Chapter 92

Level Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 91

Among the lower demons who have long served the noble demons, there were those who pledged their loyalty to the nobles not out of submission to power but out of genuine devotion.

These were called 'demon servants.'

"Servants? You mean that one?"

"Yes. It's the demon I always ride. If you want, it can transform into a horse, a demon with the ability to change its form."

Eshil's eyes gleamed sharply.

"Could it be... that it's pretending to be a horse to avoid becoming a slave like the other demons?"

"Even if it were, it's still bound by the same shackles as the others."

"At least it won't be used up and die like this."

Just then, a slave demon in the distance was whipped by a supervisor and ultimately died.

In contrast, the number of beasts pulling the carts seemed to be fewer than the demons.

Indeed, in its horse form, it didn't seem like it would be easily killed, as Eshil had said.

Shugo, who had been observing the surroundings while listening to Eshil's explanation, nodded and said,

"Then let's get closer to that horse first. Can you talk to it?"

"Yes, of course. We need to find out what's going on here."

Shugo and Eshil stealthily approached where Eshil's horse was.

Fortunately, there weren't many supervisors, so it wasn't too difficult.

"Nukira."

"…?!"

As Eshil whispered in a low voice, the horse recognized Eshil and its eyes widened.

Then, it quickly looked around and spoke to Eshil.

"Master Eshil! You're alive! I heard you had passed away long ago…!"

Suddenly, tears welled up in Nukira's eyes, and he looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

However, to avoid drawing the attention of the supervisor, he continued to pull the cart at the same speed while talking to Eshil.

Given the situation, his words were inevitably urgent.

"Master Eshil! It's dangerous for you to be here! Why did you return to this place?"

"Nukira, what exactly is happening here?"

"That…"

Nukira looked around again and answered quickly.

"After the noble demons all passed away, this place was soon taken over by another demon."

"Another demon? A demon that's not a noble?"

"Yes. According to rumors, it's a demon that grew stronger by consuming the demons who died in the war of the lords."

"Consuming the demons who died in the war… Could it be a fleeing remnant from the war of the lords?"

"It's highly likely."

Clunk!

Just then, the cart Nukira was pulling stopped.

"Master Eshil, hide somewhere for now. The supervisor will be here soon."

With that, Shugo and Eshil quickly hid in the dark.

Then, a large demon supervisor approached, glanced over the minerals Nukira had brought, and nodded.

"Empty the cart and go back."

"Kee-hee-hee."

A horse's whinny came from Nukira's mouth.

He tilted the cart with his hind legs, spilling the minerals onto the ground, and then started to return the way he came.

As the supervisor moved away, Nukira's gaze returned to Eshil, who was hiding in the distance.

"…Master Eshil, you must escape from here quickly. If the tyrant learns that a surviving demon noble exists, it will be very dangerous."

"That's true. Where is this tyrant?"

Shugo's question made Nukira's eyes turn to him.

It seemed that this human was ready to go find the tyrant immediately, without even paying attention to what he had just said.

"Who are you…?"

Eshil asked Nukira, who hesitated.

"Another supervisor is coming. Answer quickly."

"Y-Yes, Master Eshil. That demon doesn't appear in this labor camp. It stays in its quarters most of the time, only occasionally showing up in the Colosseum, as it fears betrayal from other demons."

The Colosseum has long been a place of entertainment for demons who enjoy blood and battle.

But now, it has become a place where demons who defy the tyrant's orders are publicly executed.

"The tyrant grows stronger by consuming the demons who die in the Colosseum. It only appears when there are tempting targets in the Colosseum."

The Colosseum.

Shugo's eyes sparkled.

At that moment,

Another supervisor was approaching.

"Nukira, keep working for now. We'll talk later."

"Master Eshil…"

Nukira's eyes, which were filled with anxiety, watched Eshil's back as it disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Eshil, observing the situation, said to Shugo,

"It's not just the supervisors we need to worry about. If the slave demons notice us, it could cause a big commotion."

Eshil, being a demon, was relatively fine.

The problem was Shugo.

"If the fact that a human is hiding in the demon realm is discovered, all the demons you see could attack us at once. Shugo, you need to pretend to be a demon as much as possible… Hmm?"

Turning to look at Shugo, he found that Shugo was already taking off his shirt like the other slaves.

Then, the well-defined muscles were revealed.

Especially due to the harsh training by Ammut recently, Shugo's body had repeatedly torn and rebuilt itself, developing to an extreme.

Shugo stored his clothes in his inventory and put on a rag that was lying nearby.

Since there were quite a few demons that resembled humans, like Eshil, this made the external appearance somewhat similar.

However, there was still an important issue.

"Weak demons might not notice, but the problem is the mana. Demons with good senses will quickly realize that you don't have the aura of a demon."

"What if I do this?"

In response to Eshil's words, Shugo raised 'Volcan's Horn.'

Thanks to the recent demon hunts, Volcan's Horn had absorbed over 40 demon souls.

This horn itself was a demon's horn, and it was filled with the aura of demons.

Eshil, realizing what Shugo wanted, hesitated.

"Are you telling me to go in again?"

"Since you can't be seen either, right?"

"That's… true."

If Eshil's spirit form entered Volcan's Horn, the size of the horn could be adjusted.

This meant that it could be made larger or smaller.

"By making it smaller and hiding it on my body, the demons might think the aura is coming from me."

"…Well, that is the cleanest method, I guess."

Eshil sighed and nodded.

In fact, for a demon noble like Eshil to enter the horn of a lower demon was quite a blow to her pride.

But after so many times, it was too late to talk about pride now.

Eshil finally nodded, and Shugo asked one more thing.

"By the way, can you change the shape as well as the size?"

"Shape? What kind of…?"

"For example…"

Shugo smiled meaningfully.

Previously, Berga had mentioned that the demon Volcan was incredibly large.

It was natural that his horn was also enormous.

However, demons with the ability to spiritize could freely change their size and shape, so Volcan's horn had been compressed to its current size during the refining process.

In other words,

'Maybe this is possible too?'

[Volcan's Horn is consuming a demon's soul.]

Swoosh…

As Eshil entered Volcan's Horn like a ghost, the horn began to change in size and shape.

"Of course, I knew it would work."

Before long, Volcan's Horn had transformed and attached to Shugo's head, looking like a real demon's horn.

[You've been possessing things lately, and now you're even thinking of attaching a demon's horn to your head.]

Eshil's voice, filled with exasperation, echoed in Shugo's mind.

"Since I'm going to pretend to be a demon, I want to do it properly."

Shugo, grinning, touched his horn.

Now, he looked like a genuine demon, and Berga peeked out, giving a thumbs up.

[You really look like a demon! As expected, our young lord!]

[Alright, now get back to work like the others. Don't get caught by the supervisor for fooling around.]

* * *

Clunk, clunk, clunk!

'Suddenly, I've become a mine slave.'

Shugo bought a pickaxe from the shop window and naturally blended in with the other slaves, mining away.

Since his strength stat was high and he had mining experience, the work was not difficult at all.

'Compared to daily quests, this is much easier.'

Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk!

However, an unexpected problem arose.

Shugo was so good at mining that the other slave demons began to glance at him.

"Who is that one-horned demon? He's so strong."

"He's mining like a pro."

From Shugo's perspective, he was just working at a normal pace, but to the other slaves, it was an incredible speed.

As the demons murmured, Berga appeared and spoke to Shugo.

[Young lord, you're well-disguised, but shouldn't we find the Colosseum first?]

"I'm thinking about it."

[You seem to be working too hard for someone who's thinking…]

In fact, Shugo was so good at mining that the slaves ended up completing their daily quota much faster than usual.

"Wow…!"

"It's over!"

"Finally, we can rest!"

"It's all thanks to you!"

Thanks to Shugo's outstanding performance, the slave demons, freed from their endless labor, erupted in cheers around him.

The noise caught the attention of a supervisor, who strode over and scolded them.

"You again! Not working and being lazy… Hmm? What's this?"

"Supervisor, we've completed our quota!"

"Can we rest now?"

The slave demons proudly showed the supervisor the minerals Shugo had mined.

However, the supervisor's face twisted in displeasure, perhaps because he didn't like their arrogant attitude.

"You insolent brats! Asking for a break already? If you could do this all along, you've been lazy all this time! Now, mine this much more!"

"Wh-What…!"

"How can you be so unreasonable…!"

"Did you just call me unreasonable!"

Bang!

"Ugh!"

A slave who had protested was kicked by the supervisor and slammed into the wall.

The slave demons, terrified, scattered and picked up their pickaxes and shovels again.

Shugo also blended in with them, trying to move out of the supervisor's sight.

But then,

"Hey, one-horn. You, stop."

Suddenly, the supervisor called out to Shugo.

Turning around, Shugo saw the supervisor glaring at him, the cause of the commotion.

'Could he have noticed I'm human?'

[No. It seems he's just upset that the slaves dared to ask for a break because of you. These intermediate demons tend to be more authoritarian. Besides…]

Before Eshil could finish, the supervisor, sizing Shugo up, bared his teeth in a menacing grin.

"Watching you, you seem pretty strong. I'll send you to the Colosseum as a special favor."

Gasp!

The slaves nearby, not Shugo, were shocked by the supervisor's words.

"How can you reward him when he deserves a medal? What a cruel…!"

But in this place, the supervisor was the law.

"Follow me."

The supervisor, who had singled out Shugo, turned and strode off.

Shugo began to follow without a word.

At that moment, Berga, in a voice only Shugo could hear, exclaimed,

[Wow! Could you have planned this from the beginning? Your talent for drawing has been outstanding since you were young!]

"…"