Chapter 21

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 20

[Now do you understand?]

Ber realized.

[The pet system seems to be a kind of war prisoner.]

The Shadow Extraction skill was the ability to extract shadow soldiers from the bodies of enemies.

On the other hand, the pet system allowed him to enslave enemies without killing them.

The difference between the two was the presence or absence of 'growth.'

[If I were to kill Gureum and extract him as a shadow soldier now, Gureum would remain a puppy wolf forever.]

Gray, who was temporarily small due to a lack of mana, was in a different situation from Ber.

The moment he became a shadow soldier, he would be extracted in his current weak and young form.

[Of course, as Young Lord's level increases, there will be some effect, but the limit will be clear. However, if we keep him alive and raise him...]

“He might grow bigger and eventually become a giant wolf like Broki.”

[Yes. When that time comes, it will be helpful to Young Lord.]

“After how long?”

At the mention that it would be helpful, Suho smirked and looked at Gray.

[Gray Lv.2]

Fang Wolf

“Grrr...”

Gray, once a fierce wolf, had returned to a weak puppy after the madness from the 'Skill: Harsh Command' disappeared.

However, thanks to the level-up, his condition seemed much better than before.

He was still crouched in a corner, rolling his eyes at Suho, still wary of him.

Suho sighed.

“Really, how long will it take to raise and use this thing?”

[It may seem insignificant now, but it will be more helpful when it grows. It will earn experience on its own.]

“It’s like automatic hunting in a game.”

The problem was that the game was currently at a mini-game level.

“Alright. Then let’s keep raising Gray here.”

-I agree. Since we have to feed him three meals a day, this environment is perfect.

“Huh?”

[Hmm?]

-Why? What? Aren’t we on the same side now?

“...”

Lakan’s fang naturally chimed in from the side.

By the way, Lakan’s fang had been floating around Suho due to the Dominance Power since earlier.

Snap.

Suho grabbed the handle of the fang and said.

“Alright. Then I should level up too.”

Entering the Shadow Dungeon wasn’t just for Gray.

After completing the 4-hour survival quest, wild goblins still roamed the Shadow Dungeon.

Even without a quest, hunting them would still earn experience.

‘Last time, I was too weak and could only run, but now the situation is different.’

Indeed, the level-ups had paid off.

Most of the goblins’ names had turned white.

With this, he was confident he could handle their numbers, no matter how many there were.

However, he had no intention of searching for the goblins hiding in the darkness one by one.

“Inventory.”

Suho took out an item from his inventory, one that the goblins dropped during the last survival quest.

Ber tilted his head.

[Young Lord, what is that?]

“This?”

Suho grinned.

[Item: Horn Flute]

Acquisition Difficulty: E

Type: Instrument

A horn flute used by a Goblin Captain to summon his subordinates.

“Since we got this item, we should use it, right?”

Suho put the horn flute in his mouth and blew it forcefully.

Brrrr!

[‘Item: Horn Flute’ is used to summon nearby goblins.]

At that moment.

Squeak!

The silent black and white world became noisy.

Goblins hiding in the darkness started to rush out simultaneously.

And they revealed their ferocity, enraged that the one who summoned them was a human.

Creak, creak! Creak!

[Oh! Truly clever! Such recycling!]

Suho bared his teeth at the goblins surrounding him from all sides.

“Ber.”

[Yes!]

“It’s your turn to eat now.”

[Screech!]

Ber’s eyes gleamed greedily at the prospect.

While mana stones were good, eating magic beasts directly was much more efficient for recharging mana.

But then.

Ding!

[‘Daily Quest: Shadow Dungeon Cleanup’ has arrived.]

“Huh?”

A message suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Daily Quest: Shadow Dungeon Cleanup]

Goblins 100: Incomplete (0/100)

Goblin Sergeants 10: Incomplete (0/10)

Goblin Captain 1: Incomplete (0/1)

“Daily quest?”

Suho’s eyes widened.

He was going to hunt anyway, and now a timely quest had appeared.

“Sounds good?”

Since it was a quest, there would naturally be a reward.

And since it was a daily quest, it meant the reward would be given every day.

[It seems the system wants to make this place entirely Young Lord’s territory.]

“...It’s the system my father used to use.”

Suho muttered, a nostalgic look on his face.

‘I remember polishing Dad’s shoes and getting pocket money when I was little.’

“Alright! Let’s see how much pocket money I’ll get this time!”

Suho swung his sword forcefully.

[‘Skill: Storm Slash’ is used.]

A fierce storm swept through.

* * *

And a while later.

“Squeak!”

[You have defeated a Goblin Archer.]

[Goblins 100: Incomplete (89/100)]

“Creak!”

[You have defeated a Goblin Sergeant.]

[Goblin Sergeants 10: Incomplete (9/10)]

Suho was wielding dual swords and slaughtering goblins like a madman.

But he wasn’t fighting alone like before.

Suho was using the largest goblin sergeants as shadow soldiers.

There were seven of them.

[Extractable Shadow Count: 7/7]

Thanks to capturing Broki and increasing his intelligence stat.

However, despite the significant improvement compared to before, Suho still felt a sense of regret.

“At times like this, it’s a bit disappointing that shadow soldiers disappear over time. Father had a shadow storage skill, right?”

[Yes, that’s correct. Lord used to command eternal soldiers.]

“Then can I do it later too?”

[I’m not sure about that.]

Suho pouted in disappointment.

‘Anyway.’

Despite his excellent performance, he hadn’t heard any level-up notifications yet.

The battles were too easy, so the experience gained was minimal.

‘This is almost like morning exercise, isn’t it?’

True, if the daily quest was too difficult, it would be a problem. Fighting for one’s life every day would be stressful.

But.

‘This way, there’s no sense of achievement, is there?’

Suho took out the horn flute again.

Brrr! Brrrr!

[‘Item: Horn Flute’ is used to summon nearby goblins.]

Immediately.

Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak!

A new goblin force emerged from the darkness.

Ber looked at Suho with wide eyes.

[Young Lord? The daily quest is almost complete, isn’t it?]

“So what? Since I have plenty of time today, let’s keep going until I level up.”

[Keh. Young Lord is truly a born ant soldier.]

“Is that a compliment?”

Suho grinned as he was surrounded by the newly arriving goblins.

And a while later.

[Daily Quest: Shadow Dungeon Cleanup]

Goblins 100: Complete (107/100)

Goblin Sergeants 10: Complete (10/10)

Goblin Captain 1: Complete (1/1)

[You have completed the ‘Daily Quest: Shadow Dungeon Cleanup’.]

[Your completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to check your reward?] (Y/N)

“...Huh?”

Suho’s eyes widened as he suddenly checked the quest window.

He had been so busy fighting the goblins that he hadn’t even noticed the reward notification, but he noticed something strange.

[Goblins 100: Complete (107/100)]

‘Why is the count still increasing even after reaching the target?’

Suho’s eyes sharpened.

Was this a coincidence?

Swish!

Suho beheaded a goblin sergeant who had just attacked.

[You have defeated a Goblin Sergeant.]

[Goblin Sergeants 10: Complete (11/10)]

‘As expected!’

The other counts were also continuing to accumulate.

Curiosity struck him.

‘How many can it count?’

Suho started hunting goblins even more enthusiastically.

He eventually leveled up, but he didn’t stop hunting.

As a result...

[Goblins 100: Complete (200/100)]

[Goblin Sergeants 10: Complete (20/10)]

[Goblin Captain 1: Complete (1/1)]

The count stopped exactly at twice the target.

‘There’s something to this.’

Suho’s curiosity had turned into certainty.

[Goblin Captain 1: Complete (1/1)]

Now, only the captain remained.

“Creak!”

If he killed this one, all counts would double.

‘Then what will happen?’

He would find out by checking.

“Don’t let that one escape!”

[Creak!]

At Suho’s command, the shadow goblins simultaneously pounced and restrained the large goblin captain.

“Grrr!”

The captain struggled fiercely, roaring.

Suho ran over and slashed the captain’s neck.

Then.

Ding!

[You have completed the ‘Hidden Quest: Shadow Dungeon Cleanup’.]

[Your completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to check your reward?] (Y/N)

“Hidden quest?”

The moment all counts doubled, the quest type changed.

Suho felt a thrill of excitement, confirming his intuition.

With no more goblins attacking, he decided to check the reward.

“Check reward.”

Ding!

[The following rewards are available.]

Reward 1: Status Recovery

Reward 2: +3 Ability Points

Hidden Reward 3:

1) Blessed Random Box (Select)

2) Cursed Random Box (Select)

[Would you like to accept all?]

‘Three rewards?’

He decided to check the first reward first.

Although he had leveled up, fighting 200 goblins had left him completely exhausted.

“Accept first reward.”

Suddenly, Suho’s body was enveloped in a soft blue glow.

All his conditions were perfectly restored, just like when he leveled up.

“Ah, this is good?”

As he experienced it, he realized how useful this reward could be.

If he saved it for when he was injured during a battle, he wouldn’t have to wait for a level-up to recover.

“Accept second reward.”

The second reward, ‘+3 Ability Points,’ was also excellent.

From today’s experience, he knew that leveling up would become increasingly difficult as his level increased.

But since this was a daily quest reward, it meant he could get stronger every day in this way.

And now, the final...

The hidden quest reward was all that remained.

Hidden Reward 3:

1) Blessed Random Box (Select)

2) Cursed Random Box (Select)

Suho was faced with a choice.