Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 318 – Betrayal and Division (2)

Master Hee-Yun arrived at the back garden after a rather lengthy walk.

‘There he is!’

Her frustration finally subsided upon spotting Han-Yeol in the distance. However, an unusual atmosphere pervaded the garden.

“Grrr…!”

She had come to inquire of Han-Yeol regarding the wolves that had emerged from the dimensional gate. Two of these creatures were present in the garden with him, growling at each other while he observed from the rear.

‘Hey, hold on! That’s a tiger!’

Her shock was palpable at discovering one of the creatures was not a wolf. The provided information had mentioned only wolves, so why had a tiger suddenly appeared?

‘W-What’s going on?’ Master Hee-Yun was exceedingly perplexed.

The beasts in sight were Kandir and Taichin, who, having not seen each other in a long time, had opted for a duel.

Rawr!

[Hoho! Your skills are as sharp as ever! You’re just as aggressive and straightforward as before.]

Heh.

[Seems like you've gotten rusty, wench. Been hiding, have you?] Kandir retorted with a laugh, despite being the loser in the duel.

His defeat wasn't surprising considering Taichin's strength, once a rival to Harkan, and likely on par with Riru now. Taichin had the power to turn the infamous Kandir into a submissive fighter.

However, what surprised observers was Taichin's response to Kandir's taunts—she smiled without taking offense.

[It’s good to see your mouth is still lively too.]

Kandir's insults didn't matter; he was visibly the duel's loser, which explained Taichin's indifference to his taunts.

[Omo! We have a visitor~ I suppose this ends our duel. We could call it a draw if you’d like, what do you think?]

[Ha! I’m a proud warrior of the Werewolf Race! I won't demean myself by calling a defeat a draw!]

[I see~ Hoho!]

With contained anger, Kandir departed the garden, passing Master Hee-Yun on his way out, who had just arrived from the direction of Kandir’s lodging.

‘W-What?!’

Master Hee-Yun panicked upon seeing the wolf with immeasurable mana walking toward her. However, Kandir paid her no mind at all.

[What do you want, kid? Ha!]

“…”

He snorted at Master Hee-Yun before striding away, uninterested in those he deemed weak.

Meanwhile, Sahas and Ayman paid their respects to Kandir, who returned the gesture with a slight bow. Despite their language barrier, their instincts as warriors facilitated mutual acknowledgment.

‘What in the world is this place…?’ Master Hee-Yun was stunned by the spectacle before her.

The wolf was one thing, but even the tiger and the pink-furred wolf farther away possessed immeasurable mana. She observed that the entire mansion now pulsed with the mana of powerful individuals, for reasons unknown.

‘Mom… Can you come pick me up? I’m scared…’

Master Hee-Yun, a Berserker who typically roamed hunting grounds, eliminating everything in her path, felt fear for the first time since awakening as a Hunter.

“Please, right this way.”

“Han-Yeol-nim is waiting for you.”

“Ah… S-Sure…”

Regrettably, her body didn’t respond as she intended.

‘Phew… Pull yourself together, Hee-Yun! You can prevail, or at least survive, even against boss monsters as long as you keep your composure!’ She sighed before firming her resolve.

Master Hee-Yun regained her composure and approached Han-Yeol.

Shrugging, Sahas and Ayman shook their heads once more before heading toward Han-Yeol. Upon reaching him, they immediately showed their respects.

"Thank you. You may go now."

"Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!"

Sahas and Ayman offered their greetings and departed.

Han-Yeol took the initiative, smiling as he extended his hand. "Hello."

“Ah… H-Hewu!” Master Hee-Yun struggled to articulate her words, feeling overwhelmed by the situation.

“Huh?”

“Ah… H-Hell… Hello…”

‘Ahh…! This is so embarrassing…!’ she thought, her cheeks flushing bright red as she shook his hand.

Meanwhile, Han-Yeol couldn't help but find her quite amusing. ‘She looks quite different from the last time I saw her.’

"But why did you suddenly want to meet me?"

“Ah, t-that is…”

Master Hee-Yun had already prepared everything she wanted to discuss, so there were numerous things on her mind. However, she was struggling to articulate her thoughts at the moment.

Why?

Because her initial plan was to be assertive right from the start. Unfortunately, after experiencing the eerie atmosphere of the mansion, she couldn't bring herself to be confrontational. She realized the folly of provoking someone stronger than her. Hence, she was finding it challenging to express herself, needing to devise another approach to convey her messages.

“…?”

Meanwhile, Han-Yeol found it peculiar that Master Hee-Yun seemed to be stumbling over her words.

“Excuse me…”

Just as Master Hee-Yun finally formulated what she wanted to say in her mind, she was abruptly interrupted.

Whoosh!

“…!”

She sensed an immense amount of mana approaching from the sky, prompting her instinctively to gaze upward.

Bam!

However, she was a split second late, the entity carrying the mana already touching down on the ground with one knee planted firmly.

Chwak…

The visor on the helmet opened, revealing what could arguably be considered the most beautiful face in the world.

Tayarana had just returned from a hunt to practice controlling her newfound powers, which proved challenging to manage. This marked Master Hee-Yun’s first in-person encounter with Tayarana.

‘Wow… She’s so beautiful…!’

Most women might feel a pang of jealousy toward a stunning individual, but that sentiment had its limits. Tayarana's beauty far surpassed the ordinary; it could be argued that her allure was otherworldly. She was beyond the scope of normal envy. Gazing into her emerald-colored eyes for merely thirty seconds could elicit feelings of admiration or love from anyone, regardless of gender.

‘H-Hold on… Was this Egyptian Princess this strong…?’

Master Hee-Yun was certain Tayarana was a new Master Rank Hunter, despite rumors suggesting otherwise. However, assessing Tayarana’s total mana proved challenging at the moment.

“Welcome back, Tara.”

“Thanks, Han-Yeol, but who’s this lady?”

“Ah, a guest,” Han-Yeol replied.

Tayarana gazed at Master Hee-Yun's face after Han-Yeol introduced her as a guest.

Master Hee-Yun felt a tug at her heartstrings as Tayarana continued to stare intently at her.

‘W-Why is she looking at me so intensely…? Ah… coming here was a mistake…’ she thought, teetering on the edge of tears.

Usually, she wandered without companions, aware that only other Master Rank Hunters posed a credible threat, despite her Knight raid party comprising powerful individuals willing to aid her.

However, she couldn't shake the regret of her arrogance today. Bringing along a few Hunters wouldn't change much, but it would provide some assurance that she wasn't alone.

“Tara,” Han-Yeol intervened, stopping Tayarana from staring too intently at Master Hee-Yun.

“Hmph!” Tayarana scoffed and moved to stand beside him.

‘Phew…’

It was at that moment Master Hee-Yun could finally exhale a sigh of relief.

“Alright, now that we’ve covered most of the greetings…” Han-Yeol attempted to speak to her, but...

‘Sigh…’ he ended up sighing.

[Kyahahaha!]

[Fight! Drive the enemy back!]

[Receive my attack, you evildoers!]

The commotion of Bastroling children dashing around and engaging in playful activities on the mansion grounds interrupted him.

The canine and feline children seemed deeply engrossed in their improvised war games. It was evident that the children took on the roles of valiant warriors, while the ant soldiers brought by Mariam were cast as the antagonistic evildoers.

‘Hey! Let me speak!’ Han-Yeol could only scream inwardly out of frustration.

[Kyahahaha!]

[Beat the evildoers!]

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The children, regardless of being canines or felines, ran around and played together, contrasting with the struggles of the adult counterparts who found it difficult to reconcile their differences.

The adult canines and felines faced challenges in getting along due to their contentious history. However, this didn’t hinder the children; they were delighted to have friends to play with, setting aside the past animosity.

During the war, many Bastroling children lost their lives, and the constant need to flee left them with few chances to forge friendships or engage in play. But the current situation was different.

Surrounded by friends and energized by Han-Yeol's continuous supply of meat, the children thrived. Moreover, they resumed their training, which had halted during the war. The Bastro Warriors, previously preoccupied with finding food or scouting threats during their flight, could now focus on training their young in this safe haven.

The canines revered Han-Yeol, believing him to be the reincarnation of Harkan. Even the felines started paying him respect after acknowledging him as their savior.

The canines held a sense of pride and superiority, convinced that the reincarnation of their lord, Harkan, had compelled the felines into obedience. Meanwhile, the felines were baffled by the canines' arrogance, not comprehending their behavior.

Anyway…

“Ah, I apologize for the commotion. The mansion has become quite lively in recent days.”

“Hahaha… It… It’s alright…”

Han-Yeol maintained courtesy despite Master Hee-Yun's obvious distress. Her subordinates would be shocked to see her showing deference to him in this manner.

However, even if her subordinates were present, there was little they could do. Master Hee-Yun recognized the need to hold her tongue, given the prevailing atmosphere in the mansion.

“So, what brought you to my mansion, Master Hee-Yun?” Han-Yeol finally steered the conversation to the main topic.

“Ah, t-that is…”

“…?”

Master Hee-Yun began to hesitate, puzzling Han-Yeol.

‘Ah… I’m just here because I was asked to… It should be fine…’

In the end, she convinced herself that she was merely the messenger and mustered the confidence to speak up.

“Both the government and the association want to know HY Group’s stance on the recent dimensional gate incident.”

“My stance?”

“Yes, our people are currently anxious since the dimensional gate appeared in Gwanghwamun Square. Also, videos of you embracing the werewolves have surfaced online, sparking speculation that you've allied with monsters in a bid to conquer the world.”

Han-Yeol had assumed nobody witnessed his interaction with the Bastrolings, but a broadcast camera captured the exchange purely by chance. However, this information hadn't been made public earlier because the government withheld it until they deemed it most advantageous.

“…”

Speechless and incredulous, Han-Yeol had been occupied since returning from the Bastro Dimension, neglecting to check online happenings amidst his busyness.

It appeared that the government and association were diligently at work, potentially attempting to redirect attention toward Han-Yeol's interaction with the monsters.

'They're probably attempting to divert attention by focusing on me embracing the monsters, to conceal the chaos caused by hiring Hunters to suppress the protesters…'

The current president was on the brink of becoming the second president in South Korea's history to face impeachment if the public learned about his employment of Hunters to quell the protesters.

While the police were fulfilling their duties by managing the protesters, employing Hunters against ordinary civilians was tantamount to an act of terror.

This drove the government's determination to provoke the Gwanghwamun Dimensional Gate Incident, aiming to divert public attention. However, what did their efforts yield?

The dimensional gate vanished without a trace, leaving only the wolves that Han-Yeol had brought to his mansion.