Chapter 44

Level Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 43

Ding!

[You have learned the skill: 'Wind of the Prairie'.]

Whoosh!

In an instant, Shugo, as if he had wings, darted through the hunters. The wind that followed his path fiercely whipped, propelling his movement.

[Your movement speed has increased by 30% temporarily.]

[Your attack speed has increased by 30% temporarily.]

Swoosh!

"Ah!"

Blood splattered in the wind.

Screams erupted from all around.

[The King of Beasts, Lord Fang, bares his teeth and chuckles.]

A 50 to 1 battle?

Numerical disadvantage?

What does that matter.

When darkness is on our side.

"Ber!"

[Yes, sir!]

At Shugo's call, Ber immediately leaped into action. With his short but powerful claws, he mercilessly sliced through the floating fireballs in the air.

Boom! Boom!

The fireballs exploded, plunging the scene back into darkness.

"Damn! Turn the lights back on!"

The hunters clenched their teeth and recreated the fireballs, but each time, Ber's claws extinguished them.

Whoosh! Boom!

Whoosh! Boom!

The view flickered incessantly.

Each time, screams erupted from all around.

"Ah! My leg...!"

"O, over here!"

"Gah...!"

Every time the lights flickered, Shugo's position changed.

And inevitably, new casualties appeared.

When healers rushed to save them,

Crack!

Snap!

"......?!"

A black web fell from above, swiftly snatching the healer.

"Watch out for the spider...!"

And the giant pincers of the Arachne mercilessly stabbed the hunter standing there.

Boom!

"Keh...!"

Blood spewed from his mouth.

The ultimate agony.

It was like a scene from a horror movie.

[Twelve.]

In the air, Ber's feelers twitched continuously, counting the enemies he had dispatched.

Numerical disadvantage?

What does that matter.

After all, everyone dies.

"Keh!"

[Thirteen.]

No matter how strong, a stab to the heart means death.

"Keh!"

[Fourteen.]

A severed neck means death.

Even if the defense skill is solid, just kill the others first.

Use an attack skill to counter, and a stab to the back will do the job.

"Run, run!"

"We need to get out of here...!"

[Fifteen.]

This place was already Shugo's hunting ground.

The overwhelming fear gnawed at the minds of the Death Guild members.

[The King of Beasts, Lord Fang, is proud of his regal presence.]

[The King of Beasts, Lord Fang, advises to manage mana carefully as the 'Possession' state continuously drains magic power.]

"......"

The only thing the association hunters could do, watching this gruesome scene from inside the prison, was...

"Close your eyes."

To tightly cover the eyes and ears of the kindergarten child they were holding.

'What the...?'

To the association hunters, Shugo's relentless slaughter of the enemies felt extremely alien.

No matter how deserving the enemies were of death, there was not a trace of mercy in his actions.

After all, hunters were familiar with blood. They were accustomed to taking lives.

Hunters, in essence, were not much different from butchers.

But still...

They were human, weren't they?

"To kill without a hint of hesitation."

"What is he...?"

"No. It must be due to the Beastification skill."

Listening to the mutterings of his subordinates, Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk spoke with certainty.

"Really? Because of the Beastification skill?"

"Yes. The Beastification skill is an incredible skill that greatly enhances physical abilities, but it also maximizes savagery, making it extremely difficult to maintain rationality and control. That's why incidents involving Beastified hunters often occur, isn't it?"

"Ah."

The association hunters nodded in understanding.

[No, you fools.]

From a distance, Ber chuckled.

[Our little lord has been familiar with death from the very beginning. Since he was a baby.]

Death, the primal fear of all living beings.

But for Shugo, who had freely traversed the world of death since he was a baby, death was merely a natural phenomenon always by his side.

Even the nannies who raised him as a baby were soldiers of death.

Most importantly, Shugo had experienced his own death countless times.

Tests repeated by his father, Seong Jin-woo, to help Shugo properly control the power of the Shadow Overlord and use it appropriately in different situations.

Shugo repeatedly died in his dreams, eventually overcoming his fear of death.

Not just overcoming fear, but reaching a level where he could handle death as a means and an experience.

[Just like our lord.]

Ber smiled contentedly and muttered.

* * *

'What the hell is this?'

Arriving late at the research facility, B-rank hunter Kwak Doo-young was speechless at the carnage inside the building.

'Is this even possible?'

The intruder was just one person.

The magic power he exuded was at most C-rank, or perhaps B-rank.

And his skills were not particularly impressive.

A speed enhancement skill that increases movement speed?

Sure, but the tankers in front could take the hits while the damage dealers concentrated their attacks, right?

A giant spider as a summon?

While somewhat unique, it was at most a C-rank monster.

The Death Guild's 2nd raid team was capable of a stable raid.

So why? Why?

"How can so many people be getting beaten by just one guy!"

Kwak Doo-young finally joined the battle.

"Giant's Armor!"

Boom!

A magical armor enveloped his body as he leaped high.

Boom!

Kwak Doo-young's size and weight doubled instantly.

The impact of his heavily armored body hitting the ground made the entire container building shake.

"Kwak Doo-young Hunter?!"

The hunters fighting Shugo turned to him with relief.

One of the main tankers of the Death Guild, Kwak Doo-young.

Despite being only B-rank, he secured a top position in a large guild representing Korea, thanks to his size-enhancing skill.

A towering figure over 3 meters tall, clad in an aura armor.

The overwhelming combat power derived from his massive build.

When combined with his other skills,

No one could doubt that Kwak Doo-young was a top tanker in the Death Guild.

"Get out of the way, scum! Charge!"

The skill Charge.

A technique of a vanguard, enveloped in aura, charging forward like a cannonball.

Boom! Boom!

"Ah?!"

"Kwak Doo-young Hunter! Wait...!"

Crash! Crash!

"Ah!"

"Get out...!"

Kwak Doo-young's massive body charged forward like a rhinoceros.

He ignored the subordinates who were flung in all directions.

A few sacrifices were nothing to him.

'My goal is!'

Shugo easily dodged his simple and brutal charge.

But his target was not Shugo.

It was the prison behind Shugo!

Crack!

"Heh. Got it!"

"......!"

The giant hand finally grabbed the prison bars.

Kwak Doo-young smiled meaningfully and shouted loudly for Shugo to hear.

"You! Stop right there! Before I crush these hostages along with the prison!"

Crack!

At the same time, the prison bars began to bend like twigs under his immense strength.

"Ah! Everyone, gather around me!"

Inside the prison, Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk, who was with the hostages, panicked and used his ultimate defensive skill.

Seeing this, Kwak Doo-young laughed derisively.

"Ha, trying to resist my power? A mere C-rank tanker!"

Crack!

"Keh!"

A clash of power.

Han Jae-hyuk's eyes were bloodshot as he tried to resist.

The gap between a C-rank and a B-rank tanker was clear.

Despite his efforts, Han Jae-hyuk's knees were trembling, about to give way.

But Shugo,

"What are you two doing without me?"

looked utterly bewildered.

Tanks are like this.

The higher their defense, the more they overestimate it.

And with Kwak Doo-young's size and build doubled, his arrogance was indescribable.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the Wind of the Prairie swept over Kwak Doo-young.

Thud!

"......Ah!"

When did he...?!

Kwak Doo-young was startled.

Someone had suddenly grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.

There, on his shoulder, Shugo was grinning.

"Only you grow? I can punch too."

Goo!

With his left hand gripping Kwak Doo-young's hair, Shugo raised his right hand, and a black aura enveloped his fist.

[Using skill: 'Strong Punch'.]

"Take this."

Shugo sneered and delivered a vertical punch to Kwak Doo-young's head with his massive fist.

Boom!

"Keh...!"

With a tremendous roar, the giant spat blood and fell forward.

But complacency was dangerous.

He did not expect to break through a B-rank tanker's defense with just one hit.

Swoosh!

Two swords appeared in Shugo's hands.

Shugo mercilessly swung his swords at Kwak Doo-young's defenseless back.

[Using skill: 'Storm Slash'.]

Boom!

"......!"

It was the final blow.

The light in Kwak Doo-young's eyes faded, and his inflated body began to shrink.

Then...

Clank, clank, clank!

All the remaining villains dropped their weapons.

The Death Guild members, pale with fear, raised their hands, having lost the will to resist.

"Ha, we surrender...!"

[Heh. Now?]

Ber knew better than anyone the danger of showing mercy to such people.

Swoosh!

Ber's claws sliced through their Achilles tendons.

"Keh!"

"Ah!"

"We surrendered, why...!"

[True surrender is only in death.]

Ber chuckled and mocked their pathetic writhing on the ground.

[Or, thoroughly destroy them so they can never be used in battle again.]

Ber approached them with a wicked smile and cast a 'Heal' spell on them.

A weak heal, conserving his magic power.

Whoosh!

Ber kindly (or so he claimed) reconnected their severed Achilles tendons in a messy way.

Very meticulously.

[Now, your legs will never fully heal, no matter how many healers you see. Well, you could regrow them by cutting off your ankles and regenerating them.]

"......"

The Death Guild members shuddered at the sight of the small demon, no bigger than a fist, laughing and mocking them.

Then,

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Numerous messages appeared before Shugo.

[Quest: 'Rescue Lives' completed.]

[Number of rescues: 10]

[Level up!]

[Skill: 'Dual Sword Technique' leveled up!]

[Skill: 'Storm Slash' leveled up!]

[Quest completion rewards have arrived.]

[Do you want to check the rewards?] (Y/N)

But then,

Something caught Shugo's eye, which had been looking down.

A light, the size of a coin, was shining from the dead body of Kwak Doo-young.

Shugo's eyes widened.

'Could it be...?'

The light that seeped out from the monsters who possessed magic stones.

But now, that light was coming from the dead body of Kwak Doo-young.