Leveling Up Alone

Haverus looked flustered by the massacre Han-Yeol caused just earlier, but he quickly composed himself after wielding his newfound powers. A person was bound to feel confident after obtaining such power.

[What an arrogant creature.]

Crack!

Haverus’s attitude seemed to annoy White Dragon. Her powers would not have been sealed if she did not descend onto Earth and just remained as the dimension’s guardian. White Dragon’s original powers were so strong that she could effortlessly blow away a weakling like Haverus with a mere snort from her nostrils. It was extremely normal for such a powerful being like White Dragon to be annoyed after seeing a weak creature act tough in front of her.

“Calm down, White Dragon. It’s important to relax and enjoy since you descended for fun anyway,” Han-Yeol said.

[I guess you’re right, human.]

“Alright! Let’s fight for real now!”

[Sure.]

Chwak!

Han-Yeol and Haverus finally clashed for real.

Krwaaaang!

Haverus swung his bone whip and unleashed all sorts of spells infused with contaminated dark mana. Meanwhile, Han-Yeol infused his light attribute into White Dragon, allowing them to maximize the efficiency of his skill.

Light and darkness clashed repeatedly.

[What? Why can’t I overpower them?]

Haverus could not help but wonder after their mana clashed several times. He was now much more powerful than a high-ranking sorcerer, and he possessed power stronger than that of a Krevik Warrior too. But why couldn’t he overpower Han-Yeol, and why was he locked in a stalemate with him?

His calculations showed he should have overpowered him and turned him into one of his contaminated soldiers.

[Shining Rain!]

Thousands of brightly shining swords made of light came crashing down onto Haverus.

The reason White Dragon could almost endlessly use these light attribute skills was all thanks to Han-Yeol. White Dragon might be a dragon, but she was more adept with normal magic and found it difficult to use light attribute magic consecutively.

[You dare!]

Chwaaaak!

Haverus swung his bone whip and blocked the incoming swords made of light.

Bzzzzt!

Argh!

There were too many swords for him to block with just his whip, and a few of them managed to get past his whip and stab his body.

A normal sword or a sword made out of mana would not have dealt any damage to Haverus’s newly enhanced body. But the swords made out of light attribute mana infused with the ability to purify evil dealt significant damage to him.

[Damn it! How?!]

Although there were a lot of swords, Haverus was confident that he could easily block all of them with his new physical capabilities and his whip. Thus, he could not help but be shocked when a few of them managed to slip past his defenses and stab him.

‘Haha! What a fool. Your body might’ve become stronger, but you’ve lived your entire life as a sorcerer. You guys are more used to hiding behind your puppets, so there’s no way your combat senses could capture every single thing happening in close combat,’ Han-Yeol thought, snickering inwardly.

Karvis easily agreed with him as well.

[Yes, I agree with you.]

Han-Yeol already had experience fighting against an opponent whose body became exponentially stronger, and yet they lacked the combat sense to make full use of their newfound powers. Dr. Santinora served as an excellent subject for him and Karvis to collect data, and that data proved quite useful in this fight.

The hyenas might grow stronger with their spells, but there was no way they could enhance their combat sense too. Also, their spells might empower them much more than whatever experiment Dr. Santinora performed, but the mad scientist was still a step above them when it came to coming up with all sorts of schemes.

‘I managed to win against someone like him, so there’s no way I can’t win against these animals! You guys are one hundred years too early to be as annoying as that mad scientist!’ Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly.

The fact that Han-Yeol could easily counter their mana with his light attribute meant that he possessed the perfect weapon to exploit their openings. In other words, losing against him was extremely normal for Haverus, now a Krevik Warrior.

[Damn it!]

Baaam!

Haverus realized he would lose if this continued, so he decided to be more proactive.

Thud! Boom!

‘As expected, he’s fast,’ Han-Yeol thought while following him with his eyes.

Haverus’s body was enhanced with mana absorbed from the other sorcerers and their creatures, so it only made sense that he would be stronger and faster.

Boom!

[Eat this!]

Haverus used a bone whip, but he also had a bone sword with him. He jumped into the air, pulled out the bone sword, and swung it at Han-Yeol and White Dragon.

“White Dragon!”

[Argh!]

White Dragon might be a dragon, but due to her sealed powers, she failed to react to Haverus's swift movement.

‘Tsk. I have no choice.’

Then, Han-Yeol called out, “Mavros!”

“Kieeeek!”

Gwuu ooooh!

Haverus roared and swung his sword with all of his strength.

Bam!

[Argh! What the hell is this?!]

However, Mavros suddenly appeared after hearing Han-Yeol’s call and used his wing to smack Haverus on the head.

Swoosh! Chwak!

Haverus did not receive any damage from Mavros’s attack, but it was more than enough to throw him off. He ended up missing the lethal surprise attack he had prepared for White Dragon and Han-Yeol.

[You damned human! Where is your honor?! Coward! You’re ganging up on me!]

“What? Bwahahaha!” Han-Yeol burst into laughter at the accusation. Then, he sneered in response, “Isn’t ganging up on others the hyenas’ specialty? You guys are the best in the Bastro Dimension when it comes to that, so do you really think you can accuse me of that? Don’t make me laugh! Ha!”

[...]

“Hey, just because you look like a warrior doesn’t mean you are one. Don’t start getting an identity crisis now, okay? You’re just a fake warrior! You’re an embarrassment to real warriors!”

[What did you say?!]

Haverus lashed out after Han-Yeol taunted him.

“Tsk, tsk. If anyone who can fight close combat is a warrior, then are all monsters warriors? Don’t make me laugh, please,” Han-Yeol sneered once again. He clicked his tongue and shook his head this time.

The nonsense Haverus spouted left Han-Yeol in disbelief, but he decided to use that to get on his opponent’s nerves instead.

[I agree. They don’t even know a thing about being a warrior, yet he’s starting to think he’s one just because he transformed into something that looks like one.]

Karvis chimed in as well. She might be an Ego system, but she managed to understand the true struggles of a warrior after spending years with Han-Yeol during the time he lived as Harkan in the Bastro Dimension.

Han-Yeol might not be a true warrior, but he was indeed one during his time as Harkan, and that allowed Karvis to understand the true nature of a warrior.

Thus, she could not help but find Haverus absurd for talking about a warrior’s honor when he had no clue what being a true warrior entailed.

[You just got lucky and managed to dodge my attack this time, arrogant human! Luck will not smile on you twice!]

“Don’t worry about me. You know what? I wanted to tell you the exact same thing! Bwahaha!” Han-Yeol sneered and burst into laughter.

Grrrr!

The battle of wits between them was as intense as their clashes.

“Alright, it’s time for me to get serious now,” Han-Yeol said with a smirk.

[Tsk… I was starting to get annoyed,] White Dragon remarked.

“Hey, I told you to just enjoy things. Haha!”

[Alright.]

White Dragon seemed annoyed that she could not deal with a mere high-ranking sorcerer with her powers alone.

She might grow stronger thanks to Han-Yeol’s ability, but she had not spent a long time with him, so there was no way she could win against a high-ranking sorcerer. After all, the hyenas dominated the Bastro Dimension, and their high-ranking sorcerers were extremely powerful.

As annoying as it was, she had no choice but to leave things in Han-Yeol’s hands from now on.

“I hope you’re not going to make me fight alone just because you’re disgruntled, White Dragon.”

[Are you comparing me to those stupid chickens, human?!]

“Hahaha! There’s no way I’m going to do that,” Han-Yeol replied nonchalantly.

To be honest, he found how White Dragon’s temper would flare at these kinds of jokes to be quite cute.

[Did you think of something repulsive just now, human?]

“You’re imagining things.”

[Hmm…]

‘Damn. She’s too sharp for her own good,’ Han-Yeol thought, starting to sweat profusely.

He could not help but wonder why every single one of his comrades was extremely sharp. This was an excellent trait to have in battle, as he did not have to direct them, and they would do things accordingly. However, it was indeed uncomfortable for him when he was not in combat.

‘Tsk. It’s so annoying how sharp they are…’ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly. Then, he attempted to change the topic by shouting, “Alright! Let’s go, White Dragon!”

[Sure, human.]

Chwak!

[Bring it on, you piece of trash from a lower dimension!]

Chwak!

This was a battle between Han-Yeol’s chain and Haverus’s bone whip.

Krwaaaang! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The two weapons collided in mid-air, unleashing explosions that echoed like exploding bombs. Both weapons were infused with powerful mana, and the mana generated shockwaves with every collision.

Krwaaang!

The ground shook from the shockwaves blasted by the clashes of the chains.

[Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!]

The battle was so neck-and-neck that it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.

However, that was not the case for Haverus.

‘Why?! Why can’t I win against this insignificant creature?! I am a high-ranking sorcerer!’

Crack!

Haverus gnashed his teeth in anger. His Kreviks were powerless against Han-Yeol’s light attribute, so he used his secret weapon and transformed into a powerful creature. That should have been more than enough for him to win against the human, but they were stuck in a deadlock no matter what he did.

Things were not going according to plan—no, the opposite of what he wanted happened in his battle against Han-Yeol.

‘Damn it!’

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Their weapons continued to clash, triggering shockwave after shockwave.

Haverus’s temper grew hotter and hotter the longer their battle dragged on.

“Kieeeek!”

[Eat this!]

Fwaaaaah!

Mavros suddenly appeared behind Haverus and unleashed Poison Breath at him. The mini-dragon possessed the ability to use all sorts of magic, but there was no magic as powerful as the breath attack of a dragon. The breath attack was a skill only a dragon could use, which was why the dragons were feared.

[Damn it!]

Haverus instinctively knew he could not evade the Poison Breath. With his bone whip already locked against the chain, he could not defend himself with anything.

‘I guess I have no choice!’ Haverus thought. He held his bone whip with one hand and used his other hand to block the incoming Poison Breath.

[Shield of Corruption!]

Chwaaaak!

Black mana gushed out from his hand and created a protective layer in front of him.

Baaaaam!

Poison Breath crashed into the black mana shield, triggering a massive explosion.

‘It’s not over.’

Han-Yeol instinctively knew that the battle was not over yet.

Whoosh!

The cloud of dust kicked up by the explosion slowly scattered.

Cough! Cough!

Haverus emerged from the cloud of dust, but he was in an absolute mess. He coughed and spat out dark blood. It looked like he suffered a lot of damage, but his life force was far from extinguished. He was still somewhat able to maintain his mana and keep himself alive.

Tssshh!

However, his body started melting after Mavros’ Poison Breath hit him.

“Kiek?”

[What?]

Marvos tilted his head in confusion when he noticed that the hyena sorcerer was still alive.

‘Hold on, don’t tell me?’ Han-Yeol suddenly realized something.

[Damn it. You are starting to get on my nerves.]

Puuuk!

Haverus’s left arm was in shambles, but his right arm was still fine. He took out a syringe with his right hand and stabbed his heart to inject something into it.

‘Haha, when the hell did they develop something like that?’ Han-Yeol laughed in disbelief.

Surprisingly, Haverus’s body started squirming like an amoeba after he injected the strange liquid. Then, the melted parts of his body began to regenerate rapidly, and it only took a few seconds for him to recover fully.

Crack! Crack!

Haverus cracked his neck left and right after making a full recovery.

[This fight is far from over, human,] the high-ranking sorcerer said with a smug smirk.