Leveling Up Alone

‘Psychokinesis!’

Wooong!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The mana stones on the ground flew toward Han-Yeol the moment he used his skill. The Corrupted Fire Spirits might be technically spirits, but they still dropped mana stones just like monsters whenever they died.

Han-Yeol needed a lot of mana stones.

Kwachik!

‘Enhance!’

For the first time in ages, he cast a skill he once frequently used.

The mana stones might be corrupted since the fire spirits were corrupted, but these were still mana stones dropped by spirits, so Han-Yeol could feel pure energy emanating from them. The level of purity was definitely not the same as a contaminated or corrupted monster’s mana stone.

Chwaaaak!

Skill Combination was now Han-Yeol’s trademark skill that allowed him to combine his various skills and create a single powerful one, and the combination of the three ice attribute skills unleashed a powerful burst of ice mana throughout his surroundings.

“Follow me!” Han-Yeol exclaimed.

[Alright, Han-Yeol.]

“Kieeeeek!”

The party was slowly starting to get annoyed from fighting against endless waves of the Corrupted Fire Spirits, so all of them followed Han-Yeol’s command without voicing any opposition to it.

Bam! Crack!

Thud!

Han-Yeol swung his ice sword and created a field of ice in front of them. He kept swinging his sword and produced ice fields for them to walk on, and his sword would trigger a blizzard every now and then whenever he swung it.

Whoosh! Kwachik!

“Gwuuu oooogh!”

Except for those unfortunate enough to stand in his way and get cut down by his ice sword, Han-Yeol’s ice attribute fields did not destroy the Corrupted Fire Spirits. However, this did not mean that the Corrupted Fire Spirits could charge at him with reckless abandon.

“Gwuuuu ooooh!”

The Corrupted Fire Spirits tried their best to block Han-Yeol’s path, but they could not get past the ice fields.

It seemed like it might be smooth-sailing for Han-Yeol’s party from here on out thanks to his skill combination, but there were too many Corrupted Fire Spirits swarming toward them that his mana consumption remained insanely high.

Thus, Han-Yeol needed the mana stones from them so that he could use them to recover his mana and continue using his skill.

The Corrupted Fire Spirits put up a fierce resistance to prevent Han-Yeol’s party from passing through the lava fields, but they soon ended up granting them passage against their will.

“Alright!”

“Hoho~ As expected of you, master. There’s really nothing you can’t do in this world.”

[You’re really amazing, Han-Yeol.]

Even the Transcendent Master-Rank Hunters, Tayarana and Tia, were in awe of Han-Yeol’s diverse skill set. What he showed just now was not about strength or power. Rather, it could only be done with the right skills at the right time used in the right way.

“Well, this is nothing, you know? Also, it’s not safe until we reach inside the volcano, so keep your guard up. Both of you are the strongest ones in our party after me, so I’ll be relying on you two.”

“Hoho~ Don’t worry.”

[Okay, Han-Yeol.]

“I knew I could count on you two.”

Han-Yeol stood at the forefront and continued creating ice fields for his party to walk on, and he repeated this process until they managed to reach inside the volcano.

“Phew! Hey, Noras!” Han-Yeol called out.

[Yes, Great One?]

“How’s the map? Is it safe?”

[Yes, I made sure to guard it with my life.]

Noras looked at Han-Yeol with sparkling eyes, making him look like a five-year-old child asking for praises and compliments.

“A-Alright, good job.”

[Hahaha! I would rather die than fail a task from you, Great One! I will make sure to guard this map with my life, so please do not worry about it!]

‘H-Hey, you don’t have to stake your life on it, you know?’ Han-Yeol thought, flustered.

The Jewel Sword of Annihilation would definitely be useful, but it was not to the point he would want to obtain it in exchange for a capable subordinate like Noras.

‘Ah, forget it. He’s probably going to get down on the ground and beg me to punish him if I point it out. I really don’t feel like dealing with that right now.’

Han-Yeol was the type who could not be bothered to do troublesome things. He was not a fan of customs or etiquettes, as he found those things to be quite troublesome too.

However, that was only applicable to people he deemed close to him. He despised those who acted casual around him when they barely knew each other.

That did not mean he was stuck up about it, as the line between casual and respectful was very gray with him. He did not really care about respect and all that as long as the person did their job and did not cross any lines with him.

“Hmm… But where are we right now?” Han-Yeol muttered.

They were currently in a dark cave. The outside of the cave was brightly illuminated by the flames and lava, but the interior of the cave was pitch-black.

Han-Yeol used Light and illuminated their surroundings.

‘Hmm… This is my first time here too,’ he thought while looking around.

He had come to this area to subjugate it in his life as Harkan, but he was unable to get past the Corrupted Fire Spirits, as he did not have access to the skills he currently had and Harkan relied on his physical attributes more than his skills.

Also, he failed to realize back then that the Polm Volcano Field itself was a monster, so he spent an entire week fighting against the endless waves of Corrupted Fire Spirit before retreating.

‘Haha… Geez… Now that I think about it, I was smarter than the Bastrolings but I was hopeless too,’ he thought while laughing in disbelief.

He might have been a human in a Bastroling’s body at that time, but he slowly turned into a simpleton after spending years living among the Bastro Warriors who only cared about power and nothing else.

‘Well, those were still good times regardless,’ he thought with a smile.

He felt bad for those he killed in battle that time, but those were all precious memories to him now.

Thud… Thud…

Han-Yeol’s party walked into the cave and ventured deeper into the darkness.

‘Hmm… I thought there would be more monsters, but is it possible the Corrupted Fire Spirits outside are the only ones guarding this place?’ Han-Yeol wondered.

Surprisingly, the Corrupted Fire Spirits did not chase after Han-Yeol’s party into the cave. Han-Yeol had no idea why they were not chasing them either.

They continued venturing deeper into the cave when they arrived at a wide place with a destroyed bridge and a river of magma flowing beneath it.

Plop! Plop!

The magma boiled and bubbled, emitting popping sounds that made the atmosphere tense.

“Whoa, it’s really hot here.”

“I agree. But do you plan to keep going in? I think we’ve hit a dead-end, master.”

“You’re right…”

They reached a dead-end, but the Jewel Sword of Annihilation was nowhere in sight–no, there was nothing in sight at all except for the boiling magma and black volcanic rocks.

Then, a thought suddenly crossed Han-Yeol’s mind that made him feel nervous.

‘Maybe it’s not here?’

***

‘Even the hyenas failed to conquer this place. They don’t have the right skills to deal with the Corrupted Fire Spirits. Hold on, does that mean this map is fake?’

Han-Yeol considered the possibility that the map was wrong.

‘Damn it. Just what in the world is happening?’

The magic circle might have been destroyed, but the Dragon of Destruction and the hyenas still held great influence over the Bastro Dimension. Han-Yeol had to put an end to the hyenas before they managed to find an alternative method to resurrect the Dragon of Destruction.

In other words, time was not on Han-Yeol’s side. He did not have the luxury to run around searching for a sword that nobody could locate or prove if it existed at all.

[Hmm, this strange…]

Noras took out the map after he noticed something odd. He unfurled the map and inspected the inscriptions on it.

[G-Great One!]

“Yeah? Did you find something?”

[Y-Yes, but there is a slight problem.]

“A problem?” Han-Yeol replied, raising a brow. Then, he thought, ‘Ah, I guess it’s not here after all.’

He could not help feeling frustrated after the worst case scenario he feared was about to come to fruition. The Jewel Sword of Annihilation was not an absolute necessity, but it would undoubtedly come in handy against the Dragon of Destruction.

No, it was more like Han-Yeol was not confident he could win against the dragon without the sword.

‘That thing already experienced getting sealed once, so it’s not going to let it happen a second time.’

He was up against one of the most powerful races in the entire dimension. The dragons were known to be extremely intelligent creatures, so the Dragon of Destruction would not fall for the same trap twice.

[I-I am certain the Jewel Sword of Annihilation is here.]

“What?! Really?!”

[Yes, Great One.]

“Then where is it? I don’t see anywhere that would have anything like that. It’s just a bunch of rocks and the river of magma flowing–wait a minute… There’s no way, right?” Han-Yeol muttered as his eyes shot wide open.

Then, he looked down at the river of magma.

Plop! Plop!

The river of magma bubbled while releasing an immense amount of heat.

Gulp!

Han-Yeol swallowed a hard lump stuck in his throat and waited for Noras.

[Yes, it is indeed as you think. The Jewel Sword of Annihilation is located underneath that stream of magma.]

“Damn it!”

Han-Yeol could not help but curse his sharp intuition whenever it was about bad things happening.

[I apologize, Great One.]

“Tsk… Why are you apologizing? You’re not the one who said it—you were simply deciphering that map.”

[Y-Yes, I was.]

“Sigh. Anyway, why is my luck so rotten?”

[Yes, I agree that it is too–Eh?! D-Do you really plan to go in there and retrieve the sword, Great One?!]

Han-Yeol grimaced at the question and grumbled in response, “Why are you asking the obvious? We came all the way here, so I can’t go back empty-handed, right?”

Then, he thought, ‘Well, it’s not like I have to be anywhere.’

Han-Yeol might have lived as Harkan at one point, but he didn’t necessarily have a place to call home in the Bastro Dimension. Also, the hyenas ruled over the Bastro Dimension, so not many safe havens existed.

In fact, the hyenas would have most likely sent their sorcerers to chase after Han-Yeol’s party, so they had to keep moving to avoid getting caught.

‘Well, it might be safe if we stay here, but our main goal is not to survive but to destroy the hyenas and exterminate them.’

Han-Yeol had made up his mind this time. Praising someone for deciding to target a single race was difficult, but this was the best opportunity for them to erase the hyenas from the face of the dimension.

‘This is the last gift I can give the Bastro Dimension,’ Han-Yeol thought as he started stripping down in preparation to dive into the river of magma.

“Oh? Are you an exhibitionist, master? Do you want to do it here?” Tia joked.

“I’m not in the mood to joke with you,” Han-Yeol retorted.

“Hoho~ I was just kidding. I’m sorry but I’m not that good with magma, so I can’t accompany you, master.”

“It would be weird for anyone to be good with magma, you know?”

[Han-Yeol.]

“Yes, Tara?”

[I’ll go with you.]

“Are you sure? Will you be alright?”

[Yeah, I won’t have any problems with something like that.]

“Really?”

[Yeah.]

The reason she was confident in her immunity was all thanks to the blessing she received from Ra.

‘Ra is the Sun God of Egypt, so something like magma should be no different from a warm bath for her,’ Han-Yeol thought.

“Alright, let’s go together, Tara.”

[Okay!]

This was the first time Tayarana looked so happy after coming to the Bastro Dimension.

‘Tsk. I’m jealous…’

On the other hand, Tia clicked her tongue inwardly and started grumbling in envy.

‘I could’ve gone with my master if I received any blessings related to fire…’

She had lived as a monster for a long time, yet she never once regretted it. However, the fact that she could not receive any blessings made her feel regretful for who she was for the first time.

‘Hmph! I’ll share him with you just this once.’

‘I’m going to win, so don’t even bother.’

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

The two women were having a contest of their own away from Han-Yeol’s eyes.

On the other hand, Mariam could not help but shake her head after reading the atmosphere. She was an expert at reading people even without relying on her telepathic skills, so she could easily read what the two women were thinking.

‘Sigh, these two can’t be stopped…’ Mariam thought, shaking her head.

She did not get involved in their petty fight and just watched from the sidelines, but she could not help but think that they were becoming more childish by the day.