Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 115

When the dungeon break occurred, the atmosphere in the general vicinity could only be described as “chaotic.” Every hunter and soldier that had felt the mana wave gathered, their numbers growing with every passing moment. But since they were all strangers, there was no chance of establishing any sort of order. Rather, they saw each other as competitors.

“Hey! This boss monster is ours! Don’t touch it!”

“What?! Finders keepers!”

If this were a regular dungeon, there would be no disputes over ownership. There would be a set order for tackling the boss and a precise contract determining the distribution of the loot.

But this was not even a field-type dungeon. At the moment, it was merely being treated as a natural disaster. At such times, the prey belonged to whoever caught it first—it was literally a “first-come-first-serve” scenario.

Therefore, hunters were scattered all over, each moving independently to catch even one more magic beast. That greed and disorganization was causing problems.

“Why won’t these creatures die?!”

“Damn it! These serpents’ scales are like iron!”

Vipers with iron-like scales were swarming throughout the swamp that had appeared in the middle of the city. The level of each magic beast was not particularly high, but their numbers were overwhelming, and more importantly, they hid deadly weapons—their venomous fangs. The vipers’ venom was so potent that even a fairly strong hunter could be incapacitated by a single bite.

“Aaagh! Damn it! It bit me…”

“Is there any healer here with a detoxification skill?!”

“This isn’t the time to be competing with each other! If we don’t clear them quickly, a field-type dungeon will form!”

“That’s right! Let’s join forces for now!”

As casualties began to mount, the hunters began to unite one by one. The most critical thing during a dungeon break was to clear the magic beasts as quickly as possible. As the beasts emerged from the gate and scattered, they spread the blue mist that clung to them, expanding the contaminated area. The result was what was known as a field-type dungeon.

Wham!

As if a savior had appeared amid the chaos, the S-rank hunter, Thomas Andre, crashed into one of the magic beasts, obliterating it. As the other recognized him, their eyes widened in shock.

“G-Goliath?!”

“Why is he here?!”

They had heard he’d arrived in Korea yesterday, but they had never imagined running into him in a place like this.

His mere presence was enough to reassure them. The great hunter Thomas Andre wouldn’t consider these magic beasts to be of any significance at all. Yet, there was a sense of concern that couldn’t be completely dismissed.

“Be careful, Mr. Andre! The entire swamp is flowing with snake venom!” someone shouted, seemingly trying to impress him with the tip. “If you touch the swamp, it will weaken and damage your muscles! I can detoxify, so I’ll assist you!”

The person shouting was a healer with a detoxification skill, eager to gain fame or a significant reward by aiding a world-renowned hunter. But whether he heard the shout or not, Thomas Andre disregarded the hunter and walked straight into the swamp. The venom weakened his muscles as it seeped into his body, but it was of no concern to him.

“Listen, all of you! That one’s mine, and if you dare touch what’s mine…” Wading through the venom, Thomas pointed at the largest serpent, which appeared to be the boss monster.

Swish!

Suddenly, a black bolt of lightning pierced through the boss monster from the sky.

Graaaaah!

The giant serpent shrieked terribly as it was impaled by a black arrow and collapsed.

“Where’s the bastard who dares to steal my catch?” Thomas roared fiercely, raising his head.

The onlookers were just as stunned. However much the rule of “finders keepers” might apply, they couldn’t fathom which archer would snatch prey claimed by Thomas Andre.

“Let’s see your face if you’ve got the balls!”

Crash!

Thomas immediately kicked off the swampy ground and soared high into the air. The black mana arrow had flown in an arc, and he would be able to easily trace its source from a high vantage point.

With a single leap, he landed on the rooftop of a nearby high-rise building. He jumped across the buildings, running in the direction from which the black arrow had come.

And when he reached the rooftop of the tallest building in Euljiro, he met the archer. “Suho…”

Suho had also sought out the highest rooftop and jumped onto it from the opposing side. There were two others with the young hunter, but Thomas didn’t even register their presence.

[Shadow Minotaur – Level 1 – Shape Transformation – Arrow]

Suho’s bow, aimed toward the swamp, was charged with a thick and destructive energy.

[Available Shadow Preservation Slots: 3/3]

Having gained the ability to store two more shadow soldiers after leveling up in the demon realm, Suho had filled the empty slots with the two strongest minotaurs he had extracted.

“Mino, go and wreak havoc.” Suho brought back the bowstring and released an arrow toward the swamp. The arrow, with a tip shaped like a bull’s head, flew with the power and speed of a cannonball from rocketing out of a siege weapon.

Boom!

[Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka has been defeated.]

[Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka has been defeated.]

[Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka has been defeated.]

A multitude of messages popped up in quick succession.

However, the awaited level-up window was not among them. The swampy terrain and the serpents’ venom had complicated the battle, but the magic beasts themselves were absurdly weaker than those Suho had faced before. By now, such creatures barely registered any experience points for him.

[The Swamp’s Ruler, the Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka has been defeated.]

Even the boss monster that Suho had eliminated with Que hadn’t been enough for a level up, which about summarized the situation.

But Suho was satisfied. The quest was only to resolve the dungeon break, not that I had to kill all the beasts myself. The fact that he had taken care of the boss monster and some of the magic beasts was enough for the dungeon break to start winding down. He had only fired two arrows, but the others’ efforts would swiftly advance the quest. Given its difficulty and the other factors, the quest seemed to be a stroke of good fortune.

Ding.

[Emergency Quest: “Swamp” has been completed.]

Just then, another message arrived. The minotaur arrow he had just fired had significantly exposed the swamp, so the other hunters were able to finish off the revealed magic beasts in a concerted attack.

Suho nodded in satisfaction, pleased that the quest had ended quickly. However, in contrast to his casual approach to the situation, the two S-rank hunters on the roof with him seemed to be feeling different.

“Wait, kid… What on earth was that arrow… No, more importantly, I didn’t know you were an archer!” Thomas had arrived in a fit of anger, but he now looked quite astonished.

“Suho, what was that just now? Didn’t you say you had no archery skills?” But Taegyu’s shock at witnessing Suho’s archery not once, but twice, was two—no, ten times greater than Thomas’. The younger hunter’s arrows had no signs of the mana condensation typically required to make them.

Taegyu could have convinced himself he was mistaken at first, but seeing it twice made him certain. Suho had a skill that allowed him to create arrows without using any mana at all.

“That kind of skill… It’s unbelievable…” The archer felt as though his idea of common knowledge had gone out the window.

Suho casually brushed it off as if it were nothing. “Ah, I’m a summoner, as you know. I just summoned the arrow, that’s all.”

“Who do you think you’re fooling?! Even summoning skills require mana!” Taegyu barked. It was a valid point—but he, like all the others, was unaware that Suho’s summoning was an authority over shadows rather than a skill.

Suho decided to ignore the people gawking at him like he was a zoo animal and instead checked the quest rewards.

[Completion rewards have arrived.]

[Would you like to accept the rewards?] (Y/N)

The difficulty was too low to expect much from the rewards, but…Sure, confirm.

Suho was currently at level 40. The quest was so far below his level that he had defeated its boss monster in just one hit. He checked the rewards without much expectation.

Oh? But he was pleasantly surprised.

[The following rewards will be given.]

[Reward 1. Kasaka’s Venom Fang

Reward 2. Kasaka’s Venom Gland]

Two rewards?Nice! His eyes lit up with unexpected delight.

Suho went inside a building’s restroom to get away from the pair of annoying S-rank geezers who kept following him and demanding an explanation about the mana arrows.

“Confirm,” he said. As he took out the first item, a sharply honed dagger appeared.

[Item: “Kasaka’s Venom Fang” has been acquired.]

“What the heck? It’s just a dagger.” Suho’s expression soured as he held the weapon up. “I should’ve known from the quest’s difficulty. Who would use such a weak-looking weapon—”

“Goodness!”

“Woah! You startled me.”

Beru, who had remained quiet until now, suddenly popped out and clung to Suho. “Young Monarch! Daggers are not weak at all! Especially this one, I might add!”

“But it only has 25 attack power.”

“What?!” Beru flinched.

[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Fang]

[Acquisition Difficulty: C

Type: Dagger

Attack Power +25

A dagger made from Kasaka’s venomous fang. The remaining venom paralyzes and/or makes enemies bleed out. You can store it in your inventory or sell it at the store.

– Effect “Paralysis”: The target attacked has a probability of being unable to move.

– Effect “Bleeding”: There’s a probability that the target’s health depletes by 1% per second.]

Suho skimmed through the item information and clicked his tongue. “See? It’s so short! And my Vulcan’s Horn has a base attack of 40 with a 300 percent damage increase, so why should I use this?”

“Well… Uh…” Sniffle! “How regrettable! If only it had appeared a bit earlier!” Beru expressed his frustration in a weepy tone. “Young Monarch! This dagger was a weapon cherished by our Monarch back in his old hunting days.”

“My father used it?” Suho looked at Kasaka’s Venom Fang with renewed interest, but only for a moment. “Eh. He probably used it when he was just starting out.”

“Kieeeeeek!”

The dagger’s effects were good, but it didn’t have much attack power. Still, the next reward was useful.

[Item: “Kasaka’s Venom Gland” has been acquired.]

[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Gland]

[Acquisition Difficulty: A

Type: Elixir

It’s a pouch containing Kasaka’s refined venom. The probability of obtaining this item after defeating Kasaka is extremely low. Drinking the venom grants tough skin, but due to its toxicity, muscles are permanently damaged.

– Effect “Kasaka’s Iron Scales”: Physical damage reduced by 20%.

– Side Effect “Damaged Muscles”: Strength -35.]

“It’s poison.” Suho’s eyes sparkled. Although the item was classified as an “elixir,” in truth, it was the same deadly venom that had been flowing through the swamp. It was a virulent poison that damaged the muscles if one touched or ingested it.

[Querehsha drools over it.]

“Seems like this could be useful.” Just like Que, Suho swallowed his saliva and unhesitatingly dumped the poison into his mouth.

[“Poison: Kasaka’s Venom” has been consumed.]

[“Poison: Kasaka’s Venom” can be manipulated.]