Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 13

Meanwhile…

[You have defeated a Steel Fang Lycan.]

[You have defeated a Steel Fang Lycan.]

…

Right after obtaining the Fang Monarch’s sword, Su-ho continued hunting the wolves to clear a path out of the dungeon. With the strike team wiped out, Su-ho was the only Hunter left who could fight. He swung his sword tirelessly, protecting the miners who cautiously followed behind him.

[Level Up!]

Another level up.

“Aren’t you tired…?”

“No, I think I’m still okay.”

“Hmph.”

The miners were beyond amazed; they were downright shocked by Su-ho’s endurance. To those who didn’t know that leveling up restored his stamina, Su-ho appeared to be a monstrous being with infinite strength.

‘No way, he’s human just like us.’

‘Could he be pushing through the fatigue with sheer willpower?’

‘He’s probably hiding how tired he is to keep us from worrying.’

They remembered that just a few days ago, Su-ho had been the young hero who saved people at the museum until he collapsed from exhaustion. And now, they were the ones being rescued by him.

‘How can he do this when he’s the same E-rank as us?’

‘And he’s a summoner on top of that.’

This wasn’t just about rank or abilities; it was clear Su-ho had extraordinary mental strength and determination.

Of course, it was just because of his level-up.

[My lord, the gate is in sight.]

Beru pointed toward the gate visible at the far end of the cave.

“We’re saved!”

The miners, who had been tense and terrified, finally brightened up. They rushed forward eagerly, and Su-ho wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

One of them turned back to ask Su-ho.

“Oh, yes. I’ll stay here and see if there are any other surviving Hunters I can bring out.”

“Are you sure? You must be at your limit by now…”

“I can manage a little longer.”

In reality, Su-ho felt great, but given the situation, he had to pretend to be pushing himself.

[…]

Su-ho could feel Beru’s gaze on him, but he chose to ignore it.

—

Once the miners had exited, Su-ho stared at the Fang Monarch’s sword and asked,

“Lead me to where you came from.”

– …

When the sword didn’t respond, Su-ho pretended to hand it back to Beru.

“Beru, do you just want to eat this thing?”

*Slurp.*

-Wait.

The sword urgently responded, having seen Beru munching on nearby magic stones earlier.

“Why do you want to go back there?”

“If there are any survivors, I want to rescue them.”

-I killed them all… I mean, there might still be some lucky survivors.

Su-ho pretended to hand the sword to Beru again, and the sword hastily changed its tune.

-Head to the left.

With the sword guiding him, Su-ho moved forward. Although more beasts attacked him along the way, it was much easier to deal with them now that he didn’t have to protect anyone else.

Soon, Su-ho arrived at a mysterious ruin, where he found the bodies of the fallen.

“This must be the place.”

Su-ho checked each person’s condition.

[They’re all dead.]

-That’s what I said… I mean, I couldn’t help it. My duty was to protect this sanctuary. Besides, I’m such an excellent sword…

The sword, feeling Su-ho and Beru’s stares, hurriedly made excuses.

At that moment, information about the sword appeared before Su-ho’s eyes.

[Item: Fang of Rakhan]

Difficulty to Obtain: ??

Type: Sword

Attack Power: +30

A sword forged from the fang of Rakhan, King of Beasts.

Rakhan’s Wraith resides within it, and if wielded by someone unworthy, it may take over their body.

-Effect ‘Scorn of the Weak’: Instills fear in a designated opponent for 1 minute. (All stats -50%)

-Effect ‘Critical Wound’: 15% chance of inflicting more than double critical damage.

It was a significantly powerful sword compared to the Goblin’s stone axe. The Hunters here were likely overwhelmed and killed because they couldn’t handle the sword’s powers.

[It’s a decent sword, but its abilities are rather underhanded. It becomes stronger when facing weaker opponents.]

-Underhanded? What’s wrong with the strong preying on the weak? What hunter goes after prey stronger than themselves?

Ignoring the sword’s ranting, Su-ho continued to gather the bodies of the fallen Hunters. He unloaded the cart full of beast remains that the dead collectors had been pulling and placed the bodies inside.

Then, something strange caught Su-ho’s eye: black smoke was rising from the corpses.

It was… their shadows.

[Shadow extraction is possible.]

[Shadow extraction is possible.]

[Shadow extraction is possible.]

Aaaahhhh-!

Su-ho could hear the anguished cries of the dead Hunters in his ears.

[If you wish, you could make these people part of your army.]

“No, that’s okay.”

Listening to their desperate wails, Su-ho quietly continued to collect the bodies.

Once he had finished, Beru, who had been surveying the area, returned to Su-ho.

[I searched for any other relics of the Fang Monarch, but it seems there’s nothing else of value here.]

“What exactly is this Fang Monarch?”

Now that things had calmed down, Su-ho asked the question that had been on his mind.

Beru conjured a black shadow from his hand, forming small shadow figurines about the size of his fingernails. As they multiplied, they began to take on specific shapes.

[Once, in this universe, there were many Monarchs besides your father, the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo. There was the Beast Monarch, the Plague Monarch of insects, and many others who all converged on this planet.]

Among the figures, one particularly menacing figure stood out, brutally cutting down the others.

[And your lord killed them all.]

-Ugh. If only my master were still here…

The Fang of Rakhan trembled in Su-ho’s hand, its voice filled with resentment.

-If I had retained my full power, I would have torn you all apart and fed you to the wolves. If I had known you were the Shadow Monarch’s successor, I would never have let my guard down.

“Retained your full power?”

Su-ho looked at the Fang of Rakhan.

“So you’re not at full strength?”

-Of course not. I am the mightiest weapon forged from the fang of Rakhan, King of Beasts.

[Calling it mighty seems a stretch with an attack power of only 30.]

Beru sneered.

-That’s because I’m incomplete! My duty was to protect this sanctuary. Within it, I could wield power nearly equal to that of Lord Rakhan. But…

“But?”

-I failed to protect the sanctuary. A sacred weapon loses its power when its sanctuary is lost.

The Fang of Rakhan muttered in a mournful tone.

[That’s only natural.]

Beru explained.

A world that loses its Monarch is torn apart and drifts through the cracks between dimensions.

The remnants of war.

That’s what a dungeon is.

[When the Apostles of the Outer Gods began to invade Earth, they created cracks in the dimensional barriers, connecting these dungeons to our world.]

Beru’s eyes flashed sharply.

[And those remnants hold a deep grudge against this world. They were all destroyed by our lord, after all. Though, of course, they struck first.]

“So this place is a remnant of a defeated world, and there’s nothing left to take.”

[Don’t worry, my lord. Leave it to me.]

At Su-ho’s words, Beru eyed the sword greedily.

[Even a dried squid yields water when squeezed. I’ll get something out of it.]

-Hmph. No amount of squeezing will get anything out of me.

The Fang of Rakhan retorted confidently.

And ten minutes later…

The Fang of Rakhan had spilled everything it knew.

—

A few days later…

[My lord, what are you troubled by?]

Beru asked Su-ho.

[Is it because you turned down their offers?]

After escaping the Korea University dungeon, many things had happened to Su-ho.

When they emerged, they were met by Association Hunters who had been dispatched following the miners’ report.

But when they entered the dungeon, all they found were the bodies of beasts that Su-ho had slain.

This led to Su-ho receiving offers from various guilds.

Of course, every one of them wanted to hire him as a collector or porter.

“No, that’s not it.”

Naturally, Su-ho had no intention of accepting any of the offers.

Unlike other Hunters, Su-ho could grow stronger through the level-up system. For an ordinary E-rank Hunter, even a porter contract with a large guild would have been a great opportunity, but to Su-ho, it held no appeal.

“I was thinking about what the Fang of Rakhan told us.”

The Fang of Rakhan had revealed that the sanctuary it had once guarded had been shattered into several pieces and scattered through the cracks in the dimension. This was why its power had been greatly diminished.

Even when it possessed Kim Yong-jun’s body, it could control all the surrounding wolves, but the moment it left the sanctuary, that ability was lost.

Still, it wasn’t a total loss.

The Fang of Rakhan had told them that there were other sanctuaries like this one scattered across the dimensional rift, each holding relics like itself.

Eventually, under Beru’s persuasion, the Fang of Rakhan revealed the location of one of these sanctuaries.

The problem was that they needed to enter that dungeon as soon as possible.

According to the Fang of Rakhan, there was no guarantee that those relics would remain intact. Even now, they were likely weakening as they drifted aimlessly through the cracks in the dimension.

“The issue is that the location is…”

[It’s inside a dungeon controlled by another guild, isn’t it?]

“Right. And of all places, it had to be the notorious Hyena Guild.”

The Hyena Guild was infamous for being made up of former gang members.

When the Hunter era began, some gangsters awakened, and the guild they formed quickly gained notoriety for their unscrupulous behavior.

[Indeed, given your current weakness, it would be risky to provoke other Hunters unnecessarily.]

Beru pondered.

The fact that the power of the Fang Monarch had seeped into Earth was certainly not a good sign. Even now, placing such power in the hands of a fool had led to a massacre.

If the law of the jungle, as it existed in the Fang Monarch’s world, were to take hold on Earth, most humans would undoubtedly become prey.

But at the same time, it wasn’t right to push Su-ho into danger when his level was still low.

[My lord, it would be best to continue leveling up and building your strength first… Hm? What are you doing?]

Su-ho was busy packing his belongings.

“Oh, I’m just getting ready to enter the dungeon.”

[What about the Hyena Guild?]

“I’ll just sneak in.”