Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 334 – Ten Days In The Bastro Dimension (1)

Tia might have the upper body of a human, but upon closer inspection, it would be apparent that several parts of her body, like her eyes and mouth, differed significantly from a human's. In particular, the ends of her mouth were higher than those of a normal person's.

“Hoho~ Master~”

“Y-Yes?”

“Can I make something too?”

“Y-You want to?”

"Yes, do you remember who cursed us to become Arachnids?"

"O-Of course, I do. It was the goddess Athena, right?"

"And do you remember why?"

"Because you guys are quite skillful… Ah!"

It was only then that Han-Yeol finally realized what Tia meant.

"Hoho~ Don’t you think I’ll be quite helpful?" Tia said with a smile.

Chwak!

Han-Yeol gave a thumbs-up and said, “You’re the best!”

The Arachnids were once so skillful that even the Goddess of War and Wisdom, Athena, fell in love with their works. However, they were later punished for blasphemy and transformed into half-spiders after their works insulted the gods.

Han-Yeol felt as if he would gain an army with the descendant of such skillful craftsmen, Tia, helping him create something.

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Hoho~ Yes, just leave it to me, master~”

This was Tia’s first time crafting something since her birth, so she couldn't help but feel happy about the opportunity.

However, she couldn't carelessly touch the magma even as Han-Yeol’s monster pet. It had been explained previously that the magma recognized its owner’s unique identity, so it wouldn't acknowledge anyone else besides Han-Yeol.

Tia’s hand would have been burned to a crisp instantly if she dared to touch the magma. Yet, that didn't mean there were no solutions to this problem.

Crack!

Han-Yeol crushed a mana stone and used his skill on her.

‘Enhance!’

Wooong!

His mana enveloped Tia’s body, but he didn't stop there. He imbued her hands with his mana from the Mana Pouch. Now, Tia’s hands were completely protected by Han-Yeol’s mana from the magma.

Tak…

Tia carefully nudged the magma with her hands. She might be confident and outgoing, but she didn't want to become the fool who had her fingers burned by magma.

Fortunately, when she nudged it, the magma felt gentle and warm, and she was now confident that she could touch it unscathed.

Plop… Plop…

She began to toy with the magma-like molding clay before turning to Han-Yeol, her eyes filled with desire. “Hoho~ Master is amazing as expected… You’re making me want to devour you tonight~ Aaah~”

Slurp!

Licking her lips, she gazed at Han-Yeol with eyes full of passion, unleashing her pheromones at him.

‘Aaaaah!’ Han-Yeol panicked and hastily set up a thin layer of mana to protect himself.

“Hahaha… Please cut that out,” he pleaded, sweating profusely, waving both hands.

The prank she had pulled on him last time still haunted him, making him nervous whenever Tia gave him that look.

“Hoho~ I’m going to devour you one day, so you better brace yourself, master~”

“Hahaha…” Han-Yeol awkwardly chuckled, sensing Tia wasn't joking at that moment.

Anyway, both of them got to work on molding the magma.

“Snore… Kyu… Snore…”

Meanwhile, Mavros was taking a nap in a corner of the cave. After all, a mini dragon was still a dragon at the end of the day, so sleep was an absolute necessity for him.

***

Han-Yeol repeatedly molded and destroyed his creations for hours on end before finally managing to create a finished product.

“Ta-Dah!” Han-Yeol exclaimed, praising his own creation.

In front of him lay a lump of magma shaped into a longsword. This longsword was the result of the hours he had invested until he achieved the desired shape.

Ding!

[A new skill has been created—Magma Longsword (F)]

‘Hehehe…’ Han-Yeol snickered inwardly.

He had initially planned to create something new, but he figured it would be much easier to fashion something already existing than to craft something entirely .

Seuk…

Han-Yeol grabbed the Magma Longsword and swung it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He relished the orange glow emanating from the longsword.

‘Hoho! I've obtained a sword!’

Now, he could use dual-wielding if he summoned his Light Exorcist Sword as well.

It was time to test his new weapon. He approached the cave wall and stabbed it with the Magma Longsword.

To be honest, he hadn't expected much, but the result was quite terrifying.

Puuuk… Chwiiiik!

‘Huh?’

He hadn't exerted much force and had done it without much expectation, yet the Magma Longsword pierced into the wall like tofu before igniting the surrounding area.

‘A-Awesome!’

The destructive power displayed by the Magma Longsword was insane, seemingly surpassing its performance with the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword last time.

‘Hoho! So it was a blessing in disguise!’ he thought to himself.

It was indeed a blessing in disguise as he had acquired a far more potent weapon after losing his three main ones.

‘But this isn’t the end! I’ll keep making more of these!’

Han-Yeol possessed not only magma but also fire, ice, and light attributes. He hadn't felt the need to experiment as he was content, but after losing three main weapons, he sought an alternative.

Thus, he decided to put his creativity to work for the first time in a while.

“Hum~ Hum~ Hum~”

Of course, he couldn't help but hum a tune while working, finding creating something always a fun activity.

***

As Han-Yeol diligently worked on creating another skill, Tia interrupted, “Done,” as she withdrew her hands from the lump of magma she had been shaping.

‘I thought she was making something big, but she’s done already?’

Focused on his own task, Han-Yeol hadn't closely observed what she was crafting, but he could discern she was working on something sizable in a distant corner.

The cave's irregular and confined structure made it challenging to perceive things from a distance. Despite its inconvenience as a dwelling, it served as an ideal hiding spot, the primary reason the canines chose it. Additionally, a flowing spring within provided them with drinking water.

“Come here, master,” Tia beckoned.

“Ah, okay.”

Setting aside his work, Han-Yeol walked over, curious about what she had created. ‘I wonder what she made.’

Anticipation built within him for the creature cursed by the gods for their skills and arrogance.

“Hoho~ Come and take a look~”

“What did you make—huh?” Han-Yeol was taken aback by Tia's creation. “T-This is…?”

“Hoho~ This is a creation I made with revenge in mind! What do you think?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Hohoho!”

What Tia had fashioned from the magma was…

‘Athena…’

It was none other than the goddess who had cursed the Arachnids, transforming them into half-spiders.

Han-Yeol recognized the statue as Athena; it closely resembled the images he had seen online. However, there was a subtle alteration, likely Tia’s addition, giving the goddess a sinister, villainous appearance.

‘Will this be alright…?’

This felt like blasphemy no matter how he looked at it. Blasphemy was the primary reason the gods punished the Arachnids, condemning them to become half-spiders.

‘Tsk… Well, it’s not like I’m going to die because of this, right?’ he muttered inwardly, clicking his tongue after pondering for a while.

After all, Greek Mythology was merely a myth, and the Arachnids were born within that mythological context. In reality, Athena didn’t transform the Arachnids into half-spiders.

“Good, I like it,” Han-Yeol said.

“Hoho~ Master truly understands me~”

Boink!

“Aaack!”

Tia hugged Han-Yeol without warning once again, but this time, it was done in a cute and adorable manner. Additionally, her breasts and bare skin made contact with him.

“I-It’s too stimulating! Stop!”

“Hoho~ That’s exactly why I’m doing this~”

“Ugh!”

***

Han-Yeol managed to break free from Tia and stood in front of the Athena statue she had created. It was a large statue made out of magma that towered five meters tall. Indeed taller than Tia, yet she effortlessly created it thanks to her ability to crawl freely on walls.

Upon inspecting the statue, Han-Yeol faced a dilemma. ‘But how am I supposed to turn this into my skill?’

He had acquired a skill right after finishing the Magma Longsword, but he hadn’t created the statue in front of him.

‘D-Don’t tell me… A skill won’t be created if I’m not the one who made it?! N-No!’

Despair set in with this sudden realization. He had anticipated obtaining a skill related to creativity from the impressive statue, only to find out that it might be worthless, destined for eventual destruction.

‘Haa… Haa… Let’s calm down and think about it.’

They said one could survive even after being bitten by a tiger as long as they kept their cool. Han-Yeol decided to closely inspect the statue.

‘Hmm… She really did a great job making this.’

While his Magma Longsword allowed for intricate details due to its smaller size, the level of detail Tia had achieved on the five-meter-tall statue was impressive. What astonished him more was that she had accomplished this in just a few hours.

While examining the statue, he noticed something. ‘Hmm?’

A small crack caught his eye—a hairline fracture at the tip of Athena’s spear, barely noticeable without a close inspection.

‘Hehe, I guess even Tia is not perfect,’ he mused, conjuring a small patch of magma to seal the tiny crack. ‘Well, it’s a pity I couldn’t get any skills from this, but I can’t just leave it, considering Tia made it.’

Upon calming down, Han-Yeol realized the place was safe from the hyenas, and he could access it through the dimensional gate. Therefore, having a cool statue of a goddess on display wouldn’t pose a problem.

Although the goddess looked more human, possibly a downside for the Bastrolings, their religious nature might outweigh any objections.

Seuk… Seuk…

Han-Yeol got to work sealing the crack on the spear tip, but…

Ding!

‘Huh?’

A familiar alarm rang.

‘But why?’

And a message popped up in front of his eyes.

[You have reinforced and completed the 'Enraged Goddess Athena Statue,' which was 0.1% incomplete.]

[Your actions have made it possible for you to obtain a new skill.]

[Would you like to obtain a new skill?]

[Y/N]

‘What?! I can obtain a skill like this?!’

Han-Yeol never imagined in his wildest dreams that this would be possible. Tia did 99.9% of the work, and he merely contributed 0.1% to it, yet he was able to obtain a skill from that 0.1% effort? Of course, there was a slight difference in that the system asked him first if he wanted the skill or not, but that was probably the most absurd question he had encountered so far.

‘It’s obviously YES!’

Plop…! Plop…! Plop…! Plop…!

The statue suddenly started boiling and…

Chwak!

“W-What?!”

The boiling magma shot toward Han-Yeol and seeped into his body. It went without saying that the statue was nowhere to be found.

‘Phew… That scared me…’

He felt his heart drop for a moment but realized that nothing particularly happened.

It was then.

Ding!

[A new skill has been created – Summon Lava Golem (F)]