Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 441 – Mystery Ruin (4)

Han-Yeol sensed something ominous the moment he saw the light coming from the dying undead clergymen.

It turned out that his fear was not unfounded, as the ground suddenly started shaking.

“W-What’s going on?!”

[T-The ruin is...!]

Stewart hurriedly walked over to Han-Yeol and whispered, “The ruin seems to be coming to life.”

“Damn it...” Han-Yeol grimaced and cursed under his breath.

He thought this place was just dark, damp, and eerie, but he did not sense anything special about it. In fact, he thought this was just some abandoned sewer turned into a dungeon until he arrived here at this vast ruin.

The ruin started to shake the moment Han-Yeol killed the five undead clergymen, and it felt as if the ruin was a living creature that had been asleep all this time.

Badump! Badump!

“D-Damn!”

“This is quite amazing. I have not witnessed anything like this, even in the demon world. I wonder at what level this dimension is at?” Stewart muttered in awe of the pulsating dungeon.

Even a demon was astounded by this incredible sight, which seemed like the birth of a new life.

“Who knows? It’s not important which level this dimension is. I’m not sure if you noticed, but it seems that they adjusted this dungeon’s difficulty level to us for some reason.”

Stewart immediately agreed with Han-Yeol. “Well, I did notice that.”

The undead clergymen he just killed were creatures from the third dimension, at least. Han-Yeol might have said so instinctively, but Stewart spoke from his vast demon experience.

Still, Han-Yeol was strong enough to kill them easily despite the fact that they were from the third dimension, but he knew that this was only because something intervened and adjusted the monsters’ strength level.

Han-Yeol might be a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter, but he could not defeat a warrior from the third dimension so easily.

“Let’s go in and take a look,” Han-Yeol said.

“As you wish,” Stewart replied nonchalantly.

There was nothing they could do even if they stopped and pondered about things, so Han-Yeol decided to continue exploring the ruin.

Gwuuu Oooh...

The five undead clergymen Han-Yeol killed outside the ruin seemed to be mere watchmen, as twenty undead clergymen far larger and stronger than the ones before appeared the moment they stepped inside the ruin.

“Hiiik!” The crew shrieked in horror, and some even fainted from fright.

“Han-Yeol-nim,” Stewart said.

“Yeah, got it,” Han-Yeol replied with a nod. Then, he extended his right hand and shouted, “Arise, Summon Lava Golem!”

Plop! Plop!

The Lava Golems with spider-like lower bodies rose up from the ground, and the Shurarmors appeared beside them too.

Thud! Thud!

The Lava Golems and Shurarmors looked surprisingly compatible for some reason, and they synergized extremely well in battle too.

Chwak!

Stewart spoke in the demon language with a sinister voice and commanded the Shurarmors. [Sweep every living thing who dares to block my path!]

Wooong!

Han-Yeol was not sure what was happening, but he sensed that the demon language Stewart used just now contained mana that buffed the Shurarmors. It was evident from how the Shurarmors suddenly displayed stronger mana than they originally possessed right after Stewart spoke in the demon language, and it seemed to be some kind of passive buff skill.

‘I swear magic users are overpowered...’ Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.

Stewart’s true power had been sealed after coming over to the human world, but seeing him display such power even though his powers were sealed meant that he was far stronger than Han-Yeol if they fought with his power unsealed.

After all, there was a reason why he was one of Lucifer’s five main subjects. He was a master of magic, and the great number of magic spells in his arsenal allowed him to deal with any kind of situation.

Stewart was also known as the Demon Great Sage in the demon world. The demons had many other monikers for him, but this, along with two others, were his most famous—no, infamous ones.

Chwaaaak!

The Shurarmors became two and a half times stronger than usual, and nearly three hundred Lava Golems assisted them. The army of summoned golems marched toward the twenty undead clergymen.

‘They might not be able to defeat those undead bastards, but it will buy me time,’ Han-Yeol thought.

His main intention was to slowly observe the undead clergymen from a distance.

[This is an insult.]

[These filthy monsters dare to go against us holy individuals chosen by god?]

[Divine punishment...]

“Hey, what do you think they’re saying right now?”

“I have no idea.”

“Huh? I thought you were a Demon Great Sage or something? Can’t you speak other languages?”

Kwachik!

A vein bulged on Stewart’s forehead after Han-Yeol blatantly looked down on him. Stewart was one of Lucifer’s five main subjects, and he was arguably the strongest, if not the second strongest.

The demons under his command would probably go on a rampage and try to kill Han-Yeol if they saw how he was treating Stewart.

“The fact that I, a noble demon, have learned the language of you, humans, is already a joke. Are you asking me to further make a fool of myself? Besides, we demons communicate with other creatures through telepathy and not by words.”

“Oh...”

Han-Yeol was so used to speaking in Korean with Stewart that he completely forgot that the demons usually communicated mentally.

“Hahaha...” Han-Yeol laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head out of embarrassment.

“Sigh...” Stewart let out a sigh as if he had already given up.

Woooong!

‘Hmm?’

The twenty undead clergymen suddenly unleashed a powerful aura.

Whoosh!

Three of Stewart’s Shurarmors swung their weapons at an undead clergyman, but...

[Insolent!]

Krwaaaang!

“What?”

“Huh?”

Han-Yeol and Stewart were surprised at the same time when the undead clergyman swung its two-handed hammer and pulverized all three Shurarmors in a single blow.

The Shurarmors protected themselves with mana to defend against most enemies’ attacks. Even if they were damaged, Stewart could simply infuse his mana into them and patch them up almost instantaneously.

However, it was a different story if they were pulverized instantly.

“This is insane...” Han-Yeol grumbled.

“I agree. This is only the second time we are going against the undead, but it seems their power level has dramatically risen compared to before,” Stewart replied.

“Do you think it’s related to the dungeon awakening a while ago?”

“I believe so, but I cannot say for certain.”

Krwaaaang!

The undead clergymen continued their attack while Han-Yeol and Stewart chatted nonchalantly.

Thus, it took less than a minute for the Lava Golems and Shurarmors to be pulverized and ground into dust.

“Wow...” Han-Yeol muttered in amazement.

On the other hand, Stewart clicked his tongue out of annoyance. “Tsk...”

The Shurarmors were the weakest among his subordinates, but what annoyed him was the fact that he was neither against demons nor angels, but a bunch of undead monsters. His pride refused to accept that his subordinates had lost to a bunch of rotting corpses, and having his powers sealed was not an excuse he was willing to accept.

[You will be judged accordingly, but fear not... god is merciful.]

Woooong!

“Hey, Stewart. I think those bastards just became stronger.”

“I believe they have some special ability that makes them stronger once they defeat their enemies.”

“That’s quite the annoying skill.”

It was ironic that the three hundred golems they threw at their enemies empowered them, and the twenty undead clergymen were not much stronger than the average Master-Rank Hunter.

“I guess I’ll have to fight.”

“Yes, you will have to.”

The undead clergymen might have become stronger, but they were still no match against Han-Yeol.

Shiiing... Shwiik...!

‘I wanted to increase my Summon Lava Golem skill level, but it ended up biting me in my ass... Damn it!’

Han-Yeol dreamed of fielding an army of summoned creatures that would destroy his enemies for him so that he would not have to lift a single finger, but it seemed that he had to resolve things with his own hands this time too.

Shwak!

Tia suddenly appeared beside him.

“Hmm?”

“Hoho~ Allow me to help, master.”

“Oh, sure.”

Han-Yeol was confident he could defeat all twenty of the undead clergymen by himself, but he did not mind if someone wanted to help him.

Han-Yeol thought that it would be great if Tia grew stronger, as she was one of his monster pets, and it would definitely be helpful for him in the long run if she became stronger. Also, this was an excellent opportunity for them to test their teamwork against powerful enemies too.

“How long has it been since we last fought together?”

“Hoho~ Just thinking about it is already making me excited.”

There were numerous instances where they fought in the same battle, but they rarely cooperated together. This was due to Tia’s fighting style of lurking in the shadows and hunting down her prey, and the only time she cooperated with Han-Yeol was when they had to bind down a powerful monster, but that was it.

“Then, I’ll leave my back to you.”

“Leave it to me, master.”

Gwuu oooh...

The undead clergymen started channeling their mana.

[A cursed creature...]

[That filthy monster dared to step foot on these holy grounds...]

[Our god is enraged...!]

[Catch that monster and sacrifice it to appease our god!]

Tia’s presence seemed to have agitated them, and they were much more riled up than before.

[Divine Hammer!]

Baaam!

‘Heok!’ Han-Yeol gasped after the hammer-wielding undead clergyman slammed its hammer on the ground.

Then, an opaque hammer appeared right above Han-Yeol’s head and tried to smack him.

Han-Yeol was caught completely off guard, as he expected the undead clergymen to only fight in melee combat, but he evaded the attack without getting caught by it.

Baaam!

‘Whew! That scared me!’

“Hoho~ Looks like they almost got you, master~” Tia teased.

“Shut up!” Han-Yeol lashed out. He was already embarrassed that these rotting corpses caught him with his pants down, but the fact that Tia pointed that out further embarrassed him.

However, he should have known that lashing out would not work on Tia.

“Taking your anger out on your pet is a bad habit, master~”

“Ugh!”

There was no way Han-Yeol could win against Tia in a battle of words or wits.

Gwuuu oooh...!

“You’re too noisy! Shut up!”

Bam!

Han-Yeol decided to take out his anger on the undead clergymen. They were the easiest targets for him right now, so he decided to use them to vent his frustration.

“Hoho~ You’re so cute when you do that, master~” Tia said with a smile before she joined the battle to assist Han-Yeol.

Actually, Tia did not really have to participate in this battle. The undead clergymen might be stronger than an average Master-Rank Hunter, but they were still not a match against Han-Yeol, even if there were twenty of them.

However, Han-Yeol preferred to grow alongside his comrades, as he knew that they would definitely help him out next time.

“Tia!”

“Hoho~ Alright, master~”

Chwaaak! Chwaaak!

Tia opened her mouth and spat out toxic webs. She also was stronger than most Master-Rank Hunters now, so her webs were not something her enemies could scoff at.

[Insolent!]

[Anti-Poison!]

Woooong!

However, her enemies were not going to go down without a fight. They might be undead, but they were undead to begin with. They were clergymen who possessed holy skills, and they still possessed the ability to use those skills despite turning into the undead.