Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 4

“……!”

Su-ho was in shock.

The creature that had appeared suddenly was a black beast clad in an exoskeleton-like armor, emanating black steam from its entire body.

It looked like a giant winged ant.

The black smoke swirling around it resembled shadows flickering in the light.

Seeing this creature, memories flashed through Su-ho’s mind.

‘Could it be the one from my dream…?’

He recognized this monster.

It was the leader of the countless ant monsters that had appeared in his dreams long ago.

But what was even more astonishing was what happened next.

The ant monster approached Su-ho and knelt down on one knee.

[Young Lord! I, Beru, have arrived! Please rest assured!]

“…What?”

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

What was going on?

The creature was so huge that even kneeling, Su-ho had to look up to see it.

But before Su-ho could respond, the ant monster’s demeanor changed abruptly.

It noticed Su-ho’s injured state, attacked by the giant wolf.

The moment it saw Su-ho’s battered condition, it erupted in a storm of killing intent and raised its head.

[You filthy vermin! How dare you bite the precious body of my lord?! I’ll tear your jaws apart!]

The monster’s roar shook the entire building.

[Screeeeeech!]

At that moment, the world turned into hell.

Boom boom boom boom boom!

[Growl…!]

The wolf, pinned under the ant monster, struggled and bit its leg.

The ant monster looked down at it with a furious expression.

[How dare you! You wretched bug!]

Black smoke surged.

The ant monster kicked the wolf away and then rammed its body.

Wham!

[Roar!]

With a scream, the giant wolf was flung backward.

But the ant monster moved faster, overtaking the wolf and slamming it into the ground.

Boom!

Then, it grabbed the wolf’s legs with both hands.

Rip!

The wolf’s body was torn in half with a gruesome scream and a spray of black blood.

This was no longer a battle.

It was a one-sided slaughter.

The predator’s rampage.

[Screeeeeech!]

The overwhelming predator roared in madness, trampling the wolf’s corpse.

The brutal killing intent paralyzed the hunters who had just entered the first floor of the art museum.

“W-what is this killing intent!”

“They said it was a D-rank dungeon, but this…!”

Shock and terror!

The building seemed ready to collapse.

…But why?

Su-ho wasn’t scared at all by the brutal monster.

Instead, it evoked a deep sense of nostalgia.

A scent from long-forgotten memories.

‘What is this? It feels like I’m remembering something…’

– Ant… Ant…!

What was this memory?

In a distant memory, he could hear the voice of a baby happily sketching ants.

‘Who…’

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, an intense headache struck.

It was confusing, but at least one thing was clear.

‘I guess I’m alive…’

[HP: 1/140]

Thud.

Finally, all his tension released, and Su-ho collapsed to the floor.

[Squeak! Young Lord? Young Lord! Please stay with me…!]

In that moment, Su-ho thought.

The embrace of the monster, who had rushed to him, felt incredibly warm.

Even as he fainted, a smile crept onto Su-ho’s lips.

Ding.

[You have completed the quest: Rescue the Survivors.]

[Number of survivors rescued: 33]

[Level Up!]

* * *

Su-ho dreamed.

He dreamed he was a baby being carried on the back of an ant.

The baby in the dream was laughing joyfully.

Whenever the baby laughed, the ant laughed too.

There were always ants wherever the baby went.

Ants in aprons feeding him with a bottle.

Ants teaching him numbers.

Ants covering him with a small blanket and napping with him.

If the ants weren’t there, the baby would cry loudly.

Then the ants would quickly appear, shaking toys to calm him down.

The baby would stop crying and smile again as if nothing had happened.

An ant in an apron approached the baby with teary eyes.

[Young Lord, how have you grown so magnificently? I, Beru, am overwhelmed with emotion.]

…!

Suddenly, the baby grew into a 22-year-old Su-ho standing in front of the ant.

Beru.

Su-ho repeated the name in his mind.

The ant, Beru, looked at him proudly, wiping away tears.

[Originally, my purpose here was to break your seal. But you already broke it on your own will. As expected of our young lord.]

Sniff.

Beru’s tears flowed like a faucet.

[Sniff. However, the seal isn’t completely broken. The most important things are kept in this place.]

Beru took something out of his possession.

Ding.

[You have obtained the ‘Key to the Shadow Dungeon.’]

‘Shadow Dungeon? What is this?’

Su-ho felt puzzled by the sudden message.

But this was a dream.

His voice didn’t reach Beru.

Beru placed the key in Su-ho’s hand.

[Use this key when you are ready. It contains everything that was originally yours.]

Beru knelt on one knee and held Su-ho’s shoulders with both hands.

[Just remember one thing.]

His tone was solemn, his touch gentle.

The emotions mixed within those eyes met Su-ho’s.

[Great power requires a great vessel. If someone not ready for such power receives it, the vessel might break under its weight.]

Great power. Great vessel.

Su-ho repeated those words in his mind.

[In short, you need to level up your vessel.]

Beru’s eyes narrowed into a mischievous smile.

With a groan, Beru stood up again and bowed deeply.

[Then, young lord. My task here is done. I’d love to stay with you, but my comrades are anxiously waiting for me even now.]

He winked with one eye.

[I’m a pretty capable healer, you see.]

‘A healer? Really?’

It was the most absurd thing Su-ho had heard recently.

[Then I shall return. Until we meet again…]

Please stay safe…

Beru’s lingering voice echoed.

‘Wait! I still have questions…!’

Su-ho tried to call out, but no sound came from his mouth.

At that moment, he woke up.

* * *

“Gah! An ant?!”

Su-ho shot up and quickly looked around.

White walls and the smell of disinfectant.

A calm atmosphere surrounded him.

“Oh my. You’re awake?”

A nurse changing the IV looked at Su-ho.

“Where am I…”

“You’re in the hospital. Don’t you remember? There was a dungeon at your school.”

‘Was it all a dream?’

Though awake, Su-ho was still dazed.

‘What was real? The ant? The dungeon? Or even the level-up?’

Everything was confusing.

The TV in the hospital room was playing the news.

– The gate that appeared at Korea National University two days ago is almost completely cleared now…

– Experts are amazed at the miraculously low number of casualties despite the dungeon break occurring in the middle of the city…

‘Two days have passed?’

It seemed the events at the museum were not a dream.

‘Then, were the dreams from my childhood real too?’

Su-ho realized.

The memories of playing with giant ants in his childhood.

How had he forgotten those joyous moments for so long?

Thinking of the ant ‘Beru’ from his dream, Su-ho felt a pang of regret.

‘I didn’t get to talk to him properly, and he left just like that.’

Su-ho looked up.

Text messages had been waiting for him.

[You have completed the quest: Rescue the Survivors.]

[Quest rewards have arrived.]

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

‘Check.’

Su-ho chose to check without hesitation.

He had almost died, so it was only fair to check his rewards first.

[The following rewards are available.]

Reward 1: Stat points +5

Reward 2: Strength stat points +3

‘Eight stat points?’

Su-ho’s eyes widened at the generous rewards.

It seemed each stat increased by one point with each level up.

So, eight extra stat points were much more than leveling up once.

‘It was worth risking my life to do something good.’

Su-ho immediately checked his status window.

[Status Window]

Name: Sung Su-ho

Level: 3

Job: None

Title: None

HP: 140/140

MP: 14/14

[Stats]

Strength: 15 Stamina: 12

Agility: 12 Intelligence: 12

Perception: 12

(Allocatable stat points: 5)

[Skills]

Passive Skills: None

Active Skills: Ruler’s Authority Lv.1

There were definitely more functions compared to the dreams he had in high school.

Back then, it only displayed the level, without a detailed status window.

‘Hmm. Which stat should I increase?’

The three strength stat points were automatically applied, and he wondered where to invest the remaining points.

Su-ho carefully examined the other stats before deciding.

A pop-up appeared as he looked at each stat.

[Info]

Strength: Increases power and speed. Enhances attack power.

Agility: Increases visual acuity and physical response speed. Enhances reflexes and evasion.

Stamina: Increases maximum HP and recovery speed.

Intelligence: Increases maximum MP and recovery speed.

Perception: Enhances the five senses. Improves danger detection ability.

Each stat seemed important.

‘I’ll think about it more and decide later.’

He closed the status window and realized he was thirsty.

He hadn’t had a sip of water for two days.

Su-ho opened the small refrigerator next to his bed to find some water.

Clunk.

Inside was…

“…What?”

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

Surprisingly, there was a small, fist-sized Beru peeling an apple.

“You, you…!”

[Kehet.]

[Beru] Lv.1

Grunt Rank

For some reason, the once grand Beru had shrunk into a tiny, cute version, offering a rabbit-shaped apple slice with an embarrassed expression.

[My mana ran out, so I couldn’t leave.]