Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Suho’s shout left Antares momentarily silent. Then…

“Haha…”

The Monarch slowly began to laugh.

“Hahahaha!”

The maddened laughter seemed to shake the world itself.

“Did you just claim you wanted to become the Monarch of Destruction? You, a mere human? You are not even a dragon!”

Antares was, without a doubt, the true Monarch of Destruction. He thrived in the chaos of blood-soaked battle, finding his greatest joy in the fury of war. He had never considered the possibility that one day it could all end—that he would never be able to fight again, locked away in death. He wanted to enjoy this rare opportunity.

Yet now, all of that grand excitement had drained out of him, snuffed out by the impudent words of a lowly worm.

“Die, child of shadow.”

There was a low rumble, which exploded to a deafening roar as lava bubbled up and overtook Suho’s vision. Gah!

The massive dragon, still bleeding after Suho’s attacks, suddenly burst into a wave of boiling lava.

Before he could react, Suho was swallowed up. It was as though the preceding battle had been but a joke to the creature, and an overwhelming malice demanded Suho’s demise.

“All right, Suho.”

Amid the turmoil, a voice as light as a spring breeze came, seemingly from far away.

“I understand what you want now.”

What? The voice was calm, but for some reason, it made Suho want to cry the moment he heard it.

“W-wait, what?!” Antares had heard it too. He seemed even more taken aback than Suho.

There was a blinding flash of light.

Oh… The blazing lava that had been about to consume Suho’s body began to recede immediately, and all of the flames surrounding him were extinguished.

It was quiet. Where the fire had been, there was now absolute darkness.

“Ahahahahaha! I see! So that’s how it is!” Antares seemed to have noticed something amid the surprising turn of events and barked another crazed laugh. His laughter carried a hint of welcome and satisfaction, but also extreme anger.

Then as the heat subsided and the darkness settled around him, Suho found himself standing on his own two feet.

Antares landed in front of him, transformed into a human shape. “Yes. This was strange from the start,” the Monarch said, his arrogant stare noting the state of Suho’s body. The Breath of Destruction had already burned the hunter to cinders. Indeed, Suho had been something of a walking corpse for some time now. It was a wonder that he was still able to stand.

Despite that fact, Suho stood his ground against Antares, staring him down defiantly. The hunter’s eyes burned like unquenchable flames.

It was in that moment that the Monarch saw something entirely different beyond those blazing, uncompromising eyes. Yes.I know those eyes. Beyond that look that reminded him of a certain individual, there was a long, familiar shadow. ŔãNОʙΕṠ

Tsk. “Of course. I may only be a dead spirit, but a child like you couldn’t possibly have hurt me.” Antares sucked his teeth and spat, “You! Don’t hide in there. Get out here this instant!”

There was a blinding flash. Suho was shocked as he watched his inventory open up unprompted. An item that had been stored there gave off a faint glow, then released itself from its slot and materialized in front of him.

[Item: Jarvier’s Soulstone]

Acquisition Difficulty: ??

Type: Gem

A gem made by compressing a demonic spirit.]

It was Jarvier’s Soulstone, the mysterious item that Jarvier had left behind on Haeundae Beach in Busan.

“Think of it as insurance.Keep it in your inventory.”

The apparition of Suho’s father had left it with him before vanishing.

“Insurance?”

“Yes.Seeing you fight has made me grow a little… worried.”

Ding!

[Item: Jarvier’s Soulstone has activated.]

An even larger flash of light struck, and it was then that Suho saw it. Ah…!

A demonic spirit’s magic circle began spreading out in all directions from the stone, dark energy flowing out along with it. Slowly, the energy gathered and merged into one, and eventually, Suho could see it take shape in the outline of a man.

He was back, standing right in front of him. Suho’s mind went blank the moment he saw that familiar strong, hard back. His eyes went wide yet again. F-Father?

“Well done.You’ve held on this far.” The apparition of Sung Jinwoo turned toward Suho ever so slightly, a small smile on his face as he noticed Suho’s health bar.

[HP: 1/67,340]

There was only one health point left, but it remained intact this long thanks to the spell that Jinwoo had placed on the soulstone.

The Jinwoo who had just appeared was not the real Jinwoo—he was only an apparition from a memory. As a result, it was impossible for him to actually impact the real world. In a place like this, however, he could do far more.

“I guess it was worth squeezing out every last bit of that demonic spirit’s soul.”

Jinwoo’s apparition had collected the scattered remnants of its being from Busan and forced them into the soulstone.

Jinwoo’s eyes finally left Suho’s as he turned to face forward again. The moment he locked eyes with Antares, his eyes glinted with something like fury.

“Yes. I thought something like this would happen, knowing you,” Jinwoo said.

“Well, it sure has been a while,” replied Antares. “How have you been?”

The Monarch of Destruction’s smile was calm, his tone almost nonchalant, but the look in his eyes was more violent than it had ever been. He looked ready to strike at any moment—and Jinwoo would know. He knew Antares better than anyone. That was why he had been overtaken by concern for Suho, the son who was taking it upon himself to become the shaman of the dead Monarchs.

Unlike the other Monarchs, Antares was a battle fanatic whose only language was violence. His only interest was waging war, with the sole goal of laying waste to his enemies. This pursuit was the core of his being. He truly lived up to his title as the Monarch of Destruction.

“I fought your son for quite a while. He provided some entertainment. Has peace lulled the blood of the Monarch of Shadows into stagnation?”

“You seemed to be struggling, for all that,” Jinwoo replied.

“That was probably your magic. Have you learned the ways of the demonic spirits? You are supposed to be the Monarch of Shadows. When did you start relying on tricks?”

“Well, guiding the young sometimes means learning new things,” Jinwoo answered with a shrug, spreading his hands. “But I must thank you.This was quite productive.”

Antares did not understand. “What?”

A new magic circle appeared on Jinwoo’s palm. It began spinning wildly, and to Suho’s surprise, a system message appeared, along with a notification alert.

[Title: “Overcomer of Tribulation” has been acquired.]

What’s this?

[Title: Overcomer of Tribulation]

[A title given to those who have overcome extreme hardships.

Increases stats based on the percentage of health lost.

(1% attribute boost for every 1% of health lost)]

The title boosted Suho’s abilities depending on how much health he had lost. Jinwoo had acquired this title long ago when he cleared a job change quest, but that hadn’t yet been possible for Suho. Since he would not be able to receive a job change quest no matter how many times he leveled up, the system simply hadn’t allowed him to achieve something like this. However, Jinwoo had found it simple to manipulate the system and grant Suho the title after everything he had accomplished.

As the effect took hold, Suho’s weakened body suddenly surged with new strength.

“What are you doing?” Antares demanded.

He longed to fight Jinwoo now that they had met after so long, and he cursed that it was impossible. This Jinwoo was little more than a hallucination, one that was surrounded by the soul-manipulating magic of the demonic spirits. This ruled out any chance of a proper battle. In this place, Jinwoo could break the usual rules.

“Father…” Suho, who had regained his composure thanks to the sudden burst of strength, looked at his father and spoke to him through his thoughts.

Jinwoo tousled his son’s hair with a surprisingly solid hand and said to Antares, “What else? I was just giving him some life advice.” He grinned with the look of a proud father. “My son has finally figured out his path. Naturally, I’m going to help him.”

Jinwoo then cast a spell while placing his hand on Suho’s head, as if bestowing a blessing. “Do you know something,Suho?” he asked. “The leveling system was created in the first place to mature human bodies to become vessels of Monarchs.In my case, it was for the Monarch of Shadows, but it can be for someone else too.Still…”

Suho already knew what his father was about to say.

“It won’t be easy.Just look at today. Things could’ve turned out very differently if I hadn’t shown up.Are you really ready for this?Do you truly want to become the Monarch of Destruction?”

“Yes.” Suho didn’t even have to ponder it. “I’m ready for whatever comes,” he thought, nodding with determination as he saw the concern in his father’s eyes. “And I still need to find the King of Dragons to ask about the location of the World Tree.”

“The World Tree?Don’t tell me you are trying to make the Life-Giving Elixir?Why would you want to do that now?” The mere mention of the World Tree had told Jinwoo a lot, but Suho’s response still left him puzzled.

“Grandfather is in danger.”

When Suho brought him up to speed on the current situation, Jinwoo’s expression hardened. He focused as he kept shaping the magic circle above his son’s head. “All right,I understand.Then we should do… this.And the job change quest…”

“Hold on, you two…” Antares interrupted.

“Give us a moment.This is more important than you,” Jinwoo replied without hesitation.

Antares, who had listened to their entire conversation, frowned at the absurdity of the situation. “Don’t my desires count for anything?” he asked.

“Antares,” Jinwoo said, finishing the magic circle and turning toward him. “I know my son isn’t strong enough yet to wield your power.After all, he’s not a dragon.So let me make you an offer.”

“An offer?”

“Yes.You must be bored now that you’re dead. Wouldn’t you be interested in having a proper fight again?”

“What are you suggesting?” Antares asked, narrowing his eyes.

Jinwoo knew Antares better than anyone else. He was a true force of destruction, and a bloody battle was the only thing that brought him joy. He was confident that his offer would be accepted.

Jinwoo grinned, extending his hand toward the King of Dragons, and made an irresistible offer. “Ragna.I will give you the body of the dragon that serves my son.”

“What?!”

“Come back to life, Antares.”

At that moment, the contract was sealed, and an alert popped up right away.

Ding!

[A job change quest has arrived.]

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