Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 275: Cold Love (3)

Mavros' magic was not a weak attack that could be dismissed. While he might be a mini-dragon and not a full-sized dragon, even a miniature version of the mighty dragon, the race that created all magic, was undoubtedly immensely powerful.

The Magma Giant turned around and aimed a fist at Mavros.

Fwaaaaah!

“Kieeeek!”

Mavros stuck his tongue out and sneered at the boss monster before executing an evasive maneuver to dodge the flying fist of magma.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Magma Giant stomped its feet in anger after failing to shoot down the annoying mini-dragon. Its expression remained relatively unchanged, but its actions clearly indicated its growing annoyance with Mavros.

Fwaaaah!

Suddenly, the Magma Giant raised its other arm and hurled magma fists from both hands toward Mavros.

“Kiek?!” Mavros flinched upon seeing the two magma fists, but that was only the beginning of the boss monster’s onslaught.

Shwiiiik!

“Kieeek?!”

Dozens of magma balls rained down from the sky toward Mavros, covering such a wide area that there was no escape for the mini-dragon.

“How foolish.”

Chwaaaak!

‘Chain Smite!’

Bam! Kwachik!

“Gwuuu Oooh!”

Han-Yeol’s Chain Smite hit the Magma Giant’s malleolus[1] in a clean, accurate hit.

The Tamra raid party had a monopoly on the Magma Giant. It wasn't that other raid parties couldn't attempt to raid it, but rather that they didn't have access to it.

This was precisely why the Tamra raid party members freely discussed the boss monster's weaknesses without any worries. After all, even if the others heard about its weaknesses, it wasn't as if they could actually raid the boss monster.

‘Well, I’m benefitting from their big mouths,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Bam!

The Magma Giant's imposing charisma, which it displayed when it first appeared, was nowhere to be found as it helplessly collapsed to the ground.

It appeared that targeting the boss monster's weak spot had a tremendous impact, with much credit going to Han-Yeol's powerful attack.

“Mavros!”

“Kieeeek!”

Wooong!

Mavros opened his mouth wide at Han-Yeol's command, and a large green magic circle, encompassing the entire Baeknokdam, materialized above him. This was the new magic Mavros had learned through frequent hunts with Han-Yeol.

"Mavros! Poison Rain!"

"Kieeeeek!"

Mavros concentrated all of his mana in his heart and released it. The green magic circle in the sky responded to his mana, conjuring tens of thousands of green arrows that rained down upon the Magma Giant.

Shwoo! Shwoo! Shwoo! Shwoo! Shwoo!

This highly poisonous skill packed a significant punch. Even Han-Yeol didn't want to get anywhere near the magic circle while it rained down those green arrows. Not only were there numerous arrows descending from the sky, but even a graze from one of them could prove lethal.

Wooong!

Mavros' new skill was so poisonous that the scent of it clung to the Magma Giant's body.

"Kiek! Pfft!" Mavros proudly scoffed after finishing his skill.

'Is it dead?' Han-Yeol wondered as he cautiously peeked out after the rain of poisonous arrows had ended.

Fsshh…!

The entire Baeknokdam was filled with the stench of poison, and the entire area had taken on a shade of green distinct from the surrounding vegetation.

"Phew… That was amazing, Mavros." Han-Yeol couldn't help but be amazed at the immense destruction Mavros had caused.

However, the boss monster still seemed to be alive since the system message that would usually appear in front of Han-Yeol’s eyes had not shown up yet. In other words, it was definitely still alive since the system hadn't confirmed the kill.

"Gwuu Oooh…"

"As expected," Han-Yeol muttered as he watched the boss monster stagger back to its feet.

Still, Mavros' skill had inflicted significant damage as the Magma Giant appeared to be in a bad state. Its once-bulky frame had deflated, and numerous parts of its body were missing.

"Do you want to continue the fight?" Han-Yeol asked.

"Kiek!" Mavros flew behind him and struck a victorious pose.

"Gwuuu…"

The two monsters seemed to be communicating with each other. The Magma Giant appeared obviously enraged, but it was in no condition to respond, given its severe physical damage.

"This is getting boring. Let's finish it."

Chwaaak!

Han-Yeol pulled his chain back before swinging it toward the Magma Giant.

Shwiiiiik!

The chain, imbued with Cold Chain, coiled itself around the boss monster's neck like a snake.

"Gwuoh?!" The Magma Giant struggled to free itself from the coiled chain around its neck.

"Kiek!"

Bam!

However, Mavros shot a Poison Arrow at its hand to prevent it from touching the chain. That was all he needed to do, as Han-Yeol was going to handle everything else from here.

Chwak!

"Greuk?" The Magma Giant realized something was amiss.

'Chain Smite.'

Chwaaak!

Pukeok!

Han-Yeol employed Chain Smite to strike the Magma Giant with the hammer attached to the chain, and he promptly pulled the chain, further constricting the boss monster's neck.

The Magma Giant's weakened neck began to freeze from the Cold Chain, eventually freezing and shattering into pieces.

Thud!

The boss monster's large head dropped to the ground.

'I won.'

Finally, it was the end of the boss monster.

Ding!

[You have successfully killed the boss monster of the Mount Halla hunting ground, the Magma Giant.]

‘Phew…’

The raid wasn't particularly difficult, even though the Magma Giant was among the top-tier boss monsters in South Korea's three most challenging hunting grounds.

While the Magma Giant was undoubtedly a powerful boss, it posed no real threat against the combined might of Han-Yeol and his overwhelmingly powerful monster pet, Mavros. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to label these two as 'overpowered.'

However, the most crucial message had yet to arrive.

Ding!

[You have leveled up.]

Finally, Han-Yeol reached Level 300.

[You have successfully achieved your second awakening.]

‘Yes! Finally!’

The long-awaited second awakening had finally arrived. This marked Han-Yeol's first experience with his second awakening, as he hadn't undergone it during his time as Harkan.

Han-Yeol wasn't entirely sure why this was the case, but he had a theory that it might be because Harkan's body was merely inhabited by Han-Yeol's soul and didn't possess the same game-like abilities.

However, that was not the case for Han-Yeol himself. His game-like ability allowed him to continually grow stronger, and even the sky wouldn't be his limit.

‘Let's see... I wonder what changed after the second awakening...?’ Han-Yeol wondered as he was about to check his status screen, but a sudden voice in his head interrupted him.

[Can you hear me, Han-Yeol-nim?]

It was Han-Yeol's Ego system, which served as his guide. It seemed she was finally going to fulfill her role after his second awakening.

‘Hey, Karvis~ Are you finally going to get to work?’ Han-Yeol joked.

Then, he noticed that Karvis' voice was not as mechanical as it used to be, and he could sense a hint of emotion in it.

[Hahaha! Yes, Han-Yeol-nim. I realized right after your second awakening that I am not just an Ego system, but actually a sealed human.]

‘Really?’

[Yes, but you don't have to concern yourself with it for now. I only managed to retrieve a fragment of my memories, so all I know is that I was once a human. I don't remember my name or who I was.]

‘I see,’ Han-Yeol replied with a nod.

[Oh right, that's not what's important right now. I sincerely congratulate you, Han-Yeol-nim. You have finally achieved your second awakening.]

‘Ah, it's actually quite strange since I thought Earth had to reach the second dimension first before I could awaken again.’

[To be honest, I have no idea how this was possible. However, I assume that Ms. Yulia's ability that sent you to a second dimension may have played a role.]

‘Hmm... I think that's the most plausible explanation right now.’

Nothing could be said for certain, as Han-Yeol lacked information. All he could do at this point was make assumptions.

[Anyway, I will now explain the details of your second awakening.]

‘Okay!’

***

Han-Yeol spent a considerable amount of time in Baeknokdam, as the entire Mount Halla became tranquil after the boss monster was killed.

The boss monster was set to respawn a week after its defeat, and the Tamra raid party was sure to be shocked when they arrived to raid it tomorrow. It was certain that they would indeed be surprised since they would have to wait a whole week to face the boss monster that spawned once a week.

It wasn't that the Tamra raid party would suffer irreversible losses from this, but they were definitely going to be annoyed as someone had come into their territory and stolen their trophy.

Of course, this was Han-Yeol's petty way of getting back at Kim Tae-San.

‘I'll deal with that guy later, but now is not the time,’ Han-Yeol thought to himself.

He wasn't diligent enough to plan revenge against someone and go through all that trouble.

[…And that is how you have successfully awakened once again.]

‘Hmm… So, in summary… Nothing really changed aside from the slight improvements and division of my status screen and skill screen?’

[Yes, that is correct. You are quite quick to pick up, Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Hey, you're the strange one for explaining something so simple for two hours, you know?’

[…Really?]

‘Yes.’

[…]

Karvis was left speechless. She tried to come up with a retort, but Han-Yeol's logic was flawless. She knew that attempting to justify herself would only make her seem desperate, so she chose to remain silent.

This marked a significant change in Karvis.

"…"

Han-Yeol sat atop one of the peaks with a vantage point of the entire mountain.

‘It's not that big of a change then. I thought I was going to become visibly stronger, but all it did was rearrange my status and skill screen…’

Han-Yeol decided to open his status screen and take a look at its improvements.

[Personal Details]

Name: Lee Han-Yeol

Level: 300

Title: First Second Awakened

Age: 29

Attribute: Growth-Type (Fire, Ice, Light)

[Stats]

STR: 431+43

VITL: 411+41

AGI: 420+42

MAG: 340+431

LCK: 20+2

Invoke: 600+60

Charisma: 275+25

Remaining Bonus Stat Points: 5

[Attribute]

Fire Attribute: 48%

Ice Attribute: 11%

Light Attribute: 0.8%

[Title Effects]

First Second Awakened: All stats +10%

‘Wow… This is really neat and tidy.’

[Yes.]

Han-Yeol didn't really care about the changes to the layout, but he was genuinely pleased that it had separated the status screen from the skill screen. The numerous skills listed on his status screen had been quite an eyesore all this time, but he hadn't complained, thinking there was nothing he could do about it.

‘Yeah, this is much better,’ Han-Yeol thought, expressing his satisfaction with his second awakening due to this single change.

He didn't frequently check his skill screen, so it wasn't that important to him in the first place.

Beyond the aesthetics, Han-Yeol was thrilled that the title he received for being the first human to awaken again granted him a massive ten percent boost to all stats. As expected, Han-Yeol knew that being the first in everything was the best.

"Heave-ho!" Han-Yeol stood up.

Mavros approached him and asked, "Kiek?"

It seemed Mavros was inquiring if they were finished.

Seuk… Seuk…

Han-Yeol found it quite therapeutic to pat Mavros' head, and Mavros seemed to share the sentiment.

"Yeah, we're done, so we can go home now."

"Kiek!"

However, Han-Yeol had no intention of simply heading home like this.

“Balrog! Void Devil! Arch Lich!”

[Bwahahaha! Time to fight!]

[Everything is…]

[…Meaningless…]

[Bwahahaha!]

[Fwoo…]

All of the demons appeared at Han-Yeol's summons, and a powerful surge of mana spread throughout the mountain as they materialized together at once.

"Alright, it's time for you to hunt to your heart's content."

[Bwahahaha! I don’t mind fighting until my body breaks down!]

[Everything is…]

[A hunt? That would be extremely helpful to my research.]

[Fwoo!]

Each of them had different responses, but they all appeared eager to engage in battle.

Han-Yeol initially had a hard time adjusting to this rowdy crowd, but he gradually got used to them over time.

"Don't leave a single monster behind; wipe them all out."

[BWAHAHAHA! NOW WE’RE TALKING!]

1. The circle thing protruding near your ankle. ????