Leveling Up Alone

Neither Lucifer nor Astaroth was interested in tracking down Kubera, so they were not that informed about the Dragon of Destruction either. However, after witnessing them firsthand, they soon realized why the other demon lords were so wary of them.

[It looks like those guys went through all the trouble just for us to reap the fruits if Han-Yeol kills both the Dragon of Destruction and Kubera.]

[Oh? That sounds right now that you mention it.]

[My, my… I heard the others went as far as bestowing their most valued treasures to their subordinates just to track them down. Bwahaha!]

[Hoho!]

Lucifer and Astaroth laughed as if they found the current situation amusing. They sort of knew how much the other demon lords had invested to track down Kubera, but disregarding Kubera, they could not even track down a single angel.

But who would have known that Kubera would appear in front of Lucifer and Astaroth when neither of them was even interested in him in the first place?

That was why they found the current situation to be amusing.

[That’s how life is.]

There was a saying perfectly suited for this situation, and that saying was that life was not fair.

[That makes life all the more interesting! Bwahaha!]

[Hmph! You can only say that because you’re sitting at the top.]

[Oh? Is that why?]

Astaroth shot a nasty glance at Lucifer, and he replied with a cheeky grin.

***

[Argh! What a stubborn creature you are!]

The dozens of blades chased Han-Yeol down, but there was no way he would easily let himself fall victim to them. He used all his defensive skills to keep the blades away from him, and his skills had worked perfectly against the blades so far.

Han-Yeol seemed to be defending with his life, but something else was at play. He was analyzing the Dragon of Destruction’s attack pattern while defending against the blades.

Chwak! Whoosh!

‘So that’s what he does in this situation…’

[Stop moving and just get hit!]

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

The Dragon of Destruction gathered his mana and conjured even more blades to attack Han-Yeol, but that only helped Han-Yeol analyze the dragon’s attack pattern faster the more blades were conjured.

Of course, this was all thanks to Karvis assisting him with her analyzing skills.

[Argh!]

The Dragon of Destruction conjured even more blades, and Han-Yeol focused closely on the blades’ movements.

Ziiiiing!

‘I can see it!’

Han-Yeol did not simply evade the blades—he predicted their trajectory and evaded them in advance. He repeated this process a few times until his eyes started getting used to their movements.

‘Alright!’

Han-Yeol now had the luxury of doing other things while evading the blades.

Ziiiing!

‘Chaos Explosion!’

Krwaaang!

[Tsk!]

Han-Yeol did not bother saying anything and simply shot mana shells from his Shoulder Cannons using the power of chaos, forcing the Dragon of Destruction to use the blades to block the incoming mana shells.

Kwachik!

‘An opening!’

It was only for a split second, but Han-Yeol did not miss the opportunity presented to him. Allowing even the smallest opening against an opponent of Han-Yeol’s caliber was akin to having their back exposed completely unprotected.

“Haaap!”

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[Argh!]

Chwaaak!

The Dragon of Destruction instinctively conjured blades from all over his body like a porcupine in a bid to protect himself the moment Han-Yeol got near him.

‘Ha! How foolish!’

Chwak! Whoosh!

Han-Yeol used his heels to brake and threw his Chain of Annihilation at the Dragon of Destruction, binding the dragon completely.

[T-This is?!]

‘Restrain!’

Kwachik!

[Kuheok!]

The blades might be protecting the Dragon of Destruction’s body, but a bunch of blades couldn’t simply break the Chain of Annihilation. The chain shattered the blades and coiled around the Dragon of Destruction’s body, successfully restraining him.

Also, Han-Yeol did not use Restrain to simply destroy the blades conjured by the dragon.

Tak! Chwak!

[Arghhh!]

Han-Yeol exploited the moment the Dragon of Destruction was immobilized and slashed his chest.

The Dragon of Destruction jumped back after getting slashed. The effect of Restrain lasted only for a short while against the dragon, but the wound he suffered was not something that could be taken lightly.

Shwak!

[Damn it! That Sword of Annihilation!]

The Dragon of Destruction’s wound would have instantly healed if an ordinary weapon slashed him, but it was a different story if the sword that cut him was the Sword of Annihilation. The sword significantly slowed down the dragon’s recovery speed by one hundred percent.

The Dragon of Destruction coughed blood.

[Kuheok!]

Crack!

[Damn it!]

On top of that, his smaller size made the wound even more critical—normally, he would not suffer as much in his original form.

Seuk…

The Dragon of Destruction wiped the blood dripping down his mouth with his arm while glaring at Han-Yeol.

“Whatcha looking at?”

[Grwaaah!]

Bam!

The Dragon of Destruction roared and unleashed dense, contaminated mana all over the place. He might have suffered a critical wound, but he showed no signs of weakness.

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

The dragon conjured blades once again and sent them flying toward Han-Yeol.

“Wow… You look like a Canine Warrior, but you act like a porcupine. Ah, the porcupines went extinct a long time ago, right?”

The reason behind the porcupines’ extinction had not been recorded in detail.

[Silence!]

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

A flurry of blades flew toward Han-Yeol.

“Too easy!”

Bam!

However, Han-Yeol used his shockwave skill, turning the thousands of blades into dust.

Shwak!

Surprisingly, that was not the main attack. The Dragon of Destruction analyzed Han-Yeol’s attack pattern and used the same method Han-Yeol used to create an opening earlier. The dragon realized there was a slight delay in Han-Yeol’s movements after he used his shockwave skills, so he exploited that weakness by suddenly appearing behind Han-Yeol.

Han-Yeol did not expect the Dragon of Destruction to switch to melee combat, as the dragon had only stubbornly attacked from a distance until now.

Chwak!

“Kuheok!”

The price Han-Yeol paid for dropping his guard was big. The Dragon of Destruction conjured dozens of blades and stabbed every inch of Han-Yeol’s body.

“Cough!” Han-Yeol coughed blood after getting stabbed all over.

[Haha! This is the end!]

“No, it’s the end for you.”

The Dragon of Destruction grimaced after hearing Han-Yeol’s response to his taunt, as he could not understand how Han-Yeol could say something like that in his current situation.

[What nonsense are you spouting? I obviously have the upper hand right now!]

The dragon seemed confident of his victory. His porcupine strategy had worked successfully against Han-Yeol, and the blades he used were not ordinary blades but ones conjured with his contaminated mana.

Why did Han-Yeol claim it was not his demise but the Dragon of Destruction?

“Cough! Do you really think so?”

[Fool. Time to die if you can’t accept the truth!]

This was the golden opportunity for the Dragon of Destruction. He had Han-Yeol in a corner, and he could kill him instantly, rendering Han-Yeol’s healing skills obsolete.

[Bwahahaha! This is the end! Harkan!]

The Dragon of Destruction was finally going to get his revenge for being sealed and get rid of the only creature capable of standing in his way of destroying the dimension.

Chwak! Puuk! Puuuk! Puuk!

[Argh!]

The Dragon of Destruction felt sharp pain all over his body the moment he was about to use the final skill that would send Han-Yeol to his demise.

“Keke! I already told you. It’s over for you. Well, I didn’t expect you to fight in close range, but you gave me a brilliant idea the moment you came close.”

Han-Yeol’s trump card, Blood Leg, had been enhanced to Chaos Leg. The ten Chaos Legs that sprouted from his back stabbed the Dragon of Destruction the moment he lowered his guard after thinking he had already won the battle.

Han-Yeol and the Dragon of Destruction were connected to each other, and those who had no idea what was happening would probably mistake them as best buddies or something. However, they were actually sucking each other’s life force.

[Argh! I…! Do you think I’ll lose to you?!]

The Dragon of Destruction had yet to give up—no, he could not afford to give up.

‘Just one! All I need is one last skill to win!’

The Dragon of Destruction knew that he would easily win the battle if he managed to unleash his final skill, but unfortunately, Han-Yeol had the upper hand.

‘Mana Absorption!’

Ziiiing!

[Arghhh!]

The reason the Dragon of Destruction could not use his final skill was due to Han-Yeol’s Mana Absorption skill, which absorbed the dragon’s mana, disrupting its flow and making it difficult to cast a spell. The only thing the dragon could do was gather all of his focus and resist the effects of Mana Absorption as much as possible.

[Do you think you can beat me with this?!]

Pukeok!

“Kuheok!”

Han-Yeol was in quite bad shape too. The Dragon of Destruction’s porcupine attack had ripped his Shoulder Cannons off. This was no coincidence, as the dragon had purposely aimed for the Shoulder Cannons since he found them annoying.

Han-Yeol could no longer use Healing Bullet when he needed it the most. He could still use Restore, but that required both of his hands. Unfortunately, his hands were busy using Mana Absorption against the dragon.

In other words, Han-Yeol and the Dragon of Destruction were both gambling with their lives. It was a game of wits to see who had the better hand and would emerge victorious in this battle of life and death.

Why was it a battle of life and death? Because losing would spell death for the loser.

‘Restrain!’

Chwaaak!

Argh!

The Dragon of Destruction groaned in agony after the Chain of Annihilation coiled around his neck. The Chaos Legs were already a handful to deal with, but having the GOD-rated chain that dealt one hundred percent damage against him by constricting his neck made things even more difficult.

Han-Yeol’s attack proved to be highly effective against the dragon.

Unfortunately, this came at a cost, as the blades embedded in Han-Yeol’s body would cause extreme agony whenever the Dragon of Destruction thrashed about, trying to free himself from the Chain of Annihilation.

Puuuk! Puuuk!

“Aaargh!”

Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and toughened out the pain.

‘There’s no going back here! Retreating from here means the death of me!’

He might have regained the upper hand in the battle, but he was at risk of dying too.

‘Mana Absorption! Mana Absorption! Mana Absorptiooon!’

Shwiiiiing!

Grrrr… Waaah!

Puuu! Puuuk!

Han-Yeol continuously applied Mana Absorption to mess with the Dragon of Destruction’s mana flow while the dragon conjured even more blades to assault him. This was no longer a battle of mere strength—it had evolved into a battle of pride and mental fortitude. The first one to falter would lose the battle and their life. The climax of the battle was rapidly approaching.

“Aaaaargh!”

[Grrr… Waaah!]

Booooom!

A gigantic explosion occurred.

[W-Who won?!]

[I can’t see anything!]

“...”

Astaroth and Lucifer watched as their palms started to sweat.

Whoosh!

The explosion's aftermath did not last that long, as the smoke cleared quite quickly, and both Han-Yeol and the Dragon of Destruction appeared.

[K-Kuh ook…!]

[As expected! Bwahaha!]

[Yes! You’re the best! Han-Yeol!]

“...”

Kubera remained silent.

The battle was close, but Han-Yeol emerged victorious by a narrow margin. The Dragon of Destruction was still alive, but there was no doubt that Han-Yeol had achieved this miraculous victory.

Thud!

The Dragon of Destruction almost fell backward, but he squeezed out every single drop of his strength to make one last stand by grabbing Han-Yeol’s wrist.

[I… I will not… die like this…!]

The dragon had to win no matter what.

“I already told you. It’s over for you.”

[Kyaaaaaaak!]

Chwak!

The Dragon of Destruction turned himself into contaminated mana and came crashing down on Han-Yeol. This was a very dangerous skill that possessed the target’s body but came at the price of the dragon losing his own. There was no reason for the Dragon of Destruction to use this skill to possess another creature, giving up his own body in the process, but that was a different story if the target was none other than Han-Yeol.

The Dragon of Destruction did not lose to a raid party of powerful individuals. In fact, the dragon was the one who had teamed up with the angels just to kill Han-Yeol, and yet the battle ended in his defeat.

In other words, the Dragon of Destruction concluded that it would be far more beneficial for him to possess Han-Yeol rather than trying to defeat him.