Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 211: An Absurd Ending and The Desired Skill (2)

The reason Han-Yeol allowed the Special S raid party, which was nothing more than dead weight, was to obtain Kwon Yoon-Ho’s dimensional storage skill.

Han-Yeol had observed the mana pattern Kwon Yoon-Ho emitted whenever he used his skill, but there was an invisible wall that prevented him from using the skill.

Woooong!

Han-Yeol would have given up by now, but the dimensional storage was a skill he really needed.

‘Tsk… I guess I’ll just have to improvise if I can’t create the exact same skill!’?Han-Yeol decided.

He used the same mana pattern Kwon Yoon-Ho emitted but added a slight variation to it. Then, he could feel his mana move much more freely compared to when he was copying Kwon Yoon-Ho’s mana pattern.

Woooong!

‘It… It’s coming!’?

This was right after he had hunted the boss monster, so he could feel that his mana was much more sensitive and easier to control.

‘I should’ve done this sooner… Tsk…’?Han-Yeol clicked his tongue after realizing that he was wasting time by having tunnel vision on Kwon Yoon-Ho’s mana when he could have simply added his own touch to the skill.

Han-Yeol’s ability was to create skills from his actions rather than copy someone else’s skill. In other words, he had to adjust the way he controlled his mana to suit himself instead of outright copying someone else’s.

Woooong!

‘What kind of dimensional storage do I want?’?he wondered.

He pondered for a few seconds before arriving at the conclusion that he wanted something better than what Kwon Yoon-Ho used.

‘I don’t want something so simple like putting things in and out.’?He then imagined the skill he wanted.

It felt like he was playing with clay as he started to mold his mana. What he was doing might look extremely easy if someone else saw it, but shaping one’s mana required extreme precision and near-perfect control over their mana.

It was at that moment that Han-Yeol’s concentration was about to reach its peak!

Woooong!

An ordinary-looking door appeared in front of him. Han-Yeol would have been disappointed by the plain-looking door if he had just awakened, but he knew that this door was special. He knew that this plain-looking ordinary door was going to evolve thanks to his ability that allowed his skills to level up.

He grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

Clack…!

‘It sounds just as normal as it looks,’?he thought after hearing the sound of the doorknob turning.

‘Hmm? So this is how it works?’?

He entered the door and saw a shed that one would usually find in rural areas. It was made of wood and resembled an old storage used in old army bases to store various miscellaneous things.

Han-Yeol was nevertheless amazed at what he had created and entered the storage.

Ding!

[A new skill has been created: Dimensional Storage (F).]

‘Oh! As expected!’?he rejoiced after confirming that the skill was indeed what he had envisioned.

“Mavros!”

“Kieeeeek!”

Flap! Flap! Flap! Flap!?

Mavros landed in front of the storage at Han-Yeol’s call.

“Can you move those items in here?” he asked.

“Kieee…ek?”?Mavros tilted his head in confusion, but he soon nodded and did as he was told.

Wooooong…!

Just as Mavros was about to grab the loot, the Arch Lich suddenly interrupted.

[Let me help…]

The loot floated in mid-air before slowly going into the storage.

Then, the Arch Lich floated behind the loot and went toward Han-Yeol.

‘He looks quite vile and evil, but he’s quite nice, isn’t he?’?

Most people would imagine a lich to be wearing an old, tattered, dirty robe and emitting malice. Of course, the Arch Lich Han-Yeol summoned was not that far off from what most people would think of.

However, one minor difference between them would be that the Arch Lich emitted composure rather than malice. It still emitted a chilling aura, but it did not exude any hostility at all. Not only that, the Arch Lich was wearing an expensive-looking, clean robe as opposed to what other liches would normally wear.

‘Hmm… He looks quite handsome for a lich now that I take a closer look…’

The Arch Lich’s bones were so clean that nobody would dare call him a decomposed pile of bones.

‘Thank you very much, Arch Lich-nim.’

[It is a demon’s duty to help the one they are contracted with…]

‘Hahaha! You are truly different from the other demons, Arch Lich-nim!’

[Why, of course… I might have chosen to become a demon to further my research of magic, but I am technically a human too. I simply chose this path to figure out the mysteries of magic, and the fact that I am a magician won’t change no matter what form I take.]

Han-Yeol could feel that the Arch Lich was becoming more prominent compared to the first time he had been summoned. His appearance became much better, and he was now forming longer sentences.

Fortunately, Han-Yeol was able to tell that the Arch Lich looked favorably upon him as his contractor and that he was a magician, rather than a demon, who knew right from wrong.

He was enjoying his conversation with the Arch Lich right now.

‘Hoho! I will be in your care from now on then, Arch Lich-nim.’

[I would prefer if you could call me more often from now on. I was getting bored of my repetitive research, but being in a new world and obtaining the corpses of unfamiliar monster specimens have reignited the fire within me.]

‘Yes, I understand. I will definitely call you more often from now on.’

[Thank you. In return, I shall give you a ‘small’ yet special gift.]

‘A gift?’

[Yes…]

The Arch Lich extended both of his arms and gathered his mana into them. Then, he shot his mana toward the storage that Han-Yeol had conjured with his new skill.

Shwaaaaaa!

The Arch Lich’s mana enveloped the storage.

Ding!

[The Arch Lich has used space expansion magic.]

[The rank of ‘Dimensional Storage’ has explosively increased from (F) to (M).]

[‘Dimensional Storage’ has reached Master Rank.]

[There is a possibility of the skill evolving if certain conditions are met.]

[You have successfully fulfilled the requirements to evolve the skill ‘Dimensional Storage’.]

[The skill has started to evolve.]

[The skill ‘Dimensional Storage’ has evolved into ‘Dimensional Storage II’.]

[Dimensional Storage (M) has disappeared.]

[A new skill has been created: ‘Dimensional Storage II’ (F)]

‘W-What?!’?Han-Yeol was extremely shocked.

The skill he had created just five minutes ago suddenly ranked up to Master Rank before immediately evolving to its next stage.

What surprised Han-Yeol the most about this was the fact that he had done nothing, and it was purely the Arch Lich’s doing that had evolved his skill.

‘This is really awesome…’?he muttered inwardly in disbelief.

[I have researched spatial magic quite a bit, but your dimensional magic seems a bit different from what I am aware of… Tsk… I could have done more if I had a dragon’s heart to tinker with… or perhaps I could summon a bone dragon if I could get my hands on a dragon’s bone… Hmm…]

‘Hahaha… Can you create undead monsters as well?’

[Certainly, why do you think I’m a lich in the first place?]

‘Ah…!’

[Ha! The losers from my world referred to themselves as white magicians, gray magicians, dark magicians, or whatnot. Ignorant fools… That’s why you guys were stuck at the sixth circle until the day you died! You could not even unlock your mana heart before dying. Tsk…]

‘T-This lich is quite… chatty… Hahaha…’?Han-Yeol thought.

Of course, he did not voice these thoughts in his head, so the Arch Lich did not hear them.

The Arch Lich gave a few more items to Han-Yeol before continuing to grumble about things. There were a lot of unfamiliar words the Arch Lich was grumbling, so he did not quite understand everything the Arch Lich was saying.

However, Han-Yeol played along with the grumbling as he could somewhat make out that the Arch Lich was cursing the magicians from another world.

‘Well, what’s the problem?’?Han-Yeol thought.

He did not care what kind of past the Arch Lich had because the only thing important to him was the fact that he was contracted to such an amazing demon.

‘I basically hit the jackpot by contracting this guy. He’s an intermediate demon, yet he can do so many things!’?

Of course, the Arch Lich was not perfect. He might be able to do a lot of things, but he was not that useful in combat. Still, he could use a variety of magic, so he was quite a flexible ally to have.

Han-Yeol felt that he gained an army simply by having the Arch Lich on his side, and the evolution of his Dimensional Storage was a great example of that.

He knew that leveling up the Dimensional Storage was certainly not going to be easy since he was not going to use it as often as his other active skills, but the skill was able to evolve in one go, all thanks to the Arch Lich’s magic.

The Dimensional Storage that looked like an old rural shed was now the size of a forty-foot container, and the extra space was definitely going to allow him to put more things from now on.

‘Hmm… The storage would probably modernize the more I evolve the skill. Don’t tell me… Maybe it won’t end at II, but there are III, IV, and V too…?’?Han-Yeol thought that he literally hit the jackpot if that was the case.

Then, he suddenly remembered, ‘Oh right! Skill details!’

[Dimensional Storage II (F)]

[Type: Active]

[Description: A skill that uses dimensional space magic to create a space that exists only for the user. The time within the dimensional space is distorted to be a tenth of the normal speed of time, and whatever object the user places in this space will last ten times longer compared to an ordinary storage. The area of the dimensional space will expand as the skill's level increases, and the space will modernize every time it evolves.]

[Warning: Only the user may choose who may enter the dimensional space created, and the user may also choose to restrict entry to others. This space may not be opened when mana is unstable (e.g., during combat, sex, or massive consumption of stamina).]

‘Wow… This is damn amazing!’?Han-Yeol rejoiced after reading the skill description.

He initially envisioned something like an ‘inventory’ often found in video games, but that did not matter now. He was happy with the fact that he gained such a skill, and the fact that the skill held great potential was excellent news to him.

Han-Yeol inspected the Dimensional Storage before placing the loot Asus dropped in it. Then, he exited the storage and made the door connecting to it disappear.

[…]

As expected, Asus was still rooted in the same spot after getting brainwashed by the Arch Lich.

‘What are we going to do about this guy, Arch Lich-nim?’?Han-Yeol asked.

[Don’t be concerned. He might be contracted to you, but he is my property too. I have him completely brainwashed, so he will do anything you command him to.]

‘I see…’

“Asus,” Han-Yeol decided to try giving the boss monster a command.

Shwooo…

Then, the sound of wind blowing from the empty helmet occurred before Asus got in front of Han-Yeol and knelt down.

Clack! Clack!?

“Wow…” Han-Yeol was impressed.

This was his first time dealing with a demon like Asus. His relationship with the demons was one of contractual nature and not of servitude, but the fact that Asus knelt in front of him meant that his relationship with this demon was different from the others.

[He might be my property, but your strange power has made it possible for you to have ownership of him as well. It will assist you just like your other demons regardless of whether I am present or not.]

‘I see…’?Han-Yeol nodded.

He was trying to look as calm as possible, but he was actually dying from happiness inside.

‘I gained an intermediate demon just like that?! Whoa!’?

His heart rejoiced with utmost delight. He was so happy that he would have started dancing butt-naked if nobody was around him right now.

[I have requested mana stones and monster corpses in exchange for summoning me, but I will waive it off this time since I was able to gain this guy as my property.]

‘Haha, thank you very much, Arch Lich-nim!’

[Till we meet again…]

‘Yes, thank you very much for your hard work!’

[Hohoho…]

The Arch Lich let out a laugh and turned into black smoke, along with Asus. It seemed that both of them had returned to the demon world.

“Phew…?This was quite a tiring day in so many ways…” Han-Yeol let out a sigh of relief after realizing that it was finally over.

“Kieeeeeek!”?Mavros cried out in agreement before rubbing his head against him.

“Haha! You think so too, Mavros?”

“Kieeeek!”

It did not matter to Mavros how difficult the day was, as long as he was with and could fight alongside Han-Yeol. Also, he wished that he could fight alongside his owner forever and ever.

Mavros could not speak the human tongue, but he was a creature capable of critical thinking. Of course, his thought process was a bit childish and immature right now… Well, he was still a kid after all.