Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 37
*Bang!*
“What the hell is this punk?!”
Lee Min-seong, Vice Guild Master of the Reapers Guild, slammed his fist down, shattering the table in a rage.
-*(Breaking News) The Beast King Crow!*
– *The mysterious Hunter who gained the power of the Beast King, Crow!*
– *Why does Crow wear a raven mask?*
Internet articles were flooded with stories about the incident in Magok Field.
*Knock knock.*
“Vice Guild Master.”
At that moment, Secretary Kim entered the room and delivered a report.
“The bodies of all Hyena Guild members who entered Magok Field have been found. They just retrieved the last one.”
*Crunch!*
Upon hearing this, Lee Min-seong’s fist tightened, crushing the armrest of his chair.
“I knew it.”
His expression darkened as he ground his teeth.
“Now everything makes sense.”
The remnants of the Hyena Guild, who had been working for him, had disappeared just two days ago, claiming they were heading to Magok Field.
– *We’re going to check if there’s a stardust factory in Magok.*
Their excuse had sounded legitimate since Min-seong had been pressuring them to find new stardust factories.
However, not trusting them entirely, he had sent a few stealth Hunters to tail them from a distance, just to observe.
As expected, their lie was quickly revealed.
It wasn’t just the Hyenas in Magok. Other Beastification Hunters seeking the power of the king were also roaming the area.
“They went to Magok not for the factory, but to obtain the Beast King’s power.”
And they had likely planned to escape from Min-seong’s grasp afterward.
In the end, their plan had succeeded in a way—through death, they had achieved freedom.
Secretary Kim continued his report.
“An examination of the bodies revealed that they weren’t killed by monsters but by Hunters’ weapons.”
“No. Not Hunters.”
“Pardon?”
Min-seong, biting his lip, stared at the internet articles with certainty in his eyes.
– *Why does Crow wear a raven mask?*
“The ones who killed them were demons. The raven mask is a symbol of demons.”
As soon as Min-seong saw the term “raven mask,” he immediately thought of the demons from the factory. For some reason, demons always wore raven masks, just like Crow.
“Crow is definitely a demon. The demons killed the Hyenas and stole the king’s power.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“It’s obvious. Only those with Beastification skills had a chance at becoming the king. So how could demons gain that power?”
“…”
“Don’t you get it? Can’t you think?”
Frustrated by Kim’s confused expression, Min-seong clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“It’s my fault for having such a fool as a secretary. Don’t you remember how the Hyenas became werewolves in the first place?”
“They awakened after drinking the blood of a wolf monster… Ah, blood!”
Mumbling to himself, Kim suddenly had an epiphany, causing him to tremble.
Min-seong’s eyes gleamed as he nodded.
“Exactly, blood. If humans can transform into beasts by drinking blood, why can’t demons? The demons killed the Hyenas and drank their blood. That’s how they fulfilled the conditions and stole the king’s power.”
“Wow…”
Kim, now filled with awe, looked up at Min-seong in admiration.
“As expected, Vice Guild Master, your insight is incredible! I saw the same information but never imagined such a scenario.”
“Tch. It’s nothing. You just need to know what to look for.”
Min-seong’s expression softened slightly, pleased with the genuine flattery.
“Now that we understand the situation, the next step is to use this information. Since the Hyenas are dead, we’ll have to make direct contact with the demons for stardust trade. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. First, we need to locate the factory, but the key to that is…”
“Magok.”
Min-seong pointed to the online article with a sharp, calculating look.
“How would demons without Beastification skills even know about the king’s trial and come to Magok? There are no coincidences in this world. They were there from the beginning.”
“Oh, that makes sense! So when the Hyenas said they were looking for the factory in Magok, it wasn’t entirely a lie.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll take full responsibility for searching Magok Field thoroughly.”
“Good. And prepare plenty of meat for trading with the demons who obtained the Beast King’s power.”
“Ah! That’s right, werewolves did eat a lot of meat. You’re so wise, Vice Guild Master!”
“Hmm.”
Kim bent over in reverence, deeply impressed by Min-seong’s supposed brilliance.
…though the reality was quite different.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Min-seong checked on another task he had assigned to Kim.
“What about the doctor?”
“I apologize, sir. We haven’t been able to persuade him yet. He’s a very difficult man to deal with.”
“You…! What are you even being paid for? If money won’t work, drag him here by force!”
“Yes, sir! I’ll handle it immediately!”
With that, Kim hurried out of the office. As he left, Min-seong, who had been ready to throw his phone at him, put it down and gritted his teeth.
“I’m surrounded by idiots.”
Hunters were always the problem. They ranked by strength rather than intelligence.
But unlike them, Min-seong had been an elite manager before becoming a Hunter.
‘I’m different from the others. From birth.’
Grinding his teeth, Min-seong thought of the arrogant Hunters who boasted of their powers.
* * *
[You have entered the Shadow Dungeon.]
Around that time, Su-ho returned to the Shadow Dungeon, carrying ten boxes of chicken. It was still quiet, as the goblins for his daily quest hadn’t respawned yet. It hadn’t been a full day.
“Wow! What’s that delicious smell?”
“Kuung?”
Esil and Grey quickly rushed over, lured by the aroma of chicken. Su-ho handed all the boxes to Esil.
“Enjoy.”
“Thank you for the meal!”
“Kuung?”
“Grey, no. There’s none for you.”
“…”
Grey’s head drooped in disappointment. Of course, this time too, there was no chicken for Grey.
Just then, a message from Rakhan appeared in front of Su-ho.
[The Fang Monarch, King of Beasts, grumbles about how stingy you are with food.]
Feeling wronged, Su-ho protested.
“Who’s being stingy? You said yourself that Grey needs to eat what he hunts to grow stronger. If I feed him like a mother bird, how will he ever get stronger? You told me that!”
Besides, there were piles of goblin corpses from his previous hunt, enough to keep Grey well-fed for a while, even if shared with Esil.
[The Fang Monarch, King of Beasts, admits you’re right, but argues that poor Grey has never tasted chicken in his life.]
“Hm.”
Hearing that, Su-ho suddenly felt like a terrible person.
In the end, Su-ho sighed in defeat.
“Esil, give one box of chicken to Grey.”
“A-ah…”
Esil looked like she had lost her kingdom. Her hands trembled as she reluctantly handed the lightest box of chicken to Grey. She still had nine boxes left, but the sorrow was clear on her face.
Oddly enough, however, Grey, upon receiving the box, lowered himself to the ground and bared his teeth with a fierce gaze.
“Grrr!”
[No, don’t hunt it. You don’t fight chicken.]
Beru looked at him in exasperation.
And from a far distance, someone was watching this exchange with amusement.
[The Fang Monarch, King of Beasts, nods approvingly at his brave successor.]
“Tch. What a doting parent.”
Su-ho chuckled.
Leaving Esil and Grey to their meal, Su-ho decided to check his newly leveled-up stats.
“Status window.”
The status window unfolded before him.
****
[Status Window]
**Name**: Sung Su-ho
**Level**: 25
**Class**: None
**Title**: Wolf Slayer
**HP**: 5,860 / 5,860
**MP**: 586 / 586
[Stats]
Strength: 53 Stamina: 34
Agility: 34 Intelligence: 34
Perception: 34 (+5)
(Available Stat Points: 0)
[Skills]
Passive Skills: Toughness Lv.2, Dual Swordsmanship Lv.2
Active Skills: Ruler’s Authority Lv.1, Shadow Extraction Lv.1, Storm Slash Lv.1, Heavy Strike Lv.1
[Items]
Rakhan’s Fang
Volkan’s Horn
Ashen Ring
****
“Wow…”
Su-ho looked satisfied.
He had gained a significant level-up and stat boost, with several new skills added to the list.
“All my efforts paid off.”
He checked the latest skill he had acquired.
[Skill: Heavy Strike Lv.1]
Active Skill
Mana required: 300
Enhances physical attacks with ‘Ruler’s Authority.’
This was the skill he had learned while delivering the final blow to Arachne, the Tomb Spider.
“The mana cost is 300? No wonder it was so powerful.”
With his current mana, he could only use the skill twice in a row.
‘Ruler’s Authority.’
Su-ho decided to test the skill.
First, he activated Ruler’s Authority in the air, then overlaid the invisible force onto his hand.
*Woooong…!*
Dark energy enveloped Su-ho’s hand.
“Oh.”
Su-ho examined his hand, now encased in a semi-transparent, large, black gauntlet.
‘So it works by combining the strength of the Ruler’s Authority with my own hand.’
The saying “two heads are better than one” came to mind. It was a skill that amplified attack power several times over by layering his hands with Ruler’s Authority.
He glanced at his mana.
[MP: 586]
Considering his mana was only 10 at level 1, this was an enormous amount.
‘Just one more level, and I’ll have over 600 mana. That means I’ll be able to use this skill twice in a row.’
The thought thrilled him.
Clenching his fist, Su-ho realized one thing.
‘To level up, I need to enter a real dungeon.’
The goblins in the Shadow Dungeon were far beneath his current strength.
To grow stronger, he needed to seek out places with more powerful monsters, like the Magok Field.
For that, though…
‘I’ll need to raise my Hunter rank.’
Currently, Su-ho was classified as an E-rank Hunter, which limited him to mining or scavenging in dungeons. Field-type dungeons like Magok weren’t common in Korea, so increasing his rank would give him access to higher-level dungeons.
Su-ho recalled what the Hunter Association member had told him during their last encounter.
They had suggested that his initial evaluation might have been inaccurate and offered to reassess him.
‘Maybe I should.’
Su-ho decided to visit the Hunter Association for a re-evaluation.