Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 383 – Decisive Battle (5)

[Current Viewer Count: 11,610,510]

More than ten million viewers tuned in to watch the broadcast, and the viewer count was displayed on the screen for Ha-Yeon to check in real-time. Ha-Yeon could not help but smile deep inside after seeing the viewer count.

‘Hoho! This is the reason why I left one of the top three entertainment companies in South Korea despite already having debuted!’

Ha-Yeon did not hesitate and immediately accepted the offer from the Mulan Team to become the host of Han-Yeol’s channel. She was a die-hard fan of Han-Yeol’s channel and knew just how popular it was. Someone else might have swooped in and taken this opportunity away if she had tried to negotiate for a higher pay.

She could have become a superstar if she had stayed longer at her company, but she did not hesitate to pay her penalty and leave her company to join Han-Yeol’s channel.

The penalty for breaking a contract was quite substantial, so most celebrities opted to sue their company in hopes of avoiding payment. However, Ha-Yeon settled her penalty clause in cash to ensure there were no ill rumors about her that could potentially ruin this opportunity for her.

Now, her calculations had paid off as she was shining brighter as a star host than when she was a k-pop idol. Of course, it went without saying that her now-ex-company was not happy with this[1]. They used their influence to stop her from appearing on TV, but she was not bothered by the shady stunts they pulled.

‘I don’t plan to appear on TV anymore anyway.’

Initially, there were numerous speculations that she had made the wrong choice and was going to suffer because of it. However, she proved everyone wrong, and even her former group mates were now jealous of her success.

Anyway, Ha-Yeon was very good at what she did.

[Noona! Noona! Is it true that Lee Han-Yeol Hunter is the owner of Japan now?]

“Yes, but more accurately, it is now called the Atarinia Archipelago!”

[Wow! That’s amazing!]

“Yes, it is!”

Talking to viewers was the new trend in broadcasting these days. Speaking alone was considered old-school and was now only used in educational or documentary-type broadcasts.

[But why are you there right now?]

[Yeah, I heard the dimensional gates connecting our world to the second dimension are an even hotter topic these days than the Atarinia Archipelago incident!]

[That’s right!]

Determining a hot topic was subjective, depending on a person’s interest, but experts agreed that the dimensional gate connecting Earth to the second dimension was the most important event at present. Of course, most ordinary people were not interested in such matters; Han-Yeol’s ownership of an entire country was a far more captivating topic for them.

“I knew all of you were going to say that, so it’s quiz time!” Ha-Yeon exclaimed.

An ex-idol specializing in singing and dancing, she had never hosted a show before joining Han-Yeol’s channel. However, she soon realized she had a knack for hosting shows and was adept at bantering with viewers using her wit.

In fact, her talent did not go unnoticed, and TV stations influenced by her ex-company started asking if she was interested in hosting some of their programs too.

[Huh?]

[What quiz?]

"Pop quiz! Do you think the dimensional gate will only appear in South Korea?"

[Nope! Not at all!]

[It’s a worldwide issue, right?]

[I heard other countries are worried one might appear in their country when they don’t have enough Hunters!]

[Hold on! That means...!]

[One could appear in the Atarinia Archipelago too?!]

[Ah!]

“Hohoho! Correct! We have already detected ten potential dimensional gate sites here in Han-Yeol-nim’s Atarinia Archipelago! Of course, Han-Yeol-nim has already sealed all nine potential sites except for one.”

[Huh? Seal?]

[How’s he going to seal a potential site?]

“Ah... Was I not allowed to share this, director-nim?” Ha-Yeon asked, seemingly slightly flustered.

She appeared to have made a huge mistake just now. After all, that was the only reason the host would suddenly ask such a question to the director while on the show.

Of course, people would not see such a thing on TV, as most shows were pre-recorded and these parts were edited out. However, that was not the case for livestreams, as the footage was transmitted live. Anyone could tell that Ha-Yeon made a mistake just now.

[W-What?]

[Seal? Did she just say seal?]

[I think I heard wrong...?]

The viewers’ confusion could be felt in the chat room.

Han-Yeol’s channel was viewed not only by Koreans but also by foreigners. An automatic translation function was available to translate the show into a foreign language, eliminating the language barrier foreigners would have otherwise felt.

In other words, Ha-Yeon’s mistake was broadcasted all over the world! Or was it really a mistake? No, Ha-Yeon only pretended to make a mistake!

‘Hihi! I bet I fooled everyone! I’m doing good right now, right, unni?’ she cheekily thought.

Turned out, Ha-Yeon and Soo-In had already planned to make it seem like a mistake. Soo-In gave a thumbs up in response to show she loved Ha-Yeon’s acting. Oh, and all of this was Han-Yeol’s idea.

Soo-In let out a sigh and replied, “Haa... What can we do? The water has been spilt already... Why don’t you spill a bit more while you’re at it?”

“Omo! Can I?”

“Well, Han-Yeol Hunter-nim won’t be happy about this, and he might scold us... but I’ll take responsibility so go ahead.”

“Wow! You’re the best!” Ha-Yeon exclaimed with two thumbs up at the camera.

The chat room exploded with hearts at her cuteness.

Ha-Yeon cleared her throat and explained, “Ahem ahem... Anyway, Earth is going to become a second dimension tomorrow, and we are going to be linked to the Bastro Dimension, which is the nearest dimension to us. It could get very dangerous as we have no idea what kind of creature could emerge from the dimensional gate.”

She paused for a moment before continuing, “Han-Yeol-nim has identified this danger, and he has come up with a spell using mana stones to seal these dimensional gates for a period of time, just like how the aliens sealed the initial dimensional gates and turned them into hunting grounds.”

Then, she added lastly, “However, the seal won’t last as long as the hunting grounds, but it will buy enough time to allow us to properly prepare for whatever comes out from the dimensional gates.”

[W-Whoa!]

[Isn’t that amazing?]

[That should make things very safe, right?]

[P-Please come to Korea!]

[Han-Yeol-nim! Please help us!]

[H-How did he do that?]

[Do we have to protest to bring him here?]

[Do you honestly think he will be pressured by that?]

The chat room was already in an uproar as soon as the broadcast started, but it was now in upheaval after the news Ha-Yeon revealed. South Koreans were not the only ones going wild; even foreigners watching the broadcast went wild in the chat room.

Was sealing the dimensional gates really possible? Did that even make sense? Of course, it was something that did not make any sense and seemed impossible.

***

“Hmm...” Han-Yeol watched as mana started to gather in mid-air, showing signs of opening a dimensional gate.

“What do you think, Harkan-nim?”

Surprisingly, beside him was not Kandir but Barshell.

Kandir might be Harkan’s right hand, but Barshell was considered Harkan’s successor. Not only was he a Canine Bastroling like Harkan, but he showed the most promise to become like Harkan. Kandir might be a top-tier warrior, but the elders supporting Harkan all agreed that Barshell was the most suitable successor to Harkan.

Well, that was before the hyenas took over the Bastro Dimension, as they were no longer in the position to talk about who would become the Dimension Lord, having lost their dimension to their enemies.

“It looks fine. We’re lucky the magic circle of the seal is holding.”

[Ah, that is indeed good news.] Barshell looked relieved after hearing what Han-Yeol said.

Han-Yeol laughed and called him, “Haha! Hey, Barshell.”

[Yes, Harkan-nim?]

“Why would you be relieved after seeing the seal hold? You’re not related to this world, right?”

[Ah... Y-You are right, but this place is your other h-hometown... The Bastro Dimension is indeed important, but your other hometown is equally important to me.]

“Really?”

[Yes, Harkan-nim.]

‘Well, that does sound like something he would say...’ Han-Yeol thought.

He was well aware Barshell was known to be a delinquent, which was probably one of his charms, by others, but he also knew this kid was nice deep inside. Barshell was quite the understanding one who knew how to put others first before himself, and there were numerous times Han-Yeol wondered if Barshell was a mutant based on his personality.

The Bastrolings were quite the rough bunch, so they had the tendency to be quite selfish at times. Barshell’s selfless personality was the reason he spent more time commanding other warriors instead of being by Harkan’s side like Riru or Kandir.

Perhaps that was the reason, but Barshell was not fond of his own personality, so he acted quite rough toward his subordinates, earning him the infamous moniker as a delinquent.

‘Tsk... What’s with him acting like a tsundere,’ Han-Yeol thought.

Most of his subordinates had quite unique personalities, but Barshell probably had the most unique personality among them. Anyway, he was somebody Han-Yeol could entrust to the warriors without any concerns.

Ah, he was currently assisting Han-Yeol as both Riru and Kandir were away hunting.

[But Harkan-nim...]

"Yeah?"

[Was there a need to waste these precious mana stones just to seal the dimensional gates?]

"Of course. It’s going to be problematic if the hyenas pop out with their corrupted soldiers and start corrupting everything, right?"

[I mean, the hyenas might be stupid, but I do not believe they are that stupid to pick a fight with this entire dimension.]

"Hmm?"

Han-Yeol believed the hyenas were going to charge into Earth the moment the dimensional gates opened, but it seemed Barshell disagreed with him. Thus, he gave it another thought and realized the hyenas were not stupid despite being necromancers who only knew how to rely on their corrupted soldiers.

In fact, the hyenas could be considered the smartest creatures in the Bastro Dimension, which was probably another reason why they ended up being the only race to rule over the entire dimension without help from other races. Well, they did borrow the Dragon of Destruction’s powers to rule the dimension, but it did not change the fact they acted as a single race.

[If I were the Hyena Lord, then I would scout Earth first before launching a full-scale invasion, and I would only invade after I am absolutely certain I can win.]

"Ah, I see..."

Han-Yeol was not confident in using his brains, but he was not ashamed of it.

‘This is why having a strategist is important...’

Anyway, Earth has already started to transition to the second dimension, and there was proof of it popping up all over the world.

‘I saw on the news some of the Hunters started having their second awakening.’

The balance of mana started to break down as Earth started transitioning into the second dimension, and some of the Hunters sensitive to mana started noticing changes occurring in their bodies as they had their second awakening.

It was not made known to the general public yet, but the main reason dimensional gates appeared during Earth’s transition from the first to the second dimension was simply due to the imbalance in mana.

‘The real deal starts from now...’

What Han-Yeol meant by this was the all-out war between Earth and the Bastro Dimension. Earth could have had good relations and traded with the Bastro Dimension just like how they had good relations with the Mermen. However, the hyenas were an arrogant bunch who believed they were superior to everyone else, and anyone who was not a hyena was destined to be their slaves.

Like Barshell said, the Hyena Lord might not immediately attack as they lacked information on Earth, but they were definitely going to attack once they had the certainty they could win the war.

“Well, I guess I just have to kill them all before they decide to attack,” Han-Yeol said with a shrug.

[That is correct, Harkan-nim.]

Grrr...

Barshell let out a low growl as his fighting spirit burned. He was a Bastroling as well, and any Bastroling would feel the same whenever the hyenas were mentioned.

[To do that, we need to establish our base camp here in the Atarinia Archipelago.]

“Exactly, this place will serve as our base of operation, and we will clean up every single one of the hyenas that appears on Earth.”

Thud!

Barshell got down on his knees and prostrated in front of Han-Yeol.

[It is an honor to serve you once again, my lord, the great and venerable Dimension Lord! I dedicate my heart to you, my lord! It is an honor to fight alongside you!]

“Hey... Barshell...”

1. Korean entertainment companies have a bad reputation when it comes to parting ways with their artistes. Thankfully, the government has stepped in and enacted various laws to make it illegal for companies to engage in shady practices after parting ways. ?

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