Chapter 73

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 72

When lords die, they fall into eternal rest.

This void world was a space of nothingness where nothing could exist except the souls of dead lords.

However, there were things that could be done even in such a world, for Shugo.

First, skills.

[‘Skill: Body Hardening’ activated.]

Whoosh!

A dark aura enveloped Shugo's arm.

Queresh couldn't fail to recognize the nature of that power.

[Unbelievable! That's the power of the Body Hardening Lord!]

Queresh was shocked.

Body Hardening.

The great teacher Ammut's technique, which had transformed the weak and insignificant goblin into the Body Hardening Lord, was now being used by Shugo.

And then.

[‘Skill: Body Strengthening’ activated.]

Whoosh!

A divine wind swept through Shugo's entire body.

[‘Skill: Wind of the Grassland’ activated.]

Whoosh!

Shugo's hair shimmered silver, and an explosive beastly aura burst forth.

[This, this can't be... the Fang Lord's...?!]

Although this was such a world, or rather because it was such a world, there was another existence that could observe it.

Shiver!

[Who are you?!]

Queresh suddenly recalled the name of a certain lord from the gaze he felt.

He was the King of Beasts, who had fought alongside him against the Shadow Lord...

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, is watching Queresh's domain.]

[Rakan! Why are you lending power to the son of the Shadow Lord?!]

Queresh couldn't understand at all.

Why would Rakan lend power to the offspring of the enemy who had killed him!

But no matter how much he tried to deny it, it was a stark reality.

Rakan's aura within Shugo's body.

And Body Hardening.

Even if the Shadow Soldiers couldn't summon it in this world, Shugo had the power to face tens of thousands of insects alone.

'Come.'

Shugo plunged a black fist into the midst of the surging white tide, or rather, the white insects.

Boom!

A massive explosion occurred at the center of the giant tide.

The remnants scattered in all directions, then attacked Shugo from his blind spots.

[Queresh's Thorned Spine]

[Queresh's Exploding Bug]

[Queresh's Venomous Spider]

[Queresh's Poison Moth]

...

Numerous types of venomous insects attacked Shugo.

But with Rakan's aura, Shugo moved with blinding speed, narrowly avoiding them.

And another strike.

Boom!

Another strike.

Boom!

With each of Shugo's attacks, hundreds of insects exploded.

Boom!

Shugo's attacks obliterated them like a bomber.

Queresh bit his lip in frustration.

[Grgh! You're putting up a good fight! But in the end, you're alone! And my insects will poison you every time they die...!]

Ding.

[Harmful substances detected.]

[Detoxification initiated by the effect of ‘Blessing: Longevity’.]

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

Queresh was stunned by Shugo's unchanged appearance, as if nothing had happened.

[Why are you unharmed?!]

Queresh, greatly flustered, widened his eyes.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, laughs heartily, saying that insects are weak.]

[Roar!]

Queresh roared in anger, his hair standing on end.

This was not the scene he had wanted.

When the Shadow Lord's son entered his domain, he intended to torment him to his heart's content.

And the plan was realistic.

In this world of eternal rest, no external power could be summoned.

Even the Shadow Lord's proud army couldn't dare to step into this place.

This was his tomb, his sanctuary!

But what was this?

[Grgh! Still, there's plenty of time. You'll eventually tire and fall!]

'Time...'

Shugo glanced at the quest window.

[Remaining time: 3 hours 41 minutes 17 seconds]

Queresh was right.

It was a long way before 4 hours would pass, and it was impossible to continue the battle at this pace.

'Besides, I can't even draw my weapons here.'

For some reason, the inventory wouldn't open in this place.

'What about the shop window?'

Ding.

[In this location, potion and shop use are disabled, and even if your level increases, your status will not recover.]

A system message arrived as if in response to Shugo's thoughts.

'So, my level can still increase?'

A smile crept onto Shugo's lips.

He had thought that killing a few insects wouldn't yield much experience, but the sheer number made a difference.

'Should I take this opportunity to level up properly?'

Shugo's eyes sparkled.

Although the insects were already dead, no messages appeared when he killed them.

But each time he killed them, their bodies turned to dust and disappeared.

This meant that the number would gradually decrease if he continued fighting.

Boom!

Shugo continued the battle, recalling the skills he could use.

Without weapons, the Storm Slash and Dual Sword skills were useless, and he couldn't summon the Shadow Soldiers.

'Usable skills: Endurance, Dominion, Wind of the Grassland, Giant's Armor, Body Hardening.'

But most of these skills had short durations and consumed mana in real-time.

In a prolonged battle where he needed to conserve stamina and mana, he needed to be more strategic.

'At least I can use Body Strengthening, but I need to conserve mana, so I'll have to cancel it for now.'

If he canceled Body Strengthening, his speed would slow down, and he wouldn't be able to perfectly avoid the insects' attacks, but he would have to cover that with the Endurance skill.

[‘Skill: Body Strengthening’ deactivated.]

But the moment he canceled the Body Strengthening skill.

[Woof!]

'Huh?'

The gray puppy, or rather, the wolf pup Gray, who had been inside Shugo's body, suddenly popped out.

It looked around in confusion.

Squish! Squish!

[What?!]

Gray, startled by the insects swarming from all sides, quickly hid behind Shugo's leg.

But Shugo's eyes lit up at the sight.

'Ah, I see.'

Look at this:

[Gray Lv.7]

Fang Wolf

Thanks to the hunting in the Shadow Dungeon, Gray had leveled up quite a bit.

'Good. You should level up too this time.'

[Woof.]

Gray shook his head frantically, as if understanding Shugo's words.

'Huh. What a coward.'

Shugo had a bewildered expression.

But the senior (?) watching from afar also clicked his tongue at Gray's cowardice.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, asks you to train his descendant to be stronger.]

'By mouth?'

Shugo provocatively challenged Rakan with a daring look.

Rakan took the bait.

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, says he will give you some advice in return.]

'Advice?'

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, advises that the world is a place of the strong preying on the weak, and to be the one who preys rather than being preyed upon.]

'Prey rather than be preyed upon? Surely... he can't mean...'

Shugo's gaze fell on the endless swarm of revolting insects.

'Eat the insects?'

[The King of Beasts, the Fang Lord, nods seriously.]

'...'

The King of Beasts, a being of such stature, wouldn't give absurd advice.

Shugo, who had hesitated for a moment, smiled and his eyes sparkled.

'At least they're all white, so they're less revolting.'

[Wait, a moment!]

Queresh was the one flustered by Shugo's response.

[Surely you're not going to follow that madman's advice?]

Seeing this reaction, Shugo was even more convinced.

Shugo picked up Gray, who was hiding behind his leg with his tail between his legs.

'Gray, it's time for you to grow up, isn't it?'

[Woof?!]

Gray, struggling to be lifted.

Shugo unhesitatingly threw Gray into the midst of the insects.

[Screech!]

Shugo smiled and said to Gray, who was screaming as he was thrown away.

'The world is a place of the strong preying on the weak.'

It was a phrase that resonated well.

'Gray, be the one who preys, not the one who is preyed upon.'

That was the true predator.

The dignity of the King of Beasts.

And Shugo himself practiced it.

Crunch!

He bit and tore into a venomous insect that had latched onto his body.

The venom burst in his mouth, filling it with a meaty juice.

Crunch! Crunch!

Shugo chewed and swallowed it all in one go.

Swallow.

Ding.

[Harmful substances detected.]

[Detoxification initiated by the effect of ‘Blessing: Longevity’.]

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

Shugo grinned.

'Not bad, actually?'

[That, that madman!]

Queresh, in shock.

Seeing this, Shugo recalled Queresh's words.

- I am one and many.

If all these insects were part of Queresh, what would happen if he ate them all?

'I'm curious.'

Shugo began to mercilessly bite, chew, and swallow the insects that kept attacking him.

[Stop! Stop eating!]

Each time, Queresh screamed in terror.

A giant hand made of insects approached to grab Shugo again.

Shugo dodged and bit another insect.

'Calm down. There's still plenty of time.'

[Remaining time: 3 hours 07 minutes 54 seconds]

'Three hours is enough. For a meal.'

[Rumble!]

Fortunately, Gray, seeing his owner's example, was also enthusiastically eating the insects.

He glanced at Shugo with a look that seemed to worry that Shugo would take all his food.

This made Shugo even more motivated.

'Good! Let's see who can eat more!'

[Rumble!]

[Don't compete...!]

Queresh, screaming, intensified his attacks.

But no matter how desperate he was, there was no way to stop Shugo and Gray.

How many insects did they eat, and how many more did they eat...

Rakan's advice was effective.

Ding!

[You have obtained the title: Bane of Insects.]

'Oh?'

Shugo's eyes lit up at the sudden system message.

[Title: Bane of Insects]

A title given to the predator of insects. Increases all stats by 40% when facing insect-type monsters.

It was similar to the Wolf Slayer title he had accidentally obtained.

But there was no need to confirm the title's effect visually.

The moment Shugo looked at Queresh's insects.

[The ‘Title: Bane of Insects’ buff effect is activated.]

Roar!

The endless swarm of insects trembled violently.

They instinctively realized that Shugo was their nemesis.

'Why?'

Shugo was suddenly curious.

'Do you, insects like you, feel fear?'

As a cruel smile formed on Shugo's lips.

Squish!

The giant wave of insects scattered to avoid Shugo.

At that moment.

'...Huh?'

Whoosh!

Mysterious light particles sprinkled over Shugo's head.

This was the ash of the insects that had died at Shugo's hands.

Or perhaps the remnants of their souls.

[The Priest of the Insect King, the Plague Lord, is stripped of his title.]