Leveling Up Alone

Pang!

Han-Yeol used Vibration Booster to quickly launch himself.

[B-Block him!]

Chrrr! Kwang!

[Aghhh!]

[Lord, t-the enemies are stronger than expected!]

Elkan clenched his jaw so tight that his teeth were about to break at his subordinate’s scream.

Things were not going as expected.

‘How can they be so strong when they just crossed over from a place that recently turned into a second dimension?’

Elkan knew that Earth was connected to the Bastro Dimension, but even for a dimension of the same level, the Bastro Dimension had been at the second level for quite some time now. He believed warriors from a dimension were just getting a taste of the second level would naturally be weaker.

The roe deer sorcerers, including Noras, were a nuisance. Nonetheless, the main source of power in the Bastro Dimension were warriors, not sorcerers.

‘But those Earthlings are the center of their power? Not Noras and his group?!’

Crush!

[Argh!]

Puuu!

Although the warriors were all outstanding second-ranked warriors, they were no match for Han-Yeol’s group.

Chrrr. Slap!

[Agh!]

Han-Yeol skillfully manipulated his two chains with both hands, hunting down the mighty warriors of the elephant race.

Kwang!

[Ahhh!]

‘N-No way!’

Although the elephant race was not the best rn the Light Faction, they were still more powerful than any other race in terms of individual combat power.

‘H-How are they attacking us so easily?’

Shaaa!

[Agh!]

Han-Yeol’s chain caught both hands of an elephant race warrior.

Shaaa!

Han-Yeol yanked hard, ripping the elephant warrior straight down the middle. The warrior couldn’t even scream as he died while spewing blood.

‘D-Damn it!’

Noras and the other roe deer sorcerers didn’t participate in the battle. They merely supported the battle from a distance and kept the elephants in check with offensive spells.

The sorcerers’ power was as expected, but the Earthlings were terrifying.

[L-Lord, you must run away!]

[D-Damn it!]

Thump! Chuck!

[Agh!]

Elkan regained his senses at his subordinate’s advice to run, so he turned and prepared to run away. Elkan then struck the subordinate following him with a powerful kick to the abdomen.

[Cough! Cough! L-Lord, just why…!]

The subordinate looked at Elkan with eyes filled with bewilderment and resentment.

[As a Bastro Warrior, become bait to keep your lord safe.]

[L-Lord!]

With that, Elkan left his subordinate on the battlefield and started running to save himself, but he didn’t get far.

Chuck!

[Huh!]

Beings were surrounding the elephant race’s lair.

Bubble, bubble!

They were none other than the Lava Golems that Han-Yeol summoned.

Nothing was there just a moment ago, but now they were blocking the entire area.

[Get out of my way!]

Thump, thump, thump!

Elkan thought he had to get out of there as soon as possible before those monsters caught him.

‘I don’t want to die!’

Whoosh!

He quickly lunged forward, grabbed his main weapon, two swords made of ivory from a four-legged elephant-like monster he had once defeated, and swung it forcefully.

Kwang!

Elkan was on the run, but he wasn’t so weak that the Lava Golems could stop him. He wasn’t a second-ranked warrior but a first-ranked warrior, the strongest rank in the Bastro Dimension. On top of that, he was a lord, so he was skilled as well.

[Get out of my way, you scum!]

Whoosh!

Every time Elkan swung his two ivory swords, more than ten Lava Golems were destroyed or turned into ordinary lava.

Despite his destructive power, anxiety filled Elkan’s face.

‘I don’t have time for this!’

He couldn’t help but feel anxious as he was wasting his energy when he should be focusing on running away instead. He wasn’t acting rationally, using too much mana on the golems, which were nothing more than insignificant obstacles.

Tap.

“Hmm, not bad.”

[Huh!]

Just as Elkan was about to use a skill and cut through them all at once, he felt something heavy on one of his ivory swords. The being who had slaughtered all his subordinates with two chains, displaying unrivaled strength surpassing all other Earthlings, stood on top of his ivory sword, looking down at him.

[J-Just who the hell are you? You’re not even from this dimension, but you’re proficient in the Bastro language, and your dimension just reached the second level. You’re making me, a first-rank warrior, tremble in fear!]

Elkan believed that running away was no longer an option. He had to find another way to survive somehow.

“Hmm, is there a reason you’re curious about that now, traitor?”

[H-How dare you call me a traitor! I’m being framed!]

“Framed?”

Han-Yeol found Elkan’s shamelessness funny. Not only was he a traitor, but the way his eyes were trembling while trying to find a way to survive was more like a typical human than a Bastroling.

[T-That’s right! I-I just wanted to make sure you guys were not a bunch of hyena subor…!]

Bam!

[Agh!]

There was a limit to how much crap Han-Yeol was willing to listen to.

Han-Yeol kicked Elkan in the chin for running his mouth.

Completely defenseless, Elkan spat out red blood after Han-Yeol kicked him hard, and a few teeth flew out as well.

Thud!

Elkan was three times larger than Han-Yeol, but he fell backward from Han-Yeol’s kick.

[Cough!]

Han-Yeol transformed his chain into a sword and brought it up to Elkan’s neck.

“Tell me the truth, and don’t even think about lying. If I sense that you’re lying, I’ll kill you painfully.”

[I-I’ll tell you everything, so please don’t kill me!]

“So tell me everything, and don’t leave out a single detail.”

[O-Okay.]

Elkan told Han-Yeol everything, from what had happened with the hyenas in the past up to the present.

It was a long story and it took Han-Yeol twenty minutes to listen to it all, even though Elkan didn’t go into detail. Of course, there was no such thing as a prophet in the first place. Elkan said that it was a lie he commonly told, highlighting a prophet's importance. Even those on bad terms with the elephant race would fall into the trap at the mere mention of a prophet.

“In other words, you wanted to survive, so you captured other races and sold them to the hyenas to prolong your life?”

[W-We had no choice. W-We have to survive somehow!]

“You had no choice?”

[T-That’s right. We’re not the ideal race that can run away. We’re big, and we consume a large amount of food each day. If we didn’t surrender to the hyenas and cooperate, we’d all be dead!]

“Hmm…”

‘That is true.’

The elephant race was a consumptive race, unsuited for survival.

“So, if you captured a Light Faction survivor here, where did you trade with the hyenas?”

[T-Thats…]

Gulp.

Elkan swallowed and his eyes trembled at Han-Yeol’s question.

‘I-If I tell him this, the hyenas will one hundred percent kill me.’

The elephant race was not under any sort of surveillance or anything. The hyenas believed the elephant race would never betray them because of the nature of their race. And even if they did, a race as slow as the elephants posed no threat.

Tap!

Han-Yeol held his sword right beneath Elkan’s chin and threatened him.

[O-Okay, I’ll tell you everything, so just don’t kill me…]

“I told you I’ll decide after.”

[Ugh!]

The situation itself was already humiliating, but it had been a long time since life and wealth had become more important to him than his honor as a warrior. Betrayal was the least he could do to survive.

[T-There is a large cave about two days away from here.]

‘A cave?’

Karvis chimed in.

[There’s one particular cave about two days away from here.]

‘Really?’

[Yes. It’s called the Cabos Labyrinth. Do you remember?]

‘Ah, I remember. That place left quite an impression since it had monsters similar to Tia, but wait, wasn’t that place really tricky?’

The Tia-like monsters Han-Yeol was referring to were labyrinth spiders, which were not half-spider and half-human like Tia. They only looked like spiders in appearance. The biological structure of labyrinth spiders was actually very different from that of actual spiders.

[Yes, that’s right. You barely managed to finish exploring that place after quite the struggle.]

‘The hyenas rule such a palace?’

[Hmm, no matter how tricky the place is, it wouldn’t be too difficult for a race as cunning and wicked as the hyenas, right?]

‘Hmm, I guess.’

Han-Yeol knew better than anyone else how wicked the hyenas were.

“So, you guys trade in the Cavos Labyrinth?”

[H-How did you know?! T-That’s right. We make our trades there.”

“Hmm, is that all?”

[W-What?]

“What you said about the hyenas, is that it?”

[T-That’s right. That’s all!]

“I see.”

Han-Yeol turned away from Elkan after hearing his answer.

“Oh, right.”

[?!]

Elkan flinched and shuddered at Han-Yeol’s short remark.

“You’re not being a hundred percent honest. Just die.”

[What kind of bastard are you!]

Whoosh! Tang!

Elkan had endured all sorts of humiliation to survive. Nevertheless, when he realized that Han-Yeol wouldn't keep his promise and that he had been mocked till the end, he couldn’t hold back his anger.

Elkan charged at Han-Yeol with his ivory sword from his kneeling position.

‘Now is my chance!’

Although Han-Yeol wasn’t completely defenseless, Elkan still had some confidence he’d survive even though he was exhausted from the intense battle with the golems.

‘I might be able to escape if I launch a surprise attack!’

Whoosh!

Elkan swung his sword with all the strength he could muster.

Gush!

[Agh!]

However, Han-Yeol merely stretched his arm backward with his back still facing Elkan, and pierced the center of his chest, making Elkan’s great effort comparatively embarrassing.

[A-Argh!]

Crack, gush! Thud!

Han-Yeol twisted his sword once to the left and right, then roughly pulled it out.

Elkan’s legs gave out and fell in vain.

[Cough, cough! H-How could I die like…]

Elkan had committed all sorts of evil and betrayals to survive, but he never thought he would die so futilely.

His eyes were filled with resentment.

“You’re bitter to the end. How shameless of you to betray your comrades who trusted you and sell them to the hyenas just to survive.”

[Cough!]

Elkan wanted to say more, but the pain and blood throbbing in his chest prevented him from speaking.

“No matter how often you offer beings to the hyenas, the Dragon of Destruction that they resurrected will wipe out all living things anyway. You’re a fool for trying to survive in the first place.”

[Ughh.]

Elkan breathed his last breath and glared at Han-Yeol until the end.