Level 8

...… 

11:02 am. 

Hans lightly tapped the coordinates on the New York map displayed by his watch without hesitation.

Of course, he did this in secret so as not to draw attention to himself. Although this is not uncommon, it's better to be cautious, right?

Hans raised his hand to his chin and quietly muttered as he stared at the game-like map.

'So, this is where the teleportation circle is?'

Earlier, Aegeus had previously ordered everyone to prepare to move. He explained how they would be transferred on the way. Using a large teleportation circle cast by a mage, they would be able to get out of the state.

That is why everyone began to move as soon as they realized this.

Shortly, in just 20 minutes, they arrived near the tall building that seemed to pierce the sky.

'Is this the Grand Hotel?' 

The Grand Hotel, formerly known as the Empire State Building, has received rave reviews from customers, even though they charge too much. Also, the hotel was well-known for housing a large number of S-Class Awakened.

'It's much larger in person.'

The building is slightly taller, with a maximum height of about 300 floors, and the side space is occupied by overgrown trees. A very comfy place with elegant decorations, no matter how much he looked in any direction.

Hans hasn't been here yet, so he's not sure if this is up to the rating. Adding the fact that it's expensive, it would be a dream if he could sleep here for a night.

Soon after, the people began strolling around, taking in the sights here and there, until they arrived inside the hotel.

In the meantime, Hans raised his hands and massaged his temple in response to the bothersome guy on his side.

"Why are you such a snob?"

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Ehhh? Aren't we friends now?" 

Hans cast a glance at Gab before averting his gaze somewhere. Even if he dropped hints to shut him up, this guy would not budge, so Hans' just ignored him.

But seriously, even if this guy didn't know about the void portal, he still gave him helpful information about dungeons. Given his goodwill, Hans agreed to provide his contact information, and it was the correct one this time.

Hans galloped inside, sweeping his gaze around the hall. The interior of the hotel is very vibrant and cozy. Just standing there made him want to book a stay. Unfortunately, the situation didn't allow it. 

"Pant—pant—, Leader, should I activate the circle now?" 

Due to his increase in stats, he can hear conversations from afar. He quickly shifted his gaze towards a particular area.

A man approached Hannah with a tired face as he raised his arm and wiped the sweat oozing from his forehead. The wand on his left hand gleamed in blue light before it gradually dimmed and vanished. 

Based on his attire, this man is a mage type. Also, his heavy breathing and pale face indicate side effects from mana exhaustion. 

"Rest for a while. Other teams haven't arrived yet."

The man nodded and left. His figure flopped down to the ivory sofa near the intricate magic circle engraved on the floor. A few seconds later, his loud snoring captured everyone's attention.

"Who's this pumpkin?" 

"He really has the guts to sleep in here, huh?" 

"Tskk…" 

Various thoughts from everyone muttering were echoed from the vicinity. As if it triggered a chain reaction, it spread around everyone.

Hans just ignored them and continued typing from his holographic keyboard. Fortunately, Gab isn't here or else...

Tap—tap—

It was a to-do list. 

[1. Find House

 2. Raid Dungeons 

 3. Make money

…]

"Fuu..."

A soft groan escaped from his mouth.

After thinking a while back, Hans had been pressed against time these days. He should have been out there leveling up and making money, but shit happens out of nowhere. 

And he still has no idea what creature attacked New York. He browsed the news article for answers, but all they said was 'It's unidentified' to his dismay.

Sigh—

It feels like danger is everywhere. From New Jersey to New York... what's next?

Sigh—

'Come to think of it, that woman's scent…' 

It's near him.

From his observations and system indication, that woman is probably a member of a Dhampir Species. If what he thought is correct, this species should be a union of a vampire and a human. 

Well, it was based on the myths, after all, so he really had no evidence to back up his claim. Still, he should be somewhat correct since it was named that way, right?

Though Hans flinched a little, this time, there's no need to be afraid. After all, there are high-ranking awakeners stationed nearby.

'Let's see…'

Hans closed his eyes and focused all his senses towards his nose. Using his 'Acrobat' skill somewhat helped him in this situation. Only a few seconds later, his eyes opened, and he stared at the figure sitting alone in the corner.

But...

'Hang on…'

Why is it a man? 

It was a burly tall figure sitting quietly in the corner. His hooded jacket covered his face while his hands were inside his pocket. Although he can't see it, he knows it's a man.

Hans had already been expecting that the woman might still be alive, but this sudden turn of events surprises him. 

'Hmm.'

As if sensing his gaze, the man stood up, swept his gaze around the surroundings before stealthily walking towards where the restroom was. 

Curious, Hans also stood up before following the guy hesitantly. The path to the restroom is quite a bit maze-like. There are steep turns here and there that makes him wonder who the hell engineered this building. 

'What are you planning?' 

Still, they arrived inside the men's restroom almost at the same time. Hans did this as to not arouse suspicion. After entering, he stood in front of the mirror and splashed his face with water. But his perception was always on guard in any possible unforeseen attack. 

"You've been following me, right?" 

At that moment, a voice interrupted his thoughts. Behind him, the man's figure reflected in the mirror.

Hans raised his hand, showing a stick of a cigarette before setting it in his mouth. 

"Smoke break."

"Hehe, really?" The man pulled a blade out of his back, "... I doubt that." 

"Does it bother you?" 

"Yes, it does…" 

Swish—

He vanished from his location and dashed in front of Hans' face. With the sound of the wind, a blade swung towards Hans' neck. 

Slash—

Hans hurriedly tilted to the side, successfully evading the attack. 

'It's easy to avoid.'

Slash—

Another from his right. 

Slash—

And from his left. 

Again, Hans dodges all of them with little to no effort. 

'He's not even a C-class.'

No instead, he's not even as strong as that woman. 

'I win.'

This time, the only difference is that he's stronger and faster, enough to take this man down. 

Swish—

Hans sprinted and brought his right hand upwards; knowing the man would either block or evade, he followed it with a roundhouse kick to his chest. 

Bam—

Crack—

The man flew to the wall shattering the mirror and sink on the way. His figure is accurately shaped in the dented wall as the dust settled around.

"Cough—"

But his sufferings didn't end there. 

Clang—

After forcefully pulling the metal tube from the shattered sink, Hans walks forward one step at a time.

As his distance got closer, the man pulled his body upward and rotated to the side. 

"You forced me!"

His body began changing. From his head to his feet, it's undergoing a metamorphosis. 

Hans narrowed his pupils, more cautious this time. Although he's stronger than this guy, there's no telling if he has tricks up his sleeves, right? It's better to be always on guard now that the fight hasn't ended yet.

'I can't let him finish.'

Kacha—

At that moment. Hans gripped the tube tightly and swung it down. 

Bam—

There's no need to be afraid. 

Bam—

As if he was possessed, Hans swung it down mercilessly. The man who's in the process of his metamorphosis had no option but to block it with his hands. 

'Hah!!!' 

Thump—, thump—

As if adrenaline kicked in, Hans seemed to have endless stamina. 

Bam—

His ability value was just as strong as a well-trained civilian level back then. The amount of mana was almost nonexistent. No talent, no potential, no skill, not a single thing related to combat. 

His only real fight is battling with life.

But this time… 

"Hahhhh!!!" 

He has power.

Baaam—

This is the first fight where he has an absolute advantage. Coupled by his physical stats being doubled by the body-enhancing skill, Hans bullied the man until he powerlessly flopped down to the floor. Blood oozed from the man's arms as the cold floor sent shivers down his spine. 

"So this is what a Dhampir looks like."

Hans' eyes probed the guy up and down. Its hair slightly changed from gray to black. Also, its body slowly became pale, sharp fangs protruded from his mouth, and razor-like nails grew from his fingers. 

"Like a vampire and a human. As expected, I'm right."

Hans took a deep breath and grabbed the small blade from the floor, and in an instant, he pierced it towards the dhampir's heart. 

Splat—

Woosh—

"Kuuuuuhk—" 

A scream rang out. The dhampir's body twitched left and right, struggling to resist. Seeing this, Hans pushed the blade even more.

Kuuuuk—

After a while, the dhampir stopped resisting and did not move anymore. Its eyes blankly stared at the ceiling from the misfortune it received. Slowly, its body burned into dust. 

"Haahh—" 

Hans let out a long breath. Cold sweats dripped from his forehead and back as he placed his bloodied hands to his chest. His heart is beating like crazy.

'Ha, haha.'

This should be his first battle where he laughed, right? 

But his joys didn't end there. 

Tr-tring—, Tr-tring

It was then. 

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

...

[Current Level: 8]

He leveled up 3 times consecutively. One should know that every time an Awakened levels up, the experience required for the next level would drastically go up. 

Meaning, the higher the level, the slower the growth. Of course, this can be nullified by hunting stronger monsters as they give more experience than low-level monsters. 

'Now… it should be here any minute.' Hans waited in anticipation.

As if responding to his thoughts, the words floated in front of him. 

[Do you wish to plunder the skill, 'Hide (C)'?]

[Yes / No]

Hans raised his hand and tapped 'Yes'.

This should be the first time he's aware of his skill being used, right?

Although he wanted to check his spoils, he needed to get out of here quickly. Others indeed heard the noises of their fight, so it's impossible not to notice.

Hans subconsciously used 'Hide' after he went out. This skill put his figure in an illusion. The blood from his body slowly vanished as he went out of the restroom.

As for why there are no other people besides the two, it should be attributed to the out-of-sign hanging from the door.

.....

"Hey, what happened?"

"A fight happened there. Don't know who."

"Awakened?"

"It should be. The walls broke, after all. Civilians can't do that unless they have tools."

Everyone talked to each other about the scene in the men's restroom, but some were not just interested. Looking back at the location, the damage is not that great. To those high ranking awakened, this was like a kids' fight. 

Who would want to watch that? Of course, the fellow kids.

Well, no one can blame them. They had seen much worse after all.

Meanwhile, the final batch of survivors finally arrived. Like others, they have kids, adults, the elderly, and awakened. Seeing this, Aegeus signaled his newly acquired lackey to wake up the sleeping mage— the one who drew the teleportation circle.

"Everyone! Prepare!"

Everyone chattering came to a halt and shifted their attention to Aegeus.

"All of you stand in the circle!"

His loud voice commanded in which the people complied. Hans got up from his seat and walked towards the large circle. After 10 seconds, a man wearing a mage robe and a purple wand equipped in his hand appeared next to Aegeus.

"Yawn— are they all here?"

"Yes, you can start."

"Um."

The wand brightly lit up, together with the magic circle under their feet. 

"Wow!"

"It's my first time seeing this!"

"Look! The circle is rotating!"

Everyone is awed by the teleportation circle. Of course, it's not that they are ignorant of this thing; just seeing it on TV and in real life is a different experience. Also, for the civilians, this is their first time experiencing magic being cast on them, so no one can really blame them.

Even Hans waited in expectation. However, his attention is towards the others standing outside.

'So they will remain here, huh?' Hans thought as he saw the high-ranking awakeners standing outside the teleportation circle.

It looks like their job here is not done yet.

Shring—

The glowing light grew stronger and stronger until it blindly blocked everyone's vision.

'It's time.'

Hans took a final glance at Hannah and Aegeus before closing his eyes. For now, his focus is to level up. Perhaps, they might meet again in the future.

Fate is a mysterious concept, after all.

Shring—

Soon, the white circle swallowed everyone inside, silently vanishing from the area. 

...…..

A bright light descended from the ample open space, followed by many people suddenly appearing from the ground. Some were awake, but the majority were unconscious.

Teleportation is a skill of the space element. It is common for all space transportation skills to be accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling, like jet lag. This is the reason why all civilians passed out from dizziness. Awakeners, we're somewhat dizzy, but they can handle it at least.

"Where is this place?"

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Ughh, my back."

At that moment, a voice woke them from their trance. 

"I'm glad all of you are safe."

It was a tall, muscular man wearing a commando suit. 

"You're probably confused as to where you are."

This soldier's steps made a tapping sound as he approached everyone.

" I'm Lieutenant Hudges of the Association Police Department. Everyone, welcome… to Pennsylvania."