Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 108: Balrog the Fire Shield (5)

The world might have changed quite a lot, but the fact that humans experienced a rush of adrenaline whenever they went out on an adventure remained unchanged. The Hunters had felt this rush of adventure in their early days of hunting. However, they soon lost it after having gotten used to hunting at the hunting grounds.

Of course, there were a handful of Hunters who scoured the globe in search of new hunting grounds after growing out of the ones they had become used to.

That was the reason why the Mulan crew members could not help but forget about the perils of their ‘adventure’ for a moment and followed Han-Yeol with excitement. Also, they were jubilant at the fact that they were going to be able to capture this thrilling moment LIVE on camera.

“Be careful, everyone. Proceed with caution,” Han-Yeol warned.

“Yes, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!” the girls replied in unison.

[Don’t worry. The prey in this place don’t hide like the ones above, so they won’t be in danger as long as you remain vigilant,]?Balrog said.

‘That’s a relief,’?Han-Yeol replied.

He immediately relayed this information to his party members, which helped alleviate their anxiety by a little bit.

It was inevitable for the Mulan crew members to be worried and scared no matter how thrilling the adventure was. After all, their lives were going to be on the line. They were nervous that a monster was suddenly going to pop up from behind a wall, but Han-Yeol’s words helped them relax.

Click… Clack…!

However, Yoo-Bi, who was the only other combatant in the party, remained vigilant. She checked the HSK-447P that Han-Yeol had given her and was preparing to engage in combat at a moment’s notice.

Yoo-Bi had been getting stressed by the fact that she still had not been able to Awaken. This was a common occurrence among Porters, so there was nothing special about her situation. In fact, her career as a Porter was quite short when compared to how Han-Yeol had awakened only after four years of serving as a Porter.

Back then, Han-Yeol had also been frustrated about not awakening, so what Yoo-Bi was feeling right now was completely normal.

However, most people who failed to overcome their frustration in this period of time would end up getting depressed. In fact, quite a lot of Porters would usually give up due to this reason.

‘I need to make more money, so I should focus on doing my job rather than awakening,’?Yoo-Bi steeled her resolve.

Most Porters joined hunts to Awaken and to possibly become a Hunter. As for Han-Yeol, he had to desperately work regardless of whether he Awakened or not so that he could pay his father’s hospital bills. But the fact that he had something else to focus on did help him in overcoming this difficult and emotional period.

‘I’m sure Yoo-Bi is going to be able to overcome this by herself,’?Han-Yeol thought.

Han-Yeol knew that Yoo-Bi was mentally stronger than him. The fact that both of them had lived their childhood in poverty but she did not become a delinquent like him was proof that she was much more mentally resilient than him.

‘There’s no reason for me to step in since she will be fine on her own.’?

Han-Yeol could see that Yoo-Bi was overcoming her frustrations better than he had back then. He also noticed that she was growing quite fast as a Porter these days.

Back then, Han-Yeol had spent most of his days off sleeping as he would be dead tired from having to work alternately as a Porter and at the factory. Meanwhile, Yoo-Bi was currently able to invest in herself during her free time thanks to Han-Yeol providing her with a steady source of income.

However, he was still not confident about doing the same as she was currently doing even if he had been given the same luxury back then.

‘I really think that I’m not a studious person…’

Han-Yeol knew very well from an early age that studying was not his forte. He was also not the type to do his best if what he did brought him no excitement. It was quite fortunate that the ability he had awakened with was quite fun for him.

[We are almost there,]?Balrog said before stopping.

Han-Yeol stopped thinking about other things and stopped as well. ‘Demon Eyes.’

Wooong…!

He scanned every bit of mana within a ten kilometers radius around him, which meant that ten kilometers around him were no different than his territory now. Sensing a difference in mana, he thought, ‘The mana here is definitely different from the three monsters above ground.’?

The difference in mana did not necessarily mean that the monsters here were weaker or stronger than those above.

[Keke! This is getting interesting. I don’t get this excited even in the demon world! Is it because the air is different? It feels as if I’ll finally get to fight till the death now!]?Balrog exclaimed.

‘Do you think so?’

[Kwahahaha!]

Han-Yeol shook his head. He could not help but feel burdened by the overly-excited demon. However, he was also grateful for the demon’s active participation. It was a mixed feeling that he never imagined he would be getting from a demon of all things.

The dungeon was quite dark, but the party’s surroundings were brightly illuminated thanks to the combination of light sources from Balrog, Han-Yeol, and the Mulan film crew. Han-Yeol could not help but feel relieved as they would have had to turn back even after finding such a rare dungeon if they did not have any light source with them.

‘They say that the ones who are prepared will usually win. I guess they’re right,’?thought Han-Yeol as he had that realization once again.

Seuk…

Beep…! Beep…!?

“Oppa.”

“Yeah, I felt that too.”

[They’re coming.]?

The mana detector Yoo-Bi was using beeped while Han-Yeol’s Demon Eyes and Balrog’s instincts warned them of the incoming monsters.

Click… Clack…!

Yoo-Bi checked and readied her firearm once again.

Han-Yeol could not help but be impressed at her preparedness. Then, an idea popped up in his head. ‘Hmm… I wonder if that will work…’

There was still some time before the monsters would get to where they were, so Han-Yeol decided to first help the Mulan crew get set up before calling Yoo-Bi over.

“Why? Is something the matter?” Yoo-Bi asked.

“Give me your gun for a second,” Han-Yeol said.

“Alright.”

The HSK-447P Yoo-Bi held onto was technically Han-Yeol’s gear, so he was not being rude by asking her to hand it over or anything.

After receiving the gear from Yoo-Bi, Han-Yeol inspected the HSK-447P for a moment before he placed his hand on it. ‘I wonder if this will work…? Mana Pouch!’

Wooooong!

He used Mana Pouch for the first time ever. Then, the four thousand mana he stored up in the Mana Pouch flowed into the gun.

‘Oh! It works!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly after inspecting the gun with Demon Eyes and confirming that it was now infused with mana. He thought in disbelief, ‘Isn’t this awesome…?’?

The skill description did mention that it was going to be possible for Han-Yeol to transfer the mana to someone else, but he never imagined that it was going to be possible to pass the mana to an object… This single experiment was going to open up countless opportunities for him from now on.

The gun, now infused with the mana from Mana Pouch, was probably going to be much stronger than most firearms out there. After all, it was not simply coated with mana but had mana directly infused into it.

Han-Yeol returned the HSK-447P to Yoo-Bi after confirming that it was now infused with mana. He said, “Here you go.”

“O… Oppa… What did you do just now…?” Yoo-Bi asked with her eyes wide open in surprise. She could visibly see the mana infused in the gun, so she knew that Han-Yeol had done something beneficial for her.

She could not help feeling shocked, since this was her first time seeing such a bizarre sight.

“Ah, it’s nothing important. I just infused some of my mana into the gun to enhance it. It will probably be much stronger than it was before,” Han-Yeol replied.

“I-Is that even possible?!” Yoo-Bi could not help but be shocked once again after hearing it directly from him.

Infusing mana into something else? She had never heard of such a possibility except for a Hunter transferring their mana to another Hunter. She had been studying quite diligently in recent months, but she had never come across anything like this in any of the textbooks she had read.

“Shh! The live stream is going to start. I don’t have any plans to hide it, but nothing good will come out of announcing it to the world right now. Keep it to yourself for now. Also, I will continuously replenish the mana whenever I can, so bring your gun over whenever I call you.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Yoo-Bi tilted her head in confusion, thinking, ‘How is it possible for a single Hunter to possess so many skills…?’

At this point, she felt like giving up on trying to catch up to Han-Yeol’s level.

‘I keep trying every day so that I can catch up to him, but it feels like he is taking ten steps forward for every step I take… Haa…’

Yoo-Bi tried her best to not be a hindrance, studying until her nose bled ever since she started working with Han-Yeol. However, Han-Yeol seemed to be getting stronger by the day and further widening the gap between them. He was now so far ahead that it was difficult for her to even look at him. After all, he had even recently joined the Horus raid party and forged a personal relationship with the Goddess of Africa…

Tayarana was someone who a dirt-poor Porter like Yoo-Bi should not even dare to look at, but Yoo-Bi had been warmly welcomed into the Horus raid party just because she was Han-Yeol’s personal Porter.

However, there was no way that Yoo-Bi was going to crumble at this as she was quite the fighter herself.

‘I will try five times harder if my current efforts are not enough. I will not be a deadweight?dongsaeng?to you, oppa,’?Yoo-Bi steeled her resolve once again before taking aim.

Click… Clack…!

“Oppa, the monsters are one kilometer away. We will make contact in one minute and twenty seconds,” Yoo-Bi said with a gaze burning with resolve.

Han-Yeol liked the fire in Yoo-Bi’s eyes that burned away all traces of doubt and frustration. People who possessed these eyes burning with resolve were usually mentally quite strong regardless of their gender. He thought with a smile, ‘I guess I really don’t have to worry about her.’

Well, Yoo-Bi was quite independent and responsible, so he did not really have to worry about her…

Han-Yeol turned around and walked over toward Balrog, and then he stood beside him.

This secret dungeon was six meters in height and four meters in length, so there was plenty of room for the demon to move in.

[My shield forged from my flames will never be broken through!]

‘Hold on… Does this guy have a status window…?’?Han-Yeol wondered before he called up the demon’s status.

[Balrog Lvl1]

Rating: Intermediate

Experience Points: 1/1,000

Innate Ability: Absorb Flames

Stats:

STR: 30

VIT: 30

AGI: 10

MAG: 20

TEN: 50

Skills: Fire Shield, Hell Spear, Breath of Fire

‘Hmm? I can see his stats and innate ability as well?’?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise.

[Bwahahaha!]?Balrog gathered his mana.

A rectangular shield appeared in his left hand when he channeled his mana, and the air around him instantly heated up.

‘Oh right, this isn’t going to be an easy one.’?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered that he was going to be fighting against a different monster so he had to remain vigilant. He used a sigil and summoned the ranged Void Devil this time, since he had used the melee one last time.

Fwaaaa!

The Void Devil appeared from a cloud of smoke before materializing in front of Han-Yeol.

‘Welcome,’?Han-Yeol greeted the demon.

[Haa… Is it a battle?]

‘Yes.’

[Everything is for naught…]

‘These demons have their own personalities…’?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.

If Balrog was the type to actively search for hidden dungeons just to be able to fight, then the Void Devil was the type to only do the things that Han-Yeol requested. It did not actively seek out to do anything else, and it did not even speak unless Han-Yeol spoke to it first. In return, it did not ask for much so their upkeep was quite cheap.

‘Let’s go out with a bang, Void Devil-nim,’?Han-Yeol said.

[Haa… It’s all futile…]?

The Void Devil might have said it that way, but it was surely going to do its utmost to carry out what Han-Yeol had requested. A fitting word to describe this demon was probably ‘tsundere’…?

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!?

“Oppa, they are here,” Yoo-Bi said.

“Yeah, I can see them,” Han-Yeol replied as he looked into the distance with his eyes glowing red.

Balrog might love fighting so much that it could be called an obsession, but Han-Yeol was not that far off when it came to being battle-crazed.

Shwiiik!

Han-Yeol’s chain with a mace made its appearance once again.

1. Tenacity