Leveling Up Alone

[Ah! Please forgive us for our insolence! We did not even realize that you were the prophesied Great Being!]

[Please forgive us!]

“Hey, I’m not–sigh…” Han-Yeol tried to reason with the sorcerers but instead let out a sigh and gave up.

The sorcerers flinched the moment Han-Yeol let out a sigh. They had always been careful around him and treated him with respect as the savior of their dimension, but that went up a notch once they were convinced he was the prophesied figure in the legend passed down in their race.

“Alright, why don’t you all get up first?” Han-Yeol said.

[Yes! Great One!]

The sorcerers looked at him with sparkling eyes.

‘Is that something greater than a Dimension Lord? Ah, they had the tendency to be on their guard whenever someone from another race becomes the Dimension Lord. They would only show respect when needed for formalities. I was the only exception since I led them through countless wars and victories and earned their respect.’

Achieving the title of the Dimension Lord was no easy feat, but that did not mean they would automatically gain the Bastrolings’ respect. Earning the respect of the Bastrolings was a very difficult thing, and even Harkan failed to get the respect of every single race in the Bastro Dimension.

“Why don’t you explain what you’re talking about in detail? Why are you suddenly calling me the Great One or Great Being?”

[Actually… We, the roe deer race, already knew the hyenas would be taking over the dimension through our prophecies.]

“Huh? Really?”

[Yes.]

The deer were under Han-Yeol–no, Harkan’s rule when he was the Dimension Lord, but they never once mentioned such a prophecy.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything when I visited your village then?” Han-Yeol asked.

Noras’ face flushed while the other deer sorcerers looked at the ground.

[I am ashamed to admit it, but we were too arrogant back then. We paid no heed to the warnings, as we believed we were far superior to them.]

“Ah, I know what you’re talking about,” Han-Yeol replied.

Noras nodded in response.

The Bastrolings had looked down on the hyenas back then, causing them to shrug off the prophecy of their imminent attack thinking they could easily beat them up. Thus, their arrogance had led to their current predicament.

[And the next prophecy was that a warrior blessed with the ability to rule over time and space will appear and bring peace to the world.]

“A warrior blessed with the ability to rule over time and space…”

[Yes, the ancient prophecy mentions time while the second prophecy mentions both time and space. Regardless, you are able to control both time and space.]

Noras was already aware of Han-Yeol’s ability to control space, as he had once been hurriedly summoned to Earth with it. He connected the dots and was convinced that Han-Yeol was indeed the one prophesied by their race.

“Well, I guess…?”

[You are the savior of our dimension!]

[You are the Great One!]

Thud!

“Hey! Quit it, will you?!”

Han-Yeol thought the sorcerers had finally calmed down, only for them to get down to the ground and worship him all over again, forcing him to swallow the curse right at the tip of his tongue.

***

After that, Noras and the sorcerers clung to Han-Yeol like gum, refusing to leave his side. They also offered to do every single thing for Han-Yeol as if they voluntarily wanted to become his slaves.

‘I said don’t do that!’ Han-Yeol screamed internally.

He repeatedly told Noras to tell the others not to be so burdensome, but the deer sorcerer simply apologized in response.

‘Haa… So annoying…’ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.

Han-Yeol’s party continued going around destroying the Freemason’s laboratories.

‘Karvis.’

[Yes?]

‘How many laboratories have we destroyed so far?’

[We have destroyed nine hundred ninety-nine.]

‘Ah, so they built exactly one thousand laboratories.’

[I believe that is the case.]

‘Ugh, it would have taken us at least three years to destroy all of these if it was not for the overpowered combination of Tayarana and me.’

[I agree. It will take one thousand days if one laboratory is destroyed per day, but every single laboratory we have encountered thus far has been heavily defended, so even a powerful Master-Rank Hunter would find it impossible to destroy one per day. Also, based on my calculations, a Master-Rank Hunter would not survive all of those traps. Even if they somehow manage to get past the traps and the monsters guarding the inner laboratory, they will die at the hands of Dr. Santinora.]

‘Yeah, I think so too.’

The laboratories were heavily defended, and they were probably stronger than most guilds because they had heavily fortified their defenses in advance.

The Hunters guarding the laboratories were not that strong. In fact, they would probably lose without putting up much fight if a Master-Rank Hunter attacked them. However, the monsters combined with weapons created with the Purple Stone’s energy were a completely different matter. Not only were these monsters strong, but they possessed high intelligence too, making them stronger than most monsters and a very tricky opponent.

Thus, the combination of the traps and the monsters guarding the laboratories made them almost as powerful as most major guilds out there.

[The monsters created from the one thousand laboratories would be formidable enough to make not only the South American countries suffer but even the United States too.]

‘I think so too. Those combined monsters were quite strong and one thousand laboratories churning them out is no joke.’

[Yes, but that is all in the past now. You have destroyed ninety-nine percent of the laboratories, and the Purple Stone must be located at the final one.]

‘No,’ Han-Yeol replied, shaking his head.

[Hmm?]

‘Things can get messed up sometimes, so never let your guard down.’

[What do you mean by that?]

‘They might have built one thousand laboratories, but there’s no guarantee all of them are the same. There’s a high chance the lab with the real Purple Stone is much more heavily fortified than all nine hundred ninety-nine laboratories combined.’

[Ah…]

‘Dr. Santinora is not an opponent you can underestimate. Don’t you find it weird that we only fought monsters with his consciousness in them and that they were too weak to do anything against me?’

[Yes, I did notice that.]

Karvis knew that they could not underestimate Dr. Santinora. He was the only person to escape from Han-Yeol’s clutches and survive.

‘He’s a strategist. We can say he might’ve not expected Tayarana to be this strong, but I’m sure he’s already prepared contingency plans for such variables.’

[Hmm…]

‘Then again, maybe we just caught him with his pants down this time? Perhaps he did not expect us to destroy his laboratories since I wouldn’t have bothered doing so in the first place if I hadn’t found out that the Purple Stone was on Earth.’

[That is indeed a possibility.]

‘Anyway, there’s no telling what kind of surprise he prepared in his main laboratory, so we have to be careful.’

[I will do my best to assist you.]

‘Ugh, I always hear that every day, but why am I so agitated hearing it today…?’

[Pardon?]

‘No, it’s nothing.’

Han-Yeol glanced over his shoulder and saw Noras and the sorcerers looking at him with huge grins.

‘Haa…’

[Ah, I see. Hehe…!]

‘Stop laughing!’

[Kekeke!]

Karvis laughed out loud after she realized what Han-Yeol meant.

Then, Tayarana suddenly called out to him.

[Han-Yeol.]

“Yes, Tara?”

[Do we only have one more location to go to?]

“Yeah, there’s only one location where I can sense the purple stone.”

[Hmm… Then can I ask for a favor?]

“Sure, what is it?”

Han-Yeol was very fond of Tayarana, so he was willing to agree to most things as long as she did not ask for the impossible.

[Can I have a tour of Mexico once this is over?]

“Huh? Mexico?”

[Yes, there’s this place I really want to go to.]

“Sure!”

[Really?]

“Of course! Going to Mexico isn’t that difficult. Besides, it’s not like you want to go now. It’s fine as long as we finish what we have to do, and then you can go wherever you want.”

[Thanks.]

“Don’t mention it,” Han-Yeol replied with a smile. There was something else he wanted to say, but he had not reached a point where he could be honest with his feelings, so he decided to swallow those words for now, ‘I’m the one that should be thankful. I get to go on a date with you, Tara.’

Things were so hectic right now that he did not have the luxury of asking her out, but he promised himself that he would do so someday. ‘I will ask you out soon! I promise!’

Also, she was one of the reasons he had to go back to the Bastro Dimension.

‘The Bastrolings have mastered jewelry and accessory craftsmanship. Their skills in making rings are light years ahead of Earth, so I should source the ring I’ll propose to her with from there.’

The Bastro Dimension might not have made great advancements in the field of science, but the Bastrolings were definitely far more skilled than humans when it came to handiwork or craftsmanship.

Among the different arts of craftsmanship, they excelled at blacksmithing, gem craftsmanship, and tailoring.

The Bastro Dimension had an interesting culture in which highly renowned Bastro Warriors were given the right to adorn themselves with jewels, and the more extravagant their jewels were, the more renowned they were. This culture gave rise to the demand for talented jewelers, and a skilled jeweler was held in almost equal regard as a powerful warrior.

Han-Yeol was worried.

‘Hmm… But I wonder if any talented jewelers are still alive…’

***

Han-Yeol led his party to a vast desert located in the northern region of Mexico, where the laboratory with the last remaining mana signal of the Purple Stone.

“It’s over there.”

[Hmm… It seems bigger than any other laboratory we have razed till now.]

[I see… The laboratories we have destroyed so far are just a drop in the bucket compared to that.]

“Oh? Are you showing off your intellect again, Mariam? I wasn’t aware you knew Korean sayings too.”

[That is nothing.]

Mariam might have replied nonchalantly, but she was obviously proud.

“Alright, we will attack at once. The faster we destroy that place, the earlier we can tour Mexico!”

Noras and the sorcerers cried out enthusiastically.

[The Great One has spoken!]

[May your will be done!]

[Huh?]

[Sigh…]

Tayarana was perplexed as to why the sorcerers were suddenly so pumped up, while Mariam just let out a sigh after she found out the reason behind their fervor using her telepathic abilities.

“Let’s go, Mariam.”

“Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.”

Han-Yeol let out a sigh just like Mariam before walking ahead. He felt like he was sighing oddly a lot these days, and he knew exactly why.

Shwaaaa…

Han-Yeol was walking toward the laboratory when he noticed the sands shifting.

“Hmm? It seems this isn’t their main base for nothing. I think they’re already welcoming us,” he said.

“It appears so.”

Han-Yeol and Mariam were quite relaxed, but that was not the case for Noras and the sorcerers. The sorcerers’ enthusiasm reached a whole new level after they found out that Han-Yeol was the prophesied one, and they started actively participating in battles to be useful to him.

[Protect the Great One!]

[Yes!]

[Hurry!]

[Protect him with your lives!]

‘Tsk… It’s not that bad, but…’ Han-Yeol grumbled. Normally, he would have scolded them for overreacting again, but this was not that bad, so he decided to let them be.

After all, Han-Yeol adapted very quickly to his environment and circumstances, so he had gotten used to their overreaction.

Chwaaak!

[T-The ground is moving!]

[No! The sand is getting sucked into the ground!]

[Watch out!]