Leveling Up Alone

Shwiiik!

The Contaminated Harkan struck down the high-ranking demons and made a beeline toward Stewart before swinging its ferocious claws at him.

Chwaaaak!

Han-Yeol did not miss this opening and threw his chain with Chain Smite, but the Contaminated Harkan had already evaded it before the chain could get anywhere near it.

Stewart broke out in a cold sweat.

‘O-Overwhelming… That thing is beyond powerful!’

This was the first time he felt like his life was in danger after he left the demon world.

Gulp!

Ever since he crossed over from the demon world, he had been relaxed, but the threat he felt just now served as a wake-up call to be on his toes.

Things would be very bad for Stewart if he died outside the demon world. The demons summoned and contracted by Han-Yeol would simply reverse-summon themselves and return to the demon world, but that was not the case for Stewart, as his situation differed from theirs.

He was not summoned out of the demon world—instead, he voluntarily left the demon world. Thus, dying outside the demon world would not be a temporary death but a permanent one. In other words, he would die and cease to exist.

‘Damn it… My powers are sealed here, so I can’t even fight properly. I’d really feel wronged if I died without even using all of my powers…’

Demons often said that those who left the demon world out of their own volition and died would not reincarnate. Therefore, most demons did not leave the demon world without a making a contract with a summoner.

The Contaminated Harkan glared at Stewart, then put on an expression that seemed to say that it had spared him on purpose.

“Grrrrr!”

“Tsk…” Stewart clicked his tongue after realizing that the creature was looking down on him.

Unfortunately, he could not do anything. His powers were sealed, so he could only click his tongue out of frustration.

‘I didn’t expect to get humiliated like this…’

He could excuse himself the last time the monsters in the cave humiliated him, but he did not have the same excuse this time.

[Oh? It seems like you got lucky, you insignificant piece of trash.]

Kwachik!

To add insult to injury, Char went ahead and sneered at Stewart.

Stewart was greatly offended by that, as Char was nothing but a second-dimension creature who somehow managed to get his hands on a powerful puppet. If Steward had not sealed his powers, Char would be dead before he could even realize it.

Han-Yeol suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tapped Stewart’s shoulder.

Pat…

“Don’t get too worked up, Stewart. You can take on the two of them, even me included, if your powers were not sealed. You’re not weak or lacking at all.”

“...”

Han-Yeol tried comforting him, but Stewart could not accept his words. Han-Yeol had said nothing wrong, but he had made a slight error.

‘I wouldn’t be humiliated by that fool even if my powers were sealed if I were stronger. If I were stronger, then my sealed powers would still be enough to kill them. In the end, I am lacking, and that’s an irrefutable fact,’ Stewart thought.

This was the first time he realized his shortcomings and reflected on them.

‘Sigh… I guess I will have to train my magic more.’

He decided to spend the next one hundred years—no, one thousand years—honing his magic after this battle was over. He once dreamed of becoming stronger and eventually becoming a demon lord, but he slowly forgot about his dream until the fires of ambition were extinguished from his heart. However, this encounter rekindled that spirit in him, allowing him to dream again.

‘Well, I guess surviving this battle comes first.’

He knew that even Han-Yeol would have difficulty dealing with their opponent, so he reminded himself to be cautious at all times.

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

Han-Yeol spun his chain around and wondered, ‘How should I beat that thing?’

[Allow me to help.]

‘You will?’

Karvis suddenly spoke up after being quiet the entire time.

[Yes. I have yet to be one hundred percent certain, but… While it is true that the Contaminated Harkan is stronger than when you were Harkan, at the end of the day, Harkan is still Harkan.]

‘I guess you’re right.’

[In that case, I know Harkan’s attack pattern, movements, and skills better than anyone else.]

Han-Yeol belatedly understood what Karvis meant.

‘Y-You’re right!’

[I will actively assist you in battle from now on.]

‘Sounds great, Karvis!’

Karvis had a habit of observing anything and everything while keeping records of them. The years Han-Yeol had lived as Harkan were all recorded in Karvis’ database, so she was confident she could read their opponent. There would be some differences, as Harkan was now the Contaminated Harkan, but her information’s margin of error would not be that big to make any significant difference.

This was Han-Yeol’s last hope, as he was currently at a severe disadvantage when it came to their physical capabilities.

[Blah blah blah! You insects talk too much! I won’t wait for you any longer, so prepare to die! Go, Contaminated Harkan! Kill them all!]

“Krrwaaaah!”

Bam!

‘He might be a contaminated corpse, but I can’t believe that someone like Hapicrus is controlling him… Ugh… This is so humiliating…’ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly and swung his chain at the Contaminated Harkan.

Chwak!

The chain was not the only thing he used.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He shot three flashbangs in the air to weaken the Contaminated Harkan.

[Ha! Do you really believe those lights can weaken my Contaminated Harkan?!]

‘Damn it… How the hell is a contaminated creature immune to light?!’ Han-Yeol cursed inwardly.

Harkan’s body was truly overpowered to the point that it could ignore most attributes that the Bastrolings were weak against.

‘But I’m sure he’s not one hundred percent resistant to it.’

Harkan might possess an overpowered body, but there was no way this particular Harkan would be immune to its natural weakness as a contaminated creature. It did not seem to be affected because it possessed enough strength to resist the effects of Han-Yeol’s light attribute.

‘Then I guess I’ll just have to tire that thing out.’

Haaap!

Bam!

Han-Yeol’s sword and chain struck the Contaminated Harkan.

C-Creak! Creak!

‘Blood Leg!’

Chwak!

[Eat this!]

Karvis controlled the ten tentacles that sprouted from Han-Yeol’s back and attacked the Contaminated Harkan. Although its body might be overpowered, it would not emerge unscathed after being struck by all ten Blood Legs.

Whoosh! Puuuuk!

The Contaminated Harkan parried the sword and pulled it down to break Han-Yeol’s balance. Then, it slammed its shoulder into Han-Yeol’s chest.

“Heok!” Han-Yeol gasped after feeling the impact from the Contaminated Harkan’s shoulder.

Chwaaaak!

“Argh!”

He was flung back more than ten meters, even after he stabbed his sword into the ground.

Boom!

“Heup!”

The Contaminated Harkan kicked off the ground and charged at Han-Yeol once again.

Clang! Puuuk!

“Kuheok!”

Han-Yeol tried counter-attacking, but the Contaminated Harkan kicked his stomach instead, sending him flying backward once more.

‘Damn it! Blood Strengthening!’

Chwak!

Han-Yeol used his skill that turned his entire body red. There was no way he would simply sit around and get beaten to a pulp, so he used his buff skill to enhance his physical capabilities.

[Bwahahaha! It’s futile no matter how much you struggle!] Char sneered as his laughter reverberated across the floor.

Chwak!

Char swung his hand. Contaminated hands rose up from the ground and grabbed Han-Yeol’s legs.

‘Heup! Oh my god!’

Bam!

“Kuheok!”

Han-Yeol reacted in time to evade Char’s crowd control skill, but the Contaminated Harkan struck him with its fist, flinging him back again. Unfortunately, he did not emerge unscathed this time—the punch completely messed up his face.

‘H-Healing Bullet!’

Bang! Ziiing!

“Huff… Huff…”

Han-Yeol used his healing skill as he flew back and completely healed his wounds by the time he landed. However, his breathing was labored, as he was having a tough time keeping up with the Contaminated Harkan’s movements even though he was using Sixth Sense.

He wiped the blood off of his mouth with his shirt, as the Healing Bullet only healed his wounds.

[A-Amazing… That thing is moving according to the information in my database, but it is much stronger and faster than before. That Harkan has reached a whole new level with that body… I think Harkan would have become the Dimension Lord one way or another even without our help that time…]

‘Damn it… I know that too, but that thing is already dead. We’re fighting a corpse.’

[Yes. I am aware of that too, but it is outperforming all the information I have in my database. In short, we are in trouble, and we need a solution.]

‘Do you have one?’

[Not yet.]

‘Damn it…’

Karvis was a specialist when it came to observing, collecting data, and analyzing, but even she could not find a solution against the Contaminated Harkan.

[Hmm… I heard you were the strongest creature on that dimension called Earth. Well, I guess they were telling the truth, as you’ve quite impressively managed to survive against Harkan for so long. Surprisingly, I would like to praise you even if we’re enemies.]

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Char clapped and praised Han-Yeol. He was not being sarcastic at all, as he was truly in awe of Han-Yeol’s abilities. Char might have always loathed Harkan, but he held him in great regard at the same time, and he had always admired Harkan’s strength after losing to him the first and only time they met.

The hyenas and Bastrolings might pursue strength differently, but they both had the same goal in mind at the end of the day: to win.

Char acknowledged that Harkan was indeed the most powerful individual in the Bastro Dimension. After observing him from the shadows for a long time, Char became captivated by Harkan’s strength.

Char, or rather, Hapicrus, was the only hyena who acknowledged Harkan’s strength and adored him. So when he managed to get his hands on Harkan’s remains, he was overjoyed beyond words.

The other hyenas simply thought that he was overjoyed after getting his hands on the remains of the most powerful creature in the dimension, but that was only half the story. He was overjoyed after obtaining the remains of the individual he respected, adored, and looked up to.

Thus, he would obviously be surprised after seeing the creature from another dimension withstand the Contaminated Harkan’s attacks.

Han-Yeol was flung back numerous times, and Char also intervened in the duel, but that did not make him any less impressive.

“Shut up!” Han-Yeol shouted. Then he spat blood on the ground.

“Ptooey!”

Getting praised by someone like Char did not make him happy.

‘Harkan is truly a powerful enemy. If only I had more time, I would’ve come after leveling up a bit more…’

Unfortunately, he was already in battle against the Contaminated Harkan, so there was no point in crying over what he could have done in the past.

Han-Yeol could only think of a way that would result in the best future possible.