Leveling Up Alone

Han-Yeol, rather, Harkan had the opportunity to absorb all knowledge within the Bastro Dimension after gaining the right to access the Temple Library as the Dimension Lord.

‘Geez… I didn’t imagine the Bastro Dimension’s civilization would be this advanced even without science and technology. This proves that the humans singing praises of the superiority of science just reflects their arrogance.’

Han-Yeol was by no means mocking science. Every dimension had their own unique driving force that contributed to the growth of its civilization. A good example of this would be how the Bastro Dimension relied on prophecies and personal strength while Earth relied on science and technological advancements.

Just like how science and technology were not absolute, the prophecies the Bastrolings relied on were not absolute either.

‘But that doesn’t matter as long as I can fulfill Harkan’s dream of exterminating the hyenas and destroying the Dragon of Destruction. That’s the only way we can achieve peace.’

Tons of people on Earth disliked Han-Yeol, but none of them could threaten him.

‘It would be dangerous if Tayarana turns her back against me and becomes my enemy, but she’s the only danger, as the other Master-Rank Hunters can’t do anything against me.’

Han-Yeol did not feel not threatened by anyone on Earth because of that.

Boom!

However, Han-Yeol suddenly noticed an explosive mana belonging to a Master-Rank Hunter.

‘What was that? Did the Freemason send an assassin?’

The mana felt unfamiliar yet familiar for some reason, but he could not really put a finger on it.

‘Delfusia.’

Zing!

Han-Yeol summoned the Spirit of Space, and the spirit emerged from a slit in the space in front of his eyes.

[Whew!]

They had already spent quite a long time together, so he could almost instantaneously summon the spirit whenever he needed to.

Shwak!

Han-Yeol disappeared from the living room and appeared at a modernized training ground in one corner of the mansion grounds. The Gurkhas had created the place to train but Han-Yeol used it from time to time too.

‘Why is it here of all places?’ Han-Yeol could not help but question why an assassin would go to the traininhich was in a secluded area away from most of the mansion buildings. If he was the assassin, he would have probably chosen to infiltrate the main building instead.

“What brings you here, Han-Yeol-nim?”

“Hmm?” Han-Yeol turned around and heard the familiar voice calling out to him.

‘Oh?’

“Hey, Sahas.”

“Yes, sir!”

Behind him stood the leader of the Gurkha raid party, the most powerful Gurkha working for Han-Yeol.

“So you’ve finally become a Master-Rank Hunter.”

Thud!

Sahas dropped to one knee and exclaimed, “Thank you, sir! I became a Master-Rank Hunter thanks to your teachings!”

“What teachings? Hey, get up. I just came to congratulate you, that’s all.”

“Thank you very much, sir! I swear on my life I will repay your grace for–”

“Forget about that,” Han-Yeol cut him off, waving his hand.

However, Sahas was unrelenting.

“No, sir. Not only did you save my motherland from the monsters, but you also brought Egypt to help us. You even hired my fellow Gurkha brothers and helped them rise out of poverty. You also trusted someone like me and helped me awaken as a Hunter, so how can I not be grateful to you? I will dedicate my life to you, Han-Yeol-nim.”

“Hey, stop overreacting,” Han-Yeol replied while awkwardly scratching the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

He was grateful that his good deeds went unnoticed and Sahas was very grateful to him. Numerous people had thanked him so far, but none of them voiced it as sincerely as Sahas did.

“Thank you for working hard too. I’ll continue to leave my father in your care, okay?”

“Yes, sir! I will guard him with my life!”

“Hey, no need to stake your life or anything, alright?”

“...”

“Haha… You’re still as stubborn as ever.”

“My apologies, sir.”

Everything about Sahas was good except for the fact that he was as stubborn as a mule.

‘Well, that’s why I can entrust my father’s security to him,’ Han-Yeol thought and smiled.

Sahas would definitely be a good addition to his party going to the Bastro Dimension, but he decided against bringing him along.

‘Wrapping things up in the Bastro Dimension is important, but I’ll have to leave Earth unattended for a long period of time. I need someone I can trust to protect my father while I’m away. There’s no guarantee they won’t come for him, right?’ Han-Yeol thought, recalling something that happened recently.

***

Han-Yeol returned from his trip to South America and headed straight to the training grounds. He took his shirt off and started warming up with some basic exercises before doing a handstand and using his mana to add weight to his body.

‘Ah! As expected of Sir Han-Yeol! He’s already the strongest, yet he never neglects his training!’

The Gurkha raid party members looked at him with utmost respect. He was undisputedly the world’s strongest person, yet he never neglected his training and always strived to become stronger.

The Gurkhas had lived in South Korea for quite a while now, so they had heard numerous things about the local Hunters.

‘Hmm… Even a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter like Sir Han-Yeol is training so hard, but those ordinary Hunters only care about fooling around and enjoying life. Yet they dare to point fingers at him?! They don’t even have the right to be jealous of his success!’

Han-Yeol was not only South Korea’s hero but also the entire world’s hero. However, that did not mean everyone liked him. Human beings were envious creatures, and it was not strange for them to dislike someone regardless of whether they were good or evil just because they were envious of them.

Also, even the United States and HUN showed signs of trying to keep Han-Yeol in check. They were not blatantly doing it to his face, as that would be sheer stupidity, but they were definitely prowling around him, waiting for a chance to strike at his jugular.

A Gurkha entered the training ground and called out, “Han-Yeol-nim!”

“What’s the matter?” Han-Yeol asked while continuing his training.

“You have some guests from China, and they seem to be high-ranking officials.”

“What?”

Thud!

Han-Yeol stopped performing mana-weighted handstand push-ups and looked at the Gurkha in disbelief.

“Can you repeat that? Did I hear you wrong?”

“High-ranking officials from China have come requesting to meet with you, sir!”

“Why would those crazy bastards come here?”

“T-That… I have no idea…”

“Hmm… Yeah, I guess that’s not something you would know,” Han-Yeol said with a shrug.

Then, he smirked after thinking about this situation and the debt he had to settle with China. He could not blatantly act against them at that time because of the modern-day version of the warring states period raging across China. He missed the chance to retaliate against the Chinese government officials and the HUN officials who dared to stab him in the back.

The only reason he decided not to pursue the matter with them any further was that he could not be bothered to go all the way to China just to get even with them, and he was also busy looking for the stones.

“Bring them here,” Han-Yeol said.

“Pardon, sir?”

The Gurkha looked around their surroundings. Han-Yeol had invested a lot into the training ground so the Gurkhas could train to their heart’s content comfortably, but this place was not suitable for receiving guests.

“What are you doing? Go and bring them here.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The Gurkha saluted to Han-Yeol before rushing out of the training ground. He had his doubts about bringing the high-ranking officials to such a place, but he decided to follow as commanded. His loyalty for Han-Yeol was quite impressive, and he was willing to die if Han-Yeol told him to.

A few moments later, the Chinese officials were brought in front of Han-Yeol.

“H-How have you been, Han-Yeol-nim?”

The youngest-looking one among the Chinese officials greeted him in fluent Korean. It seemed that he had been appointed to be their translator after taking into consideration the fact that Han-Yeol could not speak Chinese.

‘Argh!’

The Chinese officials tried their best to hide their discontent and feigned respect toward Han-Yeol. A few of the young officials failed to hide their emotions and ended up glaring and gnashing their teeth at him.

Han-Yeol had to exert superhuman self-control not to burst out into laughter after seeing them.

‘Haha! This is it! Forcing those who dislike you to their knees! This is not something you can achieve just by having a lot of money! I love it!’ Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly.

He was not the type of person who enjoyed bullying those weaker than him. He might not be the best person in the world, but that did not mean he was an evil person either.

However, he did enjoy forcing those in positions of power to their knees in front of him.

What was the point of forcing the weak to their knees? Using his powers that way would only leave a bitter taste in his mouth, making him feel as though he were abusing them.

“So, what business do you have with me?” Han-Yeol asked.

The translator suddenly got down on his knees and shouted, “T-That is… We are begging you!”

Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The rest of the Chinese officials kneeled on the ground as well.

“We beg you!”

Bam!

Then, they slammed their foreheads on the ground in the most profound display of respect they could offer him.

“Beg? Beg for what?” Han-Yeol asked, feigning ignorance.

“H-Han-Yeol-nim, please take pity on our country and save the innocent civilians dying at the hands of those rebels! We will pay you as much as you want!”

‘Oh? I guess they’re really in a pinch for these stuck-up people to go this far,’ Han-Yeol thought.

[They have no other choice. Based on our information, China–no, the Communist Party is currently facing the worst threat since they seized power.]

‘It’s that bad?’

[Yes, there are numerous rebel uprisings in the country, but most of them are just a ragtag bunch. They’re just hoping to get a slice of the pie while the Communist Party is struggling, so they’re more like marauders or terrorists rather than rebels. However, the rebels led by Li Yuxin are different from the other rebels. He leads a group that calls themselves the Freedom Revolutionists.

[They have around five hundred high-ranking Hunters and thirty thousand ordinary Hunters. On top of that, they have three hundred thousand ordinary people as infantry, and the number of people supporting their cause has already reached more than one hundred million people.]

‘Eh? That’s not a lot considering China has more than one billion people.’

[Their population is exactly 939,210,323 as of current.]

‘Huh?! F-Four hundred million people died?!’

[Yes, the war with Qin Shi Huang cost four hundred million lives.]

‘W-War can be really scary…’

[China is a vast country and the war spilled over to almost all parts of it. Also, the fact that this is different from an ordinary war among humans played a great role in the casualty toll too. A war between humans would try to minimize casualties, as they would conquer the enemy’s land and people, but that was not the case this time since Qin Shi Huang’s armies were composed of monsters.

[Another critical factor was the immense death toll in the initial attack of the monsters. The Chinese government might try to hide it, but their ploy to use Qin Shi Huang’s armies to teach the rebellious western region a lesson was the biggest reason for the death toll.]

Han-Yeol shook his head after hearing Karvis’ explanation. He could not help but glare at them with contempt after hearing what they did, but the Chinese officials could not see his expression as they had their heads bowed low on the ground.

‘Yeah, I understand that the population decreased to nine hundred million, but one hundred million is still not enough to instigate widespread change. Also, the Chinese government has scores of Master-Rank Hunters under their command, so I don’t think they will be overrun easily.’

[While that might seem to be the case, there is an issue with it. Yes, the Freedom Revolutionists might only number one hundred million, which is about ten percent of the entire population, but do you think the remaining nine hundred million fully support the government?]

‘Oh?’ Han-Yeol finally understood what Karvis was trying to say.