Chapter 65

Leveling Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 64

Squeal!

Dozens of corrupted lancers immediately launched an attack.

“Keeerik! Charge! We outnumber them!”

“Don’t spare those who betrayed the Queen!”

While the lancers who were first killed by Guardian had underestimated and been complacent, the situation was completely different now.

[Shadow Lancer]

Common Rank

Black lancers reborn as shadow lancers.

With five lancers that looked exactly like them but in a different color now on Guardian’s side, it was a situation where they could not afford to be complacent.

“Struggle all you want.”

In the center, Guardian’s eyes shone intensely.

“I’ll make you betray the Queen soon enough.”

[Keeerik!]

The black lancers, now serving a new king, crossed their two lances and lunged forward.

Squeal! Bang!

Boom!

The clash between Guardian’s army and the corrupted lancers at the end of the maze sent shockwaves that sent shivers down one’s spine, radiating in all directions.

Terrifying screams echoed loudly in the air.

Thorn walls collapsed and reformed repeatedly, caught in the aftermath.

New thorn vines continued to surround Guardian’s army.

As beings of similar power clashed, the scene was indescribably brutal and fierce.

“Keeerik……!”

[Keeerik!]

The lancers, born solely for attack, had no concept of defense.

They were a single lance.

No, two lances, ruthlessly piercing and slashing their enemies.

If they were faster than their opponent, they would kill; if they fell behind, they would die. They were the embodiment of a lance.

But.

It was different.

The lancers, who had evolved into an extreme form of pure attack, were only completed when they came to Guardian.

More accurately, they had become infinite lances that could be broken and restored at will, as long as Guardian’s mana supported them.

They had become immortal lances that could not be killed!

Swish!

Holes pierced by lances were filled with black shadows, and severed heads flew back and reattached like smoke.

As the battle continued, the corrupted lancers could only be shocked.

“T-this is…!”

The corrupted wasps floating over this Times Square field relayed every word and action of the hunters entering this place to the lancers through their tight signals.

Thanks to this, the lancers had a grasp of Guardian.

Or so they thought.

He handled somewhat unique summons and had decent skills, but he was just a beginner who had only awakened a month ago.

They expected that when thrown into an unexpected situation, he would quickly reveal his inexperience and be forced to surrender his neck.

But…

It was clearly not the case…

“Keeerik!”

Guardian, who had been called a beginner who had only awakened a month ago all day, had actually faced many real battles and knew exactly how to use his skills most efficiently.

The strategy was extremely simple.

Focus on one target.

‘Take down one of them.’

The first five lancers simultaneously charged at one enemy and stabbed them.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was an attack without defense, so Guardian’s lancers couldn’t remain unscathed.

But the gain was significant.

[Corrupted Lancer defeated.]

“Rise.”

Swish!

[Shadow extraction successful.]

The sixth soldier rose in front of Guardian.

“Now six.”

With the number of shadow soldiers increased to six, they once again launched a coordinated attack on new targets.

“Keeerik……!”

[Corrupted Lancer defeated.]

[Shadow extraction successful.]

Another one.

“Seven.”

Another one.

“Eight.”

[Corrupted Lancer defeated.]

[Shadow extraction successful.]

[Corrupted Lancer defeated.]

[Shadow extraction successful.]

...

“Keeerik! S-stop rising, I said!”

Hiss.

As the number of shadow lancers increased one by one, the number of shadow lancers under Guardian’s command eventually became...

“Fifteen.”

“Keeerik?!”

The lancers looked around and were startled.

The number of black lancers surrounding them had become equal to their own.

The largest and most powerful knight leading the corrupted lancers glared at Guardian and gnashed his teeth.

“Keeerik! You have a strange skill.”

But the meaning was a bit different now.

“To be able to control bugs so easily. Could you be after the artifact too?”

“Artifact?”

“Keeerik! How dare you even think of it!”

“...?”

Guardian was genuinely perplexed.

‘Artifact? What artifact? Oh, could it be...’

At that moment, a name he had heard from Ver suddenly came to mind.

The King of Bugs, the Lord of Plague, Queresh.

“Could it be Queresh’s artifact?”

“Keeerik! You know that name, so you must have come here knowing everything! Could you also want to become the Queen Bee!”

“No, why would I want to be the Queen...”

It was just a lucky guess, and he felt a bit wronged.

And the Queen?

He was clearly male, after all.

But if they were going to jump to conclusions, it could be useful.

“Whether it’s the Queen or anything else, where is Queresh’s artifact? Could your Queen have it?”

“Keeerik! Of course! How dare you even ask! Who else but our Queen could carry on Queresh’s legacy!”

[You, love-struck fool.]

Ver chuckled.

Like most insects, bees and ants share many similarities.

A society centered around a Queen.

Loyal workers who gather food and face death to follow the Queen’s orders.

But to Ver, the Queen’s existence had a different meaning.

Although Ver was born from a Queen ant, he was born as a king, not a worker.

He was the true king of the ants, standing tall and surpassing the Queen.

Of course, now he serves the even greater and more noble King, Seong Jin-woo.

But Ver still clearly recognizes that he is the king of the ants.

So, the worker bees’ loyalty to a mere Queen seemed trivial to him.

That’s why...

The tiny Ver, no bigger than a palm, had been floating in the air, watching the battle from the start.

But none of the corrupted lancers dared to approach the defenseless and weak-looking Ver.

The bugs’ innate survival instinct made them feel that something ominous would happen if they disturbed Ver.

[Young Lord.]

When Ver approached Guardian, all the lancers suddenly trembled and stopped in their tracks.

Ver had been eavesdropping on the information from the wasps nearby by twitching his antennae.

[It seems the hunters on the other side are in danger.]

Currently, the maximum number of soldiers Guardian can extract is 20.

Half of them had been guarding the hunters.

But as Guardian extracted new soldiers here, the number of shadow mummies on the other side had gradually decreased.

Moreover, there was another problem.

Swoosh.

Guardian had noticed it a while ago.

A green mist was now seeping out from the thorn vines that formed this complex maze.

The paralyzing poison in the thorn vines had merged with the blue mist that permeated the entire field, spreading throughout Times Square.

Swoosh.

And finally, the green mist began to poison Guardian’s body as he breathed.

Ding!

A system message appeared in front of Guardian.

[Harmful substance detected.]

[Detoxification begins due to the effect of ‘Blessing: Longevity’.]

[3, 2, 1... Detoxification complete.]

“Effective.”

He should probably offer a silent prayer of thanks to the High Mage Candiaru.

But unlike him, the other hunters would find this poison mist very deadly.

‘I should stop by there before heading to the Queen Bee.’

Fortunately, the store also sold gas masks.

They weren’t great items, so they were cheap.

He could easily afford them by selling the numerous monster corpses.

“Keeerik?!”

The lancers were greatly alarmed to see Guardian still moving normally despite inhaling the poison mist.

“What are you...!”

The lancers aimed their lances at Guardian with a look of certainty.

“What is your relationship with the Lord of Plague, Queresh!”

‘I didn’t mean to...’

It was truly awkward.

The deeper the misunderstanding, the deeper the rift.

One shouldn’t judge by appearance, but these creatures weren’t exactly intelligent-looking.

Or rather, they weren’t human at all.

But Ver cunningly added fuel to the lancers’ misunderstanding.

[Keehehe! What if there is a relationship! Our Young Lord is immune to any of your poisons!]

“Y-Young Lord?!”

“Could you... have obtained another artifact!”

They had thought there might be other artifacts besides the one their Queen possessed.

But how could a mere human obtain the artifact of the Lord of Plague?

However... the human in front of them was already showing an extraordinary appearance.

A beginner who had only awakened a month ago?

Impossible!

If that were true, they wouldn’t be losing so one-sidedly to a C-rank summoner who had only awakened a month ago.

So the answer was simple.

He had been hiding his true identity and power all along.

The lancers, convinced of this, glared fiercely at Guardian.

At the same time, they gathered all their strength, determined to fight to the death.

“Keeerik!”

“Now that it’s come to this.”

“We will sacrifice our lives to...!”

If this human had obtained another artifact, he had to be killed here.

If he were allowed to live, he would become a major obstacle to their Queen, who aspired to be the ruler.

“You and the hunters who came with you!”

“Will all die!”

Squeal!

An overwhelming killing intent that made the skin tingle.

The lancers’ life-or-death attack rained down on Guardian.

And.

Boom!

“...!”

The lancers’ eyes widened.

Beyond the thick, toxic mist that obscured their vision.

Their all-out lance tips were stopped by a solid barrier.

‘What...!’

With that thought, the lancers’ consciousness abruptly snapped.

* * *

Meanwhile, the hunters who had entered with Guardian were in a dire situation.

“Cough, cough.”

“The sensation in my body is gradually...”

There was no way to avoid the poison mist.

If they had known about the poison mist in this place, they would have brought gas masks.

It was all a miscalculation.

They had been too complacent, thinking that three B-rank hunters in a C-rank dungeon was more than enough.

“Just hold on! I’ve already contacted the guild!”

At that moment,

The reinforcements from the White Tiger Guild arrived at the Times Square field.

“...Is this it.”

After assessing the situation inside, Baek Mi-ho frowned seriously.