Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 263: Second Awakening (3)

Tia once asked Mavros if it wouldn't be more comfortable to fight alone, but Mavros disagreed with her. He enjoyed fighting freely on his own, yet his desire to overpower stronger opponents outweighed his yearning for freedom in battle.

One of the reasons he enjoyed fighting alongside Han-Yeol was because of this desire, but the most significant reason for him was simply that he relished fighting with Han-Yeol riding on his back. He felt the happiest whenever he engaged in activities with Han-Yeol, and fighting alongside him was his favorite activity.

Shwaaaak!

Mavros extended both of his wings behind him, increasing his flight speed even further.

“Gwuuu Ooooh!”

The boss monster recognized Mavros as the primary threat in this battle.

The human wearing that strange armor was certainly annoying, but the individual dealing the most damage to it at this moment was the human riding atop the dragon.

Chwak! Sukeok!

“Gwuuu Ooooh!”

However, the armor-wearing human couldn't be completely disregarded either.

Tayarana was no longer the same person who had slightly lacked in the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Raid. Her mana capacity had increased, and she had gained two skills after becoming a Master Rank Hunter. Phaophator had also equipped her with new unique artifacts that further enhanced her abilities.

Her father, Phaophator, was confident that her surpassing him would only be a matter of time, even though she hadn't had the chance to fully adjust to her new powers as a Master Rank Hunter.

“Gwuu Ooooh!” the boss monster roared after she slashed across its back.

However, her expression was far from delighted.

“Tsk…”

She was certain that she had delivered a powerful attack, but all she had managed to do was leave a light scratch on its body, as if she had merely grazed it.

Whoosh!

Still, she couldn't simply stand around and be disappointed by her attack. It was more like the boss monster didn't afford her the luxury of time to be disappointed, as its large hand came flying toward her.

Boom!

She activated her suit's thrusters and zipped through the sky, evading the attack.

“Greuk!” the boss monster roared in anger after missing the annoying fly it had been aiming for.

‘Phew… That was a close one…’

Tayarana might have appeared relaxed on the outside, but she was actually quite nervous inside. She knew that if she had been just a split second too late, the boss monster's gigantic hand would have struck her.

“Grr…!”

The boss monster continued to swat its hands around in an attempt to get rid of the annoying pest. However, it soon gave up and lowered its hands after failing to hit her.

“Gwuoh? Goo… Glub…”

Then, it began mumbling something to itself.

‘What’s it doing?’

“Kiek?”

Han-Yeol became alert after noticing a change in the boss monster's demeanor.

A boss monster was a tricky opponent that could suddenly attack in unexpected ways, unlike normal monsters. Lowering his guard against such an enemy would certainly be a shortcut for Han-Yeol to play a game of rock-paper-scissors with King Yeomra[1].

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

‘Huh? What the hell is it this time?!’

As expected, the boss monster was preparing something strange. It began conjuring something with its hands, and then the corrupted soldiers it had absorbed rose up from its arms. They gathered in both of its hands to form something resembling a whip.

‘Haa… Damn it…’

Whoosh! Kwachik!

“Gwuuu Oooooh!”

Chwak!

‘Hap!’

The boss monster began wildly swinging its whip, like a child playing with a new toy, before selecting its first target. That target happened to be the one with the highest defense among everyone present—Balrog.

Balrog did not drop his guard for even a second, being the most seasoned veteran among them all. However, a single strike from the boss monster's whip not only tore his shield apart but also sent him to the demon realm.

Balrog wasn't the only one damaged by this attack; Han-Yeol took a hit each time one of his demons was reverse-summoned in this manner.

‘Haa… Haa…’

“GWUU OOOOOH!” the boss monster roared after testing its whip out, and it seemed very satisfied by it.

‘Haa… Damn it…’

[Mujahid!]

[Yes, hyung-nim!]

[Ask the others to get back! Just you, Tayarana, and I are going to face it!]

[Yes, I understand!]

Their firepower was going to be reduced by a third due to this decision, but there was no other choice. They couldn't simply ask their precious comrades to throw their lives away just to increase their firepower by a third against the boss.

Furthermore, the Hunters would likely be annihilated with a single swing of the whip, so it was far better for them not to get involved in the battle. The Egyptian Hunters were relegated to the role of onlookers, with their primary job being to step in and assist the trio whenever they needed help.

[No…]

[Damn it…!]

[How can I live with this shame?!]

[It can’t be helped… There’s nothing we can do against a monster like that…]

[I’m so angry at myself!]

The Egyptian Hunters gritted their teeth in anger upon receiving Mujahid's command. However, none of them retorted, as they were fully aware that there was nothing they could do.

[We need to become stronger…]

[Yeah, but how…?]

[Stop talking about the impossible…]

Mujahid’s subordinates once again realized how powerless they were as they retreated far away from the battlefield.

Whoosh! Chwak!

Bam!

‘Keuk! Damn it!’

The boss monster's whip was truly terrifying, and it seemed as though its firepower had doubled simply by wielding the whip.

“Gwuu… Oooh…!”

The whip was no ordinary one; it was composed of corrupted soldiers. It emitted a foul stench of death and spread its filthy mana wherever it passed.

‘This damned zombie!’ Han-Yeol started referring to the boss monster as a zombie.

Shwoosh! Bam!

‘Keuk!’

Avoiding the whip was no easy feat, making it seem impossible to approach the zombie now.

“Kieeeeek!” Mavros cried out as he flew around to his limits, evading the whip.

‘Mana Explosion!’

Whiiing… Boom! Boom!

This didn't mean that Han-Yeol couldn't attack the boss monster. Mavros was responsible for evading the whip, so all Han-Yeol had to do was ensure he didn't fall off Mavros while firing Mana Explosions with his shoulder cannons.

Then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, ‘I should probably tell Yoo-Bi to focus on enhancing the shoulder cannons first…’

Han-Yeol had been focused on making a lot of money after Yoo-Bi awakened with her abilities, but he had a change of heart.

‘I can earn a lot of money by myself, so it doesn't make sense to waste her abilities on making money. She seems to be interested in weapons these days, so I should ask her to continue developing better ones for me.’

He decided on a new direction for Yoo-Bi. The mana engine could be developed by the other researchers he had hired, as she had already laid the foundation for it. Earth desperately needed better and more efficient weapons against the monsters, and these improved weapons would undoubtedly aid the planet's relations with other dimensions once it began trading with them.

Han-Yeol had come up with this theory after spending twenty years in the Bastro Dimension.

‘Every dimension has its own specialty.’

Of course, he had formulated this theory based solely on two dimensions: Earth and Bastro. Earth's specialty was undoubtedly science, as humans always compensated for their lack of physical prowess with advancements in technology. On the other hand, the Bastro Dimension lagged behind in technology but more than made up for it with their physical abilities.

Well, it was still a theory that was difficult to prove, but he had a feeling that he wasn't far from the correct answer.

Shwiiiik! Kwachik!

“Kieeeeek!”

The whip narrowly missed Mavros this time, grazing his tail before slamming the ground.

Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!

“Kyaoh!”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Furion was navigating the rugged terrain with Mujahid mounted. It would have been impossible for Mujahid to move quickly enough to avoid the whip with his usual movement speed, but Furion compensated for his slowness this time.

‘Mana Explosion!’

‘Critical Slash!’

Boom! Sukeok!

Han-Yeol and Tayarana continued their onslaught against the boss monster while circling it, taking turns to draw its aggro to ensure that none of them would be targeted.

“Compress!”

Kwachik! Bam!

Mujahid was doing his best to attack from the ground, but his strikes didn't appear to inflict any damage on the boss monster.

He had grown stronger through intense self-imposed training, but there was no way he could match Tayarana's strength, who had awakened as a Master Rank Hunter and was fully equipped with unique artifacts.

[Damn it! I know that too!] Mujahid gritted his teeth in frustration and anger.

He was quite observant and knew that he was lagging behind Tayarana and Han-Yeol. However, he repeatedly convinced himself that he still had a role to play as long as he remained focused on the battle. Moreover, he believed that he could become stronger if he continued to give his best.

‘Noonim did it, so I can do it too! I can become stronger like her!’ he clenched his fists with determination.

[Let’s go, Furion!]

“Kyaoh!”

[Mujahid!] Han-Yeol shouted nervously upon seeing Mujahid get agitated and push himself harder than usual.

‘Mujahid…’

He knew very well how Mujahid felt. Despite trying to maintain a cheerful and bubbly facade, Han-Yeol could see the emotions hidden in the prince’s heart without even having to use Telepathy on him.

There had been a time when Mariam briefly talked about Mujahid. “The prince might appear that way, but he carries a heavy burden in his heart. Tayarana-nim always pities and feels sorry for him.”

She hadn't delved into the details, but those words were enough for Han-Yeol to understand that Mujahid hadn't reached his current position through sheer luck. He had undoubtedly endured hardships to reach where he was, which likely explained his obsession with fighting and power.

‘Be careful, Mujahid…’

If Han-Yeol thought of Yoo-Bi as his little sister, then Mujahid was like a little brother to him. He was someone who had managed to breach the wall Han-Yeol had erected to shield himself from others, and as a result, he couldn't help but think of him in such an intimate manner.

“Let’s go, Mavros!”

“Kieeeeek!”

Chwak!

Mavros flew faster than before to put even more pressure on the boss monster.

***

Kwaaaaang!

The boss monster didn't seem to suffer much damage despite the relentless onslaught unleashed by Han-Yeol and Tayarana.

‘Damn it… How the hell is it so tough?’

‘This is frustrating…’

Both Han-Yeol and Tayarana were incredibly frustrated by their lack of progress. It felt as if they were banging their heads against an indestructible shield.

‘What should we do…?’

Even Han-Yeol, who typically came up with clever ideas during battles, was completely clueless about how to defeat the boss monster, which only added to his frustration.

Whoosh…!

A cold breeze blew against his face.

‘Hmm…’

[…]

Both of them were racking their brains, trying to come up with a solution against the boss monster.

“Gwuu Oooh!”

However, it appeared that the boss monster went on an even wilder rampage whenever they paused to think.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Kyaoh!”

Meanwhile, Mujahid continued to run around, doing his best while Han-Yeol and Tayarana were frustrated and brainstorming for a solution. He was currently doing his utmost to inflict even a bit more damage on the boss monster if possible.

‘Mujahid…’

Han-Yeol pitied him even more the harder he ran around.

[Mujahid!]

[Yes, hyung-nim?!]

‘Enhance!’

Crack…!

Han-Yeol did not forget to cast Enhance on Mujahid to assist him.

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

Mujahid's breathing was gradually becoming rougher as he continued to move diligently until his stamina was nearly depleted. He was already in his second wind after running wild and expending most of his stamina and mana.

This was a common sight among Hunters who failed to maintain their composure during battle and ended up overusing their stamina or mana.

[Calm down, Mujahid! Keep your composure and fight properly!] Han-Yeol repeatedly advised him throughout the battle.

[I know, hyung-nim!]

However, Mujahid replied, indicating his understanding, but there was no change in his actions.

‘Tsk…’ Han-Yeol inwardly clicked his tongue before refocusing his attention on the boss monster.

‘Haa…’

The situation was not looking good as he had used a significant amount of his mana, which he couldn't replenish with Walking right now.

If there was one distinct difference between Han-Yeol and Tayarana, it was that he wasn't born with the same innate mana recovery ability as her.

1. King Yeomra is the king of the underworld in Buddhism, who judges the spirit’s deeds while they were alive. ????