Solo Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 33

“There are more people with beast transformation skills than I thought.”

 

Far away from other Hunters, Sooho crossed through the jungle without hesitation.

 

Of course, numerous ghosts appeared and attacked him, and throughout all directions, tree trunks contaminated with magic relentlessly aimed for his life.

 

 

Aaaaaa-

 

 

[Banshee uses ‘Skill: Wail’.]

 

[You lose your sense of direction for 10 minutes.]

 

 

Furthermore, a ghost banshee howled above his head, disturbing his mind.

 

‘Ruler’s Authority!’

 

Snap! Sooho’s invisible hand reached out and grabbed the Banshee’s neck and snapped it.

 

…!

 

 

[You have defeated Banshee.]

 

[‘Skill: Wail’ has been canceled.]

 

 

“You shouldn’t cry. Santa Claus won’t give you any gifts.” Sooho smirked and killed the Banshees as they appeared. The ghosts that echoed throughout the cold surroundings all at once were cut down by Sooho’s dual swords, which spun like windmills.

 

 

[Use ‘Skill: Storm Slash’.]

 

 

Kwaaang!

 

[You have defeated Banshee.]

 

[You have defeated Banshee.]

 

[You have defeated Banshee.]

 

… …

 

 

Storm Slash was extremely useful in battles against many opponents. But even though he had defeated so many ghosts, his level hadn’t increased.

 

‘Well, then I just have to kill more!’

 

He had to kill them all if he wanted to move forward anyway.

 

 

[Use ‘Skill: Storm Slash’.]

 

[Use ‘Skill: Storm Slash’.]

 

Kwaaang-!

 

 

[You have defeated Banshee.]

 

[You have defeated Banshee.]

 

… …

 

 

At one time, he used to run out of mana after just one Storm Slash, but now he could use it up to eight times with his current mana pool.

 

But something was strange.

 

‘I haven’t leveled up even though I’ve defeated so many?’

 

It felt like he wasn’t receiving any experience points at all.

 

‘Could it be…?’

 

Did they have a main body somewhere?

 

Sooho’s eyes shone coldly in an instant as he searched the surroundings. Thanks to his increased Sense stat, he had a sense that was as good as any beast Hunter’s.

 

‘Found it.’

 

Sooho quickly changed direction and ran towards the place where the most dangerous energy in this complex jungle was emanating from.

 

Navigator—no, Rakan’s Fang asked.

 

– Where are we going?

 

“Just stopping by for a moment.”

 

The direction was slightly different from where the relic was, but it wasn’t completely opposite, so they decided to stop by on the way.

 

And after a while.

 

“What’s this?”

 

Sooho had discovered a bizarre-looking tree.

 

 

[Wraith Tree]

 

 

“Wraith Tree?”

 

– It is a sacred tree that protects the sanctuary.

 

Rakan’s Fang recognized it.

 

“Sacred? This thing?” Sooho looked up at the Wraith Tree. It looked more like a creepy haunted tree than a sacred one.

 

And it was actually like that.

 

 

Aaaaaaa-!

 

Eeeeee-!

 

 

Even at this moment, new ghosts were growing like fruit from the Wraith Tree’s twisted branches.

 

Beru explained with his eyes shining.

 

[I think it’s a ghost tree that grew by absorbing the bodies of humans who died on this land.]

 

“As I thought, it had a separate entity.”

 

No wonder he wasn’t leveling up, no matter how many ghosts he defeated. In any case, he seemed to have found the right thing.

 

Sooho smirked and launched Rakan’s Fang into the air with Ruler’s Authority, and then he lifted Vulcan’s Horn with both hands and mercilessly struck the side of the Wraith Tree’s neck like an axe.

 

Kwaaang!

 

A tremendous noise erupted.

 

But the Wraith Tree still stood tall in its place.

 

‘Is its defense high?’

 

Let’s see who wins.

 

Sooho started attacking the Wraith Tree with all his might.

 

Clang, clang, clang…!

 

And then…

 

“Kruaaaa!”

 

Eeeeeee! Evil red shadows rushed toward Sooho, who was attacking the tree.

 

Quickly, Sooho backed away and slashed at the creatures’ claws with his sword.

 

 

[Dungeon Jackal]

 

[Dungeon Jackal]

 

 

“Krrrr…”

 

The Dungeon Jackals on the ground surrounded Sooho from all sides to prevent him from escaping. Their eyes were already fixed on him as their prey.

 

As defenders of the sanctuary tree, they felt different from the average Dungeon Jackal. But that made Sooho all the more pleased.

 

“Yeah. You guys are worth a fight.” Sooho licked his lips, and explosive energy erupted from his entire body.

 

Whoosh-!

 

 

 

[‘Title: Wolf Slayer’ buff effect has been activated.]

 

[All stats increase by 40% when dealing with beast-type magic beasts.]

 

 

“Krrr?!”

 

The Dungeon Jackals instinctively lowered their stance as the prey that had seemed weaker than themselves just a moment ago suddenly emitted an overwhelming predator’s aura!

 

“… Krrrr!”

 

Sooho swung his sword at the Dungeon Jackals that were attacking him at the same time.

 

***

 

[Shadow Jackal Lv.1]

Normal Grade

 

 

[Shadow Jackal Lv.1]

Normal Grade

 

 

[Krrr!]

 

Shadow magic beasts with black energy swirling around them.

 

Beru, riding on top of them, nodded with a haughty expression.

 

[Kuh. Yes, from now on, serve our little king as protectors.]

 

– This is why we lost the war…

 

A sighed voice came from Rakan’s Fang.

 

Ignoring the two, Sooho was busy chopping (?) the Wraith Tree.

 

 

Clang, clang, clang!

 

 

Eeeeeee!

 

Many ghosts rushed in to disturb Sooho, but now the Shadow Jackals firmly guarded his back.

 

Suddenly, a loud voice was heard.

 

– What are you doing not protecting the Wraith Tree you were supposed to protect and letting intruders in…!

 

[Kieek! Whose side are you guys on!?]

 

– I didn’t say that just now.

 

[Huh?]

 

It seemed like another Fang was watching over Sooho’s appearance from afar.

 

And finally.

 

Swish!

 

“Ah, it’s done.”

 

Creak, creak! With a grand noise, the giant Wraith Tree fell backward.

 

 

[You have destroyed Wraith Tree.]

 

[Ghosts in the area disappear.]

 

 

Shaa…

 

The ghosts that were circling around Sooho scattered and disappeared on the spot.

 

 

[Level up!]

 

 

“Level up right away?” Sooho’s eyes widened.

 

A level up just from cutting down one tree!

 

Sooho quickly scanned the surroundings with his eyes.

 

Then, he climbed up a nearby tree and checked the situation in other areas from a high place. Ghosts were still roaming around and attacking the Hunters far away.

 

‘There’s not just one Wraith Tree!’

 

Sooho’s eyes flickered.

 

And the location would be best known to insiders.

 

“Lead ahead!”

 

[Krrr!]

 

At Sooho’s command, the Shadow Jackals took the lead and ran to the second Wraith Tree.

 

***

 

Crash! The sound of something collapsing was heard from somewhere.

 

“… What was that?” Baek Miho, who had already taken care of all the hyenas and was watching her surroundings, turned her head toward the loud noise.

 

‘That’s where that man went earlier, isn’t it?’

 

Perhaps it was just her feeling, but the number of ghosts around her seemed to have decreased slightly.

 

‘No, it’s not just my feeling.’

 

It had indeed decreased by about a third. Thanks to that, she had a little more room to breathe.

 

Baek Miho looked back at the Hyena Guild members she had subdued to gather information. Most were dead, but one was pinned down, covered in blood.

 

Looking at his fear-stricken eyes with the vertically split Eyes of the Beast, Baek Miho asked, “Do you want to live?”

 

“Y-yes!” the werewolf desperately replied.

 

“Then prove to me why I should spare your life.”

 

“Wh-what?”

 

“Tell everything you know.”

 

“Y-yes.” The werewolf felt like prey trapped in front of its predator.

 

And after a while…

 

“… Monarch?” Baek Miho made a strange expression. She hadn’t had high expectations, but the value of the information the werewolf had given her unexpectedly turned out to be great. “Are you saying that the king who ruled over the beasts exists?”

 

“Y-yes! But that king has been dead and gone for a while now, and there is currently a vacancy!”

 

“So, they’re causing all this fuss to choose a new king now?”

 

“Yes, we also suddenly heard voices and came running here.” The werewolf, who didn’t want to die like his other colleagues, spilled the known information readily.

 

In fact, the Hyena Guild members had thought that the voices were only heard by themselves. They had judged that they were qualified to become the king since they were awakened ones who had tasted the blood of the canine clan.

 

But it turned out not to be the case when they came here.

 

Any Hunter with the power of a beast deserved to be king and all of them were rushing here and fighting.

 

“Hmm.”

 

To become the king…

 

Baek Miho fell into thought for a moment.

 

Of course, it was a lie if she said she had no greed. Even now, the voices stimulated her desires, telling her to prove her worth.

 

 

– Prove your worth to be the king!

 

 

‘… But it’s still suspicious.’

 

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t imagine that the monsters approached the humans with good intentions. Let alone trying to choose their own king from among the humans?

 

‘What a joke.’

 

Baek Miho sneered and folded her arms. It was right not to step forward after all. But she was curious about what kind of result this test would eventually produce.

 

No, honestly, she was scared.

 

What kind of evil scheme would the monsters be cooking up under the guise of the King’s Trial?

 

‘And of all times, Father has left his post.’

 

In fact, there would be no one as qualified as the S-rank Hunter Baek Yoonho as the King of Beasts, but Baek Miho was certain.

 

‘If my father were here, he would have made the same decision.’

 

 

– Prove your worth to be the king!

 

 

 

“Ugh. How noisy.”

 

Baek Miho’s head throbbed even at this moment because of the voice that stimulated desire.

 

 

– Kill them over and over again!

 

 

But then…

 

 

Crash! There was a sound of something collapsing somewhere, just like before.

 

And something strange happened.

 

 

– The one who survives until the end… Argh! Please stop!

 

 

“Hmm?”

 

What’s going on now?

 

The voice that had been repeating constantly suddenly became irritated.

 

Suddenly, Baek Miho and all the Hunters in the forest turned their heads in confusion. Even the werewolf, who begged for his life from Baek Miho, pricked up his ears with a puzzled expression.

 

And just like that, the auditory hallucination that had been repeating constantly suddenly stopped.

 

Suddenly, the number of ghosts decreased by half.

 

‘What’s going on? Could it be that the King’s Trial is over…?’

 

Of course, that was not the case.

 

After a while, the auditory hallucination started again as if nothing had happened.

 

 

– Prove your worth to be the king… No, you can’t! Please, don’t! Only one tree is left now!

 

 

“… Hmm?”

 

What the hell is going on?