Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 117: The Club (5)

“Ugh…”?Sung-Jin groaned.

He felt nauseous after experiencing something he hadn’t yet experienced while hunting at the hunting grounds. The things he had to see while going out on hunts had never been this grotesque. Also, having to witness human deaths had very different effects on his mental health.

Beep! Beep!

Han-Yeol opened the trunk compartment of his van, then said, “Take this, Sung-Jin.”

“H-Huh?!”

Thud… Clack!

Han-Yeol passed Sung-Jin his HSK-447P, a few cartridges, as well as various equipment used by Porters.

It was only then that Sung-Jin came to his senses. He had been nervous the entire time after feeling naked and exposed to the monsters, so the fact that he was going to be armed helped alleviate some of his concerns.

“What do you think? Have you calmed down a bit now?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Ah, yeah… Sorry for showing you something so unsightly…” Sung-Jin replied.

“It happens. Fighting against monsters without anything is a mental thing to do, after all. Ah, that gun is not a normal gun, by the way.”

“What are you talking about? I might not have much experience as a Porter, but I know my stuff. That’s a HSK-447P, made in Germany, accurate to five kilometers.”

“Wow, look at you.”

Han-Yeol was a bit surprised that Sung-Jin knew the specifications of this gun, which was not that popular in South Korea.

“Hey, I’ve been working my ass off, you know. I’ve been studying quite diligently,” Sung-Jin grumbled in response.

He, however, was not able to say everything in his mind. ‘So I can stand proudly beside you…’

Back in high school, Han-Yeol had been better at fighting. However, the difference back then hadn’t been that big. However, it was different now. Han-Yeol was soaring in the sky while Sung-Jin was a powerless Porter. The difference between them was so huge that comparing them side by side would be deemed a sin.

Sung-Jin decided to compose himself and stop showing such a pitiful side of him.

Click… Clack…!

He received the HSK-447P and loaded it before saying, “Let’s go, Han-Yeol.”

“Alright,” Han-Yeol replied with a smirk.

After seeing Sung-Jin steel his resolve, Han-Yeol contacted the Void Devil that was protecting his father.

He had offered quite a lucrative deal to the Void Devils and tasked the both of them to protect his father just in case something like this happened.

[Void Devil, how are things over there?] Han-Yeol asked through telepathy.

[Things have been wrapped up here, but your father has fainted.]

[Haa… That is a relief. It would be better for him to be unconscious than witness something like this.]

[Don’t worry about this place. These monsters won’t be able to harm a single hair on your father’s body.]

[That goes without saying…]

Both the melee and ranged Void Devils were currently protecting his father.

The contract Han-Yeol had entered into with the Void Devils was for them to assist him on his hunts and protect his father. In return, he agreed to provide double the offerings he normally gave.

Han-Yeol made sure to spend unsparingly when it came to his father’s safety, and that was the reason why he could freely go around the city that had been plunged into chaos without having to worry about his father.

“Kieeek!”?

Most of the civilians had already run away, so the only humans left in this street were Han-Yeol and Sung-Jin. Of course, all of the monsters in the vicinity directed their attention toward the pair as they were the only prey in the area.

As the monsters rushed toward them, shaking the ground like a threatening stampede, Sung-Jin cursed under his breath, “Damn it…”

He pulled the trigger without a hint of hesitation after spotting the monsters rushing toward them.

Clack… Click…

Ratatata!

‘I won’t be able to deal much damage, but I still have to do something.’?

He had no intention of killing the monsters. He knew very well that a Porter’s gun was not going to be able to deal much damage even if he used bullets coated with mana stones.

He had no idea if it was a technological limitation or just simply because they did not possess mana, but coating the gun and bullets with mana stone did not mean that it was going to instantly become stronger.

In fact, it was still impossible for a Porter to deal any sort of significant damage, even to low-tier monsters. It did not matter just how well their bullets were coated with mana stones. The most they could probably do was to scratch the monster’s hide and attract their attention to buy time for the Hunters to deal fatal damage to them.

Sung-Jin pulled the trigger without much expectation, but…

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!?

“Kieeeek!”

“Heok?!”

Sung-Jin managed to lodge two bullets in the praying mantis’ body and one bullet in its head with his marksmanship. His headshot burst the monster’s head open and splashed its bluish blood all over the place.

Witnessing the monster plop dead on the ground, Sung-Jin was shocked. ‘A monster died so easily?!’

He knew from experience that a Porter’s gunfire was only used for two things. The first was to attract the monster’s aggro, and the second was to raise their chances of Awakening.

“Wow, your marksmanship is really good. You’re better than me when I was a Porter,” Han-Yeol said while being impressed by his friend’s marksmanship.

However, that was not what was important to Sung-Jin right now.

“H-How did I kill that monster?!” Sung-Jin exclaimed.

What happened just now had completely ignored one iron-clad truth in the world. In truth, it should have been impossible for a Porter to kill a monster with a gun no matter how hard they tried.

“Ah, that’s my ability. I’m able to infuse my mana into objects, you see, so I infused my mana in those bullets beforehand,” Han-Yeol nonchalantly replied.

It was the effect of Mana Pouch, which was a skill he had recently acquired. He now made it a habit to infuse his mana into his weapons and gear whenever his mana maxed out.

This proved to be a very wise habit as it came in quite handy during emergencies like this.

“A-Awesome…”

“It’s awesome, right? But I didn’t expect the monsters to die so easily from a few rounds.”

“Y-Yeah, me too…”

“Oh right, Sung-Jin.”

“Hmm?”

“Will your father’s factory be fine?”

“Ah! Father!”

It was only after Han-Yeol mentioned it that Sung-Jin finally remembered his father and the factory.

“Go give him a call.”

“Yeah.”

Sung-Jin quickly took out his phone and called Manager Han.

‘Father’s?not going to tell me exactly what’s going on, so it’s better for me to call Manager Han,’?he thought as he knew his father’s personality quite well.

[S-Sung-Jin!] Manager Han answered the call in a panicked voice.

“How is the factory, manager-nim? Is father alright?!”

[You heard about it too? T-They aren’t saying anything on the radio… Do you have any idea what’s going on?]

“Seoul is in chaos right now, but that is not what is important right now. How is father? Is he safe?”

It appeared to be quite rude, since Manager Han was the person who had answered the call and Sung-Jin was not even asking about how he was doing. However, the only thing on Sung-Jin’s mind right now was his father’s safety, so he did not have the luxury to ask about anything else.

[We were finishing up a deal with two Hunter parties when the monsters appeared, so they are holding the monsters back. But there are too many of them! A few strange ones appeared as well, so I don’t think the Hunters will be able to hold them back for long…]

“It’s a relief they were there. Is anyone hurt?”

Only after confirming that his father was safe did Sung-Jin finally ask about the well-being of other people.

[I… I have no idea. I’m currently in hiding with the boss and a few other employees.]

“Alright, I will be right there.”

[No! Sung…!]

Beep!

Manager Han was about to say something, but Sung-Jin disconnected the call. After all, it was obvious what the man was going to say. He was most likely going to ask him not to come as it was dangerous.

“Shall we go right now?”

“I think we should hurry. He mentioned some strange monsters have appeared, so there must be others aside from those mantis bastards.”

“Okay, let’s go right now.”

Han-Yeol hopped into the driver seat of his van. Once Sung-Jin sat in the passenger seat, Han-Yeol stepped on the pedal and drove as fast as he could.

Vroooom!

“It’s a mess out there…” Han-Yeol muttered.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Seoul was no different from a war zone right now. There were numerous battles between Hunters and the monsters unfolding across the city, and there were also people being chased down by the monsters.

‘This is horrible…’?Han-Yeol thought.

It was then.

“Mommyyyy!”

A woman drenched in blood was lying in the middle of the road, and there was a kid of around five years old crying beside her.

Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!?

There were five monsters making their way toward the child.

‘Damn it!’?Han-Yeol cursed inwardly.

He was not a god, so he was not going to be able to save everyone. That was the reason why he had left the club as it was and did not help everyone he had encountered.

‘But that’s a child!’?he gritted his teeth.

Schreeeech!

Han-Yeol slammed the brakes and rolled down the windows before he took out his SMG from the van’s glove compartment.

Ratatata!

He pulled the trigger and sprayed the bullets. Others might think that he was randomly shooting, but he was using Demon Eyes combined with Homing Bullet to target the five monsters.

All of the bullets hit the monsters, all of which quickly dropped dead to the ground.

Han-Yeol got off the van and approached the child.

“Sniff…!?Ahjussi… Please help my mom…” the child pleaded.

During normal circumstances, Han-Yeol would have gotten worked up and retorted that he was not an ahjussi. However, he did not have the luxury to banter right now.

“Yes, just leave it to me,” he replied as he wiped the tears off of the child’s face.

Then, he scanned the woman’s bloodied body with Demon Eyes. A doctor would have probably checked her pulse to confirm if she was dead or alive, but that was not needed for him. Fortunately, he sensed a weak energy lingering in the woman’s heart, which meant that the woman was still alive.

He further inspected her internal state and found that it was not as bad as her external injuries. It was going to be possible for his skills to help the woman.

“Restore.”

Woooong…!

The woman rapidly recovered once Han-Yeol used his main healing skill. Her physical wounds mended themselves, and even her dislocated bones went back to their place.

“Ah…” the woman let out a moan before slowly opening her eyes.

“Mommy!” the child cried out and hugged the woman.

Han-Yeol took a step back and watched them before thinking, ‘Ah… It’s a bit cruel for me to leave them here…’

However, he knew very well that he was not going to be able to protect everyone.

“What are you planning to do, Han-Yeol?” Sung-Jin asked.

He did not plan to go against whatever Han-Yeol was planning, but he would vehemently protest if Han-Yeol planned to help other people at the expense of his father.

Ironically, the first thing that came to Sung-Jin’s mind right now was to blame himself.

‘If only I was a Hunter!’?

He could have rushed toward the factory and protected it with his own strength without requiring Han-Yeol’s help if he had Awakened as a Hunter.

“Ah, I have a great idea. Just give me a second,” Han-Yeol said.

“Alright…” Sung-Jin replied.

He decided to just watch in silence even though every second counted right now. He could not simply ask his friend to abandon the child and her mother just because he wanted to rush over to his father.

Han-Yeol took a step back and raised his right hand toward the sky before closing his eyes. Then, he used his demon-summoning skill. He did not plan to summon a new demon but one that he already had a contract with.

“Heed my call, Delchant.”