Chapter 36

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 35

As a result of relentlessly pouring out attacks.

['Effect: Critical Hit' has been activated.]

An option attached to Rakan's fangs.

A special effect that deals more than double the damage with a 15% chance has been activated.

That was the beginning.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

['Effect: Critical Hit' has been activated.]

['Effect: Critical Hit' has been activated.]

...

The more times the attacks accumulated, the more critical hits kept exploding.

Crack!

Finally, unable to withstand the force, one of the Arachne's leg joints broke.

"Kwaaaaa!"

Arachne screamed and staggered.

Soo-ho didn't miss this opportunity.

Thud!

He stepped on the broken leg and leaped onto the creature's back.

Then, holding two swords in reverse grip, he plunged them into the creature's hard back shell.

Precisely into the joint visible between the shell segments.

Crunch!

Green blood splattered as a scream erupted.

"Kwaaa!"

Boom! Bang! Bang!

Arachne thrashed violently against the wall to shake Soo-ho off.

But the more she thrashed, the more tenaciously Soo-ho clung to her back, driving his swords deeper.

Then.

"Keeeeeek!"

[Grave Spider Arachne uses the skill: 'Puppet Show'.]

[Grave Spider Arachne uses the skill: 'Puppet Show'.]

Swoosh!

'Behind!'

Soo-ho instinctively flipped his body and leaped high.

A sharp attack sliced through the space where Soo-ho had been.

Splat!

Soo-ho, who landed back on Arachne's back, turned his head to identify the creatures that had attacked him.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"My body moved on its own...!"

Hunters, their limbs bound by spider webs, turned pale and attacked Soo-ho.

'So, puppets.'

The bodies of the people hanging on the walls and ceiling were being manipulated by the spider webs, floating in the air.

Their movements were bizarre, like zombies.

"Ber!"

Soo-ho, hanging on Arachne's back and being swung around, roared.

[Yes, my lord. You called?]

What more needed to be said?

Ber had been holding back during the battle, fearing that he might steal Soo-ho's experience points.

Conversely, there was no reason for him not to join the battle as long as he didn't steal the experience points.

Ber turned his head and fiercely roared at the hunters attacking Soo-ho.

[How dare you, vile creatures, interfere with the great crusade of my young lord!]

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

[Keeeeeek!]

Ber's claws brutally slashed the hunters at an incredible speed.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Save me...!"

The hunters screamed in terror.

However.

"......Huh?"

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The spider webs binding them suddenly snapped.

At that moment, the hunters' bodies, which had been floating in the air, plummeted like marionettes with their strings cut.

Thud!

"Ouch! Ouch...!"

The hunters, who had landed on their butts, rolled on the ground in pain.

Then they suddenly lifted their heads and followed Soo-ho's figure.

Their eyes widened in shock.

"......Mad."

An absurd scene unfolded.

Crunch! Crack! Squish!

"Kwaaaaa!"

He... was tearing off Arachne's back shell with his bare hands.

'If the defense is high, just tear off the shield!'

[Strength: 51]

The tendons in his arms bulged as if they would burst.

Sweat poured down like rain.

"Keeeeeek! Grrrr!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The more he did this, the more violently Arachne thrashed.

Soo-ho resisted the thrashing with all his might and grip.

Then Soo-ho's eyes gleamed.

'Daily Quest!'

He took out the reward he had saved for such a moment.

[The following rewards are available.]

Reward 1: Status Recovery (Unconfirmed)

'Accept Reward!'

Flash!

At that moment, a refreshing energy swirled around, and all his conditions returned to their peak.

"Great!"

Soo-ho grinned and applied more force to his grip.

But this was still not enough.

'Stronger power...!'

Soo-ho instinctively thought of a way to make up for the lack of power.

'Dominion Power!'

Flash!

An invisible hand, floating in the air, suddenly overlapped with Soo-ho's right arm.

Just like that time.

When he had thrown the Association Hunter Han Jae-hyuk's team leader with his strength.

A dark aura seeped into Soo-ho's arm.

Crack!

Finally, the largest back shell was torn off like a crab shell.

Beneath it, Arachne's flesh was exposed.

Soo-ho, with all his weapons removed, aimed at that spot.

And plunged his fist in a straight line.

Kwaaaaa!

['Skill: Strong Punch Lv.1' has been learned.]

The brutal violence compressed Arachne's massive body in half.

"......!"

[Grave Spider Arachne has been defeated.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

Arachne, unable to even scream, collapsed.

Soo-ho stepped on her body and tore out the 'Relic' parasitizing inside her.

Snap!

['Item: Rakan's Fang - 2' has been obtained.]

A sword identical to the original Rakan's Fang appeared in Soo-ho's hand.

Even its personality was similar.

-Who dares to covet the king's sword!

An evil voice pierced Soo-ho's mind.

-I will devour your flesh!

Whoosh!

A red aura extended from the sword and enveloped Soo-ho.

Then, a shadow rose from beneath Soo-ho's feet and swallowed the sword.

The red aura, which had been charging forward, subsided.

-What, what is this aura? Could this be the Shadow Lord's...!

"You guys, what's with the fixed lines?"

Soo-ho chuckled as he spoke to Rakan's Fang - 1.

Thud!

......!

Suddenly, the two relics, Rakan's Fangs, resonated with each other.

Ding!

['Item: Rakan's Fang' recognizes each other.]

['Beast Sanctuary' has been activated.]

And simultaneously, system messages began to appear in front of Soo-ho.

Ding! Ding!

[Passive Skill '(Unknown)' has been learned.]

[Passive Skill '(Unknown)' has been activated.]

A new passive skill was added to the skill information window that automatically opened.

[Skill]

Passive Skill: (Unknown) Lv.max

'What is this...?'

At that unexpected moment,

Whoosh!

Soo-ho's shadow spread out, dyeing the entire world.

...And time stopped.

* * *

'Where am I...?'

Soo-ho looked around blankly.

A world of perfect emptiness.

He stood alone at the edge of a desolate horizon.

The crow mask he was wearing and the Rakan's Fang in his hand had disappeared.

'Ber.'

Soo-ho tried to call Ber, but no sound came out of his mouth.

'Is this a dream?'

As he thought this, a voice suddenly sounded.

[This is not your dream.]

'......!'

Soo-ho opened his eyes wide and looked ahead.

A man was staring at him from the edge of the desolate horizon.

A giant over two meters tall.

A wild man wearing clothes made of animal skins.

No, it was more like wildness itself.

[Welcome. You are his descendant.]

The man bared his sharp fangs and smiled at Soo-ho.

'Who are you?'

Soo-ho asked, and the man answered.

[My name is Rakan. I am the eternal wraith killed by the Shadow Lord.]

At that moment, the system displayed a message in front of Soo-ho.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, is watching you.]

'......!'

Soo-ho's eyes widened.

He suddenly felt an overwhelming presence from the man.

A bear, no, a tiger.

A lion, a shark, a crocodile, a venomous snake—what predator in the world could exude such an overwhelming aura?

'King.'

Soo-ho realized.

He was the true king of beasts.

And at that moment of realization.

Whoosh!

The man's silhouette grew larger in Soo-ho's vision.

'......!'

And finally, he could see.

Behind the man, who had the form of a human,

a massive white wolf was looking down at him.

[Oh. Can you see my true form? Truly a remarkable ability.]

The giant wolf, Rakan, stretched his lips in a long, interested grin.

[After all, you brought me out of the void. This level of ability is expected.]

'Did I bring you out?'

Soo-ho looked puzzled.

[Yes. I don't know how, but you woke me up. Thanks to you, my soul, which was in eternal rest, is now dreaming of 'you'.]

'Dream?'

[Yes. This is my dream.]

Rakan chuckled and looked around.

[...There is nothing here.]

Rakan suddenly burst into a hollow laugh.

A truly empty laugh.

[Of course.]

The dead do not dream.

Therefore, this dream was nothing but emptiness.

[Ha ha ha. Isn't it truly ironic? The Fang Lord, who killed and trampled so many beasts in his lifetime, ends up with this.]

He turned his eyes back to Soo-ho.

And realized.

The young human who inherited the power of the Shadow Lord.

This small, weak human child was the only spectacle in this empty dream.

[...Is that so.]

Rakan's gaze deepened as he looked at Soo-ho.

[From now on, you will be my only pleasure.]

He grinned.

The lord, once dead, falls into eternal rest.

A world of nothingness where all self-awareness and even dreams disappear.

But not anymore.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, is watching you.]

The same message repeated.

[Ha ha ha. From now on, I can watch your life through dreams. I am truly looking forward to it.]

Soo-ho frowned at Rakan's words.

'You can watch my life? Why?'

[Why ask me? I was merely summoned by your power.]

'My power?'

Suddenly, the new 'Unknown' skill came to mind.

Soo-ho's unsatisfied reaction made Rakan chuckle and continue.

[Don't worry. I can't see all of your moments. I can only see you when you use my power.]

'When you say my power... are you talking about Rakan's Fang?'

[Yes. Ah, and when you are with my descendant.]

'Gray?'

[Yes, that's the name I gave him. I am grateful that you didn't kill my descendant and took him in. Ah, this will add some joy to my empty rest.]

Rakan smiled, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

Then, a mysterious light emitted from his massive body.

Whoosh!

The light descended upon Soo-ho.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, bestows his blessing upon you.]

Soo-ho looked at the light bathing his body with a puzzled expression.

['Blessing: Rakan's Blessing' has been applied.]