Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 56: Demon Drill Sergeant (2)

The demon Astaroth had enraptured Han-Yeol, who was much more logical rather than instinctual thanks to the various hardships he had gone through in life, with an intense emotion before leaving him all alone. He felt that this was the precise reason why people offered up their souls to a demon despite knowing that it could only be a bad idea.

It was only after that did Han-Yeol calm his breathing and thoughts before he picked up the piece of paper that the demon had left behind. Looking at it, he thought, ‘So this demon will be my teacher in the basics of weaponry?’?

It was a bit funny now that Han-Yeol was calling a demon his teacher, but it did not matter to him whether it was a demon, human, or angel as long as he was able to grow stronger. He was prepared to consider anyone or anything that was beneficial to him as his ally, regardless of their racial background.

‘Also, the Shadow Demons have gotten much stronger thanks to the gift Astaroth-nim left behind,’?Han-Yeol thought.

Thirty percent was an unbelievable number when considering the fact that it buffed both the abilities and stats of the demon he summoned. It might not be such a huge amount when applied to a low leveled demon, but the difference would be as vast as heaven and earth if it was a high leveled demon instead.

‘Hmm… should I?gather?more sacrifices?’?Han-Yeol wondered when he remembered the fact that Astaroth had called the Giant Ants basically rubbish. ‘Maybe it worked previously because the Shadow Demons were the lowest ranked demon…?’?

***

Han-Yeol discarded the pile of Giant Ant corpses with a heavy heart before moving to the Orc Burrows. He did not bring an RV truck this time, so he could not afford to load his van with stinking monster corpses, and his van was already filled with his personal equipment and belongings. There was not much space to begin with, anyway.

Han-Yeol swung his chain and massacred the Orcs as soon as he arrived at the Orc Burrows. When he killed the hundredth Orc and placed its corpse on top of the pile, he cut the tip of his finger and drew the sigil on the ground. Then, he closed his eyes and chanted, “Lord Satan… Kajikar… to manifest… This I respectfully… Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father!”

Han-Yeol was now quite familiar with the chant.

His surroundings suddenly overflowed with demonic energy, but it was not as much energy as when Astaroth had appeared. This time, he wasn’t overwhelmed by the pressure.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

‘Huh?’?Han-Yeol muttered inwardly in surprise when the surface seemed to shake. It was not an earthquake, but rather…

Bam!

The sound of something large falling to the ground reverberated across the Orc Burrows, and Han-Yeol could see that the shadow of that large something was now towering above him. He slowly looked up and immediately muttered in confusion, “Huh?”

Gulp… Gulp… Gulp… Gulp… Slurp…!

A bull-headed creature with a muscular human body was sitting on top of a structure in front of Han-Yeol, and in its left hand was a large bottle that it was drinking from.

[Keu!?So sweet. Wait a minute, something felt off just now.] the bull-headed creature said.

‘Is that Kajikar?’?Han-Yeol wondered.

[Hmm? What the, it’s a human?] Kajikar muttered in surprise when it realized its surroundings had changed before staring down at Han-Yeol.

“I have summoned you from the demon world,” Han-Yeol said.

[Hmm… that’s strange. There’s no way that my sigil will exist in the mortal world since I’m not one of the official demons… No, there aren’t even that many demons that know of my sigil in the first place.] Kajikar muttered.

Tak!

“Heup!”?Han-Yeol groaned in surprise when Kajikar suddenly jumped from the structure and rushed toward him. It was such a fast movement that even his Sixth Sense skill failed to respond in time.

Kajikar suddenly punched Han-Yeol in his midsection.

Pukeok!

“Kuheok!”?Han-Yeol groaned in agony before the enormous impact flung him twenty meters back.

“Cough! Cough!”?

Han-Yeol was able to take quite a beating thanks to raising his VIT ever since he had awakened as a Hunter, and it was only thanks to his high VIT stat that his organs did not explode from that punch just now.

[Tsk Tsk… you have the ability and the talent, but you basically have zero knowledge on how to utilize it in a fight. You could have easily evaded or blocked that punch just now if you took a step back with your right foot and slammed your elbow down at my fist just before it made contact.] Kajirkar said.

‘Argh… What the hell is he talking about? Chain Smite!’?Han-Yeol immediately fought back. He could not make heads or tails of what the demon was talking about, because he was overcome with anger from feeling such excruciating pain for the first time ever since he had awakened as a Hunter. He immediately shot back by throwing his chain and using Chain Smite.

[Tsk tsk… Your mentality is weak and your concentration is hopeless too.] Kajikar said while clicking his tongue.

Han-Yeol’s Chain Smite was strong enough to make a bloody mess out of most monsters, but…

Shwiiiiik…!

“H-Huh…?” Han-Yeol could not help but mutter in confusion when Kajikar lightly waved his hand and caught the chain barehanded.

[The way you use your chain is too simple.] Kajikar said.

“Euk!”?Han-Yeol was flustered when one of his main attacks had been neutralized so easily by the demon.

[I guess you will have to start from the basics.] Kajikar muttered.

And that was how Han-Yeol was trained by the demon Kajikar all night—while being abused by him at the same time.

Thud…!

***

“Haa…! Haa…! Haa…!”

Ding!

[Your STR stat has increased by 2.]

[Your VIT stat has increased by 2.]

[Your AGI stat has increased by 1.]

Han-Yeol calmed his lungs and heart, both of which were about to burst from being abused all night, while lying on the ground. The abuse did not come in the form of combat or anything, but rather simple yet harsh training. This was the first time, not only since he had awakened as a Hunter, but also since he was born that he was so severely and thoroughly abused by someone.

Thud…!

The demon Kajikar, who was the main culprit behind Han-Yeol’s abuse, walked closer to him. He said. [Well, at least your tenacity is somewhat of a use. I guess you will be able to keep up with the training at least.]

“Haa… Haa… then… are you going to enter into a contract with me?” Han-Yeol asked.

[Kekekeke… of course, Astaroth-nim is going to give me an earful if I don’t enter into a contract with you.] Kajikar said with a snicker.

“Huh? T-That… was not… what you said… yesterday… haa… haa…” Han-Yeol muttered. He was completely out of breath.

Han-Yeol was certain that the demon had asked him yesterday why he had summoned him, but he had precisely heard the demon mention Astaroth’s name just now.

[Kekekeke! I feigned ignorance. Only the top thirty ranking demons among the seventy-two are aware of my sigil, and Astaroth-nim is the only one among the thirty that would be kind enough to give my sigil to a human. She might be the demon of laziness and complacency, but she enjoys a thrill more than anyone else among them. I guess she found you somewhat interesting.] Kajikar said with a laugh.

“Hoo…” Han-Yeol caught his breath before saying, “Astaroth-nim said that I lack basic fundamentals and that Kajikar-nim would be able to help me with it.”

[Just as she said, I will definitely be able to help in that field.] Kajikar confidently said while nodding, and then he said, [Alright, I will sign a contract with you.]

“T-Thank you very much!” Han-Yeol exclaimed.

[But!] Kajikar suddenly interjected.

“Huh?” Han-Yeol muttered in confusion.

Kajikar pointed at the pile of Orc corpses and said, [I can’t enter into a contract with that rubbish as the offering.]

“T-Then…?” Han-Yeol muttered.

Kajikar drew the bottle in his left hand closer to his lips before downing the liquid in it.

Gulp… Gulp… Gulp… Gulp… Slurp…!

The faint smell of liquor teased Han-Yeol’s nose.

‘Booze?’?Han-Yeol thought.

“L-Liquor. Is it enough if I offer you liquor?” Han-Yeol asked. He remembered a Chinese kung-fu movie he had watched where an alcoholic martial arts master had no desire for anything except a bottle of high-quality liquor… His deduction was spot on.

[Hoo… liquor you say? Well, I was just about to run out of it anyway. I was starting to wonder how human-made liquor would taste like too. Alright, I will enter into a contract with you if you let me drink as much high-quality liquor as I want.] Kajikar said.

“Thank you very much!” Han-Yeol exclaimed.

[Kekekeke… Don’t resent me later on.] Kajikar said while laughing with a sinister look.

“?” Han-Yeol did not really understand what the demon meant, but he was still happy that he was able to enter into an agreement with him.

That was how Han-Yeol successfully entered into a contract with his third demon.

Han-Yeol sent an emergency request for an RV truck to the Hunters’ Association and paid the extra fees to transport the mountain of Orc corpses to the factory.

Of course, the factory that he went to was none other than the factory he was a frequent customer of, and the place was coincidentally owned by the father of his old friend, Sung-Jin.

It was a bit burdensome when he had found out that the elderly man who did not spare words of flattery toward him turned out to be his close friend’s father, but he could not afford to stop dealing with them just because things felt awkward. He clearly knew that the factory was going through rough times and was depending solely on him and a handful of other Hunters. However…

‘What’s going on?’?Han-Yeol wondered when he saw that there was a ruckus at the factory entrance. Looking at the numerous luxurious cars and a few vans parked in front of the factory, he thought, ‘Now that I look closely…

‘Don’t tell me?’?he thought with a sense of urgency.

Clang!

Han-Yeol’s sensitive ears picked up the sound of something breaking. He drove his vehicle as fast as he could toward the sound. Soon, he saw the scene of twenty rough-looking men wearing black suits in a standoff with the factory employees.

Thud…

Han-Yeol came down from the RV truck.

“A-Are you here, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim?” Director Han, who usually came to greet Han-Yeol whenever the factory manager was busy, hurriedly came and greeted him while profusely sweating.

“What’s going on?” Han-Yeol asked.

“Ah… That is…” Director Han muttered hesitantly.

“Director-nim?” Han-Yeol asked once again.

“T-That is actually… the bank… those bastards sold our debt to loan sharks, and those guys are asking us to fork out the money right now. They are threatening that they are going to turn the place upside down and break all of our machinery if we do not pay up,” Director Han explained.

Han-Yeol was a very important client to the factory, but it was understandable if he was to stop all business with them now that he had personally seen the mess the factory was in.

“Hey, Mr. Lee. I’m telling you to pay up now.”

“Can’t you hear what hyung-nim is saying? Ha?”

The twenty loan sharks had their typical rough faces on as they pressured the factory employees.

The factory employees were winning in a contest of numbers, but there was no way that these ordinary people could win in a contest of wits against these loan sharks who basically did this for a living.

Han-Yeol was flabbergasted at what he was seeing right now. ‘Is this really happening in this day and age…?’?

It did not make sense that a bunch of gangsters could come to a business establishment and spew out threats as if this was a scene from the movie Nameless Gangster or New World. After all, South Korea still had law and police enforcement no matter how corrupted it had become.

Just as Han-Yeol was astounded by what he was seeing, his ears picked up a strange conversation.

“Manager Moon, what about the police?”

“I did call them but… they said that their response will be delayed since they have a lot of ongoing cases right now,” Manager Moon replied.

“What? Does that even make sense? Is this not a priority for them? Twenty gangsters barged into a factory and are causing a ruckus right now!”

“Y-Yes… I told them about it, but they just kept repeating the same thing over and over again…” Manager Moon replied. He hung his head low even though he was not the one at fault to begin with.

‘Tsk… This is a mess. I have no idea who is behind this, but to think that they would extend their hand to the police just to pressure a factory…?’?Han-Yeol wondered.

However, it did not take long for him to come to a conclusion, since this was a familiar repertory often shown in movies. Anyone who has been abused by big corporations would instantly understand what was going on at the factory right now.

Han-Yeol slowly walked toward them and called out to the factory manager, who was also the CEO and the father of his close friend. “CEO-nim?”

“Ah! Han-Yeol Hunter-nim. What brings you here today?” Sung-Jin’s father nervously asked.

“What do you mean? I hunted some Orcs so I came to sell them to you,” Han-Yeol replied.

“Ah! I-I see,” Sung-Jin’s father muttered in response. His bold demeanor in front of the loan sharks suddenly disappeared at Han-Yeol’s appearance, and he seemed to have been severely taken aback by Han-Yeol showing up.

He could hold out till the end and refuse to pay the loan sharks, and they were bound to leave at the end of the day. However, it was going to be fatal for them if Han-Yeol was to stop dealing with their factory after witnessing what happened today, and that would be akin to taking off the oxygen mask that was supplying them with the little oxygen that barely managed to sustain them.

“Huh? What’s this? There’s still someone dumb enough to deal with a factory like this?”

“Hey, Mr. Hunter. I’m not sure what has gotten into you, but I suggest that you stop dealing with this factory. This factory is going to go under soon, so I advise that you save yourself the trouble since this owner might end up running away in the middle of the night sooner or later.”

“Let’s just go for now boys.”

“Yes, hyung-nim!”

These gangsters might be ballsy and tough toward everyone else, but a Hunter was still burdensome to them. It was a severe crime for a Hunter to hurt a civilian, but they still avoided any confrontations with a Hunter because they were certainly going to lose whether it was a contest of money or power. After all, society would place more value on the Hunters rather than them, who were just a bunch of thugs and gangsters.

They could have just feigned ignorance and continued causing a scene, but they were not stupid enough to pick a fight with a Hunter simply because a big corporation was backing them up.

1. Both were famous gangster genre movies in Korea. and for those of you interested.

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