Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 115

The atmosphere immediately following the dungeon break could only be described as chaotic.

Hunters and soldiers, drawn by the waves of mana, were gathering rapidly, but they were strangers to one another, making coordination impossible.

In such moments, they were better described as competitors than allies.

“Hey! That’s our monster! Don’t touch it!”

“What nonsense! Whoever kills it first owns it!”

If this were a regular dungeon, disputes like these wouldn’t happen.

In a structured raid, the order of engagement would be set, and loot distribution would be determined by clear contracts.

But this was not yet a field-type dungeon; it was an unstructured calamity.

In situations like this, the rule was simple—first come, first served.

Hunters scattered across the area, each desperate to claim as many beasts as possible.

And that greed was causing problems.

“Why won’t these things die?!”

“Damn it! These snakes are covered in iron scales!”

The swamp zone that had erupted in the middle of the city was teeming with ‘Iron-Scaled Vipers,’ slithering all over the place.

Individually, these beasts weren’t particularly strong.

But there were too many of them, and they possessed a deadly weapon: venomous fangs.

The venom of the Iron-Scaled Vipers was so potent that even seasoned Hunters would struggle to move after a single bite.

“Argh! Damn it! I’ve been bitten…!”

“Does anyone here have a detoxification skill?!”

“This isn’t the time to compete! If we don’t clear these beasts quickly, a field-type dungeon will form!”

“Right! Let’s work together for now!”

As casualties mounted, the Hunters began to unite, realizing the urgency of the situation.

In a dungeon break, the most critical task was to eliminate the beasts as quickly as possible.

The bodies of the beasts that had crossed the gate were soaked in a blue mist, and the longer they spread, the wider the contaminated zone became.

This was how so-called field-type dungeons were born.

And then—

‘Boom!’

An S-rank Hunter, the Tyrant, Thomas Andre, appeared like a savior, obliterating a beast with a single strike.

Only then did the Hunters in the area begin to notice his arrival, their eyes widening in shock.

“G-Goliath?!”

“Why is he here?!”

They had heard rumors that he had arrived in Korea yesterday, but none had expected to run into him in a place like this.

Still, his presence brought a sense of relief.

Everyone knew that beasts of this level were nothing to Thomas Andre.

But there was also a lingering sense of unease.

“Thomas Andre! Be careful! The swamp is filled with venom!”

One Hunter shouted loudly, trying to offer helpful information and perhaps gain some favor.

“If your body touches the swamp, your muscles will weaken! I have a detoxification skill; I can assist you!”

The speaker was a healer with a detoxification ability, hoping to seize the opportunity to earn recognition or rewards by helping the world-renowned Hunter.

However, whether Thomas Andre heard him or not, he paid no heed, walking directly into the swamp.

The venom seeping into his body sapped his strength, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

“Listen up! That thing is mine! Anyone who dares touch my prey…”

Standing in the center of the venomous swamp, Thomas Andre pointed at the largest serpent, which appeared to be the boss.

But then—

‘Whoosh!’

A black bolt shot down from the sky, piercing the boss serpent.

‘Kiaaaah!’

The enormous snake at the swamp’s center writhed in agony before collapsing with a thunderous cry.

“Who’s the arrogant bastard that dared?!”

Thomas Andre roared, lifting his head in fury.

The other Hunters were equally stunned.

Even if the rule was ‘first come, first served,’ who would dare steal a target declared by Thomas Andre himself?

“Let’s see the face of the idiot who lost their mind!”

‘Boom!’

From the swamp’s center, Thomas Andre leapt high into the air.

He followed the arc of the black mana arrow back to its source, leaping from building to building with ease.

‘Thud.’

He landed atop the tallest building in Euljiro, where he finally came face-to-face with the culprit.

“…!”

It was none other than Suho, who had climbed to the tallest building on the other side.

He wasn’t alone—two others were with him—but they didn’t register in Thomas’s field of view.

[Shadow Minotaur Lv.1]
Form Transformation—Arrow

‘Crackle!’

Suho’s bow, aimed at the swamp, radiated a dense, destructive energy.

[Available Shadow Slots: 3/3]

Following his recent level-up in the demon world, Suho could now store two additional shadow soldiers. He had filled the vacant slots with the strongest Minotaurs he had extracted.

“Minotaurs, go wreak havoc.”

Suho released his bowstring toward the swamp.

‘Moooo!’

The arrow, shaped like a bull’s head, flew like a cannonball, striking with the force of a siege weapon.

‘Boom!’

[You have defeated Blue Fang Kasaka.]
[You have defeated Blue Fang Kasaka.]
[You have defeated Blue Fang Kasaka.]

…

A barrage of messages appeared in succession.

But the level-up notification Suho had been anticipating never came.

The beasts in the swamp, despite their troublesome venom and unique traits, were far weaker than the enemies he had faced before.

At this point, they didn’t even provide Suho with experience points.

In fact, they were so insignificant.

[You have defeated the Swamp Ruler, Blue Fang Kasaka.]

Even the boss monster that Suho had taken down with his first shot, Quay, hadn’t yielded a level-up. That said it all.

Still, Suho was more than satisfied.

‘They only told me to resolve the dungeon break, not to take care of everything by myself.’

By eliminating the boss monster and some of the other beasts, Suho had significantly accelerated the containment of the dungeon break.

With just two arrows fired, the other Hunters were able to capitalize on the momentum, making quick work of the remaining beasts.

The quest’s difficulty and progress had indeed been fortunate.

‘Ding.’

[You have completed the Emergency Quest: Swamp Zone.]

A message arrived just in time.

It seemed that the chaos caused by Suho’s Minotaur-arrow had exposed the remaining beasts, allowing the other Hunters to finish them off.

Satisfied with how smoothly the quest had concluded, Suho nodded contentedly.

However, while Suho treated the situation lightly, the reactions of two S-rank Hunters were entirely different.

“Wait a second, kid. That arrow… What the hell was that? Actually, are you even an archer?”

Thomas Andre, visibly annoyed, appeared both startled and intrigued.

“Suho, what was that just now? Didn’t you say you didn’t have any archer skills?”

The shock felt by Im Taegyu, who had witnessed this twice now, was tenfold compared to Thomas’s reaction.

There was no mana compression—an essential process for creating mana arrows—in Suho’s arrows.

At first, Taegyu thought he had been mistaken. But after seeing it a second time, he was certain.

Suho possessed a skill that allowed him to create arrows without expending mana.

“A skill like that… It doesn’t even make sense…”

His understanding of the world felt like it was crumbling.

Suho, however, dismissed their reactions nonchalantly.

“Oh, I’m a summoner, remember? I summoned the arrows. Simple as that.”

“You think I’m stupid? Summoning still consumes mana!”

Im Taegyu’s protest was valid, but he wasn’t aware that Suho’s summoning abilities fell into the domain of authority, not skills.

Ignoring the fascination of those around him, Suho turned his attention to the quest rewards.

[Your completion reward has arrived.]
[Would you like to claim your reward?] (Y/N)

‘The difficulty was low, so I don’t have high expectations. Let’s check.’

At level 40, Suho had easily defeated the boss monster, Blue Fang Kasaka, with a single shot. With little hope for anything significant, he opened the rewards.

‘Huh?’

The results were surprising.

[The following rewards are available:]
Reward 1: Kasaka’s Fang
Reward 2: Kasaka’s Venom Gland

‘Two rewards?’

This was an unexpected windfall.

Suho’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Dodging the two persistent S-rank Hunters pestering him about his mana arrows, Suho slipped into a nearby building’s restroom.

“Claim reward.”

The first item appeared—a finely honed dagger.

[You have acquired the item: Kasaka’s Fang.]

“A dagger, huh?”

Suho’s expression turned sour as he inspected the weapon.

“Figures. The quest was too easy. Who’s going to use such a weak-looking weapon…”

‘Keeek!’

Suddenly, Beru appeared, clinging to Suho.

[My liege! A dagger is not a weak weapon! Especially this one—]

“It only has an attack power of 25.”

‘Kiek?!’

Beru flinched at Suho’s words.

[Item: Kasaka’s Fang]
Acquisition Difficulty: C
Type: Dagger
Attack Power: +25
A dagger crafted from Kasaka’s fang. It retains traces of Kasaka’s venom, inflicting paralysis and bleeding effects. Can be stored in your inventory or sold at a shop.

Effect: Paralysis – Targets struck have a chance of being immobilized.
Effect: Bleeding – Targets struck lose 1% of their health per second for a certain duration.

Suho glanced through the item description and clicked his tongue.

“It’s too short, and my Vulcan’s Horn has a base attack of 40 with a 300% damage boost. Why would I use this?”

[But…! Ugh, what a shame! If only it had appeared sooner!]

Beru whimpered in frustration.

[My liege, this dagger was once cherished by the Monarch himself!]

“My father used this?”

Beru’s comment made Suho pause, casting another look at the dagger.

But…

“Must’ve been something he used early on and then discarded.”

‘Kieeek!’

Despite its decent effects, the dagger’s attack power was too weak.

Fortunately, the second reward was more promising.

[You have acquired the item: Kasaka’s Venom Gland.]

[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Gland]
Acquisition Difficulty: A
Type: Elixir
A pouch containing refined venom from Kasaka. Rarely obtainable after defeating Kasaka. Consuming it grants toughened skin but causes permanent muscle damage.

Effect: Kasaka’s Iron Scales – Reduces physical damage by 20%.
Side Effect: Damaged Muscles – Strength -35.

“Venom, huh?”

Suho’s eyes sparkled with interest.

Though labeled as an elixir, it was essentially the venom that had polluted the swamp. It was a deadly poison capable of permanently weakening muscles upon contact or ingestion.

[The Plague Monarch salivates over the venom.]

“This might be useful.”

Suho, too, felt intrigued. Without hesitation, he drank the venom.

‘Gulp.’

[You have consumed the poison: Kasaka’s Venom.]
[You can now manipulate the poison: Kasaka’s Venom.]