Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 443 – Mystery Ruin (6)

Han-Yeol did not feel good about hurting Tia, but the only way he could subdue her when she was rampaging was to beat her up until she was on the verge of death.

‘Forgive me, Tia...’

He was the reason why she was rampaging in the first place, and using force was the only way to resolve this situation.

Woooong!

“Aaargh!” Han-Yeol channeled his mana.

‘Karvis!’

[Yes, Han-Yeol-nim!]

Chwak!

Blood Leg usually sprouted four legs on his back, but this did not increase to six after the skill leveled up.

‘I’m not going to use my sword.’

Chwaaaak!

Han-Yeol usually used his chain with his left hand, but he switched it over to his right hand this time. He was almost ambidextrous now after using both hands quite consistently after awakening as a Hunter, but he was naturally right-handed, so his right hand was still better than his left.

Bam!

[Everything is annoying! I will destroy everything!]

“Tia...” Han-Yeol felt sad every time he hit her with his chain and she cried out in anger.

He could not help but feel guilty, as he knew that this was his fault. He was the one to blame for being so arrogant, which led to her ending up in such a state.

‘I’m sorry!’

Whoosh!

Tia swung her gigantic spider leg at Han-Yeol, but he dodged it easily and counterattacked by throwing the hammer attached to his chain at her chest.

‘Shockwave!’

Bam!

[Kyaaaaah!]

Tia shrieked in agony after the blow shook her entire body, including her innards. She might be currently under the influence of a Master-Rank Rampage skill, but that was not enough to protect her from Han-Yeol’s attack.

[Die!]

However, the anger raging inside her allowed her to instantly recover from the agonizing pain and focus on her objective. She solely existed to destroy every single living thing around her.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Han-Yeol did not evade Tia’s attacks and took them head-on.

[Argh! Arghhhh!]

Tia groaned every time her attack connected with Han-Yeol, and that was simply due to the fact that he was much stronger than her as a Transcendent Master-Rank Hunter.

Still, Tia did not stop attacking. Her rage toward every living thing boiled further and further.

[I will destroy everything! I will kill everything alive!]

“Tia... just where is all this rage coming from?” Han-Yeol asked with a solemn look.

He believed that all of this rage she was showing was something pent up inside of her for a long time, and what the undead clergymen had done to her a while ago was only the trigger that caused everything to erupt. She couldn't go on a rampage and attack him just because she was exposed to a bit of holy power.

‘Well, I guess I’ll just ask her again next time when she’s sane! I’m sorry, but I’m not going to hold back anymore!’

Han-Yeol often conceded and compromised with Tia on many things, and he considered himself a good master because of that. Well, the bigger reason was that Tia was a beautiful female creature.

However, now was not the time for him to play nice.

Gwuuuu ooooh!

‘Psychokinesis!’

Kwachik! Whoosh!

[Kyaaaah!]

A powerful force grabbed Tia’s body and pulled her.

Psychokinesis was a utility skill that allowed Han-Yeol to move things without laying a finger on them. It was not an offensive skill meant to be used in battle. However, due to his lazy nature, Han-Yeol loved using this skill, and his repetitive use gave him the proficiency to exert more mana and move heavier things.

‘Shield Bash!’

Bam!

Han-Yeol used Shield Bash with his Force Shield and slammed into Tia.

[Kuheok!]

If she were an ordinary monster, he would have followed this attack with his sword and chain combo. Instead, he bound her up with his chain and focused on beating her until she either passed out or came back to her senses.

‘Hammer Shock! Wake up! Tia!’

Baaaam!

[Kyaaaaah!]

The electric currents from Hammer Shock electrocuted her entire body.

Bzzzzt! Kwachik!

[Ughhh...]

Unfortunately, he was unable to subdue her, no matter how many times he beat her up.

‘Tia...! You’re running out of mana! You’re going to die at this rate!’

[Kyaaaaah!]

Tia continued to rage regardless of whether Han-Yeol was worried about her or not, and she even tried to attack him.

Whoosh!

‘Restrain!’

Shwiiiiik!

Han-Yeol used his restraining skill. He had waited until her mana hit rock bottom before using this skill.

C-Crack!

[Kyaaaah! Kyaaah!]

Tia thrashed about, trying to break free, but she was slowly running out of mana. The biggest weakness of the Rampage skill was its extreme mana consumption, which was why she was nearly out of mana.

Han-Yeol had to think and act fast before Tia entered mana exhaustion and died.

‘If this doesn’t work then... Tia is going to die even if I do my best not to kill her...’

He desperately prayed that was not going to be the case. He hated the idea of his monster pet dying before his very own eyes.

‘I know I’m asking for too much, but you’re not allowed to die!’

Han-Yeol raised his hand toward her head and used his skill. ‘Freeze Hand!’

C-Crack!

[Keuuuk!]

Tia was now completely bound by the chain, and her entire body instantly froze the moment Han-Yeol laid his hand on her.

“Keuk!”

Whoosh...

Thud!

She finally stopped moving only after getting completely bound and frozen.

“Hmm... Do you think this will be effective?”

“Who knows? I have no idea, to be honest.”

Han-Yeol was always confident—in fact, he was overconfident at times. However, this was one of the rare cases where he was not sure whether what he did was right. He did not have any plans when he did this, and he only did this almost instinctively after sensing that Tia was at her limits and would die if she was not stopped.

It was not strange for him to rely on his instincts at times, but freezing Tia was not what his instinct was telling him to do this time. In other words, he acted against his own reasoning and instinct due to the dire situation.

“I just thought... This could buy us some time and some hope...”

“I see.”

Stewart looked up at Tia, who was now completely frozen, with disinterested eyes.

A few minutes passed.

C-Crack!

“Hmm? I am seeing cracks form on the surface of the ice,” Stewart said, still nonchalant.

Gulp!

On the other hand, Han-Yeol was quite nervous as he watched Tia.

C-Crack!

The sound of glass shattering erupted.

“Ah...!” Han-Yeol despaired after realizing that his attempt to incapacitate and calm her down was for naught. Then, he lamented, “H-How can this be...?”

Why?

Because Tia died.

This was the first time he had lost someone close to him after awakening as a Hunter, and it felt as if a part of his heart had disappeared into the void along with her.

“Han-Yeol-nim.”

“Y-Yeah...?”

“Please take a look at that.”

Han-Yeol wiped the tears flowing out of his eyes and looked at where Stewart was pointing.

“W-What’s that...?”

Tia’s body shattered along with the ice, and pieces of her still-frozen body were spread all over the place.

“Please look closely, and you will see something moving rhythmically.”

“What? Demon Eyes!” Han-Yeol exclaimed after hearing the demon say the word ‘rhythmically.’

He did not simply rush at whatever the thing was and first inspected it with Demon Eyes, just in case it was something dangerous. Demon Eyes was extremely useful from long distances to identify his enemies, but it was even more efficient in gathering information when it came to short distances.

He could no longer afford to be careless this time.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

‘Ah! I can see it!’

The small faint hope he had inside flickered, and he immediately kicked off the ground and ran toward the pile of ice.

He dug through the chunks of ice and retrieved an object around one hundred sixty centimeters long and with a diameter wide enough for two adults to wrap their arms around it. This object was pulsating and rhythmically beating like a heart.

‘B-But what in the world is this...?’ he wondered.

Fortunately, Tia did not die, but she turned into something Han-Yeol could not identify or understand.

‘Karvis?’

[I am currently analyzing it.]

‘Thanks.’

[It is my pleasure.]

Karvis had been on a losing streak when it came to analyzing objects, as they had been up against creatures from other dimensions or manmade creatures. However, that did not mean Han-Yeol lost his trust in her.

To begin with, all of his skills built their foundation on Karvis, and just because she failed with Analytic Eyes did not mean she failed with the others.

[I have completed my analysis.]

‘Show it to me.’

[Understood.]

Ding!

[Arachnid’s Cocoon]

[Type: Evolution Chamber]

[Description: An Arachnid will use this skill when they have a near-death experience. This skill will maintain their HP at one, and the Arachnid will go into hibernation for thirty days. The cocoon’s outer layer is not that tough, but it is strong enough to withstand blunt impact from the outside. However, it is weak against mana, and the Arachnid inside could die if the cocoon is prematurely broken.

[During the thirty days, the cocoon will unleash a pulse of mana into its surroundings and attract the attention of nearby monsters. The delicious mana from the cocoon will attract all types of monsters.

[An extremely powerful creature you have not witnessed until now will hatch from this cocoon if you manage to protect it for thirty days until it safely hatches on its own.]

“W-What?!”

Thud!

Han-Yeol fell on his butt after reading the description.

“Why? What happened, Han-Yeol-nim?”

“T-That is...!”

Han-Yeol had no idea if he was supposed to share this information with Stewart or not. Yes, he could not deny that the demon was a loyal and trustworthy assistant until now, but it would be foolish to fully trust him, as this demon was Lucifer’s subordinate and not his.

‘What if... Just what if Stewart wouldn’t be happy with Tia hatching from the cocoon...?’ Han-Yeol thought.

The explanation said that the cocoon would start attracting monsters toward it, which was why Han-Yeol hurriedly looked around with Demon Eyes. Fortunately, there were no monsters around them for now.

‘We’re safe from the monsters, but what if Stewart becomes opposed to the idea of Tia hatching as a stronger creature? He could pretend he slipped up and destroy the cocoon or do it while I’m not watching...’ Han-Yeol thought. Then, he clenched his fist, ‘This is my first and last time to obtain such a powerful creature as my subordinate... I can’t let this chance slip away!’

He was certain that Stewart could simply flick his finger and destroy the cocoon while nobody was looking, so he was not willing to risk it by telling him everything.

“Tia is in that cocoon and recovering.”

“I see. I guess that explains why I sense healing mana coming from this cocoon.”

“Yeah, that’s precisely the reason why.”

Fortunately, Stewart bought Han-Yeol’s excuse thanks to the healing mana the cocoon was emitting.

‘I’m sorry for lying to you, but I can’t trust you one hundred percent,’ Han-Yeol thought while looking at Stewart.