Leveling Up Alone

“Ah, t-thing is…”

Han-Yeol explained everything he had heard from Noras to Tayarana.

[Hmm, so it’s South America?]

“Yeah.”

[That’s not bad.]

“I knew you wouldn’t… Huh?!”

Although Tayarana didn’t show it, Han-Yeol had seen how bored she was earlier in Antarctica. He had expected her to freak out and hate it when he told her their next destination, but her response was surprisingly positive.

“You’re okay?”

[About what?]

He had known her for a long time, so he could tell she wasn’t trying to hide any unpleasant feelings.

“Doesn’t it sound boring?”

[Huh, what does?]

“This time, the stone's energy is spread across the entire continent, not just a part of it. We don’t have the slightest idea of where it could be, so it will take a lot of time. Are you okay with that?”

[Yeah, I’m good with that.]

“Why?”

[Because it’s South America.]

“Eh? What does that have to do with anything?”

[There’s nothing in Antarctica. It’s just snow, ice, and glaciers. Oh, and some penguins.]

“That’s right.”

[But there are people in South America.]

“Oh…”

[There are also fields there, and besides, I’ve never been to South America. SoI’m curious to see what it looks like.]

“Ah, I see.”

Now Han-Yeol understood why she’d agreed to explore another continent after having such a bad experience in Antarctica.

‘Antarctica literally has nothing, but South America has people, fields, and monsters too, so at least it won’t be as boring as Antarctica. We also might have to battle monsters as we look for the Purple Stone. Yeah, it’ll definitely be better than Antarctica, or maybe it’ll even be fun?’

Han-Yeol felt positive about going to South America. He had only been to North America once when the president of the United States had invited him, but he had also never been to South America.

‘I heard that South America is a passionate continent, and the women there are so hot. Hehehe.’

Han-Yeol turned slightly to the side and smirked when no one was looking. He didn’t have any intention of doing anything with the women there. He had Tayarana, whose overwhelming beauty set his standards so high that most women considered to be beautiful didn't even catch his eye. Nonetheless, Han-Yeol was still a man.

‘I heard that you especially have to go see the Brazilian samba dance.’

He vaguely remembered a post on a travel agency’s website.

“Now, now, let’s stop wasting any more time and head straight for South America!”

Tayarana rarely expressed a change in emotion, but she replied to Han-Yeol enthusiastically.

[Yup!]

‘She must be really excited.’

***

Antarctica and South America weren’t that far apart.

In the past, one had to take a ship or airplane from Punta Arenas, Chile, near the tip of South America, when traveling to Antarctica. That was how close the two continents were.

Han-Yeol summoned Delfusia, the Spirit of Space, and used the movement skill to travel to Chile, the southernmost part of South America.

Zing. Pang!

In southern Chile, a sparsely populated area warped, and with a powerful impact, Han-Yeol and his group appeared.

[Woah…]

“T-That’s a really cool power. Even though Antarctica and Chile aren’t that far apart, crossing that distance just like that is very impressive.”

‘Well, distance doesn’t really matter, but it wouldn't hurt to let him think so.’

[Hahaha! Using the movement skill is so much fun with humans!]

‘A-Ahaha. Her energy level is out of this world as always.’

[Huh, do you mean out of this world?]

‘I-It’s nothing.’

[Hmm, are you sure…?]

Delfusia looked at Han-Yeol suspiciously, and he couldn’t help but feel cold sweat run down his spine.

[This isn’t fair!]

[Huh, Alfiano?]

It didn’t just end with Delfusia. Alfiano only appeared when they were playing a game in the past, but he had shown up too.

‘Ah, now that I think about it, I haven’t had a chance to use any of my skills with Alfiano.’

In fact, the ability to manipulate space and time was such an advanced ability that it was basically cheating in battle.

But Han-Yeol still lacked affinity with the spirits, and using their power in battle where every second counted was too overwhelming for him.

[You only adore Delfusia!]

‘Huh, I never did that?’

Han-Yeol felt frustrated.

[You’re lying. Then why do you only invite Delfusia to play with you?]

‘What are you talking about? Don’t we all play together?’

[That’s also a lie. Then why do you only call Delfusia when you need to use a skill?]

‘T-That’s because the skill I need has to do with spa…’

Han-Yeol couldn’t finish his sentence because Alfiano burst into tears.

[Whaaaa!]

‘U-Uh?’

Han-Yeol was very familiar with how to deal with monsters, but he had no idea what to do when a child started crying.

[How could you, human? You made Alfiano cry.]

‘Huhhh?!’

With Delfusia adding to it, Han-Yeol was cornered.

Gulp.

‘Even though these guys look innocent, they’re very dangerous. It’ll be troublesome if they start to hate me.’

They looked adorable, like stuffed puppies and kittens, and spoke in a childlike manner. However, if anyone was deceived by their appearance and tried to take advantage of them, they wouldn't survive.

They were spirits that had existed since the beginning of time, the only spirits who dealt with time and space attributes.

‘These guys are classified as spirits, but their control over time and space is comparable to that of gods.’

Therefore, even Han-Yeol couldn’t help but let Defusia and Alfiano win.

Zing!

‘H-Huh?’

Perhaps it was because Alfiano cried, but a tremendous amount of mana spread out around him, causing time to stop.

“W-Wait! A-Alfiano, let’s play now!”

[Sniffle. Really?]

“Y-Yeah!”

[Sniffle. What are we going to play?]

“Ah, u-um, should we play with the time acceleration skill?”

[Yeah!]

Han-Yeol’s efforts had paid off. Despite Alfiano’s slightly puffy eyes, he smiled widely, eager to play.

***

[Hahaha, this is so fun, human!]

“T-That’s good.”

‘Phew, thank god.’

[Hehehe!]

After Alfiano and Han-Yeol ran all around Chile and Argentina with time acceleration, time finally started to flow again.

Han-Yeol felt like he’d been running around for almost a week, but in reality, not a single second had actually passed. Han-Yeol could never do something like that by himself. Like the Skill Tree, stopping time was something beyond his control.

Alfiano had manifested that power because he wanted to play with Han-Yeol. Unlike Han-Yeol, who broke out in a cold sweat, Alfiano returned to the spirit world with a satisfied expression.

[Ah…!]

[What’s the matter, Tayarana-nim? Are you alright?]

[Ah, no. I just felt something very strange.]

Han-Yeol’s heart pounded at Tayarana’s remark.

‘Woah, how can a person have such good senses?’

[Strange as in?]

[Umm, umm…]

Luckily, Tayarana only vaguely sensed that it was something strange and couldn’t explain it clearly. The ability to control time was close to a godly ability, so even that wasn’t something she could discern.

“Okay, let’s get moving quickly. We can’t stay here forever.”

Han-Yeol actively interjected their conversation, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject as much as possible.

[True.]

[Alright. But Tayarana-nim, please tell me if you feel uncomfortable at all. Your health is not something that impacts you alone.]

Mujahid was the candidate for the king of Egypt, but Tayarana was the country's symbol. Although her lineage and presidency were important, she was the embodiment of Ra, the great god who could bring Egypt together. When she was in Egypt, the royal hospital would make a big fuss even if she just sneezed.

[Okay, don’t worry.]

[Alright.]

“Great. Now let’s see…”

‘Demon Eyes!’

Han-Yeol activated his trademark Demon Eyes, and he began scanning the power of the purple stones throughout South America.

“Oh, luckily there’s one nearby. We’ll be able to check it out.”

[Okay, let’s take care of that one first.]

“Great. Let’s go!”

[Okay!]

The first purple stone he found was in an average plain field in Chile. However, when Han-Yeol and his group entered the field, they sensed a strange energy.

“Huh, what is this?”

[This feels weird. Is this really a normal field?]

“I-I know, right…”

The strength of the mana also felt ordinary. However, he couldn’t help but feel that there was a very strange energy mixed in with this ordinary mana.

‘Just what is this?’

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The mana felt somewhat foreign.

“Let’s beat the boss first. Maybe then we’ll find out what this energy is.”

[Good idea, Han-Yeol.]

As usual, Tayarana responded with delight to the sound of fighting.

“Hehe.”

Han-Yeol found Tayarana’s behavior cute.

Boom!

“Kheee!”

Noras’ powerful attack spell completely charred a monster.

[Hmm, this field is one strange place.]

“Oh, Noras, you think so too?”

[Yes, in fact, it’s strange that I didn’t notice it from the beginning.]

Noras tried to investigate the field, casting all sorts of spells here and there, but nothing really stuck out to him.

[It feels like, like...]

This kind of feeling was very frustrating. Just when Han-Yeol felt like he had figured it out, nothing would come to mind no matter how hard he tried.

“Ugh, this is so annoying!”

“Be more patient, Han-Yeol-nim.”

“Tsk, I know.”

Although a lot of time had passed, Mariam still played the role of nagging Han-Yeol.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.’

Han-Yeol treasured his past memories, and so he even cherished memories of Mariam’s nagging.

‘Well, maybe it’s because Mariam’s pretty, hehe.’

Mariam stared at Han-Yeol.

“Han-Yeol-nim, I get the feeling that you just thought of something very unpleasant.”

“Huh? No, you’re mistaken.”

“Hmmm.”

Mariam stared at Han-Yeol as if she was looking at a molester.

“I’m not lying!” Han-Yeol exclaimed.

“Hmph, sure. Let’s just say that.”

“No, I’m being for real!”

Despite Han-Yeol’s strong denial, Mariam turned her head coldly. She then blushed and smiled slightly.

‘You’re one bad man,’ Tayarana thought.

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