Chapter 47

Leveling Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 46

[Skill: Giant's Armor Lv.1]

Active Skill

Mana Cost: 10.

Surrounds the body with a magical armor, making it gigantic.

Mana decreases by 1 per second while the skill is active.

The skill 'Giant's Armor' obtained after defeating Guakdu-yeong was one that continuously drained mana even when maintained.

For reference, the current maximum mana of Suho is 635.

In other words, the skill can be maintained for 635 seconds.

That is, about 10 minutes is the limit.

And that's assuming no other skills are used.

Of course, his strength, size, and defense improved significantly, but the biggest problem was something else.

His hands also grew, making it impossible to hold weapons.

In the end, Suho had to give up his main weapon, the dual swords, and fight bare-handed.

"Strong Punch."

Swish!

As Suho raised his fist, the dominion's power overlapped, and a dark aura enveloped it.

He plunged the fist into the sand scorpion that was tightly coiled around his body.

Kwaang!

"Krrrr!"

The sand scorpion, hit by the tremendous impact, writhed and retreated.

However, it wasn't a fatal blow, and it managed to escape by burrowing into the sand.

The problem was that this single attack had halved Suho's mana, and the time he could maintain Giant's Armor was also halved.

'If I keep fighting like this, I won't even recover the cost of potions.'

Suho quickly made a decision.

Run.

"Cancel Giant's Armor."

Swish.

The aura armor covering his body disappeared, and Suho's body returned to its original size.

Suho immediately mounted Arachne and reached out to Eshil.

"What are you doing? Not running?"

"..."

Eshil, who had a lot to say, quickly grabbed his hand.

* * *

[Thud, thud, thud!]

Arachne, carrying the two of them, began to sprint across the desert, waving her eight legs fiercely.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Seven sand scorpions were hot on their heels.

The speed was neck and neck.

A tense chase ensued, with the scorpions almost catching up but never quite reaching them.

"We'll be caught if this keeps up!"

On top of the running Arachne, Eshil turned around and glared at the scorpions chasing them.

She then threw her spear without hesitation at the closest scorpion.

Squeeeek-

The sand scorpion writhed and dodged the attack.

Thanks to this brief hesitation, they managed to create some distance, but Eshil's spear flew far away.

"What about the weapon?"

"This will do! Come back!"

In response to Suho's question, Eshil stretched out her hand and shouted.

Eshil's spear, like a boomerang, flew through the air and returned to her hand.

Eshil twirled the spear confidently and looked at Suho.

"This spear is my horn. It will return to me no matter where it is."

"Horn?"

"Demon's horn. Some demons use their horns as weapons. The Radir family is the same."

"Good."

"What?"

Eshil was startled.

Suho was looking at her with a gleam in his eyes.

"I'll create an opening this time, so aim well."

Suho grinned and drew his dual swords from atop Arachne.

['Skill: Storm Slash' activated.]

Kwaang!

The dual swords swung, creating a sandstorm.

The goal was to obscure the scorpions' vision.

The plan worked, and the sand scorpions' faces were covered in thick sand.

"Now!"

"Got it!"

At Suho's shout, Eshil infused her spear with mana and threw it at the scorpions.

Squeeeek- Bang!

Eshil's spear, piercing through the sandstorm, exploded on the scorpion's body.

"Kieeeek!"

The scorpion, startled by the attack, writhed and retreated into the sand.

"They keep hiding when things get tough!"

Eshil's spear returned to her hand as she clenched her fist in frustration.

At that moment,

[Young Master.]

Berg, who had been out of sight, appeared in front of Suho.

[Let's run in that direction.]

Suho turned his gaze in the direction Berg pointed.

There, he saw...

"Pyramid?"

Suho's eyes widened.

He had been so busy being chased by the sand scorpions that he hadn't noticed the truly massive pyramid in the distance.

Suho muttered in disbelief.

"Could this be... Earth?"

[It seems to be a field on Earth.]

Who would have thought the gate would connect to Earth?

This was a completely unexpected situation.

Now that he looked, he could see a faint blue mist mixed with the sandstorm.

'Come to think of it, it's not that strange, is it?'

Just as entering a dungeon through a gate on Earth leads to a dungeon, it made sense that entering a gate from the Shadow Dungeon could lead to Earth.

Without hesitation, Suho turned Arachne's direction toward the pyramid.

And just as they approached the pyramid, struggling with the sand scorpions,

Swoosh, swoosh...

"Huh?"

Surprisingly, the scorpions' pursuit abruptly stopped.

"They're not chasing us anymore! We're saved!"

Eshil cheered in relief.

[Kehem.]

Berg stood proudly above Eshil's head.

In contrast, Suho, observing the scorpions' movements, tilted his head.

The scorpions were not approaching the pyramid but were only pacing around it.

"Do they fear the pyramid? Why?"

When he turned his gaze back to the pyramid, he saw, to his surprise, a small village formed around it.

'It must be Earth, then.'

Suho's eyes sparkled.

The village clearly had a modern appearance.

Old ruins surrounding the pyramid had modern signs attached to them.

"Who are you?"

The guards, who were guarding the village's perimeter, approached Suho and his party in confusion.

"How did you get here?"

"Did you cross the red desert?"

"...What?"

Suho had a bewildered look on his face.

Language barrier.

The guards, who were Egyptians, were speaking Arabic.

"How did you avoid the sand scorpions and get here?"

"Hmm?"

Surprisingly, Eshil understood Arabic and translated for him.

[Demons can understand and communicate through thoughts, not human language.]

Now that he thought about it, it was quite remarkable that the demon Eshil could speak Korean.

'Well, this is convenient.'

Suho got off Arachne with Eshil and began talking to the guards.

It was more of a Q&A session to pass through the gate.

"Are you hunters?"

Yes.

"What is your purpose here?"

None.

We were chased by scorpions and ended up here by chance.

"How long do you plan to stay? Food is scarce here."

We'll rest for a while and leave soon.

'Hmm.'

While answering the guards' questions through Eshil's translation, Suho noticed their interest in Arachne.

Arachne, the giant spider he rode, was quite threatening.

However, their gaze was surprisingly friendly.

"Who among you is the summoner of this spider?"

"Is this spider a transportation summon?"

"Riding a spider across the red desert, impressive."

"Can your spider carry other people?"

"Most hunters come here by helicopter."

Helicopter?

At the last statement, Suho looked around in surprise.

What could motivate people to come to this dangerous land surrounded by giant scorpions, even by helicopter?

He suddenly turned his gaze around.

All he could see was sand, and the only thing worth seeing was the pyramid.

"Is it because of the pyramid?"

At Suho's question, the guards looked at him and Eshil with a surprised expression.

"You really came here without knowing anything."

"..."

He felt like a fool.

* * *

The desert city of Kamura.

This small town was originally a tourist city that thrived on visitors coming to see the pyramids.

However, a month ago,

The entire desert became a field-type dungeon, and Kamura's hell began.

The numerous tourists and residents inside the city turned into Mist Beasts and started attacking people, and those who awakened as hunters fought against them.

Many deaths occurred in the process.

Those who survived began to escape the field by helicopter.

Due to the giant scorpions roaming around the village, the only possible means of transportation was by helicopter.

However, something strange happened.

Hunters from outside started to gather in this village one by one, riding those helicopters.

Their purpose was one.

The pyramid.

For some reason, as soon as these hunters arrived in the city, they began to thoroughly explore the pyramid.

There was a reason for this.

"It's because a fortune-teller made a strange prophecy a month ago."

"Prophecy?"

At Eshil's translation of the guards' words, Suho tilted his head.

Eshil, with a somewhat awkward expression, relayed the content of the prophecy.

"Life will soon awaken from death, breaking the seal."

[Oh?]

Berg's eyes sparkled with interest at the prophecy.

"And that power will raise the dead."

Suho and Berg looked at each other.

Of course, the prophecy was quite vague and abstract.

But it sounded very intuitive to them.

[Young Master, that prophecy...]

"Is it about me?"

Life awakening from death?

It seemed to be a direct reference to Suho, the son of Shadow Lord Seong Jin-woo.

Moreover, the recent breaking of Suho's seal and the skill to raise the dead, the Shadow Extraction skill, fit the description perfectly.

However, the prophecy seemed to be interpreted differently by others.

Eshil continued.

"And coincidentally, the prophecy came out just when the dungeon break occurred inside this pyramid."

The timing was perfect.

In fact, the phrase "life awakening from death" could be found in the myths of many cultures, including Egypt.

The pyramids and pharaohs.

Throughout history, the eternal pursuit of immortality was a common theme.

But the pharaohs of Egypt took it a step further, desiring the world after death and building the massive pyramids with countless slaves.

"Given the perfect timing, it seems the prophecy points to this place, and hunters have been flocking here from all over."

Suho finally understood the situation and nodded.

The pyramids have long been shrouded in mystery.

For those who didn't know about the Shadow Lord's powers, the fortune-teller's prophecy could be interpreted as a skill that grants eternal life, like "resurrection," appearing here.

After all, various skills have emerged from runes found in dungeons.

"However, something important was discovered inside, it seems."

"What?"

"Hmm. Hold on."

Eshil looked at the guard she had been talking to.

The guard blushed and shrugged.

"It's not difficult to tell you, but there's a condition."

"Condition?"

Just as Suho was about to ask what the condition was,

Eshil had already grabbed the guard by the collar.

"How dare you try to make a deal with me?"

Eshil, returning to her noble demon aristocrat persona, glared at the guard.

The guard, intimidated by her arrogant gaze, turned pale and stammered.

"H, hunters eventually found an inscription in hieroglyphs deep inside the pyramid!"

"Inscription? What kind of inscription?"

"...May the light shine upon the challenger's path."

It was an inscription that had never existed in Egyptian history.