Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 79: Ready, Action! (5)

“Wow… This is a jackpot.”

“This much is a given since they spent so much money just to advertise their channel.”

“Well… I guess you’re right.”

The two managers sent from Golem Mania TV to join and oversee Han-Yeol’s party were conversing as they watched the viewer count increase explosively.

Well, they might have said that this was due to the amount of cash that Han-Yeol had spent to promote his channel and the concessions their platform had made for him, but Golem Mania TV was a small platform and it was rare for them to see so many viewers flock into a single channel. The feat that Han-Yeol’s channel achieved was simply amazing.

[Current Viewers: 42,111]

The viewer count passed the forty thousand mark.

There were even foreigners who tuned into Han-Yeol’s channel since Golem Mania TV not only had servers in Korea but in other countries as well. A translation system was not supported on the platform, but there was no big need for it; there was not much talking on the stream and most of the things shown were action from the hunting.

“Hiss…!”

“Monsters right in front of us, oppa,” Yoo-Bi said.

“Yeah, I see them too. It’s a pair of Land Stalker Cobra,” Han-Yeol replied.

Two Land Stalkers that shot out poison appeared in front of them. The snake-like monsters that could sense heat aggressively hissed at Han-Yeol and his party.

Hiss…! Hiss…!

Han-Yeol was also prepared for combat. He unsheathed his sword on his waist and took out his chain with his other hand.

“Porters, prepare to fire,” Yoo-Bi ordered.

Click… Clack…!

The group of six Porters, including Yoo-Bi herself, immediately loaded their guns and aimed at the monster at her command.

“Fire!” Yoo-Bi shouted.

Ratatatatatatatata!

The six rifles simultaneously unleashed a barrage of bullets at the Land Stalkers.

“Kyaaaaah..!”?The Land Stalkers shrieked angrily after being showered with bullets. They were not really injured by the bullets, but the prickling sensation got on their nerves. They immediately dashed and rushed toward the Porters.

Tak!

Just as the Land Stalkers were about to rush toward the Porters, Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped into the air before he used his skill, ‘Chain Smite.’

Shwiiiiik!

His chain flew toward one of the Land Stalkers slithering on the ground as he used one of his trademark skills, Chain Smite.

Shwiiiik… Puk! Puk! Puk!

The Land Stalker staggered for a moment after it was hit by Han-Yeol’s chain, but it soon recovered. This showed just how tenacious of a monster it was.

“Hiss!”?The Land Stalker hissed threateningly.

Bam! Bam!

The Land Stalker was advancing despite being beaten up by Han-Yeol’s Chain Smite.

The Land Stalker might look like a monster with a small brain, but a research study published by the monster experts stated that monsters possessed intelligence greater than most animals and that they usually seemed to contemplate how they could efficiently kill the humans they were attacking.

The Land Stalker tenaciously endured Han-Yeol’s chain as it measured the distance between itself and the human. It looked for an opportunity to shoot its poison.

‘That’s right, get closer to me,’?Han-Yeol thought.

Attacking from a range with his chain was not the only strategy that Han-Yeol had planned for these monsters, and it seemed that he was also measuring the distance between himself and the Land Stalker.

“Hiss…!”?The Land Stalker hissed when it finally reached its desired distance between itself and the human. It raised its head before spreading out its hood.

This was its usual stance before it shot out its poison.

‘Now’s my chance!’?Han-Yeol thought.

Tak!

When Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and jumped, the Land Stalker Cobra stayed stationary for two seconds after it spread out its hood, preparing to shoot its poison at its target.

Han-Yeol knew the Land Stalker Cobra’s moves based on the information that he had gathered from the archives of the Hunters’ Association, and the records suggested that this was the exact moment where the Land Stalker Cobra was most vulnerable. This was his best time to attack it.

“Hiss!”?The monster hissed as it did not seem to be bothered by Han-Yeol’s actions.

The monster fully spread out its hood and opened its mouth wide.

Paaaat!

Then, it fired its poison just two seconds later. A stream of greenish liquid shot through the air as if it was fired from a powerful water gun, and flew toward Han-Yeol.

“Heup!”?The Porters tensed up as they watched the poison fly through the air.

Yoo-Bi did not express it, but she was also worried about Han-Yeol for a split second. She was worried that Han-Yeol was nervous about the broadcast and would make a mistake which was unlike him.

It was normal for them to worry since the Porters and the twenty production crew members were all going to be obliterated if Han-Yeol died.

However…

‘Force Shield,’?Han-Yeol cast his most powerful defensive skill. A white barrier in the shape of a kite covered him entirely the moment he activated his skill. Looking at it, he thought, ‘Huh? The shape of the shield changed?’?

His Force Shield had leveled up to C Rank after he fought against the terrorists, but he did not get the chance to use it after that. This was why he had no idea that the shield’s shape had changed.

However, those thoughts lasted for only a moment. He had to focus on the battle against the Land Stalkers for now. The fight had just officially started since Chain Smite was only his way of greeting to the monsters.

‘Restrain!’?Han-Yeol used his signature skill.

His chain flew through the air and bound itself on one of the Land Stalkers. Then, perhaps the instincts of the snake-like monster kicked in, because it twisted and bound itself around the chain as well. Afterwards, the monster attempted to constrict the chain.

‘How stupid,’?Han-Yeol thought.

A monster was no different from an animal regardless of how high its intelligence was, and as such, they were bound to be faithful to their instincts.

‘Alright, it’s a one-on-one fight from now on,’?Han-Yeol thought with a smirk.

However, he could not leisurely take his time. He expected the other Land Stalker to be able to break free from his chains quite soon.

‘Sword Breath,’?Han-Yeol used his offensive skill.

Fwaaaaa!

A white-goldish flame engulfed his sword.

The image of Han-Yeol using a shield covered in a white light and a sword engulfed in a white-goldish fire did not really suit him, since he was someone who summoned demons and was even an apprentice under a demon. However, those kinds of things were not important when it came to combat.

Slither…

The Land Stalker bided its time before it took aim at Han-Yeol and spat its poison toward him.

Paaat…! Paaat…!?

The monster repeatedly spat out its poison, which traveled through the air at a really high speed. However, Han-Yeol could clearly see the incoming poison thanks to his Sixth Sense, and he was able to nimbly avoid it like an acrobat thanks to Cat Walk.

He avoided the first shot of poison by turning and twisting in mid air, and he avoided the second one by blocking it with his shield.

Pssshhht…!

Smoke rose from his shield once the poison hit its surface.

‘Force Shield is made out of my mana, so the shield will stay intact as long as I don’t run out of mana,’?Han-Yeol thought.

He could feel his mana being significantly reduced whenever the monster’s poison hit his shield, so he decided to avoid the poison that he could avoid. Meanwhile, he closed the distance between himself and the Land Stalker.

The Land Stalker was not weak in close combat just because it spat out its poison from a range. It wouldn’t be classified as a difficult monster to hunt if it was only strong with long-range attacks but weak in close combat.

Tak!

The Land Stalker used its spring-like flexibility to suddenly spring up toward Han-Yeol. It tried to bite him the moment he got close enough after enduring its endless poison attacks. However, it failed to inflict any damage to Han-Yeol, whose Force Shield was blocking its advance.

The Land Stalker coiled its body as it prepared to launch another strike after its first one failed to deal any damage.

‘Now’s my chance!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly.

Tak!

He took advantage of the moment that he had been waiting for, kicking off the ground and charging at the monster.

Han-Yeol and the Land Stalker were already in close proximity. They stood eye to eye when he kicked off the ground and nimbly moved with Cat Walk.

Hiss…!

The Land Stalker hissed and tried to constrict its approaching prey. At the same time, Han-Yeol avoided it by jumping up before he used his new skill, ‘Flash Strike!’

Chwaaaak… Puuuuk!

It had not been long since Han-Yeol first gained the skill, but he was able to effectively use Flash Strike to pierced through the Land Stalker’s thick skull and crush its brain.

A snake might possess a small brain, but the brain was a common weakness among most living creatures. It was impossible to recover from any damage to the brain unless it was an undead.

Thud…!

The Land Stalker spat out its poison for the last time before it crashed to the ground. Clearly, its brain was mashed up.

Clang…!

The other Land Stalker finally returned to its senses and freed itself from the chain. Then, it rose up from the ground and started to vibrate its hood.

‘That is?!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly. He suddenly remembered the information he had read on the Hunters’ Association’s website, which had an online archive.

He immediately covered himself with his shield. Then, he linked it up with another defensive skill, ‘Reflect!’

Woooong!

His defensive skill that reflected all damage was activated.

Hiss…!

The Land Stalker started to vibrate its hood before its eyes glowed bright red.

Dudu… Crack…

Then, the monster started to slowly petrify in place.

‘Hoo… I made it…’?Han-Yeol thought as he let out a sigh of relief.

A Land Stalker would use one of its unique abilities whenever it was enraged, and that was its ability to petrify any creature that looked into its eyes. It was an ability that even the Land Stalker itself could not control, but there were quite a lot of Hunters who had gotten done in by this ability that the monster could not use at will.

It was not a very threatening skill to a raid party since they were composed of many Hunters, and one Hunter getting petrified did not really mean that much in the first place. However, it was a different story for Han-Yeol who was hunting solo. Him being incapacitated for combat would mean that the almost thirty people who had tagged along with him for this hunt could be annihilated as well.

‘Hoo… That was a close call…’?Han-Yeol let out another sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he was able to see the specific movement that a Land Stalker would do before using its unique ability, Snake Eyes. Because of that, he could take preventative measures for it.

The Land Stalker ended up being the one petrified by its own skill because of Han-Yeol’s new ability, Reflect, which reflected all abilities or damages flung to him back to the caster.

Tak! Sukeok!

Han-Yeol immediately jumped up and cut off the monster’s head just in case it would instantly be freed from its petrification and could cast the skill once more.

Thud…!

The Land Stalker’s head fell to the ground.

That was how Han-Yeol’s first hunt on live broadcast ended.

[Wow… What did we watch just now…?]

[Did he really kill the Land Stalker in a blink of an eye…?]

[Isn’t he just a high-ranking Hunter fooling around in a lower leveled hunting ground?]

[That is indeed possible, since he is hunting solo after all.]

[That’s still amazing…]

[But is there really a need for a high-ranking Hunter to solo hunt? I mean, it doesn’t make sense even if you argue that he is doing it for his stream.]

The chat room was in an uproar at what they had just witnessed.

The battle might have ended really quickly, but it was a fierce action-packed one that seemed really cool on screen thanks to Han-Yeol’s overpowering strength.

The hunting style that was widely used by the Hunters these days was to form a party and hunt monsters a step weaker than them. It was a safe and easy method that did not put them at any unnecessary risk. However, most viewers were already bored of these kinds of hunting methods since there was no suspense or thrill in them.

Of course, this did not mean that nobody watched them. Those videos were still more interesting than a normal person’s streaming channel. However, the viewers were still on the lookout, clamoring for something fresh and different.

This was the main strength of Han-Yeol’s channel.

There were a lot of other Hunters who hunted solo, but Han-Yeol was the only one who had opened his own channel and live streamed his hunts. The Lone Hunter, known as the strongest solo hunting Hunter, was only known because of the news about him. Nothing else was known about him since he did not open his own broadcasting channel. Needless to say, Han-Yeol’s channel was blowing a new breeze throughout the Hunter industry.

“Hoo…” Han-Yeol breathed out. His breathing started to become laborious as green air started to come out from his mouth.

[He is poisoned.]

[This is the scariest part about the Land Stalkers.]

[You can get poisoned just by being around them, even if their poison does not hit you directly.]

[Hurry up and drink an antidote!]

[Yoo-Bi will die if you die! You selfish bastard!]

Han-Yeol had already won quite a lot of fans among the viewers, judging by how immersed they were.

“Alright, watch closely everyone. A new legend is about to be born,” Yoo-Bi suddenly said into the camera.

Yoo-Bi did not join in on the dismemberment process as she was tasked to be the MC for the broadcast. Also, the other five Porters were more than enough to work on dismembering the Land Stalkers. There were no problems even if Yoo-Bi did not lend a hand.

[Huh? What do you mean?]

[A new legend? What kind of cringey phrase is that?]

[Yoo-Bi! You shouldn’t say cringey stuff like that!]

[You sound like an old man!]

The viewers were all expecting Han-Yeol to take out an antidote from his backpack. However, contrary to their expectations, Han-Yeol raised his hand to his chest instead.

[What the hell is he doing?]

The viewers were confused.

‘Restore,’?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly.

Woooong…!

It had been a while since Han-Yeol last used Restore at a hunting ground. A warm bluish light surrounded Han-Yeol before seeping into every corner of his body. It detoxified the poison out of his system in a mere instant.

‘Hoo… This Restore skill is a cheat skill no matter how I look at it,’?Han-Yeol thought.

Well, most of Han-Yeol’s skills were considered cheat skills if he compared them to an average Hunter’s skills. However, Restore could be considered as the biggest cheat when compared to his own other skills.

Healing and recovery skills were already quite rare, but the ability to recover from any status ailments was a very powerful and rare skill that only a handful of Hunters possessed. It was a skill that Han-Yeol had gained through painstaking efforts, but others would simply think that he was lucky enough to awaken with such a good skill.

Everything went just as Han-Yeol expected it to be. The chat room was in an uproar, and it was going to erupt at any moment now.