Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 45

“Wait, hold on!”

Esil urgently called out to Suho.

“You’re not seriously planning to go in right now, are you?”

“Yeah, I’m going in right now.”

“That’s crazy talk!”

Esil pointed at the red sand pouring down like a landslide from the Red Gate, her face grave with concern.

“Can’t you feel the heat coming from that? If you go in unprotected, you’ll get more than just burned— you could suffocate from the heat and die!”

Indeed, even getting close to the red sand made the scorching heat palpable.

In short, it was dangerous to just charge in without any preparation.

But at that moment—

“Shop.”

Suho opened the shop interface and selected an item.

Clink.

[You have purchased ‘Item: Necklace of the Fire Spirit.’]

[Item: Necklace of the Fire Spirit]

Difficulty to acquire: D-rank

Type: Accessory

This necklace contains the blessing of the Fire Spirit. Wearing it will protect you from heat.

Suho quickly put the oddly shaped necklace around his neck.

[You have equipped ‘Item: Necklace of the Fire Spirit.’]

Shwoosh.

Immediately, the necklace on Suho’s neck turned invisible and vanished, and at the same time, his body felt refreshed.

The external heat had been completely blocked.

“Huh.”

Esil, who had been scolding Suho, stared at him in disbelief.

‘This thing works pretty well.’

Suho smiled in satisfaction, then went ahead and bought another necklace, handing it to Esil.

“Here.”

“Huh? Uh?”

Caught off guard, Esil took the necklace. She was astonished by the mysterious energy she felt emanating from it.

“T-The blessing of the Fire Spirit? Where did you even get such a treasure?”

“A treasure?”

“Yes, a treasure! Items blessed like this are rarely ever found in the outside world. It’s probably from a tribe that was wiped out during the Monarchs’ war… Hmm.”

Esil inspected the Fire Spirit necklace curiously before quickly putting it around her neck.

As soon as she did, she felt a refreshing sensation, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow, this would be great to wear all the time. At least I won’t get burned now… Ahem.”

Esil felt a bit embarrassed after having made such a big deal about the danger earlier.

“Still, it’s not completely safe! Alright, since you’ve given me such a nice gift, I’ll teach you something useful in return.”

“Something useful?”

Esil raised her hand, while Suho looked at her, puzzled.

“It’s a little trick for using mana in situations like this.”

Swoooosh.

A transparent aura began to flow from Esil’s hand.

“Like this.”

She then brought the aura to her face and shaped it into a thin mask, covering her face.

“You form a thin barrier around your face. This way, sand won’t get into your eyes or mouth. You can even use it underwater.”

“Oh?”

Suho’s eyes sparkled at the unexpected tip.

He had been thinking about buying a helmet from the shop, but this trick would save him the trouble.

“Of course, it’s a bit tricky at first. The key is to keep the barrier as thin as possible, so it requires precise mana control. I can show you a few more times if—”

“Huh? Got it.”

“What?”

Swoooosh.

Esil’s expression deflated as she watched Suho perfectly mimic her barrier technique on his first try.

“Y-Yeah. That’s exactly how you do it. Thin and precise…”

His mana control was flawless.

‘I took years to master a barrier that thin…’

She felt a little bitter.

Just then, from the side—

[Ahem.]

Beru, puffing out his chest, interjected smugly.

[How amusing. To be surprised by something so trivial. Our young lord has been a prodigy from the very beginning. He was walking on air before he even learned to walk as a baby.]

“Nobody asked.”

[That’s not all! He mastered reading by the age of five and was solving complex equations by—]

“Seriously, no one asked. Stop bragging.”

And that pace was pretty normal, too.

* * *

Once everything was prepared, Suho and Esil climbed onto Aracne’s back.

Thankfully, Aracne’s hardened carapace served as a solid armor, making the ride relatively comfortable.

“Let’s go!”

[Screeeee!]

At Suho’s command, Aracne began clawing her way up the sand waterfall with her massive pincers, pushing aside the cascading sand as she ascended.

Shick shick shick shick!

The way Aracne moved was rather fascinating.

First, she used her massive pincers to push the sand to either side.

Simultaneously, she shot out black spider webs from her body, sticking the displaced sand into a solid form.

The sand solidified into a makeshift tunnel, allowing Aracne enough time to move through.

Even though the tunnel quickly collapsed under the relentless downpour of sand, it lasted just long enough for Aracne to make her way forward.

Suho was impressed by the technique.

“Wow, now she really seems like a bug, huh?”

[Well, she is a bug.]

Beru responded on behalf of the speechless Aracne.

[Screeeeeee!]

Shick shick shick shick shick!

And so, with Suho and Esil on her back, Aracne steadily climbed up the sandfall.

Beru stood proudly on Aracne’s head, arms crossed, directing her movements.

[Forward, Spider Ship!]

Recently, Beru had been watching a lot of historical dramas about Admiral Yi Sun-shin.

* * *

They had been tunneling through the sand for quite some time.

It was like swimming blindly through total darkness, with not a single point of light to guide them.

But Suho had a plan.

“Just keep going straight up!”

[Screeeee!]

Aracne followed Suho’s orders, digging vertically up through the sand.

And then, suddenly—

Chills!

‘What’s that?’

Suho’s sensory stat blared a powerful warning.

A chilling sense of danger crawled over his skin, and without thinking, Suho shouted.

“Move sideways!”

[Screeeee!]

Aracne immediately shifted direction.

Boom!

Suddenly, the tunnel they had just been in exploded as something massive burst through it.

It was like a speeding subway train roaring down the track.

Shick shick shick shick shick shick!

A large, thick, and incredibly long object zipped past them at an incredible speed.

“…!”

“What was that?!”

Esil shrieked in terror.

It was too dark to see what the thing was.

But Suho could see it.

Attached to it was a red nameplate.

[Venomfang Sand Centipede]

“It’s a centipede!”

“A centipede?!”

Hearing the name, Esil’s face turned pale.

It wasn’t because she was scared of bugs.

Meeting a giant monster underground was never a good thing.

And it was even worse if the creature was massive and hard to handle.

Shick shick shick shick shick!

There was no time to waste.

“Get out of the way!”

[Screeeee!]

Before Suho had even finished speaking, Aracne was frantically burrowing away from the creature.

Shick shick shick shick shick!

Suho’s spine tingled.

The sound of the centipede tunneling through the sand was getting closer.

“Move sideways again!”

[Screeeee!]

Suho relied on his sensory stat, desperately guiding Aracne.

Just in time, the massive “train” sped past them.

Fortunately, the centipede was so long that it couldn’t change direction easily once it had chosen a path.

[I’ll stop it!]

Beru leapt toward the centipede and kicked it with all his might.

Boink!

Beru, however, was the one who bounced back.

[But I think I slowed it down!]

“Whatever works! Just keep going! Head for the surface!”

[Screeeee!]

Shick shick shick shick!

And that turned out to be the right decision.

Poof!

[Screeeee!]

Finally, Aracne broke through the red sand and emerged onto the surface.

Whooosh!

“Ugh.”

For a moment, the blinding sunlight overwhelmed Suho and Esil.

Once their eyes adjusted, they were able to see.

Before them stretched an endless expanse of red desert.

“It really is a desert.”

“If we didn’t have those Fire Spirit necklaces, we’d be roasted alive.”

But they didn’t have time to relax.

Shwoosh!

Right behind them, a massive sand pillar erupted from the ground.

[Screeeee?!]

The force of the impact knocked Aracne over, and both Suho and Esil tumbled off her back.

After rolling a few times across the sand, they managed to regain their balance, only to see the sight before them.

Shhhoooosh!

“Kieeeeeek!”

Bursting out of the sand was the Venomfang Sand Centipede.

[Venomfang Sand Centipede]

Its grotesque and terrifying figure loomed before them.

Suho immediately noticed it.

The two child-sized fangs protruding from beneath the centipede’s head.

It wasn’t hard to guess what would happen if they got stabbed by those fangs, just based on the creature’s name alone.

Its massive jaws snapped open and closed, and it looked like…

“Is it… licking its lips?”

Esil’s observation was spot on.

The centipede immediately opened its mouth and tore through the sand, charging at them.

Shick shick shick shick!

“Kieeeeeek!”

“Run!”

Both Esil and Suho shouted in unison as they turned and sprinted across the desert.

Whooosh!

The gigantic centipede raised a wave of sand as it chased after them.

Panting as she ran, Esil bit her lip in frustration.

‘If only I had my full strength…!’

Her pride stung.

As a noble demon, the fact that she was running for her life from a giant, dumb beast was humiliating.

But the past was the past.

Now wasn’t the time for pride.

‘We’re no match for that thing with our current strength! We need to retreat to the shadow world for now!’

Esil turned to Suho and shouted desperately.

“Suho! We need to retreat for—”

Thud!

Before she could finish, she saw something unbelievable.

Suho, who had somehow grown gigantic, was delivering an uppercut straight to the centipede’s jaws.

[‘Skill: Giant’s Armor’ has been activated.]

Suho had already broken the rune stone and acquired a new skill.

He had doubled his size using the skill and was now engaged in a full-on fistfight with the enormous centipede.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His enlarged fists alternated between pounding the centipede’s face, and he wrapped his huge arms around its thick neck, squeezing tightly.

“Kieeeeek!”

The centipede thrashed, its long, train-like body coiling around Suho as it writhed in pain.

It was a battle of raw strength.

‘Unbelievable.’

Watching the battle unfold before her, Esil was in complete shock.

‘When did he get so strong?’

She was sure that Suho hadn’t possessed this kind of power just yesterday.

[Ahem. This is our young lord’s…]

Just as Beru began to gloat—

Whoosh!

Suddenly, another massive pillar of sand erupted in front of them.

“Oh, no.”

Esil’s face hardened.

This time, it wasn’t just one.

Whooosh!

Whooosh!

Seven more sand centipedes emerged from the desert, encircling them.

Even surrounded by these massive creatures, Suho remained calm.

His expressionless gaze swept over each of them.

‘Suho…’

Esil swallowed hard at the overwhelming presence Suho exuded.

‘How much stronger have you become…?’

Nod.

Suddenly, Suho nodded to himself, then turned and grinned.

“Maybe we should just run.”

“…”