Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 337 – Ten Days In The Bastro Dimension (4)

Kwachik!

[Argh!]

The Ox Warrior struggled to resist the rope binding him, but he soon fell to his knees and crashed face-first into the ground. Mud smeared the proud warrior’s face as he was dragged across the ground.

Pfft!

[Wow! I never expected to get such a haul passing through here!]

[Kekeke! The bounty is ours!]

[Kikikiki!]

Rustle…

The smoke cleared, revealing a group of hyenas emerging from the bushes.

[Y-You are!]

[Kekeke! Long time no see, you damned cow!]

[Spotted Hyenas!]

[Kekeke!]

The hyenas that emerged were known as 'Spotted Hyenas,' a distinct species from those previously seen. Unlike their sorcery-specializing counterparts, these hyenas operated in groups of twenty, setting traps or orchestrating ambushes to conquer their enemies. Their exceptional hunting abilities allowed them to take down formidable beings like the Elephant Warrior, Bastroling, when alone. Subduing the Ox Warrior, whom Han-Yeol struggled against, was a testament to their prowess.

Though the Ox Warrior's guard was down, it didn't diminish the impressive feat of the Spotted Hyenas.

‘Darn it... I let my guard down. I never expected there to be other hyenas aside from that scoundrel!’

The Ox Warrior's anger toward the hyenas clouded his judgment, leading to this predicament.

[Keke! Shouldn't we eliminate him before taking him along?]

[Certainly! Dead or alive, his body is all we need!]

[Then I’ll kill him!]

[No! He’s mine!]

Kieee! Kieeek!

The Spotted Hyenas were confident that the Ox Warrior was entirely subdued, so they began bickering among themselves over who would have the privilege of killing him.

‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’ The Ox Warrior seethed with rage at his current predicament.

Despite his ability to clandestinely roam and assassinate numerous Hyena Sorcerers, he never expected to be caught by a group of Spotted Hyenas.

Now, his impending death seemed utterly pointless.

Crack...!

Enraged, he tried to snap the rope, but it only tightened further as he struggled. Lowering his head, he was on the verge of giving up when...

Tak!

‘Huh?’

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed something soaring from the edge of the cliff. The awkward angle and its speed made it hard to discern, but he caught a glimpse of the creature's beautiful wings.

‘What was that?’

It was then.

Chwak!

[Kwaaaah!]

[W-What happened?!]

A commotion broke out among the Spotted Hyenas.

The Ox Warrior entertained the thought that perhaps someone from the Light Faction passing by had witnessed his predicament and was coming to his aid.

‘Huh?’

He turned to look, only to see unfamiliar creatures massacring the Spotted Hyenas in the Bastro Dimension.

"Hoho~ These creatures are quite interesting~"

It was none other than Tia and Mavros, concealed in the nearby thicket. They dashed out and launched an attack on the Spotted Hyenas the moment Han-Yeol flew up and signaled them.

[K-Kill that thing!]

[Throw the rope!]

The Spotted Hyenas threw a rope that tightened the more their prey struggled. Even an Elephant Warrior was unable to break free from it once ensnared.

“Hoho~ No you don’t~”

Chwak! Tak!

[W-What?!]

Unfortunately, the rope couldn't unleash its powers as Tia's claws cut it before ensnaring her.

Slurp!

Tia licked her lips and giggled, saying, "Hihi~ So you guys like being tied up? Me too!"

Chwak! Chwak!

Tia shot out her spider webs and used her ensnaring ability after severing the rope.

[Argh!]

[Ack!]

Most spiders typically need to weave their webs around their prey to completely immobilize them. However, the Arachnids, being spider gods, could instantly immobilize their enemies with their webs.

Han-Yeol trembled after witnessing the Spotted Hyenas being wrapped by Tia's web.

‘Ah... That's so scary…’

There were a few times Tia sneaked into his room and tied him down with her spider web. He vividly remembered it as a rather peculiar experience. Her mischievousness compelled him to sleep with heightened vigilance, allowing him to wake up just in time whenever she attempted to tie him again.

‘Poison Web!’

Chwak! Pssshhh!

“Kieeeeek!”

A few of the Spotted Hyenas screamed in agony as Tia's Poison Web melted their bodies.

"Hoho~ Time to clean them up~" Tia said with a smile before unleashing her skills upon her enemies.

This was a stark difference from her usual fighting style; she employed her skills unsparingly instead of engaging in melee combat with her fists. It was indeed quite a rare sight.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

[Kiek!]

[Gwueek!]

Pssshh!

[Kieeeek!]

The Spotted Hyenas, initially numbering over forty, were reduced to ten in less than three minutes.

Tia's second awakening had rendered her much stronger than before, and her newfound powers made dispatching the Spotted Hyenas quite effortless.

‘Tia can be quite scary when she's mad,’ Han-Yeol thought as he observed the battle.

Though he meant something entirely different, the fact remained that he was intimidated by her.

[R-Run away!]

[H-Help me!]

With all the high-ranking Spotted Hyenas dead, the remaining underlings scattered, fleeing in panic. At least one of them needed to survive to convey the news to the Hyena Sorcerers for vengeance. Their only chance of survival lay in scattering and running in different directions.

“Kieeeeeek!”

However, an intimidating roar reverberated across the forest.

Bam!

[Kyaaaah!]

[Aaaaack!]

And the screams of the Spotted Hyenas followed right after.

Five minutes later…

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

Mavros emerged from the forest in his combat mode, holding the ten scattered Spotted Hyenas in his mouth.

Ptooey! Thud!

He spat out the Spotted Hyenas, grimacing as if a foul taste lingered in his mouth.

Tak!

Han-Yeol landed on the ground and folded his wings.

“Good job, Tia, Mavros.”

“Hoho~ I didn’t even break a sweat~”

“Kieeeek!”

‘I-Impossible!’

The Ox Warrior couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

‘H-How can this be?!’

The creature surviving the fall down the cliff was shocking enough, but its possession of wings to fly out of the chasm astonished the Ox Warrior even more.

‘T-That guy wasn't a hyena...?’

The Ox Warrior struggled to comprehend the situation. Initially mistaking the creature for a hyena due to its unfamiliar appearance, he was puzzled as to why the creature attacked and killed the Spotted Hyenas instead of assisting them after flying out of the chasm.

‘Ah, but he hasn’t saved me yet…’

Considering another possibility, the Ox Warrior contemplated that the creature might be a new neutral lifeform, not aligning with either the dark or light faction. The chaos prevailing in the Bastro Dimension made such occurrences plausible, where anything could happen.

“Ouch…! That stings!” Han-Yeol cried out as he used Restore on his body.

It would have been more efficient to use the Healing Bullet to treat these wounds, but it required something to fire the bullets from. Han-Yeol hadn't stored any spare weapons in his dimensional inventory because he didn't anticipate his shoulder cannons being damaged.

It wasn't laziness or complacency; he simply didn't see the point in using precious space for a backup weapon he might not need.

‘Tsk... I guess I need to carry a few around with me at all times from now on…’

Though it felt like fixing a problem after the fact, what mattered was that he acknowledged his mistakes and aimed to improve.

Han-Yeol fully cured his body with Restore before observing the ensnared Ox Warrior held by the Spotted Hyena's rope.

‘Hmm... What should I do with that guy?’ he wondered.

He felt a bit annoyed. While he had vented his anger at the Spotted Hyenas, the culprit behind the 'hole' on his back was not the hyenas but rather the Ox Warrior. Others might perceive it as trivial, but the wound would have been fatal if Han-Yeol didn't possess a high VIT stat.

“Hey.”

[Ughh…!] The Ox Warrior flinched and groaned when Han-Yeol called out to him.

Seuk...

Han-Yeol placed his Magma Longsword at the Ox Warrior’s neck and said, “Choose. Do you want to die here or become my slave?”

[Keuk…!]

He could have easily resolved the situation, but he felt that his anger wouldn't be quelled if he didn't humiliate the Ox Warrior. Technically, it was his fault for dropping his guard and getting stabbed by the ax, but he argued that he was flustered after being ambushed by the Ox Warrior, having had no intentions of fighting the warriors from the Light Faction.

‘Tsk… I’d complicate my life by killing the Bastro Warriors when they’re already so few in numbers…’ he thought, clicking his tongue in frustration.

However, the Ox Warrior’s abilities left quite an impression on him. How did a mere muscle-brained ox manage to elude his Demon Eyes? Moreover, the stench of blood emanating from the Ox Warrior’s axes revealed the extent of the hyenas he had killed so far.

‘He’ll probably choose death over such humiliation,’ Han-Yeol thought with a shrug.

He was certain that the Ox Warrior, valuing honor above all, wouldn't accept becoming a slave, which would bring shame to his entire clan.

In summary, there seemed no way the Ox Warrior would accept his terms, but...

[I… will be your slave.]

“I expected you to say tha… What?!” Han-Yeol exclaimed stupidly upon hearing an answer completely different from what he expected.

‘Can he do this?’

Han-Yeol had encountered countless Bastro Warriors in his twenty years of life as Harkan, but meeting someone like this was a first.

[Hmm? Are you deaf? I said I’ll be your slave. They say it’s better to roll around in mud alive than be buried underneath it, right? I still have a lot of hyenas to kill so I can’t die yet! Hahaha!]

‘W-Why does this guy sound so human…?’ Han-Yeol found the Ox Warrior’s realistic mindset more akin to a human than a Bastroling.

Shwak!

Han-Yeol cut the rope binding the Ox Warrior’s body. Though invincible against its prey, the rope was easily cut by a third person.

[Hehe, thanks.]

“This is my first time meeting a Bastroling like you.”

[Oh? You know about us?]

“I’d say I know quite a lot about your kind.”

[Hehehe! I did agree to be your slave, but don’t expect any respect from me. I hope you’d understand since my personality is crude to begin with, and I’m not a fan of anything to do with honorifics.]

‘Tsk… I guess this guy’s a Bastroling after all…’ Han-Yeol clicked his tongue, changing his mind upon seeing how free-spirited the ox was.

“Do whatever you want…” he grumbled in response.