Solo Leveling: Ragnarok – Chapter 49

Author: Lubai

“Do you guys seriously…have plans to hunt down those centipedes?” Leo Singh’s eyes widened in surprise. He had just witnessed Sooho’s licking his lips upon hearing the desert centipedes’ scream. From that expression, he could sense a Hunter’s determination to hunt down their prey.

“Sooho, are you serious?” Esil asked.

“I think it should be possible somehow inside here.” Sooho had already made up his mind.

“Wait a minute! Hunting down centipedes is even more dangerous than fighting the Scavenger Guild!” Leo Singh’s urgently tried to dissuade Sooho.

The death of a Hunter always comes from overconfidence. He had seen many Hunters with excellent skills like Sooho die in vain due to their recklessness.

“Instead of doing that, how about this? Our Healers will recover their mana after a few hours of rest. Then we can join forces and take on the Scavenger Guild.”

“We don’t have time for that.” Sooho firmly rejected his proposal. Then, he looked up and stared at the ceiling where broken pieces of rock were falling. “You never know when this pyramid might collapse.” Instead, he proposed to the Asura Guild. “Why don’t you guys escape now and leave this place to me?”

“I can’t do that. I can’t go back empty-handed either.” Leo stood up, following Sooho’s lead. But then, he twisted his body with a grimace. “Ugh.” The shock he received from Randolph earlier still lingered in his body.

Seeing that sight, Beru sneered.

[You are a weak and pathetic vermin.]

Leo Singh’s face turned red.

He couldn’t understand Beru’s words but could sense the meaning behind the disdainful gaze that seemed to look down on him.

To receive such a gaze from a mere summoned magic beast was a humiliation for him, who had been highly anticipated as a promising member.

“You guys just stay here and rest. We’ll leave first.”

“I’m ashamed.”

At Sooho’s words, Leo Singh finally collapsed to the ground and breathed. He had stubbornly resisted, but now he realized that not only he but all his guild members were injured and unable to move freely.

“Ugh.” Recalling Randolph, the culprit behind this incident, he gnashed his teeth.

‘Just wait and see. This revenge must…!’

He looked at Sooho, burning with vengeance. “Can I ask you for one favor?”

“What is it?”

“If you run into the Scavenger Guild on the way, can you punch him once?”

“I can give him two.”

“That’s reassuring.” Leo Singh put on a satisfied expression at Sooho’s prompt answer. He then took out a ring from his pocket. “Take this.”

“…?”

As Sooho received it, his eyes widened in surprise.

[Item: Ring of Horus]

Acquisition Difficulty: B

Type: Accessories

Intelligence +10

– Effect ‘Wisdom of Horus’: Increases mana recovery speed by 30%

“This is an artifact obtained while wandering through this maze. Hopefully it will be helpful.” Leo Singh, who couldn’t check the item information like Sooho, seemed not to know how great of an item he was giving away.

‘This is just the item I need right now.’

Sooho keenly felt his mana shortage during the recent battle with the desert centipedes.

As a result of pouring all remaining stats into strength stats, he gained immense strength, but recently he realized the importance of Intelligence stats as the importance of other skills increased.

However, this Ring of Horus was an incredible treasure that raised the Intelligence stat by 10.

‘Besides, as my Intelligence stat goes up, the number of shadow soldiers also increases.’

To catch the desert centipedes, the key was ultimately quantity over quality. With this Ring of Horus, his chances of winning would increase even more.

“Thanks. I’ll use it well.”

Sooho quickly put on the ring before Leo Singh changed his mind.

‘Status window!’

And immediately checked his status window.

[Status Window]

Name: Sung Sooho

Level: 26

Job: None

Title: Wolf Slayer

HP: 6,350/6,350

MP: 1,235/1,235

[Stats]

Strength: 54 Stamina: 35

Dexterity: 35 Intelligence: 35 (+10)

Sense: 35 (+5)

(Available Ability Points: 0)

‘Wow.’

Sooho’s eyes widened.

His 635 mana had risen to 1,235 at once.

It had doubled! This also meant that the duration of Giant’s Armor would also double.

Furthermore…

[Available number of extractable shadows: 1/20]

‘Now it’s worth a try, right?’

Sooho smiled to himself and turned his gaze to where he sensed the presence of the desert centipedes.

“Let’s go right away.”

[I can feel the presence of other magic beasts on the way.]

Beru guided Sooho by flicking his short antennae.

In a situation where he needed to increase the number of soldiers anyway, encountering many beasts on the way was beneficial.

Sooho parted ways with the Asura Guild and jumped into the labyrinth.

***

Meanwhile, the Scavenger Guild members, who jumped into the depths of the labyrinth to avoid the desert centipedes, were struggling.

“Stop them! More mummies are rising from the sarcophagus!”

The undead magic creatures that appeared resembled the form of mummies in the pyramids.

At first, the Scavenger Guild members underestimated the slow approach of the mummies, thinking it was an easy challenge. However, when they finally collided, they realized they were not to be taken lightly.

“Randolph! No matter how many times I kill these guys, they will rise again!”

“Break their limbs so that they will never rise again!”

“Yeah, but… Agh!”

“…!”

Randolph was startled. His subordinates fighting against the mummies were collapsing one by one with pale faces.

“Poison!?”

Now he realized that the decaying poison seeped out from the bandages every time they hit the mummies.

‘What’s going on?’

He had encountered many magic beasts while active in Scavenger, but this was the first time he had faced such a creature.

‘A magic beast that endlessly resurrects? Usually, there’s a summoner behind these creatures, but why isn’t there one now?’

Since earlier, Randolph had been searching for the summoner but couldn’t find a trace.

“Find them! We must find the summoner somehow! They must be hiding somewhere nearby to control these creatures!” He was desperate.

Swoosh!

Behind them, the sound of desert centipedes approaching rapidly could be heard, and in front of them, the mummies surrounded them.

“Healers! Have you not recovered your mana yet?”

“Apologies! If you can wait for a bit more-”

“You useless things!”

Whack!

Seeing Randolph indignantly kicking a mummy in the stomach, the Healers turned pale. But their mana wouldn’t recover just because they were scared.

“This isn’t good! Ignore everything and charge ahead!”

“Randolph! What about the poison?”

“Who cares? Hold your breath and run, you bastards!”

Thump, thump! With Randolph’s reckless charge, the bodies of the mummies bounced like bowling pins.

“Don’t waste time with these useless bastards! Just run no matter what!”

In any case, these mummies would be eaten by the centipedes that followed. It would be even perfect if they died from the mummies’ poison.

Ultimately, the Scavenger Guild members ran while holding their breath to escape from the mummies’ encirclement.

***

[Decayed Mummy]

Sooho and Esil, who rushed into the labyrinth, were also surrounded by countless mummies.

Esil soon realized the problem as she attacked them with her spear.

“Sooho! These things have no weakness! No matter how many times I kill them, they won’t die!”

[That’s because they are already dead bodies.]

Beru, floating in the air watching the battle, calmly interjected.

“There’s also poison coming out!”

[It’s because they’re decayed corpses.”

Beru explained, looking slyly amused. He flew back and forth among the mummies with a genuinely interested expression.

[Little King, these guys are not normal magic beasts.]

“Then what are they?”

[They are artificially created by someone through sorcery.]

“Sorcery?”

At the mention of sorcery, a name came to mind—the Great Sorcerer Kandiaru.

[There aren’t many who can create monsters like these. Soldiers who don’t die even when killed. Doesn’t it seem like they are imitating shadow soldiers?]

Thinking of the designer who created the level-up system, Beru rubbed his chin.

[Kandiaru was a great sorcerer who dreamed of immortality. Perhaps this was their laboratory, but it seems like they failed in the end and could only create imperfect beings.]

Sooho nodded at Beru’s words and looked at the mummies.

[Target is eligible for Shadow Extraction.]

… …

Those were the messages that had been appearing in front of his eyes since the moment he encountered these beings.

That’s right.

These beings were initially dead. And the power of the Shadow Monarch was the ability to rule death and control the dead.

Sooho smirked and reached out toward the mummies flocking toward him.

“Arise.”

At that moment, a black shadow began to sway beneath the feet of the walking mummies, and then it wrapped around the pure white bandage and dyed it black.

Shoooaah!

[Shadow Extraction succeeded.]

… …

They were now mummies wrapped in black bandages.

A new label was engraved on their heads.

[Shadow Mummy Lv.1]

Normal Grade

“Ha.”

Seeing the scene, a moment of disappointment crossed Esil’s face. All the battles she had fought alone were now in vain.

It was a matter of compatibility.

It was just a matter of compatibility.

“Arise,” said Sooho as he leisurely walked through the mummies rushing toward him.

[Shadow Extraction succeeded.]

“Arise.”

[Shadow extraction succeeded.]

[Gyaa!]

The mummies clad in black bandages began screaming in awe at Sooho, who gave them the true baptism of death.

As their numbers increased, their screams transformed into a grand hymn as if it were a majestic choir.

Witnessing this awe-inspiring sight, Beru couldn’t help but smile sinisterly.

[Life born from death… I quite like that prophecy.]

Author's Thoughts

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