Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 241: Bastro Dimension (2)

Han-Yeol warmed up in preparation to take the test, while the Korean government, doing what it does best, remained incompetent.

[Good luck.]

[Thanks, but don’t worry.]

Crack! Crack!?

Han-Yeol cracked his neck while walking toward the testing area.

‘Shall we have some fun?’

[Yes, I will assist you to the best of my abilities, Han-Yeol-nim.]

Karvis suddenly responded when she was not even called.

‘Okay, then I’ll leave my back to you.’

Han-Yeol stood at the center of the testing area and calmed his breathing. “Haa…”?

[We will now commence the test.]

“Okay.”

Whiiiing…!

The mechanical sound rang throughout the testing area once again before a bright light engulfed it.

Zhiiiing!

It was truly a spectacular sight.

Zhiiiiing!

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Shwoooosh!

Until it enveloped Han-Yeol’s entire body.

‘Oh? So this is how it feels?’?he was slightly taken aback.

He saw Tayarana do the test, but experiencing it personally was an entirely different matter.

Anyway, it didn't make any difference to Han-Yeol.

“Let’s see… I wonder what monster is going to come out?”

A few seconds passed before the light faded, and his vision returned.

“Huh? Whaaaat?!”

***

Han-Yeol was shocked the moment his vision returned. What was supposed to be in front of him was a fake monster used for the test, but...

‘They said these monsters are fake ones created by the barrier, right?’

[Yes, you are correct. But this does not look fake to me…]

‘Ugh…’?Han-Yeol groaned without even realizing it.

There was something strange about the situation he found himself in. He stood in an unfamiliar place surrounded by forests, and he did not like the look of it.

[Han-Yeol-nim, what if you use Demon Eyes?]

Karvis gave sound advice.

‘Oh, good idea.’?

Han-Yeol decided he had nothing to lose.

‘Demon Eyes!’

“…”

“What?!”

Nothing happened. His mana would usually react from his mana hall in his heart, allowing him to scan his surroundings for mana, but there was no reaction whatsoever this time.

“What’s going on?”

[It seems that your skill did not activate at all, Han-Yeol-nim.]

“H-How is that possible?!” Han-Yeol cried out while seemingly shocked.

How was it possible that his skill had suddenly stopped working?

‘Don’t tell me…?’

Han-Yeol opened his status window, just in case there was something he had to check.

[Name: Harkan]

Level: 10

Race: Beastman (Canine)

Titles: Weak and Pathetic Apprentice Warrior

Stats:

STR: 30+3

VIT: 20+2

AGI: 25

MAG: 20

LUK: 20

Instinct: 50

Skills: Hard Counter (E), Howling (E), Sudden Acceleration (E), Waist Slash (E), Scent Tracker (M)

*This beast race gains +10 STR and VIT.

*This beast race gains Scent Tracker (M)

*Title ‘Weak and Pathetic Apprentice Warrior’ earns you the scorn of adult beastmen.

"Whaaaaat?!" Han-Yeol cried out in horror upon reading his status screen.

He had been certain that his name was Lee Han-Yeol, but suddenly, it changed to Harkan.

“W-What in the world is going on?!”

[I… I have no idea, Han-Yeol-nim. I just checked your appearance, and you took on the form of a beast race after scanning your current appearance with my database. The beast race you turned into is the canine race, but you are able to walk on two legs because…]

"What?!" Han-Yeol screamed this time after looking at his hands.

His hands were covered in hair, or rather, fur, and he even had a squishy paw.

‘Oh, these aren’t so bad…’ he thought while pressing his paws.

Han-Yeol was an animal lover, so this did not seem all that bad to him…

[Han-Yeol-nim!]

Karvis shouted in Han-Yeol’s head after he got distracted.

“Ahem… Yeah, you’re right. We don’t have time to sit around like this,” Han-Yeol muttered while seemingly embarrassed.

He tried his best to understand what was going on, but it was nearly impossible to do so.

‘What did they do to me…?’

“Ugh…”?He groaned out of frustration once more.

Rustle…

It was then that a rustling sound came from the bush behind him.

Gulp…!

Han-Yeol nervously gulped down a hard lump in his throat, bracing himself because he knew he was extremely weak at the moment. His stats and skills were mediocre at best, and he was certain that he would be in danger even if a low-ranking monster appeared.

‘Damn it… There’s nothing…’

He looked around in hopes of finding anything he could use as a weapon, but there was nothing in his vicinity. It was quite strange, considering Harkan's race seemed to be the type that used weapons.

‘I guess I have no choice…’?Han-Yeol thought as he clenched his fist.

He was prepared to use his bare fists if he did not have a weapon.

But…

“Harkan!”

“Huh?”

What appeared from behind the bush was a pink-furred beast that even Han-Yeol, a human, found to be quite beautiful. The beast did not look primitive or primal at all. It possessed the body of a beast, yet it had all the features required to make it recognizable as a female at first glance. However, what stood out the most was the ferocious look she had.

“How many times did I tell you not to go around without your weapon?!”

Whoosh!

“Ack!”?Han-Yeol screamed before catching the curved blade she threw.

The blade appeared flexible in shape, but it was exceptionally tough and sharp.

“T-Thank you…”

“Sigh…?Seriously, do I always have to take care of you?”

“W-What?”

“Moron!”

‘W-Why does it feel like this guy is a pushover…?’?Han-Yeol was even more confused now.

“Okay! Hurry up!”

“What?”

Tak!

“Hurry!”

“W-What? Aaaaack!”

The female beast grabbed Han-Yeol's hand and dragged him through the forest.

He was perplexed by the sudden turn of events, but he decided to follow her for now. He knew nothing about this place or his current situation, so this was probably the best course of action he could take.

Whoosh! Tak!

‘Hmm… It’s probably because I’m currently a Beastman, but I’m quite fast for a Level 10.’

Harkan's stats were superior to Han-Yeol's when he was at Level 10. No, they were far superior to his.

‘Is this a bonus given to the other races?’?he wondered.

Anyway, the place he arrived at after being escorted, which was actually no different from being abducted, by the female beastman, was a vast plain. However, there was a problem...

Woof! Woof!?

Awoooo!

‘What is this dogshit mess?’?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.

There were dogs all over. He wasn't certain if they were wolves or dogs, but there were beastmen walking on two legs all over the place.

'I should put on my best act.'

He decided to play along for now since he had no idea what was going on, and he couldn't continue standing around like a fool either. He believed that everything happened for a reason, and it was unlikely that all of this had occurred out of pure coincidence.

‘I’m not sure how it’s going to go though…’

[Good luck, Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Ah…’

It was at that moment when he was thinking that he needed all the luck he could get that a large beastman approached him.

Then, the large beastman, resembling a werewolf, pointed his finger at Han-Yeol and said, “What? I thought you ran away, but you came back holding your momma’s hand?”

“Bahahaha!”

“He still can’t let go of his momma’s hand! Keke!”

“Hahaha!”

The beastwoman snapped at the beastmen, “Hey! Harkan is not a coward, you musclebrains!”

‘Oh? It seems this beastwoman is Harkan’s girlfriend?’?Han-Yeol thought.

This was the only explanation he could come up with based on how the beastwoman was acting.

‘Damn it… Even this guy has a girlfriend! Lucky bastard!’?Han-Yeol could not help but be extremely jealous as he was still single.

“Oh? He’s not a coward? Then he should be able to win at least once in the upcoming warrior placement exam, right?”

“O-Of course!”

The beastwoman was slightly taken aback for a moment, but she refused to back down and retorted.

Slurp!

‘Hmm?’?

Han-Yeol definitely saw it. The werewolf was unmistakably looking at the beastwoman with eyes filled with lust, scanning her from head to toe.

‘It’s none of my business, but that’s pissing me off,’?he grumbled inwardly.

“Then shall we have a wager?”

“W-What wager?”

“I'll become Harkan’s subordinate if he manages to win even once in the warrior placement exam!”

“You’re on!”

“However! You will have to marry me if he fails to win even once, Riru!”

“W-What?!” The beastwoman was shocked at the proposal that was no different from a threat.

Han-Yeol was confident that the beastwoman named Riru was going to reject the wager.

Whistle!

“Wow! Is Kandir finally going to get married?!”

"His effort following Riru around is finally paying off!"

"Bwahahaha!"

The beastmen around them started talking as if the result had been decided.

“Damn it! Alright! You’re on!” Riru exclaimed.

‘W-What should I do?’?Han-Yeol was surprised.

He found two things strange. The first was if Riru was indeed Harkan’s girlfriend, then did she really agree to marry another guy in front of her boyfriend? The second was, if she was not Harkan’s girlfriend, then why was she going so far as to agree to marry someone else for the sake of a wager?

‘Why…?’

“Hahaha! Excellent! Oh right, but did you hear about that?”

“W-What?”

“I’m Harkan’s first opponent.”

“What?!” Riru was shocked at what she heard.

Kandir flashed a smile full of lust and malice. “Kekeke! I’m his first opponent, and I don’t plan on going easy on him. I’ll crush every bone in his body and make sure that he won’t be able to move ever again!”

‘Crazy bastard…’?Han-Yeol growled inwardly.

He had no idea what was going on right now, but there was one thing he was certain of, and that was he did not like Kandir.

‘Tsk… I wanted to stay quiet until I made sense of what was going on, but…’?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue and grumbled inwardly.

He could feel his body itching for a fight after seeing how obnoxious the werewolf was.

‘But he does look quite strong…’?

However, he decided that he could not afford to lose for the sake of the beastwoman, Riru. This was not his body, and he had no idea about their relationship, but he could tell that their relationship was not a simple one.

“H-Harkan!” Riru shouted as she turned around and looked at Han-Yeol with eyes full of concern.

“Hmm?

“L-Let’s give up…”

“What?”

“As you know, Kandir was the runner-up for the warrior placement exam held last year. I know I told them otherwise, but there’s no way you can win against him even if he fights with one hand,” Riru said as she flashed a sad smile.

Han-Yeol felt his anger well up from inside of him after seeing Riru’s face. He hated seeing that face more than anything, as his father would show that smile quite often when he was young.

‘I’m sorry you can’t live in a normal household. I’m sorry, this is all my fault.’

Han-Yeol never considered anyone else as his family after his mother and older sister left. Also, he did not feel the need to look for them and meet them in person.

Tak!

“Huh?”

Han-Yeol placed his hand on Riru’s shoulder, and that was more than enough to shock the beastwoman.