Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 57

Exclusively private rooms for the rich and powerful were scattered all across Gangnam, Seoul’s most affluent district. The Queen Bee Salon was one such establishment but with a unique clientele—hunters. The salon only welcomed guests with awakened abilities, and since their liquor prices were quite high, the place was usually filled with high-earning hunters.

Minsung had first discovered Queen Bee just a few months ago, and before he knew it, he had become a regular.

When did it start again? Amid the confusion, Minsung realized that he was currently trapped in a golden jelly-like substance. It’s sweet. A familiar taste touched his tongue. It’s honey... it must be royal jelly.

It was the scent of the premium whiskey he used to enjoy at Queen Bee. Memories of a conversation he had with the madame once flashed through his mind.

“Madame, what is this liquor? I’ve searched everywhere but couldn’t find it sold anywhere else.”

“Hehe. It’s a trade secret.”

Despite asking multiple times, she always responded with a teasing smile, deflecting the question. Normally, he’d get the answers he wanted through force, given his temperament. However, he found her playful demeanor and teasing endearing and chose to let it go. Reflecting on it now, he wondered if he had been captivated by something beyond his perception.

Lee Minsung gazed weakly through the sticky golden honey toward the madame’s figure. He could see her ever-present smile, which made his anger surge through his veins. But he felt something was off. His anger seemed to gradually dissipate, and the void left was being filled by something he’d never experienced.

What is this feeling? What on earth is it?! Minsung gritted his teeth, trying to reject the emotion.

The madame found his attempts to resist to be cute and murmured, “Resisting is futile. You’ve already consumed too much royal jelly. So, now, just...” Her delicate hands clasped the necklace that was always on her neck. The green gem on the necklace shimmered brightly. “Be loyal, my worker bee.”

To Minsung, she was no longer just a madame but a queen, and her whisper pierced his ears, forcing his eyes to open wide, his body trembling. An instinct he never knew he had sprouted in his mind.

My queen.

***

Long ago, the Queen of Insects and the Monarch of Plagues, Querehsha ruled a dimension teeming with countless poisonous insects. In that world, Querehsha was originally an insect—smaller and more fragile than the others.

A frail creature like her should have been eaten by larger predators or decayed by the venom of stronger venomous insects. However, Querehsha survived against all odds—not just by running and hiding—but by tearing apart the corpses of larger and stronger insects than herself.

Slowly but surely, she grew stronger, absorbing the abilities of those insects and building a potent venom of her within her body. When her venom became more potent and deadlier than any other insect, Querehsha became the queen of that world.

Arsha was once a queen bee and an inhabitant of that world.

I was truly bewildered when the mighty Querehsha perished.

The presence of a Monarch in a dimension was crucial. The world of insects, once a battlefield, existed as a sturdy cluster centered around Querehsha. However, the moment she died, the remaining insects began to reveal their ambitions to seize that vacant position.

They overestimated their abilities... Out of the chaos, Arsha realized her destined path. The new queen.

Having been born a queen bee, Arsha believed herself to be a fitting successor to Querehsha. If there was anyone capable of following in Querehsha’s footsteps, it was me.

The world without its Monarch had torn into pieces and scattered through the dimensional rift. The fact that Arsha, drifting through the dimensional rift, could arrive on Earth was a highly coincidental occurrence.

No, it was destiny.

Upon arriving on Earth, Arsha immediately took on a human form and proceeded to integrate seamlessly into Earth. While other dimensional beings ignorantly tried to conquer Earth using sheer force, which often resulted in their demise, Arsha chose to adapt in a distinctly insect-like manner. To call her methods “adaptation” was too mild—her approach was parasitism.

To think that a queen like me would end up like this... Arsha felt a sense of shame. She had no subjects, and a queen without subjects was as good as a nonexistent entity.

Arsha had commanded numerous worker bees in her world, but she was the only one from her colony to escape through the dimensional rift.

I need more workers. Other magic beasts would have acted hastily out of frustration and perished while attempting to conquer Earth. That’s because they were ignorant. Relying solely on strength inevitably leads to death. Arsha had learned this painful lesson through the death of Querehsha. Even the mighty Querehsha perished.

The War of the Monarchs she had observed from a distance was truly a clash of titans, and Arsha knew her limits. I’m not a Monarch, and I don’t have any minions. I cannot afford to act hastily.

Such patience was Arsha’s true strength. She persevered and delved deeper into South Korean society to better understand humans.

They’re nothing special. In the end, Arsha realized that human society wasn’t much different from the world of insects. This is also a world where the strongest ultimately prevail.

The only difference was that the power on Earth was determined by money and not poison. The reason Arsha didn’t turn Minsung into a worker bee right away was because of that. Turning an A-rank hunter like him into a worker bee required her to slowly make him addicted to her royal jelly.

It won’t be too late to turn him into a worker bee after I use him for other purposes first. Other insects in her position would have immediately turned him into a worker bee, but Arsha’s patience allowed her great restraint.

Thanks to her choice to wait, Minsung brought in even more hunters to the Queen Bee Salon.

His social status and fame were indeed highly valuable. I was truly amazed when he brought Stardust. The moment Arsha saw it, she immediately knew that demons had created it and recognized its purpose. It seems that demons are hiding in this world, just like me.

The demons had taken a different approach to hers. As a queen bee, she quietly worked on recruiting her worker bees while the demons were enhancing their powers by creating Stardust from humans.

This might be useful. What if humans were reinforced with Stardust before turning them into worker bees? An army of stronger soldiers would be born. However, the existing Stardust had a weak amplification effect, forcing her to wait patiently once more. She hoped that the demons would improve the performance of Stardust through more experiments.

And as luck would have it, the biggest distributor was Lee Minsung, the unfortunate businessman and former actor, whose feelings of inferiority had exploded when his chauffeur awakened as an S-rank hunter.

Arsha looked at Minsung, who was transforming into a worker bee trapped in her royal jelly, and clicked her tongue. “What a waste... I once hoped that you would become S-rank someday.”

If her plan had been realized, Minsung would have become a prominent figure in South Korea’s hunter community. Then, her position would have risen as well as his puppetmaster. His rise would have led to more hunters, power, and strength.

“Eventually, I could have commanded a worker bee with the power of an S-rank hunter,” she rued.

But the current outcome wasn’t all that bad. He was her first A-rank worker bee. She had chosen to wait until now to turn him into a worker bee because the case of an A-rank hunter suddenly going missing would have attracted unnecessary attention from the public.

“Ugh...” Within the golden royal jelly, Minsung gritted his teeth with a pained expression. His eyes were shining with a golden hue.

“Hmm? What was going on? A puzzled expression crossed Arsha’s face. His reaction was distinctly different from the worker bees she had captured before. It is because he’s an A-rank?

Minsung was forcibly moving within the royal jelly.

“Are you resisting the transition?”

“Grrrrrr! Gaaah!” Minsung had already lost his mind, yet even in that state, his body moved instinctively. I, I am... I am... Biting down on his teeth, the veins on his neck bulged unnaturally. “Lee Minsung!”

Eventually, he broke free from the royal jelly. Although his body was already in the process of turning into an insect, he defied Queen Arsha’s orders and was now running wild.

Despite the constant command echoing in his mind to submit to the queen, Minsung, writhing in agony on the floor, resisted the order. H-how dare you? To me...?! How dare anyone try to command Lee Minsung!

A pair of wings unfolded from his back as he abruptly stood up.

“Wait! Where are you going?!” Arsha watched in astonishment as Minsung flew through the wall.

***

[Daily Quest: “Iron Body Technique Training” has been completed.]

[100 push-ups: Complete (100/100)

100 sit-ups: Complete (100/100)

100 squats: Complete (100/100)

Run 10km: Complete (10/10)

All tasks require you to carry Ammut.]

[A completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to confirm the reward?] (Y/N)

“Ha... Today was another tough one.”

“Young Monarch, you’ve worked so hard! But the harder you work, the stronger you become, so let’s make today worth—”

“Shut up.” Suho collapsed onto his bed after finishing Ammut’s daily quest.

Although he had instantly recovered as a completion reward, the intense workout left a lingering mental fatigue that wouldn’t easily disappear.

However, Suho’s phone kept vibrating on the nightstand next to his bed.

“What’s up with all this noise?” Frowning, Suho picked up the phone.

An emergency disaster message was coming through.

—Emergency Disaster Message.

—[Hunter Association] A-rank villain Lee Minsung spotted in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

—Evacuate and be cautious of attacks.

“What?” Suho widened his eyes and got up from his bed.

—Breaking news! A-Rank villain Lee Minsung attacks other hunters!

—A-Rank villain emerges to hunt down hunters!

“The A-rank villain is on the wanted list. It seems like he has given up on escaping and has decided to attack other hunters. This is an unprecedented event in South Korea,” an expert in a video clip said.

The internet was ablaze with discussions about the sudden incident, and Suho was just as surprised.

As he was checking more articles, he received a sudden phone call.

“Hello, I’m from the White Tiger Guild. Am I speaking with Sung Suho? We were worried because you weren’t answering.”

“What?”

“Vice Guild Master Baek Miho wants to see you.”