Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 154: Run Toward the Firmament (3)

The Horus raid party hopped into their trucks, left the Bulguksa Temple, and quickly made their way to Seokguram Grotto. Surprisingly, they did not encounter many monsters on the way to Seokguram Grotto, although they had to take a significant detour to avoid them.

Creak!

[We have arrived.]

Thud! Thud!

The hunters disembarked from the trucks, but their job was far from over simply because they had reached their destination.

Under Mariam's command, the Horus raid party swiftly prepared for battle, setting up a variety of traditional weapons to hunt the colossal boss monster. Although the weapons were infused with mana, it was clear that it wouldn't be enough to inflict any significant damage on the boss monster.

‘Well, I’m sure they have a plan.’?Han-Yeol shrugged before using Demon Eyes to check the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.

Thud… Thud… Thud… Thud…?

The boss monster was still some distance away, so the tremors were not excessively strong. However, Han-Yeol could definitely discern that the monster was indeed making its way toward them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!?

Han-Yeol waved his hand and signaled to Mariam that the boss monster was still on the way.

[Hurry up and get ready! We are going to test the weapons sent from our motherland!]

[Yes, ma’am!]

‘Oh right, they sent some stuff from Egypt, right?’?Han-Yeol recalled that there had been a recent delivery of several weapons from Egypt, but he had no knowledge of their specific contents or nature.

As he lacked initial interest in the weapons, Han-Yeol refrained from asking any questions. However, witnessing the process of their installation gradually sparked his curiosity, piquing his interest in them.

‘I should go and have a look when they’re testing those out. I’m sure the information will be helpful to Yoo-Bi.’?

As the Vice Leader of the Horus raid party, Han-Yeol was aware of his position. However, he also recognized that there were limits to how far he could ascend within the group due to not being of Egyptian descent.

Of course, he was now quite influential within the Horus raid party, but there was a limit to how much information he could access when it came to the dealings of the raid party and the Egyptian government.

“Oh right… I have that option…” Han-Yeol came up with a good idea while observing the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva with Demon Eyes.

“Mavros,” he called out.

“Kyu?”

“Transform to battle mode!” Han-Yeol shouted.

He suddenly cringed, feeling a peculiar sensation as his toes involuntarily curled inward.

“Kyu!”

Woooong!

Mavros’ body was enveloped in mana and started growing bigger the moment Han-Yeol gave the command. He then transformed into the majestic form that everyone became in awe of.

Han-Yeol recognized that "transform" might be perceived as a somewhat juvenile word to use, and he acknowledged that there were other more sophisticated alternatives available. Nevertheless, he believed that "transform" was the most fitting term to describe Mavros and was determined not to change it up.

Chwak!

Mavros underwent astounding growth, expanding from a mere one meter to an impressive ten meters in height. His wingspan now stretched a colossal seventeen meters, and his flight capabilities rivaled those of a fighter jet. In summary, Mavros possessed remarkable abilities.

“Mavros!”

“Kireuk!”

Mavros sat on the ground to make it easier for Han-Yeol to get on top after realizing what he wanted.

“Phew…”

Han-Yeol was a tad bit nervous now that he was mounting Mavros. He was a thrill seeker in a way, but he was not the type who would do extreme and risky sports.

‘I wanted to mount him only after procuring a saddle, but…’?Han-Yeol preferred to mount the black dragon in a safer manner, but seeing the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva up close was more important right now.

While Han-Yeol's life motto was "safety first," as a Hunter, there were instances where he had to willingly jeopardize his own safety.

“Wow! You’re so comfortable to ride, Mavros!”

“Kireuk!”

Tayarana approached Han-Yeol while he was busy praising Mavros.

Mariam was responsible for most non-combat things so Tayarana did not have to be present at their new camp.

[Where are you going, Han-Yeol?]

[I want to go see the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva with my own eyes, and that’s why I’m going to fly with Mavros. It’s currently coming this way, so I’m going to lure it back on track if it ever goes off-path.]

[Ah, I see.] Tayarana nodded in agreement to Han-Yeol’s plan, and then she suddenly said, [I’ll go with you.]

[Huh?]

[I can’t mount Candalous since he is still young, but I can fly on my own with my suit.]

[Are you sure?]

Han-Yeol was actually asking Tayarana for formality’s sake. She was the strongest person in the Horus raid party, so him asking her was more of a rhetorical question.

[Do you doubt my skills?]

[Well, I guess your skills are better than mine.]

The conversation did not last longer than that as both of them were just joking around.

Chwak!

Tayarana spread her wings and flew up first. She said, [Follow me, junior.]

Fwoosh!

Han-Yeol prepared to fly in hot pursuit of Tayarana after she teased him. He muttered with a smirk, “So, you like teasing?”

Then, he gave the command to his black dragon, “Mavros, we need to catch up to Tayarana.”

“Kireuk!”

Mavros seemed to have realized that Tayarana was teasing both of them, so he spread out his massive seventeen meters wingspan and flew up.

“Woooo! I’m flying!” Han-Yeol exclaimed with the same astonishment and exhilaration that most people would express when experiencing flight for the first time.

[Han-Yeol-nim, please wait a moment.]

[Hmm? Mariam?]

After receiving a message in his head from Mariam, Han-Yeol said, “Mavros, wait a minute.”

“Kireuk!”

As Han-Yeol asked Mavros to descend, Mariam and Yoo-Bi were walking toward them.

“Yoo-Bi?”

“Ah! Oppa! Take this!” Yoo-Bi said as she passed a necklace with a camera to Han-Yeol.

“What’s this?” Han-Yeol asked.

Han-Yeol accepted the necklace as it was given to him, but he couldn't comprehend the reason behind why she was giving him the camera in the first place.

Mariam was the one to satisfy his curiosity. She explained, "This camera is a specially designed multi-purpose device created by Yoo-Bi-nim for Mavros. It harnesses a small amount of mana from whoever it is attached to, allowing it to function even in the presence of strong electromagnetic interference. You'll be able to use it effectively around the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva."

"In addition," she continued, "you will have the ability to transmit the scene in real-time, allowing us to observe the video feed. However, there is a limitation in terms of not being able to record the footage."

Mariam spoke in Korean instead of Arabic to be considerate to Yoo-Bi. She was not very considerate of others aside from Tayarana, but she slowly started to change after meeting new people.

“Wow, okay. Hey, Mavros. Are you alright with wearing this?” Han-Yeol asked his black dragon’s opinion first.

“Kireuk!”?Mavros replied by lowering his head to make it easy to mount the camera.

Han-Yeol wrapped a rope around Mavros’ neck and secured the camera in place.

“Kireuk!”?

Mavros did not seem to be bothered by the camera, and Han-Yeol patted the black dragon’s neck just to be safe.

The black dragon was much larger now, but he was still a cute little baby dragon to Han-Yeol.

“Let’s go, Mavros!”

Chwak!

Mavros flew into the air.

“Woooow!” Yoo-Bi exclaimed while watching the black dragon shoot up into the air.

It was truly a cool scene that made her think, ‘I want to have my own monster pet too…’

Her desire to quickly earn one trillion won and buy a monster pet from Han-Yeol grew after seeing the majesty of the black dragon.

Mavros lived up to his legendary status as a monster, showcasing his innate ability to fly effortlessly, despite it being his first time taking flight since hatching from the egg. There was no trace of awkwardness as he swiftly soared through the sky, displaying a remarkable natural aptitude.

Mavros was extremely excited after flying for the first time, and the same went for Han-Yeol who was flying for the first time too. Well, Han-Yeol seemed to be enjoying it more than the black dragon…

“This is amazing!” Han-Yeol shouted while facing the wind head-on.

Shwaaaaaaaa!

‘Ugh… I can’t do anything about this wind and the noise… Hmm… What if I ask Yoo-Bi to make me some equipment…?’?Han-Yeol made a mental note of what was uncomfortable during the flight.

Mavros was flying at such high speed that the wind was placing great pressure on Han-Yeol’s body. Thankfully, he was not really damaged or affected by the wind as his stats had increased by quite a lot after awakening. However, the sound of the wind was quite annoying. It dampened the whole flying experience.

‘Oh well, I just have to get used to it. Hmm… Is that why Tayarana wears a helmet…?’?Han-Yeol finally understood why Tayarana covered her beautiful face with a helmet every time she flew.

“Kyaaa! Kyaaaa!”?Mavros shrieked out in joy due to his very first flight.

“Hehe, you seem to be enjoying yourself!”

“Kyaaooo!”

Although Mavros possessed a certain level of cuteness and obediently followed Han-Yeol's commands, he remained a true monster at his core. In essence, if he had been born as a regular monster instead of a pet, he would have been meant to roam the skies freely and without restraint.

The black dragon couldn't contain his overwhelming excitement at finally being able to unleash his primal instincts, having been domesticated throughout his entire life. However, this didn't imply that he would suddenly attack Han-Yeol or pose any threat to him.

Mavros finally caught up to Tayarana after a while.

Pat!

Han-Yeol tapped Mavros to signal him to stop after Tayarana stopped in mid-air as well.

[Hey, Tayarana.]

[Look over there, Han-Yeol.]

[Hmm?]

Han-Yeol looked toward the area where Tayarana was pointing.

“Ugh…”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was strolling toward Han-Yeol and Tayarana.

Tayarana took off her helmet and inspected the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. She commented, [It’s really big.]

[Yeah, I agree, and do you feel that guy’s massive mana?]

Tayarana nodded in response.

[It's undoubtedly a formidable monster that would require a Master Rank Hunter to defeat. I'm starting to feel uneasy since we don't have a Master Rank Hunter among us.]

[I’m worried too. I hope the kids won’t get hurt in this raid.]

Tayarana had demanded a huge sum of 1.2 trillion won from the Korean Hunters’ Association as the reward for completing this raid. The unique item was important too, but she placed greater importance in the Hunters who fought alongside her all these years.

The one trillion won and unique items did not particularly appeal to her from the start, as Egypt ranked second in terms of the number of unique items possessed, making them less enticing to her.

Tayarana would have declined the request if the boss was within their hunting grounds. However, due to the alliance between Egypt and South Korea, she couldn't ignore the crisis unfolding in South Korea and thus decided to accept the request.

That was the sole reason why Tayarana had agreed to this raid.

[All of them have been with me for a long time, and the cooperation within our raid party is exceptional. If any of them were to perish during this raid, I would need to find replacements and invest significant time in retraining them. It's a demanding process. Additionally, Hunters are highly esteemed individuals in Egypt.]

[Yeah, I've started growing attached to them, so I would really hate it if anyone died…]