Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 256: A Complicated Truth (1)

"Hoho~ That was as clean as I had expected it to be."

"Wow..."

Not a single one of the Corrupted Hugbears was left standing after being on the receiving end of the Spider Bomb.

Tak...

Their bodies lay in pieces, with only their mana stones remaining on the ground.

"Hey, Tia."

"Yes, master?"

"Do you want the mana stone?"

"Omo~ Can I?"

Humans were unable to consume mana stones, as the mana within their bodies would go wild and eventually lead to an explosion. However, monsters were different; they could consume mana stones to grow stronger.

Of course, monsters did not inherently possess the instinct to kill other monsters solely for their mana stones. Still, there were rare cases of mutations occurring in monsters that gave them such an instinct until they grew strong enough to become the boss of their hunting grounds.

However, it was a different story for the monster pets that Han-Yeol had hatched. Their inherent instincts dictated that they follow their master's commands, allowing them to consume as many mana stones as they wished without conflicting with their natural monster instincts.

‘Well, not a lot of people can afford to feed endless amounts of mana stones,’ Han-Yeol thought.

A mana stone cost a fortune, and it was not something a person could use as their monster pet's food, no matter how wealthy they were.

"We have to leave the corpses and mana stones in this operation, so you can have them. However, you need to be quick to consume them," Han-Yeol said.

He could have used his skill to store them in his dimensional storage, but the skill took a long time for him to cast. He did not have the luxury of time to summon his dimensional storage every time they hunted a monster since time was of the essence in this operation.

"Hoho~ You don't have to do that, master~"

"Hmm?"

Chwak!

Tia swung her arm and shot out spider webs from her hand, weaving them into a basket. She then picked up all three mana stones from the ground and placed them in the basket she had woven.

"Oh? That's impressive."

"Hoho~ This is nothing, master~"

“I see.”

[Move out!]

[Yes, sir!]

The operation finally began with Han-Yeol in the lead, handling most of the combat. He possessed the highest mana recovery and could dispatch monsters the quickest within the party. Their mission was to combat the terrorists and later rescue the hostages, so it was essential for Hunters with swift mana recovery to lead in these engagements.

The party engaged with Han-Yeol, Mavros, and Tia taking the forefront, while Mujahid provided support whenever needed.

‘Mana Explosion!’

Shwiiik… Kaboom!

“Gwu Ooooh!”

Han-Yeol fired missiles from his shoulder cannons, infusing them with his skill, Mana Explosion. This was a skill he rarely used during hunts because it damaged the monster's corpse. However, this time, he went trigger-happy since he didn't have to worry about damaging the monster's corpse.

“Mana Absorption!”

Woooong!

Ding!

[Your MAG stat has increased by 1.]

Han-Yeol used Mana Absorption to extract mana from the mana stones that Tia couldn't consume while she was digesting.

This was another skill he didn't dare to use during regular hunts because he could either sell the mana stones or use them to cast Enhance. However, speed was of utmost importance in this hunting ground. He had to employ Mana Absorption to replenish his mana and use Enhance to swiftly eliminate the monsters.

[How much farther do we need to go?]

[We need to travel four kilometers south and then two kilometers southeast.]

[Alright, let's pick up the pace.]

[Yes, sir!]

There was no time for rest, as Tayarana was likely engaged in her own battle above ground, and the hostages were living in fear for their lives. The situation above ground differed vastly from the underground, where they hunted monsters as if it were just another day in a hunting ground. It was crucial for Han-Yeol to lead his way quickly through the monsters and reach their destination.

***

Bam!

“Gwu Ooooh!”

In this underground hunting ground, numerous monsters coexisted alongside the Corrupted Hugbear, and Han-Yeol was intimately acquainted with each one of them. All of these monsters had once served him as their master in the Bastro Dimension.

'How? Just how is this possible?'

The hunt proceeded smoothly as they grew accustomed to the monsters, but the same question continued to plague Han-Yeol's mind.

'Just how...?'

It was obvious that encountering the same creatures he had seen in the Bastro Dimension here on Earth would confuse him, as the dimensions were not supposed to be connected, as Yulia had stated.

It's important to note that Han-Yeol had come to realize something during his twenty years of living in the Bastro Dimension. The Transdimensional Space Association didn't grant Earth a thirty-year period out of goodwill. Rather, it seemed that a first-dimensional realm required thirty years to mature into the second dimension. To reach this second stage was crucial not only for trading with other dimensions but also for having denser mana within.

While living as Harkan in the Bastro Dimension, Han-Yeol had conducted trade with another dimension inhabited by the Mermen, a dimension primarily composed of water. In this trade, Harkan (or rather, Han-Yeol) had sold them treasures found on land, while the Mermen had traded treasures found in water.

'Haa... I guess there's only one way to find out,' Han-Yeol sighed.

He decided to prioritize the main task at hand, as rescuing the hostages and aiding Tayarana were more pressing concerns than unraveling this mystery.

[Let’s move quickly!]

[Yes, sir!]

“Alright! Hyung-nim!” Mujahid exclaimed upon noticing that Han-Yeol had shaken off whatever had been troubling him.

[Follow his lead!]

[Yes, sir!]

The Egyptian Hunters responded with great enthusiasm. This was their way of making it up to Han-Yeol, acting as 'cheerleaders' since he was the only one currently engaged in the fight.

'Heh... These punks...' Han-Yeol thought with a smile.

He found it rather peculiar that he didn't have many friends in South Korea, but he had found excellent comrades on the other side of the world, in Egypt.

***

Bam!

“Oink! Oink!” A Corrupted Wild Boar squealed in agony as its body began to corrode from Mavros' poison.

Chwak!

Tia shot out a web and snatched the mana stone the monster dropped. She commented, "Ah~ This luscious scent~ Nothing beats the taste of a mana stone~"

Munch! Munch! Munch! Munch!

A mana stone was neither a stone nor a mineral, but it was far tougher than either of them. However, it was nothing more than just another snack in front of Tia's incredibly strong jaws, cracking like a biscuit as soon as she bit down on it.

Munch...! Munch...!

Tia was enjoying the mana stones in the basket as if they were a bag of chips.

"Wow, your teeth are quite strong, Tia," Han-Yeol remarked.

Having strong teeth was a blessing for people, as toothache was one of the most dreadful experiences one could endure.

"Omo~ Do you want some, master?"

"NOPE!"

"Hoho~ Too bad~ These are really good, you know? Maybe master wants something else?" Tia teased as she playfully looked at Han-Yeol and seductively licked her lips.

Of course, Han-Yeol knew she wasn't being serious at the moment.

[Hyung-nim!]

[Hmm?]

[There is a stairway going up two hundred meters in front of us. If we take those stairs, we will emerge approximately fifty meters away from the city hall. Furthermore, the surface is a safe zone devoid of monsters, so it's highly unlikely for them to catch us.]

They finally reached their intended destination.

[Alright! Let’s hurry up!]

[Yes, sir!]

Han-Yeol, Mujahid, and the rest of the Hunters found themselves in the heart of the underground hunting ground dungeon, with waves of corrupted beast monsters advancing toward them. These included bears, wild boars, wolves, impalas, zebras, and more.

'These monsters are at best tier five beasts in the Bastro Dimension.'

In the Bastro Dimension, the beasts were categorized into tiers, with five being the weakest and one being the strongest. The canine beastmen, to which Harkan belonged, were in the second tier. Harkan, a tier two beast, had achieved the remarkable feat of defeating a tier one beast to become the lord of the dimension. This was a fact that the canine beasts could take pride in for generations to come. However, it had become nothing more than history as Harkan perished in the final battle, and they were subsequently downgraded to tier two beasts.

'I can safely deduce that the higher-tier beasts have not been corrupted, judging by the presence of only tier five beasts here. It's highly likely that this corruption was intentionally caused by someone who either brought these beasts here or shifted the entire dungeon to Earth.'

Then, Han-Yeol suddenly had another thought.

'Dimensional rifts...'

It was a peculiar phenomenon occurring worldwide, causing significant harm to humanity. The monsters emerging from dimensional rifts were far more formidable than those within the hunting grounds. Connecting the dots led him to a possible conclusion.

'It's possible that a dimensional rift opened here but was naturally contained since it appeared underground. However, judging by the presence of roads and infrastructure, perhaps it wasn't just the monsters but the entire area that got transported through the dimensional rift...'

Han-Yeol suspected that this underground hunting ground dungeon served as some sort of testing ground. He was confident in this theory, considering the many instances in which weak Bastrolings were abducted to be used as test subjects for various experiments.

The primary culprits behind these experiments were other tier two beasts known as hyenas and jackals. They were notorious troublemakers in the Bastro Dimension, and Han-Yeol had subjugated them through sheer force on numerous occasions. However, they always managed to survive and multiply like cockroaches.

'Haa... I should investigate this place once the whole situation is resolved.'

While there were many things he was curious about, he had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

“Kyaaaah!”

Chwak! Chwak!

“Oink…!”

Thud…!

A few monsters attempted to ambush Han-Yeol, but Tia preemptively ambushed them from atop a tree, preventing them from getting anywhere near him. Her attacks were both swift and precise, requiring just a single hit to dispatch the monsters.

She gracefully descended from the tree and skillfully opened the monster's stomach to retrieve its mana stone.

Whoosh! Tak!

"Hmm?"

The mana stone landed in front of Han-Yeol.

"You can have that, master."

"Oh, thanks."

Han-Yeol absorbed the mana from the mana stone, gaining a MAG stat boost from it.

While his mana recovery might have been higher than that of most Hunters, it didn't mean he could sustain his mana solely through natural recovery when using mana-intensive skills like Mana Explosion against hundreds of monsters. This was why he had to use Mana Absorption from time to time to replenish his mana and, in the process, increase his MAG stat.

Through this method, he managed to maintain his mana, still having more than sixty percent left after two hours of continuous monster slaying.

[This is the spot, Han-Yeol-nim.]

Chwak!

An Egyptian Hunter cleared the bushes and discovered a hole leading to the surface.

[Finally.]

[Hyung-nim?]

[Yeah, let's go.]

[Yes, sir!]

Once again, Han-Yeol led the way.

Ironically, it was pitch black as they ascended the stairs compared to when they had initially descended underground. They were now compelled to use the flashlights they had brought with them. Fighting while holding a flashlight was somewhat uncomfortable, but since they were not in combat at the moment, it didn't matter all that much.

Thud… Thud… Thud… Thud…

Only the sound of their footsteps could be heard.

[Do you think noonim is alright?] Mujahid broke the silence and asked.

Tayarana might ignore him most of the time, but he still liked her nevertheless. However, he considered her to be his rival. Of course, she didn't see him as a rival at all; in fact, it was more like she didn't care about him all that much in the first place.

Regardless, Mujahid had a personal fondness for his sister, which was why he was quite concerned about her. Despite her being a Ra Rank Hunter, it hadn't been that long since she reawakened as one. Additionally, fighting against a horde of powerful monsters all alone was certainly not going to be an easy feat.

[I'm sure she will be fine,] Han-Yeol replied, believing that if anyone could survive such a predicament, it would be her.