Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 276: Cold Love (4)

Whoosh!

The Arch Lich departed first with Asus as soon as Han-Yeol gave the command. He always preferred to work alone unless the situation warranted it, so he used Teleport to go to the location with the most monsters.

“Tsk… Arch Lich-nim is quite the free spirit…”

[Bwahahaha! Try to be more understanding, human. That guy has always been like this.]

[…]

On the other hand, the Void Devils did not move and waited until Han-Yeol gave them a direct command.

“We should get moving too.”

[Bwahahaha! I won’t be reverse summoned this time!]

“Hahaha…”

Balrog still seemed disappointed by the fact that he had been reverse summoned after getting hit by the Hyena Sorcerer's whip last time. It wasn't the first time Balrog had been reverse summoned, but those other times were when he ran out of mana and stamina, not when he was beaten in a single hit.

He loved fighting more than anyone, and his pride as one of the captains in Baal's army made it difficult for him to accept the fact that he had lost to some monster.

[Let’s go!]

[Meaning…]

[Less…]

‘Haa… I’m so tired…’

Han-Yeol thought he had gotten used to things, but he could not help but feel tired having to deal with Balrog's energy.

Of course, he did not forget to collect the large mana stone from the Magma Giant's remains.

***

Krwaaang!

The sound of explosions continuously rang from Mount Halla throughout the entire day.

“Zzz…”

“ZzzZZzZz…”

The soldiers guarding the entrance to the hunting ground were dozing off. No, it was more like they were indeed fast asleep.

The sound of the explosion might have been really loud, but the inside and outside of the hunting ground were separated by a barrier that blocked off sound as well.

Also, the soldiers guarding the Mount Halla hunting ground were much more relaxed than those at most other hunting grounds, as they only had to stay awake once a week when the Tamra raid party would come to hunt.

Bam!

[Bwahahaha! This is my battle!]

Balrog was unleashing all the stress he had accumulated from being defeated by the giant boss monster in a single hit.

[Void Storm!]

Bzzzt!

“Doooool!”

Even the Void Devils, who found most things bothersome, seemed to be giving it their best right now. Unfortunately, there wasn't much they could do, as they were only lesser demons.

‘Hmm… They don’t need to protect father anymore…’ Han-Yeol thought.

Han-Yeol's father was now being guarded by the Gurkhas, so there was no longer any need for the Void Devils to remain by his side. Thus, Han-Yeol thought that it was best to start turning them into additional firepower on his side.

However, the problem was that they were too slow to grow stronger. Well, the reason for their slow growth was that Han-Yeol had somewhat neglected them all this while.

‘Haa… What should I do with them…?’

He could not help but let out sigh after seeing the Void Devils in battle.

‘Well, I guess they will pull their weight soon enough…’

In the end, he decided to forget about it for now and focus on killing the rest of the Dolhareubangs with Mavros. The Arch Lich had already gone to take care of the one with the biggest cluster of monsters, so the only other place that had a cluster of monsters was a gorge in the middle part of the mountain.

The Tamra guild would be sitting around, twiddling their thumbs for an entire week if Han-Yeol got rid of the monsters there too.

‘Hmm? The hunting ground is not going to disappear though, right?’

He thought of a bunch of useless things on the way.

Ding!

It was while Han-Yeol was busy clearing the monsters that a message popped up in front of him.

[The two Void Devils have started evolving.]

“What?! Why are they evolving all of a sudden?”

They were almost done clearing all of the monsters, so Han-Yeol was no longer needed, as Balrog and Mavros could easily clear the rest.

Han-Yeol went to check up on the Void Devils.

[Kwuooooh…!]

[Kwaaaa…!]

The Void Devils clung together as sparks flew all around them.

‘I don’t think they’re in pain, though…?’

Their screams were a bit concerning, but Han-Yeol could tell from their actions that they were not in pain. After all, he had spent more than a year with them, so he knew whether they were in pain or not.

‘I wonder what’s going on?’ he wondered.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

The electric sparks around them grew stronger and stronger until they started to glow blindingly.

Bzzzzt!

‘Keuk!’

Han-Yeol covered his eyes with his arm after seeing the spark flash and blind him. He slowly lowered his arm after the bright spark subsided.

"H-Huh?!"

The sight that awaited him shocked him and made him gasp in amazement.

Kwuoooh!

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

A powerful current of mana was raging, and the Void Devils' mana could be felt within the raging mana storm.

“W-Wow…!”

[Power overwhelming!]

Kwaaaaaaaaah!

The Void Devils were nowhere to be seen, as a single larger Void Devil stood within the mana storm.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The Void Devil was simply standing still, yet it was emitting sparks all around it.

Ding!

[The two Void Devils have merged into one and turned into a powerful ‘Void Executor’.]

[The rank of ‘Summon Demon’ has risen.]

[Your Invoke stats have increased by 100.]

‘W-What’s going on?! Check status!’ Han-Yeol immediately checked the new Void Devil’s stats.

[Void Executor]

Level: 80

Rating: High

Experience Points: 1/1,000

Innate Ability: Destruction

Stats:

STR: 1,000

VIT: 1,000

AGI: 400

MAG: 1,000

Trait: Electricity 60%

Skills: Electric Shield, Void Ray, Mana Regeneration

Description: A high-ranking demon in the demon world that wields the power of the void. It is the most powerful demon in the demon world when the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon are excluded. Seeing this demon in the demon world is rare because it is not originally a demon but rather a demon hunter who transformed into a demon.

The Void Executors are known to remain in another dimension until specific conditions are met, and two demons are sacrificed to allow them to descend into the demon world. Nothing can withstand the power of the void, and no sacrifice is considered too great to halt this demon.

[Power overwhelming!]

The Void Devils, who couldn't even be bothered to speak, suddenly underwent a complete change in personality. Han-Yeol could tell from the description alone that it was indeed an extremely powerful demon.

“Wow! Congratulations, Void Executor-nim!”

[Gwo! It’s all thanks to you, human.]

Bzzzt!

The Void Executor continued to shoot sparks all over the place.

It could be seen from the demon's skills that it embodied electricity itself. Electric Shield surrounded the Void Executor with electricity, providing protection from any damage. As long as the shield remained intact, the Void Executor would never die.

Void Ray was the Void Executor's sole offensive skill, but it was a potent one that allowed the demon to gather electricity and shoot it in any direction it desired. Mana Regeneration was the skill that turned the other two skills into overpowered abilities, as it increased the demon's mana regeneration by 1,000%. In other words, the Void Executor's mana would instantly replenish in the blink of an eye.

‘Wow… This guy is just overpowered…’ Han-Yeol thought.

“Kiek?!”

[What?! H-How can this be…?! The Void Executor?!]

Balrog appeared to be the most shocked among them all.

[Human… Who are you…?]

Balrog asked, but he couldn't get a response as the Void Executor cut him off.

[Step aside. I'll deal with the rest.]

The Void Executor was within a seven-meter-long energy orb that hovered a meter off the ground, indicating that the demon was at least eight meters tall. Surprisingly, the demon didn't make a single sound when it took a step, despite its enormous height.

The Void Executor spoke in an arrogant tone to Balrog and Mavors, and Mavros did not seem to appreciate the tone.

“Kiek!” Mavros shrieked at the strange demon.

[Ahem…]

On the other hand, Balrog instantly backed down after realizing the gap between their abilities. He might love fighting more than anyone else, but he knew when to step back from a fight he couldn't win.

[I’m backing down only because I’m the bigger man. Bwahaha!]

“Mavros, step aside,” Han-Yeol said.

“Kieeee…” Mavros cried out with his wings drooping down, but in the end, he did listen to Han-Yeol.

He wasn't mad at Han-Yeol or anything; he just felt it was a shame that he couldn't finish the hunt he had started.

‘Hmm… Let’s see how strong you are, Void Executor,’ Han-Yeol thought.

[Destruction!]

Krrwaaaang!

The Void Executor, from within the energy orb, shot out powerful electric mana from its arm.

“Dol! Dol! Dol! Dol! Dol!”

There were still twenty tall Dolhareubangs in the gorge, and these appeared to be the largest ones Han-Yeol had encountered thus far. This also meant that they were stronger than the others, as the Dolhareubangs' strength depended on their size.

Krrwaaaaang!

“Dol! Dol! Dol!”

“Hiiiik?!” Han-Yeol gasped in horror at what he was witnessing.

He had initially thought that the Void Executor would need only thirty minutes to kill all of the monsters, but his expectation was completely off the mark.

The Void Executor did not require thirty minutes; it was able to kill all of the Dolhareubangs in a single hit. The monsters turned into dust after being struck once by the Void Ray.

[Destroy everything!]

Bzzzzt!

The Void Executor roared while gazing into the heavens, causing the entire Mount Halla to tremble. Han-Yeol simply shook his head in awe after witnessing its overwhelming power.

“Kyu…” Mavros finally took a step back after witnessing the Void Executor’s power.

Ten minutes passed, and the Arch Lich finally returned from his hunt.

“Let’s go back, Mavros,” Han-Yeol said.

“Kyu!” Mavros replied.

He was already in his non-combat mode.

[Too bad… I wanted to destroy everything here…]

“Hahaha… Please hold back for now… I will let you destroy things to your heart’s content later on.”

[I look forward to your promise, human.]

Seuuuk…!

The Void Executor summoned a magic circle and disappeared first, followed by Balrog, the Arch Lich, and Asus.

“Phew…” Han-Yeol finally let out a sigh of relief as he left the Mount Halla hunting ground with Mavros.

***

The next day, the Tamra raid party gathered at the foot of the mountain in preparation for the hunt.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

Kim Tae-San had initially visited once a week to hunt the Magma Giant residing in the Mount Halla hunting ground when he first took over Jeju Island. However, the Tamra raid party had grown much stronger, and Kim Tae-San found it bothersome to keep flying back and forth every week. So, he only sent elite Hunters with him to Jeju Island to assist the Tamra raid party.

The Tamra raid party cleared all the monsters in the hunting ground except for the Magma Giant, and they sent the profits from the hunt to Kim Tae-San. The raid party leader stood at the forefront and shouted, "All forces, move out!"

"Moving out!"

The Tamra raid party confidently marched through familiar terrain and passed by the soldiers to enter the hunting ground. They expected the hunt to proceed smoothly this time without any casualties. However, this time, there was a small problem...