Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 448 - Mechanical Creature (5)

Chapter 448 - Mechanical Creature (5)

Through their scouts, they had observed Han-Yeol’s battles multiple times.

Every time they fought against him, they studied how to deal with him and came up with better methods, but each time, the intruder defeated them with greater force.

Especially if the intruder was red all over and had six red legs coming out of his back, green blood was bound to splatter everywhere.

“Over here, idiot!”

Shaaak!

[Oh no! It’s above me!]

Even though they were glued to the ceiling, there was a higher point due to the slanted structure of the ceiling.

Han-Yeol was hanging upside down from the very top of the ceiling.

[We must attack!]

The leader of the Evil Ghosts tried to give out an order, but it was too late.

Chakkk!

[Aghh!]

Han-Yeol had already noticed and slit its throat.

“I already noticed you were the leader.”

Although Han-Yeol and the Evil Ghost didn’t speak the same language, Han-Yeol was no fool. He was quick-witted and had dealt with them many times before. It was clear to him that they had their own rules between themselves.

Especially in groups with established battle rules, there was typically a leader who directed the group, and they all shared one common trait: the leader tended to talk a lot.

‘I don’t know what you’re saying, but why do you talk so much?’

Han-Yeol was just moving based on instincts and wit, and his instincts were frighteningly accurate.

The Evil Ghost that Han-Yeol beheaded with his sword was definitely the leader of more than a hundred other Evil Ghosts.

[D-Damn it!]

[Hurry up and attack the intruders!]

Kwanggg!

However, this didn’t mean that the remaining Evil Ghosts completely panicked.

With their advanced civilization and long history, they weren’t stupid enough to panic over the death of their leader. If the leader was dead, the second in command could take its place, and that would be the end of that.

They fired three consecutive mana bullets and attacked Han-Yeol with more tentacles.

Even if they weren't in complete chaos, losing their leader, the one in command, undoubtedly altered the precision of their attack.

Also, they were too distracted by Han-Yeol’s single strike.

[Damn it! He killed our leader so easily!]

The second in command clicked its tongue, trying to figure out what to do next.

Shakk!

[Huh?]

Suddenly, it felt something wrap around its neck.

“Gotcha, second in command.”

His voice was cold and full of a murderous aura.

Stewart skillfully extended and retracted his red whip, taking advantage of the opportunity to grab the second in command when everyone was distracted by Han-Yeol.

[Agh, I won’t die like this!]

In terms of strength, the Evil Ghosts weren't that weak either—having ten legs meant that they had a lot of muscles and had evolved a lot.

When all ten of their legs were firmly planted on the ground, they could not be pushed around.

Crack!

The Evil Ghost stuck its ten legs to the ceiling to show that it would never be dragged down.

Stewart saw this and quickly realized what it was trying to do.

“Ha, what an idiot.”

Stewart smiled creepily. His twisted grin was all the more eerie because it couldn’t see his eyes, which glowed subtly through his black and red blinders.

Clench!

[Aghh!]

Stewart tightened his grip on the whip.

The Evil Ghost strained its ten legs.

So far, this was what it expected, but the problem was that this wasn’t the end.

“It’s not your legs I want, but your head. [Scourge of Cutting].”

Stewart activated a skill in the demon language.

[Huh...?]

The Evil Ghost that was second in command opened its eyes wide, but its eyes soon turned red as they filled with blood.

Swoosh!

Its head was soon in Stewart’s hand.

“Disgusting.”

Stewart looked down at the head as if he was looking at a bug, then tossed it aside and wiped his hands on his clothes.

He acted as if he’d actually touched a bug.

The Evil Ghosts struggled but continued to fight Han-Yeol, even after losing their leader and second in command.

They couldn't fight as efficiently as before. Unable to react to Han-Yeol’s changing movements, his sword sliced them to pieces.

Slice!

[How dare you invade the sanctuary... Argh!]

Thud!

Even the final Evil Ghost had all of its ten legs severed, and it lost its life to Stewart’s sharp whip.

“They’re nothing without their leader.”

“If anything, they’re weaker than the undead clergymen.”

“Haha, well, their individual strengths aren’t bad, but they’re just not very smart. Losing their leader certainly reduced their combat power.”

In fact, the undead clergymen who came before them were individually weaker than the Evil Ghosts, but they had a better overall balance of power.

At least the undead clergymen didn’t collapse when a few of them died.

However, while the Evil Ghosts had the ability to climb walls, strong destructive power, and close combat skills, that was about it. They were only strong in such areas, so when facing a more powerful opponent who was stronger than them in close combat and destructive power, they were outclassed. The hundred of them had worked together through their leader to overcome this weakness, but after Han-Yeol and Stewart killed their leader and second in command, it became impossible.

“Come to think of it, there’s not much time left.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Zinggg.

Han-Yeol looked wistful as he looked at the cocoon on the self-powered cart that was still following them.

There was now exactly one week left.

“And now you’re rich, Han-Yeol-nim.”

“Haha, hey, I was always rich. It’s just that I’m becoming even richer.”

“Good for you.”

“Yeah, it is good for me.”

“...”

If it were Tia, she would have continued joking around, but Stewart, who was a rational being with a more serious demeanor, didn't respond to Han-Yeol's jokes anymore.

Anyway, Han-Yeol was pleased to find large, hard mana stones from the undead clergymen and the Evil Ghosts in the underground ruins. All of those were treasures that were hard to find on Earth.

“I think this dimension is at least the third dimension, and now it’s just been turned into a dungeon for some reason.”

“I think so too.”

Technically, this wasn’t the third dimension. From Han-Yeol’s perspective, this island looked like a part of the third dimension that had been cursed or punished into this state.

“Dungeon dimension...”

“That sounds about right.”

“Oh, that’s a first. You’re actually agreeing with me.”

“That’s what I want to say. Han-Yeol-nim is saying the right thing for the first time.”

“What did you say?”

They didn’t know how long they'd been walking for, but the ruins suddenly started to widen.

“White Dragon.”

At Han-Yeol’s call, White Dragon looked at him with bright red eyes as if to say, ‘What? What!?’

“Khu?”

Since she was still a child, she was happy to do whatever she was asked of, which made Han-Yeol feel less sorry.

“Can you make the light spread a bit wider, but without intensifying it?”

It was possible to spread the light over a wider area by simply intensifying it. However, that would dazzle Han-Yeol’s group, making it difficult for them to do daily activities and fight.

It was important to widen the range of light while maintaining the intensity.

“Khu!”

Despite the fact that this was an unreasonable and difficult request, White Dragon laughed and soared upward, spreading her wings with a happy expression.

Shhh!

“Khuu!”

“Woahhh!”

A holy light spread out in all directions with such a brilliant aura that exclamations of admiration spontaneously burst from the mouths of the crew. The bright light illuminated a much larger area than before without irritating the eyes.

“You’re the best, White Dragon!”

Han-Yeol gave White Dragon a thumbs up and praised her.

“Khu! Khu!”

After receiving the praise, White Dragon was in a good mood and rubbed against Han-Yeol’s face.

“Khu...”

Seeing this, Mavros’ ears and tail drooped as he looked at Han-Yeol with a look of envy. If Mavros had a wish right now, it would be to share the dragon’s signature act of rubbing against each other with White Dragon.

The two had rubbed against Han-Yeol at the same time when he was depressed, but never the two of them alone. When two dragons rubbed against each other, it meant that they were promising a future together.

She could rub against Han-Yeol since he was a different species and also her master. However, Mavros was also a dragon, and she still had no feelings for him, so there was no way that White Dragon would rub against him.

“Okay, let’s go!”

“Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!” the captain boldly answered Han-Yeol’s bold command.

*

After a while, they came upon a temple that resembled a giant pyramid, but the problem was that the pyramid-like temple was massive.

“I-It’s big...”

“W-Why is it so big?”

For reference, the ruins got wider and wider as they continued to walk, to the point where it didn’t even look like they were underground anymore.

The pyramid temple gave off a sense of danger that seemed to fill the large space.

Ooong!

This wasn't just a large temple, but one that also released a strange divine power and a unique sense of danger.

“Stewart.”

“Yes.”

“There’s no other path, is there?”

“Yes, there is none.”

“Ugh,” Han-Yeol groaned at Stewart’s quick replies.

The last thing Han-Yeol wanted to do was enter this unpleasant temple, but they had to pass through it.

There was no way around it. There were only walls to the side of it, and behind them was a way back to where they had come from.

To explore the ancient ruins, he had to enter the temple, whether he liked it or not.

“Lava Golem!”

Bubble bubble!

Unable to speak, the Lava Golems boiled themselves and answered, “Protect the cocoon.”

Bubble bubble!

Even though they answered by boiling themselves, it felt like they were trembling.

Normally, Han-Yeol didn’t treat his subordinates too badly, but since the Arachnid cocoon was very important for them to protect, he acted a bit sensitive.

Even though the Lava Golems were emotionless, they were helpless in the face of Han-Yeol’s charismatic mana.

Drip drip.

The passageway inside the temple was not that narrow, but at the same time, it wasn’t very wide.

“I feel like something's going to jump out at me at any moment.”

“No, I’d rather have something jump out at me. This atmosphere of feeling like something’s going to happen is worse.”

Naturally occurring sounds like water dripping and the hum of the wind tapped into their primal fears.