Leveling Up Alone

Han-Yeol was surprised by his rapid level-up speed. This unexpected advancement was all thanks to the Black Orc Horde.

While Han-Yeol enjoyed a leisure tour of his new island, the Black Orcs diligently hunted down the monsters still on the loose. Due to their efforts, Han-Yeol gained experience points despite doing nothing.

A tremendous amount of experience points was required to level up from Level 500 onwards, making it remarkable that he could advance without killing a single monster.

One of the significant issues PC games faced in the past was illegal macros, which later evolved into illegal botting. However, the advent of mobile games introduced a feature called Auto Hunt, enabling automatic leveling and farming without active gameplay. Han-Yeol couldn't help but feel that his gaming experience had transitioned from a PC game to a mobile game.

He was taking a break for now due to a busy schedule, but he intended to resume hunting once he had the time.

[Hey! Move those materials here!]

[Okay!]

Han-Yeol decided to rename the Japanese Archipelago as the Atarinia Archipelago and opted to rebuild Old Nagoya into a new city, intending for it to become the new center of the archipelago.

Mujahid approached Han-Yeol with a sheepish grin. Then, he jokingly groaned, “Wow… You must be so happy, hyung-nim…”

“Hey, you were taught by all sorts of etiquette teachers, so can’t you carry yourself with more weight around here? Try to act like royalty for a change, will you?”

“Hehe… Let’s not change the subject here, hyung-nim! Also, I left all of that back in Egypt before boarding my flight! I can’t come carrying baggage when I’m meeting you, right? Besides, it can be very tiring to pretend I have a say in how things are run back home when I don’t really have any influence.”

Mujahid simply shrugged in response and said, “Well, I’ll figure it out later. My father is going to be around for a long time, and I might just bring the country to ruin if I rule it later. Haha!”

Tayarana and Mujahid were the only ones granted royal education, as their other siblings were considered unfit to rule by their father. While Han-Yeol didn't receive such education himself, he gleaned an understanding of it through his ascent to the top of the Bastro Dimension, where he ruled as its Dimension Lord—a position more prestigious than the presidency of Egypt.

Despite Mujahid's royal education, Han-Yeol couldn't help but find him extremely childish, yet he empathized with Mujahid's predicament.

It was likely a relief for Egypt that Mujahid knew how to conduct himself during official meetings, consistently dedicating himself to matters of significance.

However, Mujahid's continued presence after the Craspio raid was straightforward. The post-recovery of Japan, or rather, Atarinia, was entrusted to one of Mujahid’s personal companies—the Goblin Construction Company.

“I’ve secured numerous tenders with my Goblin Group, but this is the first time I’ve been granted such a massive project. Reconstructing an entire archipelago is just…”

“What? It sounds extensive, but it's not that formidable of a task, right?”

“I guess you're right, hyung-nim,” Mujahid replied with a nod.

Despite the vast expanse of land in Atarinia, the actual construction required was not overly significant. Han-Yeol had no intention of constructing a new city or developing it into a country. Instead, he planned to utilize it as his personal space. As for the rest of the archipelago, his objective was to hunt monsters.

“Oh right, what are you planning to do with the hunting grounds that were destroyed, hyung-nim?”

Han-Yeol flinched after hearing the question. “Hmm?”

“I mean, it’s not all, but most of the hunting grounds in the central and western region of Japan, no, Ata… rinia… have collapsed, and monsters are endlessly spilling out from them. But I don’t understand why you’re telling us to just let them be when it’s obvious we have to do something about it.”

“Well, I guess you’re right.”

“The value of this place as real estate will plummet if we let those monsters continue rampaging… Are you intentionally allowing that?”

What would happen to the land where monsters endlessly appeared and freely roamed? Anyone hearing about such a place would immediately inquire about its location. No, not because they desired to live there, but rather, to avoid it at all costs. In fact, they might even consider tattooing the location on themselves in case they forgot and accidentally ventured there.

In other words, the Atarinia Archipelago was not suitable for human habitation.

“Yeah, I’m doing it on purpose. That’s the best way for me to keep this place all to myself, right?”

“Well, that does make sense—sort of…”

“I thought creating an environment for the Black Orcs and Bastrolings to freely hunt to their heart’s content is much better than having ordinary people running around here, and the absence of people would make this the perfect place for me to rest peacefully too.”

This place was going to solve most of Han-Yeol’s problems as he no longer had to sneak in and out of Jeju Island to avoid unwanted attention from the government. He was now the owner of this entire place, which was definitely much larger than the hunting ground in Jeju where he housed the Bastrolings.

“I don’t completely understand you yet, but I guess you have a plan,” Mujahid said before leaving with Furion to check up on the progress of the construction.

***

The meteoric growth of Han-Yeol was welcomed by the United States and Egypt, but it stirred discomfort among other Asian countries aligned with China. The recent fighter jet incident with China simply added to the tension.

Fortunately, the operation to abduct Han-Yeol was conducted by the military without approval from the top, causing minimal problems. However, his failure to apologize for shooting down a fighter jet belonging to the Chinese Military fueled dissent within the country.

It was ironic that the ones who attacked first were now crying foul. Surprisingly, there were growing voices demanding Han-Yeol to reimburse them for the lost fighter jet and compensate the bereaved families of the pilots. This demand mainly came from ultra-nationalists seeking to assert their country's might.

Of course, there were opposing voices within the country as well.

[You fools! What do we gain from getting on Lee Han-Yeol’s bad side?!]

They understood that confronting a Transcended Master Rank Hunter, the most powerful man in the world, over pride was futile. Trying to pressure Han-Yeol would only invite intervention from the United States and Egypt.

However, this didn't mean they were letting him off the hook. In the age of mana stones, many countries achieved self-sufficiency, and China was among those benefiting. Their top officials were trying to find a way to manipulate Han-Yeol into doing their bidding, unaware that it wouldn't be possible.

The winds of change were blowing, and a significant shift in the world was imminent.

***

Time passed, and it was finally the moment for Earth to evolve from the first dimension to the second dimension.

The event was broadcasted live across every TV channel. The HUN had formally announced the existence of the second dimension just a few days ago, making most Hunters aware of the upcoming development.

[Do you see this, everyone?! This is where the second dimension gate is going to open! Just as the Transdimensional Space Association promised thirty years ago when the age of mana stones began, the protection period has ended, and we are now going to evolve into a fully-fledged dimension!]

As the reporter finished speaking, a powerful burst of mana erupted, captured by the camera. The surge of mana emanated from the location where the Hunters’ Association announced the dimensional gate connecting Earth to the second dimension would appear.

Needless to say, entry to that place was completely restricted, with numerous soldiers and Hunters from the association guarding the perimeter of the dimensional gate. The security was so tight that not even a rat could slip through.

While various news outlets were busy capturing the sight, Han-Yeol’s channel, now one of the top channels in the country, was also present at the site.

“Hello, everybody! I’m your host, Ha-Yeon!”

The Mulan Crew was filming at the site, and this time their host was a famous member of a k-pop girl group. Ha-Yeon had technically left her k-pop girl group when she received the offer to become the host of Han-Yeol’s broadcast channel.

[Oh! Ha-Yeon! Ha-Yeon!]

[She’s so pretty!]

[Yeah, but where are you right now?]

“Hehe~ We have something special for you today! Ah, should I say I’m overseas right now? There’s no immigration here, so it sort of feels strange to put it that way… Hmm…”

[She’s so cute!]

Ha-Yeon was offered a salary large enough to make her one of the top earners among k-pop idols, and she gave her best effort when recording every episode with the Mulan Team. She proved to be a professional, as every word and gesture she made was calculated to capture the hearts of her audiences.

“We are here live from the Atarinia Archipelago!”

[Huh? Atarinia Archipelago?]

[Where the hell is that?]

[I’ve never heard of that place before…]

[Is it a small island country in Southeast Asia or in the Pacific?]

[What? Where?]

[Hold on! I think I know!]

Viewers were confused by the unfamiliar name mentioned.

It had not been long since Han-Yeol formally declared the name change of Japan to Atarinia, so the archipelago’s new name was not widely known yet. In fact, most online map websites still referred to the entire island as Japan, but it was now called Japan Archipelago.

Confusion continued in the chat room for a good ten minutes.

[Ah! I found it!]

[Where? Where?]

[WHAT?!]

[Why? What’s wrong?]

[T-That is… Lee Han-Yeol changed the name of Japan to Atarinia…?]

[Huh? Really?]ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴo(v)elꜰɪre.ɴet

[Ah! Now that you mention it, this is his channel, right? Then, that means he can do whatever he wants! I think Japan, no, Atarinia is known to be very dangerous due to the monsters on the loose, but I’m sure he’s more than capable of protecting our beloved Ha-Yeon!]

[I see!]

News of the Mulan Crew’s broadcast referring to Japan as Atarinia spread like wildfire, and Atarinia became the most searched word online. Subsequently, the view count skyrocketed from one hundred thousand to three hundred, four hundred, and even up to five hundred thousand viewers, showing no signs of stopping as it continued to rise.

The entire world was curious about what Atarinia was all about, leading people from every country to tune into the broadcast.