Leveling Up Alone

They failed to find the Purple Stone in the first hunting ground, but they determined that the level of the hunting grounds in South America were different from equally ranked hunting grounds in other countries. They experienced firsthand why South America was called the Continent of Monsters.

“Well, we can’t always expect things to go our way.”

[I’m fine with this.]

Tayarana was starving for monsters after the boredom she experienced in the South Pole. So, she was quite satisfied with killing monsters even though they were weaker than her. She knew they still had a long way to go, and they would probably run into more interesting situations later.

Also, the fact that Han-Yeol finally got some rest helped too.

‘They’re doing quite well–surprisingly…’

That was the first thing that came to his mind when he heard that the Light Faction led by Riru back to the Bastro Dimension to retake it from the hyenas were doing quite well. They won battle after battle against the hyenas and were gaining ground.

Han-Yeol did not go with them as he was not Harkan and he still had a lot of unfinished business on Earth. However, he still cared about them, so he felt quite anxious after he sent them off. Still, the news of them using guerilla tactics to defeat the hyenas came as a huge relief, making it feel like a heavy burden had been finally lifted from his shoulders.

Chwak!

He spread his Wings of Light and flew up into the airspace of Chile. Then, he activated Demon Eyes and scanned his surroundings.

He identified five locations emitting the Purple Stone’s mana and went to check them out, but his efforts ended up in vain as the Purple Stone was in none of them.

‘What I’m doing right now is too inefficient. South America is too huge to search, and I might waste an entire year just searching for the Purple Stone.’

Yes, the Light Faction was currently winning against the hyenas, but that did not mean they were guaranteed to win the war. In fact, if anyone asked Han-Yeol if the Light Faction would win the war, then he would tell them ‘no’ without missing a beat.

‘But it’s strange… It’s really strange… Noras’ report said that the hyenas seemed weaker than usual.’ Han-Yeol could not help but doubt what was happening.

The hyenas had already proven their strength by ruling over the entire Bastro Dimension and they continuously grew stronger even after taking control of the dimension. The fact that they deployed three intermediate sorcerers in the previous battle was proof that their forces were growing.

‘But they lost to a handful of Light Faction warriors? I’m sure they’re plotting something right now. There must be a reason they can’t or aren’t using all of their power…’

Han-Yeol was not going to relax just because they won a few battles. Also, he was not the type of person who would kick back and relax even after discovering something fishy about the whole situation.

‘Karvis!’

Han-Yeol called his trusty Ego system, and she immediately responded.

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.]

Ziiiing!

He focused his mana and scanned his surroundings with Demon Eyes, which caused a slight vibration in the air from the sheer amount of mana he unleashed.

‘Analyze the wavelengths emitted from this place and identify them separately. Exclude the wavelength similar to the five locations we searched earlier.’

[Yes, I understand.]

Karvis immediately got to work. The dozens of brightly sparkling lights spread out on the ground disappeared the moment Han-Yeol gave the command.

‘Hmm… I hope the Purple Stone isn’t in one of the places we excluded just now…’ Han-Yeol thought worriedly.

[That is highly unlikely.]

‘Why do you think so?’

[I did a quick calculation and came to the conclusion that there is no margin of error with the method you came up with. Yes, you are basing it on five instances only, but all five of them only had slight differences. They were the same overall.]

‘Well, I guess you’re right.’

[So I think we will just be wasting our time if we search the same thing over and over again.]

‘Hmm… And the whole year will be gone just like that if we search each and every location.’

[Yes, that is correct.]

The entire continent of South America was riddled with mana similar to the Purple Stone. He initially thought it would be a piece of cake, but he soon realized that was not the case at all after arriving in Chile.

The number of potential sites in Chile alone was already too much to handle, and thinking that the same number of potential sites was spread all over South America made it an extremely time-consuming task.

He could leave it to his luck and search every single one, but he was not so free to waste his time like that.

‘Alright, let’s get started right now.’

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim.]

Han-Yeol and Karvis eliminated the mana signals that were identical to the ones they searched earlier, which turned out to be a bust. They continued eliminating them until they reached a very secluded place where not even a single village was in sight.

“Hmm… This is the last mana signal in Chile.”

[Yes, you are correct, but…]

‘Hmm? What’s wrong?’

[The wavelength of the signal this time is different from the usual ones.]

‘Huh? All of a sudden?’

Karvis did not say much while they were going around, but she suddenly pointed out that there was something different about the last location. Han-Yeol knew she was not the type who would say something for no reason, so he could not help but wonder what she had noticed.

[Yes, it might seem the same with only negligible differences from afar, but there is definitely something different now that I am sensing it from this close. Also, there is one thing that you should be aware of.]

‘And what is that?’

[It is not only that the wavelength is different. The mana density here is much stronger than any of the other spots we have visited thus far.]

‘What?!’ Han-Yeol was shocked by what he heard.

However, his shock lasted only for a moment, as what Karvis said next made him sure of one thing.

‘So that means even if we don’t find it here, at least we found useful clues about its real whereabouts, right?’

[I think so too.]

‘Alright!’ Han-Yeol felt delighted that he had finally found a clue. He did expect the search to take time, but searching high and low for the Purple Stone and not finding a single hint definitely disappointed him.

However, after finally finding the clue he had been desperately looking for, he was pumped up.

“Let’s go!”

[Okay, Han-Yeol.]

[Hmm… He seems to be energetic all of a sudden.]

[Yeah, he was really down just a while ago.]

[I’m sure he was just going through a phase.]

[Yeah, maybe…]

Phew…

The deer sorcerers let out a sigh of relief after seeing Han-Yeol’s mood improve. They were a sensitive race, so they were slightly worried after sensing that Han-Yeol was in a bad mood earlier.

‘He is a great being who saved our entire race. I’m prepared to do anything if it’s for his sake–no, I have to be prepared to do anything but…’

The deer sorcerers vowed to help Han-Yeol to the best of their abilities, but the only thing they could do was track down the Purple Stone. Unfortunately, even that did not help him much, as their abilities were much slower than Demon Eyes.

Their abilities might be useful when the exact location of the Purple Stone was unknown, but they were practically useless once they knew the area.

Also, their combat abilities were not that strong, so they were not helpful in combat either.

‘Haa… This is so frustrating…’

The Bastro Sorcerers might be more like pacifists compared to the Bastro Warriors, but the blood of a warrior still flowed in their veins. The fact that they were useless in combat frustrated them, and their inability to help the hero of their race, the Great Harkan, frustrated them even more.

‘I guess I need to work harder…’

However, they were not the type to just wallow in their misery. The Bastrolings were quite the stubborn masters of perseverance. Thus, the Bastro Sorcerers swore to be more helpful to Han-Yeol as they followed him into a ravine.

***

Boom!

‘Huh?’

Han-Yeol was in sheer disbelief after he blocked an explosion from a booby trap aimed directly at his face.

‘What’s up with the trap all of a sudden?’

“This is indeed strange. This is not a hunting ground, and yet this trap was installed by humans,” Mariam said.

“Hmm… Maybe they were trying to hunt something?” Han-Yeol replied.

Mariam did not say anything. Instead, she shot an icy glare at him.

“Ahem…” Han-Yeol cleared his throat after realizing his mistake.

Who in the world would install a trap that cost millions just to hunt some animal? What he said just now was utter nonsense and extremely stupid.

“Are you seriously joking while we are in this situation?” Mariam asked, glaring at him.

“Hahaha… My bad,” Han-Yeol replied, scratching the back of his head and laughing awkwardly.

“Sigh… It seems this is no ordinary place. I did not expect to find such a dangerous trap here. Also, something like a wall is blocking our path up ahead.”

“Hmm? A wall?”

“Can you not feel it? My mana can only travel up to a certain point before it gets blocked by something like a wall.”

“Oh? Hold on! Y-You’re right!”

“The Purple Stone you are looking for might not be here, but I am certain there is something suspicious up ahead.”

“Well, I agree with you. I just hope it’s not some government facility…”

Mariam placed her fingers on her chin and nodded. She replied, “Hmm… I guess that is also a possibility.”

There was a high possibility that a highly protected facility hidden in the middle of nowhere would be a government facility.

“That is all the more reason we have to check it out,” Mariam said.

Han-Yeol smirked and replied, “Of course! Also, the Purple Stone’s mana signal is already a good enough reason to check it out!”

“I see. Then let us proceed in that case,” Mariam agreed easily. She was a patriot down to her core, so she would never miss the opportunity to inspect a hostile country’s secret facility if given the chance to do so.

Shwooong… Kaboom!

‘Damn it… These things are starting to get on my nerves…’ Han-Yeol started getting annoyed when he kept activating one trap after another every few steps. The traps were not that powerful, but they were so meticulously hidden that those following behind him could be in danger if he did not pay close attention.

‘I’m certain now. This isn’t some ordinary place,’ Han-Yeol was starting to get excited about what lay ahead, even though he had no idea what it might be.

He plowed through the explosive traps and stood in front of a stone fortress that looked like a lavishly decorated medieval castle.

‘Huh? Why is there a random fortress here?’ he wondered.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Ziiiing!

‘Hmm?!’

The fortress was just the start of the surprises. There were hideous-looking creatures resembling lizardmen manning the fortress walls, aiming cannons at Han-Yeol’s party.

[W-What are those things?!]

[I did not expect humans to conduct experiments that go against the laws of nature… I know they are monsters, but… that’s too much…]

[I hope you will go to a better place.]

The Bastro Sorcerers prayed for the souls of the lizardmen.

On the other hand, Han-Yeol was focused on something else.

‘Tsk… Is there some sort of secret laboratory here?’

Seeing the lizardmen on the fortress walls, he could tell that they were conducting secret experiments inside the fortress.

These lizardmen looked far from ordinary. In fact, they looked hideous because their bodies had fused with the cannons, and they were evenly spread across the fortress walls. It looked as if these lizardmen were rooted in their spots and could only turn their bodies as if they were cannons mounted on the fortress walls.

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