Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 151: Evolving Mavros (5)

[Vice Leader-nim!]

[Okay!]

Tak!

Three Egyptian Hunters used their skills to bind the gigantic lizard’s movement, and Han-Yeol used Cat Walk to jump into the air toward the monster.

“Haaap!”

He gripped his sword with both hands and stabbed it deep into the monster’s head.

Puuuuk!

“Kieeeeeek!”

The gigantic lizard did not die even though it had the thirty-centimeter sword stabbed into its head. A reptile’s brain was significantly smaller than a mammal's, so it was difficult to hit the brain without scanning it beforehand.

However, Han-Yeol was not after the reptile’s brain.

‘Shall we test out this new skill? Explosion!’

Whiiing…!

‘Huh?’

Han-Yeol heard a whistling sound from somewhere, and then he was surprised by the powerful mana surging from the gigantic lizard’s head. Reacting quickly, he pulled his sword out and retreated.

It was then.

Kabooom!

The monster’s head glowed bright red before a powerful explosion took place that swept Han-Yeol away. He was barely able to maintain his balance in mid-air, and he was pushed back a few meters after he landed.

He looked at the gigantic lizard’s head after the explosion occurred. He couldn’t help but whistle, “Whew!”

It was a single attack, but the monster’s head was nowhere to be seen. The combination of Sword Breath and Explosion was simply too powerful.

‘Ugh… It used up a good chunk of my mana…’?Han-Yeol grumbled after seeing the skill’s mana consumption.

He always tried to maintain at least eighty percent mana, but he felt dizzy after using thirty percent of his mana with a single skill.

In short, he was only going to be able to use three explosions in a row even if his mana was full.

A skill was going to be useless no matter how powerful it was if the user could not use it multiple times.

‘Well, I guess I should use some of the mana stones,’?Han-Yeol immediately thought of a solution to his problem as he possessed the ability to increase his MAG stat by absorbing mana stones.

The true reason for his power in the first place lay in his multitude of skills, and the ability to increase his mana capacity opened up limitless possibilities for him. In fact, the rumors about him possessing unlimited mana stemmed from his constant use of numerous skills.

Of course, those rumors were far from the truth, as there were numerous occasions when Han-Yeol came close to collapsing due to mana depletion. All of his skills were formidable, but most of them required an enormous amount of mana to execute.

This was why Han-Yeol diligently absorbed mana stones. While he deemed it wasteful to absorb the high-quality mana stones from this raid, he no longer hesitated since he had other sources of income.

The Egyptian Hunters were utterly astonished after witnessing Han-Yeol slay the gigantic lizard with a single blow.

[Wow…]

[When did he obtain that skill…?]

[He’s a cheater… a cheat…]

Han-Yeol never explicitly mentioned it, but most of the Egyptian Hunters knew that it was possible for him to learn new skills.

All of these Hunters received special education after awakening, so they were able to deduce things by connecting the dots. On top of that, it was impossible for them not to be able to tell as they had hunted with Han-Yeol a few times now, and he always used new skills out of the blue.

[Well, I guess our hunting speed is going up a notch again.]

[Hehe… Sounds good to me.]

Hunting at a faster pace meant that it would be quite exhausting, but Han-Yeol didn't mind that in the slightest. Now, he could slay the gigantic lizards with a single blow, albeit at the cost of a substantial portion of his mana. This was reason enough for him to accelerate the hunt.

However, what delighted him the most was the fact that the more he contributed to killing the monster, the more experience he would gain. Killing it in one hit essentially meant that he contributed almost all of it.

Sukeok!

“Gwuooooh!”

Han-Yeol teamed up with the Void Devils and Balrog to hunt the next gigantic lizard.

Thud!

The monster tried its best to resist by spewing out its poison, but the poison was easily neutralized by Balrog’s flames.

[Bwahahaha! Poison? You dare use poison against me?! Pitiful! This body of mine is immune to poison! I can simply burn all of those! Bwahaha!]

Balrog would neutralize the poison by unleashing his flames whenever the gigantic lizard spewed out its poison.

The gigantic lizard was fully occupied by Balrog, and Han-Yeol waited until he recovered enough mana before charging to use Explosion on the monster.

Chwaaaak!

He dashed beside the monster and left a long cut across its body. This attack would have normally ripped the monster’s hide and made it bleed, but that was about it. However…

Kabooom!

“Gwuoooooh!”

A powerful explosion suddenly triggered from the long wound Han-Yeol inflicted, and thirty percent of his mana disappeared along with it.

“Argh!”?

He experienced a terrible headache after consuming nearly a third of his mana all at once. It wasn't surprising, considering that it was equivalent to using up a third of his lifespan.

Han-Yeol had to remain still for a while, focusing on calming his breathing. However, he wasn't worried because Balrog stood by his side. Indeed, Balrog was one of the most reliable and dependable defenders Han-Yeol had ever encountered in his life.

Thud!

[Bwahaha! This monster is weakened after that attack you did. Look, it seems lethargic now.]

“Really?”

[Yes. Even I will find it difficult to stand after getting that kind of an injury.]

“Ugh…”?Han-Yeol forced himself up.

He had to finish the battle before the monster recovered. This would simply be the best situation for everyone.

Shwiiiik!

He took out his chain this time and used a skill that he had not used for a long time.

‘Restrain!’

These days, Han-Yeol relied heavily on Chain Smite after acquiring a powerful new chain. However, most of the attacks he executed with the chain relied on blunt weapons like hammers or maces to crush his enemies.

Unfortunately, the gigantic lizard proved resistant to blunt force attacks, rendering the chain less effective. Nonetheless, Han-Yeol was determined to demonstrate that he possessed other chain skills apart from Chain Smite.

Shwiiiiik!

The sickle attached to the end of the chain wrapped itself around the monster’s head.

“Kuok?”?The monster was flustered when the chain wrapped around its entire body, and it immediately tried to set itself free.

“Balrog-nim, will you be able to withstand any attack?”

[Of course! I will withstand it until this body breaks!]

“You are truly dependable,” Han-Yeol said as he wrapped the chain around Balrog and made sure the gigantic lizard was not going to be able to move.

Chwak!

“Kwek?!”?The gigantic lizard tried to pull the chain, but it was taken aback when the chain did not budge an inch.

Han-Yeol used that opening to stab the monster in its belly with Flash Strike.

Thud!

[Bwahaha! A battle is always thrilling!]

Balrog seemed to be having the time of his life after the victory. Meanwhile, Mujahid and Tayarana finished killing their gigantic lizards after Han-Yeol killed his two monsters.

The Egyptian Hunters that possessed powerful piercing skills were teamed up with Mujahid to make up for his disadvantage while the wounded and tired Egyptian Hunters were teamed up with Han-Yeol to give them time to recover.

Han-Yeol’s wide variety of skills allowed him to solo hunt the gigantic lizard, and this bought time for the Hunters to recuperate.

The Porters immediately moved in and started dismembering the gigantic lizards right after the battle ended.

Han-Yeol sat on top of a boulder and observed Mavros. He thought, ‘He’s quite the curious one so he might end up going somewhere dangerous.’

He was not worried at all since Mavros never strayed far away from him until now, but he watched over his baby black dragon just in case he decided to try something new.

The fact that the baby black dragon suddenly started devouring the monsters’ corpses, which started out of curiosity, was more than enough to make Han-Yeol take precautions. They were in a very dangerous place, so any mistake was bound to cost not only the baby black dragon’s life but the entire raid party as well.

Munch! Munch!?

However, Han-Yeol’s worries turned out to be unfounded as Mavros was happily munching on a gigantic lizard’s corpse. The baby black dragon was devouring the corpse, but he was only able to chew through the smaller bones for now.

And just as the baby black dragon was about to top off its meal with the gigantic lizard’s mana stone as a dessert, Han-Yeol jumped down from the boulder and walked over to him. He thought, ‘He’s finally done eating.’

It was then.

Wooooong!

“W-What’s going on?!” Han-Yeol exclaimed after a powerful surge of mana swept across him.

He immediately activated Demon Eyes to inspect what was going on, and he was surprised once more.

“Mavros?!” he exclaimed after finding that the source of the powerful surge of mana was none other than the baby black dragon’s body. “N-No way!”

Tak!

Han-Yeol immediately ran toward Mavros and hugged him. Just then, the surge of mana placed a heavy burden on his own body and he groaned in pain. “Keuk!”

‘What kind of mana is this?!’?he thought as he gritted his teeth.

[W-What’s going on?!]

[Over there!]

There was no way the Hunters would not be able to sense such a powerful surge of mana, and all of them rushed over to see what was going on.

As the Hunters gathered around Mavros, Mariam was the first to shout. [Han-Yeol-nim! Please get away from Mavros! You will be swept away by the explosion the moment that mana triggers an explosion! You will not make it!]

She made a cold yet precise judgment. Various manuals published in multiple languages detailed specific dangerous scenarios, including the occurrence of a sudden, powerful surge of mana released by a Hunter or a monster.

The manual explicitly stated that everyone should immediately evacuate if such an event were to happen. This was not a false warning or a mere safety precaution, as numerous civilians and Hunters had already lost their lives due to such explosions.

However, Han-Yeol could not do that. He yelled, [But Mavros will be…!]

“Kyu…”?Mavros seemed to be in pain as he helplessly trembled.

Mariam inspected the situation from afar and was confident that this was exactly what the manuals stated. She thought, ‘I’m sure it’s going to lead to an explosion.’

[Han-Yeol-nim!]

She couldn't bear the thought of losing Han-Yeol in such a manner. Initially, the Horus raid party treated him as an outcast, but they had come to accept him as one of their own. His abilities and personality had won their hearts, and Mariam was one of the closest people who witnessed his admirable qualities firsthand. She observed that Tayarana had become more cheerful after meeting Han-Yeol, and Mariam herself had found a companion with whom she could freely share her thoughts.

In fact, even the initially snobbish executives of the Horus raid party had recognized Han-Yeol as someone worthy of being their Vice Leader. The Egyptian President had gone so far as to send his own son to learn under Han-Yeol's guidance.

Han-Yeol's popularity wasn't limited to the Hunters; he was also well-liked among the Porters. Perhaps it was because he had worked as a Porter for four years, which allowed him to empathize with them. There was no one in the Horus raid party who hadn't received his assistance.

[I’m alright, Mariam. I can absorb the mana if it turns into an explosion. I will definitely quell this rampaging mana within Mavros! That’s the only way he can survive this!]

[But!]

Tak!

Somebody grabbed Mariam by the shoulder when she was about to rush in and pull Han-Yeol out. She looked back and saw that it was Tayarana.

Tayarana shook her head and said, [Don’t try to stop him. Let him be.]

[But!]

[Mavros is equally important to Han-Yeol, just as he is important to us. We didn’t spend much time with Candalous and Pipi, but we would probably do the same for them, right?]

[Yes…]

Tayarana was right. Both of them had a deep affection for their pets and felt a sense of sadness when they had to leave them behind at their mansion. Despite not spending much time with them, they already felt a strong bond. It made Han-Yeol wonder how much deeper his feelings for Mavros would grow, considering they were practically inseparable.

Mavros had become more than just a pet to Han-Yeol; he had become a cherished member of his family. This held significant meaning for Han-Yeol, as Mavros was his first family member besides his father.

[Is there nothing else we can do aside from hope that Han-Yeol-nim and Mavros will be alright…?]