Chapter 10

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 9

[Yes, sir!]

Berg, who was responding to the Guardian's command, asked again in confusion.

[But shouldn't we attack those impious fellows from behind to kill them?]

"What are you talking about? We're going to mine."

[...!]

Berg jumped up, foaming at the mouth.

[What, what are you saying!]

Berg couldn't believe it.

What in the world is going on!

The power of the Great and Almighty Shadow Sovereign is so formidable, and yet he intends to use it just for mining!

[Right now, in that universe, we are at war with millions of armies. How can you talk about mining?]

"I understand that, but my power is currently only strong enough to handle three weak goblins. We need to face reality. Maybe Dad was like me when he was weak too?"

[But, but...]

"And you said last night, didn't you?"

Suhwo remembered the conversation he had with Berg last night.

* * *

On the way home after being discharged from the hospital.

Berg said with a serious expression.

[Young Master, our mission can be summarized into three main points.]

The content spoken by the fist-sized creature was too grandiose.

[First, to protect Earth from the claws of the extraterrestrial demons.]

"Does that mean going into the dungeon to hunt demons?"

[Yes, sir. As you hunt demons, your level will gradually rise, and as you grow stronger, Earth will become safer. And second, we must find Lady Haein, who has gone missing.]

"Right. Do you have any way to find Mother's location?"

[Unfortunately, no. But if we keep hunting the extraterrestrial demons, we might find some clues eventually.]

In the end, this also meant entering the dungeon.

[And third, this is the most important.]

Berg pointed at himself with a gleam in his eyes.

[I must recover my strength as soon as possible and return to the battlefield where the Lord is. The balance of the war, which was already precarious, must have become even more unstable with my absence.]

At this point, Suhwo was also curious.

Berg's current small form was merely a way to conserve his strength, but his original form and power were a living nightmare.

With such a formidable force missing from the battle, it was unimaginable how the war was progressing.

"How do you plan to recover your strength?"

At Suhwo's question, Berg's mouth stretched wide.

[Of course, by eating.]

It was an utterly evil and sinister smile.

Long ago.

In a fragment of a world now long forgotten.

The queen of the ants recalled.

- Let's create the strongest soldier.

The queen needed the strongest soldier to rebuild her kingdom, which was collapsing due to humans, and to lead the kingdom's inhabitants.

Thus, after half a year.

The queen finally conceived a single life by gathering all her magic and nutrients.

The queen's determination to create a strong soldier and the primordial command to annihilate all humans combined, resulting in the birth of a monstrous creature that defied common sense.

The creature's innate skill was 'Feasting.'

By consuming a target, the creature could absorb some of the target's magic and knowledge.

...Recalling that old memory, Berg said.

[My innate talent is 'Feasting.' Whether it's humans or demons, my strength will gradually be restored as I keep eating. It's an inefficient method from the old days, but there's no other choice now.]

Whether it's humans or demons...

Suhwo felt anew.

Indeed, Berg lacked humanity.

'He's not human to begin with.'

Berg's appearance, drooling at the thought of eating humans, was the perfect embodiment of a demon.

Suhwo said firmly.

"Still, don't eat just any human."

[Oh?]

"If you must eat, only eat bad people."

At this, Berg's eyes narrowed.

[Indeed, like father, like son. The Lord said the same thing long ago. He commanded that if he was going to eat, he should only eat evildoers.]

"Father too? What's the standard for an evildoer?"

[Of course...]

Berg smiled faintly.

[Those who harm our Young Master.]

* * *

Back to the present.

"You said this, didn't you?"

At Suhwo's words, Berg argued.

[Of course, it was natural to enter the dungeon and level up, right?]

"No, how can an E-class Hunter enter a dungeon alone? E-class Hunters can't join attack parties, you know?"

Suhwo was extremely practical.

Even Assistant Im explained that the only role an E-class Hunter could play in a dungeon was a production role.

Suhwo planned to go for a 're-evaluation' once his level and magic power reached D-class.

'The system of dividing Hunter ranks is a recent development, so there are still many errors in the measurement devices.'

"So, let's start with what we can do now."

Suhwo smiled slyly.

Berg suddenly felt a chill.

[Why are you looking at me and smiling like that?]

"Our third mission."

Suhwo repeated Berg's words with a meaningful expression.

"To restore your magic power as soon as possible. By eating. Right?"

[Th, that's right. Whether it's humans or demons...]

"What about mana stones?"

Berg's expression stiffened at this.

"If your ability is Feasting, wouldn't eating mana stones also restore your magic power?"

[Well, it's true, but there's only a tiny amount of magic power in mana stones, so it's just filling my stomach and not very efficient...]

"Is that a problem? Just eat more."

Suhwo smiled brightly.

"They're free here, after all."

[Screech...]

* * *

Suhwo passed through the gate with the miners.

The dungeon they entered looked completely different from the Shadow Dungeon.

While the Shadow Dungeon was a vast ruined city of unimaginable size, this place was a winding cave.

Moreover, with each person holding a pickaxe, it felt like they had entered a mine.

Suhwo and the miners slowly moved into the dungeon.

Thanks to the glowing mushrooms and moths scattered throughout, the dungeon's interior wasn't completely dark.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The sound of pickaxes started from various places.

Everyone seemed experienced, as the sounds were very uniform and rhythmic.

Suddenly, all the sounds stopped at once.

"..."

"What's that?"

The miners' gazes were drawn to one spot.

There stood Suhwo, commanding the shadow goblins.

[Keh! Keh!]

[Keehee!]

Three shadow goblins, laughing wickedly and maliciously, were mining.

Suhwo, controlling these bizarre creatures.

"Wow."

"His summoning skill is like this...?"

It was natural for people to be surprised.

The widely known summoning skills involved using creatures like 'Explosive Bugs' or 'Sleeping Moths' to assist in battles.

And the summoner would follow behind, directing them like a Pokémon trainer.

"Can it be used like this?"

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

[Keehee!]

The shadow goblins Suhwo controlled were slightly smaller and weaker than regular goblins.

However, they had enough strength to wield pickaxes and, most importantly, never got tired no matter how much they mined.

Whenever they got a little tired, magic power would flow from Suhwo, restoring their strength.

"Wow... this is amazing."

"This new guy is really something! Haha!"

The miners, seeing Suhwo, chattered excitedly and praised him.

"All that talk about his summoning skill being useless was just nonsense! Look at this amazing skill!"

"If we keep zoning out, this new guy will mine everything alone!"

"We can't let that happen! Let's show the rookies our seniority!"

The miners laughed and resumed their mining.

The sight of the short goblins working alongside them felt quite pleasant.

[Vermin...]

Berg, watching the heartwarming scene, quietly munched on mana stones like cookies.

* * *

At that moment.

An attack party composed of D-class and higher Hunters was exploring a much deeper part of the dungeon than the mining area.

"This dungeon is really barren."

"Right. We've only been encountering wolf demons."

"Wolf skins don't sell for much."

The recovery team, following behind the attack party and dismantling demon corpses, sighed in disappointment.

Of course, they said this, but wolf skins weren't entirely worthless.

Moreover, some corpses contained mana stones, so they had to work diligently.

"Sigh. We need to save every penny."

The wolf skins were neatly stacked on the carts they brought.

Then, suddenly.

"Hey? What's this?"

One of the Hunters leading the group called out to his companions.

In front of them stood a massive ruin.

The Hunters, seeing this, tensed up and became cautious.

'Could there be a boss-level demon here?'

Typically, the probability of encountering a powerful boss in a D-class dungeon was low.

However, the existence of such a structure suggested that something special might happen.

And this special situation would likely not be pleasant for the Hunters.

"What's this?"

"Why is there such a ruin here?"

"Shouldn't we request more support and head back?"

The Hunters murmured among themselves.

However, the leader of the attack party, who was guiding them, calmed them down and carefully surveyed the surroundings.

"Shh. Be quiet. My detection skill hasn't picked up any demon presence yet."

"Really? If there are no demons, why is there such a structure?"

"We need to find out now."

A faint smile appeared on the leader's lips.

"By any chance, could there be treasure hidden here instead of a boss?"

"Treasure...!"

The Hunters' eyes changed at this.

The dungeon offered more than just demon corpses and mana stones.

Items with a low probability of discovery.

These items were the only way for Hunters, whose power doesn't grow once their rank is determined, to become stronger.

"Leader! I found something!"

While surveying the area, they discovered a sword embedded in the center of the ruin.

The sword emitted an extraordinary aura.

"Unbelievable."

The Hunters' eyes were simultaneously filled with greed.

"Jackpot!"

"Wow, a weapon!"

They would need to take it out and have it appraised to know its true value, but it looked incredibly impressive.

"Leader! I'll pull it out!"

The strongest man among the Hunters stepped forward, spitting on his hands.

"Wait, Kim Yong-joon! Be careful...!"

Before the leader could stop him, his hand was already gripping the sword's hilt.

And then.

A rumbling voice echoed in Kim Yong-joon's mind.

-Who dares to covet the sword of the Fang Lord?