Chapter 24

Level Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 23

"Captain!"

At that moment, a voice urgently called out to the raid leader from the front.

"We found a human corpse!"

"A corpse, you say?"

The raid leader, who had been talking with Suho, hurriedly returned to the hunters.

And he widened his eyes at the sight of the corpse.

"Is it really a corpse?"

"But this... doesn't seem to be an ordinary corpse."

The hunters' expressions turned serious.

The state of the corpse was clearly abnormal.

The body was completely charred black like charcoal.

In the Seoul Station field, it was unnatural for a corpse to be found here.

"I've never heard of a fire-using monster in Seoul Station..."

"Exactly."

Just then, Suho also approached to examine the state of the corpse with the gatherers.

'Hmm?'

Suho's eyes sparkled.

The state of the corpse was very familiar to him.

Then, he suddenly turned his head to look at Assistant Im, who also seemed to have the same thought and wore a serious expression.

"Suho, this corpse... could it be...?"

"Yes. It seems to be a Mist Burn."

Suho nodded with certainty.

Upon hearing this, the raid hunters turned their gaze to Suho simultaneously.

"A Mist Burn?"

"That blue-burning monster?"

"Are you sure?"

Unless they were from a large guild, the hunters didn't know all the types of monsters.

"I'm sure."

After the incident at Korea University, Suho had looked up information about Mist Burns on the internet.

And he discovered one surprising fact.

Mist Burns... were not ordinary monsters.

No, they weren't even monsters to begin with.

Suho calmly recited the information he had read.

"Mist Burn. A phenomenon where a non-awakened person's body spontaneously combusts after inhaling a certain amount of blue mist."

"What, what?!"

"The Mist Burn was originally a human?"

Among the less experienced hunters, there were those who didn't know this fact.

This was because the Hunter Association had only recently uncovered the truth about Mist Burns.

It was well-known that Mist Burns attacked humans to increase their own numbers.

But it was difficult to determine how the first Mist Burn came into existence.

Then, one of the hunters suddenly realized something and muttered.

"Wait. If Mist Burns really form that way, how does the rumor that drinking blue mist can lead to awakening hold up?"

"Of course, it's just a rumor. Or the information about Mist Burns has been distorted."

- Drinking blue mist can lead to awakening.

This rumor had been circulating on the internet like an urban legend for over a year.

But no one had yet uncovered the truth behind it.

'...All the people who tried it as an experiment must have burned to death.'

Anyway, that wasn't the important thing right now.

"Then, how did this corpse end up here?"

This was what the hunters were curious about.

They were currently on the 4th underground floor of Seoul Station.

It was impossible for a non-awakened person to have made it through the lizards to get here alone.

And it was also strange for a Mist Burn to have walked down here from the 1st floor after transforming.

If it had gone outside to burn living people, it wouldn't have come down to this place where only monsters thrived.

"Captain! There's another one here!"

At that moment, a new corpse was discovered not far away.

The state of the corpse was the same as the first one. It was a charred black remnant of a Mist Burn.

"There's one over here too!"

The hunters found several more corpses as they continued.

The raid leader's expression grew increasingly serious.

'...Something's off.'

As someone responsible for the hunters' safety, it was hard to ignore such an unusual phenomenon.

But it was too trivial to stop the hunt over this. After all, they had only found a few corpses.

Moreover, with this many people gathered, they could handle dozens of Mist Burns if they appeared.

"Let's... continue hunting."

The hunt resumed.

"Suho."

Assistant Im approached Suho with an anxious expression.

"I'll tell you this in advance."

"What?"

"If it gets dangerous, I'll run first?"

"..."

[Heh, what a coward.]

Suho and Ber looked at Assistant Im with disbelief.

But Assistant Im was dead serious.

"You know I have a running skill, right? If something happens, you use your summons to escape. I'll run on my own."

While speaking, Assistant Im kept looking around, as if something was bothering him.

Suho looked at his face and asked.

"Assistant Im... you're certain something will happen, aren't you?"

"No. It would be great if nothing happens. But..."

In response to Suho's words, Assistant Im finally sighed deeply and revealed his thoughts.

"Actually... my mother was killed by a Mist Burn."

"..."

"And she herself turned into a Mist Burn and tried to kill me."

"..."

"That's why I'm so afraid of Mist Burns. It feels like my mother is trying to kill me again."

Suho couldn't say anything in response to his confession.

* * *

At that time.

"Kuaaaah-!"

In the depths of Seoul Station, an incredibly tragic scream echoed.

"It's, it's hot...!"

"Aaaah! Uaaaah! Uaaaaah!"

Whoosh!

People tied with chains writhed in agony.

Their bodies were enveloped in blue mist.

"Please save me! I'll say I saw nothing! I really saw nothing...!"

Behind them, people who hadn't burned yet sobbed and begged for their lives.

Pure terror.

Mad desperation.

It was incomprehensible.

Why!

Why did they have to suffer like this here!

...But there was no one to answer their question.

Of course not.

There was no reason to begin with.

They were just incredibly unlucky.

For that reason alone, they were being burned alive.

"Is it that hot?"

There were people calmly watching their screams.

"Hmm. It should be hotter. The fire isn't very strong."

A group of people in black robes with masks.

They wore crow masks that looked like they belonged in a medieval movie.

"Hey, can't you make the fire hotter?"

"We're short on fuel."

"Tsk. That fuel is always a problem. Why can't you get it?"

"Because the hyenas were all caught this time..."

"Huh. I didn't expect this to happen."

The crow-masked people chatted casually.

Meanwhile, the screams that seemed to go on forever had suddenly stopped.

And in their place...

[Kuaaaah!]

A Mist Burn.

A blue smoke monster, burning with a black corpse as its wick, roared fiercely.

[Kyaah!]

"Hey, nice to see you too?"

The crow-masked people waved their hands indifferently and put on thick gloves skillfully.

"Alright, let's start the work before the fire goes out."

"What do we do with the used ones?"

At that moment, a crow-masked person in the corner raised their hand.

Next to them were the remains of a burned-out Mist Burn.

"Oh, right. We'll handle the work ourselves, so just throw them far away."

"Okay, I understand."

"You know not to throw them nearby, right?"

"Of course. Here we go."

The crow-masked person loaded the remains of the Mist Burn onto a cart.

Then, while pulling the cart out, they grumbled.

"Ugh. It's a hassle. Where should I throw them this time? I'd like to just pile them up near the factory."

"Hey, if you do that, our location will be exposed. Throw them as far away as possible!"

"I know, I know."

The crow-masked person shrugged and pulled the creaking cart into the darkness.

The other crow-masked people watched his back with disapproval.

"He always tries to take shortcuts."

"He talks like that, but he does a good job. Let's start, shall we?"

"Yes. We'll begin the 13th Star Dust operation."

At that moment, the eyes of the crow-masked people became extremely cautious.

And the eyes of the people tied with chains behind them were filled with desperation.

'Please save us.'

'Anyone, please... save us...'

They begged and begged.

But their voices didn't reach the heavens.

* * *

[Keeek?]

Suddenly, Ber's antennae twitched.

Then, he turned his head and stared intently into the dark subway tunnel.

[Young Master.]

"I felt it too."

Suho was also looking in the direction Ber was looking, with his eyes half-closed.

'Is it because my Sensory stat has increased?'

[Information]

Sensory: A stat that enhances the five senses. Increases the ability to detect danger.

In the darkness where the subway tracks stretched.

A sinister aura could be felt from somewhere deep in the tunnel.

'It's creepy.'

Even without seeing, he knew.

At the end, there was definitely something powerful lurking.

The first thing that came to mind was a boss.

But the Seoul Station field was an old dungeon that had been around for a year.

This meant that the valuable monsters like boss mobs had already been cleared by other hunters.

As a result, the only monsters left here were the numerous and highly reproductive lizards.

'If it's not a boss, what could this aura be?'

Suho looked at the raid hunters who were hunting lizards.

'Could it be that no one else noticed? Such an overt malevolence?'

And that malevolence was staring at them from the darkness.

Like... a hawk watching its prey from the distant sky.

And the target of the hunter was the noisy raid hunters.

And then.

"The fuel has come to us."

Suddenly, a voice muttered from the darkness.

Whoosh!

"!"

At that moment, Suho and Ber's eyes widened, and they shouted simultaneously.

"Get out of the way!"

[It's an enemy!]

Boom!

"!"

An explosion occurred at that moment.

And something in a black robe appeared there.

A mysterious man with a crow mask.

But no one thought of him as a human.

His abnormally swollen arms protruded from the black robe.

"It's a humanoid monster!"

At the raid leader's shout, the hunters quickly formed their ranks.

"Oh, you dodged that?"

The crow-masked man slowly stood up and pulled his fist out of the tunnel floor.

"Pretty good."

Crack.

A truly bizarre hand shattered the cement pieces.

And then.

Whoosh.

In an instant, his figure disappeared from everyone's sight.

"!"

The hunters' eyes frantically searched for him, startled.

But it was already too late.

'The annoying healer first.'

Squeak!

His massive fist, which had appeared behind the raid leader, aimed for the leader's unprotected back.

The raid leader's eyes widened in shock, realizing it a moment too late.

And then.

Flash!

"!"

The crow-masked man's eyes widened in surprise.

Suddenly, someone had jumped in front of him and blocked the attack.

Pshew!

Black blood spurted like a fountain.

"Huh."

Suho, who had blocked his fist with 'Vulcan's Horn,' glared at him from under the blood fountain.

"Look at this?"

The corners of the crow-masked man's mouth twisted into an evil grin.