Chapter 18

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 17

[The buff effect of the title 'Wolf Slayer' has been activated.]

Bang!

Guard's foot kicked off the ground.

Whoosh-

Guard's figure shot forward in a straight line.

In front of him, Broki's face was filled with shock.

[What is this...!]

An unbelievable event had occurred.

Guard's strength and speed.

The overwhelming aura bursting from his entire body.

All of this had changed in an instant.

The +1 to all stats from leveling up.

The additional +5 stats from the quest reward.

And the title that boosted all abilities by a staggering +40% against beast-type monsters.

All these synergies focused on Guard's sword.

Dual swords. Storm Slash.

[Using skill: Storm Slash.]

Kwaaang-!

Guard became a storm itself.

The two swords crossed, creating a fierce gale of wind.

[Learned skill: Dual Sword Technique Lv.1.]

It was a ruthless act of violence.

A one-sided slaughter by a cruel butcher.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

[Roar! Inoome-!]

Broki attempted a counterattack, but it was merely a desperate struggle.

Kaboom!

The outposts built by the Hyena Guild crumbled and shattered from Broki's thrashing.

[Dare to...!]

Before Broki could finish his sentence,

A straight line of red light shot up from his savagely opened mouth.

The fang of the Ruler, summoned by the power of dominion.

Guard's hand caught the sword.

And then,

Flash!

He brought it down.

[Defeated the harsh commander Broki.]

Ku-gu-gu!

Finally, the giant monster collapsed.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

"Huh."

Guard landed on the ground.

[Keek! You did it! You killed him! Our young master-!]

And as if waiting for this moment, Ver flew over swiftly.

-...My goodness. Is this possible? A human defeating Broki?

In response to the fang of Rakan's words, Ver chuckled.

[Didn't you know? The world is ultimately a place of the strong preying on the weak. The strong are always devoured by the stronger. And our young master will only become stronger from now on. Oh, and young master? Can I have a bite of this?]

Ver licked his lips, pointing at Broki's corpse.

Guard looked at Broki's corpse.

[This is an object from which a shadow can be extracted.]

Black smoke was swirling above it.

Guard's eyes sparkled.

'This guy can be extracted too?'

Then I can't give it to him.

"Just one bite. You can eat the rest after I extract the shadow."

[Yes, sir!]

Whoosh!

Ver flew over excitedly as soon as he got permission.

Broki's corpse was a good source of magic power.

[Hehe. Just one bite.]

Ver's mouth opened wickedly.

If he only took one bite, which part would make the best rumor?

It had to be this.

The brain.

[Survival of the fittest. I also like that phrase.]

Ver muttered as he dug into Broki's head.

* * *

Guard freed all the people who were tied up.

"I've reported to the Hunter's Association, so the rescue team will be here soon. There are still monsters in the mountain, so don't go anywhere and stay here for a while."

"Sniff! Thank you! Thank you!"

They had been held captive for so long that they were dirty and tear-streaked, sobbing loudly.

[Young master, these are all debtors who owed money to the Hyena Guild. They couldn't pay their debts, so they signed body abandonment agreements and were captured.]

"Ver, how did you know that?"

[My skill is Predation. I ate Broki's brain and stole some of his memories.]

"You do all sorts of things."

[Kehem. I'm a useful servant in many ways.]

Ver, with his hands on his hips, looked very proud.

[But, there's something else. When I checked Broki's abilities, there was no power to create werewolves by feeding them blood.]

"What? Then how did they...?"

Guard's gaze turned to the dead werewolves on the ground.

-I was also puzzled by this from the beginning.

Rakan's fang spoke.

-The Hyena Clan was just one of many tribes that followed the Fang Clan. Only the Fang Clan can create subordinates by feeding them blood.

"Then...?"

-It seems there's a real member of the Fang Clan inside.

At this, Guard and Ver's gazes turned to the gate Broki had come from.

"There's a real boss monster."

Guard gripped his sword with a determined look.

Ver shrugged and said,

[It's probably not a boss monster.]

"Not a boss monster?"

Guard looked puzzled.

[Yes. If Broki's memories are correct, it seems the battle situation won't escalate any further.]

Ver looked a bit bitter.

[You'll see when you go in.]

* * *

Guard entered the gate.

Inside, he found a small, fragile creature.

"This is...?"

Guard's expression hardened.

There, a wolf pup lay weakly, covered in blood.

Its gray fur was matted.

Roughly wrapped bandages.

A very small wolf, no more than a foot long.

And in front of it...

Needles used to draw blood were scattered around.

-Broki, you madman!

Rakan's fang trembled with intense anger.

-Did you dare to bind the heir of the clan and forcibly draw blood?

Startled.

The wolf pup, tied with a dog collar, weakly lifted its head.

Its unfocused eyes stared blankly at the air where Guard stood.

It sniffed the air with its small nose.

A stranger.

The smell of blood on his clothes.

"Keeoong..."

A weak whimper.

With that, the wolf pup lowered its head again.

There was no will to live or hope left in its exhausted little body.

-Broki, you mad bastard-!

The extremely angry Rakan's fang cursed the already dead Broki.

Ver, reading Broki's memories, muttered calmly.

[After the defeat in the war against the Shadow Army, Broki was the first to leave the battlefield. In fact, he was more of a deserter than a defeated soldier.]

Broki's next actions were truly despicable.

[He hid in the sanctuary of the Fang Clan, which was considered the safest place, and there he found a young wolf of the clan.]

All the adults were away at war, and the pup was alone.

In the memory, the pup wagged its tail happily when Broki entered the sanctuary.

But.

[Seeing this, Broki had an idea.]

'This is it! I can create as many Guardians as I want using the blood of the Fang Clan!'

'I'll have these Guardians protect me!'

'My own army! I'll create a new tribe here that serves only me!'

'You'll like it too, won't you? Hehe.'

Broki smiled wickedly at the pup wagging its tail at him.

[...After that, the sanctuary was torn into pieces and drifted in the dimensional rift. One day, a hole connecting to Earth appeared in front of Broki.]

And he found a group of humans.

[At that moment, Broki didn't hesitate to draw the young wolf's blood and feed it to them.]

The next part was something Guard already knew.

The Guardians created this way became Broki's army, the Hyena Guild.

They hunted other humans and brought them to Broki as food.

For a whole year.

However, there was one problem.

This was the reason Rakan's fang was angry.

-The power of the Guardians is not eternal. At most, it lasts ten days. After that, the blood power inscribed in their bodies disappears, and they return to their original state. In other words...!

"Every ten days, he drew blood from this pup and fed it to the guild members. For a whole year."

-Roar! Broki! Broki!

Guard picked up the limp wolf pup with one hand.

It was surprisingly light, which surprised him a bit.

[Keek? Are you taking it with you?]

Ver's eyes widened.

This young wolf, while not a direct descendant of the Fang Lord, was a member of the clan who inherited its blood.

[If you keep it alive, it might grow into a second Fang Lord and threaten Earth again.]

"But we already won, didn't we?"

[That's... true, I guess. Hmm.]

Guard looked at the wolf pup in his hand.

How much blood had been drawn? It couldn't even breathe properly, trembling weakly.

[Well, with the extraterrestrials invading, we don't need to fight among ourselves.]

Even though they lost the war, the surviving children were innocent.

Surviving this far with such a small and light body was admirable in itself.

But Guard wasn't taking the wolf just for a romantic reason.

'Somehow, I feel it will be useful in the future. Besides...'

"If it dies here, its last memory will be too sad. Being captured by a trusted uncle and having its blood drained for a whole year."

Guard said this as he picked up the pup and held it in his arms.

"So let's at least feed it and think about what to do."

* * *

Guard returned home with the wolf pup.

He reported the Hyena Guild and the Gwanak Mountain field to the Association, so he decided to ignore it for now.

The civilian survivors would give more specific testimonies anyway.

More importantly, the pup looked like it could die at any moment.

"Ver, you're a healer, can't you treat this?"

[The healer's recovery magic can only heal wounds. It can't do anything about lack of blood or hunger.]

"Recovery skills aren't omnipotent, huh. Then, let's... "

Guard turned on the electric heater and placed it in front of the pup.

"Keeng."

"Why? Is it warm, so you like it?"

The pup looked quite startled.

Its tail curled and it trembled, but its eyes were fixed on the red glow of the electric heater.

"Well, this might be the first time you've seen fire."

Guard left the pup there and started boiling seaweed soup.

He cooled it down and served it in a small dish.

"You're really being pampered today. This is a recipe my mom used to make for me on my birthday."

Guard proudly placed the seaweed soup in front of the pup's short snout.

"Try it. Seaweed soup is good when you're low on blood."

...Sniff, sniff.

The pup's tail twitched when it smelled the seaweed soup.

"It's okay. Eat it."

When Guard forced the pup's snout into the soup, its tongue instinctively flicked out.

Lick?

...!

"Oh, I didn't know wolves can make surprised faces like humans."

Lick, lick, lick.

The pup started licking the soup from the dish, its nose buried in it.

Its scraggly, hairless tail weakly wagged.

Rakan's fang, held in Ver's hand, solemnly muttered.

-...Thank you. In many ways.

He was in a complex state of mind.

They were in this state because they lost the war against these people.

But even though they lost the war, the surviving children were innocent.

They had to stand up from the present and live for the future.

And perhaps... this young wolf was the only survivor of the Fang Clan.

According to Ver's warning, it might grow up to be a young lord, continuing the lineage of the Fang Lord.

For the successor of the Shadow Lord to extend a helping hand to such a child.

What an irony.

"Is it good?"

Guard squatted in front of the small pup lapping up the warm broth, grinning.

Watching this, Rakan's fang finally accepted that the war was over.

-...Yes. You won. We will entrust all our new recruits to you.

As he sighed softly,

The will of the great beast king, Fang Lord Rakan, settled into Guard.

Ding.

[Obtained pet: Fang Wolf Lv.1.]