Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 390 – Age of Confusion (6)

Han-Yeol had yet to witness Tia's charming ability with his own eyes, though she had already employed it countless times in the past. Her charm ability was second to none, proving immensely effective in luring unsuspecting Hunters for her to devour.

‘Hoho~ It doesn’t matter if they’re ordinary or awakened people; they’re easily charmed as long as they're men.’

The reason Han-Yeol had never seen her use that skill was due to her concealing it from him.

‘I don’t plan to let my master see my skill in action. Hoho~’

“So, what’s troubling you?” Tia asked.

“Ah...”

Han-Yeol hesitated momentarily, but he soon shared what was troubling him. He felt no need to hide it from her. The relationship among Mavros, Tia, and Han-Yeol was very personal, unlike the professional connections he had with others, so there were no secrets between them.

“They're starting to get on my nerves.”

“Who?”

“The politicians, association officials, and those conglomerate young masters who aren’t that different from ordinary people.”

Seuk...

Han-Yeol raised his right hand toward the sky and gathered his mana at the top of his palm.

Woooong!

This was a trick most Hunters with half-decent mana control could perform without any trouble. However, their similarity was likely to end at accumulating mana on top of their palm. Han-Yeol's mana was far stronger than most Hunters', and the tiny sphere of mana he gathered was already generating a powerful gust of wind around him.

Whoosh! Shwoosh!

“I can dispatch them more effortlessly than gathering my mana like this, but they persistently swarm around me like flies, believing their social status will shield them. My patience is wearing thin, and I feel I'm already at my limits.”

Kwachik! Shwaaa...

The sphere of mana vanished the moment Han-Yeol closed his hand.

“Hoho~ I suppose you already have your answer, master.”

“Hmm?”

“What you need to do to those pests is...” Tia paused for a moment and unleashed her bloodlust.

Woooong!

“Behead them, don’t you think so?” Tia added with a smile and a wink.

Her beautiful smile carried a hint of danger, and most people who saw her smile just now would likely think twice before making an enemy out of her.

‘I’m really grateful Tia is my monster pet and not my enemy...’ Han-Yeol thought while looking at her dangerous smile.

“Omo~ You don’t have to look at me with so much gratitude, master~”

“Hey, don’t do that,” Han-Yeol retorted as he covered his face with his hands.

He was very wary of how easily she could read him through his expression. He put in a lot of effort to fix this bad habit of his, but there were times he would drop his guard like he did just now.

“It’s fine~ It’s fine~ You just have to be cautious when you’re outside in front of others.”

“That’s not helping at all, you know?”

“Hoho~ Anyway, what you want is to get rid of those scumbags and make the world a more peaceful place, right?” Tia said as she steered the conversation back to the topic.

Thanks to this, Han-Yeol was able to have a serious conversation with her. Tia was similar to Han-Yeol in many ways, and she was a very good conversation partner for him.

“Well, as you might be aware, I have to go to the Bastro Dimension to deal with those hyenas,” Han-Yeol said.

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Tia replied.

“I could go back and forth whenever I have the time, but that isn’t going to be as easy as it sounds. Now, guess what’s going to happen if I get political opponents who are plotting against me while I’m away.”

“Hmm... I guess that makes sense. I’m going to be very upset if some ragtag bunch wants to lay their hands on my master. Master is mine and only mine~”

“Hahaha... Is that how it sounds to you?”

“Anyway, I think you can do as you want, master.”

“Haa...”

Tia’s advice was to do what he wanted, and Han-Yeol decided to do just that. He didn't really have to be troubled over such a simple issue, as doing what he wanted was extremely easy.

However, he couldn't help but hesitate, as the only things he knew about society as a whole were the things he experienced in his life, and that was it. This was the reason why he hesitated to make a decision when it was something he could easily put into motion as long as he made up his mind.

‘Haa...’ Han-Yeol let out a sigh once again.

Ziiiing!

“Hmm?!”

“What?!”

An unfamiliar mana suddenly reverberated from within the mansion grounds.

‘It’s not an enemy from the outside. Nothing on Earth can escape my senses.’

Han-Yeol had experienced the shortcomings of his senses after failing to catch Camelot the first time they met. Consequently, he continuously trained with the Oxen Assassin whenever he had the chance to sharpen his senses.

He highly doubted there would be a person capable of erasing their presence better than Camelot did. The Oxen Assassin was so adept at hiding his presence that not only Han-Yeol but even the hyenas had a hard time detecting him.

This suggested that something had happened within the mansion grounds.

‘What was that...?’

“Master.”

“Yeah, let’s go, Tia.”

“Okay.”

Tak!

Both of them kicked off the ground and ran toward where the unfamiliar mana was emanating.

Han-Yeol’s mansion was guarded by Hunters, a level of security that even prestigious guilds would find challenging to afford. The unfamiliar mana just now had caused such a commotion that the Hunters standing guard and the Gurkha raid party members rushed over to see what was happening.

“Hurry! An unidentified mana has appeared within the mansion! It could be an enemy, so proceed with caution, and stay on your toes at all times!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Those of you who haven’t awakened yet will stay behind!”

“Yes, sir!”

Tak! Tak! Tak!

The Gurkha raid party members who were yet to awaken were ordered to stay back, as anything could happen whenever mana was involved. The Hunters ran as fast as they could to the source of the mana and encountered Han-Yeol.

Chwak!

They greeted him with a salute.

“Loyalty! Hello, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!”

“Ah, thanks for your hard work, everyone.”

“We will lead the way.”

“Omo? What are you talking about? Do you think the master is going to be harmed by a mana this weak?” Tia grimaced and asked.

It was not only Han-Yeol who found her difficult, but the entire Gurkha raid party also found her quite challenging.

“N-No, ma’am. We just...”

The Gurkhas were hardened veterans who had few rivals when it came to their bravery, but even these valiant warriors became meek in front of Tia.

“Hoho~ Stay back if you realize your mistake.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Let’s go, master.”

“Sure.” Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs N(o)vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.nᴇt

Han-Yeol was flustered when the unidentified mana popped out of nowhere, but the source of the unidentified mana did not move an inch, and it was far more stable now compared to when it first appeared.

The mana did not feel malicious, threatening, or like it harbored any ill will, but that did not mean he was going to drop his guard. This was the reason he decided to stand at the front instead of the Gurkha raid party members, as he had a higher chance of survival compared to them.

‘They can support me from the back,’ Han-Yeol thought as he went toward the source of the unidentified mana.

While he was heading toward the source of the unidentified mana, he noticed his surroundings.

‘Huh? Isn’t this on the way to the hatchery?’

Tak!

He kicked off the ground as soon as he realized where the mana was coming from.

“Master!”

“Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!”

His subordinates shouted and ran after him, but he showed no signs of slowing down.

‘If somebody came for the hatchery, then...!’

What if a monster emerged from a dimensional gate and went after the hatchery instead of Han-Yeol? What if the monster’s mana was so weak that Han-Yeol missed it? What if the monster would become stronger after devouring the egg in the hatchery?

Crack!

Han-Yeol gritted his teeth and ran faster.

‘If it is what I think it is... Then that monster is in for a world of pain!’

The mansion was not that wide, so he reached the hatchery almost instantly.

Bam!

He kicked the door open.

“What?!”

However, what greeted him was completely contrary to what he expected.

“Kyu!”

“Kiyuu?”

“W-What’s going on?”

Mavros had been busy running around the mansion grounds while Han-Yeol and Tia had conversed, but he was already here in the hatchery. In front of him was a creature with white scales, wings, and eyes crimson red like rubies.

It was a White Dragon.

“T-The egg hatched?!”

This was the egg that Han-Yeol had obtained after killing the Dragon of Destruction.

Han-Yeol had run numerous tests on the egg, hoping he could hatch another monster pet from it, but all of his attempts had failed. He had also tried all sorts of methods later on but ended up conceding defeat after every single one of them failed.

But it suddenly hatched? And how was it possible for a creature hatched from an egg left behind by that evil Dragon of Destruction to possess such pure mana?

“M-Mavros...? What’s going on here...?”

“Kyu! Kyu! Kyuuuu!” Mavros excitedly cried out in response.

Of course, there was no way Han-Yeol could understand him. Luckily, he had one dependable translator for times like this.

“T-Tia!”

Tia walked over to Han-Yeol’s side and peeked into the hatchery, “Yes, master?”

Then, she saw the creature emitting the unidentified mana and exclaimed, "Oh! What a cute White Dragon!”

“Kiyuu?”

Tak! Tak! Tak!

Tia shoved Han-Yeol aside and ran over to the White Dragon. She bent over and inspected the creature, “Hmm... A dragon that is pure white... I think this is more of a divine creature than a monster...”

“W-What?! A divine creature?”

Han-Yeol was shocked at what he heard.

“Yes, a divine creature,” Tia replied with a nod.

It was baffling to hear a monster say the words ‘divine monster,’ but Tia was smarter than most people on Earth, so Han-Yeol decided to accept the fact that the dragon was a divine creature since she said so.

“Ah... A divine creature... divine...” Han-Yeol dazedly muttered.

“Kyu!”

“Kiyuu?”

The birth of the White Dragon happened so suddenly that Han-Yeol did not know how to react.

A famous movie villain, the Joker, had a quote that perfectly described this situation. According to him, a person would maintain their calm no matter how gruesome the scene in front of them was as long as it was planned. However, they were bound to get flustered at the smallest thing if it was unplanned.[1]

Han-Yeol’s mind went blank at the unexpected turn of events.

“Hoho~ Congratulations, master.”

“Huh? Why? Congratulations for what?”

Han-Yeol could not understand why she was congratulating him. ‘Why? For what?’

Then, Tia furrowed her brows and crossed her arms over her chest.

‘Ack! That look! She’s about to nag!’ Han-Yeol instinctively recognized what was about to come.

“Hmm... You need to learn how to regain your cool after getting flustered, master.”

“W-Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

“Why don’t you take a closer look at the mana the White Dragon is emitting?”

“M-Mana?”

“Yes, do it. Right. Now.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am...”

1. This is a tweaked version of the original quote by the Joker: ‘Nobody panics when things go “according to plan” even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of a plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds...’ ?