Chapter 26

Level Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 25

Ber recalled an old memory.

It happened twice.

The demon realm had been destroyed twice by the Shadow Sovereign 'Seung Jin-woo.'

The first time was in the Demon Castle dungeon.

The second time was after everything was reset.

In the war between Seung Jin-woo and the sovereigns, the existence of demons was nothing more than experience points for Seung Jin-woo to step on.

Thus, demons died and died again...

In the end, only one family in the demon realm survived.

It was the 20th-ranked 'Ladir' family, the only one among countless demons that sided with Seung Jin-woo.

But that family was destroyed?

[...It seems something has happened in the demon realm.]

Ber narrowed his eyes and looked at the dead lower demon's body.

To understand the situation, 'devouring' was the best method.

By devouring, he could read the memories of the devoured entity.

[Young Master, may I eat this demon?]

At his words, the Guardian's gaze turned to the demon's corpse.

[The mana is contaminated, making shadow extraction impossible.]

The Guardian tilted his head at the message that appeared before him.

"Can't extract a demon as a shadow soldier?"

[That's correct.]

It seemed that the shadow power, which extracts the soul of the opponent, could not extract a soul already tainted.

The Guardian nodded.

"Then eat it."

[Kyaah!]

With permission, Ber's mouth split wide and he began to tear into the corpse.

He wanted to swallow it in one bite, but...

Chomp chomp chomp!

Chomp chomp chomp chomp!

...his mouth was small, so it would take some time.

[Kee hee hee!]

Leaving behind a slightly terrifying scene that might need to be censored, the Guardian looked at the hunters who were staring at him.

Ever since the incident, all the hunters, whether scavengers or raiders, were looking at him in shock.

"Th... Th... "

"How... How... "

In the confusion, only the assistant professor, who had seen this kind of behavior from the Guardian before, stepped forward.

"Shugo, are you hurt?"

Although all his wounds were healed with the level-up, the blood on his body had not disappeared.

Currently, Shugo looked as if he was about to collapse, covered in blood.

"Ah, no."

Concerned, the assistant professor wiped the blood from Shugo's face with the back of his hand.

"T-There... "

The raid leader approached hesitantly.

"Maybe you should go to the association for a re-evaluation... "

Regardless of the summoning skill, Shugo, who had hunted a C-rank monster alone, could not possibly be an E-rank.

There was definitely a significant error.

"That's not important right now."

At that moment, the assistant professor picked up the empty potion bottle the demon had discarded and examined it carefully.

"Star Dust usually doesn't have such an incredible effect... What is this?"

"Do you know about Star Dust?"

The raid leader's expression turned serious. He had also found this strange.

The assistant professor nodded.

"Many lower hunters use it. Just a few days ago, the scavengers who went diving were overjoyed after obtaining Star Dust..."

Star Dust was more commonly used by lower hunters than by higher ones.

The reason lower hunters used it more was because the amplification power of Star Dust had limits.

Star Dust could turn an E-rank hunter into a D-rank hunter instantly, but it couldn't turn a D-rank into a C-rank.

Of course, it was possible for D-rank hunters who were just slightly below C-rank in terms of mana.

And they were the main customers of Star Dust.

They would go to the association, not the dungeon, after taking Star Dust, to have their mana re-evaluated and their rank adjusted to C.

"...So, those who became greedy and wanted to increase the amplification power tried taking multiple bottles at once or taking it regularly. But they all failed and wasted their money."

There were also rumors that the developers were continuously researching to increase its amplification power.

However, no one knew who was developing Star Dust.

"But how did it work just now..."

[Thump-]

At that moment, Ber burped loudly and stood up.

He then muttered, scanning the memories in his head.

[Of course. Star Dust was created by demons, so it naturally works better on them.]

"What? What?!"

"The demons created Star Dust?"

The hunters were shocked by this revelation.

"Is that true?"

[Yes, that's correct.]

In response to Shugo's question, Ber nodded seriously.

[But that's not the main issue.]

Even Ber couldn't read all the memories of the devoured entity.

But the fragmented information he did get was shocking.

[It seems the ingredients for Star Dust...]

Ber's subsequent explanation was truly shocking and terrifying.

The process for making Star Dust was as follows:

1) Making kindling: Capture unawakened individuals, force-feed them blue mist to turn them into 'Mist Burners.'

2) Increasing the heat: Throw humans into the Mist Burners to maximize the heat.

3) Roasting: Place 'demon blood-soaked mana stones' on the blazing fire and roast them thoroughly.

...The resulting charcoal was ground into powder, which became Star Dust.

"And the solution in this potion bottle is diluted with water?"

[Yes.]

The hunters shuddered after hearing Ber's explanation.

"This is unbelievable."

"Star Dust was made by burning humans alive?"

"Then why is this demon here...?"

It seemed obvious.

Ber turned his gaze to the tunnel where the demon first appeared.

[If we follow this path, we will find the demons' 'factory' and the civilians they captured to use as kindling.]

At that moment,

Ding!

[Quest: Rescue the Survivors]

There are people nearby waiting for your rescue.

Rescue as many as possible.

The reward will vary based on the number of survivors rescued.

-Current number of survivors: 7

-Current number rescued: 0

'Seven people are still alive?'

With the quest notification, there was no reason to delay.

Shugo's eyes sparkled.

"I'm going to rescue them."

Thud.

As Shugo took a step towards the tunnel,

"Wait! Shugo!"

The assistant professor urgently grabbed Shugo's shoulder from behind.

Shugo turned to look at him.

"Professor, you should run first."

"No, I want to go this time."

'Hmm?'

Why is this coward...

The assistant professor, trembling with fear, spoke firmly.

"My skill can carry one person and run."

The place Shugo was going to would likely have more demons like the one earlier.

He would definitely need help to rescue the captives.

Shugo smirked.

'Carry and run... That's a good idea.'

Shugo picked up the crow mask from the ground and turned to the hunters watching him.

"Let's make a plan."

* * *

The long railway at Seoul Station.

Walking along the long tunnel, there was a massive air-raid shelter prepared for war or disasters.

This place, usually used for construction work, was now the site of the demons' factory.

"Why is the youngest one so late?"

The demons in the factory started to get worried as the youngest one, who had gone to dispose of waste, hadn't returned.

"Maybe he met a monster on the way."

"Such a lizard... "

At that moment,

The iron door opened, and the youngest one, wearing a crow mask, walked in.

However, the cart he was pulling contained a group of humans.

The demons were intrigued.

"Oh, what's this?"

"Where did you get these kindling?"

"I met them on the way."

The youngest one nodded and stopped the cart in a corner of the factory.

Thud.

Even as the cart shook, the hunters, covered in blood, did not move or groan.

The demons asked,

"Surely you didn't kill them? It would be less effective if they were dead."

"They're still breathing."

"Oh, that's good. Our youngest one is skilled."

Just as the kindling was running out, this was timely.

The 'youngest one,' who was actually Shugo, stood in front of the cart, disguised in the mask of the demon he had killed.

The hunters in the cart, pretending to be dead and covered in blood, were the raid team.

They were able to attempt such a bold infiltration thanks to Ber, who had learned the factory's situation from the youngest one's memories.

'Demons use crow masks to identify each other. They don't care about appearance or voice.'

This was possible because the demons in the factory were not in their true forms.

'Their souls, wandering in the dimensional rift, possessed human bodies.'

Ber mentioned that even the sovereigns once entered Earth by possessing human bodies, as it was easier than creating a massive hole for their true forms.

However, the demons seemed to despise the weak human bodies they possessed.

Thus, they found it shameful to show their true forms to each other and always wore black robes and masks.

Moreover, demons identified each other not by visual or auditory cues but by the demonic aura they sensed from each other.

"Hmm? Youngest one, you... "

One of the demons, sensing Shugo's aura, tilted his head.

Shugo swallowed hard.

"Yes?"

"What's that black thing? It looks good."

Currently, Shugo had the horn of the youngest one's soul, which he had devoured, attached to his back.

The demons, instinctively sensing that the material of the sword was extraordinary, approached Shugo.

"That sword... "

At that moment,

"Let's stop the chitchat."

The demon with the strongest aura, wearing a crow mask, clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.

"Everyone, get ready. The gate is about to open."

'What?'

Shugo's eyes widened at this.

At that moment, even the hunters in the cart, pretending to be dead, opened their eyes wide.

Crack! Crack!

A red aura was tearing through the wall, creating a space.

'Such madness.'

This information was not in the youngest one's memories.

It was either erased or the youngest one didn't know about it.

'Oh my God.'

They realized everything at that moment.

What the demons had been doing in this factory.

'The final ingredient for Star Dust.'

Demon blood-soaked mana stones!

But the demons in the factory were in human bodies, so they had to summon a demon to extract the blood.

Crack! Crack!

The ominous red gate!

A dimensional hole connecting the demon realm and Earth was being created.

'Such madness!'

"Everyone, prepare for battle. We don't know what will come out, but we must kill it instantly!"

Boom!

The red gate burst open, and a red light surged out, putting the demons on high alert.

And finally,

An unknown demon from the demon realm was summoned before them.

"..."

Thud.

Violet hair swayed.

Slender arms and legs.

'A woman?'

The red gate closed, and the female demon who stepped forward was in a terrible state.

She was covered in blood, as if she had been through a brutal fight and was about to collapse.

But her eyes shone brightly despite the blood.

"Who summoned me?"

The violet-haired demon surveyed the demons surrounding her with a proud gaze.

She then curled her lips at the clear hostility she sensed from them.

"Hmph. Are you also after my life?"

Swish!

The violet-haired demon pointed her spear at the demons, baring her teeth.

"Fine. Come at me! I am Eshil, the eldest daughter of the Ladir family! We will fight to the end, until our last breath."