Chapter 98

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 97

"Why, why are they like this?"

"What is Volcan, and why are they reacting like this?"

The young devils showed a bewildered reaction to the sudden atmosphere.

Then, the old devils who were born before the Lord War scolded them, clicking their tongues.

"What? You don't know the greedy Volcan?"

"Really, these young ones these days!"

"If Volcan were still alive, do you think we would have just been digging with picks?"

"Yeah, yeah. We would have been eaten up and not even a bone would have been left!"

"……?"

Seeing the young ones even more confused, the old devils began to speak one after another.

About that terrible and terrifying past.

...Devils can be broadly classified into two types.

Intelligent devils and unintelligent devils.

The intelligent devils did not even consider the unintelligent devils as their own kind and treated them as insignificant creatures.

And...

"Volcan was once just a nameless, insignificant creature!"

Even that was a creature that crawled at the very bottom of the devil realm, pitifully licking up the blood and scraps left by other devils after their hunts.

"Just a worm wriggling by instinct."

In the devil realm, Volcan's position was no more than that.

But the devil realm is a hell where the struggle to eat and be eaten is a daily occurrence.

In this chaos, a truly strong devil is not one with great power or magic, but one who manages to survive to the end.

"From that perspective, Volcan was a truly strong devil."

Though born weak and lowly, Volcan avoided becoming prey for the strong by crawling flat on the ground during the day and hiding in the earth at night.

He gradually grew stronger by scavenging the food scraps and blood of other devils, eating what they left behind.

One day.

While endlessly hiding from the strong, Volcan discovered 'it' purely by chance.

'Grrrr...?'

Unfortunately, at the time, Volcan did not have the intelligence to recognize what it was.

But even without intelligence, his instinct made the right decision.

Crunch!

Volcan clung to the massive thing and broke off a small branch.

He then greedily devoured the leaves attached to the branch.

At that moment.

Crack!

'...Guh?'

A change began in Volcan's body.

Crack! Crack!

'Graaaah!'

As Volcan writhed in extreme pain, his body began to grow.

At the same time, a faint intelligence began to sprout in his empty mind.

And he realized.

The true nature of what was in front of him.

[World Tree]

"Volcan discovered the tip of the World Tree, which had branches extending into the devil realm."

Thus, the lowly devil who accidentally ate the leaves of the World Tree became known as 'Volcan.'

Wielding the 'Volcan's Club' made from a branch of the World Tree, he began to hunt and eat the strong devils who had previously looked down on him.

'Graaaah!'

No devil could withstand the attacks of Volcan, who wielded the solid branch of the World Tree as a weapon.

Thus, Volcan grew by devouring the blood and flesh of the devils he defeated, swelling in size.

"Upon encountering Volcan, we were forced to make a choice."

To become his prey or to prostrate ourselves and offer to be his subordinates.

Thus, Volcan eventually became the ruler of a region, a devil noble.

But perhaps due to his abnormal growth?

For some reason, even after becoming a devil noble, Volcan did not possess the ability to speak.

He had developed a minimal amount of intelligence, but that was all.

He was still a predator living by instinct, and he could not even produce a 'bloodstone,' the symbol of a devil noble.

Of course, even without being able to produce a bloodstone, it was enough to simply devour the devils he hunted whole.

To Volcan, it was even more delicious and enjoyable.

"Thus, even after becoming a devil noble, Volcan continued to reign as a predator, constantly hunting and eating lower devils."

[The Greedy Volcan]

The devils of that time trembled in fear, calling him by that name.

"Until he was killed by the Shadow Legion during the Lord War."

"......"

The young devils swallowed hard at the old devils' tales.

They knew how incredible it was for a lower devil to reach the status of a devil noble through their own power.

"How many did he eat...?"

To achieve that, it would have been impossible even if he had eaten all the devils that filled the Colosseum.

And at that moment.

In the center of the Colosseum...

Roar!

Boom!

A massive devil with Volcan's horns was engaged in a bloody battle with the Minotaurs.

The old devils, observing this, nodded confidently.

"Though the appearance is a bit different, it's definitely him."

"That's Volcan's horn."

"That's Volcan's aura."

"If this isn't Volcan reborn, it must be his bloodline..."

Whichever it is, it's a shocking situation.

* * *

Meanwhile, amidst the sounds coming from all around, Suho was fighting while feeling absurd.

"Did you hear? They say I'm Volcan's son."

[Congratulations. Your birth secret has been revealed.]

"Stop joking. Why are they reacting like this to Volcan?"

[He was just a gluttonous fat pig. A big belly.]

"But I don't resemble him at all?"

[It seems that by eating the bloodstone inside me, I've stimulated something in Volcan.]

Volcan was a devil noble who had never eaten a bloodstone in his life.

For such a creature (even if it's just the horns) to suddenly taste a bloodstone, his life force from the past suddenly surged.

Like a sprout emerging from parched earth when rain falls.

[Right now, your horns are oozing Volcan's unique stench.]

"Stench? I don't smell anything?"

[It's a smell only devils can detect. Watch out behind!]

"I know!"

At Eshil's warning, Suho immediately stopped talking and turned around.

He grabbed the horn of a Minotaur charging at him like a mad bull and punched it.

Boom!

"Roar!"

The Minotaur was incredibly tough.

It took Suho's powerful blow directly and simultaneously retaliated with a brutal punch.

Boom!

A shockwave like an explosion erupted from Suho's body.

But.

[Skill: Toughness reduces damage.]

"I'm pretty tough myself."

Suho continued to swing his fists while taking the attack directly.

"Roar!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

[Such a brutal fight...]

Eshil clicked her tongue in disgust.

Such a fight, where both sides abandon defense and only attack, was a crude and unimaginable method for a devil noble.

Well, there was one noble who did just that.

Volcan.

Boom!

"Roar..."

Finally, the winner and loser of the brutal fight were decided.

Another massive creature collapsed, drained of strength by Suho's merciless violence.

"Really, his toughness is impressive."

Suho was genuinely impressed.

The five Minotaurs he had felled were still alive, gasping for breath and writhing on the ground.

Even after the winner was decided, the devils were too stunned to cheer.

"My God..."

"He took down five Minotaurs alone..."

"Truly, Volcan's son..."

But one person, the Warden, was different.

"......"

The Warden's eyes gleamed with greed as he looked at Suho.

'What a windfall. Volcan's bloodline!'

His mouth kept watering.

It was natural.

After all, it was Volcan!

The symbolic figure who proved that even a lower devil could become a noble!

He was curious.

'How strong will I become if I eat this guy?'

The moment he imagined it, an overwhelming appetite surged within him.

The Warden quickly scanned the Colosseum.

'He hasn't arrived yet!'

Despite the chaos, the Tyrant King had not yet appeared in the Colosseum.

This was all because the one-horned one had ended the battle too quickly.

Realizing this, the Warden's expression turned urgent.

'If I eat this guy before the Tyrant King arrives...'

What would happen then?

'Might I become even stronger than the Tyrant King?'

The moment this audacious thought crossed his mind, a tremendous thrill ran through his body from head to toe.

'Become stronger than the Tyrant King? Me? Become the ruler of this place?'

His heart, filled with desire, began to pound like thunder.

And as a devil, ignoring such a desire would be a grave mistake.

Swish!

"Ah!"

"Sir Warden?!"

The eyes of the devil guards beside him widened in shock as the Warden suddenly jumped into the arena.

But none of them dared to stop his sudden action.

After all, in the absence of the Tyrant King, he was the highest-ranking devil here.

Suho's eyes sparkled as he saw the Warden charging at him.

"A big catch."

[Don't let your guard down! He has far more magic power than you!]

"Magic power isn't everything."

Besides...

'Picking off the leader first is more efficient than dealing with them all at once.'

Suho quickly prepared for battle.

But the Warden, though driven by desire, was not a fool.

His cunning eyes quickly turned to the Minotaurs lying around Suho.

'Never let your guard down.'

After all, the one-horned one had taken down five such tough opponents alone.

And if he was Volcan's son, he couldn't be underestimated.

The Warden stretched out his hands and shouted at the Minotaurs.

"Rise again, bloodthirsty bulls!"

[What?! How dare you say those words first!]

Berga, hiding in the shadows, was furious.

But the Warden's hands were already releasing the bloodthirsty poison, infecting the fallen Minotaurs.

"Roar..."

The Minotaurs, writhing in intense pain, struggled to their feet.

Their bodies were burning intensely.

All the blood in their veins was boiling.

Using the bloodthirsty poison on creatures already on the brink of death was essentially a death sentence.

If he had used it from the start, the Minotaurs might not have fought to save their lives.

But now, it was different.

"Roar!"

The Minotaurs channeled all their pain and anger into an explosion directed at Suho, who had been fighting them.

[Domesticated Minotaurs are infected with bloodthirst.]

[Domesticated Minotaurs are infected with bloodthirst.]

[Domesticated Minotaurs are infected with bloodthirst.]

......

The Warden laughed wickedly and ordered them.

"Yes! Kill him! Burn your lives to shreds if you must, tear him limb from limb!"

"Roar!"

"Ha ha! Bloodline of Volcan! I will devour every drop of your blood, every piece of your flesh, every bone!"

The Warden, along with the bloodthirsty Minotaurs, charged at Suho to tear out his heart.

"Volcan's power is mine...!"

At that moment.

Buzz-

As if in response to the Warden's words, Suho's horn, or rather, Volcan's horn, began to vibrate and emit a strange sound.

And.

Ding!

[A new urgent quest has appeared.]

'Urgent?'

A quest window suddenly unfolded before Suho's eyes.

[Urgent Quest: Volcan's Greed]

Driven by a strong desire for power, the demon soul dormant in Volcan's horn has awakened.

The 'Greedy Volcan,' awakened from a long slumber, is feeling intense hunger.

Feed Volcan's hunger with the souls of devils and obtain a special reward.