Leveling Up Alone

“I was wrong! Forgive me!” Han-Yeol begged.

“Hmph!” White Dragon scoffed in response. Then, she composed herself and said, “I can’t believe you forgot to set the time with them. Also, why would you wait here if you have no idea when they’re coming?”

A long time had passed since they arrived.

“Ah… Hahaha… I thought they would follow me if I came here…” Han-Yeol replied while awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

“Sigh…”

White Dragon knew adapting to the human world would not be a walk in the park, but she did not expect to put up with someone like this. The only thing she could do was let out a sigh, as she knew things would not be so smooth from now on.

Woooong!

“Oh! They’re coming!” Han-Yeol exclaimed like a kid. He could sense the one he was waiting for, allowing him to stop feeling so embarrassed about his blunder.

“They came at the perfect time.”

“Hahaha…”

Nevertheless, his shame and guilt would not be washed away that easily.

Shwaaaa!

The flow of mana started shifting a short distance away from Han-Yeol. Black mana emerged out of nowhere and caused the space to distort, creating something that resembled a small dimensional gate.

Wooong!

From the black void, three hyena sorcerers emerged.

“Grrrr!”

The hyenas might look like animals in the eyes of humans, but they possessed intelligence far greater than an average human. Still, their instinctive nature as animals was not something they could abandon regardless of their intelligence, so they made sounds distinct to their race. In this case, the hyenas growled, which made them easily recognizable.

Han-Yeol warmly welcomed them. “Welcome! Hey, I thought I was going to die waiting for you guys.”

‘Oh yes, you were going to die alright,’ White Dragon thought while glaring at him.

[Kikiki! As expected of an insignificant creature!]

[Do you have no fear? You dare lure us here on purpose? Keke!]

[I’m not complaining since this is an excellent opportunity for us. Kikiki!]

The three hyena sorcerers were delighted and could not stop snickering after seeing Han-Yeol.

[Don’t be mistaken, foolish human. We let you be because we received orders to get along with the humans for now and you were hiding among them. You could’ve lived to see another day if you continued hiding behind them, but are you so foolish to step out from the only thing protecting you? Alright, I admire your bravery at least, so I shall reward you with a painless death.]

[Kikiki! That is an excellent idea, elder brother!]

The fight had not started yet, but the three hyena sorcerers were acting as if they had already won against Han-Yeol.

[You must be thinking you could easily defeat us with that ability of yours. But what can you do all alone? Surely you didn’t think we came unprepared against it?]

[You will never win against us brothers!]

Wooooong!

The three hyena sorcerers simultaneously channeled their mana.

Bzzt! Bzzzt!

Their black mana completely withered the plants around them, turning them ash-gray.

[Kikiki! Allow us to give you a taste of hell, human!]

Whooooosh!

The black mana gathered together, creating a tornado set on devouring Han-Yeol.

“...”

Han-Yeol looked serious after seeing the black tornado coming toward him, but he still had his hands in his pockets and did not budge an inch.

Shwaaaak!

[Kikiki! He’s scared!]

[Humans are truly foolish creatures! Kiki!]

[Time for you to turn into our corrupted little puppet!]

The black tornado might seem like any other one created by mana at first glance, but this was a trick the hyena sorcerers frequently used. They used this trick to make their opponent lower their guard before the real effect of the black tornado kicked in.

The black mana forming this tornado was actually a decoy and the real threat was the smoke hidden behind the mana. The smoke was infused with the hyenas’ corruption mana, and any living creature would suffer excruciating pain if they inhaled the smoke as the mana ripped them from the inside.

It might seem like a very simple trick, but countless Bastro Warriors fell victim to it.

Han-Yeol grimaced and asked, “Is this all you got?”

[Huh?]

Baaam! Whoosh!

[W-What?!]

[How?!]

The hyena sorcerers expected Han-Yeol to either die or get corrupted just like the countless other Bastro Warriors who had fallen victim to the trick. To their surprise, Han-Yeol only needed one hand and a burst of light attribute mana to completely dissipate the black tornado they had conjured.

“Hey, is that it? Don’t you stinky dog heads have anything better?” Han-Yeol sneered.

[W-What did you say?!]

[This crazy human is desperate to die!]

Grrrrr!

[...]

The two younger brothers instantly lost their cool and retorted, but it was different for the eldest sorcerer. He could not help but feel that something was off, and this was a feeling he was quite familiar with.

‘What was that? That human said something oddly familiar. I can’t put a finger on it, but I’ve definitely heard it before…’

He swore he had heard the exact same words before, but he could not recall where he had heard them. One thing he was certain of was that it was something he had heard a long time ago–no, it was something he heard in passing as a child when someone told him tales of it.

The memories of a hyena sorcerer were leaps and bounds better than most creatures, as they heavily relied on their mental strength rather than physical strength like most creatures. In the end, he failed to remember where he had heard the phrase before.

[What are you doing, elder brother?]

[Hmm? It’s nothing.]

[Keke! It’s time to do that. Right, elder brother?]

[Yes, it is.]

[Kikiki!]

The three of them simultaneously took out bone wands made from the bones of Bastrolings.

Chwak!

‘Hmm? It’s my first time seeing that item.’

Han-Yeol had never seen a bone wand before, even as Harkan.

[Kekeke! Time to start the real fight!]

[We wanted to grant you a painless death, human. But it seems you don’t want our goodwill!]

“What nonsense are you spouting? Oh right, you guys never made sense to begin with.”

[Kikiki! Let’s see how long you can keep that arrogance up!]

Wooooong!

A wave of sinister mana gushed out from their bone wands. They unleashed more and more mana until it grew into gigantic floating orb.

Kieeeeeee!

‘Hmm?’

[Kehehehe! Come, our loyal servants!]

Gwuu… Ooooh…

The gigantic orb that the three hyena sorcerers conjured let out a low-pitched cry that sounded absolutely atrocious.

Shwaaa…!

The orb released its own black mana that resembled fog. It slithered across the ground before rising up to form the silhouette of an unknown creature.

There were at least one hundred of these silhouettes. One might mistake these creatures to be weak due to their sheer numbers, but Han-Yeol did not make that mistake.

‘They’re strong.’ He instantly recognized that the creatures made from the black fog were strong.

[Kikiki! It’s quite unfortunate we are forced to use these beautiful creatures against a human! Oh well, we will have to just think of it as testing them out! You better be honored to have the chance to experience them first!]

The hyena sorcerers seemed very confident that they already won this battle.

‘But what the hell are these things?’ Han-Yeol wondered. It was his first time seeing these creatures too, and he did not recall ever seeing such creatures in the numerous decades he spent fighting against the hyenas.

The reason for this was quite simple. A lot of things had changed ever since Han-Yeol–rather, Harkan died, and he only fought the hyenas once as Han-Yeol.

However, Han-Yeol was not bothered by whatever new strategy the hyenas prepared, as he had something he wanted to test. These three hyena sorcerers and their new weapon were the perfect test subjects for him.

[Kekeke! I think that human is frozen stiff from fear after seeing our superior contaminated creatures, elder brother!]

[Yes, I think so too. I’m sure he can sense the eternal damnation awaiting him!]

[You’re right, elder brother! Kekeke!]

The hyena sorcerers concluded that Han-Yeol was frozen from fear when he did not show any particular reaction.

‘Huh? What the hell are they talking about?’ Han-Yeol thought in disbelief.

“Do you need help, human?”

“Kyuuu!”

White Dragon and Mavros offered to help. This battle would be won without a shred of doubt with White Dragon’s powers. A single breath attack from her would decimate not only the strange creatures but even the three hyena sorcerers too.

That would be the case if she could. Unfortunately, she was unable to exert one hundred percent of her powers in the human world. It was similar to how the demons were restricted upon descending onto Earth.

Thus, White Dragon could only exert around the same strength as Mavros if she were to help Han-Yeol in battle. Of course, her light attribute completely countered the attribute possessed by the hyena sorcerers, so she would be a huge help compared to Mavros.

“Nah, it’s fine. There’s something I’ve been wanting to test, and this is the best opportunity I’ve gotten so far,” Han-Yeol replied with a shrug.

“Well, if that’s what you want,” White Dragon said coolly. She seemed completely unbothered by it.

“Kyuuu…”

On the other hand, Mavros seemed disappointed at not being able to fight alongside Han-Yeol. The happiest moment in his life was when he flew on the battlefield with him, and not being able to do so made him feel sad.

“Don’t feel sad. There will be next time,” White Dragon said, patting his head.

“Kyu!” Mavros cried out in response.

There was a saying that boys would be boys, and it seemed like Mavros was indeed a boy judging by how his mood instantly lifted up after White Dragon patted his head.

Shwaaak!

White Dragon flew back a distance with Mavros to not get in Han-Yeol’s way.

[Hmm?]

[Elder brother! Look! I think they’re running away.]

[No, it looks like that human wants to fight us alone.]

[Oh?! I think so too!]

Crack…!

Grrrr!

[You dare underestimate us, human?! I’m never going to forgive you even if you beg on your knees later!]

Awooooo!

The eldest hyena sorcerer howled in anger. He might be a hyena, but it was quite rare for the sorcerers to succumb to their natural instincts. However, Han-Yeol’s actions thus far finally got on his nerves, and he ended up succumbing to his primal instincts for a second.

[Go, my slaves!]

[Go go go!]

Chwaaaak!

The black creatures slithered on the ground before suddenly darting toward Han-Yeol the moment the hyena sorcerers gave the command.

‘Hmm… I guess we can check what those are later, right? Karvis? Are you there?’

[I am always here.]

‘Good. Let’s go!’

[As you wish.]

‘Haha!’

Han-Yeol took out his trademark sword and chain. However, his weapons were for defensive purposes this time, as what he really wanted to try was not his combat prowess but something else.

‘Light!’

Piiiiing!

A blinding light flashed in front of him the moment he used his skill.

“Kieeeeek!”

The black creatures that lunged at him suddenly shrieked in agony and squirmed on the ground.

‘I knew it. They might be strong, but they’re still contaminated dark creatures weak against purification and light attributes.’

The light attribute acted more like a crowd control skill against the contaminated creatures and did not deal any damage against them, but it was different with the light skill Han-Yeol used this time.

Han-Yeol did not know if he was able to deal damage this time around due to possessing Restore and it affected Light or if it evolved without him knowing. One thing for certain was that the light skill he used this time clearly had a tinge of the purification attribute.

Whatever the reason may be, the contaminated black creatures suffered from the excruciating pain.

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