Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 134: Egypt’s Might (1)

Thanks to that, the Egyptian Hunters were in an uproar instead of Han-Yeol this time. To Han-Yeol, the Phaophator was just another president from a faraway country. However, this was not the case for the Horus raid party members, who had to make preparations to receive the highest-ranking person in their country.

An army base was going to be turned upside down if a division commander made a surprise visit, but the one coming right now was none other than the President who was revered as a god? It was going to be disastrous if the Egyptian Hunters slipped up during the surprise visit.

[Hurry and clean up every single trash, dust, and rock you see around the mansion!]

Mariam’s sensitivity index was already at its maximum. Her eyes were as sharp as a falcon right now as she was dead set on not missing a single thing.

[What’s that?!]

[I-I apologize!]

[Wipe the dust off of the artworks!]

[Yes, ma’am!]

[What are you doing?! Check the ingredients in the pantry! Go over the recipe to serve His Excellency!]

[Yes, ma’am!]

[Tell all the chefs to drop what they’re doing and focus on preparing the best meal for His Excellency!]

[Yes, ma’am!]

[And what’s that hideous-looking statue over there?!]

‘W… Wow… I knew Mariam could be scary, but I never knew she could be this scary…’?Han-Yeol thought while watching the Horus raid party members run around at Mariam’s command.

The person in charge of managing the place was usually the one who was most stressed in situations like this, and the fact that Mariam had sworn absolute loyalty to the Egyptian President’s household did not help alleviate her stress levels.

Slurp…!

[Mariam is always like that. It’s just Father coming, so I’m not sure if all of that is even needed.]

[Come on, I’m sure that’s not the case for Mariam. I mean, think about it from her point of view. She’s the person in charge of this place. Now that her country’s President is coming, what if he criticizes the place here and there? Don’t you think it’s only normal for her to be so stressed right now?]

[Oh, is that how it goes?]

[Yeah.]

Meanwhile, Han-Yeol and Tayarana casually chatted while sipping on their coffee.

The whole mansion was in utter chaos. Both Hunters and attendants ran left and right, but that chaos did not reach Tayarana’s personal office.

Seuk… Seuk… Seuk… Seuk…?

Tayarana gently petted Mavros’ back while he was sleeping on her lap. When Han-Yeol had been busy at the press conference, she had been the one to take care of the baby dragon. The baby dragon was now sleeping because he was exhausted from playing fetch with Tayarana.

As Tayarana and him looked at the sleeping baby dragon with loving eyes, Han-Yeol suddenly wondered if a President of a nation would really suddenly make a surprise visit unannounced. He asked, [Tara.]

[Hmm?]

[Your father… Is he always this spontaneous?]

Han-Yeol’s image of a President was a kind of responsible person who carefully planned their schedule, and the fact that a President would act so spontaneously was a stark contrast to the image he had of them.

[No, he isn’t like that at all, so I find it strange too.]

[Really?]

There was no way that Han-Yeol was going to understand the President’s motives. After all, Tayarana, who was the President’s daughter, had no idea what he was thinking.

[Well, I’m sure we will find out once he gets here.]

[Yeah.]

Dudududu!

After two hours of utter chaos at the mansion, the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the mansion.

Knock… Knock…?

An Egyptian Hunter knocked and entered Tayarana’s office to make a report. [Tayarana-nim, His Excellency’s helicopter is currently hovering above the mansion.]

[Alright.] Tayarana stood up and looked at Han-Yeol.

[Huh? What’s wrong, Tara?]

[Aren’t you getting up?]

[Me?]

[Yeah.]

[Why?]

Han-Yeol was slightly flustered by Tayarana’s question. He wondered, ‘Oh, I’m also a?Vice?Leader of this raid party, right?’

His nationality might be different, but he was currently the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party, which was originally a raid party from Egypt. This meant that it was not courteous for him to sit around when the President of Egypt was here.

Han-Yeol immediately stood up and said, [Let’s go, Tara.]

[Okay.]

Tayarana led the way with Han-Yeol following closely behind her.

Then, Han-Yeol suddenly thought, ‘Wow… She is really beautiful no matter how many times I see her…’

Oddly enough, he had spent a lot of time together with Tayarana. They always moved together whenever they hunted as a raid party, and they even bumped into each other while they were shopping at the Hunter Mall.

However, he could not help but feel his heart pound and be mesmerized by her beauty no matter how often he saw her. A person was bound to get used to someone’s appearance no matter how beautiful they were if they spent a lot of time together, but he only found Tayarana even more beautiful the more he spent time with her.

Han-Yeol suddenly felt jealous of someone in the distant future. ‘Tara is probably going to get married?in the future… I have no idea who that will be, but he’s such a lucky bastard…’

They said that the lifespan of a Hunter was much longer than a normal person, which meant that most Hunters were not in a rush to settle down like normal people. However, that did not mean that someone like Tayarana, who was the one who would be leading Egypt in the future, was going to stay single forever. She was bound to get married one day, and the man that she would marry in the future was going to get to hold this beautiful woman in his arms every day.

‘She’s probably going to marry an extremely wealthy man or someone from an influential family, since she is a princess. I think the chances of her marrying a fellow countryman would be highly unlikely, but I’m so damn jealous of that lucky bastard…!’ Han-Yeol thought.

Just as Han-Yeol was dying inside of jealousy, Tayarana sensed that he was acting strange all of a sudden and asked, [What are you doing?]

[Ah, nothing. Haha…]

Looking at Tayarana tilt her head in confusion, Han-Yeol’s heart skipped a beat. He thought that she looked extremely cute right now.

“Kyu!”

Awake since a while ago, Mavros nested on top of Han-Yeol’s head while letting out a cry that seemed to laugh at him.

“Shut up, Mavros,” Han-Yeol retorted.

“Kyu! Kyu!”?Mavros then cried out as if telling him not to vent his frustration on him.

Han-Yeol and Tayarana walked to the helipad located four hundred meters away from the mansion. There were dozens of people wearing black suits and darkly-tinted sunglasses guarding the perimeter of the helipad.

Dudududu!

A helicopter made a soft landing on the helipad a while later.

Thud…!

The door opened to reveal a large middle-aged man. He was wearing traditional Egyptian clothes that were modified to suit modern-day fashion, and Han-Yeol found his outfit to be really cool.

Also…

Shiing!

‘He… He’s strong…! His mana is silent, but I can feel it’s quite dangerous and scary…!’?Han-Yeol could feel a silent mana storm brewing around the man, and it was a type of mana that he had never encountered before.

Tayarana was known to be an S Rank Hunter at the doorstep of becoming a Master, but Han-Yeol could feel that she was a huge distance behind the man in front of him.

[Hahahaha! It has been a while, Tara.]

[Father.]

The President of Egypt, who was also Tayarana’s father, Phaophator, smiled brightly and gently hugged Tayarana.

‘He’s much bigger up close,’?Han-Yeol thought as he scanned Phaophator’s frame.

He looked like he was going to be more than two meters tall, and it looked like a cicada was clinging to a large tree trunk when the gigantic man hugged Tayarana.

Gulp!

Han-Yeol found the image in his head to be extremely funny, but he channeled all of his strength to suppress his laughter as the other Hunters and attendants around seemed to be quite serious. It was understandable that all of them would be anxious as Phaophator was a living legend for them.

Phaophator finally let Tayarana go after hugging her to his heart’s content, and then he looked at Han-Yeol. He commented, [Oh, are you that Han-Yeol Lee Hunter that my daughter speaks so highly of?]

[It is an honor to meet you, Your Excellency. My name is Han-Yeol Lee, and I am serving as the Horus raid party’s Vice Leader despite my shortcomings.]

Han-Yeol tried his best to greet Phaophator as courteously as possible. Of course, he did not have to act so cordially with the man, but he decided to play his part as it was a matter that could affect the Horus raid party.

“Kyu!”

Mavros could also sense how powerful Phaophator was as well. He let out a cry while being wary of him.

[Oh! My reason for coming all the way to this country is right here! Is this Mavros? The first ever monster tamed?]

[Ah, yes, you are correct.]

[Hoo… It is quite amazing… The fact that you managed to tame the first monster is already surprising in itself, but the fact that the monster you tamed is something I have never seen before is even more surprising! However, the fact that it is a dragon-type monster is what surprises me the most.]

There had been no sightings of any dragon-type monsters so far. There were a few Hunters who specially hunted for rare monsters, and their main objective was to raid rare monsters and sell their remains to collectors that would offer the highest price. However, even these Hunters who focused only on hunting for rare monsters hadn’t spotted any dragons so far.

[It is indeed a precious treasure. However, it is nothing but a ticking time bomb if you can’t protect it.]

[Yes, I am aware of that, Your Excellency.]

[Well, I can’t simply ignore the fact that the person who created this precious treasure is a member of our very own raid party and a holder of one of our treasures as well, right? Tara.]

[Yes, Father?]

[It seems that we have another reason to maintain a good relationship with this country. I will be sending that person, more Hunters, and even more funds to you. Go and show these Koreans the might of us, Egyptians, through the Horus raid party.]

[Yes, Father.]

[Bwahahaha!]

Phaophator was an extremely powerful Hunter who released an intimidating amount of mana simply by letting out a burst of boisterous laughter.

Gulp…!

Han-Yeol instinctively gulped after witnessing a portion of Phaophator’s might. He was indeed feeling a bit nervous, but he was not scared at all. Clenching his fists, he steeled his resolve. ‘I will surpass him one day.’

He knew that he was going to need some time to accomplish this goal, but he also knew that it was not an impossible goal for him to achieve.

***

Everyone moved to the main hall of the mansion after exchanging greetings, and the large round table at the main hall that was not so often used by the Horus raid party was filled with various delicacies for the first time.

Then, Mariam and the kitchen staff approached Phaophator and knelt in front of him. They greeted him in unison, [We greet Your Excellency!]

[Bwahaha! It has been a while, Mariam. You did great watching over Tayarana all this time. I hope that you will continue watching over her.]

[Certainly, Your Excellency. I will serve and protect Tayarana-nim even if I have to put my life on the line.]

[There’s no need to put your life on anything. Both of you should live. Anyway, come sit with me, Tara and Han-Yeol.]

After being given the command, Mariam and the attendants slowly got up, but they all still looked quite nervous.

[Yes, Father.]

[Yes, Your Excellency.]

Han-Yeol felt a bit burdened by the invitation to dine with the Egyptian President, but the atmosphere was not one where he could reject it. He had no choice but to sit at the table.

Just as he was about to sit down, an attendant came to pull out the chair for him and push it back closer to the table. Then, the simple dinner that was equivalent to a grand feast started.

‘Wow… This is really good.’?

Han-Yeol was amazed at how delicious the food was. These were foods that he had never tasted before in his life, and his taste buds were quite thrilled to have the chance to taste these delicacies that most people would not even get to taste once in their life.

‘Hmm… I should work harder and replicate this at my place later on,’?he thought as he was motivated once again to earn more money.

The attendants moved quite discreetly to assist the trio in eating, and they were so attentive that they would provide what Han-Yeol needed even before he realized that he needed it.

Eventually, Phaophator broke the silence while they were enjoying their dinner. He said, [So, I heard that you agreed to provide two monster pets to the Horus raid party for two trillion won. Is that true?]

It was a sudden question, but Han-Yeol skillfully replied without missing a beat, [Yes, I accepted it since this ability is not something I can keep using for myself, and the conditions Tayarana provided were quite good.]

[Haha! You see… I imagined what it was going to look like if I created a battalion mounted on tamed flying monsters…]

[Ah…]

‘He is truly someone?who?rules an entire country. Who would have imagined forming an army with the tamed monsters?’?Han-Yeol was amazed once again.

Han-Yeol did not really see a reason for him to judge if it was a good or bad thing as long as he sold the monsters and he got paid for them. He could not care less how the monsters were going to be used.

Of course, that did not mean that he was willing to sell the monsters to terrorist organizations just for the sake of profit. He was willing to sell them to anyone as long as the transaction was a legal one.

[Hmm… It would be great if a scarab or a dung beetle came out from the monster eggs. I think our people will be delighted if that happens.]

[Ah! You are right, Father!]

Tayarana reacted quite strongly to what Phaophator had said.

‘Oh right, the scarab and dung beetle?are practically?important insects in Ancient Egypt,’?Han-Yeol recalled.

He had started reading and studying about Egypt and its history after joining the Horus raid party.

Egypt had declared leaving the Arab Union to further solidify and cement its position as the leader of Africa. It was true that the country indeed had some relation to Arabic heritage, but the government declared the start of their Golden Age by going back to their Ancient Egyptian roots and ruling the continent.

Of course, there were various disgruntled factions that voiced their dissatisfaction over this decision, but there was really nothing they could do about it.

‘They would probably die from shock if a Sphinx came out… Keke!’?Han-Yeol thought as he tried his best to suppress his laughter.