Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 246: Dragon of Destruction (2)

Chwak!

The Dragon of Destruction spread its ginormous wings… No, it tried to spread its wings open.

‘Coup de Grace!’

Sukeok!

Han-Yeol suddenly appeared right beside the dragon’s wings and used his overpowered skill on them.

[I let my guard down?!]

The Dragon of Destruction was powerful enough to detect the movement of even the most insignificant creature. However, this time, the opponent was none other than the most formidable lord of the Bastro Dimension.

In the blink of an eye, he covered a distance of fifty meters and materialized behind the dragon. With lightning speed, he swung his sword ferociously to sever the dragon's wings.

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

[You insolent creature!]

Tak!

Han-Yeol used his teleportation skill again to appear between the Dragon of Destruction and the Bastro Coalition Forces.

This was the chance they had to grasp.

“Fellow warriors! Attack!” Han-Yeol shouted.

“Waaaaaah!”

The battle against the Dragon of Destruction had finally commenced, marking a historic struggle for the survival of the Bastro Dimension—a tale that would be passed down to future generations for years to come.

[Flames that ignited atop Dragon Mountain continued to rage for an entire month, diminishing the mountain's towering ten-thousand-meter height by two thousand meters.]

[At the mountain's base, a river of blood formed, and the scent of death hung heavy in the air.]

[The sky wept as blood cascaded from above, a grim reminder that only five hundred of the valiant twenty thousand warriors who had confronted the Dragon of Destruction had survived.]

[Victory over the Dragon of Destruction was ultimately achieved by the Bastro Dimension, but it came at the steep price of their mightiest warrior.]

[Yet, the fate of the dimension remained uncertain, for no one could predict what lay in store after the loss of their strongest champion…]

***

“Haa… Haa… Haaa…!”

Han-Yeol struggled to breathe, his remaining eye open. He hadn't intentionally closed one eye; it had been lost in his battle against the Dragon of Destruction. However, his eye wasn't the only thing he had lost; his entire body was in shambles.

"Are you alright, Harkan?"

"My lord, are you alright?"

The five hundred surviving warriors gathered around Harkan.

“...” Han-Yeol surveyed his surroundings with a horrified expression.

"There were twenty thousand of us when we arrived," he muttered. They had known that confronting the Dragon of Destruction would come at a cost, but seeing his beloved comrades nearly annihilated in battle pained him deeply.

"Riru."

"Yes, Harkan?"

"Riru…"

"What's troubling you, Harkan?"

"Can we... defeat the Dragon of Destruction?"

"Please, my lord, do not entertain such doubts," Kandir replied with unwavering confidence. "If anyone can defeat the Dragon of Destruction, it's you, my lord."

“Really…?”

Whoosh! Krrwaaaaah!

The rivulets of blood descending from the mountain converged to create a river at its base, filling the air with a lingering stench of blood.

Dark clouds gathered, unleashing torrential rains. Yet, even this deluge proved inadequate to cleanse the blood flowing down the mountainside.

Han-Yeol and the others were situated above the cloud cover, so there was no rain at their location. They could hear the rain and thunder rumbling beneath them, occasionally illuminated by flashes of lightning within the dark clouds.

“Heave-ho…!” Han-Yeol jumped to his feet.

It was then.

Ding!

[Secret skill of the Lord of Bastor Dimension, Dragon of Destruction Seal, has been acquired.]

‘Huh?’ Han-Yeol was surprised at the message that popped up in front of him all of a sudden.

“Harkan?”

“My lord?”

Riru and Kandir called out to him after he suddenly froze in place, but they were not the focus of Han-Yeol's attention at this moment. He had finally acquired the key to defeating the Dragon of Destruction, and he hastily examined the details of his new skill.

“…”

However, his face stiffened after reading its details.

“Harkan?”

Seuk…

Riru gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

When they first met, she had been larger than him, but after twenty years had passed, Han-Yeol had grown to be twice her size. The abundant mana within him had fueled his growth, making him the most powerful warrior in the entire Bastro Dimension.

The mana he possessed as a beastman differed from that of humans, which merely enhanced their muscles. He had finally come to understand why mana was referred to as a living energy rather than a simple stimulant. Mana behaved differently depending on the creature harnessing it.

Han-Yeol held the hand on his shoulder and said, “Riru…”

“Yes?”

“We made a lot of memories together, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. We did.”

There was a hint of sadness mingled with joy in Riru’s eyes. They had crafted beautiful memories together over the past twenty years, and for the majority of that time, they had been together.

“Riru.”

“Yes, Harkan?”

Riru felt nervous as Harkan continued to call her name without uttering anything else. It gave her the unsettling impression that he was preparing to depart for a distant place, far from her.

“I want to ask you for a favor. Can you do it for me?”

“What is it?”

“I will leave our people in your hands when I’m no longer around.”

“Harkan?!”

“Also, I’m sorry for not being honest with you.”

“Harkan!”

Puk!

“Euk…!”

Thud…!

Han-Yeol swiftly struck Riru's neck before she could comprehend what had occurred.

"My lord...?" Kandir stammered, his expression one of shock.

"Hey, Kandir."

"Yes, my lord...?"

"Thank you for standing by me all these years. I'm entrusting our people and Riru to your care."

“W-What do you mean?”

“Then, goodbye.”

Tak!

“My lord!”

Han-Yeol jumped and headed toward the Dragon of Destruction.

***

Tears streamed down Han-Yeol's eyes, and the Bastro Dimension had vanished from his surroundings.

[Han-Yeol! Han-Yeol! Are you alright?!]

He had finally returned, and Tayarana's face was right in front of him. Not only that, Mariam and Purva were also beside her, along with Jung Hyun-Bin, the deputy head researcher.

However, that was not the issue at hand.

[Tara…]

Chwak!

[…!]

[S-S-St…!]

Han-Yeol instinctively embraced Tayarana as soon as he saw her. Mariam quickly attempted to pull him away, but Tayarana shook her head, signaling for her to stop.

[...]

Mariam withdrew, wearing a forlorn expression, resembling a sad kitten.

[Tara... Tara...]

Han-Yeol continued to call out her name, and from his voice alone, Tayarana could sense that he was deeply distressed about something.

Tak… Tak…

She patted his back gently to calm him down.

[We are finally back… Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Karvis?’

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Ah, thanks for your hard work, Karvis.’

[I hope you will stop being sad soon.]

‘Okay…’

Han-Yeol felt that he wouldn't easily forget about it. He was about to turn thirty years old, yet he had spent nearly as many years in the Bastro Dimension. It could be argued that he had lived longer in that other dimension if only his adult years were taken into account.

He was torn about leaving the Bastro Dimension, but he knew he had to move on now. Why? Because his life there was over, and he was now back in his real world.

Han-Yeol slowly released his embrace of Tayarana.

[Do you feel better now?]

[Yeah, I do. Sorry about that…]

[It’s fine.]

Tayarana appeared relaxed and composed. In fact, she seemed like she wouldn't mind if he held onto her a little longer.

'What am I feeling right now...?' Tayarana was bewildered by the emotions surging in her chest.

This sensation was entirely unfamiliar to her, as she had never experienced romantic feelings for another person in her entire life.

[But Han-Yeol.]

[Yes?]

[Did something happen?]

[Something happened…?]

[Yeah.]

[What?]

[???]

Han-Yeol looked around him and wondered, ‘Is this…the location of the Master Rank Hunter Exam?’

He found himself in the exact same place he remembered being in.

'Don't tell me...?'

As a sudden thought crossed his mind, Han-Yeol called out, [Tara!]

[Hmm?]

[How long has it been since I entered this place?]

[What are you talking about? You just came in.]

[What?]

[You just entered, and the light flashed, but there was a system error.]

[W-What?!]

'Does that mean only ten seconds passed while I lived twenty years over there?'

Han-Yeol was so shocked that it gave him a headache. It was all too perplexing for him to comprehend.

Tak!

Han-Yeol pushed everyone away and retreated to a corner to sit alone for a while.

'Is there something wrong with the flow of time, or was I just dreaming all of it...?' he wondered.

It seemed highly probable that he had been dreaming. After all, he had heard about the Bastro Dimension from Yulia just before the test began, and the realization that the twenty years he had lived there were nothing more than a dream filled him with even greater sadness. It felt as though all his efforts had been in vain since it was just a dream.

Then…

Ding!

‘Hmm?’

A message popped up in front of Han-Yeol's eyes.

[You have gathered memories from the Stage 2 Dimension, the Bastro Dimension.]

[A clue on your reawakening has been acquired.]

[It is now possible for you to reawaken once you reach Level 300.]

[Conditions to reach Level 300: Hunt top-tier dungeon boss monster (0/1)]

‘W-What? It wasn’t a dream?’

Han-Yeol's confusion deepened. The system had never lied, which meant that the twenty years he had lived in the other dimension were not a dream.

‘Alright!’ Han-Yeol felt reinvigorated after realizing it wasn't a dream. His head still throbbed a little, but he felt good nonetheless.

Then, another message popped up in front of Han-Yeol, and it was from Yulia this time.

"Yulia?"

[YOU!]

"What?"

[Did you go to the Bastro Dimension?!]

"H-How did you know?!"

[Oh my god! Earth is still a stage one dimension! How did you go there when even I was only able to peek into it?!]

A series of shocked emojis followed her message.

Despite being nothing more than a brain, Yulia was still incredibly intelligent. She understood that Han-Yeol entering the Bastro Dimension was no small matter. It was, in fact, something that should have been impossible.

[You! Just what on earth are you?! How did a mere human manage to enter the next dimension?! The doors will only open once the allocated period ends!]

"I-I'm not so sure," Han-Yeol replied, bewildered by the questions, as he hadn't voluntarily traveled to the other dimension. "I think it was thanks to you that I was able to go there."

[Me?!] Yulia "exclaimed" before suddenly calming down.

It was clear she still had many questions, as her curiosity continued to drive her research even after becoming a Hunter.

"Yeah, I think it's because of your powers that I was able to go there. Do you really think I managed to go there by pure coincidence?"

[T-That's not possible! Nothing happens by pure coincidence in this world!]

"But who has the power to cross dimensions in our world?"

[M-Me...]

"Yes, then that means?"

[My power and your power combined in an inexplicable way to open the path to the Bastro Dimension...?]

Han-Yeol nodded and replied, “At least that’s what I think.”

[Hmm…]

Yulia appeared to be contemplating what he had just said, judging by her last message. Even the brightest mind in the world couldn't explain what had just occurred, and she found herself deep in thought for the first time since she had been reduced to a brain.