Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 119: A New Generation (1)

“Kieeeeek!”

Some of the monsters in the factory were slightly different from the ones outside. They did not possess green skin like the praying mantis monsters, but they had a gray-blackish carapace and a head with a hard protrusion at the top. Not only that, but they also seemed to possess much more mana compared to the monsters outside.

However, that did not mean that there was any difference for Han-Yeol.

Shwiiiik!

A monster charged at Han-Yeol and swung its scythe-like arm.

Whoosh…! Pukeok!

Han-Yeol moved so fast that he disappeared from view, and the last thing the monster saw was the hammer severing its head off of its body.

Ratatatata!

“Damn it!”

Sung-Jin tried to keep up behind Han-Yeol by squeezing every ounce of his strength. He also did not forget to shoot at the monsters coming at him in their heads while running.

They soon arrived at an empty plot on the factory grounds, and monsters were swarming toward them from all directions. There were so many monsters that it was now impossible for Sung-Jin to shoot them down alone while Han-Yeol was just running without doing anything.

Clack…!

“Han-Yeol!” Sung-Jin shouted while changing magazines.

However, there were simply too many monsters for him to handle alone with his gun.

Shwak!

Han-Yeol suddenly stopped and shouted, “Sung-Jin! Get down!”

“Hiik!”?Sung-Jin let out an uncharacteristic shriek as he dived to the ground.

It looked quite strange, because he was a tall guy who used to be called a bear back in the day.

Right after Sung-Jin got down on the ground, Han-Yeol activated one of the new skills he had obtained. ‘Tornado Smash!’

His mana gathered toward the hammer attached to the end of his chain. Then, the hammer floated up and started to move on its own, rapidly spinning around him.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!?

The hammer spun in a circle and formed what looked like a tornado, crushing every single monster that dared to get near it. The tornado caused a massive carnage that a blue river of blood began flowing across the ground. Most of the monsters had been smashed into pieces.

“Hey, Sung-Jin. You might have to help clean this place up later,” Han-Yeol joked after seeing the mess he had created.

“Shut up and hurry up, will you?!” Sung-Jin snapped back.

“Tsk…?Can’t take a joke…” Han-Yeol grumbled before he recalled his chain into his arm.

Shwiiik… Tak!

Then, he took out the two SMGs he had brought from his van and pulled the trigger.

Ratatatata!

He went full trigger-happy on the monsters. He did not have to aim at the monsters as his skills provided him with everything he needed.

His skills Mana Bullet and Homing Bullet greatly increased his accuracy so that it was practically impossible for him to miss now, and his mana further empowered the power behind his bullets so that all of the monsters were killed with a single bullet.

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!?

“Kieeeeek!”

The factory was filled with the monsters’ horrifying shrieks.

“Haa…”?

Not a single monster was left standing in his surroundings.

“I-Is it over?” Sung-Jin asked after he got up and looked around him.

The whole area was covered in blue blood. There was not a single living creature in sight, and not even a single ant could be seen in their vicinity.

“Hmm… We got rid of the monsters outside the factory, but there are quite a lot of monsters inside the building… The most important thing is that there is an intermediate monster right where ahjussi and the Hunters are holed up in, and there’s a good chance that it’s a boss monster,” Han-Yeol said while scanning the factory.

“What?!” Sung-Jin was shocked when Han-Yeol mentioned the title ‘boss monster’.

The majority of monsters they had run into until now were only weaklings. They might have looked slightly different from each other, but all of them were the same type of monster called a Mantis.

So, what did Han-Yeol mean by a boss monster all of a sudden?

“H-Han-Yeol… Are you sure it’s an intermediate-level boss monster?”

“It’s at least a mini-boss judging by the mana I’m picking up with my Demon Eyes.”

“Damn it! What about father? Is he safe?!”

Sung-Jin knew that it was going to be difficult for the Hunters who their factory did business with to hold back an intermediate monster, let alone an intermediate-level boss monster.

The Sung Jin Factory was a target of not only the TK Group but quite a lot of other conglomerates as they all wanted the factory’s patented technologies, and that was the reason why most Hunters did not feel comfortable doing business with them.

The Sung Jin Factory only managed to barely stay afloat thanks to a few small parties that did business with them out of goodwill. The small parties stuck around because the Sung Jin Factory did not cheat or intimidate them just because they were weak. This was unlike the other more established factories.

Unfortunately, there was no way that a small party was going to be able to fight against an intermediate-level boss monster. This explained why Sung-Jin was currently extremely worried about his father’s well-being.

“Don’t worry. I’m familiar with your father’s mana waves so I’m certain that he managed to safely run down to the second basement floor. Wow, you guys actually have a shelter built for monster attacks? It must not have been easy fitting that down there for such a small place.”

“That’s a relief. That monster shelter was indeed expensive, but father did not want to cut corners and prepared it just in case. He got the most expensive one that’s equipped to withstand most monsters and disasters for up to a whole day. I’m glad he managed to reach that place in time…”

The monster shelter installed in the basement was a very durable one that could withstand monster attacks for a full day. It had been made by an American Hunter named Ford, who possessed special skills that allowed him to manufacture these. He had sold them the shelter for quite a hefty price tag.

These shelters were usually purchased by the rich or people who were paranoid, and Sung-Jin’s father fell in the latter category. A lot of people bad-mouthed him for being fickle when he first installed the shelter, but they would have probably never imagined in their wildest dreams that the shelter was going to save his and their lives.

“Let’s hurry up.”

“Yeah, we need to save your father.”

Han-Yeol ran ahead with Sung-Jin following him.

A few monsters tried to ambush them on the way to the monster shelter on the second basement floor, but there was no way that Han-Yeol was going to miss them. He could see them from a mile away with his Demon Eyes.

Needless to say, an ambush that the target was already aware of would never work out in the end.

“Right side!”

“Okay!”

Han-Yeol might have frequently visited the Sung Jin Factory, but he was not familiar with what its interior looked like as he never got a full tour of it. That was why he depended on Sung-Jin to give him directions toward the monster shelter.

“Kieeeek!”

Puk!

Every single monster that they came across attacked them, but Han-Yeol made swift work of them with his hammer.

They pressed on as fast as they could and soon reached the second basement floor.

“Over there!” Sung-Jin shouted.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!?

There was a monster slamming its fist into the monster shelter’s door. It looked similar to the praying mantis monsters, but it was around ten times larger and possessed six, not two, scythe-like arms. On top of that, the shelter door was covered in an acidic fluid that seemed to be the doing of this monster.

“Fortunately, I don’t see any of those small fries,” Sung-Jin said.

“Then it’s going to be easier!” Han-Yeol declared before kicking off the ground and charging at the monster.

Tak!

The boss monster immediately moved after noticing Han-Yeol. It simultaneously attacked him with all six scythes, creating quite an intimidating sight.

Not only that, but the boss monster was quite quick for its size. It certainly lived up to its title as a boss monster. Its movements were so fast that not only ordinary people but even low-ranking Hunters would not be able to follow it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!?

The six scythes viciously went after Han-Yeol, but he parried them away with his sword and hammer. His superior stats made up for his numerical disadvantage.

“Sung-Jin!”

“Okay!” Sung-Jin immediately responded and aimed the HSK-447P at the boss monster’s head before pulling the trigger.

Ratatatata!

Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!?

“Kieeeeeeek!”?

The head, especially the eyes, was the weakness of most monsters, and Sung-Jin used his excellent marksmanship to shoot at the boss monster’s eyes.

Most Porters would not dare to do that as the monster’s aggro might be redirected to them, but being bait was an excellent plan as long as the necessary preparations were in place.

The boss monster made a run toward Sung-Jin when Han-Yeol purposely hesitated for a second.

And once the boss monster’s back was wide open and defenseless, Han-Yeol gathered his mana and activated his skill. ‘How foolish! Flash Strike!’

Shwak!

A single line of light flashed and cut into the boss monster’s neck.

‘Head Cutter!’

The light turned into the shape of a crescent before completely cutting through the boss monster’s neck.

‘Vicious Stabs!’

Then, the crescent split into hundreds of fragments before cutting through all over the boss monster’s body.

This was Han-Yeol’s new skill combo.

“Kieeeeeek!”

The boss monster ended up shrieking in agony. It failed to reach Sung-Jin after Han-Yeol’s swordsmanship cut up its entire body in a split second.

‘Enhance! Chain Smite!’?Han-Yeol activated another set of skills to deal the final blow.

He amplified his strength before swinging the chain with the hammer attached to it as hard as he could to the back of the boss monster’s head.

Kwachik!

“Kuek!”

The hammer crushed the boss monster’s skull and smashed its way through its head. The boss monster might have been an intermediate-level one, but it could not withstand the strength of Han-Yeol’s hammer.

Thud…!

“Wow… Did you seriously kill that boss monster all by yourself…?” Sung-Jin muttered in disbelief.

He initially expected this battle to be an uphill battle, but things ended up being the complete opposite of what he had expected. After all, Han-Yeol had made quick work of the boss monster.

Han-Yeol walked over to the boss monster on the ground.

Whoosh… Sukeok!

He beheaded the boss monster just to make sure that it was really dead. After all, this was the surest way to confirm the kill. The boss monster would not be able to get up without its head unless it was an undead monster.

Only after he confirmed the kill that Han-Yeol said, “Sung-Jin, it’s over. You can ask them to come out now. I don’t see any monsters within a ten kilometer radius of us.”

“Ah, okay, Han-Yeol.”

Sung-Jin walked over to the monster shelter and opened a round hatch on the ground before inputting a complicated number combination. Then, the monster shelter door shook before it slowly opened.

Creak…!

The doors opened to show a group of fearful Hunters holding up their weapons as they prepared to make a last stand. The Sung Jin Factory employees could also be seen holding their breaths and huddled up in a corner.

It was only after the door completely opened that the people inside the shelter were able to see that the monster that had cornered them here was already dead and there were two humans standing outside. They could not help but let out a sigh of relief at the sight of rescue.

“Father!” Sung-Jin shouted as he ran toward his father.

“Sung-Jin!” His father ran out of the shelter and hugged Sung-Jin. Then, he checked to see if his son was hurt anywhere before saying, “I’m alright thanks to these Hunters… but…”

The factory workers lowered their heads.

“Chae-Won, that punk… He was so happy his brother was finally going to graduate soon… And Ji-Soo… She was bragging the entire time that she was getting married next year…”

“Heuk… Heuk…!”

“Argh…!”

“Sang-Soo…”

“Tae-Shik…”

Quite a lot of the factory workers had been working overtime to complete the orders placed from Egypt. The thirty people here were fortunate enough to have been in close proximity to the Hunters when the monsters appeared, and they had luckily been able to save themselves under the Hunters’ protection.

Unfortunately, the workers who had been down manning the machineries and those who had been at the offices did not make it in time. They had all been killed by the monsters.

“…” Sung-Jin could not help but be heartbroken as those were people who he had worked with when helping out in the early days of Sung Jin Factory.

Sung-Jin, his father, and the rest of the workers closed their eyes and paid their respects to their deceased colleagues.