Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 253 – Terror Crisis (4)

“Hmm… I see…”

“Yeah.”

"Then, I suppose the most important thing is to leave this place without being seen by anyone else?"

"That's correct."

"Ah... I suppose I'll have to use my ability after a long time."

Crack…! Crack…!

Tia cracked her slender wrists, which perplexed Han-Yeol.

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“Omo~ I’m disappointed in you, master~”

“???”

"Have you forgotten what kind of monster I am?"

"A spider, right?"

Han-Yeol knew very well that Tia was not a normal spider but an Arachnid, a creature of legends.

"Hoho! Did you know that Arachnids possess all the innate abilities of spider monsters?"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, and there's a monster spider called the 'Tunnel Spider' that excels in digging."

"Oh! Tia-nim!" Han-Yeol exclaimed, looking up at her with sparkling eyes.

Of course, he was literally looking up at her since Tia was much taller than him.

"Hoho! I feel ecstatic that you're gazing at me with those eyes, master~!"

“Haha!”

Han-Yeol was quite impressed by Tia's numerous talents.

"We should get going now, right, master?"

"Ah, yes. Hurry up and get ready, you two!" Han-Yeol replied.

"Kyu!" Mavros cried out in response, as if trying to convey that he was born ready.

***

They headed down to the lower basement level, with Tia leading the way.

"Vidya," Han-Yeol called out.

"Yes, Han-Yeol-nim?"

"I'll leave the guest palace to you."

"Please don't worry about this place! I'll make sure not even a single ant gets in or out of here!"

Tak… Tak…!

Han-Yeol replied by tapping Vidya twice on the shoulder. He then said, "Alright, I'm sure you'll do a great job."

"Thank you, sir!" Vidya replied and saluted.

“Let’s go, master~”

“Okay.”

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Tia began digging and quickly created a hole in the ground.

"Oh?!" Han-Yeol marveled at the sight of the rapidly forming hole.

Tia was digging so swiftly that it was challenging to determine if she was a mole or a spider, but the hole was wide enough for the entire party to pass through.

“That’s amazing, Tia!”

“Hoho! This is nothing to me~”

Tak! Tak!

Tia confidently dusted her hands off.

Her hands appeared human under normal circumstances, but they had transformed into spider-like appendages covered with a hard carapace while she was digging. It seemed that she used both her hands and two front legs to dig through the ground.

Han-Yeol and Mavros followed Tia as she dug their way underground, but at that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Han-Yeol's mind.

'Ugh... Do I have to go this far...?'

His pride took a hit after realizing that a Hunter of his caliber was skulking around like a rat. However, it couldn't be helped, as every news outlet in the country was currently fixated on him.

The rumors of him becoming Tayarana’s husband only worsened the situation, as everyone was curious about his reaction. This, of course, included the terrorists.

Furthermore, the terrorists undoubtedly had spies scattered everywhere. Therefore, it was imperative for him to move as discreetly as possible while avoiding the public eye.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Han-Yeol checked his smartwatch to verify their current coordinates.

'Ah... How far do we have to go...?'

Tia was diligently digging the ground at the moment, but their progress was much slower compared to simply walking. At this rate, they wouldn't make it to Faiyum in time. The distance between Cairo and Faiyum was considerable for someone on foot.

Han-Yeol decided they needed to resurface and find another mode of transportation soon.

It was at that moment...

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

His smartwatch rang.

[Mujahid.]

"Huh? Why is this guy calling me?" Han-Yeol was surprised to see a familiar name that had been missing for quite a while.

He answered the call, "Hey, Mujahid."

[Hyung-nim! What's your location right now?] came the question.

"My location?" Han-Yeol muttered in response, finding the question quite strange.

He was officially in the guest palace right now, so Mujahid should be aware that he was still there.

[Hoho! Hyung-nim~] Mujahid continued.

"Hmm?" Han-Yeol replied.

[Please don't make me sad like this. Did you really think you could go have fun without me?] Mujahid's voice held a hint of jest.

"What? You knew?"

"Of course! Ah... Should I be happy or sad about this? I'm not a Ra Rank Hunter, right? I'm an Osiris Rank Hunter..." Mujahid reminded him.

The terrorist organization, Shabab, might be keeping an eye on all the Master Rank Hunters in Egypt, but it was impossible for them to have spies in every corner of the country. Therefore, they heavily relied on their ground-level spies and social media posts from ordinary people to track down the Master Rank Hunters.

After all, these Hunters were already quite famous, and most people who spotted them would immediately post about it online. However, the same couldn't be said for Mujahid, an S Rank Hunter.

This didn't mean he wasn't famous in Egypt, considering he was a prince. However, he deliberately avoided the spotlight, so not many people knew what he looked like. Whenever he appeared in public, he always covered his face. This allowed him far more freedom compared to his siblings.

[Allow me to accompany you, hyung-nim!]

"Thanks..."

Han-Yeol always felt grateful for Mujahid's help.

Mujahid might claim that he was doing it because he liked Han-Yeol as a person, but it wasn't easy for anyone to consistently offer assistance even before being asked. It was even more remarkable that Mujahid, as royalty, would be so supportive of a commoner like Han-Yeol.

[Who's going to take care of you if not me, right, hyung-nim? Keke!] Mujahid's voice came through.

"Haha! Yeah, you're right!" Han-Yeol chuckled.

Both of them shared a laugh over the phone. Their relationship had evolved significantly, making them more like brothers. However, neither of them ever explicitly discussed their feelings for each other, as they both avoided such sentimental topics.

[So, where are you now?] Mujahid inquired, steering the conversation back to business.

"I'm underneath Cairo Zenda Hotel… I think?" Han-Yeol replied.

[Oh! You're closer than I thought. Just wait for me over there!] Mujahid responded.

“Alright.”

Beep!

Han-Yeol immediately shifted his attention to Tia after ending the call. He commanded, "Tia! Stop!"

Tak!

Tia promptly ceased digging as soon as Han-Yeol instructed her. Her hearing was quite sharp, allowing her to hear him despite the rumbling noise from the digging.

'Wow...' Han-Yeol was slightly surprised by how quickly she reacted.

"Hmm... I heard it too. We're going to wait here before surfacing, right?" Tia inquired.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Hoho! I might be good at digging, but I'm not really a fan of this kind of dirty labor. Also, the ground beneath cities can be quite polluted," Tia commented.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so."

It might appear easy for Tia to dig to their current location, but it was not a smooth process at all. Cairo was one of the most developed cities in the world, with numerous infrastructures beneath it. Although not as developed as New York, Paris, or London, it still ranked as the most developed city in Africa. Consequently, Tia had to navigate around numerous pipes and cables installed underground in the city.

Around twenty minutes passed since the call had ended.

Beep!

Han-Yeol's smartwatch rang again, this time with a message.

[Hyung-nim! I've secured a quiet place for us to meet. I've sent you the coordinates, so I'll see you there!]

[OK.]

Han-Yeol replied briefly, then opened the map function on his smartwatch to check the coordinates Mujahid had sent. He calculated the distance and direction they needed to go before giving another order to Tia.

"Tia."

"Yes, master?"

From this point on, they had to proceed with caution. Emerging from the ground would undoubtedly create a significant commotion. People would likely gather and post videos on social media almost instantly, alerting the terrorists to the presence of a Master Rank Hunter. This could lead to the terrorists carrying out their threats and harming the hostages.

‘I can’t let that happen…!’

The reason Han-Yeol found himself in this situation in the first place was to save his people, so he had to proceed with extra caution. Ironically, he wouldn't have even considered doing something like this if the hostages were entirely unrelated to him.

"Let's go in this direction, and make sure we move really slowly. We can't afford to make any mistakes from here on," Han-Yeol instructed.

Then, he wrapped his arms around Tia's waist. She was currently the same height as him since she was crouched in the tunnel, and he guided her in the right direction.

"Omo~ We can't do this here, master~" Tia teased.

"W-What?!" Han-Yeol exclaimed and pushed her back.

While Han-Yeol was no longer a virgin, having spent numerous steamy nights with Scarlett, he was still susceptible to the advances of women who took the initiative to seduce him. He recognized this as a personal weakness, but there was little he could do about it due to his lack of experience.

Seuk…

“Hmm… I’m ready to do it with Master anytime and anywhere, so just let me know when you want it~”

“A… Ahem…! Cough! Cough!” Han-Yeol ended up choking at Tia’s brazenness.

“Omo~ Don’t get so nervous, master~ Noona will be gentle with you~”

“S-Shut up and keep digging, will you?”

“Hoho~ It’s so fun teasing you~”

Tia was merely playing around, trying to elicit a reaction from Han-Yeol, and she promptly resumed digging as soon as he issued the command. She accurately dug in the direction he had indicated, and they periodically checked to ensure they were on the right course.

Due to the meticulous nature of their task, Han-Yeol and Tia inevitably found themselves closely working together as they continued to dig.

Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump!

His heart started beating wildly.

‘Ah… This is torture…’

Tia did not smell like a spider at all, despite her lower body resembling that of a spider. In fact, she exuded a scent that was rather seductive in nature, as if her fragrance naturally attracted the hormones surging within his body.

An Arachnid was not an ordinary spider. While they might share the appearance of a spider, they were actually high-ranking monsters possessing spider-like traits but not truly spiders themselves.

Tak! Tak!

“Okay, this is the final spot.”

“Alright, master~”

Tak!

Tia dug the final pile of earth in front of them, and...

"Hyung-nim!"

"Hey, Mujahid."

"It's a relief you made it!"

"No kidding..."

'Wait a minute... I could've just used Demon Eyes without having to do all that calculation, right...?' Han-Yeol realized.

He didn't need to rely on the GPS and go through such meticulous work when he could have simply followed Mujahid's mana.

Bam! Bam!

Han-Yeol smacked himself on the head twice, thinking, 'You moron! You would've starved to death if you weren't a Hunter!'

He didn't forget to scold and berate himself for his foolishness.

There were times when he did utterly foolish things and ended up having to do more work than necessary, and this was a perfect example. Fortunately, his lapse in judgment wasn't severe enough to cause any significant harm.

"What's wrong, hyung-nim?" Mujahid asked, tilting his head in confusion.

He was concerned that something had happened to Han-Yeol during their journey.

"N-No, it's nothing," Han-Yeol replied.

He couldn't bring himself to explain his own stupidity, so he chose to brush it off.

“Hoho~ You’re so cute, master~ Aaah~”

“You knew, Tia…?”

“Heh~ Maybe?”

“Ugh…”

“???”

In the end, Tia was smiling, Han-Yeol was crying, and Mujahid was utterly confused.

“Kyu!”

Meanwhile, Mavros popped up from the ground and innocently cried out in pure joy.