Leveling Up Alone

He initially found his son quite pathetic and incompetent for failing to handle a single no-nHunter, but he was shocked when he found out that the Hunter his son tried to kill at that twas none other than Lee Han-Yeol.

Thanks to his fool of a son, he had to live in fear, worrying whether Lee Han-Yeol would seek revenge against the TK Group.

“That’s right!”

“South Korea is done for the moment we move our operations overseas!”

Han-Yeol smirked at their retort, and this caused the businessmen to flinch.

“…!”

“W-Why is he smiling?”

Han-Yeol shrugged and said, “Yes, that is indeed the case, and I agree with all of you. After all, corporations are a vital part of a country’s economy. But you know what? Threats will only be effective if you can do it, you know?”

“A-Are you threatening us?!”

“Why can’t I?”

“What?!”

“You can’t do that!”

“This is tyranny!”

Han-Yeol did not even flinch at the protest from the elites.

“Enough of this tirade, and let’s get straight to the point. All I want from you is something very simple and easy! Go to the prosecution to confess any sins you have and donate whatever ill-earned wealth you gained to the country’s treasury. What do you think? It’s simple, right?”

“A-Are you picking a fight with us?”

“Do you take us for fools?”

“Are you looking down on us, punk?”

The elites no longer cared about manners or etiquette after realizing this was not something that could be resolved through words alone.

Han-Yeol pulled out his sword.

“I shouldn’t have chere…!”

Sof the elites started to regret coming to this place, but it was not like they would be able to escape from Han-Yeol’s clutches. Well, they might have been spared from getting threatened along with the 1,023 other people also trapped in the Blue House.

“R-Run away!”

Did they honestly think they could run away from a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter?

However, given that fear had already clouded their judgment, it was understandable why they would attempt to flee.

For sreason, Han-Yeol continued hovering in the air without chasing after the elites who were running away.

“Stewart.”

The demon appeared out of thin air the moment Han-Yeol called his name.

“Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?”

“What about the preparations?”

“I just received word that they are ready.”

Han-Yeol smiled after hearing the response he wanted, and he could not help but feel elated after he saw his plans falling into place without any hiccups.

“Shall we chase after them?”

“Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.”

Both of them acted quite nonchalantly, as if they were out for a stroll.

“Y-You monster!”

“You’re a monster!”

“Lee Han-Yeol! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

The Blue House staffers escorting the elites screamed at him in anger, and a few of them even called him a monster.

“Hmm? What do you think about that, Stewart?”

“I will take care of it at once.”

Stewart’s intention was clear: He was going to terminate their employment.

“Those arrogant punks need to learn their lesson. How can they act so arrogant when they’re getting paid to work?”

Han-Yeol never liked how the staffers acted ever since he stepped foot into the Blue House as the acting president. He could have fired all of them on the spot if he wanted to, but he did not fire a single one of them and decided to be patient instead.

In fact, he understood that they probably had ssort of emotional attachment to the Blue House after working for so long in it, and they were uncomfortable with the presence of someone who had taken over using force. This was the reason why he turned a blind eye to whatever gossiping the staffers were doing, and he even purposely ate outside the Blue House to not make things awkward between them.

However, they crossed the line just now, and Han-Yeol’s patience with them had run out.

“They’re just employees of the Blue House, but why are they acting as if they’re its guardian deities?”

“I agree. Their actions were not only foolish but also rude.”

Han-Yeol was annoyed at having to trouble himself by eating outside for their convenience, but what they did just now further annoyed him. Thus, he felt the need to release his pent-up frustration at the perfect targets, which were none other than the elites.

They were running away as fast as they could while Han-Yeol was leisurely gliding in the air after them. There seemed to be hope for them as the gates were in sight, but they were unfortunately unable to get through the gates.

“W-What’s going on?!”

The sound of war trumpets rang.

The stomping of boots rang afterward and shook the ground.

Ten thousand Black Orcs surrounded the Blue House. These were not the average Black Orcs under Han-Yeol’s command but were the elite of the elite from the Black Orc Horde.

“W-Why are monsters here?!”

“M-Monsters!”

“Impossible!”

The whole world already knew what Han-Yeol was capable of, but the Black Orcs were not that well-known yet. He only managed to obtain them during the Crasraid, and they were not captured in any of the videos streamed for the whole world to see.

The United States was able to gather information within South Korea thanks to the presence of the United States Armed Forces. In fact, they were able to find out what the South Korean president had for breakfast and what the color of his underwear was.

However, it was only now that they were finding out the existence of the Black Orcs, and this turned not only the CIA but even the White House upside down.

The wall of Black Orcs stopped the elites in their tracks, and Han-Yeol leisurely landed behind them.

“Oh right, I forgot to mention I won’t be the one killing you. That job is for those guys. I mean, a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter like myself killing you lot is a bit of an overkill, don’t you think so?”

The elites instantly protested.

“Hey! Are you really going to be like this? What do you gain from killing us?”

“He’s right! You’re going too far!”

“This is barbaric!”

And they were right. Han-Yeol’s methods were too extreme. He might be a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter, but they were the elites running this country. Asking them to confess their crimes, hand over their assets to the government, or be executed was no different from daylight robbery.

Ethics and morals! This was the basis and foundation of this country, and everyone in it was supposed to follow the law and order set by this democratic nation.

The air around the Blue House vibrated violently, and this was a performance he could put on thanks to obtaining the power from Craspio.

The Black Orcs started to get rowdy after sensing the mana of the Great Being they revered, and they stomped excitedly in response to the mana.

“D-Damn you…!”

The turn of events infuriated the elites, but there was nothing else they could do. No, it was more like the fact that they could do nothing enraged them. They ruled over the country like kings and could do whatever they wanted, which made their sense of helplessness seem foreign and frustrating.

“I’ll take care of those orcs!”

Twelve of the elites suddenly dashed toward the Black Orcs.

“Hey! Mr. Kim! Mr. Choi!”

These two were Hunters who used their newfound abilities for their own gain. They targeted small yet profitable companies and forcibly acquired them using underhanded methods. Of course, it went without saying that the underhanded methods they used were none other than violence.

In the span of a few years, they quickly developed their companies, and the entire market capitalization of the companies they owned amounted to quite a lot.

There were rumors that they used to be gangsters extorting logistic companies working at one of the ports in the country, which was probably credible when taking into account how they used violence with their strength as Hunters to take other people’s companies by force.

It went without saying that the owners of the companies forcibly taken ended up committing suicide, ended up on the streets, or had their kids taken away by the debt collectors after racking up debts.

These twelve A-Rank Hunters made their money the sway, and they often got together to hunt at the hunting grounds. In other words, they had already fought alongside each other and knew how to fight together.

“Let’s finish this quickly, Mr. Choi.”

“Sounds good to me, Mr. Kim!”

“Let’s go!”

They had their weapons with them, as Han-Yeol did not bother to conduct any security checks when the guests arrived. After all, who would be crazy enough to try and do something against a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter?

However, they were not up against the Transcended Master-Rank Hunter, Lee Han-Yeol, but mere orcs.

“I’ve killed countless orcs in my life!”

Maybe it was pure coincidence, or something was at work, but these twelve hunted orcs whenever they got together. This indicated that they were unafraid of orcs and did not feel intimidated by the massive orc horde in front of them.

“We can’t wipe them out, but we can definitely pierce through them and get out of here!”

“Roger that!”

Their experience hunting orcs amounted to more than a decade now, so they were confident they could kill these monsters with their eyes closed. Also, judging from their observation, Lee Han-Yeol seemed to be overconfident that the orcs would stop them, which meant that this was their golden opportunity to get out of there.

The Hunter at the vanguard, Mr. Choi, was a magician who possessed explosive firepower as well as healing skills. His only weakness was not being able to sustain his skills for long, but he considered himself to be on par with an S-Rank Hunter whenever he used his skills.

The other eleven Hunters behind him were confident that they could pierce through the orcs as long as Mr. Choi was at the front.

“Get out of our way, you brutes!”

The largest orc of the bunch shoved the other orcs aside and stood at the front. This particular orc was holding a glaive larger than what the other orcs were holding.

The Hunters smirked after they saw that only one orc was standing in the way of their freedom.

“These orcs are as dumb as ever!”

They were confident they could easily kill the single orc and escape.

The orc unleashed a ferocious roar before slamming against the combined forces of the Hunters, and the result was quite obvious.

“H-How is this possible?!”

The large orc's mana blocked—no, obliterated—the combined strength of the twelve Hunters. But that was not the end of it, as the large orc’s mana continued surging toward them without showing any signs of slowing down.