Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 307 – Light Faction Survivors (2)

Krwaaaang!

Tayarana swung her sword down, causing thousands of sword slashes to rain down upon the Queen’s Guards.

However, this was not the same skill she had used in the past, known as the Judgment of Horus. Now, she had the ability to control the amount of mana she used in the skill, which marked a significant difference from the original skill that consumed one hundred percent of her mana.

This time, she skillfully managed her powers to utilize only fifty percent of her mana, driven by various reasons, with the most prominent being the concern that the entire place might collapse if she expended all her mana.

The Judgment of Horus possessed formidable strength, capable of cutting through the extremely tough Thousand Armed Bodhisattva. Tayarana had grown significantly stronger since that time, making it evident that the Divine Judgment of Horus remained a potent force, even when she utilized only half of her mana.

Krrwaaang!

[Kieeeek!]

[What is this?!]

[I thought I blocked it?!]

The Queen’s Guards were taken aback.

These individuals possessed the remarkable ability to channel mana into their halberds, creating a defensive barrier that remained intact as long as they stuck together. The barrier's strength increased as more of them gathered, which explained why they always moved in groups of at least twenty.

However, despite the barrier being active, ten of the Queen’s Guards at the front were instantly swept away by the intruder's attack.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

[Kuheok!]

The ten Queen’s Guards survived the attack.

Although the assault had managed to breach the barrier and strike the ten ants, the barrier formed by the mana of twenty Queen’s Guards substantially mitigated the force of the blow. Nevertheless, they sustained severe injuries, rendering them unable to participate in the ongoing battle.

Tayarana's attack kicked up a dense cloud of dust within the tunnel.

[I can’t see anything…!]

[All forces, defensive stance!]

[Yes, sir!]

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

[I'm confident the intruder won't be able to use such a powerful skill in rapid succession. Let's launch our counterattack as soon as the dust settles and avenge our fallen comrades!]

Crack…!

[Yes, captain!]

The ant made a rather logical choice.

Although Tayarana might have experienced her second awakening, she couldn't use such a powerful skill as frequently as she wished. Of course, it would have been a different story if Han-Yeol had buffed her with Enhance.

Regrettably, the issue lay in the fact that despite the Queen’s Guards making a logical decision, it turned out to be the wrong one in the larger context. Their primary focus should have been on the queen amidst the chaos, rather than their ten fallen comrades.

[M-My children!] the Queen Ant cried out desperately.

[M-My Queen!]

The Queen’s Guards were taken aback by their queen's sudden scream.

‘D-Don’t tell me?!’

The captain belatedly recalled that one of the intruders had the ability to dispatch four elite soldier ants with a single strike.

[N-No!]

[P-Protect the queen!]

Chwaaak!

The Queen’s Guards unfurled their wings and resumed their flight toward their queen.

"Where do you think you're going?"

However, Tayarana had no intention of allowing them to escape so easily.

‘Chain Slash!’

Shwak! Shwak! Shwak! Shwak! Shwak!

In a single second, she swiftly swung her sword ten times, slicing through the wings of the Queen’s Guards.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

[Keuk!]

[Damn it!]

They failed to notice their enemy right behind them, as their sole focus was on saving their queen.

[M-My children…!]

Following this was the faint voice of the Queen Ant.

[T-The queen is...!]

The Queen’s Guards had failed in their task, and the consequences of their failure were severe.

Wooong…!

The pheromone that had enhanced their bodies vanished.

The Queen’s Guards had benefited from growing stronger day by day, thanks to the Queen Ant's pheromones. However, this was a double-edged sword as their bodies gradually became addicted to the pheromones, which acted like a drug to them. Suddenly, that pheromone, no different from a drug, had disappeared.

[K-Keuk…!]

[T-This is…!]

Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!

The Queen’s Guards began to convulse, falling to the ground one by one, writhing in agony.

“Mariam.”

“Yes, Tayarana-nim?”

“Don’t let them suffer.”

“As you command, Tayarana-nim.”

Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump!

Mariam's heart began to race as the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

‘Mine! They're all mine!’ she thought with excitement as she extended both hands toward the Queen’s Guards, gathering her mana together.

“Mind Control!”

Ziiiiing!

[Kuheok!]

[M-Must resist…!]

[I’m running out of… strength…!]

Thud…!

The Queen’s Guards ceased their movements, but Han-Yeol and the others were cautious and didn't lower their guard just yet. Mariam's ability to control her targets was still rather unstable, and no one could predict what might happen suddenly.

Nevertheless, Mariam could feel her consciousness gradually connecting to the minds of the Queen’s Guards.

‘Yes!’ she exclaimed inwardly.

She still had her image to uphold, so she couldn't outwardly show her joy, but deep inside, she was definitely elated.

However, gaining something meant losing something, and that was precisely what occurred after she brought the Queen’s Guards under her control.

[W-What?!]

[Where am I…?]

Her ability was limited to controlling thirty monsters at any given time, and bringing the twenty Queen’s Guards under her control led to her losing control over ten elite soldier ants who were part of her command. Her control over the elite soldier ants was the weakest at the moment, so they were the first to be released from her influence.

The elite soldier ants did not exhibit any withdrawal symptoms due to the pheromones disappearing, as they were under Mariam’s command, but...

Whoosh! Bam!

[Kieeeek!]

[Gwaaa!]

Suddenly, a creature leaped in front of them and triggered an explosion while wildly swinging its swords.

[D-Damn it!]

[It’s the intruder!]

The elite soldier ants swiftly assumed a defensive formation to confront the intruder, but...

Sukeok! Sukeok! Bam! Bam!

An explosion that could sweep away two or three ants happened each time the intruder swung his sword, leaving the ants unsure of how to respond.

Regrettably, the explosion wasn't their only problem, as...

Bam! Bzzt!

[Krwaaah!]

Electric currents spread throughout the area and stunned them.

[H-How can this be…?!]

Sukeok!

Thud…

The last remaining elite soldier ant had its head cut off and it rolled on the ground.

Shwook! Tak!

Han-Yeol swung the gruesome blood off his Thousand Armed Bodhisattva Sword after killing the last-standing elite soldier ant, and then he quietly walked away from them.

Finally, he muttered under his breath in a very low voice, "Explosion."

Shwoooong… Kaboom!

The body of the elite soldier ant that had just been decapitated exploded before it could even fall to its knees.

Whoosh!

A strong gust of wind blew and ruffled Han-Yeol's hair, giving him a cooler appearance as he walked away.

'Heh. This is what a true cool guy looks like.'

Anyone who had watched an anime would have wanted to do this at least once in their life. Han-Yeol did it just for the sake of it, but he thought he looked quite cool doing it.

'But I don't think I can do it for a second time...'

What he had just done seemed rather chuuni, so he was hesitant to do it again.

Han-Yeol felt quite pleased right now, as he had leveled up after defeating the Queen Ant.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

[Excellent, as expected of Harkan-nim! Your body might be weak, but it seems your combat sense has grown sharper. I am convinced that you will be able to get rid of those pesky hyenas in no time if you continue growing at the current rate.]

"Hahaha! I hope to do so as well."

[It is only a matter of time, Harkan-nim.]

Kandir clapped and spared no praise for Han-Yeol. He wasn't trying to curry favor with him or anything; he was genuinely sincere in his praises.

'Harkan-nim has certainly become weaker than before, but he's a far better warrior right now. This... Don't tell me...?' Kandir thought.

The Bastrolings were known for their strong religious beliefs, but Kandir himself didn't believe in destiny or a god, despite being a Bastroling. However, what he was witnessing was slowly starting to change his mind.

'What if all of this was destiny aligning itself?'

Kandir cut off the parts of the ants he needed, collected their mana stones, and then summoned a peculiar door. He went in and out of the door before he noticed Han-Yeol looking at him.

[Hahaha!]

“Hmm?” Han-Yeol tilted his head in confusion when Kandir suddenly started laughing, but he didn't say anything.

'I'm sure he's thinking of something,' he reasoned and decided to ignore him.

“Let’s go, Riru.”

[Yes yes, Harkan.]

They exited the dungeon, with Han-Yeol leading the way and Riru clinging to his arm, followed by Tayarana, Mariam, the Queen’s Guards, and elite soldier ants, with Kandir closely trailing behind.

Kandir looked back at the remnants of the battle and thought, 'This is to commemorate Harkan-nim’s first battle after returning to our world.'

Snap!

He took a picture with the camera in his pocket.

'I should keep a picture of it.'

Kandir had two hobbies that didn't quite suit his battlefield persona. These hobbies were taking pictures and maintaining records. To de-stress from life, he would take pictures and upload them to his blog, but unfortunately, he could no longer do that while on the run from the hyenas. However, he could still take pictures and keep offline records, which wasn't so bad.

'I need to keep records for the next generation, detailing how hard their ancestors fought to keep our world safe…'

Although he might appear as a battle-hardened warrior who charged into combat without much thought, Kandir had a surprisingly scholarly side. Well, "scholarly" might not be the best word to describe him, as he had no interest in studying or books; he was solely focused on maintaining historical records.

Typically, the only Bastrolings who valued historical records were scholars, but Kandir was genuinely committed to preserving them.

“What are you doing, Kandir?”

[N-Nothing, Harkan-nim.]

It was only after Han-Yeol called out to him that Kandir finally left the dungeon.

They successfully conquered the anthill dungeon, and they proceeded to clear two more dungeons after that by reducing their eating and sleeping time. Thanks to that, Han-Yeol was now at Level 330! This was the first time he had leveled up so quickly since reaching a high level.

However, his party now faced a dilemma they needed to resolve before making any further decisions.

“Hmm… Should we clear another dungeon, or should we return to Earth for now to reorganize?” Han-Yeol asked.

“As you wish, Han-Yeol.”

“I will always follow your lead, Han-Yeol-nim.”

‘Ah… These two are of no help…’ Han-Yeol grimaced and thought.

Then, he turned to Kandir and Riru, seeking their assistance.

[As you want, Harkan.]

[I will do as you say, Harkan-nim.]

“Ugh…”

‘These two are the same too!’

Han-Yeol was the indecisive type when it came to matters like this, so he couldn't understand why he had to make the decision for everyone, especially when they didn't have the luxury of standing around chatting.

It was at that moment when he was attempting to make a decision that he heard a faint sound from somewhere.

Shak… Shak…

Han-Yeol glanced at Kandir and Riru. Both of them nodded in response, suggesting that they had sensed it earlier than he did.

'Don’t tell me, have the hyenas caught a whiff of us?'

"Damn it…" Han-Yeol grumbled.

He couldn't deny that he had gotten a bit too excited while clearing the three dungeons. The dungeons in this dimension were similar to the hunting grounds on Earth, but there was a possibility that the mana from the dungeons would "leak" out, and the hyenas would pick up on it.

'After all, it's not strange for those bastards to have all sorts of strange skills…'

The Hyena Sorcerers would undoubtedly take first place in a contest of strange skills.

Shak…

The party members raised their weapons, prepared to fight at a moment's notice. However, winning this skirmish was not the most critical concern at the moment.

'We're too few in number to take on the hyenas that will come after us...'

Han-Yeol was still weak, and being discovered by the hyenas at this point would be disastrous, potentially spelling doom for him.

Crack…

Kandir gritted his teeth, ready to lunge at whatever emerged from the bushes, but...

Shak!

[Oh? Who would've thought I would encounter warriors from the Light Faction here? Since when did you canines settle in this area?]

What emerged from the bush was neither a hyena nor a corrupted soldier of the hyenas.

"A feline...?"

[Yes, but what are you? I've never seen a Bastroling like you before... You look quite interesting…]