Chapter 43

Leveling Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 42

'There were guests who arrived earlier.'

As soon as he appeared, Suho secured the hostages and scanned the focused gazes on him.

Berga had read the memory of Secretary Kim and immediately came to the Stardust Research Institute, only to find that a fierce battle was already underway here.

'Ten hostages and about thirty Hunters.'

Every time Suho's gaze fell upon them, the Hunters flinched.

Perhaps due to his somewhat shocking appearance, the atmosphere around him felt frozen.

"Grgh..."

The only sound piercing the heavy silence was the groan of Park Jong-cheol, who had lost his arms and legs and was crawling on the floor like a worm.

"Grgh. What are you doing, you brats! Don't just stand there like idiots, fight! Fight, I said...!"

Suddenly!

The Hunters of the Four Horsemen Guild finally snapped out of their daze at Park Jong-cheol's curses.

"That's right! There's only one of him!"

"Everyone, attack together!"

"Roar!"

The attacks that were originally aimed at the Association Hunters now turned and flew towards Suho.

A 30-to-1 battle.

Since the minimum unit of an attack squad is 10, it meant that three entire attack squads were charging at Suho to kill him.

But Suho had no intention of taking it lying down.

He glanced up and looked at the ceiling.

'The Dominion's Power.'

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Invisible hands shattered the fluorescent lights on the ceiling one by one.

"What, what is this?!"

As the field of vision suddenly went dark, the Hunters who were charging at Suho stopped in their tracks, floundering.

No matter how skilled a Hunter, it takes time for the eyes to adjust to sudden darkness.

'But I don't need that.'

Suho immediately shot through the darkness.

He had come in wearing a crow mask to illuminate the darkness, precisely for this moment.

Splat! Swish! Swish! Swish!

"Ah!"

"Ugh!"

"Grgh!"

Screams erupted from various points in the darkness.

"Be, be careful! He's attacking... Grgh!"

In an instant, five of them fell, spraying blood.

"Light!"

Whoosh!

At that moment, a fireball someone conjured illuminated the surroundings.

But Suho was already gone from that spot.

The Hunters' eyes flared with murderous intent.

"Find him immediately!"

This research facility was a cherished hideout of Vice President Lee Min-sung.

It would be a disgrace for the Four Horsemen Guild to be toyed with by a mere intruder.

"Healers, tend to the wounded immediately! Everyone, stay together and fight as a group!"

Even in this chaotic situation, they moved according to their manual.

After all, the enemy was a minority, and as long as they avoided being picked off one by one, they had the advantage in numbers.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Additional fireballs continued to rise, pushing back the darkness.

But.

'You are already my prey.'

At the end of the darkness, Suho's eyes flashed.

"Rise."

Swish-

Behind Suho, a shadow stretched out, and eight legs extended in all directions.

And the entity that rose from the floor was...

[Araene Lv.1]

Knight Rank

House-sized body.

Dozens of eyes.

A hideous mouth.

A pair of giant pincers.

The 'Tomb Spider Araene' that he had caught in the Maegok Field had returned from death as a Shadow Spider.

[Screech!]

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Black spider webs spread in all directions.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The spider webs stuck to the walls and ceiling, beginning to transform this massive container building into a spider's nest.

"What, what is this sticky stuff?!"

Eventually, the spider webs reached out to the Hunters.

[Araene uses the skill: Puppet Show.]

"Ah! My body is moving...!"

Plop!

"Grgh! Why are you...?"

Instantly, the arm of a Hunter caught in the spider web moved on its own and stabbed the Hunter next to him.

Thud.

"Huh?"

As the stabbed Hunter fell, bleeding, the puppeted Hunter panicked and flailed his arm.

"No, no! This isn't me! This sticky thread is making my body...!"

But his body was already swinging its sword at another victim.

"What, you brat! Why are you suddenly attacking your own side?!"

"No, I'm not moving on my own!"

And that was the beginning.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

[Araene uses the skill: Puppet Show.]

[Araene uses the skill: Puppet Show.]

"Ah! I'm caught too!"

"Ah! Scatter!"

"No, don't scatter! This is his plan!"

"Then what do you want us to do, damn it!"

Dozens of Hunters began swinging their swords at each other.

It was a true chaos.

"Cut this damn spider web first!"

"Don't fall for his skill!"

Crack.

['Low-grade Healing Potion' purchased.]

Taking advantage of this moment, Suho bought a potion from the shop and poured it into the mouth of the kindergarten child he was holding.

To think that such one-sided violence was being inflicted on this small body.

Suho's fierce gaze suddenly turned to Park Jong-cheol, who was crawling on the floor.

Then a small shadow descended upon him.

[To enrage the Young Lord...]

Berga's hand grabbed the man's head.

"Grgh?!"

Park Jong-cheol's eyes widened as his head was forcibly lifted.

Above his dilated pupils, the mouth of the black demonic hand, transformed into a demon, split open.

[You will not die easily.]

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"..."

A silent scream escaped Park Jong-cheol's mouth.

Meanwhile, the effect of the potion began to kick in, and the child's condition visibly improved.

Suho's gaze returned to the enemies.

"Araene."

[Screech?]

Araene, who was using her large pincers to fling Hunters away, turned to look at Suho.

"Take out the healers first."

Healers were the highest priority targets.

Many of them had not only healing skills but also annoying buff skills.

Suho had deliberately inflicted only critical injuries on the Hunters during the first attack to weed out the healers.

As a result, the healers were now busily moving around, pouring their mana into the wounded.

[Screech!]

Araene began hunting down and attacking the healers.

"He's targeting the healers! Protect the healers!"

'Take this opportunity to rescue the other hostages.'

Thinking this, Suho turned his gaze to the prison.

However, the Association Hunters were already moving there.

Their goal from the beginning was to rescue the hostages, so they had rushed into the prison without even confirming Suho's identity.

The problem was that the Four Horsemen Guild members had also noticed this.

"The materials are trying to escape! Stop them!"

"Capture the hostages first!"

Rushing in!

They surrounded the prison.

"Grgh!"

The Association Hunters, who were suddenly trapped in the prison with the hostages.

To make matters worse...

Bang!

"What is this?!"

Just then, the research facility's door burst open, and reinforcements arrived.

The problem was that the reinforcements were not for the Association but for the Four Horsemen Guild.

Dozens of Hunters from another container building had rushed over upon hearing the commotion!

"Huh."

At this scene, Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk let out a gasp.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered,

"Will we be able to get out of here alive?"

"Of course."

"..."

Startled by the sudden response, Han Jae-hyuk looked to the side.

The crow mask was already standing outside the bars.

Suho had used his strength to pry open the bars and handed the child he was holding to him.

'What kind of strength...'

Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk, surprised by Suho's immense strength, took the child.

Suho, straightening the bent bars, said to him,

"Actually, this is for the best. Stay here and guard the hostages for a while. You can cover any attacks from outside with your shield skill, right?"

"Who are you...?"

Just as Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk was about to say something to Suho,

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Suddenly, black spider webs flew in and tied up the prison door from the outside.

So it couldn't be opened from either inside or outside.

Han Jae-hyuk, startled, looked at Suho again.

But Suho had already turned around to face the approaching enemies.

"Just rest there for a moment."

His broad, sturdy back.

"Everything will be over soon."

Saying this, Suho slowly walked towards the enemies, whose numbers had doubled and were now rushing towards him.

Escaping was always an option.

But should he really let these people live?

Hunters who killed their fellow humans for their own gain.

They were no longer human.

Monsters.

No, villains.

Looking at them, Suho resolved,

'I will root them out here today.'

This thought was transmitted to someone far away.

[The King of Beasts, Fang Lord, is pleased that the time for the hunt has arrived.]

"Possession."

The moment Suho spoke,

Swish...

The body of Gray in the Shadow Dungeon suddenly floated up and began to turn transparent.

"Rumble?"

"Huh? Spirit form?"

Eshil, standing beside him, immediately recognized the phenomenon and widened her eyes.

[The spirit of the pet: Gray possesses the Priest's body.]

Gray's spirit climbed up Suho's shadow and settled into his body.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Suho's hair turned a divine silver, and a beastly aura surged from his entire body.

"..."

"What, what is that?!"

The Four Horsemen Guild members were shocked by Suho's sudden transformation.

The Association Hunters in the prison were no different.

"Ah. Could that be...!"

"The White Tiger Guild's...!"

[The King of Beasts, Fang Lord, nods in satisfaction at the Priest's transformed appearance.]

'This is the feeling.'

Suho looked down at the wild aura surging from his body.

A divine wind, imbued with mana, wrapped around his body.

"Alright, let's see the power of the Priest you boasted about so much."

Suho sneered at Lakan and surrendered his body to the surging aura.

At that moment,

"Roar!"

Suho roared like a beast and shot towards the enemies at explosive speed.

Boom!

"Ah!"

...Swallow.

Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk, watching the scene as if entranced, involuntarily swallowed hard.

A memory was surfacing in his mind.

'Not just a simple beast transformation.'

He had seen it once.

The battle scene of the White Tiger Guild's guild leader, Baek Yun-ho, from a distance.

Of course, the aura he sensed from this man in the crow mask was not on the level of Baek Yun-ho.

Baek Yun-ho was S-rank.

The overwhelming presence he exuded was so immense that even thinking about it was terrifying.

But why...

Was that memory constantly resurfacing?

"Beast King Crow..."

"Huh?"

The name that suddenly slipped out of Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk's mouth made his subordinates look at him.

Right. Why did it only come to him now?

It was the knight he had seen last night.

Maegok Field.

Crow mask.

"...The one who inherited the power of the Beast King."

Was that him?

Roar!

The fierce roar of the beast shook his heart.

Right in front of the Association Hunters, Beast King Crow was wreaking havoc on his prey with the giant spider.