Leveling Up Alone

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 looked completely different from their previous slightly transparent form.

They used to be rooted to the ground as they came out from the shadows, but their latest evolution now had them floating off of the ground. Their body color had also changed from jet-black to indigo, and their semi-transparent body had become more materialized and defined now.

They possessed a body that looked similar 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 become 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 than compensated for those shortcomings 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 actual combat 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 explained.

[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 display his abilities even though the cameras and the microphones were rolling.

However, Han-Yeol had no idea that the words he had nonchalantly 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 place in the Hunter Ecosystem…]

‘This isn’t going to become a huge issue, right…?’?thought the Mulan team. They were a bit nervous after seeing the flurry of messages on the chat.

The Mulan 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 Mulan 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 to land 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 revelation.

She had already made plans 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 according to what you wanted. She was making contingency plans 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 exclaimed 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 a command, the Egyptian Hunters simultaneously glared at Han-Yeol.

Stomp! Stomp!?

The Egyptian Hunters angrily stomped away while glaring 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 preoccupied 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…]

[??]

The common 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 plan, 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 relaxed 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 with comrades. 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 exclaimed inwardly as he finished warming up.

“Kiek! Kiek! Kiek!”

The last 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 accurately 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 relaxed 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 something lacking 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 situations compared 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 claws.

Clang!

Han-Yeol easily blocked the monster’s claws 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 the combined 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 claws, 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 place feels familiar... in both a good and bad way…]

‘Is it because it is a paradise?’?Han-Yeol asked in response.

[…]