Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“There are more people with the beastification skill than I thought.”

Far away from other hunters, Suho was crossing the jungle without hesitation. Of course, numerous ghosts appeared in front of him and attacked him. Corrupted tree trunks persisted in trying to take his life from all directions.

“Huuaaaah-”

“The banshee uses the ‘Skill: Wailing.'”

“For the next 10 minutes, lose your sense of direction.”

Furthermore, a ghostly banshee above his head screamed, confusing Suho’s mind.

“Authority of the Dominator!”

Snap!

Suho’s invisible hand reached out and gripped the banshee’s neck, breaking it.

“Can’t cry. Santa Claus won’t give presents then.”

Suho laughed and killed every banshee that appeared. Then, he swung his twin swords like a windmill and eliminated the ghosts that surrounded him.

“Using ‘Skill: Storm Slash.'”

Kuwaang!

“Eliminated a ghost.”

….

The Storm Slash was very useful in battles with large groups of enemies. However, even after defeating so many ghosts, there was no sign of Suho’s level increasing.

“Well, I just have to kill more of them.”

If he was going to move forward, he had to kill them all anyway.

“Using ‘Skill: Storm Slash.'”

Kuwaahh!

[Defeated a Ghost.]

…

The days when one use of Storm Slash drained all his mana were long gone. Now, he could use it up to eight times if he needed to. But something was off.

“I caught so many of them, but I’m not leveling up?”

He felt like he wasn’t getting any experience points at all. “Could it be that they have a core somewhere?”

His eyes scanned the area for any signs of the core’s presence. With the help of his enhanced senses, he was able to pinpoint the most dangerous spot in the jungle. He changed direction and ran towards it.

Navigation, or rather, Rakan’s Fangs, asked, “Where are we going?”

“I just want to stop by for a moment.”

The direction was slightly different from where the relic was located, but it wasn’t too far out of the way. A few moments later, they arrived at a strange-looking tree.

[Specter Tree]

“It’s a spirit tree that protects the sanctuary,” Rakan’s Fangs identified.

“A spirit tree? This thing?” He looked up at the tree, which looked more like a haunted house than a spirit tree. And it was indeed haunted.

Kkkhh!

He could hear ghosts sprouting like fruits from the tree’s twisted branches even now.

Bergha explained, “It’s a ghost tree that seems to have grown by consuming the corpses of humans who died on this land.”

“I knew it. There must be a core somewhere,” he said, relieved that he had found the source of the ghosts.

He chuckled, levitated Rakan’s Fangs in the air with his domination power, and swung his ax at the tree’s side like he was splitting wood.

Kwaaang!

A deafening roar echoed through the jungle.

However, the ghostly figure of the spectral tree remained standing tall in its place.

“Is its defense high?”

Let’s see who wins.

Suho clenched his teeth and began to attack the spectral tree in earnest.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…!

That’s when it happened.

“Kwaaaaaa!”

Chills ran down his spine!

Sinister red shadows lunged at Suho, who was attacking the spectral tree.

Quickly stepping back, Suho swung his sword to fend off their claws.

[Dungeon Jackal]

“Kreuuur….”

The dungeon jackals that had descended to the floor surrounded Suho from front and back with fierce determination, not allowing him to escape.

Their eyes were already fixed on Suho as their prey.

Unlike ordinary dungeon jackals, they exuded a different aura, befitting their role as guardians of the sanctuary.

But that only made Suho even more delighted.

“Alright. You guys will be worth the effort.”

In an instant, Suho regained his composure and released an explosive surge of power from his entire body.

Roar!

[Title: Wolf Slayer buff effect has been activated.]

[All stats increase by 40% when facing beast-type monsters.]

“Kreuk?!”

The dungeon jackals instinctively lowered their posture, revealing a sense of intimidation that suddenly emanated from their prey, who had seemed weaker than them just moments ago!

“…Kreung!”

At the same time, Suho swung his sword towards the dungeon jackals rushing at him.

[Shadow Jackal Lv.1]

Normal grade

[Shadow Jackal Lv.1]

Normal grade

[Creak!]

The shadow monsters with black energy surging around them. Beruga, who was sitting on top of their heads, nodded with a smug expression.

[Hmph. Yes, from now on, serve Lord Suho with loyalty to protect him.]

-That’s why we lost the war….

Lakan’s sighing voice mixed in.

Ignoring his voice, Suho was diligently axing(?) the side of the ghost tree.

Clink clink clink clink clink clink!

Kihiiieek-!

Many ghosts rushed in to disrupt Suho, but now the shadow jackals were solidly guarding his back.

Suddenly, a voice burst out.

-Why aren’t you guarding the ghost tree that you were told to protect and invading instead?!

[Keiak! Whose side are you on!]

-That wasn’t me just now.

[Huh?]

It seemed like another one of the fangs was watching Suho from afar.

And finally.

Swoosh!

“Ah, that’s enough.”

Krrrrrng!

With a loud noise, the giant ghost tree fell backwards.

[You have destroyed the ghost tree.]

[The surrounding ghosts disappear.]

Shaaa.

The ghosts that were circling around Suho disappeared in an instant.

[You have leveled up!]

“Did I just level up like that?”

Suho’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t believe that he leveled up just by cutting down one tree!

Suho quickly scanned his surroundings.

He then climbed up a nearby tree and checked the situation of other areas from a higher point.

In a far-off place, ghosts were still attacking hunters.

‘There’s more than one ghost tree!’

Suho’s eyes gleamed.

He knew that the insiders would know the location of the other ghost trees.

“Charge ahead!”

[Kraoa!]

Following Suho’s command, the shadow jackals charged towards the location of the second ghost tree.

Kururung!

A sound of something collapsing could be heard from somewhere.

“What’s that?”

Baek Miho, who had already dealt with all the hyena guild members and was keeping an eye on her surroundings, turned her head in the direction of the noise.

‘Isn’t that where the man went earlier?’

Perhaps it was her imagination, but it seemed like the number of ghosts around her had decreased slightly.

‘No, it’s not just my imagination.’

It had definitely decreased.

Thanks to that, she felt a little more relaxed.

Baek Miho looked back at the hyena guild members who were subdued for information.

Most of them were dead, but there was one who was still alive, covered in blood and cowering in fear.

Baek Miho looked into the eyes of the vertically slit beast and asked, “Who are you fighting for?”

“Do you want to live?”

“Y-yes, I do!”

The werewolf answered desperately.

“Then prove to me why I should spare you.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I’m asking you to tell me something I don’t already know.”

“Uh…”

“Ugh.”

Crack.

When Baek Miho revealed this, the werewolf felt like prey in front of a predator.

And a moment later.

“…My lord?”

Baek Miho made a strange expression.

In truth, she didn’t have high expectations, but the value of the information the werewolf provided was unexpectedly great.

“So there’s a king who ruled over the monsters?”

“Yes, yes! But he died a long time ago, and now the throne is vacant!”

“So that’s why there’s a fuss about choosing a new king?”

“Yes. We also suddenly heard the voice and ran here.”

Like the other members of his group, the werewolf didn’t want to die and spilled all the information he knew.

In fact, the members of the Hyena Guild thought the voice was only heard by them.

They believed that they were awakened by drinking the blood of the Fang Clan, making them qualified to become the king.

But it wasn’t like that when they arrived here.

If hunters with the power of beasts were qualified to become kings, then all of them who were gathered here were qualified, and they were all fighting to prove it.

“Hm.”

A king, huh…

Baek Miho was lost in thought for a moment.

Of course, it was a lie if she said she didn’t have any greed.

Even at this moment, the voice urging her to prove her qualifications was painfully stimulating her desires.

-Prove that you have the qualifications to become a king!

“…But it still feels fishy.”

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t imagine that the monsters approached humans with good intentions.

And to choose their king from among humans?

“It’s a ridiculous idea.”

Baek Miho snorted and crossed her arms.

It was definitely the right choice not to intervene.

However, she was curious about what kind of result this test would ultimately produce.

No, to be honest, she was afraid.

What kind of scheme were the monsters here concocting under the excuse of the test for the king?

‘Of all times, my father had to be absent.’

Baek Miho sighed as she thought of her father, Baek Yoonho. In truth, if they were really going to choose a king among the humans, there was no one more qualified than Baek Yoonho, an S-rank Hunter.

But Baek Miho was sure of one thing.

‘Even if my father were here, he would have made the same decision as me.’

-Prove your qualifications to become king!

“Ugh. It’s really noisy.”

Even at this moment, the voice that stimulated her desires made Baek Miho’s head ache.

-Kill and kill again!

But then it happened.

Kwarrang!

Another sound of something collapsing was heard from somewhere.

Something had changed.

-The one who survives to the end… Ahh! Please, stop it! Only one remains!

“Uh…?”