Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 44

Suho reached out toward Duyeong’s heart, the source of the light.

[Runestone: “Giant’s Armor” has been discovered. Would you like to acquire it?]

A runestone? It seemed that Duyeong’s skill had turned into a runestone. This had never happened to Suho before. Not to mention that it was the first among the numerous hunters he had killed before him. Confirm.

[Runestone: Giant’s Armor]

[Absorb the skill by breaking the runestone.]

Giant’s Armor, huh? It was the skill that had enlarged Duyeong’s physique. Selling the runestone could fetch millions, considering its value. But it would be a waste to sell it. I can always make money later.

Suho’s top priority was to become stronger. His status as an E-rank hunter didn’t provide much income, but he had recently been reevaluated as a C-rank hunter. Considering the substantial difference in income, selling the runestone seemed like a foolish choice.

“Excuse me... Mr. Crow?” a voice suddenly called Suho from behind.

Having managed to escape the prison, the association’s hunters approached him hesitantly.

“Ar-are you okay?”

They looked at Suho with faces mixed with fear and doubt. It was understandable, considering Suho had single-handedly annihilated over fifty members of the Fiend Guild and defeated Duyeong with sheer strength. Having witnessed the brutal battle up close, they couldn’t help but feel worried. Suho had aided them, but there was no guarantee that he was on their side.

“I have no intention of being hostile, so don’t worry. You should go and arrest those people,” Suho said.

“Oh...”

“Ahem.”

The hunters turned their gaze away. Their faces were filled with awkwardness at Suho’s words.

Suho tucked the runestone into his pocket and proceeded to deactivate Divine Possession. In the state, his mana decreased by one every second. That was why he hadn’t forgotten to take out mana potions during the fight earlier.

[“Divine Possession” has been deactivated.]

The divine wind swirling around Suho’s body subsided, and his silvery, bleached hair returned to its natural black hue.

[“Pet: Gray” has detached its spiritual body from the shaman.]

In an instant, the palm-sized puppy, or rather a wolf cub, hopped out of Suho’s body. The sight left the hunters startled and shivering. They couldn’t believe that a wolf had come out of his body.

“Of course...”

“He’s the beast king...”

“The King of Beasts...”

Gray looked bewildered as he landed on the ground. He had no idea why people were looking at him and wondered what was on their minds. The wolf cub twitched his nose and howled with a look of pride and courage.

[Rakan looks upon his descendant’s impressive form with satisfaction.]

“Hoho. He’s grown quite a bit now.” Even Rakan’s Fang seemed impressed by Gray, which made Suho chuckle softly.

***

The reinforcements called by Han Janhyuk and his team finally arrived after everything was over.

“Hurry, come on you lot!”

The Fiend Guild members had surrendered their weapons and were being dragged out by the association’s hunters.

“But why are you all limping like that?” a hunter from the association asked.

Meanwhile, Jaehyuk released the hostages trapped in the prison and rushed them to the hospital since they could turn into mist burns at any moment. Once the area was secure, he and his began a thorough search, seizing and collecting every piece of evidence they could find from the research lab.

“Leave no stone unturned! I’ll want to bring Lee Minsung down today!” Jaehyuk was determined to bring the ringleader to justice.

Suho was quite busy as well. The Fiend Guild hunters had dropped their weapons to the ground and left them there. He was excited by the prospect of selling the spoils of the battle for a significant profit. I do need to make money for potions.

Surprisingly, Gray played a significant role in collecting them. The wolf cub sensed his master’s intention and trotted toward the weapons with his short legs. He opened his tiny mouth and plucked out a weapon with a firm bite.

A message for Suho popped up.

[Item: “Flame Longsword” has been found. Would you like to acquire it?]

“Huh?” Suho’s eyes widened. Is this thanks to the pet system? I can acquire what Gray touches, even though I’m not near it. “Acquire.”

[Item: “Flame Longsword” has been acquired.]

The item was automatically transferred into his inventory. Suho couldn’t help but smile. This should make things easier in the future.

He had finally discovered the perfect role for the little wolf: An item gatherer!

Suho patted Gray’s head and said, “Well done, boy. Go on and bring me more.”

It was the first time Suho had praised Gray, leaving the young wolf confused and not knowing how to react. But strangely, his tail kept wagging back and forth.

Crunch!

“Huh?”

“Grrrr...!”

Gray, overwhelmed with excitement, suddenly bit Suho’s hand that had been patting him enthusiastically. All the while, his tail was swaying wildly.

“Let go, you...!” Suho trailed off as he looked at the wolf cub hanging from his hand.

[Rakan nods approvingly at the bravery of his descendant.]

“Hehe. Despite his young age, he’s letting us know that he’s of royal descent. Knock it off, you two,” Rakan’s Fang said.

“Anyway, go and fetch more.” Suho removed Gray from his hand and sent him forward.

The descendant of the Fang Clan enthusiastically wagged his tail and walked around happily, chomping at every item he could find.

[Item: “Sharp Eye Bowgun” has been found. Would you like to acquire it?]

[Item: “Black Battle Ax” has been found. Would you like to acquire it?]

[Item: “Carbon Gauntlet” has been found. Would you like to acquire it?]

.......

“Acquire. Acquire. Acquire...” Suho sold each item being pulled into his inventory from a distance through the shop interface.

[You have obtained 750 gold.]

[You have obtained 1300 gold.]

[You have obtained 900 gold.]

Great, that was a pretty substantial amount. This should cover potion expenses for a while.

The days of struggling for gold and scraping together potions were now behind him. Suho considered buying new items with his new riches and began browsing the shop interface. Then he remembered something he had forgotten. I almost forgot about this.

[The following reward will be given. Reward: Ability Points +5]

Suho invested all his ability points into his Strength stat immediately as it was undoubtedly the most crucial attribute. From experience, he was certain that overwhelming strength and speed would continue to play a significant role in his leveling-up progress. He could raise his other stats by using items. As he was engrossed in thought, Jaehyuk approached him.

“Mr. Crow, if it’s not too much trouble, may I have a word with you?”

The sincerity in his tone was somewhat dampened by the cheesy title.

Suho looked at him awkwardly and answered, “Yes... Sure thing.”

***

Back at the Shadow Dungeon, Esil was left on her own after Gray was summoned by Suho.

Could it be...? Her eyes narrowed in on something in the distance. She suddenly noticed a strange presence from somewhere in the dungeon. Esil immediately leaped and moved toward it.

The monochrome world was profoundly quiet and still. Its usual eerie silence had deepened after she had cleared out every goblin she could find, including the hidden ones.

However, Esil could feel that a change was beginning to take shape in this silent world. She eventually stopped and looked ahead. The source of the disturbance was a sinister energy emanating from a dimensional rift.

“It’s a gate!” Esil urgently raised her head and called out to Suho, “Sung Suho! Come back quickly! Now is not the time to be outside!”

Somehow, her voice transmitted beyond the Shadow Dungeon and into Suho’s ears.

“Sung Suho! There’s a hole in your world!”

The telepathic-like signal prompted Suho to stop his conversation with Jaehyuk.

“Mr. Crow?” Jaehyuk said as he observed the masked figure’s unusual behavior.

Suho locked eyes with him, the seriousness apparent on his face. “I have an urgent matter I must attend to. We can talk later.”

“What? Suddenly? How urgent can it be?”

There was no time for explanations. Suho immediately turned and dashed out of the research facility. freewebno(v)el

“Hey, wait! At least give me your contact information...” Jaehyuk called out in confusion as he left. He had no grounds to detain Suho since wasn’t a criminal. He was the hero who had saved them. “We can offer you a reward...”

The team leader’s words disappeared into the distance just as the crow-masked vigilante had. But someone else was intrigued by the parting words.

“Reward? That’s an opportunity I can’t miss!”

“Huh?!”

Beru abruptly leaned in and grabbed Jaehyuk’s collar. “What are you doing? Hand over the reward immediately.”

***

[You have entered the Shadow Dungeon.]

Meanwhile, Suho appeared in front of Esil, and she immediately revealed what she had discovered.

“What is this?” He gazed at the gate that had appeared before him.

Red sand poured out endlessly from the torn dimensional rift floating in the air as if it were about to engulf the entire world.

Ding!

[An emergency quest has arrived.]

Just in time, a quest occurred.

[Emergency Quest: Dimensional Breach]

[A dimensional breach has been detected. Travel through the connected gate and eliminate the cause of the dimensional breach.]

“Seriously? You want me to go in there?” Suho stared at the sand waterfall pouring through the gate with a look of astonishment. “Do I have to go inside that thing right now?”

Esil was taken aback by his words and looked at him. “Do you think you can swim through sand? You’ll be diving into your grave!”

After a momentary thought, Suho nodded. The fact that a quest appeared means that there must be a way to resolve it...

A quest needed to be completed. Avoiding it wasn’t an option.

“Arise.”

A massive shadow, Arachne, descended beside him in response to his call.

“Are you good at digging?”

The shadow spider raised one of her enormous pincers and let out a deep growl.

Suho chuckled at her imposing appearance. Maybe we could give it a try. With his decision set, he turned to face Esil.

The lavender-haired demon took a few hesitant steps back, trembling instinctively, as she saw Suho’s bright smile directed at her. “No, I’ll wait here...”

“Don’t you want to eat meat?”

“Uh...”

“You don’t?”

“Ugh...”

Esil was the only surviving demon noble and the eldest daughter of the Radiru Clan. She wasn’t accustomed to being bossed around but had little choice in the matter.

Esil eventually closed her eyes in resignation and shouted, “Fine! Let’s go!”

Suho smirked and turned toward the gate pouring out sand like a waterfall. “Then, let’s go in.”