Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 332 – Yulia’s Betrayal (5)

“Hmm… What’s wrong, master?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Hahaha!”

“Hmm…”

“Hahaha…” Han-Yeol simply laughed when Tia looked at him with suspicion.

“Well, I guess you are if you say so, master.”

Tia quickly lost interest in Han-Yeol as the Bastro Dimension intrigued her more at the moment.

‘Phew… That was close! It’s really difficult for me to resist Tia’s physical attacks…’ Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief when Tia did not question him further.

Tia would employ one hundred percent of her charm whenever she teased Han-Yeol, and she was extremely skilled at it thanks to her ability—Charm. Whenever he refused to divulge something, she'd utilize her skill on him, and the combination of her skill and her naked body rubbing against him was quite powerful.

However, Han-Yeol's resistance to her charms didn't mean he was impervious. He had already proven himself in a steamy encounter with Scarlett, but his issue with Tia was her non-human nature.

Tia’s charms differed slightly from Tayarana's, yet she was equally charming despite having a spider's lower body.

But the thought of engaging in sexual intercourse with her? That seemed like something only found in adult Japanese manga.

“Hmm?” Tia muttered as she looked at her body and tilted her head.

“What’s wrong, Tia?”

“Hmm… There’s something strange about my body right now.”

“Kyuu…”

“You too, Mavros?”

Mavros nodded in response to Han-Yeol’s question.

Han-Yeol could see that Mavros’ eyes were a bit unfocused, as if he were about to faint.

‘Don’t tell me…?!’

He immediately recognized what was happening, having experienced and witnessed it before. However, the issue was that it was occurring much faster than it should.

‘But why is it already happening?’

It had only been five minutes since they arrived, yet both Tia and Mavros were already displaying signs of their second awakening.

It's worth noting that the more someone suffered prior to their second awakening, the greater their potential. For instance, those who showed no signs during awakening would only experience a gradual increase in strength—limited to that extent of their awakening.

“Haa… Haa… M-Master… I can’t breathe…”

“Kyu… Kyu…”

Only five minutes had passed since they first arrived at the Bastro Dimension, yet both Mavros and Tia were already in a dire state, burning up with fever.

This sparked a sudden question in Han-Yeol’s mind. ‘I thought monsters weren’t affected by dimensions. Why are these two reacting as soon as they got here?’

Normally, it was humans who felt the effects, while monsters remained unaffected. There had been a case of a monster achieving its second awakening on Earth.

‘Furion managed to awaken almost instantly that time, right?’

Mujahid had become a Master Rank Hunter thanks to Furion's sudden second awakening. Additionally, Mariam’s pet monster, Pipi, had shown no signs of awakening the last time she was there.

‘What in the world is happening…’ Han-Yeol sensed another migraine coming on but chose to remain optimistic. ‘Ugh… Still, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, so it should be fine…’

Although caught off guard by their sudden second awakening, he realized it wasn't something worth getting worked up about. Now, all he needed to do was patiently wait for them to complete their awakening process.

“Kyu…”

Flap…! Flap…!

“Haa… Haa…”

Han-Yeol helped Mavros and Tia lie down on the ground, similar to how he had assisted Tayarana and Mariam previously. This time, he channeled his mana alone. It was decidedly more challenging than when he did it with others, but not impossible for him to manage solo.

His task was to cast a mana barrier over them, stabilizing their mana. Whether alone or with three others, as long as he could control his mana effectively, it didn't matter.

Woooong…

Their second awakening finally concluded, and three minutes later, both of them opened their eyes. Their initial action was to check their bodies, and they continued this examination without uttering a word.

“Hmm… Nothing seems to have changed,” Tia said.

“Kyu…”

Neither of them seemed impressed by their second awakening.

“Huh?” Han-Yeol was flustered by their reaction.

‘Are they seriously disregarding their second awakening?’

Both of them had suffered quite a serious fever that only those possessing great talent and potential would experience, and that was more than enough proof that they were going to be much stronger than before. But they were disregarding it as if it was nothing?

“Hmm…” Han-Yeol pondered for a while before a theory popped up in his head.

‘Hold on. Is it because Tia and Mavros are monsters?’

It was a plausible theory now that he thought about it.

“Hmm… It seems I did become a bit stronger…” Tia grumbled.

“Hey! That’s more than enough! What else do you want?!” Han-Yeol retorted.

“Hmm? Really?”

“Ugh…”

Merely experiencing a second awakening didn't guarantee exponential strength for a creature. This awakening merely unlocked some of their potential, offering a slight boost in strength. The extent of their newfound strength relied entirely on the intensity of their training.

‘Oh right!’ Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly.

There was something important he had been forgetting this entire time as he considered Mavros and Tia as his comrades.

‘Status! Mavros!’

[Mavros (Mini Black Dragon)]

Level: 203

Traits: Darkness, Poison

Innate Ability: Dragon Breath, Mode Change

Stats:

STR: 620

AGI: 910

VIT: 1,042

Flying: 1,431

Flight Speed: 1,231

Skills: Magic (M), Dragon Buff (M), Dragon Fear (M), High-Speed Movement (A), Gluttony (C), Mode Change I (C), Mode Change II (F)]

‘Huh?’ Han-Yeol noticed a new skill in Mavros’ status. ‘Mode Change II?’

He immediately checked the details of the new skill.

[Mode Change II]

Type: Active

Description: A mini dragon had only one form to shift into. However, this mini dragon had been influenced by its owner’s immense talent and mana, allowing it to obtain a very special power. Legend had it that there was a minuscule chance for a mini dragon to evolve into a fully-fledged dragon, and this skill could be considered the entry-level requirement for fulfilling the legend.

‘W-What?!’ Han-Yeol was shocked by the details of Mode Change II.

He already expected Mavros to have his second awakening, but he never imagined in his wildest dreams that Mavros could potentially evolve into a dragon.

‘N-No way… This means Mavros can turn into a dragon in his third or fourth awakening. This is awesome! This is a jackpot!’

It was understood that achieving a third awakening was no simple task. Earth needed to enter the third dimension for that possibility, yet there were no specific details available about this dimension.

While it might seem evident that Earth lacked such information, the same was true for the Bastro Dimension. However, this didn't imply the absence of information about the third dimension altogether. The Bastro Dimension engaged in frequent trade with the Mermans from another second dimension, and Han-Yeol had heard something about the third dimension during one of these exchanges.

‘They mentioned it would take at least a thousand years before a second dimension could transition into the third dimension…’

The Merfolk's world had shifted into the second dimension centuries earlier than the Bastro Dimension, granting them some knowledge about the third dimension.

‘Tsk… I suppose I should be content with their second awakening…’

Han-Yeol had hoped to witness Mavros evolve into a dragon, but while a Hunter's lifespan exceeded that of an average human, it usually capped around two hundred years. Witnessing Earth's transition to the third dimension, estimated to take at least one thousand or even a few thousand years, was an impossible feat for Han-Yeol. It seemed the honor of witnessing Earth's transition was a task reserved for his descendants.

However, Mavros, being a monster, had the potential for his third awakening even before Earth's transition. Yet, Han-Yeol couldn't recall a single monster in the Bastro Dimension achieving their third awakening, evidence that this feat was nearly impossible.

Regardless, the undeniable truth remained—Mavros was truly remarkable.

“That’s so awesome, Mavros!”

“Kyu!” Mavros placed both front paws on his waist and struck a pose after Han-Yeol praised him, though he had no idea what he was being praised for.

Nonetheless, it didn't matter; he looked incredibly adorable at that moment.

“Haha! You’re so cute, Mavros!”

“Kyu! Kyu!”

Flap! Flap! Flap! Flap!

Mavros happily flapped his wings and soared around after receiving praise from Han-Yeol.

They said praises could make a whale dance, but in this case, it was making a dragon dance! Technically, Mavros was a mini dragon, not yet a fully-fledged one.

“Hahaha! You’re really cute, Mavros!”

Han-Yeol had a good laugh while watching Mavros dance.

“Hahaha!”

Han-Yeol wasn't usually interested in watching others dance, but he didn't mind observing Mavros's adorable moves.

It was during this engrossing spectacle that he felt something soft pressing against his back.

Boink!

‘Hmm?’

Boink! Boink!

‘Hiiik!’

It took him three seconds to realize the identity of the soft, bouncy thing on his back.

‘B-B-Boobs?!’

It was none other than Han-Yeol’s sole natural predator, the being cursed by the gods: Tia, the Arachnid.

She couldn't help but feel intense jealousy when Han-Yeol only focused on Mavros, despite both of them awakening at the same time.

“Master~ I awakened too, you know? Why won’t you look at me?”

“T-That is…”

Seuk… Seuk… Boink!

Tia mercilessly pressed her chest against Han-Yeol’s back.

“Hiiik!”

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sound of a bell rang in Han-Yeol’s head, and a huge KO sign flashed above him.

“S-Sorry…”

“Hoho~ You should check my status too, master,” Tia said with a seductive smile.

“A-Alright…”

‘S-Status… Tia…’

Han-Yeol called up Tia’s status screen, shuddering from the traumatic moment he had just experienced.

[Tia (Arachnid)]

Level: 212

Traits: Darkness, Poison, Charm

Innate Ability: Spider Web, Seductive Pheromone

Stats:

STR: 1,000

AGI: 1,000

VIT: 1,000

EP: 1,000

Charm: 1,000

Skills: Restrain (M), Spider Bomb (M), Scarecrow of Death (M), Poison Web (M), Killing Strike (M), Web Field (D), Gigantify (F)

“Whaaaaat?!”

Han-Yeol might have hatched Tia from the monster egg quite a while back, but this was only his second time opening her status screen. The first time had been a surprise; she emerged as Level 55 right after hatching from the egg. At that time, Mavros was around Level 100, which made sense given his earlier birth. However, Tia had since surpassed Mavros’ level.

‘H-How in the world…?’ Han-Yeol could not understand what was going on.

‘I didn’t go hunting with her often, so how did she…?’

He was aware from Albert’s reports that Tia rarely stayed in her room, assuming she was probably roaming around out of curiosity. However, that wasn't the case.

‘Don’t tell me… Did she go hunting alone?’

Han-Yeol was absolutely speechless, yet suddenly curious about something. ‘But it doesn’t make sense, even if she hunted alone… How could she surpass Mavros’ level when he usually hunts with me all the time?’

In the end, all Han-Yeol could do was groan at the endless questions popping up in his head.

“Ugh…”

“Hoho~ What are you thinking of, master?” Tia asked with a mischievous look.

“Nothing… Haha… I see that you've worked hard on your growth. It’s quite amazing how much you've grown even though I didn't look after you that much,” he replied while awkwardly scratching the back of his head.