Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 261: Second Awakening (1)

The boss monster remained undamaged, thanks to its shield; however, it was severely shocked to discover that its shield had been destroyed in a single hit.

‘I'm in trouble.’

It was a low-ranking sorcerer, which meant it didn't have many spells at its disposal.

[Tara.]

[Han-Yeol.]

Chwak!

The visor covering her face opened, revealing Tayarana's beauty, which remained as captivating as ever, even though her hair was concealed.

[I’m not late, right?]

[Nope, you’re just on time.]

Ratatatata!

The sound of gunfire rang out shortly after.

Thud!

The door was forcefully kicked down as Mujahid and the Hunters rushed out from it.

[Hyung-nim!]

[Oh, you're just in time too, Mujahid,] Han-Yeol said with a thumbs-up gesture.

They had arrived at the perfect moment, just as things were about to become dangerous for Han-Yeol alone.

[Hey, you stinky dog. I believe the game's over now. Don't you agree?] Han-Yeol sneered at the boss monster with a smirk.

With two Master Rank Hunters and numerous S Rank Hunters on their side, it was abundantly clear that the hyena and its corrupted soldiers were no match for them.

[…]

The boss monster briefly closed its eyes before reopening them, and they had transformed, now tinged with the color of blood.

[Ah… You humans are truly annoying, annoying, and annoying… I'm going to rip all of you to shreds! Forget about my experiment!] it declared, its rage evident as it exuded black mana from its entire body.

Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik! Kwachik!

The boss monster's skin began to expand until it ripped apart.

‘Hmm? What's that?’ Han-Yeol wondered, as he had never seen anything like this, even in his life as Harkan.

‘Well, I guess it's normal for them to develop new spells since time flows differently in that dimension. These bastards always try to come up with something new, after all…’

They needed to halt the boss monster quickly before it could complete its spell, but it appeared they were already too late.

[Kakaka! You humans should be honored to see the secret spell of our race! Kafluation[1]!”

Woooong!

“Gwuoo! Ooooh!”

Tak!

The Master Rank Corrupted Soldier suddenly turned around and sprinted toward the boss monster immediately after the spell.

‘What the hell is that?’ Han-Yeol exclaimed, utterly bewildered by the bizarre turn of events.

[W-What’s going on?]

[What is that thing doing…?]

It was the same for the other Hunters too.

Rumble… Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…

‘Huh?’

The city hall started shaking as an earthquake rattled the hunting ground.

Cheeng! Cheeng! Cheeng!

[H-Huh?!]

[What?!]

[The corrupted soldiers!]

“Gwuooh! Gwuoooh! Gwuoh!”

The corrupted soldiers surrounding the city hall shrieked as they converged toward the building.

Shabab was a large terrorist organization with over 1,200 members, and nearly all of them were present at this location. The Goblin raid party had only managed to eliminate about four hundred of them before advancing to the rooftop, leaving roughly eight hundred corrupted soldiers still in the vicinity.

[Prepare for combat!]

[Get ready to fight!]

Chwak! Chwak!

The Hunters readied themselves against the incoming horde, preparing their weapons.

[Ah… We have to fight those bastards again?]

[I’m not worried about their strength, but I really can’t stand these zombies…]

[Yeah, they repulse me…]

These monsters were officially known as corrupted soldiers, but the Goblin raid party referred to them as zombies due to their zombie-like behavior and movement.

There was an unwritten rule among Hunters not to rename a monster that had already been named, but this rule didn't apply in this case, as these monsters would never appear again after this incident.

"Gwuooh! Gwoooh! Gwuoh!"

The Hunters prepared to face the incoming horde at any moment, but...

[Huh?]

[W-What the hell…?]

The corrupted soldiers didn't appear to be targeting them this time. Instead, the horde headed straight for the boss monster.

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

The corrupted soldiers clung to the boss monster like wet clay.

"Damn it!" Han-Yeol shouted upon realizing what was happening.

He couldn't be certain of the boss monster's intentions, but his experience from his time as Harkan told him that the hyena was definitely up to no good. The hyena race was known for constantly devising new spells, so he was certain that they had come up with another terrifying spell.

[Damn it… We have to stop that spell, Tara!]

Han-Yeol channeled his mana into his shoulder cannons, which were aimed at the boss monster.

[Okay!]

Chwak!

Shwiiiing! Boom!

Tayarana channeled her mana into her wings and swung her sword the moment Han-Yeol's shoulder cannons fired.

Chwaaak!

The wings of her Horus suit were not limited to just flying; Mujahid had previously explained that each part of her suit possessed unique effects or abilities, and the wings were no exception.

The Horus Wings had the special ability to gather mana particles from the air, allowing Tayarana to use them instead of her own mana. Needless to say, this was an incredibly overpowered ability for an item to have, and anyone who heard of it would have been green with envy.

This overpowered item in Tayarana's possession gave her a nearly unlimited supply of mana.

To illustrate how it worked, if she used a skill that required one hundred mana, she would tap into the mana stored in the wings before using her own mana. This, combined with her high mana recovery, gave her nearly limitless mana.

However, the Horus Wing was not the only overpowered item in her possession; the other items were just as formidable.

Chwaaaak!

Tayarana's aura blade followed closely behind Han-Yeol's mana shell, both aimed at the boss monster casting a strange spell.

Thud! Thud!

“D-Damn it!”

[…]

Both Han-Yeol and Tayarana were shocked by what they witnessed. Their combined attack was incredibly powerful, yet it was easily blocked by the boss monster's body.

"How is that possible?"

[…]

Han-Yeol was in disbelief, while Tayarana appeared to be wounded in her pride. They didn't expect their attack to outright kill the boss monster, but they did anticipate it would at least cause some damage. However, it merely produced a dull thud and failed to even scratch the boss monster.

A few seconds later, the boss monster snickered and roared. [Kakaka! Foolish humans! Did you really think such feeble attacks would harm me?! Come! You can try a hundred times over! I'll let you attack me as much as you want, but it will be my turn after my secret spell has been completed!]

The hyena's sinister voice, dripping with evil and malice, echoed throughout the area.

‘It really is a special spell, alright... I suppose they designed it to protect the caster while the spell is being channeled, but wasn't this guy a low-rank sorcerer?’ Han-Yeol pondered.

The hyena was undoubtedly low-ranked, based on Han-Yeol's experience as Harkan. A sorcerer above intermediate rank wouldn't have bothered with using such a complicated spell, as they would have been powerful enough to vanquish everything with regular spells alone.

This was a clear distinction between the first and second dimensions, and there was nothing Han-Yeol could do about it.

Kwraaaaang!

Finally, the spell was completed.

[What?!]

[What’s going on?!]

The Egyptian Hunters were horrified by what they were witnessing.

The boss monster transformed into a colossal creature that bore no resemblance to the hyena after completing its spell and fully absorbing the corrupted soldiers clinging to it.

"Krwaaaaaang!"

They struggled to find words to describe the monstrosity before them; it appeared grotesque and unlike anything in their world. If they had to make a comparison, it might vaguely resemble the 'Abomination' from an old computer game, but even that was a stretch.

[C-Chimera?!]

[What?! A chimera?!]

That was the first word that came to their mind.

“Gwuoo Ooook!”

Not a single trace of consciousness could be found in the boss monster as it roared and exuded sinister, vile mana.

Han-Yeol immediately recognized this sinister mana, which he had experienced once before. ‘This is the thing that made my father sick!’

It was the mana that had inhabited his father's body as a parasite.

"You hyena bastards!"

Han-Yeol concluded that the parasitic mana was a creation of the hyena race that had somehow crossed dimensions and attached itself to his father. Thus, he had yet another reason to kill the hyena in front of him.

Sseuuu...!

The foul smell and the malevolent mana emitted by the boss monster became even more pronounced as it grew in size, stoking Han-Yeol's anger.

Why? Because if there was one thing in this world that would drive Han-Yeol to madness, it was anything or anyone that harmed his father.

***

“Kweeeek Uwooooo!”

The hyena, which had been running its mouth and pretending to be intelligent, was nowhere to be found as a larger, hideous creature replaced it.

The hideous creature was so massive that it could easily step on the entire city hall building and crush it like a tin can.

[Wow… Isn't this too much, hyung-nim?]

[In what way?]

Mujahid rubbed his chin, taking a moment to formulate an answer to Han-Yeol's question. He already knew what the answer was, but putting it into words was proving to be quite a challenge.

[Hmm… In many ways?]

[Well, I think so too… Damn it…]

It was exactly as Mujahid had said; things were spiraling out of control in numerous ways.

Han-Yeol had never expected the hyena to use such an outrageous spell in the first place, and he had never seen such a spell during the decades he spent chasing them down. The spell had completely caught him off guard, as he had never imagined they were capable of using such a spell.

[Damn it… What should we do?]

[Haha! What else aside from beating that thing to a pulp, hyung-nim? It's obviously weaker than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva…]

“Krwaaaaaang!”

It was at that moment that Mujahid attempted to mention that the boss monster was weaker than the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva, but he fell silent as the boss monster unleashed its malevolent mana.

[Haha… You just realized it now, Mujahid?]

[Ah, yes, hyung-nim…]

Han-Yeol had sensed from the moment the spell was completed that it was as formidable as the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva.

Mujahid instantly grew serious, recalling how powerless he had been against the Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. He was certain that if he dropped his guard for even a moment, he would awaken in the afterlife and meet Kharnun.

Kharnun was the Ancient Egyptian God of Death and Rebirth.

‘I'm not scared of death, but there's no harm in staying alive longer,’ Mujahid thought.

He believed that, based on his faith, he would spend some time in the afterlife before being reincarnated once again, so he wasn't afraid of dying. However, there was no way Mujahid would willingly relinquish the life that had just started becoming exhilarating.

Thanks to Han-Yeol, his once monotonous and dull existence had instantly transformed into an exciting one, and he yearned for more thrilling moments with him.

Tak!

Mujahid slammed his fists together and shouted at the boss monster, [Bring it on, you stinky pile of shit!]

Tayarana took a step forward this time.

[Tara?]

[Yes, Han-Yeol?]

[Are you alright?]

Han-Yeol couldn't help but be worried about her, as she was probably not in her optimal condition right now. She had entered this challenging hunting ground, a place where even other Ra Rank Hunters didn't dare to venture alone. Fighting her way through hordes of powerful monsters to reach here would have undoubtedly taken a toll on her.

1. I have no idea what this means. ??? ????