Leveling Up Alone

Chairman Woo Jin-Cheon struggled to breathe, continuously coughing and clutching his neck, eventually vomiting blood onto the floor. The officials of the Hunters’ Association attempted to assist him, but Chairman Woo angrily pushed them away.

The global Hunters’ Associations had yet to devise a new ranking system for those who had experienced a second awakening, leaving them stuck with the old rankings.

Chairman Woo still held the status of an A Rank Hunter. His strength as an A Rank Hunter, however, stemmed mainly from his position as the chairman of the Hunters’ Association, granting him unrestricted access to the association’s abundant equipment. Despite this, after his second awakening, he was no longer the same A Rank Hunter Woo Jin-Cheon.

Immediately following his second awakening, he equipped himself from head to toe with the best gear and conducted tests to assess his newfound powers. The results were astonishing—he had become exponentially stronger, now capable of going head-to-head with a Master Hunter.

Confident in his newfound strength, he had boldly raised his voice at Mister Freemason.

However, the disbelief set in when a hologram image of Mister Freemason caused him to vomit blood and struggle for breath, despite his significant increase in strength after the second awakening.

Chairman Woo remained on the floor, unable to rise until the meeting concluded.

[We have needlessly wasted our precious time. We shall continue the meeting.]

Mister Freemason’s spine-chilling voice redirected everyone's attention back to the meeting.

It was ironic that Chairman Woo failed to realize that if he had his second awakening, others could too. After all, the only reason he could experience his second awakening and gain more power was Earth's transition into a second dimension.

Regardless of whether Chairman Woo was on the ground or not, the meeting continued. Dr. Santinora excitedly and passionately explained his latest creations.

***

While Freemason was plotting something sinister, Han-Yeol focused on hunting monsters. He no longer had to risk traveling all the way to the Bastro Dimension just for hunting. It wasn't only the Hunters who underwent changes; even the monsters on Earth became stronger after being exposed to the increased mana density, now on par with the Bastro Dimension’s mana density.

Han-Yeol was not the only person to benefit from this change.

The Black Orcs gained the ability to grow stronger the more enemies they devoured. This time, they became even more formidable after being influenced by the increased mana density.

What was truly remarkable, however, was the fact that the Black Orc Horde, which initially numbered around eighty thousand when they first became Han-Yeol’s slaves, had now expanded to more than one hundred thousand orcs.

Technically, their population should be even higher, but their imprudent hunting methods led to the deaths of numerous young orcs in battle. However, Han-Yeol chose not to interfere in their affairs, deciding to view it as their culture and way of life.

The Black Orc Horde established a camp in the mountainous terrain on the outskirts of the city formerly known as Fukuoka, where they hunted monsters in the vicinity.

“Hmm?”

The Black Orc Commander looked up at the sky after one of the scouts pointed at it. He raised one hand to shield his eyes from the sun’s glare.

The scout rang the cowbell to signal Han-Yeol’s arrival, and the Black Orcs gathered almost immediately.

Mavros did not quietly land, as he always did; instead, he spread his wings wide open and touched down, appearing as majestic as possible. It seemed as if he was attempting to assert his dominance over the Black Orcs and prove that he was the top authority in this place.

It appeared that the Black Orcs had gotten on Mavros’ nerves. Han-Yeol had recently increased his number of subordinates by acquiring slaves, and inevitably, a man would try to assert dominance over others. Mavros was doing the same, emphasizing and reminding the Black Orcs that he was the boss in this territory.

Unfortunately, the Black Orcs couldn't be bothered by Mavros and his antics.

“We greet the Great Being!”

“We greet our master!”

All the Black Orcs knelt down on the ground to pay respect to Han-Yeol after the Black Orc Commander knelt. This gesture was the ultimate sign of servitude a slave could show their master.

“Rise,” Han-Yeol gave a simple command.

The Black Orcs instantly rose at Han-Yeol’s command.

Han-Yeol only had business with the Black Orc Commander, not the entire horde, so the others returned to their tasks after greeting him.

“Hey, Sharktell.”

Han-Yeol had bestowed the name Sharktell upon the Black Orc Commander for ease of address. Unbeknownst to him, this became a significant matter among the Black Orcs. When a monster received a name, it meant the monster was now a ‘Named Monster’ and was expected to become stronger.

This development led to a new rumor.

Nobody knew where the rumor originated, but it spread rapidly, reaching all one hundred thousand orcs within a day.

Why were they so obsessed with becoming a Named Monster? One could not question a monster's instincts!

Han-Yeol and Sharktell entered the main hut, where he unfolded a map of Atarinia. He commanded Sharktell to assemble a force capable of dominating the entire western region.

“Yeah, that’s right. How long do you think it will take?”

“Hahaha… A-Alright…” Han-Yeol was slightly flustered by the orc’s immediate response.

He had hoped Sharktell would at least ponder it for a bit before answering, but there was no such hesitation for a Black Orc!

Han-Yeol took out a red marker pen and drew a line dividing the Atarinia Archipelago into two.Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs ɴovᴇlꜰɪre.ɴet

“You Black Orcs will inhabit the entirety of this left side while the right side will be occupied by my other subordinates. So, make sure you tell your orcs not to go east. Not to cross this line, to be exact. Okay?”

“Good.”

Han-Yeol finished giving all the important orders and left the map on the table before continuing to chat with Sharktell about other matters.

Leaving everything to Sharktell would be most comfortable for Han-Yeol, but the Black Orcs only knew how to fight and nothing else. They could be considered innocent to a certain extent, but Han-Yeol felt that instructing them on what to do was the best way to prevent bigger problems from arising.

“So you're supposed to do it like this, got it?”

Sharktell was the smartest among the Black Orcs, though that didn't mean he was very intelligent, given the low intelligence threshold for orcs. Perhaps for this reason, he looked at Han-Yeol with eyes full of respect and reverence after hearing the numerous simple commands, as if it was the most brilliant thing he had ever heard in his life.

While most people might feel flattered to receive such a look, Han-Yeol was unfazed, as he knew he was already someone more than amazing.

In reality, Han-Yeol did not feel all that flattered by the admiring gaze he was receiving.

Anyway, Han-Yeol finished his business with the Black Orcs and hopped onto Mavros to fly east, where his other subordinates, the Bastrolings, were located.

[Welcome back, Harkan-nim.]

[Yes yes, welcome, Harkan~]

“Hey, everyone. Thank you for your hard work, as always.”

Mavros did not make any flashy landings this time, as he would not dare to show off in front of the Bastro Warriors. The Bastrolings were a battle-hardened race, with even a civilian being stronger than most Hunters on Earth.

The Bastrolings were currently constructing what would be their new home in the eastern region of Japan. However, anyone could tell from the sound of their hammering that they were upset about something.

They had witnessed the scene of the hyenas and humans shaking hands after Earth transitioned into a second dimension, which enraged them. In fact, some of the hot-headed Bastrolings suggested that they should kill all of the humans along with the hyenas and take over this dimension.

There was quite a ruckus over it, but it was easily quelled by the leaders of the Bastrolings, namely Riru, Kandir, and Taichin. They convinced the Bastrolings that they did not have the strength to go back to the Bastro Dimension to reclaim it. Instead, they should stay on Earth, which was now a second dimension too, and grow their strength until the optimal opportunity presented itself.

Unfortunately, time was not on their side.

Kandir jumped to higher ground and gave a speech.

[We are proud Bastrolings, but until when are we going to depend on Han-Yeol-nim alone? Yes, we are all angry about what we saw, but can we win against the hyenas without Han-Yeol-nim’s help? Don’t forget, we couldn’t win against them even when all of our strongest warriors were with us!]

[…]

None of the Bastrolings could respond. They had seen with their own eyes the huge army of millions of corrupted soldiers fielded by the Hyena Sorcerers, and they knew the hyenas only grew in numbers while they became weaker than before.

[Fortunately, this dimension has highly advanced technology. We shall utilize their technology to our advantage and create a new anti-hyena strategy! Pride? Honor? None of those things matter anymore! If it means that we can kill those hyenas and avenge our comrades, then I will gladly do whatever it takes at the cost of my honor!]

[Oooooh!]

[Kandir is right!]

[Yes! We cannot live like this forever! We need to reclaim our home!]

[Avenge our comrades!]

The morale of the Bastrolings skyrocketed after Kandir’s speech.

That was how they rallied around Kandir and focused on building their settlement in the Atarinia Archipelago while devising numerous strategies on how to kill the Hyena Sorcerers and their corrupted soldiers.

***

[We will be in your care.]

Three Fox Bastrolings bowed toward Yoo-Bi. They were sent by Han-Yeol to work and learn under Yoo-Bi’s tutelage.

Of course, Han-Yeol did not forget to hire an E Rank Hunter with Telepathy abilities along with them. It went without saying that the E Rank Hunter was handsomely paid for the services offered.

Han-Yeol believed that anyone who was scared of their subordinate growing stronger was just a petty loser.

“Hahaha… Sure,” Yoo-Bi awkwardly replied after hearing a bunch of non-humans telling her they would be in her care.

She did accept them for now, but she had no idea how she was going to teach them.

Yoo-Bi gritted her teeth in anger after Han-Yeol dumped these three foxes on her without prior warning.

[W-What’s wrong with her?]

[Maybe her teeth hurt?]

[Oh no, a woman can’t have bad teeth!]

The three foxes started pitying Yoo-Bi out of nowhere.