Leveling Up Alone

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 become overly agitated and exhaust all of his arrows.

Jung Woo-Hyun could engage in melee combat using his bow, but he was up against an S Rank Hunter who specialized in close-quarters combat. There was no way he could match his opponent.

After all, the Bow Master excelled in ranged combat, 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 someone coming 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 accounts?]

[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 platform 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 become a laughingstock.

'We're already a laughingstock right now. I might as well reap the profits if I'm going to end up as a laughingstock either way,' Jung Soo-Hyun thought as he tightly gripped his sword.

The Hallasan 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 Hallasan Monster had made such a request in the first place.

‘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 Hallasan 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 you come 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 place.

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 accurately 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 displayed 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 regular 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 blacksmith, thereby increasing the weapon's attack power by at least two-fold.

"Alright, I accept the terms," Han-Yeol said.

[Excellent choice.]

The mood in the chat room of Level Up TV instantly shifted after Han-Yeol accepted 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 glad 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 the combatants.

“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 replaced 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 available 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.

Clack!

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 becomes a Master Rank Hunter.’

The Hallasan 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 relationship 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 accidents. 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 their combat prowess.

“Gust Slash!” Jung Soo-Hyun exclaimed.

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 Hallasan 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 his command.

However...

Clang!

“…?!”