Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 381 – Decisive Battle (3)

Han-Yeol finally understood what had happened and felt relieved that Katarina was weakened by a curse. If she still possessed her real powers, everything he had prepared for would have been in vain, and she could have easily brought destruction to the world along with its demise.

Her voice no longer carried the same strength and vigor as it did a while ago, as the little remaining strength sustaining her had all been transferred to Han-Yeol.

Katarina could feel her life force dwindling and slowly closed her eyes.

Her body turned into smoke and dissipated into the air.

Then, all that remained of her life was a gigantic mana stone.

After that, Han-Yeol received the normal reward he would have received aside from the Dragon’s Blessing Katarina had bestowed.

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

His level kept increasing.

The alarm was ringing repeatedly to the point where Han-Yeol felt disoriented by the ringing in his head. His level increased a total of forty-eight times, and he reached Level 500 in an instant.

Craspio, or rather, the dragon with an exceptionally lengthy name whom Han-Yeol chose to address by her first name, Katarina, may have been nerfed, but she was undeniably a formidable creature that someone like Han-Yeol shouldn't have been able to overcome alone. Indeed, defeating Katarina would have been an impossible feat if it hadn't been for the assistance of the one thousand Bastro Warriors and the four mighty warriors in this battle.

Subsequently, he realized that the experience points he had acquired were merely a fraction of the total experience points distributed based on his contribution.

He was absolutely speechless after realizing that. Not only did he obtain new skills from Katarina, but he also gained a ton of levels. It seemed he was getting rewarded for giving up the double experience points buff he would have enjoyed in the Bastro Dimension and coming to Japan instead to save the world.

The Black Orc Horde, the Dragon Katarina’s shockwave attribute skills, and the massive levels he gained were truly significant rewards he reaped from Japan. This was quite ironic, as he had only come here wanting to test out his new weapons.

“Let’s go down now, Mavros.”

Han-Yeol and Mavros made their descent after everything was finally over.

***

Craspio’s defeat, surprisingly, remained a secret for an extended period. How was the secret preserved for such a duration? Most people had already given up on Craspio and Japan, so there was minimal attention paid to it. Consequently, only Han-Yeol and his associates knew about Craspio's defeat, and it wasn't until a month had passed that news of it reached the world.

This revelation would have stayed hidden if it weren't for an American Satellite automatically capturing routine images of Japan. These images were subsequently hacked by China to uncover Craspio's fate, and the information was then leaked by the professional website, Tree Wiki, to the public.

Naturally, the first to react were the Japanese diaspora in Australia and Canada, busy constructing their new homes.

[Craspio has been defeated!]

[What will happen to the two 'New Japan's currently being constructed?]

As many contemplated abandoning their new settlements to return to Japan, a critical error unfolded during the evacuation. The Japanese government, having lost faith in Han-Yeol after his initial defeat to Craspio, embarked on a path of selling their lands to secure desperately needed funds. Although this may appear unconventional, it was a desperate measure to finance the construction of new settlements in Australia and Canada, averting the risk of their people facing starvation.

The Yen's value experienced a sharp decline, and their gold reserves proved inadequate. Despite possessing a substantial amount of gold in reserves, Japan, burdened with one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios, found it impossible to convert all their gold into cash. Reluctantly, their last resort was to sell their lands, foreseeing a potential increase in value a century or two after Craspio's disappearance.

The New Japanese Government sold the entirety of Japan for a mere three hundred trillion won, utilizing the proceeds to establish their two settlements. However, they now grappled with the repercussions of selling their lands, irrespective of the price.

Why? Because the buyer was none other than Lee Han-Yeol.

“Hohoho! So, this is my own private island?!” Han-Yeol burst into laughter while hovering twenty kilometers in the air.

He looked down at his new piece of real estate, feeling like a farmer witnessing his fields becoming ripe for harvest.

“What a haul! Things can’t get more bountiful than this!” he exclaimed.

Numerous countries let out a sigh of relief upon realizing they no longer had to deal with the fearsome monster called Craspio. This was especially true for China, as they were no longer sandwiched between two powerful monsters and could focus all their forces against Qin Shi Huang.

Of course, the numerous other neighbors of Japan were relieved and overjoyed by the news of Craspio’s demise. It seemed that the entirety of Asia was in a festive mood due to the news—except New Japan.

The New Japanese Government repeatedly begged and groveled at Han-Yeol.

“Hey, I already told you I’m not interested. Can you stop bugging me?”

[H-Han-Yeol-san! We will return your money! S-So please… give us our lands back…]

“I already told you I don’t need the money!”

Han-Yeol cut off the call.

The New Japanese Government persistently asked for a refund, but he refused all of it. Still, they were unrelenting as they stubbornly continued to call and attempt to reach him to request a refund. Why would they not ask for a refund? It was far better for them to work hard to fix the destruction in their motherland than to start all over from scratch in someone else’s backyard.

Unfortunately, Han-Yeol was now the owner of the entirety of Japan.

The value of Japan with and without Craspio was at least a thousand times different. In other words, the land he purchased for three hundred trillion won was now worth at least three hundred quadrillion won, now that Craspio was gone. It went without saying that the New Japanese Government did not have that money.

Even the old money families who controlled the world probably did not have that much money combined.

Anyway, the entirety of Japan was…

Han-Yeol began contemplating what to name his new island. After pondering for about five minutes, he snapped his fingers, and the perfect name struck him.

He had come up with a new name that was absolutely perfect.

***

News of the Japanese Government fleeing to Australia and Canada to form New Japan had been a hot topic before. However, after Han-Yeol defeated Craspio and took ownership of the entire country, the news spread like wildfire worldwide. The dimensional rifts were starting to calm down, making Han-Yeol's ownership of Japan the biggest news globally.

Why wouldn't this be a hot topic? Japan, ranking sixty-first in the list of countries by territory size, was now owned by a single person. For comparison, South Korea, ranked one hundred second, and the entire Korean Peninsula with the two Koreas united, ranked eighty-third, were still smaller than Japan. It was the first time in the history of mankind that a single individual owned such vast lands.

Meanwhile, news agencies that migrated along with other Japanese people were quick to criticize their government.

[Incompetence at the Highest Level!]

[Not only did they make their people suffer, but they even sold their country!]

[Why did they sell our country for just three hundred trillion won?]

On the other hand, one of Japan’s neighbors was in a festive mood at the news of Han-Yeol taking ownership of Japan, and this was none other than his motherland, South Korea. While the entire world viewed Han-Yeol’s purchase as problematic, South Koreans celebrated the fact that one of their compatriots had purchased the entirety of Japan from the Japanese Government.

[We have finally got our revenge!]

[Our ancestors will be proud!]

[But they sold it to Lee Han-Yeol, not our country, right?]

[Who cares? All I care about is they lost their country! Haha!]

[I hope they know how it feels to lose your country!]

[I mean, we managed to return to our country… But they will probably have to live in Australia and Canada for the rest of their lives…]

[Really?]

[Yes, they legally sold their rights to their lands so the only way for them to get it back is if Lee Han-Yeol was stupid enough to return it.]

[I doubt he’s stupid enough to return such valuable real estate!]

[Is this an illegal occupation or legal purchase?]

[What do you think?]

[Hold on! Then what happens to Dokdo Island?!]

[What the hell are you on about?! Dokdo Island has always been Korean territory!]

[Oh!]

[I can’t believe we still have people like this…]

Some Otakus despaired at the news of Japan’s demise, but the rest of the country was celebrating it. It was a shame that one of their favorite holiday destinations was gone, but that did not matter as travel between the two countries visibly reduced after the Age of Mana Stone dawned.

[But what if Japan decides to take back their lands by force?]

[Yeah, they are still a country, and Lee Han-Yeol is all alone, right?]

[Wow… We have more stupid people…]

[What did you say?!]

[Listen, kids… Japan might be a country, but they are just an empty shell without their Master Rank Hunters, while Lee Han-Yeol is a Transcended Master Rank Hunter. Also, why do you say he’s alone? He literally has his private army behind him, and don’t forget this is the army that defeated Craspio, which Japan failed to defeat.]

[He’s right!]

[Yeah, I don’t see how those Japanese will dare to fight Lee Han-Yeol-nim!]

[If I may add one more thing! Don’t forget Han-Yeol-nim is backed by the United States and Egypt, which are far stronger than Japan even before all of this happened!]

[Oh right…]

[Dumb dumb…]

Numerous videos posted online showcased Craspio's immense power. However, the fact that Han-Yeol managed to single-handedly kill the monster while the rest of the world trembled in fear put to rest all arguments about whether he was the most powerful person in the world or not.

Two of the top three countries in the world, the United States and Egypt, had no qualms publicly acknowledging that Han-Yeol was indeed the most powerful man in the world.

However, the person in question, Han-Yeol, did not care whether he was the most powerful man in the world or not. All he cared about right now was becoming the owner of the entirety of Japan.

Why? Because this would allow him to distance himself from the South Korean Government, and the further away he was from them, the better for him. The South Korean Government could no longer interfere in his affairs, and he could deal directly with other countries thanks to his new territory without having to go through the South Korean Government.

[Your level has risen.]