Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 200: Obtain A Dimensional Skill! (1)

Han-Yeol was eagerly looking forward to Yoo-Bi's latest creation.

Despite having to study on her own, her growth was quite slow, but she held the immense potential to become the world's first and best awakened mechanic. This was the reason Han-Yeol could not help but feel excited whenever Yoo-Bi mentioned developing something, no matter how small it was.

'I should probably pay her a visit as soon as this hunt ends,'?he thought right before he fell asleep on the bed with Mavros.

Han-Yeol did not need a lot of sleep as a Hunter, so he got up a few hours later and left the tent with Mavros. The two of them went for a walk through the thick fog enveloping the entire area in the early morning.

Kwak… Kwak…

"Phew…"

It was still a bit early for it to snow at this time of the year, but the area around the Cheolwon hunting ground was already packed with snow. Not only that, but the temperature in the surrounding areas was always at least five degrees below Celsius year-round, making it difficult for anyone to actually live here.

That was the reason why this area, once inhabited by people, was suddenly abandoned, and the only ones residing here were the soldiers stationed on rotation to guard the entrance to the hunting ground.

Oink! Oink!

On the other hand, the lack of humans in the area allowed the population of wild animals to thrive. However, the near-permafrost turned this place into a desolate land. Today, a family of wild boars was forced to desperately forage for food as well, and they finally came in contact with another creature that could potentially be their meal.

Wild boars usually recognized humans as their prey and relentlessly charged toward them, but these wild boars instinctively recognized that the human in front of them was no prey. They could sense that this particular human was far more powerful than any other creature in this place, so they immediately took their young and ran away from the human.

After all, these wild boars were ordinary animals that could not use mana at all, and their sharpened survival instincts screamed at them to avoid the human at all costs.

"It's good out here, right?" Han-Yeol asked.

"Kyu!"?Mavros cried out in response.

Han-Yeol liked serene and tranquil atmospheres like the one he was currently experiencing. In his younger days, he might have enjoyed going to rowdy places with his friends, but as he grew up, he was forced to work in ear-splittingly noisy environments just to make ends meet. That experience completely changed his preferences, making him prefer quiet places.

The area around the Cheolwon hunting ground was densely packed with trees, contributing to the excellent air quality there. The start of mankind's reliance on mana stones for fuel helped the world recover from the pollution it had been subjected to, and over the past thirty years, the environment that mankind had destroyed throughout its history was gradually healing.

Still, the fresh air exhaled by the densely packed forests in this place made the air incomparably fresher than the air found in busy cities. As the sun rose, the fog slowly started to recede, revealing the beauty of the surroundings.

"Time to go back, Mavros."

Kwak! Kwak!

"Kyu!"?Mavros responded.

The black dragon was playing in the snow, but he immediately ran to Han-Yeol after being called.

The beautiful snow in the area was truly an eye-catching treat that made it extremely tempting to start a snowball fight, but they did not have the luxury to play around.

It was at that moment, as the two were about to return to camp, that...

Kwak! Kwak!

'Hmm?'?Han-Yeol's sensitive ears picked up someone's presence. 'Who could that be?'

He was not that far away from the main road leading to the Cheolwon hunting ground. It went without saying that the Cheolwon hunting ground did not belong to Han-Yeol, and it did not matter if someone else came to hunt in it. However, this hunting ground was not that famous, so it was extremely rare for anyone to come to it.

Han-Yeol could tell that ten people were approaching the hunting ground, judging from the sound of the snow crunching under their boots and the mana they were emitting. But what piqued Han-Yeol's interest was the fact that all ten of them were Hunters.

Some might wonder what the big deal was, but those who were sharp could immediately tell why this was something that would catch Han-Yeol's interest.

'They didn't bring a Porter with them?' Han-Yeol wondered.

The Cheolwon hunting ground was covered in a thick blanket of snow, making it inaccessible with normal vehicles. A hunting party would typically require a special vehicle like the caterpillar tractor to navigate through such terrain, but these Hunters did not even bring one with them.

This was quite strange because Hunters capable of hunting in the Cheolwon hunting ground would undoubtedly be able to afford such a vehicle in the first place.

'Is it possible to come to a hunting ground without Porters…?'?Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion.

This was reality, not some video game. While it might be possible for the Hunters to gain experience by hunting monsters, they couldn't earn experience points and level up like in a game—except for one person. That ability was probably reserved for Han-Yeol and Han-Yeol alone.

In short, the only logical reason for the Hunters to risk coming to this dangerous hunting ground was to make money, and the main 'tool' they required to achieve this was none other than the Porters. After all, it was extremely rare for the Hunters to both hunt and do the work of Porters. The proud Hunters were not going to bother themselves with doing work that could be done by slightly trained ordinary people.

This meant that it was impossible for the Hunters to make money unless they brought Porters along for the hunt.

Han-Yeol used Demon Eyes just to make sure, and he could not find any Porters or tractors together with the group of Hunters.

'Ah, could it be that rumored raid party?'?he suddenly remembered something he had heard while working as a Porter.

Rumors said that there was an elite raid party composed only of S Rank Hunters, and one of their leader's skills was powerful yet strange.

The leader of the raid party was rumored to be able to open a portal to another dimension and store things inside of it. Anything that was placed in this dimension would not rot or go bad, so the raid party used that ability to shove whatever monster they hunted into it and take them out later at a factory after they finished their hunt.

The group of Hunters was probably that rumored raid party.

'I think they are called the Special S raid party if I recall correctly…'?Han-Yeol could still remember the raid party's name, despite a long time having passed, as their name sounded quite unique.

Although Han-Yeol was no longer interested in S Rank Hunters, he couldn't help but feel quite curious about the raid party leader's peculiar skill. Then, a thought suddenly came to his head.

'Hmm… Will it be possible for me to get that skill…?'?he wondered.

It would have been impossible for him to acquire the skill if he were a normal Hunter, and he probably would have found it amazing, gotten jealous, and cursed his own abilities. However, Han-Yeol was extremely far from an ordinary Hunter. If there was anyone who could covet someone else's skill, it was probably him, as he had the ability to create new skills out of nothing.

Of course, there was the hassle of not being able to outright steal someone else's skill; instead, he had to create it by performing certain actions.

'But will it even be possible to create that skill? My skills are created through action, but how am I supposed to do anything related to Dimensional spaces…?'?he wondered.

It was only natural for him to question the possibility of creating such a skill, since his cheat-like skill had its limitations no matter how overpowered it was.

'Well, I guess there's no harm in trying?'?he shrugged, coming to the conclusion that it was probably a good idea to join the Special S raid party for now.

'Shall we make the first move?'?he thought with a smirk.

Then, he said, "Let's go, Mavros."

"Kyu!"

Whoosh!

Han-Yeol immediately made a move, thinking it best not to run into them in this secluded mountain trail. Instead, he planned to encounter them at the main road to make their 'chance encounter' seem as natural as possible.

So, he decided to meet them later at the entrance and pretend to be just another Hunter hunting in the Cheolwon hunting ground.

He first returned to camp and was welcomed by Mujahid.

"Did you go for a walk, hyung-nim?" Mujahid asked.

"Yeah, these kinds of tranquil mountains put me in a good mood."

"Haha! That's great to hear! I agree with you, hyung-nim. I think that Korea's nature has a simple yet exquisite charm to them. I have seen different kinds of nature far grander than Korea while traveling through Europe, China, and Southeast Asia, but this country has a certain vibe that only it could create."

"Well, I guess you're right? I'm not sure, I haven't been overseas yet, so I can't really comment on that."

"Haha! I see!"

The two of them chatted for a while before Mujahid finally noticed the ten mana approaching them. He muttered, "Hmm? Hyung-nim?"

"So, you finally noticed them too."

"Yes, I sense ten powerful people coming toward us."

"Yeah, you're right. They’ve probably noticed us by now too."

"I agree. They seem to be weaker than me, but it would be difficult for me to guarantee victory if at least two of them ganged up on me."

It was not all too surprising that Mujahid would think that the Special S raid party members were weaker than him despite being the same S Rank Hunters. The Special S raid party might be made up of elite members, but it was known that they were not that powerful. After all, a truly powerful S Rank Hunter could establish his own raid or become a high-ranking executive of a guild instead of bunching up together with other S Rank Hunters.

In short, the S Rank Hunters of the Special S raid party were not that powerful. However, this did not mean that they were weak or lacking in any way, as they were only considered weak when compared to other 'monster-like' S Rank Hunters.

"Oh, there are others that got here before us."

"Hmm… They don't seem to be Koreans…"

"Do foreigners hunt in here too?"

"Hey, isn't it surprising that a raid party made up of foreigners is active in our country?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Each country had its own unique approach to how their Hunters operated. It was not uncommon for Hunters from developed countries to venture to vast and undeveloped territories for hunting. However, South Korea had a distinct practice of sending its Hunters abroad instead of hosting foreign ones, making it a rare occurrence to encounter foreign Hunters within the country.

Thus, the members of the Special S raid party couldn't help but feel surprised when they stumbled upon a group of foreigners in the hunting ground.

"Hold on a second… Those people look like Arabs…"

"Arabs…? The only Arabs in our country would be…!"

"Don't tell me they're the Horus raid party?"

'Can you not generalize everyone from that part of the world as Arabs? They're going to get offended, you know?'?Han-Yeol thought.

There was nothing wrong with referring to Arabians as Arabs, but many Egyptians took pride in identifying themselves primarily as Egyptians rather than being grouped under the general term "Arabs."

The rise of Egypt under the leadership of Phaophator filled the Egyptians with immense pride, as they were gradually becoming a formidable powerhouse in the world. This new-found glory instilled a strong sense of national identity, leading them to prefer being recognized as Egyptians rather than simply as Arabs.

Consequently, foreigners who mistakenly referred to the locals as Arabs would often receive scolding from the Egyptians.

The Egyptians wanted to be acknowledged and known as Egyptians, which reflected their pride in being part of a powerful nation. However, despite their preference for being recognized as Egyptians, many people still referred to them as Arabs due to their shared Arabic language.

Additionally, some far-right wing individuals in the country began advocating for the development of their own language based on ancient Coptic texts.

In fact, a few impatient people had already started working on creating their own language. Some Egyptian scholars who saw the need for their own language traveled to South Korea to study the only known language in the world that was created by a single individual at a specific date—the Korean alphabet.

This language system fascinated scholars and inspired them in their quest to disassociate themselves from other Arab countries both culturally and religiously.

As the conversation about the Horus raid party continued, the Special S raid party members remembered that the Horus raid party had returned to Egypt two months ago. However, they realized that the prince, Tayarana's brother, Mujahid, had stayed behind and considered the possibility that the group they encountered might be his raid party.

They deduced the situation on their own, arrived at a conclusion independently, and nodded in satisfaction among themselves.

"Hmm… That Mujahid is also an S Rank, right?"

"Yeah, I think they call him an Osiric Rank Hunter or something in their country."

"Excellent. We're going to ask him to join our hunt then."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"W-What did you say?"

"R-Really?"

"Wow…"

"That's crazy…"