Leveling Up Alone

[W-What?!]

[...]

Crack…!

The hyena sorcerers gnashed their teeth after they saw Han-Yeol’s light attribute skill. It was not amazing or scary. No, that was not the reason they were gnashing their teeth.

They heard reports that their god, the Great Dragon of Destruction, said that someone possessing light attributes had appeared, and it was this individual’s fault that one of their armies was wiped out for the first time since the war started.

That light attribute was currently being displayed right in front of their eyes, and this skill seemed to be much more annoying than they initially thought.

[Elder brother! The slaves sent to us can’t use their powers because of that light!]

[Not yet…]

[What?]

The youngest hyena sorcerer caused a ruckus after he saw what Han-Yeol did, but the eldest hyena sorcerer remained calm. He continued to calmly observe the situation, and he told his brothers to do the same.

After all, he was the calmest among them.

[They might look like they’re in pain, but they haven’t sustained much damage.]

[Oh! You’re right, elder brother!]

The younger hyena sorcerer only realized it after taking a closer look at their status. The creatures were indeed in agony because of the light, but they did not receive any critical damage from it.

[Hahaha! So it was just a bluff! You got me pretty good, you damn human!]

The youngest hyena sorcerer snarled after he finally got his composure back.

Shwak!

Then, he waved his hands and started showing off his control over the creatures, which he prided himself in.

[Here we go! Party time!]

Tsk…

The eldest hyena sorcerer clicked his tongue and thought, ‘He’s the most talented when it comes to controlling the creatures, but he’s too carefree and gets taunted too easily.’

The hyena sorcerers were extremely pessimistic in nature, and their racial trait made them both despicable and insidious. Thus, the Bastrolings were able to persecute them, as they caused troubles and misfortune wherever they went.

They had to hide under the cover of darkness at all times to avoid persecution, making it difficult for them to thrive and increase their population. Their small population made it difficult for them to do anything against their oppressors, which was the main reason they chose to dabble in the corruption attribute to make up for the lacking numbers.

Surprisingly, the corruption attribute matched the hyenas’ characteristics, making it possible to quickly master it. However, what truly sped up their growth was the addition of the Dragon of Destruction’s powers to their corruption attribute.

Armed with their newfound powers, the hyenas quickly gained a foothold in the Bastro Dimension and even went as far as to threaten the other races.

Still, their meteoric rise to ruling over the entire dimension could not only be attributed to their fortune of stumbling upon these special powers, as the hyenas were smart in nurturing those talented among them too.

Their population was not that big, yet the path to becoming a hyena sorcerer required one to risk their lives, and more than two-thirds of those attempting to become a sorcerer died in the process.

Thus, the upper-ranks of the hyenas spared no expenses in supporting the talented younglings.

One example of such was the three hyena sorcerer brothers. Their youngest brother was born with innate talent in controlling the creatures, so the two elder brothers spared no expense in supporting their brother’s growth.

However, it was not only materialistic support that the elder brothers provided. The youngest brother might have been born with innate talent, but he had problems with his personality. Thus, the elder brothers worked hard to keep him in check and guide him in hopes he would one day have more self-control, making it possible to maximize his talents.

‘I’m not sure until when all three of us will be together… We need to actively support him,’ the eldest brother thought. He and his younger brother already met their limits as intermediate-ranking sorcerers, but he knew that was not the case for his youngest brother. The youngest could easily become a high-ranking sorcerer, and he could even dream of becoming greater than that in the future.

[Kekekeke!]

Chwaaak!

The corrupted creatures convulsing on the ground after getting affected by Han-Yeol’s Light skill suddenly got up the moment the youngest hyena sorcerer swung his hands and controlled them.

On the other hand, Han-Yeol looked uninterested by what was happening in front of him. In fact, he was thinking about something else right now.

‘Hmm… So they react like this to this much light attribute. Did you record that, Karvis?’

[I sure did.]

Han-Yeol had no plans to kill the corrupted creatures with his Light skill. He simply wanted to test the effectiveness of the weakest light attribute skill he possessed against the powerful-looking creatures summoned by the hyena sorcerers.

‘Alright, let’s proceed further.’

[I am ready when you are.]

Boom!

Han-Yeol catapulted himself forward with a single step, and every step he took after that further increased his speed.

[He’s quite fast for a human.]

[I can tell he’s on a completely different level compared to those humans at the HUN or whatever they call themselves.]

[Indeed.]

[But he’s still an inferior creature compared to us!]

[Exactly.]

[Let’s get ready to finish this while our youngest is keeping him busy.]

[I was thinking the same thing.]

Controlling more than one hundred of these powerful creatures would have required three intermediate-ranking hyena sorcerers to channel all of their focus, making it difficult for them to do other things.

However, these three hyena sorcerer brothers were not restricted like others, as their youngest brother possessed talent equal to a high-ranking hyena sorcerer. He was capable of controlling more than one hundred of these powerful corrupted creatures alone, and he was able to do so with utmost precision.

Thanks to him, the other brothers channeled another offensive skill to use against Han-Yeol.

Shwiiick! Shwiiick!

The corrupted creatures were capable of morphing however they wanted, and they could even combine with one another and separate at will. They were almost like liquid and were created after countless repetition of fermenting and processing of corrupted mana for a very long time.

Thus, these corrupted creatures were very rare even back in the Bastro Dimension.

‘Hmm… This is starting to get annoying,’ Han-Yeol thought.

[I agree. I do not see any cores in them. It is as if their entire bodies are made out of mana. It will be impossible to kill them unless they are dealt with in a special manner.]

‘Or I can just kill the hyena sorcerer controlling them, right?’

[That too, is an option.]

‘Well, I guess it’s the same for all of them.’

[Yes, that is indeed the best way to fight against these hyenas.]

‘Still, they really surprised me this time,’ Han-Yeol said, in awe of the hyenas’ capabilities.

[Me too. I was with you even during the time you were Harkan, but these hyenas are evolving faster than expected. I guess it is fortunate we possess numerous data regarding the hyena sorcerers, so it is possible to find out how to deal with these new creatures.]

‘Yes! Exactly!’ Han-Yeol sounded oddly cheerful despite hearing that the skills used by the hyena sorcerers were evolving at a rapid pace and they were becoming stronger by the day. He did not seem to be bothered by it at all, and it was the same for Karvis.

But that did not mean they were going to go easy on their opponents.

Chwak! Chwak!

The corrupted creatures turned into liquid form and attacked in ways that were extremely difficult to predict.

Chwak!

One of the creatures splashed up before turning into a sword and flew toward Han-Yeol.

‘Wow!’ Han-Yeol exclaimed before rolling backward to evade it.

However, that was only the start of the attacks. The more than one hundred corrupted creatures turned their bodies into weapons and relentlessly attacked him.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Their attacks were vicious and oozed with the intent to kill, and yet Han-Yeol seemed quite relaxed while he evaded all of them.

Of course, he would not be Lee Han-Yeol if he just continued to evade his enemy’s attacks.

‘Sword Breath!’

Shwiiik! Chwak!

The corrupted creatures relentlessly attacked so that even the fastest Hunter in the world would find it difficult to find an opening to counterattack. However, Han-Yeol found the luxury to use Sword Breath and cut down one of the corrupted creatures with ease.

Kieeeeek!

‘Is it dead?’ Han-Yeol wondered. He was certain he had cut through the corrupted creature’s body judging by the sensation he felt.

Kekekekeke!

Unfortunately, these corrupted creatures were not the same as the average creatures controlled by the hyena sorcerers.

[Resistance is futile! Kekeke!] the youngest hyena sorcerer exclaimed with absolute glee. He seemed to be laughing at Han-Yeol’s attempt to kill the corrupted creature.

Splash!

‘Hmm?’

The corrupted creature cut down by Sword Breath started to regenerate at a rapid pace. It seemed that these creatures possessed extremely fast regeneration that far transcended the regeneration speed of a troll.

‘Oh? They have super fast regeneration? That’s quite a troublesome ability to deal with.’

[Well, you already expected this, did you not? I mean, anyone could tell from a single glance that these monsters possess extraordinary regeneration just by their appearance. Truth be told, I would have been disappointed if they did not regenerate.]

‘Yeah, I guess you’re right.’

Meanwhile, the hyena sorcerers had triumphant looks that seemed to say, ‘We got you, didn’t we?!’ or ‘I bet you’re irritated! Keke!’ which was understandable as even Han-Yeol agreed that it was a very annoying ability to deal with.

Still, Han-Yeol did not show any changes in emotions, nor did he get worked up.

[What’s with that lackluster response? Why isn’t he showing any emotions?]

The youngest hyena sorcerer, who was the most emotional one among the three, looked very disappointed after he did not get any reaction out of Han-Yeol. Ironically, it looked like Han-Yeol was the hyena sorcerer judging by how calm and composed he was and the youngest hyena sorcerer was the human.

‘Alright, shall we test how amazing their regeneration can be?’ Han-Yeol asked.

[That sounds like a plan, Han-Yeol-nim.]

Boom!

Han-Yeol channeled his mana to his feet and moved even faster than before.

[Oh? You can go faster? Sure! Let’s see who wins!]

Wooooong!

The youngest hyena sorcerer channeled his mana and made the corrupted creatures move even faster after he saw Han-Yeol increase his speed.

Chwaaaak! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Han-Yeol’s chain danced all over the place.

Chwak! Chwak!

The corrupted creatures retaliated ferociously, but Han-Yeol evaded all of their attacks with his nimble movements and counterattacked with his chain whenever he saw an opening.

Splat! Splat!

The corrupted creatures struck by the chain would splatter on the ground and freeze.

[Liquid can be easily dealt with if they are frozen.]

‘Bingo!’

Han-Yeol possessed the ability to freeze his targets, and he decided to test it out on the corrupted creatures to see if it would work on them.

[Cheater! You shouldn’t use these kinds of dirty tricks, human!]

Woooong!

The youngest hyena sorcerer raged and threw a tantrum. Still, the tantrum lasted only for a brief moment and he immediately channeled his mana.

[Dark Flame!]

Fwaaaah!

Surprisingly, he still had the luxury to cast a spell even while handling more than one hundred of these powerful corrupted creatures, and this was a testament to how talented he truly was.

Black flames shot out from his hand and engulfed their surroundings.

Fwaaaaah!

‘Hmm?’

The black flames thawed the corrupted creatures Han-Yeol froze and even infused them with an even stronger power.

Squirm… Squirm…

The corrupted creatures were now engulfed by the Dark Flame, and they started moving even more actively.

‘Wow, that’s quite amazing,’ Han-Yeol was in awe of the hyena sorcerer’s mana control ability. This was something the hyena sorcerers were not capable of back when he fought against them as Harkan.

‘It seems like these guys put in more effort than the Light Faction did…’

No, it was safe to say that they made all the efforts while the Light Faction did nothing, if put into comparison.

The hyenas were Bastrolings too, which meant they had the same culture of worshiping power. This culture coupled with their desperation for survival and vengeance served as excellent fuel for growth.

The hyenas invested heavily in their talented young ones until they amassed enough strength. Then, they would lie in wait and capture unsuspecting Bastrolings out hunting monsters, which would later serve as their test subjects.

The numerous experiments they conducted on live Bastrolings coupled with the power and wisdom of their god, the Dragon of Destruction, were the two main things that allowed them to possess the power they wielded today.

Thus, it was inevitable for there to be a vast difference between the hyenas and the Light Faction Bastrolings.

[Kekeke! Is this all you got? You humans truly are pathetic! I’m starting to feel sorry for your pathetic poor race!]

Kwachik!

“Hey, what did you say?”

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