Leveling Up Alone

[You fool. Do you think we’re dealing with the remnants of the Light Faction here? We’re after a single lowly inhabitant of a lower dimension and we have to catch him within three days!]

[A-Argh!]

[Do you think we have time to send out a scouting party? Really?!]

[I-I apologize. I didn’t think this through. I’ll tell everyone to hurry up.]

[Finally, you understand.]

[I-I apologize.]

Gulp.

Barely swallowing the blood in his mouth, the mid-rank sorcerer got back up and ordered the contaminants to speed up.

“Kwak! Kwak!”

The contaminants started moving forward rapidly.

‘Hmm, not bad.’

Haverus smiled in satisfaction.

‘Ugh!’

The mid-ranked sorcerer rubbed his still painful chest.

‘Damn it, he could’ve used words. Why’d he have to hit me!’ he grumbled inwardly.

The lower-ranked sorcerers around him cowered as best as they could so that the mid-ranked sorcerer’s anger wouldn't be directed at them.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, a high-ranked sorcerer sensed something strange.

‘What is this feeling?’

Since the magic circle had been destroyed, it wasn’t something that could be sensed in this land. It didn’t have a murderous aura or anything like it, so the high-ranked sorcerer thought it was strange.

Swoosh! Boom!

[!!]

[I-It’s a raid!]

Boom!

Two explosions occurred.

Rumble!

Boulders instantly blocked the entrance and exit of the canyon.

[L-Look up!]

As soon as a tamer shouted, an arrow made from red lava flew out from nowhere, piercing the trainer’s forehead and melting his brain.

Stab! Tsssss!

The trainer was assassinated without even knowing why he died in the first place.

[D-Damn it!]

The sorcerers panicked.

The contaminant army’s weakness was when they got trapped between the canyons like this. Early on in the war with the Light Faction, they suffered quite a bit of damage from ambushes in the canyon. Later on, they eventually sent out scouts and changed formations and no longer fell for this trap, but right now, they were completely unprepared.

[S-Senior sorcerer!]

[Ughhh! This damn lower dimension citizen!]

The high-ranked sorcerer was furious at the unexpected ambush, but his nightmare was only about to begin.

The reason why this battle in the canyon was so unfavorable to the contaminant army led by the hyena sorcerers was relatively simple. The massive contaminant army boasted elite contaminants with great strength, but the most threatening aspect was undoubtedly their overwhelming number. If a battle was fought in a canyon with such a steep angle, the contaminants wouldn’t be able to move because of how many of them there were. In other words, the contaminant army’s greatest strength couldn’t be utilized.

“Stewart.”

“Understood.”

As soon as Han-Yeol gave his order, Stewart snapped his fingers.

The Shurarmors and Lava Golems positioned on either side of the canyon began to fire ranged attacks in unison.

Whoosh!

The Shurarmors fired bolts of deep pink mana, while the Lava Golems unleashed a rain of lava arrows.

Whoosh!

The golems weren’t very accurate when it came to aiming, but that didn’t matter since the contaminants were densely packed in the narrow path below the canyon. Even if they didn't aim, their arrows and ranged skills would hit them anyway.

[Senior sorcerer!]

Several mid-ranked sorcerers called out to the high rank sorcerer with an urgent expression.

[Damn it, what are you guys waiting for? Send the contaminants that can climb the cliff to kill them, and send the ones who can’t to the front and back to open up the exits!]

[Yes, sir!!]

Chaaahhh-!

With the order from the high-ranked sorcerer, the mid-ranked sorcerers started using their individual techniques to control the contaminants in unison.

Han-Yeol’s surprise attack was very effective, but the response of the Haverus’s contaminant army was just as good. This was partly due to the sheer number of talented sorcerers in the army, and partly due to the fact that the main offense on Han-Yeol’s side was currently being carried out by mere summoned creatures at best.

“Hmm, we don’t have enough attackers.”

Han-Yeol briefly assessed the current situation. The ambush itself was good, but the contaminants’ defenses were better than he had expected.

“Why don’t you join in yourself, Han-Yeol-nim?” Stewart asked casually.

Out of everyone, Han-Yeol had the most powerful and effective ranged skills after all—as expected of a skill master.

“Hmm, already?”

“The contaminants are defending themselves better than we expected, and the defense skills of the mid and high-ranked sorcerers are also pretty solid. It’s hard to do much damage with just the Shurarmors and Lava Golems.”

“Tsk, that’s true. Our opponent is not just an ordinary sorcerer, but a high-ranked sorcerer who has brought all his forces.”

Han-Yeol had to admit Stewart was right.

A single high-ranked sorcerer alone was quite the force in itself, but with his subordinate sorcerers adding to that as well, they were more powerful than any hyena force he had ever faced.

“Okay, I’ll join.”

“Good choice.”

“Haha, let’s get started.”

‘Multiple Shot!’

Kwang!

A dozen mana cannonballs shot out from Han-Yeol’s shoulder cannon and headed for the contaminants.

Boom, boom, boom!

“Khaaa!”

[Khaa!]

As Han-Yeol joined in, a force far more powerful than the impact of the Shurarmors and Lava Golems alone, he rained down on the contaminant army.

[W-What the hell!?]

[Damn it! Quick, go stop him!]

[Y-Yes, sir!]

The sorcerers were caught off guard by the sudden power, but they didn’t panic for long. They soon began to deal with the enemy’s weaker-than-expected firepower.

However, the sudden attack that came out of nowhere had destroyed multiple contaminants.

The sorcerers didn’t know what to do, but they fended off the attack as best they could, instructing the contaminants to climb the canyon as quickly as possible.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

[Damn it!]

Several lower-rank sorcerers using their shields to block the attacks coughed out blood.

Han Yeol's attacks weren’t all that intense for the high-ranked sorcerers, but to the lower-ranked sorcerers, it was like a disaster falling from the sky.

[Kaaaah!! Human!!]

The high-ranked sorcerer let out an enraged cry.

"Hahaha, seeing that guy get so mad makes me feel like a decade's worth of food just melted away."

“Ew, that’s so gross. Did you just poop, Master?”

“No, why are you interpreting me like that!?”

“Oh, you didn’t?”

“Of course I didn’t!”

Tia laughed slightly at the sight of her master still overreacting to her.

“Ugh.”

Han-Yeol seriously thought about Tia’s peculiar way of speaking that made him react even though he knew it was a joke.

[Han-Yeol.]

“Ah, Tara, what is it?”

Boom!

Even as Han-Yeol was joking around with Tia and answering Tayarana, he kept firing his shoulder cannon nonstop, blasting it down the canyon.

[When should I start?]

“Ah, right.”

They weren’t going to win just because Han-Yeol had succeeded in trapping them and bombarding them nonstop.

“Gaa! Gaa!”

Thump. Thump!

Not the ordinary contaminants, but the enhanced contaminants that the sorcerers had carefully crafted were steadily crawling up the cliff.

But Han-Yeol wasn’t too worried about that.

"Just as the Bastrolings' weakness is their lack of ranged attacks, the contaminant army also doesn’t have many ranged attacks. Of course they do have some, but it’s not like they can properly use them.’

The lack of ranged attacks was, in a way, the official mark of the Bastro Dimension as a whole.

‘Well, the only thing the hyenas have going for them is that their enhanced and special contaminants can attack from a distance, which is why they ended up dominating the Bastro Dimension.’

Therefore, Han-Yeol was wary of such things. It wasn’t like the Light Faction didn’t have any sorcerers with ranged skills. However, they were more focused on mastering spells that were more life-oriented or specialized in oracles or combat support rather than strict combat-related spells.

Kwang!

[Senior sorcerer, the contaminants have finally climbed to the top.]

[Haha, good. Now we’ll fight for real.]

[Hehehe, yes.]

One thing about the hyena sorcerer’s spells was that they were weak in movement-related skills. However, the high-ranked sorcerer had a few useful movement skills.

[Change it up, contamination army!]

Haverus, the high-ranking sorcerer, raised his skull staff and chanted a simple incantation. A huge magic circle formed around him.

‘What is that?’

At the same time, a magic circle formed beneath the contaminants who had managed to climb the cliff.

‘No, it can’t be?’

Han-Yeol suddenly grasped what kind of spell it was, but it was too late to counteract it.

Swoosh!

[Khahaha!]

‘Ugh, I didn’t expect him to have such a movement skill.’

Han-Yeol planned to attack them from above the canyon and drain their energy as much as possible before fighting with them directly because he wanted to conserve as much energy as possible. Han-Yeol’s group were clearly the intruders, while the hyenas could defensively draw a huge amount of resources from the Bastro Dimension.

It was common sense to avoid going all out in this kind of situation.

‘Tsk, he got me good.’

Han-Yeol hadn’t expected Haverus to have such a movement skill since the hyena sorcerers were known for not having many, but he was wrong.

“Oh well. Tara!”

[Yeah, Han-Yeol.]

Tayarana turned around with twinkling eyes when Han-Yeol called, excited to do something as she had been so bored all this time. She remained expressionless, and only her eyes twinkled slightly, but it was hard to tell from afar. No specific orders had been given yet, but she knew roughly that it was her turn to step up.

“I’ll need your help. This is going to be a proper battle starting now.”

[Okay.]

“Master, I can join too, right?”

“Of course.”

“Hehehe.”

Tia was smiling, but her eyes were filled with a murderous aura.

[...]

Tayarana liked the idea of joining the battle, but she hated that Tia interrupted her conversation with Han-Yeol.

“What’s wrong, Tara?”

[I-It’s nothing.]

With that, Tayarana lowered her visor.

Click.

‘I wonder what’s wrong?’

Tayarana’s sudden lack of energy left Han-Yeol slightly confused.

Thump!

However, he couldn’t think about that for too long. The group of high-ranking sorcerers who had succeeded in climbing the cliff were about to engage in a full-scale battle.

“Tara, Tia, let’s go.”

[Okay, Han-Yeol.]

“Sure, Master.”

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