Chapter 229: Invitation From Egypt (5)
"Is this Lamidanda Airport?" Han-Yeol inquired, adjusting his sunglasses.
The first thought that crossed his mind upon landing at Lamidanda Airport was...
'This place is so rural and old...'
His observation was spot on. Lamidanda Airport was situated in a rather rural area, and it was an extremely modest airport with unpaved runways that appeared to be barely maintained.
'Well, I suppose it's to be expected from a poor country that relies on tourism revenue to maintain its infrastructure. They likely scraped together whatever resources they could to construct this facility for tourists but didn't have enough to do it properly.'
The country's elongated geographical layout posed a significant challenge for building proper infrastructure. Since the majority of the population did not own vehicles, most of the roads in the country were not adequately paved, and tourists relied on air transport for travel. This explained why Nepal had a relatively high number of airports given its economic situation. However, like Lamidanda Airport, most of these airports had barely one properly maintained runway.
"Han-Yeol-nim!" Purva called out to him, rushing in his direction.
"Have you inquired about the current situation?"
"Yes... The monsters have just passed Buipa. Unfortunately, that area is quite rural, so they didn't receive the warning in time, and... everyone there died..."
Han-Yeol grimaced at the report. ‘I knew this place was not that developed, but it’s worse than I thought...’
The country was even poorer than he had imagined.
‘Geez... I can’t believe this is real...’?Han-Yeol shook his head.
Their current situation truly befitted their status as the only country without local mana stone production, and it was a stark contrast when compared to South Korea.
Psshhht!
[The monsters are coming!]
Purva's walkie-talkie rang as one of the scouts urgently reported.
“Han-Yeol-nim!”
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
‘Demon Eyes!’
Wooong!
Han-Yeol's eyes turned red, and something surprising happened.
Ding!
[The rank of ‘Demon Eyes’ has risen from (A) to (M).]
[‘Demon Eyes’ has reached Master Rank.]
[There is a possibility of the skill evolving or creating a new skill if certain conditions are met.]
‘Oh! Finally!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed in delight.
The reason he frequently used Demon Eyes was to level it up as quickly as possible because it had a multitude of applications. His efforts paid off, as the skill finally reached Master Rank just as he had hoped.
‘Hmm... Good things usually happen when a skill reaches Master Rank...’?he thought while expecting something great to happen.
He already knew quite a bit about his game-like ability. There were some exceptions, but skills like these, with various applications, typically provided some sort of bonus.
And it played out exactly as he had predicted.
Ding!
‘It’s here!’?Han-Yeol rejoiced at the familiar sound.
[You have successfully fulfilled the requirements to gain a new skill.]
[A new skill has been created: Analytic Eyes.]
‘Oh!’
He had no idea what the skill entailed, but just from its name, he could tell that he was going to be quite satisfied with it.
‘Let's see what you've got.’
[Analytic Eyes (F)]
[Type: Passive]
[Description: A passive skill linked with Demon Eyes that analyzes everything visible based on its mana. It will provide the user with basic information for now, but it will start offering more detailed information as it levels up.]
‘Wow! I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly, thoroughly satisfied with his new skill.
No longer would he need to make assumptions when observing mana balls with Demon Eyes; his new skill would conduct the analysis for him.
[Excuse me.]
“Hiiik!?You shocked me, Karvis!”
Karvis communicated directly with Han-Yeol's mind, and it never failed to startle him whenever she suddenly spoke. While most people might experience jump scares from sudden sounds they hear with their ears, for Han-Yeol, it was the opposite, as Karvis's voice resonated within his mind.
[I am bored, Han-Yeol-nim.]
Karvis was as unpredictable as ever.
“Ah, my bad... Hahaha...”
[The skill you obtained just now synergizes very well with me. Would you like my assistance?]
“Oh, really?”
[Yes.]
Karvis seemed to be quite excited for some reason.
“I’ll look forward to it then, Karvis.”
[Thank you, Han-Yeol-nim.]
Karvis didn't have many chances to showcase her abilities. Initially, she appeared as a guide when Han-Yeol awakened, but she couldn't fulfill her role adequately because she didn't have much knowledge herself. Consequently, she became Han-Yeol's chat buddy when he was bored, but their interactions dwindled over time after he gained his companions and Mavros.
Ultimately, she was somewhat "promoted" to the role of being the Ego of the chain during battles. However, all of this was about to change.
[I am not in sync with your skills most of the time, but I am able to see what you see. Therefore, I will be able to relay the information analyzed by the skill to you without you having to look at it.]
‘Oh? That sounds really convenient.’?Han-Yeol could not help but be happy that Karvis was willing to do the mundane task of analyzing information.
He wasted no time to immediately ask, “So, what do you think of the monsters coming our way?”
Wooong!
A sound emitted from his eyes as soon as he finished his question, and it appeared that the passive skill was instantly activated.
[There are a total of one thousand five hundred monsters heading this way, but these are the monsters that are within the range of Demon Eyes so far.]
"What? That many?"
[Those are only the monsters headed this way.]
"Then?"
[I have picked up a total of 2,155 monsters. They are spread out in different directions, but their destination is the same. They are headed for the capital city while mercilessly killing any humans they come across and leaving a trail of destruction.]
“Damn it... We need to funnel them here and get rid of them all at once...”
Han-Yeol might be a Master Rank Hunter, but he was all alone. Hunting down the monsters one by one in such a vast area would be impossible. He needed a solution, and he needed it fast.
[I advise that you use Mavros.]
“Mavros?” Han-Yeol muttered as he looked up at the baby black dragon on his shoulders.
“Kyu?”?Mavros tilted his head in a cute manner.
Badump!
Han-Yeol saw Mavros almost every single day, but he could never get enough of his cuteness.
[Please focus, Han-Yeol-nim.]
“Roger...”
[Please ask Mavros to transform into combat mode and fly around to lure the monsters here. This way, it will be easier for you to deal with most of the monsters at once without having to move around.]
“Do you think it will be a stretch to lure all of them?”
[Yes, Mavros might be fast, but there are so many monsters that even Demon Eyes is having a hard time picking up all of them.]
“Ah... That sucks...”
It appeared that preventing further casualties in Nepal was going to be difficult.
“Mavros!”
“Kyu!”
“Combat mode!”
“Kyu!”
Mavros immediately transformed, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Chwak!
He grew as big as the private jet and spread his wings out, and the dragon armor that Han-Yeol had purchased from Delchant looked quite majestic on him. Mavros seemed to exude much more charisma now that he was wearing the cool-looking armor.
“Mavros?”
“Kiek?!”
“Fly around and lure the monsters here.”
“Kieeeek!”?
Mavros let out a cry and nodded in response.
Then, he folded his wings and licked his lips as he prepared to take off.
Han-Yeol was quite worried about the current situation, but it appeared that Mavros was glad to have the opportunity to fight again.
Boom!
Mavros unleashed a sonic boom as he darted into the sky.
“Good. I’ll leave the luring to him.”
[It is now time for you to bring out everything.]
“Hmm... Already?”
[Yes, the monsters might not be powerful... no, most of them are weak monsters, but you cannot lower your guard. There are a few strong ones mixed in among them. Oh, the monsters just increased. There are 2,813 of them now.]
“Again?!”
[Yes.]
“Damn it!”
Han-Yeol could not help but start to feel nervous.
“Hey, Karvis.”
[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?]
“There are no Master Rank boss monsters in this dimensional rift, right?”
This was his main concern.
[No, there are none.]
“Then that’s a relief.”
He might have gotten a lot stronger, but it was a stretch for him to fight a boss monster on the caliber of the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. It would have been a different story if the Horus raid party was with him, but he was currently alone.
“Heh... Who’s alone?” he smirked and muttered under his breath.
Yes, he was not completely alone.
[Bwahahaha! The thought of fighting against tens of thousands of monsters is making my blood boil!]
He had his demon companions with him. Han-Yeol could not help but feel glad that he had such dependable allies.
“It is an honor to fight alongside you, Balrog-nim and Arch Lich-nim.”
[Bwahahaha! The same goes for me!]
[Alright...]
Shwaaa...
As expected, Asus was still quiet and only letting out his strange breathing.
“The same goes for you, Asus,” Han-Yeol added.
He was contracted to the other demons, which was why he treated them with respect, but that was not the case for Asus as he was not contracted to him. Asus was currently under the control of the Arch Lich, so he was indirectly under Han-Yeol.
‘These three demons can annihilate an S Rank raid party,’?he thought while comparing them to the Special S raid party.
[Meaningless...]
[Everything is meaningless...]
Of course, there were also the Void Devils that had been with Han-Yeol for the longest time.
‘I hope I can evolve these guys this time...’?
Han-Yeol spent quite a lot of time with the Void Devils, but he did not see any growth in them. The reason behind this was that he tasked them with protecting his father more than hunting, which obviously stunted their growth.
However, it did not mean that they did not get anything out of it as they took quite a lot of monster corpses as payment as they worked around the clock.
While Han-Yeol was waiting for the monster horde to arrive, a powerful burst of mana illuminated the sky in the distance.
Flash! Kaboooom!
Then, a foul stench spread throughout the area.
“It seems that Mavros has gotten started,” he commented with a smile.
Mavros’ mission was to lure the monsters to Han-Yeol, and he hoped that the black dragon would faithfully carry out his mission to perfection.
Thud...! Thud...! Thud...! Thud...! Thud...! Thud...!?
“They’re coming!”
[Bring it on!]
[Ready.]
Shwaaa!
[Meaningless...]
[Everything is meaningless...]
Gulp...!
Han-Yeol nervously gulped for a second but shook his head. ‘Well, most of them are just small fry...’?
Then, he put on the goggles Yoo-Bi had made and...
Beep! Wooong...! Ziiiing!
A beep, followed by a mechanical sound, rang as the goggles were switched on. Then, the shoulder cannons were activated.
“Hmm?” Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion after looking through the goggles. “What’s wrong with this?”
The reason was that something completely unexpected happened.
