Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 285 – Shaky Politics (2)

Seuk…!

The Void Executioner made his move and now stood as the primary force in Han-Yeol's party.

While he may not have possessed extremely high defense like Balrog, he boasted incredibly high HP and an insane regenerative ability. Furthermore, he excelled in both melee and ranged combat, and his high-ranking demon status was supported by his impressive statistics.

Bzzzzt!

The Void Executioner channeled a powerful skill and shot it toward Kim Tae-San.

“Slow! You’re too slow!” Kim Tae-San exclaimed as he avoided the attack.

Seuk! Seuk! Seuk! Seuk!

‘He’s really fast,’ Han-Yeol thought while trying to follow Kim Tae-San with his eyes.

He was able to perceive things in slow motion, thanks to his Sixth Sense, but this skill had its limitations. It would only trigger when he was on the verge of receiving critical damage, so it wouldn't activate when his opponent wasn't attacking him.

In this instance, Kim Tae-San was merely moving swiftly, showing no signs of attacking Han-Yeol. Consequently, Han-Yeol had a hard time keeping up with him visually. Instead, he attempted to track the trail of mana that Kim Tae-San left behind as he moved to maintain visual contact.

Soon, he realized that if he wanted to defeat Kim Tae-San, who now possessed a portion of the Dragon of Destruction's powers, he needed to work closely with his demons.

“Arch Lich-nim!”

[Leave it to me.]

The Arch Lich began casting a spell. Undoubtedly, he was a formidable demon with an array of powerful spells. However, his appearance and aura seemed strangely repulsive to some.

The Arch Lich's spell had ensnared Kim Tae-San once before, but the issue was that Kim Tae-San was a human, not a monster. Despite his current appearance resembling that of a monster due to his newfound Dragon of Destruction's powers, his consciousness remained intact. In other words, he wouldn't be fooled by the same trick twice.

Whoosh!

Kim Tae-San suddenly materialized in front of the Arch Lich and jeered, "Keke! Did you honestly believe I would be deceived twice by the same trick?"

“Heh.”

Kim Tae-San readied himself to clap his hands together. Given that his abilities were sound-related, actions leading to loud noises served as ideal triggers for his powers.

"Begone, skeleton!" Kim Tae-San shouted before executing the clap.

Chwak! Boom!

[Shield.]

Crack!

The Arch Lich conjured a shield in an attempt to thwart the attack, but it proved insufficient against Kim Tae-San's strike, infused with the Dragon of Destruction's mana. The shield shattered, and the soundwave hit the Arch Lich.

[Kwaaaaah!]

[Fwoo!]

Asus reacted belatedly and swung his sword at Kim Tae-San.

"I already told you guys, you're too slow," Kim Tae-San yawned.

He deftly turned his body to evade Asus's sword and unleashed a soundwave toward Asus' midsection.

Boom! Kwachik! Kwachik! Thud!

Asus was hurled a great distance, crashing into two trees.

[Fwooo…!]

’Damn it…!’

It was time for Han-Yeol to join the fray.

Whiiiing… Boom!

He fired two mana shells from his shoulder cannons.

"Your homing ability won't work anymore!" Kim Tae-San exclaimed with a smug grin.

Whoosh! Bam!

He swung his arm and batted the mana shells away. Initially, he had to avoid the mana shells, but after obtaining the Dragon of Destruction's powers, he no longer needed to do so. His newfound abilities allowed him to effortlessly swat Han-Yeol's mana shells aside as if they were nothing.

Kim Tae-San had truly become a monster, not only fast but also incredibly strong. Moreover, the mana he absorbed from his subordinates continued to augment his strength.

What if Kim Tae-San defeated Han-Yeol and ventured out into the world?

‘That’s going to be a catastrophic disaster,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Kim Tae-San intended to absorb even more mana from his surroundings and eventually undergo a transformation into the Dragon of Destruction.

There was no conceivable way that the entity residing in a first-dimensional world could halt the Dragon of Destruction, especially when a Level 800 Harkan had failed to do so. The emergence of the Dragon of Destruction was something that Han-Yeol had to prevent at any cost.

Why? Because his carefully crafted, happy life would crumble if he failed to stop it.

‘I can't allow that to happen!’

The world had shown him some kindness, and he wanted to continue basking in that kindness for much longer.

It was then.

[Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Yes, Karvis?’

[Light.]

‘Hmm?’

[Try using the Light Attribute.]

'Huh? Are you saying that...?'

[I believe the mana the hyenas are utilizing originates from the Dragon of Destruction.]

'Haa... Damn it... Things just became incredibly complex...'

[I agree.]

Han-Yeol was also troubled by the similarity in color between the mana used by the Hyena Sorcerer and Kim Tae-San. Nonetheless, at that time, he had chosen to disregard it since it hadn’t appeared to be significant, even though most mana was typically blue in color.

However, the difference this time was Karvis' ability to analyze things following Han-Yeol's second awakening. She was able to successfully analyze the mana being employed by Kim Tae-San.

'The hyenas and the Dragon of Destruction...' Han-Yeol thought.

However, he decided to set it aside for now since it wasn't the most important matter at the moment. He was the only one capable of using the light attribute in this place.

“Hey, Kim Tae-San!”

“Hmm?”

“Take this!”

‘Light Exorcist Sword!’

Han-Yeol activated the sole active light attribute skill available to him at the moment: the Light Exorcist Sword.

Although it was still categorized as F-rank, Han-Yeol compensated for its low rank with his exceptional mana control.

Woooong!

Swords formed from light materialized in the sky, and Kim Tae-San responded immediately.

"Heok!"

'As I suspected, Karvis was right.'

This outcome wasn't a matter of instinct or luck; it was the product of a meticulous analysis of the opponent.

Kim Tae-San began to tremble as he beheld the swords above him.

'This power is still unstable. I need to eliminate that fellow before he can complete whatever he's attempting.'

“Void Executioner-nim!”

Gwuooooh!

[Destruction! Annihilation!]

BZZZT!

The Void Executioner unleashed a formidable surge of lightning, carrying tens of millions of volts, directed at Kim Tae-San.

"I don't know what that is, but it's slow!" Kim Tae-San roared as he swiftly maneuvered to evade the lightning, but...

“Descend!” Han-Yeol shouted.

Kwang!

The swords in the sky descended and enclosed Kim Tae-San.

"Heup!" Kim Tae-San ended up gasping after finding himself surrounded by the swords.

This skill wasn't particularly flashy, so most Hunters might have been perplexed by it, but that wasn't the case for Kim Tae-San. He reacted as if his life were in imminent danger, struggling to put as much distance as possible between himself and the swords.

However, the swords thwarted his escape. Everything transpired within a split second, yet to Kim Tae-San, it felt like an eternity as he moved at the speed of sound. Ironically, that split second was all it took to alter the course of events.

Kwang!

“Kwaaaah!”

The Void Ray fired by the Void Executioner struck Kim Tae-San. Even though he had gained the Dragon of Destruction's powers, there was no way he could withstand the formidable attack from a high-ranking demon.

However, Han-Yeol didn't let his guard down just yet.

‘Mana Explosion!’

Krwaaaang!

[Blizzard!]

[Ice Blade!]

Kwachik!

Both the Arch Lich and Asus had recuperated and launched their attacks at Kim Tae-San, who was encircled by the Light Exorcist Swords.

Boooom!

The combined attacks hit Kim Tae-San, and silence reigned thereafter.

Gulp...!

'I hope it's over...' Han-Yeol thought anxiously while gazing at the swords in the sky.

It was challenging for him to perceive what had transpired clearly since the smoke hadn't dissipated yet. However, he used his Demon Eyes to confirm that Kim Tae-San was still standing.

“Kuheok…!”

Bzzt…! Bzzt…!

The smoke finally dissipated, revealing Kim Tae-San. His entire body was in tatters, and he looked significantly worse than he did before absorbing his subordinates. Regrettably for him, he no longer had any subordinates to absorb this time.

'Phew... It's over. I probably would have lost if the entire Tamra raid party were here,' Han-Yeol thought.

Kim Tae-San's mana was rapidly depleting. In other words, the very energy sustaining his life was diminishing. This was a phenomenon that occurred when a Hunter was struck by a powerful attack and survived, similar to what had happened to Yulia, though her condition had been caused by illness.

"Kwuooh..." Kim Tae-San groaned and looked up at the sky.

'He looks completely different,' Han-Yeol thought upon realizing that Kim Tae-San was now unrecognizable.

Kim Tae-San resembled more of a lizardman than a human being.

"Hahaha... So, I'm the first Dragon of Destruction that failed to descend into a dimension..."

"Dragon of Destruction!"

"Hahaha... I guess my luck is quite rotten. Who would've known I'd run into a creature that has awakened twice in the first dimension..."

The being that was once Kim Tae-San continued to chuckle, even though it was on the brink of death.

"Does that mean the Dragon of Destruction will no longer appear on Earth?" Han-Yeol inquired.

"Who knows? The universe has been designed so that each dimension could intervene in others. So it's both possible and impossible at the same time..."

"I suppose you can't give me a clear answer...?"

"Haha... The Dragon of Destruction will never disappear. We simply go to rest before descending upon a dimension when an opportunity presents itself."

"Well, it doesn't really matter since I'll exterminate all of you lizards, no matter how much you try."

"Hahaha... Don't be so full of yourself, human. I lost this time because I wasn't fully mature yet, but you would've perished at my hands if we had met just a bit later."

"I'm not a fan of 'what ifs.' You lost, and that's the end of it."

"Haha... This is quite frustrating... I can't believe I lost to an insignificant human like you..."

Those were the Dragon of Destruction's final words.

Seuk…

It transformed into smoke before vanishing from sight, and then...

Ding!

[A dimension will possess denser mana and life force as it matures, and numerous enemies will come seeking its resources. The Dragon of Destruction is the apex predator of these dimensions.]

[Every dimension is destined to grapple with these invaders, and failure to repel them will lead to the dimension's destruction.]

[You have successfully defeated the Dimension Hunter, the Dragon of Destruction!]

[The Dragon of Destruction will no longer exist on Earth while it is still in the first dimension!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

…

[You have leveled up!]

[You have obtained the title ‘Dragon Slayer’.]

[The rank of ‘Light Exorcist Sword’ has risen from (F) to (E).]

Han-Yeol leveled up ten times, obtained a title, and saw his skill level up.

'The rewards are rather stingy for defeating the Dragon of Destruction...' he grumbled to himself.

The Dragon of Destruction was the ultimate threat to the dimension's survival. Even though it might have been in its early stages when Han-Yeol defeated it, it remained a formidable creature.

'Tsk... I suppose there's nothing I can do about it.' Han-Yeol clicked his tongue.

What was he to do when the system refused to provide him with more rewards? He chose to be content with the fact that he had prevented the Dragon of Destruction from further growth.

'Ah, I guess the justification to attack the Tamra raid party is an added bonus,' he thought.

At this point, it was a no-brainer that killing Kim Tae-San was an act of justice, with no legal or moral problems. He now had a pretext to go after the Tamra guild, and they were sure to crumble without Kim Tae-San in the picture.

'Well, the hyenas lurking around them will take care of them even if I don't do it myself...'

Here, the "hyenas" he's referring to are not actual animals but rather other guilds that had been eyeing the Tamra guild's position.

Pshhh…!

Han-Yeol was finally able to survey the area after the smoke had completely dissipated.

‘Wow... There's nothing…’

He was taken aback by the fact that devastation was the only thing visible across the entire hunting ground. This had previously been a hunting ground inhabited by the Volaxes, so it was filled with lush trees and vegetation, but none of that remained now.

The tree that Asus had crashed into was the last one standing in the entire hunting ground.

'Tsk... Oh well, it's not my fault.' Han-Yeol shrugged it off.

He believed that he had performed an act of justice that had saved the entire world, so he didn't consider this much damage to be problematic.

"Great work, everyone."

Of course, he didn't forget to express his gratitude to his demons that had assisted him.

[Bwahahaha! That was a really fun battle! Call me when you have more of these fights!]

[I shall now return.]

[Fwoo!]

[My work here is done. There is nothing left for me to do.]

As expected, the demons offered their unique one-liners before returning to their own world.