Leveling Up Alone

Boom! Tap!

Han-Yeol kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, spreading his Wings of Light.

[Oh wow, since you can’t fight on the ground, you're going to try to fight in the air?]

“...”

[Kahaha, I see. Try every trick in the book, then you’ll be so enraged at your own weakness that your teeth will clatter.]

“Let’s see who loses!”

Shaaa!

Han-Yeol spread his Wings of Light, and this time, he charged at Harkan first.

‘Victory is mine!’

Clank!

Their swords and nails intertwined and clashed. The fierce fight continued without compromise. Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and held his ground in a head-to-head clash with Harkan.

‘A simple head-to-head fight isn’t my specialty!’

Eeeehh!

“...”

Boom!

Han-Yeol used a combination skill made from Explosion and Purifying Light from his Shoulder Cannons. A powerful blast shot out at Harkan.

‘It worked?’

[N-No, it didn’t!]

Swoosh! Pak!

“Ahh!”

Despite a direct hit from the combination skill, Harkan didn’t flinch at all. The smoke had barely cleared when Harkan immediately reached out and grabbed Han-Yeol by the collar.

Whoosh! Thud!

“Argh!”

Just like that, Harkan picked Han-Yeol up and threw him to the ground. Harkan then descended incredibly fast, as if he was diving, and struck Han-Yeol again, this time with more force.

“Cough! Cough!”

Han-Yeol coughed painfully as he was pinned to the ground. A trickle of blood also leaked out of his mouth.

“Krrrr.”

[Han-Yeol-nim, are you alright?!]

‘Ugh, I’m fine, except every bone in my body is screaming at me.’

His whole body was screaming in pain, but Han-Yeol barely managed to pull himself up. Even though the Contaminated Harkan was completely overpowering him, his pain endurance was incredible.

No one else could’ve survived such a blow from Harkan. Up until now, Han-Yeol hadn’t been defeated, so it wasn’t noticeable, but Han-Yeol’s endurance stood out even more since Harkan was stronger than him.

[Tsk, I feel sorry for you at this point. I’ll send you off soon.]

Shhh! Tap!

Harkan approached Han-Yeol and tried to finish him off.

“How dare you!”

[Huh!]

“Krrk?”

Boom!

Just then, two beings with powerful auras swung their respective weapons at Harkan. It was a well-planned ambush, but Harkan managed to dodge both attacks by slightly turning.

“Wow, that was fast.”

[It sure was.]

It was none other than Tia and Tayarana. They had been dealing with quite a few Oblivion Knights, but they managed to take them all out while Han-Yeol was dealing with Harkan.

“Master, are you okay?”

[Han-Yeol, are you okay?]

The two of them supported him from either side.

“Cough! Ah, I’m okay. This is nothing.”

Ding! Shhh!

Han-Yeol’s recovery skill healed all of his wounds. Han-Yeol could never die unless his mana was reduced to zero or if his life was cut short.

[Hmm, you're making things quite troublesome.]

Even with two powerful beings joining the battle, Char’s emotions didn’t change at all. With Harkan by his side, he merely thought of the two as nuisances, nothing more and nothing less.

“Master, that guy’s really strong.”

“Ugh, I know. There’s no way I can beat him one on one.”

“Hmmm, so unless something drastically changes, you won’t be able to beat him, right?”

“Well, I-I guess?”

Han-Yeol didn’t know Tia’s exact intentions, so he answered roughly.

Tia’s expression became complicated and serious despite Han-Yeol’s rough answer. However, Han-Yeol was completely focused on the Contaminated Harkan, oblivious to Tia's situation.

[Han-Yeol, what are you going to do now?] Tayarana asked.

She could also gauge Harkan’s strength by seeing Han-Yeol fight with him even if it was only for a moment. An opponent of that caliber clearly could not be defeated through determination alone.

Like Tia said, it was time for a drastic change, or an all-out attack by the three of them. If they didn’t work together, they wouldn’t leave a single scratch on that frighteningly powerful Contaminated Harkan.

“Unfortunately, there’s no obvious way to defeat him right now.”

“Hmm.”

[...]

“But then again, a plan will come to mind once we start fighting, so we’ll just have to work together since a one-on-one fight is impossible. This is all we can do for now.”

[Okay.]

“If that’s what you want, Master, sure.”

Tayarana and Tia nodded in agreement with Han-Yeol.

Even though Han-Yeol lifted their spirits, he didn’t look too confident. The more he fought Harkan, the more he realized how strong the Contaminated Harkan was, let alone figure out how to defeat it.

‘Damn it, damn it!’

Boom!

Han-Yeol, Tayarana, and Tia worked together to face Harkan. However, despite the combined strength of Earth’s three most powerful Transcendent Master Rank Hunters, Harkan overpowered the three of them with direct support from Char.

Harkan punched Tayarana’s stomach.

Whoosh! Pow!

[Argh!]

“Tara!”

Luckily, Han-Yeol threw himself at her and caught her so that she wasn’t pushed too far back.

‘This is crazy. How can three people fight against him and still not win?’

Each individual was strong, and they were acknowledged for their strength no matter where they went. Yet, they couldn't defeat a single contaminant, so Han-Yeol naturally felt frustrated.

‘I know he’s strong, but isn’t he a little too strong?’

Han-Yeol even tried to deny the truth, but that didn’t change anything. He had to defeat Harkan somehow, but he really couldn’t think of a way.

[Khaha, is that all you’ve got? It’s starting to get boring. Just die now.]

Gwoooh!

‘Huh?’

Char began to gather the contamination attribute.

In truth, Char’s mana had been spread out, not only in supporting Harkan, but also the field trap that had swamped Light Faction warriors. Thus, he hadn’t been able to actively participate in the battle until now.

However, Char got bored as Han-Yeol and his group began to waste time.

[I will sacrifice your lives in order for the Dragon of Destruction to descend, so give up your lives as you’re told. Invisible Curse of Abyss!]

Shaaaaa!

Three groups of black smoke that looked like evil spirits shot out from Char’s hand and headed straight for Han-Yeol and his group.

“What the hell is that?”

The skill had an ominous aura and was a concentrated manifestation of the contamination attribute. It exuded an aura that made it feel like it should never be touched.

As if the odds weren’t bad enough, Char’s active contribution to the battle made them even worse.

“Master, what do we do?”

“Crap!”

Boom!

The Contaminated Harkan didn’t care about the contaminated smoke that Char released since it didn’t matter if it touched Harkan anyway. Instead, Harkan unleashed a powerful attack solely focused on killing Han-Yeol’s group.

Shaaa!

“Ahh! Run!”

[Okay!]

“O-Okay, Master!” Tia stuttered.

It was unlike her to panic.

“Tia, get a grip!”

“O-Okay, Master.”

Tia barely regained her composure after Han-Yeol’s scolding.

Tap!

The three of them almost simultaneously jumped in order to dodge the contaminated evil spirits.

[Khahaha. You fell right for it.]

‘Huh?’

For a moment, Han-Yeol didn’t understand what Char meant.

“Huh!”

The Contaminated Harkan had been waiting for this. With Char’s pre-set orders, Harkan blocked Han-Yeol’s path as he tried to flee from the contaminated evil spirit.

Krrr!

Han-Yeol could feel a massive amount of contaminated mana forming in Harkan’s hands.

‘N-No!’

Han-Yeol was completely defenseless as he had thrown himself out of the way. He could use his Shoulder Cannons, but Harkan’s movements were faster than Han-Yeol’s ability to aim, so there was no point.

Han-Yeo’s life flashed before his eyes.

‘Ah, is this the end? I really wanted to free the Bastro Dimension this time, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.’

If he died now, he would feel a little ashamed, but he didn’t have any regrets.

He had been born as an ordinary Korean, but instead of living a boring life, every day was a series of pleasures, and he had even gained wealth he never thought was possible. He had acquired wealth and honor that not everyone could experience, so his life had definitely been a good one.

‘Oh, but it’s a shame that I never got to date Tayarana…’

Right as Han-Yeol had his final thought, Harkan swung his sharp nails.

Han-Yeol had plenty of thoughts, but his advanced mind enabled him to think in less than a fraction of a second.

“Master!”

‘Huh?’

Pak!

“Aghh!”

Something dashed toward Han-Yeol, pushed him, and took his place.

‘H-Huh?’

Han-Yeol clearly saw Tia face the attack from Harkan on his behalf.

‘N-No!’

Han-Yeol screamed on the inside, but…

Stab!

It was too late. Harkan’s hand had already pierced through Tia’s chest.

“Krr.”

Shhhh!

She instantly died.

Tia’s gaze was on Han-Yeol, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned. It was the same lewd smile she usually showed him, except this time, her smile lacked vitality and had a touch of bitterness to it.

‘Huh?’

For a moment, Han-Yeol suddenly lost his sense of reality. He couldn’t believe the sight before him.

Tia fell toward the ground.

Han-Yeol speedily launched himself at Tia as she fell helplessly. There was no way he would not catch her, as she was simply falling due to gravity.

Han-Yeol caught Tia’s body as if he was carrying a princess. Then, he called her name.

“Tia?”

“...”

There was no answer.

“Ti…a?”

He tried calling her name one more time, but there was still no answer.

“...”

He could no longer hear the endearing voice that always carried a charming laugh and was always thinking of ways to tease him.