Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 20

[Now I understand.]

Beru had a revelation.

[The pet system seems to be a type of prisoner-of-war arrangement.]

The Shadow Extraction skill allowed one to extract shadow soldiers from the corpses of enemies. In contrast, the pet system allowed one to enslave an enemy without killing them.

The key difference between these two was the ability to ‘grow.’

[If you were to kill Grumble right now and extract him as a shadow soldier, he would remain a cub forever.]

Gray’s situation was different from Beru’s, who had temporarily shrunk due to a lack of magic power. If Gray were turned into a shadow soldier now, he would be extracted in his current weak and young form.

[Of course, as the Young Lord’s level rises, his shadows will grow stronger, but there will always be limits. However, if you keep raising him like this…]

“He could grow into a massive wolf like Brocky in the future.”

[Exactly. At that point, he would be a great asset to you.]

“How long would that take?”

Su-ho glanced at Gray and smirked.

[Gray Lv.2]

Fang Wolf

“Whimper…”

Gray, having reverted to a frail cub after the madness from ‘Skill: Ruthless Command’ wore off, still looked weak. However, thanks to leveling up, he seemed to be in much better condition than before, no longer appearing on the brink of death. Still, he cowered in the corner, rolling his eyes as if still wary of Su-ho.

Su-ho sighed.

“How long is it going to take to raise him until he’s useful?”

[He may be insignificant now, but as he grows, he’ll become more helpful. Besides, he’ll earn experience on his own.]

“It’s like an auto-hunting feature in a game.”

The only problem was that the current “game” was more like a mini-game.

“Alright. Let’s keep raising Gray here in the dungeon.”

-I agree. Since he needs to eat magical beasts three times a day, this environment is perfect for him.

“Hm?”

[Hmm?]

-What? Aren’t we on the same side now?

“….”

Rakhan’s Fang chimed in, adding his opinion as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Rakhan’s Fang had been floating by Su-ho’s side under the influence of Ruler’s Authority ever since.

Su-ho grabbed the hilt of the sword and said, “Alright then, it’s about time I level up too.”

He hadn’t entered the Shadow Dungeon just for Gray’s sake. Even after completing the four-hour survival quest, wild goblins still roamed the dungeon in large numbers.

Although there was no quest to complete, hunting them would still yield experience points.

‘I was too weak last time and focused only on escaping, but now the situation is different.’

Thanks to his recent level-ups, most of the goblins’ nameplates had turned white, indicating that they were weaker relative to him. He was confident that he could handle them, no matter how many there were.

But he had no intention of going through the trouble of hunting down every goblin hiding in the shadows.

“Inventory.”

Su-ho retrieved an item from his inventory—something the goblins had dropped during his last survival quest.

Beru looked at the item with curiosity.

[Young Lord, what is that?]

“This?”

Su-ho grinned.

[Item: Horn Flute]

Difficulty: E
Type: Instrument
Description: A horn flute used by goblin centurions to summon their subordinates.

“Since I got this item, I might as well use it, right?”

Su-ho placed the flute to his lips and blew with all his might.

Bwooo—

[You have used ‘Item: Horn Flute’ to summon nearby goblins.]

Immediately, the once-quiet monochrome world became noisy.

Goblins that had been hiding in the darkness began to rush out all at once. Realizing that it was a human who had summoned them, they screeched in anger.

Kerrek, kerrek! Kerrererk!

[Oh! How clever! Such resourcefulness!]

Su-ho bared his teeth in a fierce grin as he watched the goblins from all directions charge at him.

“Beru.”

[Yes, my lord!]

“It’s your turn to feast.”

[Kieeek!]

Beru’s eyes gleamed with greed as his lips curled upward.

While magic stones were valuable, nothing beat the efficiency of directly consuming magical beasts to recharge his power.

But just then…

Ding!

[‘Daily Quest: Clean the Shadow Dungeon’ has arrived.]

“Huh?”

A message suddenly appeared before Su-ho.

[Daily Quest: Clean the Shadow Dungeon]

– Goblins (100): Incomplete (0/100)
– Goblin Lieutenants (10): Incomplete (0/10)
– Goblin Centurion (1): Incomplete (0/1)

“A daily quest?”

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

He had planned to hunt anyway, but now a timely quest had appeared.

“Not bad.”

Since it was a quest, there would definitely be rewards. And since it was a daily quest, it meant he could earn rewards every day.

[It seems the system wants to fully integrate this place as part of your domain, Young Lord.]

“…So this really was my father’s system.”

Su-ho muttered, his expression tinged with nostalgia.

‘This reminds me of when I used to polish my dad’s shoes for pocket money.’

“Alright! Let’s see how much pocket money I’ll get this time!”

Su-ho swung his sword with determination.

[Skill: Whirlwind Slash activated.]

A fierce storm erupted.

* * *

Some time later.

“Keeek!”

[You have slain a goblin archer.]

[Goblins (100): Incomplete (89/100)]

“Kerrerk!”

[You have slain a goblin lieutenant.]

[Goblin Lieutenants (10): Incomplete (9/10)]

Wielding his dual swords, Su-ho slaughtered goblins with relentless fury.

But unlike before, he wasn’t fighting alone.

Su-ho focused on the largest goblins—the lieutenants— and used Shadow Extraction to turn them into his soldiers.

He had already created seven shadow soldiers.

[Number of Shadows Extractable: 7/7]

This was thanks to his increased intelligence stat after defeating Brocky.

Despite this significant improvement, Su-ho still felt unsatisfied.

“It’s a shame that shadow soldiers disappear after a while. My father had a skill that allowed him to store shadows, right?”

[Yes, that’s correct. The King commanded eternal soldiers.]

“So, will I be able to do that eventually?”

[That much, I cannot say.]

Su-ho clicked his tongue in disappointment.

‘Even so…’

Despite his progress, he still hadn’t received any level-up notifications.

The battles were easy, so the experience gained was minimal.

‘This feels more like a morning workout.’

Of course, if the daily quest were too difficult, it would be problematic. Risking his life every day would be stressful.

But…

‘It’s not very rewarding, is it?’

On a whim, Su-ho pulled out the horn flute again.

Bwooo! Bwooo—

[You have used ‘Item: Horn Flute’ to summon nearby goblins.]

Immediately, a new wave of goblins began to pour out from the shadows.

Beru looked at Su-ho with wide eyes.

[Young Lord? Haven’t you almost completed the daily quest?]

“So what? I’ve got plenty of time today, so why not level up while I’m at it?”

[Keh! You truly are a born warrior ant, Young Lord.]

“That was a compliment, right?”

Su-ho grinned as he found himself surrounded by the newly summoned goblins.

And shortly after…

[Daily Quest: Clean the Shadow Dungeon]

– Goblins (100): Complete (107/100)
– Goblin Lieutenants (10): Complete (10/10)
– Goblin Centurion (1): Complete (1/1)

[You have completed the ‘Daily Quest: Clean the Shadow Dungeon.’]

[Completion rewards have arrived.]

[Would you like to check your rewards?] (Y/N)

“…Huh?”

Su-ho glanced at the quest window and blinked in surprise.

He hadn’t even realized that a reward notification had appeared since he was so engrossed in fighting goblins. But now he noticed something odd.

[Goblins (100): Complete (107/100)]

‘Why is the counter still increasing even after reaching the goal?’

Su-ho’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Was this just a coincidence?

Shwing!

Su-ho sliced through the neck of a goblin lieutenant that had just lunged at him.

[You have slain a goblin lieutenant.]

[Goblin Lieutenants (10): Complete (11/10)]

‘As I thought!’

The other counters continued to increase as well.

Curious, Su-ho wondered, ‘How many more will it count?’

Fueled by this curiosity, Su-ho hunted the goblins with even more enthusiasm.

Even after leveling up midway through, Su-ho didn’t stop hunting.

Eventually…

[Goblins (100): Complete (200/100)]

[Goblin Lieutenants (10): Complete (20/10)]

[Goblin Centurion (1): Complete (1/1)]

Once each counter had doubled, they stopped increasing.

‘There’s something more to this.’

Su-ho’s curiosity had now turned into certainty.

[Goblin Centurion (1): Complete (1/1)]

Now, only the centurion remained.

“Kerrrr!”

Once he defeated this last goblin, all the counters would double.

‘What happens then?’

There was only one way to find out.

“Don’t let it escape! Hold it down!”

 

[Kerrek!]

At Su-ho’s command, the shadow goblins lunged simultaneously, pinning the massive goblin centurion.

“Kyaaak!”

The centurion let out a shrill cry as it struggled, but Su-ho rushed forward and severed its head.

At that moment…

Ding!

[You have completed the ‘Hidden Quest: Clean the Shadow Dungeon.’]

[Completion rewards have arrived.]

[Would you like to check your rewards?] (Y/N)

“A hidden quest?”

As soon as all the counters doubled, the quest type changed.

Su-ho felt a thrill as he realized his hunch had been correct.

Now that no more goblins were attacking, Su-ho decided to check his rewards.

“Check rewards.”

Ding!

[The following rewards are available.]

– Reward 1: Status Recovery
– Reward 2: Stat Points +3
– Hidden Reward 3:
1) Blessed Random Box (Select)
2) Cursed Random Box (Select)

[Would you like to accept all rewards?]

‘Three rewards?’

Su-ho decided to start with the first reward.

Although he had leveled up midway, the battle with 200 goblins had left him exhausted.

“Accept the first reward.”

Immediately, Su-ho’s body was enveloped in a gentle blue aura.

Just like when he leveled up, all his fatigue vanished, and his condition was restored to perfection.

“Oh, this is nice.”

Realizing how useful this reward could be in battle, Su-ho knew it would come in handy in the future.

“Accept the second reward.”

The second reward, ‘Stat Points +3,’ was also excellent.

After today’s experience, Su-ho knew that leveling up would only get harder as his level increased.

But with these daily quest rewards, he could grow stronger every day.

And now, only one reward remained…

The reward for completing the hidden quest.

Hidden Reward 3:
1) Blessed Random Box (Select)
2) Cursed Random Box (Select)

Two options appeared before Su-ho.