Solo Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 55

[Skill: Smash Lv.1]

 

Active skill

 

Mana cost: 300

 

Coats the body with ‘Ruler’s Authority’ to amplify attack power.

 

→

 

[Skill: The Art of the Iron Body Lv.1]

 

Active skill

 

Mana cost: 600

 

Strengthens the body with ‘Ruler’s Authority’.

 

The attack and defense power of the strengthened part is amplified.

 

 

“Oh.”

 

The skill had evolved.

 

Sooho moved his arm covered in black energy, and his eyes shone.

 

Originally, ‘Smash’ was a skill that only amplified attack power. However, the characteristic of the skill has changed to overall enhancement, with the required mana doubling.

 

‘Moreover, it’s only level 1. If I repeat this training daily, will its level continue to increase?’

 

Perhaps as the level rises, the range of this black armor will gradually expand. Eventually…

 

When he thought of that, Sooho’s gaze suddenly fell on Ammut. He was reminded of the overwhelming presence that had taken over the entire space when Ammut transformed into an ethereal form earlier.

 

“Hehehe. Yes, that’s right.” Ammut, who caught the meaning in Sooho’s eyes, chuckled. “If you master the art, you’ll eventually become as strong as me. You’ll be able to be the strongest with pure physical strength without any other skills. Come on! Try hitting me with that power now!”

 

When Ammut spread his arms wide, Sooho looked puzzled. “You want me to hit you? For real?”

 

“That’s right! Exchanging blows with each other at full power is the Crocor way of greeting! Come on, show me your power!”

 

It was a barbaric way of greeting, but looking at the tough crocodile skin covering Ammut’s whole body, Sooho felt like he could go all out.

 

“Alright then, here I go!” Sooho firmly clenched his fist and struck Ammut’s body with all his strength.

 

 

Baaang!!!

 

A tremendous aftershock followed from his overwhelming power.

 

But Ammut only took a step back.

 

“Kuh! What a delicious punch.” Ammut laughed wickedly as black blood poured out of his mouth. “This is enough to taste what I can teach you in the future. You pass!”

 

“Pass?”

 

“Yup. I’ll officially accept you as my disciple. I can stop accepting other challengers now.”

 

He stamped his foot once.

 

Thud! The ground trembled as a giant magic circle began to spread in all directions from his foot.

 

Pyaat!

 

[Little King!]

 

As the pyramid was covered in the magic circle, Beru and Esil flew urgently to protect Sooho.

 

[It’s a spell circle!]

 

“The dimension wall in this area is warping!” Esil, who had already crossed the dimensional wall once, knew this sensation very well.

 

“Don’t be afraid. I have no intention of hurting you.” Ammut chuckled, savoring their reactions. And with a nostalgic gaze, he muttered, “A long time ago, Kandiaru came to me and offered to help me teach the Art of the Iron Body as much as I wanted. And they promised to supply me with challengers to train in the art endlessly.”

 

But…

 

Amuth’s mouth split wide, his pointed teeth gleaming.

 

“Tsk, tsk. That conniving sorcerer. I should have known from the beginning that those challengers were just a joke.”

 

He realized now.

 

All of this system.

 

His research into the Art of the Iron Body.

 

It was all just a means to an end for this tiny human before him.

 

Ammut looked at Sooho in the center of the magic circle, in the center of the shaking pyramid that seemed about to crumble, and laughed heartily. “To be honest, I noticed you were a descendant of the Shadow Monarch’s bloodline the moment I saw you. Tsk! That conniving sorcerer! They wanted me to teach the son of the one who killed my first disciple, Tarnak.”

 

But, well, it didn’t matter.

 

What Ammut was looking at now was not Sooho’s appearance.

 

It was the brilliant light of a great soul within.

 

‘… They must have known I couldn’t refuse if I saw something like this before me.’

 

All right. They won.

 

‘I’ll gladly be fooled by you.’

 

Even now, after realizing their vile scheme, he could only succumb to it willingly.

 

He was just curious. His art had turned the insignificant goblin Tarnak into a vessel for a new humanoid king. If he were to teach this ultimate power to a human with a great soul, how far could he transcend his limits?

 

‘Haha, just imagining it makes my heart race!’

 

Ammut laughed out loud and quietly recited the spell that Kandiaru had taught him.

 

“Let there be light in the future of the challenger!”

 

At that moment.

 

The space vibrated, and a system message appeared in front of Sooho.

 

Ding!

 

 

[‘Ammut, Devourer of the Dead’, hopes to be recruited as an NPC.]

 

[Do you want to accept?] (Y/N)

 

Sooho’s eyes widened at that message.

 

‘An NPC?’

 

It was a term that anyone familiar with games would know.

 

The system always referred to him as a “Player.”

 

On the other hand, NPCs (Non-Player Characters) are characters that players do not control. In other words, they are helpers that assist in the smooth progression of the game while staying in a certain area.

 

[L-Little King?]

 

Looking at Beru, who blinked next to him, it was clear that Beru didn’t understand the current situation.

 

Because Beru was just a fighter, not the designer of the system.

 

‘This is the system that Father passed down to me.’

 

Thinking of his father’s usual personality, Sooho looked at the message again.

 

[Do you want to accept?] (Y/N)

 

His father was asking for his opinion. It was a suggestion, not a coercion. He could feel his father’s concern embedded in it.

 

If he recruited this alligator, he would suffer the same pain as today in the future. He didn’t have to do it if it was too difficult.

 

‘My mother always said that I resembled my father.’

 

If it were his father… What choice would he have made in a situation like this?

 

The answer was obvious.

 

“Ammut.” Sooho willingly accepted the proposal. “I’ll leave it to you from now on.”

 

At that moment.

 

Ammut’s fierce eyes narrowed like a crescent moon. “Good, my disciple.”

 

Trururu- Thud!

 

And then.

 

A massive earthquake occurred in the desert.

 

***

 

Trururu-thud!

 

“Wh-what’s going on!?”

 

The Asura Guild members who were still in the labyrinth looked at Leo Singh in amazement.

 

“Leo! Something bad is happening!”

 

“The pyramid is going to collapse!”

 

“Did those damn Scavengers mess with the walls so much that the foundation is shaking!?”

 

Leo Singh gritted his teeth.

 

It was a moment of decision.

 

“We have to escape from here right now! The pyramid can’t be our tomb!”

 

“What about the prophecy?”

 

“Well…this is just my guess, but maybe ‘life born from death’ just refers to the mummies here?”

 

“Ah, that could be it…!”

 

The guild members hastily nodded their heads at Leo Singh’s words. Although they felt that the logic was somewhat lacking, they agreed to accept it for now, as it was a top priority to escape from this dangerous pyramid as quickly as possible.

 

But they still had worries.

 

“But Leo, is this really okay? If we go back empty-handed, what kind of punishment will we receive…?”

 

“Well, it’s better than dying. And it’s not like we won’t get any income.” Leo Singh hurriedly supported the injured while wearing a significant smile. “Today, we have made one enmity and one bond.”

 

The former was obviously with the Scavenger Guild.

 

“As soon as I return to the guild, I’ll officially protest to the Scavenger Guild about what happened today. After that, it’ll turn into a political fight between the guilds, which isn’t our concern.”

 

Asura didn’t hire an expensive lawyer just for show.

 

Since all the Hunters in this village witnessed the misdeeds of the Scavenger Guild, they would all side with the Asura Guild. It won’t be easy for even the Scavengers to ignore all that public opinion.

 

“If we had died here, we wouldn’t have any leverage to hold against the Scavengers, but once we get out alive, there will be plenty of opportunities to hold them accountable under Hunter International Law. The guild master won’t scold us any further if we accomplish that much.”

 

However, Leo Singh was aiming for not just that one thing.

 

It was the other bond he had made today.

 

Sung Sooho.

 

“And do you think I just gave that precious item to the Hunter from Korea for nothing?”

 

Korean Hunter Sung Sooho. With his extraordinary skills, he must also be a member of a very well-known guild in Korea. Moreover, Egypt is a far-off country that takes a flight of 20 hours from Korea. Such a great Hunter has come all this way on a business trip, and it would be challenging for him to go back empty-handed like them.

 

“I did it to consider that part.”

 

“… Ah!”

 

The members of the Asura Guild who noticed Leo Singh’s words a beat later opened their eyes wide, realizing what he meant.

 

Leo Singh nodded with a smirk. “Yes, that’s right. There is always a price to pay for every favor. Now, he has incurred a debt to our Asura Guild. And he’s also a fellow Hunter with a common enemy, Scavenger.”

 

There was a word that neatly defined this kind of relationship.

 

“He’s now a ‘friend.’ Hehe.” Leo Singh’s eyes sparkled intensely with a meaningful smile.

 

At that moment, one fact suddenly came to the minds of the guild members.

 

“Oh! Come to think of it, the guild master has shown an interest in Korea!”

 

“Yes. I factored that in as well. Now that we’re friends, if our guild goes to Korea, we’ll have his support. We’ve become friends, after all.”

 

No one knew why the guild master of the Asura Guild was interested in Korea, a small country in the East. Still, even if he had an interest, it was difficult for a guild from another country to cross the border without any justification under the Hunter International Law.

 

This was because Hunter guilds were powerful organizations in themselves. In particular, Korea and India had no relation to each other. It was convenient to make connections in some way.

 

The Asura Hunters opened their eyes wide upon hearing Leo Singh’s words.

 

“My goodness, Leo, how big of a picture did you paint?”

 

“What’s the big deal? Hehe.” Leo Singh shrugged as if it was nothing and supported the wounded. “Now let’s forget the unnecessary things and get out of here quickly.”

 

Trururu…

 

And when they barely succeeded in escaping from the pyramid…

 

“Oh my god.”

 

They turned around, and their expressions turned pale.

 

A terrible sight was unfolding right in front of them.

 

Trurururu- Thud!

 

“Th-this is crazy!”

 

“The pyramid…!”

 

“It’s sinking!”

 

A massive quicksand. The red sand of the desert swirled like a whirlpool, sucking in everything nearby. And the center of it all, the pyramid of Kandiaru, sank into the deep underground.

 

“Run!”

 

“We’ll be buried alive if we fail to escape!”

 

They began to run with all their might, lost in thought. And when they finally arrived at the nearby village of Kamura.

 

“Whew.”

 

There was nothing left behind them. The giant pyramid had completely sunk into the red sand without a trace. 

 

In the face of such an uncontrollable disaster, all the Hunters in Kamura were filled with fear.

 

‘Will he be okay?’

 

Leo Singh suddenly worried about Sung Sooho.

 

‘He must have made it out safely, right?’

 

He had to have made it out safely. Even with the injured in tow, they had the physical ability to escape, and the pyramid’s sinking wasn’t too fast.

 

But nowhere in the vast desert was Sung Sooho’s figure to be seen.

 

‘… Looks like we have a reason to go to Korea.’

 

He would surely return to his home country if he had made it out safely. He could confirm his safety when they went to Korea later.

 

Thinking so, Leo Singh nodded with a stiff face and looked back at his subordinates. “Let’s return to our homeland.”