For now, Han-Yeol left the issue of receiving compensation from Vietnam to the HY Group.

When Jason heard about this, he was annoyed that Han-Yeol had added more work to his already busy schedule when he should be helping as the owner instead. But what could he do? Han-Yeol was the chairman of the HY Group, and at the end of the day, he was just a salaryman, hired by Han-Yeol, so he had no choice but to do what he was told.

Although Jason always grumbled whenever Han-Yeol asked him to do something, he was someone who worked harder than anyone else, so he wasn’t going to let Han-Yeol down on this one as well.

With the situation in Vietnam wrapped up, Han-Yeol immediately headed to its neighbor, Laos.

Once again, he borrowed the power of the Spirit of Space and arrived midair in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which was in the midst of being destroyed.

Crackle!

[Ahhhh!]

[H-Help me!]

[Buddha, please save me!]

[Bastards, how dare you come here!]

Crack!

[Arghhh!]

This place was literally hell, far worse than Vietnam.

“Tsk, tsk. Vietnam was not too bad compared to Laos.”

[That can’t be helped. Although it was a very long time ago, Vietnam made the US withdraw from their country, and they still remain as a military power in Southeast Asia because of that achievement. Vietnam also has a larger population of about a hundred million more people so they have more Hunters, but Laos is different. Laos is a very typical underdeveloped country, and although their land is not much smaller than Vietnam’s, their population is barely more than seven to ten million. They also only have one Master-Rank Hunter. Laos is a small and weak nation of Hunters that can't even compare to Vietnam, which has ten Hunters and is preparing for war all year round.]

‘Tsk, tsk. Still, isn’t this too much?’

As far as Han-Yeol knew, if a country bordering China collapsed, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia’s safety wouldn’t be guaranteed. So those countries were also providing huge amounts of manpower and supplies to end the war as quickly as possible.

Nonetheless, Laos’ defense line eventually collapsed and the capital was in flames.

The monsters brutally slaughtered the civilians who were unable to escape, as they had only listened to dictatorship broadcasts and went about their business as usual.

‘Okay, let’s go!’

Pak!

Han-Yeol had used the spatial movement skill properly this time, so the side effect of lightning strikes didn’t happen and his arrival wasn’t too noticeable either. However, because spatial movement was an intense skill, there was no way that the dark mages, a class of mages who were sensitive to mana, wouldn’t notice.

[Everyone, gather in one place!]

[Yes, Your Grace!]

Similar to the case in Vietnam, the dark mage sent to Laos was not a Laos native. Instead, he had somewhat of an unfortunate childhood.

He had been abandoned at birth, left to starve in the slums. Just before he was about to die, he stole a loaf of bread from a street vendor before he was beaten, until the dark mage elders finally saved him and he was raised as a dark mage himself.

He was a much smarter dark mage than the feudal lord dark mage sent to Vietnam, and was capable of making emotionless decisions. When he heard that Han-Yeol had already begun hunting down the monster army, he quickly rallied the monster army to break through Vientiane for an all out war.

The Southeast Asian allies were caught off guard when the monster army, which had only been attacking a large area, suddenly attacked Vientiane and breached their defense line.

Thankfully(?), the president and prime minister of Laos were able to evacuate safely. However, the innocent civilians who received the news late were torn to pieces by the monsters before they could evacuate.

Slash!

[Agh!]

[Hurry up! We must take over and fortify Vientiane as soon as possible before Lee Han-Yeol gets here. Quickly!]

The dark mage took it upon himself to move quickly to clear out Vientiane, using as much magic as he could.

“Krrr.”

[D-Don’t come any closer!]

Whoosh! Tremble!

Sangpachan Buntisan, a young boy in his teens, shed tears of terror as he stood in front of a monster with two heads and black, smooth, hard skin instead of fur. His whole body trembled and he felt all kinds of horror, but he didn’t take a single step backward. Rather, he swung his poorly cut wooden sword that he used to play with his friends, hoping to chase the monster away somehow.

The boy’s behavior looked ridiculous to the monster. It had just ripped off the head of an E-rank Hunter and chewed it to pieces.

Step, step!

“Krrrr.”

Although it was already full from eating a human whole, it still couldn’t let the human live. So, it approached the boy step by step with the intention of killing him slowly and painfully.

[...G-Go away!]