Leveling Up Alone

“I was waiting for this moment.”

Han-Yeol infused a different mana from Mana Absorption into the Dragon of Destruction’s body through his hands.

[W-What?!]

The Dragon of Destruction realized what Han-Yeol was trying to do, but it was too late.

“Purification Light!”

Pshwaaa!

He did not use the chaos attribute this time. Instead, he used the light attribute that he had already raised to one hundred percent proficiency. A light so blinding it could swallow the entire world erupted from Han-Yeol’s hands and enveloped the Dragon of Destruction’s body that had turned into contaminated mana.

Initially, the light attribute mana did not affect the Dragon of Destruction, but it was a different story when his body transformed into contaminated mana itself.

Grrr… Waah!

The Dragon of Destruction screamed in agony after his body was exposed to the light attribute mana, and he tried to revert back to his original form.

Shwaa!

“This is really the end!”

Puuuk!

Kuheok!

The first body part the Dragon of Destruction reverted to its original state was the Dragon Heart, and Han-Yeol stabbed it with the Sword of Annihilation the moment it materialized.

Tshhh!

Smoke started rising from the dragon’s entire body. He no longer had the strength to resist, as the Sword of Annihilation dealt one hundred percent damage to his most vulnerable part: the Dragon Heart.

[I… lost like this…?]

The being that destroyed and turned dimensions into nothingness lost to the same person twice. His first defeat resulted in him being sealed, while his second defeat ended in his disintegration, which was basically death.

Argghhh!

Boom!

The Dragon of Destruction struggled one last time and gathered his mana, but his body ended up disintegrating into ashes.

Thud!

“Huff… Huff… Huff…!” Han-Yeol huffed and puffed as he lay sprawled on the ground.

He might have won the battle, but his body was in bad shape. He reverted back to his original human form shortly after.

“Cough!”

He bled from the wounds he sustained after getting stabbed by the Dragon of Destruction’s blades, yet he lacked the strength to cast Restore on himself. Every single muscle in his body screamed in pain, and he could not even lift a finger.

[Han-Yeol!]

“Han-Yeol-nim!”

Mariam helped Tayarana to Han-Yeol’s side. Tayarana had broken her spine, so she was not in the condition to walk alone.

“Huff… Huff…! Huff!”

Han-Yeol’s breathing was still labored. He was a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter that possessed far greater recovery capability compared to an ordinary person, but these wounds were not going to easily heal, as they were inflicted by blades conjured from contaminated mana.

“Are you alright, Han-Yeol?”

“Huff… T-Tara… You–argh!”

Han-Yeol was surprised when Tayarana suddenly spoke in Korean, but his wounds started aching again, causing him to grit his teeth in agony.

Tayarana took her gauntlets off and touched Han-Yeol’s cheek.

“H-Huh?”

She was a princess, yet her hands were so callused. She had trained with the sword ever since she was young, so her hands were rough, unlike most women’s hands.

She trained until her hands became rough, despite most people trying to stop her. In fact, numerous people, including Mariam, tried to convince her to have the calluses removed, but she stubbornly refused, saying that they were a symbol of a swordsman's pride.

“Tara…” Han-Yeol muttered.

‘What’s this? This feels so calming…’

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He felt he was getting healed even though no healing spell had been cast on him.

“Here, Han-Yeol-nim,” Mariam said, taking out a mana stone and placing it in his hand.

“T-Thanks, Mariam,” Han-Yeol replied and squeezed every bit of his remaining strength to crush it.

Kwachik!

‘Mana Absorption!’

Wooong… Wooong…!

Han-Yeol crushed the mana stone and used Mana Absorption, but it was not that effective, as the contaminated mana circling in his body was getting in the way.

Fortunately, he gathered just enough mana from the mana stone to use his skill.

‘R-Restore!’

Wooong!

A bright light flowed out from his hand and enveloped his entire body, purifying it. The contaminated mana had riddled his body so thoroughly that it took a long time to purify his system. The process itself dealt excruciating pain to him.

Still, his body managed to recover thanks to that.

Thud…

‘Restore!’

“Thanks, Han-Yeol.”

“Haha… I should be the one thanking you.”

Han-Yeol placed his hand on Tayarana’s waist and healed her broken spine. Her spine was not split in half but rather crushed into bits, and these types of injuries were not something that could be treated with modern-day medicine or ordinary healing skills.

As a matter of fact, numerous Hunters lived partially disabled their entire lives after suffering such injuries.

However, Han-Yeol’s Restore was capable of curing any illness or injury as long as the target was still alive. He had once treated someone with hundreds of broken bones and someone on the verge of death, so this was not a challenge for him.

“All done,” Han-Yeol said after scanning her one last time with Demon Eyes.

“Thanks, Han-Yeol,” Tayarana replied as she smiled. Her eyes turned into half-crescent shapes for the first time.

‘Heup!’

Badump! Badump!

They had spent a long time together now, but his heart still thumped wildly whenever he saw her beauty. Tayarana would usually smile faintly, just enough for Han-Yeol to notice, but she smiled brightly this time without reserve.

Han-Yeol had a heart attack as his face flushed red.

***

The Dragon of Destruction that threatened the Bastro Dimension was dead—no, the dragon had disintegrated. The dragon’s death meant that it was just a matter of time before the hyenas’ demise.

The demise of the mighty dragon that threatened the survival of the entire dimension could only be described as pathetic.

Kubera remained silent with his head down the entire time.

Kwachik! Kwachik!

The barrier he had set up started to crack until numerous gods of the same rank as Kubera shattered it. Then, they surrounded and arrested him.

[Kubera! You will be tried in front of the God of Creation! Do not even think of resisting!]

“...”

Kubera did not take off his clown mask even while he was getting arrested, but he gave Han-Yeol a strange look while he was getting dragged away. Those eyes seemed to show that he was thinking about a lot of things.

C-Crack…

The cracks on the mask started to spread even further.

“Ah, damn it!”

Han-Yeol could not care less about the affairs of the gods. He kneeled on the ground where Tia’s ashes remained and punched the ground.

Thud!

“Han-Yeol…” Tayarana consoled him.

“Kyuu…”

“Tsk… She was alright for a demon. It’s a shame…”

“Yeah.”

[Hmph! I don’t care about things like that!]

Stewart gave Lord Kasha a death stare after the vampire failed to read the mood.

“Hiiik!” Lord Kasha shrieked in horror.

Riru and the other Bastrolings wanted to see Han-Yeol, but the gods were there and the atmosphere was gloomy, so they decided to delay it and started cleaning the place up.

The hyenas were no longer a threat to the Bastro Dimension. There were still numerous small groups belonging to the Dark Faction spread throughout the dimension, but they could do nothing now that the Dragon of Destruction was gone. The Light Faction Bastrolings could easily take care of them even without Han-Yeol’s help, as the contaminated mana was no longer present.

‘Thanks for everything, Tia. I managed to win the battle and reclaim the Bastro Dimension thanks to you. But why didn’t you leave anything behind? Sigh…’

Han-Yeol felt frustrated.

‘This is why I don’t like making close friends…’

He knew very well that every meeting was bound to have a goodbye at the end, and he hated the gut-wrenching feeling every time he had to say goodbye. The fact that he had to say goodbye to Tia was so tragic that it only made the feeling more painful.

Tak!

[Hey, Human!]

[Good job, Han-Yeol.]

“Ah, Astaroth-nim… Lucifer-nim…”

[What the? Are you moping over a monster?]

Lucifer was a bit surprised when he saw Han-Yeol dejected by Tia’s death. Han-Yeol was someone who could stand on the same level as the gods in the future, but grieving a monster’s death was truly peculiar.

‘Hmm, I guess making him indebted to me is not a bad idea,’ Lucifer thought, about to make his move.

[Here you go, Han-Yeol.]

Astaroth beat Lucifer to the punch and handed a white egg riddled with black dots to Han-Yeol. The egg was the same size as an ostrich egg back on Earth.

“T-This is?”

[You have the ability to hatch it, right?]

“Y-Yes, I do, but…”

[Try hatching it then.]

“Ah, okay.”

Han-Yeol was not in the mood to incubate and hatch an egg right now, but he could not simply ignore someone trying to help just because he was in a bad mood. This was all the more true when the person trying to help him was a demon lord.

[Try it now. This is a special egg, so it will hatch immediately.]

“Alright…” Han-Yeol replied and placed his hand on the egg. Then he channeled his mana into it.

Wooong!

He did not notice it, but his power of chaos was being infused into the egg. This was different from how he usually hatched monster eggs, and this egg reacted differently from the other eggs.

The egg started to violently tremble after receiving Han-Yeol’s power of chaos.

‘Huh? The reaction is a bit strange compared to usual…’ Han-Yeol thought while paying close attention to the egg.

Badump! Badump!

‘Hmm? The heartbeat coming from the egg… Why does it sound familiar…?’

Badump! Badump!

Han-Yeol’s heart started to beat in sync with the egg. He could not put a finger on the feeling, but it felt pleasant for some reason. He continued infusing his mana into the egg until it finally started showing signs of hatching.

C-Crack!

‘Oh? It’s really fast,’ Han-Yeol thought, surprised by the egg’s hatching speed. He knew the egg was fertilized, but he did not expect it to hatch this quickly.

Kwachik! Boom!

“Ack!” Han-Yeol screamed and hunkered down to protect himself from the explosion.

The egg was covered in thick black smoke caused by the explosion, but he could see the silhouette of something trying to emerge from it.

‘W-Wait a second…’

Han-Yeol doubted his senses after sensing something familiar.

‘N-No way? Is that even possible?’

The mana was indeed similar, but it was slightly different from the mana he was familiar with.

Thud… Thud…

The silhouette came out of the egg and walked toward him.

“Oh? Are you not happy to see me, master? That makes me sad.”

“T-Tia?”

“Hoho~ Have you forgotten about me already?”

“H-How?!”

Bringing a creature back to life went against the laws of causality set by the God of Creation, so even a god could not do something like resurrecting the dead. However, the impossible was happening right before Han-Yeol’s eyes.

[Damn you, Astaroth!]

[Hmph! Did you really think I’d let Han-Yeol be indebted to you?]

[Arghhh!]

Lucifer seemed very annoyed.

‘W-What’s going on?’ Han-Yeol wondered, confused by the sudden turn of events.

“Hoho~ I died and came back to life, yet you’re thinking about other things? That’s going to make me really upset, master,” Tia said. Then, she cheekily blew into Han-Yeol’s ear.

Hoo~

“H-Hiiik!”

This was not the first time he had been teased like this, but he had yet to get used to it.

Tayarana lashed out. “Y-You! Get away from him right this instant!”

“Omo~ Did you learn Korean in that short period of time, human woman?”

“I was just not using it. I knew how to all this while.”

“Oh? Is that so? Hoho~ Oh, by the way, master.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Aren’t you curious how I came back to life?”

“Y-Yeah, I am.”

“It’s a secret~”

“What?!” Han-Yeol grimaced at Tia’s response.

“Hihi!” Tia laughed cheekily. Then, she thought, ‘I already told you before. We Arachnids retain our past memories. So I’m actually Tia while I’m also not Tia at the same time.’

The Tia who had died in front of Han-Yeol’s eyes and the Tia standing in front of him were not technically the same Arachnid. She had been born with Tia’s memories, but she was a different Arachnid Queen.

However, she could act the same toward Han-Yeol thanks to the memories she had been born with.

“What is it?! Tell me!”

“I already told you. It’s a secret~”

“Arghhhh!”

Tia proceeded to attack Han-Yeol to stop him from thinking.

“Hoho~ I’ll get addicted if you keep reacting like that.”

“Get away from Han-Yeol!”

The two women started bickering over Han-Yeol as usual.

Both Mariam and Stewart sighed simultaneously.

“Sigh…”

“Kyuu!”

“What? This is so boring. I thought we would have a sad ending, but it’s a happy ending?”

[I hate happy endings! They’re so boring!]

For some reason, Lord Kasha’s final words rang in everyone’s ears.

- The End -