Leveling Up Alone

Zing!

‘That guy is actually stronger than me!’

[Haa, if I knew this was going to happen, I would’ve killed the Demon King earlier instead of taking my time!]

‘Ahhh, my blood is boiling.’

As Han-Yeol grew stronger, his personality changed slightly. His love for battle and blood started to become twisted because of his experience as Harkan, earning the blood attribute, and making a contract with two Demon Kings and Darkness.

Han-Yeol was also aware of this fact, but he didn’t think to address it as it did not negatively affect him.

Shaaaa.

Black smoke rose, making the Demon King’s appearance even more dramatic.

[Kekeke, I never thought this body would directly descend into the human world. What a surprise.]

The demon that emerged slowly from the black smoke was a male with overwhelming charisma, so potent that it made Han-Yeol nervous for the first time in a long while.

With the appearance of the Demon King, the atmosphere took a complete turn, and the dark mage Demon King stood up, pointed to Han-Yeol, and spoke as if he was a real Demon King.

[Khahaha! I’ll make you realize that you lowly humans are no match for us Great Demons. Now, Demon King, go ahead and kill that piece of trash for me!]

[Huh?]

The Demon King looked at the dark mage who had summoned him.

[What are you doing? Quickly bring his head before…!]

Stab!

[Argh!]

Before a flaming sword pierced his chest, the dark mage Demon King was so excited that he didn't even realize what he had done wrong.

[J-Just why…!]

[How dare a human order me around.]

[T-That’s because… I-I summoned you…]

[So what? Did we make a contract?]

Demons were a race with a strong sense of honor. Once a contract was made, they never betrayed their summoner by attacking them, although they did lie a little. However, attacking and killing their summoner before making a contract was not a dishonorable act.

Therefore, the most important thing to keep in mind before summoning a demon was to only summon demons that could be handled. If one summoned a demon that was too strong, it could kill the summoner.

[T-T-This…!]

The dark mage Demon King couldn’t get over his anger and tried to say something, but he couldn’t.

[How noisy.]

Swoosh! Slice!

The real Demon King flicked his hand, and the flaming sword embedded in the dark mage’s chest sliced through his upper body. The intense flames caused no blood to gush out, and the dark mage Demon King’s lifeless body burned to black.

Chak!

After completing its task, the flaming sword returned to the Demon King’s hand.

‘Hmm, that was less exciting than I thought.’

Han-Yeol’s plan to kill the dark mage Demon King and take the Black Stone had gotten a little complicated.

[Kekeke, killing another race that isn’t a demon is quite fun too. Hey, human.]

“Did you call me?”

Even Han-Yeol, known for his brash demeanor due to his personality change, couldn't muster the audacity to be so bold in front of the Demon King. However, if he did have to fight him, he would fight him to death and not worry about such things.

[This body didn’t make a contract with the summoner, so I won’t be able to stay here for long, but thanks to the sacrificial summoning, I have enough time to enjoy myself. With the power you have, I think you’ll be able to entertain me.]

“...”

Han-Yeol’s face stiffened as he was a hundred percent sure of what the Demon King would say next.

[You’re going to have to face me while I’m here.]

‘Ugh, damn it. Should I just run away?’

China would be destroyed a little, but that was none of his business and time was on Han-Yeol’s side anyway.

‘I do love a good fight, but I still have work to do, and I don’t want to waste time or energy. I’ll come back for the Black Stone once the Demon King is summoned back.’

If he had time on his hands, he would’ve fought the Demon King no matter what it took, but Han-Yeol had a lot on his plate right now. He didn’t have time to waste and deal with the Demon King.

‘Alright, let’s make a strategic retreat for now.’

However, as if he had foreseen Han-Yeol’s plan, the Demon King’s words stopped him in his tracks.

[Isn’t this what you were looking for, human?]

“Huh? No way!”

Han-Yeol was just about to run away, but he was stunned by what the Demon King showed him between his fingers.

‘I-Isn’t that the Black Stone?’

It was an oval-shaped jewel, a mysterious black stone that emitted a faint light.

Shaaa!

[T-That’s it. That’s the Black Stone, Han-Yeol-nim!]

Noras had been hiding by making himself invisible since he wasn’t helpful in combat, but he suddenly emerged, excited by the appearance of the Black Stone.

“Haa, I’m screwed.”

Realizing that he now had to deal with the Demon King, Han-Yeol sighed heavily and shook his head from side to side.

[Ah, but don’t worry, human. Although the power within this stone is decent, it’s insignificant compared to my countless treasures. The sole purpose of this gem is to ensure that you do not flee before the conclusion of our fight. Kekeke.]

Han-Yeol's tone changed as he became slightly enraged by the Demon King's attitude. “Well, okay. I’ll deal with you.”

[Hahaha! Great. My name is Andras, also known as the Marquis of Flames, ranked sixty-third in the Demon King hierarchy.]

“My name is Lee Han-Yeol, the strongest Hunter on Earth.”

[Great. The strongest man in this dimension is worthy of fighting against me. If you live until I’m summoned back, I will give this to you, but if you die or flee before then, I will either break this stone or take it back with me to the demon world. Then you’ll never be able to see this again.]

“Deal.”

Clank!

Han-Yeol pulled out both his sword and chain and took a serious fighting stance. Around him was a powerful mana that only came out when he was serious.

Han-Yeol hadn’t been this serious recently when facing an opponent, so it had been a while since he released this kind of mana.

[Kahaha! The more I look at you, the more I like you. The aura I sensed from you was both different but familiar, so I was just going to have a little fun and kill you, but this turned out to be pretty big. This is good. I’ll be able to fully enjoy myself!]

Kwanggg!

Andras, the Marquis of Flames, spread his arms wide, and a powerful storm of mana rushed out.

‘That’s a lot of mana for sure. I don’t think I can win, but I’ll still have a chance of holding my ground. It was a shame that I never got the chance to fight a Demon King before, but now that I do, I might as well enjoy it.’

It was better to enjoy it if he couldn’t avoid it.

“I must not lose!”

Pang!

Now, he could prove how serious he was about the battle. Han-Yeol didn’t usually make surprise attacks in one-on-one combat. If the opponent was objectively superior, the best trick he could use was to surprise them and crush their fighting spirit.

Pang, pang, pang!

A tremendous shockwave erupted around Han-Yeol, showing how fast he was moving.

[Is this all you’ve got? This is quite disappointing!]

Shaaa!

‘Hmph!’

However, despite his incredible speed, Andras was able to accurately follow Han-Yeol’s movements with his eyes.

‘Tsk!’

Since he had failed to properly play out a surprise attack, hitting and dodging was the most effective way to deal with a stronger opponent.

‘Flash Strike!’

Shaaa!

[Oh wow, that was quite a sharp attack, but your blade is too slow.]

Ting!

Andras' sword of flames was able to easily block Han-Yeol's attack.

‘Do you think this is all?’

Winggg!

Han-Yeol was not a swordsman who only fought with a sword. As a person who used three weapons, his sword was not only a means of attack, but it was often used as a foundation for various attacks.

[Huh?]

Andras saw a device on Han-Yeol’s shoulders that emitted a murderous energy.

[Oh?]

‘Mana Explosion!’

Boom!

Han-Yeol used the time he made from clashing with his sword to fire his shoulder cannon, using the Mana Explosion skill on Andras.

‘Restraint!’

Churrrr!

The Mana Explosion seemed to hit Andras’ body with precision.

Han-Yeol didn't care about the outcome and used his restraint skill.

‘There's no way a simple attack like this would have any impact on a Demon King.’

Han-Yeol’s Mana Explosion was meant to slaughter civilians and keep opponents in check, but it wasn’t much use against enemies of a similar level or stronger.

Ting!

‘Tsk, I knew it!’

Not only was Andras unharmed by the Mana Explosion, but he was also able to deflect Han-Yeol’s restraint skill that followed.

[Khaha, you’re quite the fighter, kid.]

Andras laughed murderously despite taking a direct hit from the mana explosion.

‘What a monster!’

[Now it’s my turn.]

Crackle!

Andras’ sword of flames emitted a sizzling fire, wanting to cut through Han-Yeol as fast as possible.

[Flames of Annihilation!]

Kwaaaa!

As soon as he swung his sword, ten enormous fire whirlwinds appeared and rushed toward Han-Yeol.

‘What!’

Han-Yeol was stunned by the powerful whirlwinds.

‘I can’t take it head on, much less dodge it!’

The ten fire whirlwinds rushed at him from all directions, leaving him no room to escape.

‘Then this is the only way.’

Zing!

Han-Yeol activated his Force Shield.

‘Please work. Reflect!’

Haa!

The Force Shield brightly glowed as the skill was activated.

[Huh?]

Andras cocked his head as the puzzling light shone brightly.

Whoosh!

The ten fire whirlwinds he created weren’t heading toward Han-Yeol, but they changed directions instead and headed toward Andras.

[Damn it.]

[You have interesting tricks up your sleeves.]

Andras was completely unfazed by the deflection of his skill and swung his sword to extinguish the fire whirlwinds.

“Huh?!”

An attack that was returned by Reflect was supposed to be recognized as Han-Yeol’s own. Therefore, even if one could cancel the skill, it was impossible to get rid of it.

Han-Yeol looked dumbfounded as the fire whirlwinds he deflected disappeared just like that.

[Hey, kid. I control fire, so fire is like child’s play from my perspective. I don’t know how you managed to deflect my whirlwinds, but as long as it’s fire, it’s under my control.]

‘Tsk, I see.’

No matter what the skill was, as long as it was related to fire, Andras had control over it.

‘Good thing I’m a versatile Hunter. What would I have done if I was a fire mage?’

Han-Yeol secretly patted his chest in relief.

Whoosh!

The sword of flames started to burn again.

[Alright, let’s get started for real now, shall we?]

‘Ugh! This is getting annoying. Will I be able to manage till the end?’

Han-Yeol was quite worried about the whole situation.

The fight between Han-Yeol and Andras had only just begun.