Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 31

The enemies of imperialism were still unaware of the existence of the Guardian. But if they eventually found out that the Shadow Lord had a son, the Guardian would become the only weakness that could change the course of the war. Just taking him hostage would be enough to weaken Sung Jin-Woo’s military power.

…So he had to get stronger quickly.

“In the end, it’s just leveling up.”

The Guardian nodded his head and looked back at the Shadow Dungeon. The daily quest was over, but it seemed better to hunt more goblins.

Looking back, wasn’t the content of the hidden quest about hunting ‘more’ than the predetermined amount?

“Maybe this was the direction the system wanted in the first place.”

“Gray.”

“…Huh?”

At the Guardian’s call, Gray raised his head, looking dazed.

“Esil.”

“Yeah?”

The Guardian smirked and looked at Gray and Esil.

“Now that we’ve finished eating, how about paying for the meal?”

“Ruff.”

Gray, who hadn’t even been able to eat, looked indignant.

But Gray knew that hunting and eating his own prey would help him grow stronger.

[You have defeated a Goblin Shaman.]

[You have defeated a Goblin Archer.]

….

[Your level has increased!]

The Guardian and his companions hunted goblins throughout the Shadow Dungeon for a while.

Sniff, sniff?

Despite being weak, Gray’s sense of smell as a hunter was excellent, and he quickly found the scent of goblins lurking around.

Swoosh!

On the other hand, Esil was a master of spear fighting. Even weakened demon nobles were no match for goblins as mere snacks. Esil even sucked the magic out of the goblins by putting her hand inside their bodies.

“Ugh. It doesn’t taste good.”

…So she could taste it even though she ate with her hands. Does she use her claws to brush her teeth instead of a toothbrush?

“Anyway, demons are really amazing.”

“…?”

Esil furrowed her brow and tilted her head as the Guardian watched her like an interesting animal.

And after a while…

“The goblins in this area seem to be gone. We’ve killed most of them, haven’t we?”

“I don’t see any around here either.”

The Guardian finally stopped walking and lowered his sword.

Swoop.

Rakan’s fang rose in the air with the power of the ruler, and Beruga flew like a sparrow and landed on its handle.

“My Lord, I’ve completed a full circle, and it seems like we’ve killed them all.”

“Good job.”

“What are your plans now?”

“We’ll wait here until they ‘regenerate’ again.”

The Guardian settled in the open field with a base camp, where he could keep an eye on the surrounding area for any incoming enemies.

“Since we don’t know when and where they’ll come from, we need to keep scouting the area. Of course, you guys will help too.”

“Us?”

Gray and Esil perked up at his words.

“You guys will help too.”

“Keuk keuk!”

“Kerrrk!”

The Shadow Goblins started scouting around the area at the Guardian’s command.

Their movements looked like those of bandits looting a village, but they were on our side.

The Guardian’s goal was to witness the sight of new goblins appearing in the Shadow Dungeon with his own eyes, knowing that they would flow back before the end of the day due to the existence of daily quests.

“Okay. Since you’ve helped me, I’ll pay you for your work.”

Esil unconsciously licked her lips as she answered. Although she had finally been able to feed thanks to the Guardian, the hunger that had been gnawing at her for a long time would not be resolved overnight.

“Well, even though goblin meat doesn’t taste good, there are plenty of them.”

As she swallowed her saliva, hoping that they would appear soon, she suddenly looked at Gray, who had the same expression.

“Huh?”

“….”

Esil felt complicated as she realized that she was feeling the same as a little puppy.

“Would you like to exit the Shadow Dungeon?”

Suho left the Shadow Dungeon to Esil and Grey and went outside.

“I killed so many goblins, but only leveled up once. I need to go to a stronger dungeon to get stronger.”

Suho had several options. One was to use Lakan’s Fang to threaten and reveal the location of a new fortress. However, Suho didn’t know everything about Lakan’s Fang.

Another option was to find a stardust factory where demons were hunted. But Suho had no clues to find one.

“The third option is…”

Magok.

Magok-dong in Gangseo-gu. The area was originally called Magok (麻谷) because the name “ma” was commonly used in that area. But a year ago, after the worst dungeon break in history occurred there, people started calling it Magok (魔谷) or Magyeong (魔境), which means “demon valley” or “demon territory.”

Since then, Magok has been designated as one of the most dangerous field-type dungeons in Korea, and civilians have stopped going there.

“It’s interesting that Magok was created a year ago, just like the fields in Gwanak Mountain and Seoul Station.”

Looking back at everything that had happened so far, Suho was sure that Magok had some connection to it.

“Shall we go?”

Suho got off the bus near Magok using public transportation. Despite the changed world, trains and buses still ran smoothly.

But just a few steps away from a completely civilized city, a world of demons suddenly opened up.

As a result, hunters were attacking and purifying those areas with great effort, but at the same time, new gates were opening somewhere else.

“But why is there no fence here?”

As Magok approached, Berg’s eyes became serious.

Most field-type dungeons, such as the Gwanak Mountain and Seoul Station fields, were surrounded by long fences to prevent demons from escaping.

But when they arrived at Magok, they couldn’t see any fences anywhere.

“It’s too big to fence off, and fences wouldn’t matter here anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Most of the monsters here are plant-type monsters, so they can’t come out anyway.”

Interestingly, plant-type monsters couldn’t root in areas without the blue mist.

For humans, it was fortunate that plant-type monsters couldn’t spread all over the earth, or they would have overrun it by now.

“Huh, interesting place.”

With a curious expression, Ver scanned the landscape of Magok.

While Suho had mentioned that there were only plant-type monsters in the area, Ver could sense the presence of other creatures.

“My lord, is this field not occupied by another guild?” Ver asked.

“As far as I know, no. I searched online, but found nothing,” Suho replied.

Magok field was open to all hunters as it was too troublesome for guilds to manage the plant-type monsters there. Additionally, the plant-type monsters did not yield much profit when sold as their corpses were not in high demand. However, there were also ghost-type monsters that could not be caught and sold for profit.

“But I am different. Experience points are more important to me than monster corpses,” Suho thought.

As soon as Suho set foot in Magok, Lakan’s Fang, which had been quietly stored in his inventory, urgently called out to him.

“It’s a sanctuary!” Lakan’s Fang said.

“What? A sanctuary? All of a sudden?” Suho asked.

“Yes, there is a lot of sanctuary energy in this area! It seems like the lush forest and blue mist have been preventing the sanctuary energy from flowing outside,” Lakan’s Fang replied.

Ver looked at Suho and said, “I heard there is an artifact similar to Lakan’s Fang somewhere around here.”

“Or there could be a boss monster like Broki,” Suho added.

“Either way, it’s a win, isn’t it?” Ver said.

Suho looked at the dense jungle with excitement. It was a troublesome and annoying place for hunters due to the combination of jungle and ghosts. However, Suho had the advantage of the sanctuary navigation system. He gripped Lakan’s Fang and asked,

“Do you know where it is?”

It’s over here.
Rakan’s fang pointed towards the center of the stronghold as Suho confidently leaped into the jungle with Rakan’s fang leading the way.

Suho wasn’t the only one exploring the Magok Field.

“Vice-leader, it’s already been two days.”

“How long are we going to stay here?”
“Well, we should know our schedule and purpose more clearly if we’re going to be here….”

The hunters of Baekho Guild had been aimlessly wandering through the jungle for two days now.

The reason was none other than the vice-leader of the Baekho Guild, Baek Miho.

But no one dared to openly express their dissatisfaction to Baek Miho, especially since the guild’s leader, Baek Yunho, was currently away from the city, leaving Baek Miho in charge as the acting guild leader.

“Who keeps calling me?”

Baek Miho had been hearing strange voices in her head for a while now.

-Prove your worth.

The voice had started suddenly.

-Prove your worth.

At first, she dismissed it as just a hallucination.

But the voice grew louder and louder over time, eventually leading Baek Miho to come to Magok.

“What am I supposed to prove here? What kind of worth am I supposed to show?”

Baek Miho was frustrated, but she was certain that there was something here.

Because the voices had stopped as soon as she set foot in this jungle.

And then it happened.

Thud!

The hunters who saw Baek Miho’s face trembled with fear.

“Vice-leader’s eyes…”

Her pupils had turned yellow like a beast’s.

“Beast’s eyes.”

The beastification skill had enabled the current state of Baek Miho. Even though only a small part of that power had been revealed, the pressure was tremendous.

-Prove your qualification.

“It’s starting again.”

The voice echoed in Baek Miho’s mind, but this time the content was slightly different.

-Prove your qualification to become a king.

Baek Miho took off the hairband on her wrist and tied up her unruly hair like a lion’s mane. Then, with the eyes of a beast, she glared fiercely in the direction the voice was coming from.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”