Chapter 71

Leveling Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 70

10 minutes before Suho's arrival.

Numerous drones were flying over the city where the disaster had occurred.

- Suddenly, mutants are attacking the citizens!

The shocking live news hit the nation.

- Currently, the Hunter Association's police hunters are swiftly suppressing the situation...

No matter how optimistic the news tried to be, the situation on screen was dire.

Citizens screaming and running for their lives everywhere.

Mutants chasing them at incredible speeds, biting and tearing at their necks.

And...

“Grrr!”

The wounds of the citizens bitten by the mutants were rapidly rotting, transforming them into new mutants.

- Despite the efforts of the Hunter Association, the number of mutants is rapidly increasing!

It was essentially a zombie outbreak in the heart of the city.

- The Hunter Association is reportedly sending more troops to the scene, but it will take some time for them to arrive!

Ultimately, the problem was time.

Worse still, the disaster had struck the heart of Seoul, where tens of thousands of citizens lived.

If all those people turned into mutants, South Korea would face an apocalypse.

Even now, various guilds were sending additional support, but the numbers were woefully insufficient.

Hunters were always busy, and it would take considerable time for those nearby to arrive.

That's when it happened.

A sudden change.

- Ah! It's the Death Guild!

The drone camera captured Death Guild members suddenly appearing and firing magical arrows at the mutants.

- The Death Guild's leader, Lim Tae-gyu, has arrived with his guild members!

All drones began to focus on Lim Tae-gyu.

Lim Tae-gyu took the lead, commanding the Death Guild members and actively assisting the struggling Hunter Association hunters.

- Meanwhile, the Hunter Association is stating that the root cause of this incident is the villain Lee Min-sung, who was the vice president of the Death Guild...

At the same time, news articles emphasizing that the cause of the incident was Lee Min-sung's solo act, not the Death Guild, began to flood the internet.

Numerous comments started appearing under those articles.

- No, that doesn't make sense.

- They're all in it together.

- They were both sucking the honey until the vice president was cut off?

- The vice president, cut off, did this out of anger.

- Is this really the end of our country?

- Lucky I live in the countryside.

Public opinion had long turned against the Death Guild.

It was already a place with a bad reputation, and this incident had firmly branded it.

However, even the most vicious commenters had to acknowledge one fact.

S-class Hunter Lim Tae-gyu.

The countless magical arrows he fired were striking down mutants in an incredible display.

- Amazing.

- Lim Tae-gyu is truly remarkable.

- S-class, no doubt.

- With that skill, why did he create a guild and face this backlash?

- Info: A player's talent and a coach's talent are different.

- Info: Lim Tae-gyu's weapon is the 'Death Bow,' and its price is...

But then, something happened.

The secretary standing behind Lim Tae-gyu made a strange movement.

- Huh?

- Hey, wait!

- Behind! Behind!

- Look behind you!

The viewers watching through the drones noticed the change before the battle-focused Lim Tae-gyu did.

But Lim Tae-gyu couldn't see the comments, and he ended up being stabbed in the back by the secretary.

- What the hell is this?

- Betrayal?

- Is he one of Lee Min-sung's minions?

- Why did he collapse so easily?

- Are S-class Hunters that weak?

- No way.

- Was it poisoned?

Viewers watching the news were shocked.

Even an S-class Hunter wasn't invincible.

No matter how high their attack and defense were, they could still be injured and die if critically wounded.

But for those who didn't know the full details, it was hard to believe that an S-class Hunter could be brought to his knees by a mere dagger.

“Grr!”

Lim Tae-gyu, betrayed by someone he trusted, immediately pulled out the dagger embedded in his back.

But the mental shock was greater than the physical pain.

“O Secretary, why you...?”

Facing Lim Tae-gyu's gaze, the secretary only looked awkward.

“Sir, I apologize. I have a great mission given to me by Her Majesty.”

“Her Majesty? Grr!”

Suddenly, Lim Tae-gyu felt dizzy, and his legs wobbled.

It was poison.

Not just any poison, but a highly toxic one.

The secretary bowed respectfully to Lim Tae-gyu.

“Don't waste your strength. The poison I used is Her Majesty's royal jelly.”

‘Royal... jelly?’

Those words triggered memories in Lim Tae-gyu's mind.

- Sir, it's your birthday, right? Here's a gift.

- Wow! A gift? What is it?

- It's a high-quality liquor I obtained with great difficulty through a friend. Would you like to try it?

- I love liquor! What's the name, Royal Jelly?

- It's good for your health.

All this time, the secretary had been giving Lim Tae-gyu ‘Royal Jelly’ as a gift whenever he could.

Why did the name of that sweet-smelling liquor come to mind at this moment?

Zing!

“...!”

Lim Tae-gyu felt an intense headache.

At the same time, a powerful message echoed in his mind.

- Be loyal to Her Majesty!

- Be loyal to Her Majesty!

“Gah!”

Lim Tae-gyu threw away the Death Bow and clutched his head, rolling on the ground.

Crack!

But even the royal jelly that Lee Min-sung couldn't control wouldn't work on a higher-level Hunter.

“Get out of my head!”

Boom!

Lim Tae-gyu unleashed a tremendous aura from his body and roared.

The secretary, sensing the deadly aura, hastily retreated.

But Lim Tae-gyu was too focused on fighting the mental corruption to pay attention to him.

“Sir!”

A healer from the Death Guild, who had just noticed the change, rushed to Lim Tae-gyu and urgently cast a healing spell.

But the poison in Lim Tae-gyu's body was not ordinary.

It couldn't be neutralized by normal skills.

“Sir! The healing spell isn't working! You need to use your own mana to expel the poison!”

“Mana...”

He was already doing that.

Lim Tae-gyu concentrated all his mana to fight the influence of the royal jelly.

He feared that even a moment's lapse in concentration would corrupt his mind.

“Grr! Ignore me and go help the other guild members! And catch the fleeing secretary! He seems to be one of Lee Min-sung's minions!”

“Understood!”

After giving orders to his subordinates, Lim Tae-gyu, panting, leaned against a wall.

He couldn't use any skills in the battle, as he was using all his mana to suppress the poison. Using a skill would mean immediate mental domination.

‘I need to burn it out with mana.’

But that wasn't easy.

The ambush was just the trigger; the high-quality liquor, Royal Jelly, he had been given by the secretary had been accumulating in his body all along.

Then, at that moment,

Boom!

Suho and Baek Mi-ho arrived on the scene.

‘...Baek Mi-ho?’

Lim Tae-gyu, fighting the poison, immediately recognized her.

It was Baek Mi-ho, the vice president of the White Tiger Guild, who had come to support!

But...

‘Who is she carrying on her back?’

Who could be important enough for the great Baek Mi-ho to carry on her back?

If it were someone of that caliber, Lim Tae-gyu would have known.

But the young man Baek Mi-ho was lowering from her back was a face he had never seen before.

Then, the young man looked around and his head lifted.

He noticed the strange beehive swelling on the upper floors of the surrounding apartments and his eyes lit up.

“Let's fly over.”

Those words suddenly came out of his mouth.

Unable to use skills, Lim Tae-gyu, who was focusing all his senses on the surroundings, was surprised by those words.

‘Fly over?’

Then,

Whoosh!

A black shadow rose from the young man's feet, enveloping him and Baek Mi-ho.

“...!”

Even Baek Mi-ho was surprised by the sudden change.

But Lim Tae-gyu, watching from a distance, was shocked to the core.

Two pairs of black, misty wings sprouted from their backs!

‘What is this?!’

* * *

Suho quickly assessed the situation upon seeing the contaminated ghouls.

Lee Min-sung's goal was to kill citizens and increase his own army.

This, in turn, aligned with Arsha's intention to kill many people, gradually increasing the number of ‘sacrifices.’

Ultimately, this entire disaster was a sacrifice to the Queen of Insects, the Plague Lord Queresh.

‘Time is running out.’

If this continued, the sacrifice would be completed according to Arsha's plan.

The solution was to act quickly.

‘I'll leave this to the Hunters and go after the leader.’

He had no intention of climbing the high apartment stairs one by one.

Nor did he want to climb the apartment walls.

‘I need to fly.’

Suho had shadow soldiers with wings.

“Two of you, come out.”

[Chirp!]

At Suho's command, shadows rippled beneath his feet.

Then, a good idea came to Suho.

‘They're shadows, after all.’

Shadows can exist anywhere.

Not just under his feet, but between his fingers or in the spaces between his hair.

Even Vermillion, who often hid in the small shadows of Suho's body, would suddenly appear.

His body could remain in the shadow while his face protruded.

This meant that...

‘The others can do it too.’

Suho commanded the shadow knights hiding in his shadow.

“Ride our backs and just extend your wings.”

[Chirp!]

It was immediately put into action.

Whoosh!

A shadow knight made of black shadow climbed up Suho's body and extended two pairs of wings from his back.

A strange form was completed, with the black shadow covering Suho's shoulders and back.

[Chirp?]

Vermillion looked at Suho with a peculiar expression and laughed.

[What a clever strategy. Partially summoning soldiers... Truly innovative for a modern summoner...]

“Old man.”

[Chirp?!]

Vermillion screamed at Suho's words.

[Are you imitating the possession of the Beast King, the Fang Lord?]

“What are you talking about? Just watch.”

Suho smiled and took off.

Baek Mi-ho, who was suddenly flying alongside him, was astonished.

‘Good heavens. He's a C-class summoner, they say?’

What kind of skill is this!

Wing summoning?

No, a skill that can give wings to a companion?

No, before that!

“Why did you carry me if you had this skill?!”

Baek Mi-ho looked at Suho with a deeply aggrieved expression.

Suho responded with a brazen answer.

“They get tired, and my mana decreases. Anyway, I'll fly to the beehive.”

Then,

“Wait! Take me too!”

Someone suddenly shouted urgently.

Baek Mi-ho, recognizing the person, exclaimed in surprise.

“Guild Leader Lim Tae-gyu?!”

“This person?”

One of the leading guilds in Korea, the Death Guild.

Suho was familiar with the name of its guild leader, Lim Tae-gyu.

Although he didn't look in the best condition, as an S-class Hunter, he would certainly be helpful.

“Attach one to him too.”

[Chirp!]

Whoosh!

At his command, a black shadow flew over and attached itself to Lim Tae-gyu's body.

“Follow if you can.”

Leaving those words, Suho took off again.

“What is this...”

Suddenly, something wrapped around his body, giving him a strange sensation.

But Lim Tae-gyu accepted the shadow without resistance.

‘I could push it away with mana, but...’

He suppressed the initial resistance.

He couldn't use mana to resist the royal jelly anyway.

Whoosh!

Soon, shadow wings sprouted from Lim Tae-gyu's back and began to flap.

He flew vertically at an incredible speed, following Suho and Baek Mi-ho.

The target was the beehive.

Squeal!

As they approached the beehive, a massive rain of arrows suddenly poured out from inside.

Each arrow was made of aura.

“Huh...!”

Baek Mi-ho and Lim Tae-gyu were startled.

On the ground, they might have a chance, but in the air, they had no way to avoid so many arrows.

They would be helpless targets!

Baek Mi-ho shouted urgently.

“Guild Leader Lim Tae-gyu! Hunter Seo Suho! Hide behind me!”

If they couldn't avoid it, the best choice was for one of them to act as a shield.

Among the three, the martial artist herself would be the most effective shield.

[Ho. A rather noble fox.]

“...!”

Vermillion, who had approached, patted Baek Mi-ho's head, impressed.

[But don't worry.]

Vermillion smiled faintly and looked at Suho's back, who was now blocking their front.

[Our young lord will take care of it.]

Suho's eyes flashed.

“Keep flying, don't stop!”

[Chirp!]

The shadow knights on their backs flapped their wings even harder.

At that moment,

[‘Skill: Storm Slash’ activated.]

Boom!

The wind was torn apart, and a typhoon surged.

The twin swords in Suho's hands began to mercilessly slash through the rain of arrows, indeed, through the entire space.

Suho, Baek Mi-ho, and Lim Tae-gyu flew straight through the center of the typhoon.

Especially for Baek Mi-ho, who knew Suho as a summoner, the shock was indescribable.

‘...Good heavens. What is this?’

A C-class Hunter? No, a summoner?

After wing summoning, now this incredible attack skill?

‘Could he have been hiding his strength? Why?’

It didn't make sense.

What Hunter would lower their own value by deliberately downgrading their rank!