Leveling Up Alone

Han-Yeol wrote in the invitation letter that he wanted to meet them to discuss the future of the country, but it was blatantly obvious that he was inviting them to a trap. The official reason he gave before starting the insurrection to overthrow the government was to eliminate the elites and start a new generation in South Korea.

Hence, the fact that he wanted to invite them to discuss the country’s future was a joke in itself.

Those he invited knew this was not going to be a positive meeting, but they had no idea what Han-Yeol had in store for them. Of course, not a single one of them expected the absolute worst, as they thought it would be impossible to commit anything of that sort in the Blue House, the center of the entire country.

“Ah~ I’m already looking forward to next week. Oh, I suppose that thing I requested is going well?”

“Excellent,” Han-Yeol replied with a smile.

He was having the tof his life these days after Stewart bechis secretary, as the demon handled even the smallest of tasks. It was not like he did not have any secretaries before, but most of his secretaries were people he had hired as employees. He could not simply entrust his private matters to them due to the risk of them getting leaked and exposed to the world.

However, it was different with Stewart, as he could definitely entrust those private matters to the demon.

Han-Yeol smiled at Stewart.

“May I remind you that it feels repulsive when you look atwith that face, Han-Yeol-nim?”

“What did you say, punk?”

Of course, that did not mean their bickering got any better.

***

A week later, the roads in front of the Blue House were filled with cars.

“Hello, congressman.”

“Ah, how have you been?”

“I have been doing well.”

The staffers of the Blue House ran all over the place to welcthe guests Han-Yeol had invited. Welcoming the guests to the Blue House was a routine part of their job, but every single one of them looked downcast today for sreason.

Of course, that did not mean they knew what Han-Yeol was planning, but they could roughly tell from the overall atmosphere within the Blue House that something was definitely going to happen today.

“He is currently in his office, sir. He instructed us to welcthe guests to the waiting hall and escort everyone in front of the main hall once everybody has arrived.”

The acting president here was none other than Han-Yeol, as this was his official title within the government.

“In front of the main hall?”

“Yes, sir.”

The congressman grimaced after hearing that they were to gather in front of the main hall.

“The main hall, you say…”

“…”

This congressman prided himself on being the core member of the ruling party, and he had never lost a single election in his political career of thirty years. He might not have been the leader of the ruling party or assigned any big roles in the government, but nobody in the political scene dared to look down on him.

The political scene was one where those who survived were the strong ones, and his strong survival instincts allowed him to survive in politics for the past thirty years.

His thirty years’ worth of experience was telling him that there was something ominous about this invitation, and the fact that they were to gather in front of the main hall instead of the guest reception hall only added to it.

Sweat started flowing down his fat face.

“Sir?” The congressman’s aide called out to him after noticing he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Yes, sir. Please, right this way.”

The congressman decided to suppress the nerve-wracking anxiety.

He managed to convince himself that he was just overreacting while he walked toward the hall.

Then, he ran into a familiar face.

“Oh! Congressman! Welcome, welcome!”

“Oh? Were you invited too, Chairman Lee?”

Chairman Lee was the owner of the corporation that the congressman had recently started doing business with, and seeing a familiar face helped him relax a bit more.

The congressman noticed that numerous owners of large corporations had been invited here today aside from politicians, government officials, and high-ranking military officers.

He heard from his sources that the country’s coffers were empty after the previous incompetent administrations spent all of them on useless projects. It was around this tof the year when the government would fill its coffers by raising taxes on cigarettes, oil, electricity, and various other commodities used by the people, but the government had not been able to do so this tthanks to a certain someone overthrowing the entire administration before they could fill the coffers.

Thus, the congressman was certain that Han-Yeol had called them here today to fill the empty coffers of the government.

Lee Han-Yeol might have overthrown the government with good intentions, but reality was a harsh and cruel thing. Running a country and satisfying its people cost money, and keeping things in order without money was impossible.

The congressman’s mood instantly lifted the moment he figured out Han-Yeol’s reason for inviting them to the Blue House. He could finally enjoy mingling with the others while munching on the snacks prepared with a light heart.

***

A few hours later, all 1,023 guests arrived at the Blue House.

These elite members of South Korean society were escorted to the main hall by the staffers.

“I know the weather is good, but I like the guest reception hall far better than the main hall.”

“I agree! It’s not like we’re still in the Age of Oil!”

The term Age of Oil was often used to describe something as tacky, childish, or old-fashioned.

“You are absolutely spot on, my friend.”

The light mood continued even while they walked toward the main hall.

“We have arrived.”

The place in front of the main hall they were escorted to was completely empty. It was the sempty lawn that they knew of.

The guests were confused at the oddly empty reception, as they expected at least something judging from the outlandish invitation they received.

“Welcome, everyone!”

Then, Han-Yeol emerged in the sky and welcomed his guests. He was hovering in mid-air using the wings on his heels, which was something new he had learned during his duel against Woo Han-Jong. He now had full control of this ability, so he was able to freely fly in mid-air without much trouble.

“W-What is the meaning of this?!”

“How can you invite us and have nothing prepared?!”

“I suppose there has been a miscommunication among your people?”

Every single one of the guests Han-Yeol invited was in the top 0.01% of South Korean society, and they were used to receiving the best reception wherever they went. This was the first tthey were receiving such a reception, so they thought that there must have been ssort of mistake.

“No, there’s no mistake,” Han-Yeol replied.

“What?!”

“No good will cfrom treating us like this! Do you know who we are?!”

“I can move all operations of my H Group to the United States with a snap of my fingers!”

The businessmen were the most outspoken ones. The politicians and military officers did not have much they could threaten Han-Yeol with, but it was different for the businessmen. They could threaten to move their operations overseas, which would result in a direct blow to South Korea’s economy.

Of the 1,023 guests, the owners of forty-nine out of the top fifty conglomerates in the country had been invited. South Korea’s economy would be in shambles if all forty-nine of them decided to move their operations overseas.

“W-What?!”

Then, he spread his mana and bloodlust all over the Blue House. The pressure from his mana and bloodlust was extremely overpowering, but it did not directly hurt any of the guests.

Other Hunters might be amazed by his actions, but controlling his mana and bloodlust to this level was child’s play to Han-Yeol—no, it was more like he could not consider himself a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter if he could not control his mana to this extent.

However, the fact that the bloodlust dealt no harm to them did not mean they could simply scoff at it. In fact, every single one of the 1,023 guests felt crippling fear the moment Han-Yeol unleashed this overpowering pressure.

The crippling fear whispered into their ears that they were now at Lee Han-Yeol’s mercy, and they could be pulverized with a simple snap of his fingers.

“T-This is the Blue House!”

“He’s right! Are you going to massacre us right in the heart of the country?!”

“This is a massacre! A genocide!”

The only thing they could fall back on now was to argue with the law and ethics.

His mana then caused lightning to flash behind him, unleashing a thunderous roar.

“Ah…”

The mana did not cause any direct harm to them, but it did heighten the fear in their hearts.

“Yes, you’re right. South Korea will be ruined the moment the H Group, S Group, L Group, TK Group, and others move overseas. Our economy is centered around exports, after all.”

The owner of the TK Group flinched when Han-Yeol mentioned his group name, as he was well aware of the friction between his group and Han-Yeol in the past. He might not have been directly involved in it, but his fool of a son did attempt to assassinate Lee Han-Yeol by hiring assassins.

Tokki's Thoughts

Hello y'all!

I have snews for you!

's Teahouse has opened its doors, and you are welcto clisten to our first-ever podcast episode!

If you missed the fun announcement!

https://www..com/news/introducing-the--podcast

Anyway, here's the link to Spotify!

podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/s-teahouse

We will be uploading it on YouTube and Apple Podcast shortly too, so stay tuned!

P.S. Guess who's the host keke!