Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 298 – Second Dimension Earth (3)

Han-Yeol was utterly speechless now. He had believed he could effortlessly pass himself off as Harkan, but it seemed that Riru was aware of everything.

[Of course, I only had my suspicions at that time since I believed that Harkan would become a true warrior one day, but being able to toy around with Kandir did not make any sense at all.]

[I... I see.]

Harkan was not only physically weak at that time but also mentally fragile. He was so kind that he wouldn't harm an insect, unlike the other canine beastmen, who were quite aggressive and cunning. Yet, Harkan had suddenly become the strongest warrior among them? It was something impossible and defied all logic.

However, Riru didn't have proof back then, so she decided to believe that Harkan had simply changed for the better.

[But I became certain after noticing that you kept avoiding talking about our childhood memories. The only explanation for that is if the soul within Harkan was not the real Harkan.]

[I'm sorry,] Han-Yeol sincerely apologized to her for pretending to be someone he was not and giving her a hard time.

[No, it's fine,] Riru reassured him.

[Riru…]

[It doesn't matter who the real Harkan is, as he has always been cool in my eyes.]

[Riru…]

This was how the Bastrolings thought. They didn't care about the truth as long as they liked the person.

[T-Then... H-Harkan-nim?] Kandir stuttered as he approached Han-Yeol.

[Hmm?]

Han-Yeol could discern what Kandir was thinking just from his eyes. ‘He's holding something back.’

[With all due respect, could you show me proof that you are truly Harkan-nim? While Riru-nim and I may accept that you are Harkan-nim, my subordinates are not very astute, so they might need some evidence.]

‘But it seems you don't fully believe me,’ Han-Yeol wanted to say these words, but he chose to remain silent, knowing Kandir's personality.

[Alright, let me show you. Come to the backyard.]

[That sounds good, Harkan-nim.] Kandir smirked as he watched Han-Yeol cooperate.

‘It's definitely good news if he's the real Harkan-nim, but if he's not, then... I will cut his head off and proceed with our plan to conquer this dimension.’

Time was running out before Earth would become a second dimension, so the Bastrolings needed to conquer it even a day earlier.

Han-Yeol exited through the door, and Kandir followed closely behind.

[Oh? Are you guys already getting close?] Riru nonchalantly remarked as she followed them outside.

In the mansion's backyard, Han-Yeol and Kandir stood face to face.

[So, are you asking me to attack you, Harkan-nim?] Kandir inquired.

[Yeah, give it a try,] Han-Yeol replied.

[Oh? Alright, then.]

Seuk…!

Kandir unslung his ax from his back, showing his intent to go all out this time.

‘Riru-nim might believe that creature is Harkan-nim, but I'm not as forgiving as her. I don't care if he's the real Harkan or not; he's not worthy of being Harkan-nim if he fails to block my attack. Hoho! You've just made it easier for me to kill you! Blame your own foolishness, Earthling!’

Kandir was planning to eliminate the creature in this test and pass it off as an accident to Riru.

He couldn't help but think that these "Earthlings" were quite foolish. The male Earthling had certainly witnessed his previous duel with the female, yet he was now asking Kandir to attack freely.

‘Riru-nim is going to punish me if I use my ultimate, so I should probably go all-out without resorting to my ultimate skills,’ Kandir thought as he began gathering mana throughout his body to enhance his muscles.

Woooong!

K-Kwachik!

As he began emitting a massive amount of mana, the ground beneath him started to crack.

‘Wow, I suppose you've been training diligently all this time, Kandir. I guess you're much stronger than me now,’ Han-Yeol thought.

It was quite embarrassing to compare himself to Harkan. While he might possess more skills than Harkan, his stats and level were incomparably lower compared to him. Kandir had fought alongside Harkan for years. Although he might not be as strong as Harkan, he had diligently trained under Harkan's guidance and had grown stronger himself.

[Here I come!]

Bam!

Kandir kicked off the ground and lunged at Han-Yeol.

Whoosh!

He refrained from using one of his three ultimate skills out of fear of Riru's anger. However, he didn't worry, as he believed his physical abilities alone were more than sufficient to overcome his opponent.

Kandir's attack was so destructive that only a Master Rank Hunter could evade or withstand it. However, Han-Yeol remained unfazed as he observed Kandir's attack, leaving Kandir bewildered.

‘Hmm? I will praise you for being able to remain calm, but this is where you die!’

“Heh.”

Han-Yeol smirked and scoffed, and Kandir clearly witnessed it.

‘You dare laugh?!’

Kandir had become Harkan's most loyal subordinate after losing to him in a match. However, losing to someone of the same age and experiencing his first defeat left a deep trauma, leading him to firmly believe at that time that Harkan was the weakest among the Bastrolings.

The situation was the same now. As they prepared to clash, Harkan had smirked back then, and Han-Yeol doing the same triggered Kandir's traumatic memories.

[You bastard!]

Bam!

Kandir suddenly braked and came to a halt.

‘Huh?’ Han-Yeol was perplexed by Kandir's sudden cessation of the attack.

[I guess you need to be taught a lesson!]

Awooooo!

Kandir let out a howl.

‘T-That is?!’

It was a skill Han-Yeol was familiar with, none other than Berserk.

‘Hey! I told you to attack me, but I never instructed you to use Berserk on me!’

Although Berserk wasn't one of Kandir’s three ultimate skills, that didn't mean it was weaker just because it wasn't classified as one. Berserk was a self-buff skill that significantly increased all of his physical abilities.

It was a skill that didn't need to be classified as an ultimate skill, but it was no different from being his fourth ultimate skill.

‘You never know how to restrain yourself!’

Chwaaaaak!

Han-Yeol had initially planned to use Hard Counter with his sword, but that option was no longer viable since Kandir had activated Berserk. Instead, he summoned his chain with the attached hook.

As soon as Kandir saw the chain, he immediately thought, ‘Hmph! I don't know where you picked up that trick, but you dare to copy Harkan-nim?!’

Harkan was the only warrior in the Bastro Dimension who dual-wielded, and Kandir couldn't help but think of Harkan whenever he saw someone dual-wield, as his world revolved around Harkan.

He had once tried to imitate Harkan by using dual-axes, but Harkan had explicitly told him that he looked cooler when overpowering his opponents with a single ax. Therefore, he had abandoned the idea of using two axes.

‘You will pay for your crimes of copying Harkan-nim with your life!’ Kandir vowed.

Whoosh!

Kandir swung his ax with the full force of his muscles, going berserk.

"N-No!" Tayarana screamed in despair, witnessing the incredible power behind the ax.

She had not objected to the 'test' since Han-Yeol had assured her it would be something like a light sparring. However, she had not expected the creature from the other dimension to go all-out against Han-Yeol.

Surprisingly, Han-Yeol appeared quite calm despite the dire situation he was in.

[Haa… Kandir.]

[…!]

Kandir was shocked, but he chose to disregard the Earthling's rambling.

‘Nothing changes!’

[I told you that your shoulders tense up whenever you get excited, right? I told you to be mindful of that, didn't I?]

[…!]

‘T-That is…!’

Kandir sparred with Harkan quite frequently, as there were only a few warriors Harkan could freely practice with. During these sessions, Harkan often provided numerous pieces of advice, and one of the key points he emphasized was precisely this.

Kandir had a tendency to tense his shoulders whenever he got excited, which resulted in weaker and slower attacks than he was capable of. As a result, he would tire quickly and not deal as much damage as his potential allowed.

‘I-Impossible!’ Kandir thought, but he refused to acknowledge the Earthling in front of him as Harkan.

He believed this was one of the hyenas' tricks.

‘Don't try to pull your psychological stunt on me!’

Whoosh!

Kandir tightened his grip on his ax and swung with a potent, destructive force behind it.

“Kyak!”

Tayarana and Mariam shrieked as they covered their eyes.

‘I'm not a fan of announcing my skill's name when I use them, but…’ Han-Yeol thought, then muttered loud enough for his opponent to hear.

[Hard Counter.]

[…!]

Kandir's face froze stiff upon hearing the skill. ‘D-Don't tell me?! N-No way!’

However, he was still in denial and refused to believe the Earthling was Harkan, but...

Shwiiik!

Han-Yeol easily tracked the ax's trajectory, thanks to his Hard Counter skill, which was already at the Master Rank. He used the claw attached to the end of his chain to block the ax.

Clang!

Then he used his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword to exploit the opening.

Whoosh!

[K-Keuk…!]

The tip of Han-Yeol's sword halted mere centimeters away from Kandir's neck. He appeared quite composed, seemingly sparing Kandir's life, but that was far from the truth.

‘The mana in his body is more than sufficient to shield him from any fatal damage, and he could easily counterattack even after being stabbed in the neck by me.’

Han-Yeol might be the strongest human on Earth, but Kandir remained one of the mightiest warriors of the Bastro Dimension, which had already transitioned into the second dimension. Moreover, he had received training from the Dimension Lord himself, making him significantly more formidable than the others.

The sole reason Han-Yeol had succeeded in this instance was his awareness of Kandir's weakness, but he was fully aware that it was a stroke of luck that had allowed him to land this single attack. If the duel had continued, he would likely have lost.

However, Han-Yeol had no intention of defeating Kandir this time, so it didn't matter.

“Heh.”

Han-Yeol smirked.

[So…]

‘So…’ Kandir thought as he saw two images of Han-Yeol right now—one was the image of the Earthling while the other was of Harkan.

[I told you not to raise your shoulder.]

‘I told you not to raise your shoulder.’

Kandir experienced the exact same thing he had experienced last time.

Plop… Thud…!

He shed a tear, fell to his knees, and dropped his heavy axe beside him.

[H-Harkan-nim… Harkan-nim!]

Kandir cried out while kneeling on the ground.

Thud…!

He fell face-first to the ground, wailing even louder.

On the other hand, Han-Yeol simply scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment.

‘Hoho... His habit of scratching his head like that whenever he's flustered is still the same,’ Riru thought with a smile.

Pat… Pat…

Han-Yeol patted Kandir's back. Kandir was probably twice as tall as Han-Yeol, and he would be three times his size when considering their body mass, which made it quite comical that the smaller guy was consoling the larger one.

[You did well, Kandir. You protected our people just as I asked you to, right?]

[I-I apologize... I wanted to protect everyone, b-but... I was too weak...! The hyenas took everything from us, and we had to go on the run because of that...!]

Kandir may have appeared stronger than everyone else here, but Han-Yeol knew what he was like inside.

‘He’s gentler and kinder than anyone else here…’

Of course, that comparison was only relevant when considering other Bastrolings, as it would be rather amusing to compare a Bastroling to a human in the first place.

Seuk… Seuk…

Han-Yeol continued to pat Kandir's back, just as he used to when he was Harkan.

[Yes, yes, you did well.]

[H-Harkan-nim...!] Kandir wailed even louder as everything he had held inside came gushing out all at once.

[It's time for you to leave everything to me.]

‘Kandir is an excellent warrior, but he’s lacking as a leader,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Kandir was prone to getting easily worked up, and he struggled to maintain his composure, which made him unsuitable for a leadership role. Additionally, he lacked the intelligence to deliver inspiring speeches to those he was leading.

The only reason the Bastrolings had managed to avoid complete annihilation was due to Riru's leadership. She was also a formidable warrior who had fought alongside Harkan for many years, earning her the respect of the Bastrolings.

In the end, Han-Yeol was recognized as Harkan even by Kandir, and the entire situation came to a close.

“Phew… T-That’s a relief…”

“Y-Yeah, I agree with you, Tayarana-nim…”