Leveling Up Alone

“Hello, Commodore Lee,” greeted Han-Yeol.

It was none other than the commander of the fleet who had come to Nagoya with him.

“Ah, hello. I was thinking… T-That is… Are those black-skinned orcs… your subordinates, Han-Yeol-nim?”

“Oh, yes. Why? Did they scare you?” Han-Yeol responded.

“No, not at all. You are a growth-type Hunter, and nobody knows how many skills you have, right? S-So, I was just wondering if those monsters were your subordinates or not…”

“I see.” Han-Yeol nodded before looking up at Craspio once again.

Despite appearing rude by diverting his attention while someone old enough to be his father was talking, Commodore Lee Chung-Sam didn't mind.

“They told me not to tell you this, but… I thought you should know, which is why I am here to report the matter to you.”

“Report what?”

“Actually, the Japanese Government watched your fight against Craspio and… they seemed to have concluded that you cannot defeat the monster. In fact, they have contacted the Australian Government and the Canadian Government while you were busy raiding Craspio, and requested if they could seek refuge in their country instead. They will be conducting a nationwide evacuation to those two countries instead starting tomorrow.”

“Oh?”

Han-Yeol was impressed by how quickly the Japanese Government made their decision. It was definitely not an easy decision to abandon their home country that boasted more than a thousand years of history no matter how dire the situation was.

“Did Canada and Australia agree to take them in?”

“Yes, they accepted under the condition that the civilians will pay ten percent more taxes while the Hunters will pay twenty percent more.”

“I see…” Han-Yeol replied with a nod.

He found the deal to be quite reasonable for both sides.

“Also…” Commodore Lee Chung-Sam carefully added.

“Hmm? Is there something you wish to tell me, Commodore Lee?” questioned Han-Yeol.

“May I?”

“What is it about?”

“I mean, the showdown with Craspio is yet to conclude, and it is not like you have suffered a grave injury. But the fact that despite them being the ones asking us for help, they lost trust in us and decided to seek help elsewhere is a bit…”

The issue brought up by Commodore Lee Chung-Sam could either be nothing important or very important depending on how sensitive the person was, but Han-Yeol’s response was not something the old veteran was expecting.

“Hahahaha!” Han-Yeol burst into laughter. He laughed for a good minute before he finally said, “I had no idea you were such a worrywart, commodore.”

“P-Pardon me…?”

Commodore Lee Chung-Sam blinked a few times and muttered in response. He had a hard time understanding what was going on and what was so funny about what he said.

“I suppose the Japanese Government is planning to take all of their citizens with them?”

“Yes, the Canadian Government and the Australian Government have agreed to grant them a rural province and grant them autonomy. It does come with the condition of paying more taxes, but this is the best option the Japanese Government has after losing their country. Just being granted autonomy alone is already a huge plus for them, and they can slowly recover their strength until they can reclaim Japan from the monsters to start anew.”

Commodore Lee Chung-Sam’s assessment of the Japanese Government was quite accurate, and this could be attributed to him being a high-ranking naval officer. One of the countries the South Korean navy contested was Japan, so it only made sense for him to be somewhat of an expert when it came to the Japanese Government.

The Japanese Government were definitely not the type that would abandon their motherland and think of starting anew in a foreign land. No, they were an ambitious bunch that would slowly plot their return sometime in the future.

Of course, just because he was a high-ranking military officer did not mean he had access to all information.

However, Han-Yeol smirked after hearing the commodore’s assessment of the situation.

“You are right about most things, but they will not be able to return to Japan,” he said, still smirking.

“Pardon me…?”

“Haha!”

Han-Yeol did not elaborate any further.

No, it was more like he had no reason to explain any more than what he said. He might be working with the commodore right now, but the old veteran was not one of his subordinates. The old veteran was a soldier down to his very core, and he would choose the government and the military over Han-Yeol if forced to make a choice.

Han-Yeol did his best to assist in the evacuation of the civilians from Nagoya to Tokyo and helped them get on board the civilian vessels undamaged by the dimensional rifts and sent them on their way to Australia and Canada.

Ironically, the inequality of wealth was evident even during the evacuation process. Those who were wealthy enough booked flights to reach Australia or Canada, but those who could not afford to book flights were forced to fight for a spot on the vessels sailing to the two countries.

The ships were so crammed with people that they looked like the vessels used two hundred years ago during the despicable slave trade era.

Well, he did not particularly feel anything seeing the desperate evacuation as he was not fond of Japan to begin with.

Han-Yeol began his preparation to face Craspio while the Japanese Government was busy conducting one of the biggest evacuations in the history of the world.

***

[All preparations are complete, master!]

The Black Orc Commander, wearing tattered leather armor and holding a chipper glaive, was nowhere to be seen, as he was now armed with shiny armor and a sharp sword.

“You guys will be under my protection from now on. Kill all monsters at sight, plunder, raze, and wreak as much havoc as you can. Don’t worry about the consequences, as I will be responsible for whatever happens.”

[Hooray for our master!]

Han-Yeol finished evacuating the civilians to Tokyo and immediately headed west together with the Black Orcs to hunt down the monsters freed by Craspio from the hunting grounds.

The Black Orcs, originally clad in tattered leather armor with a steel plate over it and wielding chipped weapons, now sported shiny black armor and razor-sharp glaives.

[Look at my weapon! It’s shining! It’s shining brightly!]

[No! My weapon is cooler than yours!]

[W-What? My weapon has become so cool! How?!]

The Black Orcs noisily argued over who had the cooler weapon when all of them received the same weapon. More importantly, Han-Yeol was able to arm every single one of the eighty thousand orcs without spending a dime, thanks to his skill.

Han-Yeol couldn't argue if someone accused him of being too overpowered and a balance-breaker. Why? Because he knew he would be hurling all sorts of curses as well if someone else were as overpowered as him. However, there was a saying that it is romance if I do it but it is cheating if someone else cheats, right?[1] The same was true for Han-Yeol as he was just human too.

“Hey, commander. Start the operation.”

[Yes, master! All forces! CHARGE!]

Han-Yeol attacked Iga City along with the eighty thousand orcs.

Iga City was overrun and occupied by the Golden Lizardmen.

[Kill them all!]

The Golden Lizardmen did not go down without a fight as they raised their tridents and attacked the Black Orcs. Their bravery was commendable, but battles were not won with bravery alone. They only numbered two thousand against the eighty thousand Black Orcs newly armed by Han-Yeol. On top of that, the Black Orcs were much more powerful than they originally were as they were currently under the influence of Han-Yeol’s Enhancement Aura.

[The rank of Enhancement Aura has increased from (B) to (A).]

He did not bother and simply watched from the back with his Enhancement Aura on. Why? Was it because he wanted to give a chance to the orcs to hunt? Or was it because he could not be bothered to hunt these weak monsters?

The answer was none of the above.

[Die! Lizard!]

A Black Orc swung his glaive with its blunt edge and smacked a Golden Lizardman’s head, and the lizard’s head was smashed open like a watermelon before spilling its contents all over the ground. The Black Orc cut the Golden Lizardman’s body open and rummaged through it.

Then, something amazing happened the moment the Black Orc extracted the mana stone from the Golden Lizardman’s body.

[You have obtained experience points.]

[A mana stone has been sent to your Dimensional Storage.]

This was the precise reason he did not bother joining the fray. It was hard to say he greatly benefitted from obtaining Camelot as a slave. Yes, he did obtain one slave who indiscriminately followed his commands, but he already had plenty of followers who followed his commands. Also, Camelot might be a second dimension assassin, but he was weaker compared to Kandir, Riru, Taichin, or Barshell.

In other words, it was difficult to say Camelot was a huge boon to Han-Yeol’s forces. However, it was different for the Black Orcs, as having them in his forces greatly benefited him.

“Wow… Don’t you think this is amazing, Mavros?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Your level has risen.]

[Black Orc – The rank of Plunder has increased.]

[Black Orc – The rank of Absorb Soul has increased.]

But that was not the end of it as the Black Orcs still had another skill.

The Black Orcs bit into the flesh of the Golden Lizardmen and chewed a huge chunk of it.

[Black Orc – The rank of Predator has increased.]

Camelot did not undergo much change when enslaved by Han-Yeol, but that was not the case for the Black Orcs, as their very being completely changed after being enslaved by him. It was not only their equipment that underwent changes; they even learned three new skills: Plunder, Absorb Soul, and Predator, after being enslaved by Han-Yeol, unlike Camelot who did not gain any new skills.ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

These new skills they obtained thanks to Han-Yeol were not individual skills but rather skills that the entire horde used. Two of these skills, Plunder and Absorb Soul, were exclusively for Han-Yeol. Plunder allowed the Black Orc to decide whether an item was valuable enough to be sent to Han-Yeol’s Dimensional Storage, while Absorb Soul allowed the Black Orc to send mana and experience points to Han-Yeol whenever they killed a creature possessing mana.

Last but not least, there was the Predator skill, which was not a skill for Han-Yeol. This was a growth-type skill that allowed the Black Orcs to become stronger by devouring the remains of the creatures they killed, using them as nutrients to become stronger. In other words, it was a nerfed version of Han-Yeol’s growth-type ability that came with the limitation of having to devour another creature.

1. This is a Korean saying regarding double standards. They say it’s called cheating if someone else does it, but it’s just romance if I do it. ☜