Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 158: A Miracle Occurs (2)

His skill's rank explosively increased after simultaneously destroying a multitude of arms, but...

‘Argh! There are too many arms!’ Han-Yeol's efforts fell short of annihilating all of them.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Tayarana swiftly soared through the air, cutting down the arms that Han-Yeol had missed. However, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva still possessed a substantial number of limbs.

Ratatatatata!

Han-Yeol utilized his chain in his left hand and his gun in his right to dismantle the boss monster's remaining arms.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The seemingly insurmountable task gradually transformed into a feasible one as the boss monster's arm count significantly diminished.

"Gwuoooooh!" The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva emitted an unfamiliar sound.

It appeared flustered as the pesky pests it tried to ensnare suddenly turned the tables and started decimating its arms, contrary to its expectations.

Though the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva may bear resemblance to Buddha on the surface, it remained a monster at its core. Consequently, it lost its composure and failed to assess the situation rationally.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!?

In the end, the boss monster resorted to using its golden palms once again.

‘This is what I was waiting for!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed in delight at the appearance of the golden palms.

He put his machine gun on his back and spread out his shield.

‘There are four of them, so it’s going to be tough, but… Reflect!’?

Then, he absorbed all four golden palms at once.

‘Keuk…!’?Gritting his teeth, Han-Yeol groaned in pain as he prepared to infuse his mana and retaliate against the four incoming golden palms.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!?

Four powerful blue palms were shot out by Han-Yeol, flying straight toward the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.

"Gwuooooooh!" the boss monster cried out when it realized its mistake. It immediately brought its hundreds of arms to the front to block the blue palms, but...

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The blue palms, twice as strong as the golden palms, ripped through the boss monster's arms and continued their trajectory. The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva defended with more of its arms, exhausting half of its remaining appendages before finally managing to stop the four blue palms.

Although the boss monster successfully halted the attack, it had suffered significant losses.

"Hehe... You've lost quite a lot of arms. Weren't those your lifeline?" Han-Yeol sneered.

"Gwuooooh!"

The expression on the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva's face was concealed, but it clearly seethed with rage. The once calm and composed monster now spread its mana throughout its surroundings.

Things were becoming increasingly dangerous, but Han-Yeol and Tayarana maintained their smiles in response to the boss monster's enraged reaction.

‘It’s getting flustered.’

‘It’s definitely flustered.’

Getting flustered or confused during a battle would never be a good thing, and this was evidence that the battle was not going in its favor.

Pssht... Pssht... Pssht...

The hundreds of arms on the boss monster's back crumbled into dust after being hit by the blue palms shot out by Han-Yeol.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik!

The Horus raid party, led by Mujahid and Mariam, successfully eliminated the remaining zodiac monsters. Despite their immense power, the zodiac monsters were no match for the entire Horus raid party, especially after enduring Tayarana's divine punishment.

Furthermore, aside from Mujahid unleashing his full potential in the fight, the greatest contributor to their victory was undoubtedly Tayarana and her ultimate ability.

The battle against the zodiac monsters came to an end with Mariam commanding the bull under her command to kill itself.

Ding!

[Your level has risen.]

Han-Yeol experienced a significant surge in experience points when Tayarana unleashed her ultimate skill, resulting in him gaining eight levels. However, the real breakthrough came when the Horus raid party successfully eradicated the remaining zodiac monsters. This accomplishment granted Han-Yeol another substantial amount of experience points, allowing him to further advance by seven levels.

In total, Han-Yeol's level increased by an impressive fifteen levels solely from this battle. With his newfound experience, he finally reached an Invoke level of three hundred, marking a significant milestone in his growth and power.

‘Well, I don’t think I’m in the situation to summon another demon, but…’?he thought.

[Thank you for buying us time. We will be fighting alongside you now.]

[Wow, hyung-nim! We’re going to fight together now!]

[Great work everyone.]

[Bwahahaha! A battle truly boils my blood! Call me earlier next time!]

[Everything is futile…]

With the zodiac monsters defeated and the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva weakened by the loss of over half its original thousand arms, the remaining enemy that stood before them was solely the boss monster. The Horus raid party, along with Han-Yeol and his three demons, directed their undivided attention toward the formidable adversary.

Previously, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva may not have felt threatened by the human forces. However, the tables had turned drastically with its diminished arm count, making it vulnerable and susceptible to the united assault of the Horus raid party.

“Gwuooooooh!”

The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva was smart; it knew that it still had many of its minions remaining and that its body would recuperate over time. It prepared to make a run for it, but...

[Mariam, I think that bastard’s trying to escape.]

[I am aware. Fire!]

[Yes, ma’am!]

Fshwoooong… Kaboom!

The time had come for one of the equipment sent from Egypt to make its debut. It was the secret weapon that Egypt had developed discreetly.

While Tayarana and Han-Yeol held the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva's attention, Mariam had been busy setting up the weapons. These specialized devices, designed to shoot out large harpoons, were now deployed, flying toward the boss monster's legs and firmly embedding themselves within its flesh.

As the harpoons connected with one another, they formed a netting, effectively ensnaring the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and preventing it from moving any further. The boss monster was trapped, its attempts at escape thwarted by the ingenious Egyptian weapon.

[We are ready!]

[All forces, attack!]

[Waaaaaah!]

[Bwahahaha! Time to cause some mayhem!]

Mujahid seemed to be the most excited one as he led the charge.

[Waaaaah!]

Then, the Horus raid party Hunters followed him closely.

It was a full-scale assault conducted by the Horus raid party.

The battle persisted for another eight hours, even though the boss monster had lost half of its arms and had been immobilized by the secret weapons. The Horus raid party swiftly transitioned into a three-shift rotation, ensuring a continuous onslaught against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva and inflicting further damage upon it.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…!”

Even Mavros seemed to be exhausted as he perched on top of a tree or boulder and rested.

In the end, the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva could no longer be called that. It had lost almost all of its arms.

[Avoid it!]

[Uwaaah!]

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!?

However, that did not imply that it had become completely harmless. It remained a formidable boss monster, with several arms remaining on its back and its ten main arms still intact.

The monster persisted in launching its golden palms, but Han-Yeol promptly countered them with Reflect. Yet, he struggled to reflect every single golden palm due to his diminishing mana pool.

“Kwuaaaaa!”

[Madabikia!]

[Damn it!]

The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva retained its status as a formidable boss monster, demanding the prowess of a Master Rank Hunter to be defeated. Consequently, even with the combined strength of Tayarana, Han-Yeol, Mujahid, and the Horus raid party, it was evident that the battle against this powerful monster would not be an easy one.

[Tara…]

Tayarana, wielding her sword, couldn't help but shed a tear.

Although she wasn't known for being warm or engaging in casual conversations with her subordinates, she carried a sense of responsibility for their well-being. As a leader, she wouldn't openly display her concern when her raid party members faced hardships, but she would quietly instruct Mariam to provide support from the shadows.

The loss of ten of her subordinates in this raid weighed heavily on her, bringing deep sorrow to her heart.

‘Argh… Damn it… I could have saved them if they hadn't died instantly!’ Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces after seeing Tayarana shed a tear.

There was a risk of his absence on the battlefield, but he was confident that he could heal anyone, even if they sustained fatal wounds, as long as they were still alive. However, the Hunters hit by the golden palms were squashed flat and died instantly, leaving Han-Yeol with no time to heal them.

He was deeply saddened by their deaths as he had grown quite close to them over time, but there was only one thing he could do right now.

[Tara! We have to kill him as fast as possible and put an end to this!]

[I know. I will kill him. Mark my words!]

Woooong!

.

Tayarana was enraged, causing her mana to surge like a wild bull as she propelled herself forward. However, despite her intense emotions, she managed to maintain her composure and not let them overpower her.

‘That kind of anger is always welcomed.’?Han-Yeol was relieved after seeing Tayarana maintain her cool.

Anger and emotions in a battle were always going to cause more harm than necessary.

[Let’s end this with one strike, Tara.]

[Alright.]

Both of them combined their strength. Han-Yeol started by crushing a gigantic lizard’s mana stone and using Enhance on Tayarana.

Shwooong…

Tayarana ascended into the stratosphere, ready to unleash the Judgment of Horus once more. With only enough mana left for a single use of this powerful skill, she understood that her participation in the battle would end if this attack failed to defeat the boss monster.

The weight of the situation was clear to her, as the consequences of her inability to fight would quickly escalate and potentially lead to the downfall of the entire Horus raid party. She knew that failure was not an option.

[Mujahid!]

[Yes, hyung-nim!]

Mujahid approached Han-Yeol, his body covered in blood and wounds. It was evident that he had endured the most brutal injuries in this battle, and it was expected considering his role of evading the boss monster's attacks on foot while protecting Mariam and the rest of the Horus raid party. He bore the weight of this responsibility, pushing himself to the limit in the fight.

[Tayarana is preparing to deliver one last ultimate strike. I’ll use Enhance on you as well, so do what you can to bring that bastard down.]

[Yes! Leave it to me!]

Mujahid looked extremely tired, but he still maintained his carefree smile.

[Oh, but before that…]

‘Restore!’

Woooong!

Mujahid's body was enveloped in a warm, healing light that mended his external and internal injuries. Although the battle was still ongoing, Han-Yeol's healing provided enough relief for Mujahid to unleash his full strength and continue fighting.

Kwachik!

‘Enhance!’

Han-Yeol crushed another mana stone and used Enhance on Mujahid.

[Oh! This feels really good! I can feel a powerful surge of mana empowering me. I’m really jealous that you can feel this feeling whenever you want, hyung-nim!]

[Haha…]

‘That’s a fucking expensive skill… asshole…’

Han-Yeol retained all of the mana stones they had acquired from hunting the gigantic lizards. The entire raid party had agreed to allocate the mana stones from the twelve zodiacs to Han-Yeol, enabling him to utilize his Enhance ability during the raid.

Since they were determined to confront the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva at any cost, they saw no reason to be frugal with the mana stones. They were fully prepared to risk everything for the sake of achieving victory in this battle.

The Horus raid party exhibited remarkable unity in these matters, making it easy for Han-Yeol to collect all of the mana stones.

[I’ll leave it to you, Mujahid.]

[Yes, hyung-nim!]

Tak!

Mujahid propelled himself off the ground and sprinted toward the boss monster. With his mana fully restored, he felt rejuvenated and back to his prime after his injuries had been healed.

Shwaaa!

Then, the fire embers on his back started to burn stronger.

‘It’s time to put an end to this, Thousand Armed Bodhisattva,’?Han-Yeol steeled his resolve.

“Gwuoooooh!”?The Thousand Armed Bodhisattva roared threateningly after it felt the Horus raid party’s determination to bring this battle to an end.

Kwachik!

‘Enhance!’

Han-Yeol used his skill on himself as well.

‘This is my most powerful skill right now. Sword Breath!’?

Fwaaaaaa!

After enhancing his mana, Mujahid unleashed his most powerful skill, relying on his trusty sword to deliver devastating blows to his enemies. Despite not being particularly fond of sword-wielding characters in his gaming days, he found an unexpected synergy with the sword after becoming a Hunter.

As he poised himself to deliver the final strike, a sudden burst of mana erupted in front of him, causing an explosion of energy.

KWAAAAAANG!

‘Mujahid.’?Han-Yeol knew the source of that explosion.

All five embers on Mujahid’s back combined into one, and a massive flame that wanted to devour his whole body completely engulfed him.

‘Oh right…’?Han-Yeol suddenly remembered something and hurriedly ran to Mariam, who was still busy commanding the entire Horus raid party.