Leveling Up Alone

[...]

Tayarana watched the two chat while looking very displeased by their closeness.

‘Huh? Tara?’ Han-Yeol muttered inwardly after noticing she was looking at them.

However, she had her visors down, so he thought she was just looking their way and could not really see her expression. Han-Yeol decided there was probably nothing going on and walked toward Haverus’s head.

[Arghhh! Don’t come near me, human! Don’t you dare lay your filthy hands on me!]

“Hey, don’t you know what shame is? You guys never bathe once in your life, and yet you’re calling me filthy?”

[Shut up! I’m not in the mood for your jokes!]

Grrrr!

Haverus growled as threateningly as possible at Han-Yeol, but he did not look threatening at all.

“Well, I would’ve slowly tortured you and extorted as much information as I could, but I don’t have that luxury right now, so I’ll just kill you,” Han-Yeol said with a shrug.

[W-What did you say?! You filthy huma–!]

Kwachik!

Han-Yeol stomped on Haverus’s head before he could even finish his words.

“The end!”

Ding!

[Your level has risen.]

‘Alright!’ Han-Yeol cheered inwardly after seeing the message.

The decisive battle against the hyenas was imminent, so Han-Yeol knew the importance of raising his level whenever he could.

Thud!

‘Hmm?’

He noticed something drop from Haverus's body that his tentacles were devouring.

‘Oh right! I need to collect my loot after killing him!’ Han-Yeol belatedly remembered that Haverus still had the injections. Also, there was no doubt that Haverus would possess other valuable items, as a high-ranking sorcerer would be adorned with them.

Han-Yeol could not help but feel stupid after forgetting the most basic thing as a Hunter, which was collecting the loot.

Fortunately, he remembered to loot the items before leaving, so he quickly got to work. He first recalled his tentacles so that they would no longer consume what was left of the high-ranking sorcerer’s body. The tentacles seemed reluctant to leave, but they had no other choice, as Han-Yeol canceled the skill and cut off the mana supply.

“Hmm… Oh! It’s here. Ah, there are only two left,” Han-Yeol said in delight while rummaging through the dead hyena’s body.

As expected, the high-ranking sorcerer had three syringes, and Han-Yeol obtained the remaining two that the hyena did not manage to use in their battle.

‘Lucky!’

Han-Yeol continued rummaging through the hyena’s remains just in case there were other things of value. He searched as thoroughly as he possibly could, but he eventually decided to give up after his attempts proved unfruitful.

Right when he was about to drop the dead body and leave, he felt a piece of paper deep inside a pocket.

‘Eh? What’s this?’

He took out the paper and found that it was more than a single piece.

‘T-This is…?!’

He inspected the stack of papers and was stunned.

‘I can’t read it!’

The paper turned out to be some sort of map, but the writings on the map were foreign to him even though he had lived for decades in the Bastro Dimension as Harkan.

“Hmm…” Han-Yeol rubbed his chin and pondered what to do with the map. Then, he decided to call for Noras just in case he knew something about it.

[You called me, Great One?]

Noras dropped everything he was doing and rushed over the moment Han-Yeol summoned him. His command was absolute for the roe deers now, and they would not hesitate to heed his call whenever and wherever they might be.

“Take a look at this,” Han-Yeol said, extending the map to him.

[What might this be, Great One?]

“I called you because I have no idea what that is, alright?”

[Ah, I understand.]

Noras received the map with both hands and inspected it. He intently looked at it for a minute before his eyes shot wide open.

[Hmm?!]

“W-Why? What’s wrong?!”

Noras suddenly gasped because he realized the importance of the map, and Han-Yeol instantly knew from his reaction that the map was indeed valuable.

[T-This map has the location of the final piece of the puzzle we are looking for! The Jewel Sword! The Jewel Sword of Annihilation!]

“What?!”

Han-Yeol had a feeling the map contained important information, but he did not imagine even in his wildest dreams that it would contain the location of the Jewel Sword of Annihilation.

Then, he could not help but wonder why a hyena sorcerer would carry around a map detailing the location of the weapon that could potentially kill their god.

‘I would’ve either burned this map or gone to collect the sword myself.’

However, Han-Yeol was overlooking one thing.

[Hmm, the hyenas probably had no idea what this map was for.]

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

[Yes, Great One. Only the Deer Bastrolings can read these inscriptions, and even among us, only the high-ranking priests can decipher them.]

“Oh? Decipher? Is it some sort of code, then?”

[Yes, it is indeed. My father was a high-ranking priest, and I remember learning these letters while watching him work. I might have become my race’s lord after showing promise instead of becoming a priest, but my father hoped that I would also walk in his footsteps and become a high-ranking priest too. Thanks to him, I learned how to decipher these inscriptions.]

“W-Whoa… If this isn’t lucky then I’m not sure what is…” Han-Yeol muttered in disbelief. Then, he realized something. ‘I would’ve been just like the hyenas and not known the value of this map if it wasn’t for Noras.’

[Well, it will take some time to decipher the code, but I could do it if you needed me to.]

Karvis suddenly chimed in nonchalantly.

‘How long would it have taken if you did it without Noras?’

[Around… three years…]

‘Damn you!’

[...]

Karvis fell silent again after realizing how stupid her comment was. She had only made the remark because Han-Yeol’s excessive praise of Noras hurt her pride, but voicing it ultimately wounded her pride even more.

“Hey, Noras.”

[Yes, Great One?]

“Is the exact location of the Jewel Sword of Annihilation written on the map?”

Noras shook his head in response, causing Han-Yeol to grimace.

[It does not exactly say where the Jewel Sword of Annihilation is. I suspect my ancestors drew this map, and our race prefers to be cryptic even with codes rather than be direct with it. Therefore, this map will only hint at the location of the Jewel Sword of Annihilation.]

“Damn it… Why is it so complicated?”

[...]

“More importantly, can we find it or not?”

That was the most important thing for Han-Yeol. The map was useless even if it showed the location of the Jewel Sword of Annihilation, as it was encrypted in an ancient language and Noras could not pinpoint its exact location.

[I can find it, Great One.]

“Oh? Really?”

[Yes, it is a bit complicated, but it will not be difficult if I use the knowledge my father passed down to me. The only reason it is in cryptic form is because our ancestors enjoy these kinds of word plays rather than making it impossible for the map to be deciphered.]

“Alright, then we have no reason to hesitate. Let’s go and look for that Jewel Sword of whatever.”

[Yes, Great One!]

Han-Yeol had to start a new adventure he did not expect out of the blue.

“Oh right, you guys can come out and eat this thing up. Blood Legs!”

Chwak!

The red tentacles shot out from his back once again and devoured Haverus’s remains.

“Hey, you can eat slowly. Nobody’s going to steal it, you know?”

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

The tentacles completely ignored Han-Yeol and chomped down on the corpse.

Ding!

[The rank of Blood Armor has increased.]

‘Whoa! Jackpot!’ Han-Yeol cheered inwardly at the unexpected harvest.

***

Bam!

“Grrr…!”

[...]

Gulp!

A chilling aura spread throughout the hyenas’ main base, and the high-ranking sorcerers did not dare to lift their heads up.

‘Damn it, I didn’t expect Haverus to fail.’

‘That guy was really a jerk, but he was really powerful!’

The rest of the high-ranking sorcerers regretted their decision in not helping Haverus. They hated his guts due to his arrogance, but they acknowledged that he was one of the best sorcerers under Char.

The high-ranking sorcerers now felt Haverus’s absence, an emptiness they had not anticipated.

[Haverus’s lifeforce was extinguished just now.]

[...]

[And those we sent to install the magic circle throughout the lands have perished too.]

[...]

Bam!

[What difference is there between you lot and garbage?!]

Woooong!

[Kuheok!]

[Argh!]

[Cough! Cough!]

[A-Apologies, my–ughh!]

When Char's rage flared, a strong mana gust swept through the area, overwhelming even the most powerful sorcerers.

Thud!

The weaker ones among the high-ranking sorcerers were forced to their knees, grasping their throats in a desperate attempt to breathe.

[Heed my command.]

[T-Tell us, my lord!]

[From this moment onward, I hereby declare war against those garbage from another dimension. All high-ranking sorcerers are to move in pairs and hunt down those pieces of garbage! Chase them until the end of the dimension, and don’t stop until they’re dead!]

[W-What?!]

[A kill order!]

The high-ranking sorcerers gasped upon hearing the command, as this was the first time ever since the war in the Bastro Dimension ended that someone had issued a kill order.

Most might think that the target of the kill order would suffer the cruel fate of being on the run from the hyenas until they were caught and executed, but the kill order was also difficult for the hyenas. They had to chase the target down until the end of the dimension and catch them.

The high-ranking sorcerers issued countless kill orders during the war, and mostly the lower-ranking sorcerers would chase after the targets. However, the current kill order was different, as the one who issued it was not a high-ranking sorcerer, but Char, the supreme ruler of the hyenas.

Char’s command was absolute, even among the high-ranking sorcerers, and none were brave enough to dare defy his commands.

Of course, there were always a few clueless individuals in any organization who could not read the mood and would try to speak up.

[B-But Char! We have yet to finish subjugating all of the Light Faction Bastrolings. Sending out all of our high-ranking sorcerers just to chase after a single human is a bit…]

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

[Aargh!]

The clueless and young high-ranking sorcerer could not finish his statement, as a powerful current zapped him and flung him all the way back until he slammed into a wall.

Bam!

[Kuheok!]

The sheer impact caused the high-ranking sorcerer to cough up blood.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

[Ughhh…]

The powerful currents surrounding the sorcerer kept him in a groggy state.

[Step forward now if any of you have a problem with my command. I will grant you the honor of having your tongue pulled out by me.]

Char stood up from his throne and unleashed a powerful, dominating aura throughout the hall.

[N-No! We do not have any problems!]

[We will immediately form pairs and hunt that arrogant human down!]

[We will fulfill your wish, my lord!]

[I will bring his head!]

The high-ranking sorcerers hurriedly submitted to Char’s command. They had complaints regarding the kill order, but they were not brave–no, stupid enough to risk their lives just to voice their complaints.

[I don’t want to see your face. Begone at once!]

[Yes, Char!]

The high-ranking sorcerers hurriedly left the throne room, looking relieved that they lived to see another day.

‘Those useless fools…’ Char growled inwardly while watching the sorcerers running away. Then, he grimaced and shook his head. ‘How come there’s not a single useful one around me?’

He could not help feeling nervous that he would eventually fail to resurrect the evil god he served at this rate. The wound on his chest that he suffered a long time ago suddenly started to ache.

‘Hmm? Why is this wound hurting again? Isn’t that damned dog, Harkan, long dead?’

Snap!

Char snapped his fingers, and a section of the wall opened. Then, a contaminated creature slowly walked out from the opening.

“Grrr…”

Anyone could tell with a single glance that this contaminated creature was extremely powerful, and it possessed the strength, life force, and skills to back up those expectations.

[Hahaha! All of my opponents will be powerless against this Contaminated Harkan!]

None of the high-ranking sorcerers dared to defy Char despite being disgruntled at him because of this contaminated creature in his possession.

Harkan was a powerful warrior capable of killing all the high-ranking sorcerers if he were still alive. He was the one who managed to seal the god they served. Fortunately, Harkan died in the process of sealing their god, and they retrieved his remains before the Bastrolings managed to get their hands on them.

Harkan’s remains were offered to Char, and that was how the Contaminated Harkan was born.

[I don’t have to fear anything as long as this is under my control! Hahaha!]