Chapter 96

Level Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 95

Whoosh!

Numerous bloodstones, swirling in the air, seeped into the horn of the one-horned demon, Shuhuo.

The sight was nothing short of shocking and terrifying to the demons who witnessed it.

“This is... impossible.”

“Only demon nobles can create bloodstones, right?”

Even the demon guards looked at Shuhuo with eyes full of shock.

Indeed, bloodstones were a power granted only to demon nobles.

More importantly, bloodstones were the foundation that allowed nobles to pass their strength down to their successors, maintaining the power of their families.

Bloodstones were the power that allowed demons to absorb and utilize the strength of demons most efficiently.

That's why they were constantly researching to create bloodstones.

They had even developed things like Hemotoxin and Star Dust, but all of it was ultimately to mimic the bloodstones, which were the exclusive domain of the nobles.

‘At least recently, we’ve managed to create something quite close to bloodstones...’

This made it even more certain.

That the bloodstones created by this one-horned demon were real.

But does that even make sense?

“The demon nobles were all wiped out in the Overlord War, right?”

“Even the Radir family, which somehow survived, was destroyed!”

“Then what is this thing?!”

Meanwhile, Shuhuo was overwhelmingly hunting the opposing demon.

The Demon Slayer title, which boosted all stats by 40%.

And the horn of Volcan, which had devoured the soul of a demon.

Not to mention, he was now using Esil’s ability to continuously drain the power of the opposing demon in real-time, making the synergy beyond imagination.

[Kehehe! Truly magnificent, Young Overlord! You are truly the bane of demons!]

[Master! I am so proud to be your first knight!]

Bair and Quei, cheering Shuhuo from the shadows.

In fact, if he brought out the Shadow Soldiers, he could subdue the opponent even faster, but the important thing right now was not the outcome of the battle.

Shuhuo’s goal was to draw out the Tyrant King.

To do that, he had to attract the attention of the coward as ‘demonically’ as possible.

Bang!

[Intermediate Hemotoxin Demon defeated.]

[Volcan’s horn devoured the demon’s soul.]

The battle was over, but no one paid attention to the outcome.

“Is he really a noble?”

“What does that mean for us now?”

All the demons in the audience watched Shuhuo’s every move with a dazed expression, unable to do anything.

In that suffocating atmosphere, the executioner stepped forward.

“...One-horned demon, victorious!”

At the same time, the demon guards gnashed their teeth.

“There’s no way.”

“All the nobles are dead.”

Most importantly, the demon guards were the ones who had seen Shuhuo up close.

They were not so dull as to not recognize a demon noble standing right in front of them.

“Then what is this thing?”

“What’s going on?”

The guards’ gazes suddenly turned to the warden.

The warden glared at Shuhuo, standing in the center of the Colosseum, with a cold, piercing gaze.

“Tsk. There’s no way he’s a noble.”

If the one-horned demon was a demon noble, there would be no reason for him to be captured and brought to the execution.

‘There’s something going on.’

What could it be?

‘I don’t know what it is, but...’

One thing was clear.

“We need to get rid of this ominous presence.”

The warden’s eyes flashed as he commanded the guards.

“Prepare the Minotaurs!”

“...!”

The demon guards’ eyes widened in shock.

“Surely you’re not going to kill the one-horned demon right away?”

“He might be a demon noble...”

“So what if he is a noble? Just kill him!”

“...!”

The warden’s words shocked the demon guards.

To even think of raising a weapon against a noble was something ordinary demons could not even imagine.

“We are not the demons of the past! What if this one-horned demon is a noble? Will we kneel before him right now?”

The warden’s eyes blazed with fury.

“Don’t forget! We are already the subjects of the Tyrant King! This is just a prisoner in the execution! If he continues to survive, we will simply send a stronger opponent! Prepare the beasts!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The guards hurriedly ran off at the warden’s command.

* * *

The execution was temporarily halted.

When the host announced that he would bring in the beasts used in the labor camps as the next opponent for the one-horned demon, the audience began to murmur in confusion.

“What the hell! Minotaurs?”

“Has there ever been a precedent for releasing beasts so quickly in an execution?”

“Are the guards crazy? How can they treat a demon who might be a noble like this?”

Even the usually fearsome guards, who wielded whips, were given the freedom to jeer at the slaves sitting in the Colosseum.

And at the same time, the possibility that Shuhuo might be a demon noble was a huge stimulus for them.

An execution of a demon noble!

To witness such a sacrilegious and forbidden act!

And this noisy atmosphere was exactly what the warden wanted.

‘Yes, sometimes you need to let the slaves vent to prevent rebellion. The Tyrant King’s ruling strategy is indeed perfect.’

No matter how powerful the guards were, if the slaves in the Colosseum decided to attack all at once, the seemingly solid hierarchy would be overturned in an instant.

Without the authority of the nobles, the demons were in a relationship where they ate and were eaten by each other.

Especially in the current demon world, with the widespread use of Hemotoxin, it was common for a lower demon to suddenly go berserk, devour a stronger demon, and become powerful.

‘That’s why we need this execution.’

Whether the one-horned demon was a noble or not, as long as he could stir up the excitement of the slave demons, it was all good.

The more cruelly the particularly noticeable demons among the slaves were executed, the more the slaves would fear that they could end up in the same situation.

‘If he’s strong, we’ll just send a stronger opponent!’

Having confirmed Shuhuo’s fighting style, the warden judged that sending in the Minotaurs was the right choice.

“The one-horned demon fights with agile speed. In such a case, we should send out a tough opponent to make the fight last longer.”

“Indeed, Warden.”

“Still, it wouldn’t be fun if the match was too one-sided. Take the one-horned demon to the armory and let him choose a weapon.”

“Oh. Indeed...!”

The guards smiled slyly at the warden’s command.

Taking advantage of the time it took to prepare the Minotaurs, the guards took Shuhuo to the armory.

“Choose a weapon.”

“...”

Shuhuo silently looked at the various weapons in front of him.

The armory was filled with all kinds of vicious weapons, such as swords, knives, hammers, axes, and gauntlets.

Of course, if Shuhuo needed a weapon, he could just take one from his inventory right now.

But.

‘It would be rude to refuse when they’re offering it for free.’

Shuhuo smiled strangely and began to slowly examine the weapons.

Very slowly.

“What? Why is it taking so long?”

“Is it hard to choose because you’ve never seen such good weapons before?”

The guards began to look impatient at Shuhuo’s delay.

But they did not rush him or force a weapon into his hands.

“Well, that’s good. I like your cautious attitude.”

“If you find it hard to choose, you can take multiple weapons. You only have one horn, so it’s only fair to have more weapons. Hehe.”

The guards’ taunts continued as Shuhuo silently examined the weapons.

“Still, it’s getting boring waiting. We’ll be outside, so come out when you’re done.”

The guards chuckled and left the armory.

Alone in the armory, Shuhuo narrowed his eyes.

“These weapons seem to be made of the same material as the iron bars I was confined in.”

[You’re right. These are all weapons made from Hell Iron.]

Esil marveled at Shuhuo’s keen eye.

As he said, most of the weapons here were made from the minerals mined in the labor camps.

[Hell Iron is not only strong but also has the effect of amplifying magic, so it’s mainly used to make weapons.]

Shuhuo chuckled.

“But these weapons all seem to be of poor quality.”

[No matter how I look, there are no good weapons here.]

Bair growled.

The weapons here seemed to be poorly maintained, with dull blades and rust.

[They probably just want them to be strong.]

Shuhuo nodded at Esil’s words.

It was clear what the guards’ purpose was.

[They want you to struggle as long as possible before dying.]

The image of the audience laughing at the sight of a ridiculous clown, flailing around with a completely dull weapon, was already clear.

“Still, it’s free.”

Shuhuo chuckled and looked at the weapons.

Weapons with poor attack power.

But the sheer number of them was impressive, and it would definitely take a long time to examine each one.

So, let’s just take them all.

“Gray, come out for a moment.”

Whoosh.

A small wolf cub emerged from Shuhuo’s shadow.

“Grr!”

Gray immediately looked around with a fierce gaze.

He was ready to pounce and tear into the enemy’s neck at any moment.

But.

“What are you doing? Pick up everything you can see.”

“Huh?”

Gray tilted his head.

His master was picking up the weapons one by one and putting them into his inventory.

Actually, he was not even putting them in the inventory but selling them directly to the shop.

Clank! Clank!

“This one is 130 gold? This one is 100 gold? Even a little can add up.”

“Grr?”

Gray was confused but quickly followed Shuhuo, opening his small mouth to bite the weapons.

Ding! Ding!

[‘Item: Hell Iron Longsword’ found. Do you want to acquire it?]

[‘Item: Hell Iron Axe’ found. Do you want to acquire it?]

“Good job. Accept all. Sell all.”

The pet system allowed Gray to acquire items from a distance.

Thanks to the help of Bair and Quei, Shuhuo thoroughly looted the armory, filled with weapons, and smiled contently.

“This time, I’ve made a good profit.”

[Hey, wait a minute. What are you going to do if you get caught?]

Esil was flustered at Shuhuo’s reckless actions.

But Shuhuo had his reasons.

“At that time, we’ll deal with it. If I don’t take care of it now, the demons will eventually use these weapons against me.”

[True.]

Since there was no chance of getting along with the demons in the future, it was better to weaken their strength when he could.

Moreover, the demon guards who would discover this first were already addicted to Hemotoxin, so even if they found out and got angry, it would only hasten their demise.

After (perfectly) handling everything, Shuhuo finally came out of the armory, and the guards frowned.

“What? Is that all you’re going to use?”

“You pretended to be cautious, but you only took two gauntlets and a sword? Why so meager?”

“Tsk. With that, you’ll die quickly. I guess I lost the bet.”

“Do you know that it’s a foul to back out now?”

The guards chuckled at each other.

Despite their reactions, Shuhuo shrugged and walked steadily toward the arena.

“What’s the rush? Do you want to die so quickly?”

Esil muttered at the guards’ taunts from behind.

[Hey. Are you worried about getting caught?]

“...”

Shuhuo walked faster without a word.