Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 207: Asus (3)

“Hey! Tin can!” Han-Yeol taunted the boss monster.

Shwooo…!

Then, a breeze blew from deep within the void of the helmet as the boss monster, Asus, turned toward him. Han-Yeol felt goosebumps all over his body upon meeting Asus' gaze.

‘Ugh… I can tell it’s strong before even fighting it. I’d probably be busy running away or just die in a few minutes if I fight it one on one…’?Han-Yeol could tell that the boss monster was strong.

That did not mean that Asus was stronger than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.

The raid party that had confronted the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva did not have a Master Rank Hunter at that time, but it still consisted of the strongest Hunters from Egypt. The boss monster raid had been supported by both the quality of the raid members and the budget to acquire whatever equipment they needed.

Moreover, a significant number of powerful Egyptian Hunters had fallen during that raid, despite the Horus raid party’s best efforts. Thus, it was absurd to even entertain the thought that Asus could be more powerful than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.

Seuk…!

Han-Yeol pulled out his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword.

Sueeek!

Asus responded by raising the gigantic sword, which was even larger than a two-handed sword, and pointed it menacingly.

Han-Yeol could feel the chilling mana being emitted by the sword, and he was certain that even a single cut from it would be enough to spell his doom.

‘So, this is a showdown between fire and ice? Sword Breath!’?Han-Yeol infused his mana into his sword and set it ablaze with a raging flame that instantly heated his surroundings.

Bam!

Balrog jumped from the cliff and landed next to Han-Yeol.

The intermediate demon jumped from nearly thirty meters above ground, but his sturdy muscles protected him from any fall damage.

Tak!

Then, Mujahid landed on the left side of Han-Yeol.

Bam!

[Ack!]

He let out a scream after slipping on the slippery ground.

“Mujahid…”

Whoosh!

Mujahid immediately stood up and scratched his head in embarrassment but…

Bam!

[Ack!]

He slipped once again and fell on his butt.

“Sigh…”?Han-Yeol shook his head.

[I-I’m sorry,] Mujahid said while rubbing his butt after getting up for the second time.

The ground was as slippery as ever, but Mujahid was not considered one of Egypt's most powerful Hunters solely because of his abilities. He had been subjected to harsh training ever since he was young, including the challenging 'walking on slippery ice' exercise.

As a result of this intense training from an early age, he had become one of the most powerful brawlers in the country, effortlessly maintaining his balance on all sorts of terrain. However, during their current situation, he slipped twice on the ice, not due to any lack of skill or sense of balance, but rather because of his inherently carefree personality.

Observing Mujahid, Han-Yeol noticed that he already had four embers on his back.

‘He seems to be doing alright,’?he thought with a smile.

The preparation was finished, and all that remained was to fight.

[Bwahahaha! I feel bad for ganging up on an old foe, but I’ll make myself feel better by having your head!]

Balrog seemed to be intent on killing Asus.

Sseuuuu…!

Last but not least, the Arch Lich floated in the air and slowly landed right behind Han-Yeol.

Shwaaa…! Shwaaa…!?

The boss monster did not seem to be fazed at all, despite having to face the four powerful beings all alone. The only reaction it showed was the rough breathing coming from within the void in its helmet.

“I’m going first,” Han-Yeol said.

“Okay, hyung-nim.”

Seuk… Tak!

Han-Yeol shot forward like a bullet toward Asus.

‘He’s quite large, so let’s test his speed out,’?he thought.

He had invested quite a lot in his AGI stat, so he was confident not only in his strength but also in his agility. After all, he possessed quite a low risk tolerance, so he was against the idea of putting all of his eggs in one basket.

Well, it was more like putting all his points into one stat in this case.

Shwiiiik!

‘Flash Strike!’?Han-Yeol used his skill, swinging his sword at extreme speeds that a burst of light shone from his sword.

He was already a Master Rank Hunter, so his skills were far more powerful than they used to be, and his movement was so fast that it was nearly impossible for it to be tracked by the naked eye. However…

.

Clang!

Asus swung its sword and easily blocked Han-Yeol’s skill.

‘Ack!’?

But that was not the end of it.

Ding!

[You have been affected by the Ice Aura of the boss monster, Asus.]

[Ice damage will be inflicted upon you for one minute.]

‘D-Damn it!?Fire Ball!’?Han-Yeol was surprised by the message that appeared in front of him and hurriedly threw a Fire Ball to obscure the boss monster's vision before quickly retreating.

Boom!

Chwak!

The ground was quite slippery, so he was forced to crouch down while sliding back to maintain his balance.

‘Keuk…!’

Han-Yeol's arm felt numb after clashing swords with Asus, and the reason was that he had been affected by the boss monster's Ice Aura. Fortunately, the Ice Aura only affected his right arm and did not spread throughout his body.

Han-Yeol couldn't fully understand how the aura worked, but he assumed that it was all thanks to the ice resistance spell the Arch Lich had buffed him with.

[Bwahaha! That guy’s still as good as ever. Is it because he’s able to use one hundred percent of his abilities? My human contractor can’t do anything against him! Haha!]

‘Tsk… I was just caught off guard, Balrog-nim.’

[Bwahaha! Sure~ Sure~ Whatever you say~]

Han-Yeol grimaced at Balrog’s sarcastic response, but he decided to just shrug it off.

Why? It was true that Asus was really strong, but that did not mean that Han-Yeol was scared or fazed by the boss monster.

‘There are a lot of powerful enemies in this world,’?he thought with a smirk.

He was someone who had started as an F Rank Hunter and climbed all the way to Master Rank. He could have gotten stuck in a rut by now, but he did not have time to get stuck, as fighting against stronger opponents was simply too fun for him.

It was Asus’ self-proclaimed rival, Balrog, who made a move this time.

[Breath of Fire!]

Fwaaaaaah!

The skill was not that powerful since Balrog was a demon specializing in defense rather than offense, but the flames he breathed out were enough to deal painful damage to the boss monster.

Chwak!

However, Asus was not simply going to stand and fall victim to the flames. It raised its sword and cut the fire right down the middle.

Crack… Crack…?

‘Huh? What the hell? The fire froze in midair…? What absurdity is that?’?Han-Yeol was surprised.

On the other hand, Balrog was furious after seeing his flames freeze in midair. This proved that the differences in their power were simply far too great, and seeing his rival to be much more powerful than him was more than enough to enrage the battle-crazed demon.

[Bwahahaha! Damn it! Why are my powers sealed and that I have to suffer being humiliated by that guy?!]

‘Haha… My bad…’?Han-Yeol awkwardly laughed and apologized inwardly.

While summoning Balrog, it was technically his fault for not being strong enough. However, the situation could have been worse for the intermediate demon if a different human had summoned him, as his abilities would have been fixed at that time.

The unique aspect of Han-Yeol's power was his ability to level up, which allowed the demons he summoned to gradually unseal their powers and grow stronger over time.

In essence, the human who summoned Balrog could be considered both the right and wrong one.

As Asus' attention was directed toward Balrog, someone took full advantage of that opening.

Shwik!

It was none other than Mujahid, who had become quite close to Balrog despite not being able to communicate with him. The moment Balrog used Breath of Fire to grab the boss monster’s attention, Mujahid was already positioned behind Asus.

Of course, the boss monster had already noticed Mujahid's presence, so it was about to turn around and face him but...

[I won’t let you! Fire Explosion!]

Kaboom!

Balrog did not miss the opening presented when the boss monster was about to turn around. The Breath of Fire, which was frozen in midair, exploded, engulfing Asus. The boss monster covered its face in an attempt to minimize the damage it received.

[Bwahahaha! How about that?! I might be weaker compared to when I was in the demon world, but I have dependable allies here too! That’s something you don’t have, Asus! Kwahaha!] Balrog let out a burst of boisterous laughter after successfully damaging the boss monster.

However, the boss monster was not an ordinary demon, so landing a single blow was nowhere near enough to bring it down.

Kieeeeeeek!

[Hmm?]

An ear-splitting shriek rang from within the flames.

Shwak!

The flames from the explosion were absorbed by something in the air before they disappeared without a trace.

Asus appeared from behind the disappearing flames with its sword raised up high.

Whoosh…!

Then, the boss monster started to gather its mana into its sword.

Wooooong!

A powerful surge of mana surrounded Asus before a large dimensional gate appeared behind it.

“W-What’s going on?!” Han-Yeol was shocked.

It was absolutely unheard of that a monster possessed the ability to summon a dimensional gate.

“C-Crazy!”

Unfortunately, that was not the end of the boss monster’s antics.

Thud… Thud… Thud… Thud… Thud…?

Sounds of footsteps rang from within the dimensional gate before it grew louder and louder.

Thud…! Thud…! Thud…! Thud…!?

Then, monsters started emerging one by one.

“I… Ice Demons?!” Han-Yeol exclaimed in horror.

The Ice Demons were the most powerful monsters in the Cheolwon hunting ground, but they were not really much of a threat as they only formed small groups of two or three. Not only that, they were usually spread far away from other monsters, so they were not that big of a deal.

In fact, they were quite a hassle to locate and hunt, and during this particular hunt, Han-Yeol had only managed to kill two of them.

However, the boss monster just summoned all of the remaining Ice Demons in the hunting ground to the flatlands.

"How is this possible?! Damn it… Should we have hunted those too before coming here…?" Han-Yeol cursed under his breath.

It turned out that Asus was not an ordinary boss monster that used ice magic and its humongous sword. It was hiding an ace under its sleeve that could summon monsters to its present location, and this trump card could be the deciding factor in this battle.

‘I knew this guy was something special, but who would’ve known it could summon a dimensional gate?!’?

Han-Yeol’s party might have had numerical superiority, but that was no longer the case after nearly one hundred Ice Demons emerged from the dimensional gate.

“Kwuoooooooh!”

The Ice Demons had a peculiar appearance, diverging from the typical Western concept associated with the term 'demons' and leaning more toward the demons found in Eastern culture. They resembled malnourished dinosaurs, walking on their hind legs, with their skinny arms resembling wings. Although these 'wings' were not capable of flight, they functioned as normal arms for attacking and defending.

Despite the cool and vicious connotations of the name 'demon,' these creatures were more accurately described as hideously ugly monsters.

However, underestimating them based on their appearance would be a grave error, as they were remarkably adept in combat and employed a highly potent poison in their attacks.

Known for being challenging to defeat, those who managed to kill them often paid a high price, as the monsters resorted to poisoning their enemies with their dying breath.

The first Hunter to encounter these creatures and give them the name 'Ice Demons' had managed to survive the encounter. However, he ended up in intensive care for two weeks before eventually succumbing to the poison.

Truly, these were terrifying monsters worthy of being labeled the most formidable creatures in this hunting ground.

“Special S raid party!” Han-Yeol shouted.

“Yes, Hunter-nim!”

[All forces! Gather up!] Mujahid called his subordinates.

[Yes, Mujahid-nim!]

They had initially planned to involve them later in the fight against Asus, as they had no information on the boss monster. However, the situation was completely different now that they had lost their numerical advantage.

In fact, the situation seemed quite dire as they were outnumbered by more than two to one.

‘Tsk… We’re still outnumbered…’?Han-Yeol gritted his teeth.

Shwooooosh…!

The mana-filled blizzard raged across the Cheolwon hunting ground as both sides were in an intense stand-off.

[Everything is meaningless…]

[Meaningless…]

‘I’ve completely neglected these two for quite a long time,’?Han-Yeol thought as he summoned the Void Devils.

These two were a bit left behind compared to Balrog and the others, as their main task was to watch over his father instead of joining him on hunts.

In fact, there was no level difference between these demons that Han-Yeol summoned first and the intermediate demon he summoned later, Balrog.

Han-Yeol could not see the stats of these low-ranking demons, but he was certain that their stats were probably hopeless compared to Balrog's.

‘There is no point leveling them up since they’d only leech experience points away from the others. Besides, it’s not like I could evolve them to intermediate demons, since I don’t have the Invoke for it,’?Han-Yeol justified his actions with his own way of thinking.

Still, he had no choice but to summon both of them right now as every head and pair of hands counted in their current situation.

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