Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 405 – No Brakes In Han-Yeol’s Growth (1)

Chapter 405 – No Brakes In Han-Yeol’s Growth (1)

Chapter 405 – No Brakes In Han-Yeol’s Growth (1)

‘Hmm... I still can’t see it...’ Han-Yeol grimaced. He still could not read Woo Han-Jong’s movements at all.

[He’s coming from your upper right this time!]

He had to rely on Karvis to defend himself from the attacks.

“Time to say goodbye, brat!” Woo Han-Jong exclaimed confidently and swung his bamboo sword at Han-Yeol’s neck.

Whoosh!

However, Han-Yeol seemed quite calm for some reason.

‘This attack would’ve gotten me if it was me a while ago,’ he thought.

Surprisingly, he was smirking right now.

‘Blood Leg.’

He used one of the new skills he received from Astaroth, Blood Leg. He did not have the time to read the skill’s description in detail, but he could tell from glancing through it that this skill was exactly what he needed right now.

Chwak!

Then, four legs sprouted on his back. The legs looked like a spider's, but they were slightly different upon closer inspection. The legs on his back immediately started moving.

[This is awesome!]

The first to react was Karvis. She instantly took control of the legs on his back as soon as they sprouted, and she used them to block the bamboo sword aimed at his neck.

Then, she used the legs to counterattack by attacking Woo Han-Jong’s four critical points: his head, chest, abdomen, and that place.

“Heup!” Woo Han-Jong was forced to disengage after seeing the bloody legs coming at him.

Whoosh!

[Tsk... This old geezer is a slippery one.]

She could not help but be disgruntled after she failed her first attack with her new weapons.

Han-Yeol laughed. ‘Haha! Calm down, Karvis. We’re just getting started now.’

[Keke! Yeah, I guess you are right.]

Surprisingly, she was slowly starting to become like Han-Yeol.

“...”

The momentum shifted in Han-Yeol’s favor. He had yet to discover the secret behind Woo Han-Jong’s movements, but he now had a way to defend himself.

On the other hand, things were not looking great for Woo Han-Jong as he could no longer exploit Han-Yeol’s weakness.

‘He became stronger again! This brat became stronger during battle!’ he could not help but rage inwardly.

This was already the second time Han-Yeol had become stronger in this fight alone. His power spike was completely absurd, and Woo Han-Jong could not believe they were the same growth-type Hunters.

‘If that’s a growth-type Hunter... Then, what am I...?’ He started to question whether he could claim to be a growth-type Hunter or not.

“Hmm... Should we call this the third quarter now, old man?” Han-Yeol asked. Before, he referenced football, but the prolonged battle forced him to switch to basketball this time.

“Do you honestly think you can beat me just because you obtained a few pathetic skills? The fact that you’re a piece of trash on the side of the road won’t change!”

Bam!

Woo Han-Jong used Aerial Steps to fly up. He knew Han-Yeol could no longer use his Light wings, so he was exploiting this weakness.

Han-Yeol might use whatever new skills he obtained, but he could do nothing if he could not reach his opponent.

“Haa...!” Han-Yeol sighed after his opponent went up into the sky just as he expected.

‘Alright, shall we get serious now, Karvis?’ he asked.

[Ready when you are, Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Hahaha!’ Han-Yeol burst into laughter. Then, he kicked off the ground to fly up as well.

Woo Han-Jong scoffed in disbelief, ‘Ha! You’re going to jump at someone capable of flying? Are you stupid?’

‘Heh.’

Han-Yeol’s current action was the epitome of foolishness. Yes, he was a powerful Hunter, but it was impossible for a mere human to move freely in the air without any flight skills. This was a restriction humans had as a race, and it was also a restriction Woo Han-Jong planned to exploit.

‘I’m going to finish this now.’ Woo Han-Jong was confident he could end this fight, as big movements such as the jump Han-Yeol made just now were costly mistakes in battle.

Chwak! Wooong!

Woo Han-Jong readied his bamboo sword and gathered his mana in preparation to use his most powerful skill.

“Celestial Nine Stars Destruction!”

The skill name sounded like something straight out of a murim novel. Most people would think of chi and various types of energies used in murim novels as just works of imagination. Still, those things were very real now after the dimensional gates appeared and people started awakening as Hunters.

In fact, a growing group of Hunters in Asia had started tinkering with the possibility of using both mana and yin/yang energy. The reason behind this movement was that the Hunters usually awakened with three skills. They could train as much as they wanted, but it was extremely difficult, if not impossible for them to overcome their limits.

This limitation affected Master-Rank Hunters too. They might possess much denser mana compared to ordinary Hunters, but most of them were still limited to only possessing three skills.

Due to this, the world was trying to research the possibilities of using Eastern murim skills and Western magic skills in reality. The research received astronomical funding, and they recently started showing promising results.

The first and only person to enjoy the fruit of this research was none other than the First Hunter, the real chairman of the Hunters’ Association, the Growth-Type Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter, and the Sword of Freemason, Woo Han-Jong.

Woo Han-Jong channeled murim energy into his bamboo sword.

Wooooong!

Celestial Nine Stars Destruction was a skill that borrowed the chi of the heavens to unleash a destructive slash.

Whoosh!

Krwaaaang!

The sound of the sky splitting open thundered as the destructive mana shot toward Han-Yeol like a tidal wave about to destroy everything in its path. Calling the skill a tidal wave when Woo Han-Jong was currently in the air was a bit strange, but that was the best way to put it, as it would sweep away everything beneath it.

‘Tsk... So this old geezer still has a few tricks up his sleeves...’ Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grimaced.

The incoming attack was something he could not avoid unless he possessed a flying ability.

[Yes, I did not expect him to have such a powerful skill. We would have been in serious trouble if you had jumped without any plans, Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Hey, I wouldn’t have jumped in the first place if I didn’t have any plans, you know?’

[Well, I guess you are right.]

Han-Yeol’s plan was not something special or secretive. In fact, it was actually quite a simple one.

‘Wings of Light!’

Chwak!

“W-What?! How did you?! I ripped those off a while ago!” Woo Han-Jong exclaimed out of shock after seeing the wings he clearly ripped apart earlier suddenly sprout again.

Of course, he had no idea how long it would take Han-Yeol before he could use his wings again, but he knew from experience that such skills usually took at least a minimum of one day to recover.

But Han-Yeol was able to sprout his wings again in less than an hour?

However, the wings did not plant themselves on Han-Yeol’s back this time.

“W-What...?” Woo Han-Jong was surprised and perplexed at what he was witnessing.

“Haha! What do you think?” Han-Yeol asked with a laugh. Then, he flew up and somersaulted to show off his new wings.

Whoosh!

Han-Yeol’s wings previously sprouted on his back, but now his back was occupied by the bloody grotesque arms. Not to mention, the wings were easy picking for Woo Han-Jong—like last time, Han Yeol’s back was clearly a blind spot that he could not easily defend.

After careful consideration, Han-Yeol came up with the idea to plant his wings elsewhere, and he took inspiration from the Herald of Gods in Greek Mythology, Hermes.

He could sprout the wings wherever he wanted, and the only reason it was on his back the entire time was because he thought looking like an angel would make him look cooler. Also, it was very good from an aerodynamic standpoint that the wings were on his back.

[Woo Han-Jong probably never imagined in his wildest dreams that all of your skill cooldowns reset whenever you level up.]

‘Well, now he knows.’

[Hmm... Maybe?]

‘Hahaha!’

This was the difference between Woo Han-Jong and Han-Yeol.

“Y-You insolent brat!” Woo Han-Jong gnashed his teeth, and his eyes started turning red from rage. He was starting to lose control over his emotions after being blatantly disrespected by Han-Yeol over and over again.

It was only normal for him to be enraged as Han-Yeol was gifted when it came to annoying people.

“I’m not letting you off easily!”

Boom!

“I’m going to cut your head, stuff it, and hang it on my wall as a trophy!”

“What the hell are you talking about, old man?”

Shwiiik!

Karvis immediately responded as soon as Han-Yeol waved his hand. She was now controlling the chain and started encircling it around them.

Woo Han-Jong scoffed and said, “Ha! I’m getting tired of your petty little tricks! This won’t work on me twi—!”

Then, he suddenly noticed Han-Yeol smirk.

“Do you really think so?” Han-Yeol asked in response as his lips curled up like a villain often found in superhero movies.

‘Haha... I guess I rooted for the bad guys more than the good guys ever since I was young, so I guess I’m more inclined to be a villain than a hero?’

Actually, there were numerous times that people would mistake him as a villain due to the monsters and demons he was surrounded by. The monsters and demons were considered threats against humanity, so he was bound to get such misunderstandings from others if they were not familiar with him.

Woo Han-Jong did not bother responding to Han-Yeol’s childish antics.

“Hyaaaa!” he bellowed and swung his sword.

Unfortunately, his attacks were no longer as threatening as they once were to Han-Yeol.

Shwaaak!

Woo Han-Jong knew this too, so he instantly disappeared right before fully swinging his sword.

‘He disappeared again,’ Han-Yeol thought, but he seemed quite calm.

[No you don’t!]

Chwak!

Han-Yeol might have failed to keep track of Woo Han-Jong, but Karvis was able to sense the old man’s movement.

Han-Yeol, being the cunning person he was, decided to use this to his favor. He waited until Woo Han-Jong used this strange movement of his. Then, Karvis would defend him from the incoming attack, and then he would use Sixth Sense to react half a step later to attack the old man.

‘Welcome, old man! I was waiting for you to come close to me!’

Han-Yeol bided his time and waited for this precise moment to show off another skill.

‘It’s not easy keeping track of all of my skills, but I came up with this combo just for you. Sorry, but this one’s going to hurt a lot, old geezer!’

Shwiiik!

His Jabberwock Chain grew longer and swirled around them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Meanwhile, Han-Yeol and Karvis pressured Woo Han-Jong when he reappeared to attack.

“Argh! Damn it!” Woo Han-Jong cursed out of frustration. He was no longer able to exploit Han-Yeol’s weakness.

Woo Han-Jong decided to unleash his full power to settle this battle.

‘Tsk... I guess I have no choice but to use all my strength if I can’t win against him with technique. I didn’t want to do this, but I’ll have to overpower him with brute force!’