Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 126

Meanwhile, Beru’s antennae suddenly twitched as he stood at Suho’s side. He turned urgently to the young hunter and said, “Young Monarch! The forest is shaking!”

Simultaneously, a massive mana storm erupted, surging out from deep within the forest. This was far stronger than the blizzard they’d experienced thus far, and Suho’s shadow soldiers were sent flying backward. Suho quickly hid all except for the minotaurs inside his own shadow and called out, “Mino! Tau!”

They mooed at his command, grabbing Suho and Sirka under one arm each and plunging their fists into the ground. Their powerful arms sank deep into the ground under the snow, like the roots of some ancient tree. Suho and Sirka were prevented from being blown away by the storm, albeit barely.

Suho glared out through the snow, squinting. “What happened all of a sudden?”

“There seems to be an immense clash of powers yonder!” Beru replied, clinging to Suho’s hair and glaring in the same direction.

“Even the spirits seem confused!” Sirka shouted. She was right. The surge seemed to have nothing to do with the spirits of Echo Forest, either.

The problem was now that the storm was still ongoing, with no sign of letting up. As if the snow and wind were not chaotic enough, the mana storm only made things worse. It was difficult now to even move forward, but Suho had no intention of stopping. “My mother may be beyond that storm,” he said.

“I agree with you,” Beru said.

“We’re pushing through.”

Mino and Tau roared, sensing Suho’s determination, and drew power from their entire bodies. With Suho and Sirka under their arms, they began to crawl forward, pressed flat against the snow. They had to move slowly, but the mana storm stopped the spirits from attacking them for a short while. In fact, they seemed to be making better progress than before.

As they continued to move through the storm, Sirka began to sniff. “Suho, I smell something rather odd around here.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been this far into the forest before, either. But it somehow smells… warm.”

“How can something smell warm?” Suho asked, puzzled.

Soon, however, he realized there might be something to it. Ice elves were different from humans, so perhaps they could sense something that humans couldn’t. That was when something floated to his mind—namely, the quest that he’d received upon arrival at the elves’ village.

[Quest: Echo Forest Spring Water]

[There is a mysterious spring hidden somewhere in the forest. Find it and receive your reward.]

I had been ignoring it, since finding my mother is my priority. Suho hadn’t really paid much mind to it since it first popped up. He had come to the Glacier Dungeon in order to find clues as to his mother’s whereabouts, and for no other reason. He had no time to waste on a quest that could take who knew how long.

Any spring in the forest must be frozen solid in this cold. What if it’s covered in snow? How am I supposed to find it?But then again…what if it isn’t frozen?

Sirka had mentioned a warm smell. There were not many things that could retain warmth in this climate. But a spring with boiling water—basically,a hot spring… A thermal string with water heated underground would stay hot even in this cold. “Where is this warm smell coming from?” he asked Sirka.

“Hmm. Give me a moment. It’s all mixed up with the mana storm, so I can’t be certain, but…” Sirka frowned, continuing to sniff the air. “I can’t gauge the distance, but we’re headed in the right direction for certain.”

“Oh? Then I guess we’ll come across the source if we continue moving in the same direction.” He had been ready to ignore the quest altogether if it took them even slightly off course, but now, he nodded.

Mere moments later, they discovered the hot spring. The water was steaming even in the cold, and the very sight was mystical and beautiful. Curiously enough, the harsh undulations of the mana storm seemed to subside a little bit as they got closer.

“So there really is a hot spring.” Suho didn’t seem all too impressed, however. Quest or no quest, he needed to find his mother. He had no time to stop and admire some hot spring.

What’s more, the quest is so easy that I really don’t think the reward is going to be worth much. The same had been true of the recent Kasaka quest. If the quest was too easy, the rewards wouldn’t be all that useful.

Despite Suho’s nonplussed reaction, Sirka seemed to be in shock. “Unbelievable! Can this be…” She couldn’t help but be shocked by the energy in the area. “I can sense the energy of Sillad in this place! Don’t tell me this is where—”

“Sillad? Who’s that?” Suho asked.

Sirka gulped and turned to Suho with a grave look on her face. “Sillad, the King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost.”

Beru gasped.

“It seems our Monarch used to stay here, though he is dead and gone now,” the elf continued.

Suho and Beru stared at each other, wide-eyed. They’d just recalled again that this forest was the sanctuary of the ice elves. It wasn’t surprising for it to hold some location connected to their king.

***

Ding!

[Item: “Echo Forest Spring Water” has been obtained.]

[The quest has been completed.]

Upon buying an empty potion bottle from the shop window and scooping up some of the water, the quest was complete. It occurred to Suho that the quests had been far too easy lately, but to be fair, this quest wasn’t as simple as it sounded. It required them to comb through this terrible forest to locate the spring, which was why he had never really been interested in it in the first place.

[You’ve received a reward for completing the quest.]

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

Before checking the rewards, Suho first inspected the item “Echo Forest Spring Water.”

[Item: Echo Forest Spring Water]

[Acquisition Difficulty: ??

Type: Consumable

Mysterious spring water from Echo Forest. It has antidotal effects when drunk or applied to one’s body.]

“Oh, it’s a sort of antidote potion, then.” This “mysterious” spring water seemed capable of fighting poison. It was interesting, but Suho already had Plague’s Blessing, so this potion was basically useless for him. However, his opinion changed completely when he noticed the quest reward.

[The following reward will be given.]

[Reward: “Rune Stone: Create Life-Giving Elixir”]

“Huh? A skill that lets me create a life-giving potion?” The name alone suggested that this was no ordinary reward.

Beru, who knew exactly what this meant, seemed very surprised. “Young Monarch! That Life-Giving Elixir…”

It was far easier at times to read the description directly, rather than listen to an explanation. While Beru spoke, Suho broke the rune stone and learned the skill.

Ding!

[Item: “Life-Giving Elixir” crafting skill has been acquired.]

A [Crafting] tab appeared at the end of Suho’s skill window.

[Crafting Skills]

[Consumable: Life-Giving Elixir (1/3)]

When Suho looked at the “Life-Giving Elixir,” a description of it appeared.

[Item: Life-Giving Elixir]

[Acquisition Difficulty: S

Type: Consumable

A mysterious and powerful magical potion that heals all ailments. It only takes full effect when an entire bottle is used.]

“It heals all ailments?” Suho exclaimed.

“That’s right. This is a legendary elixir that can’t be compared to a lowly healing potion, Young Monarch,” Beru said with a nod.

Suho hadn’t been expecting much from the quest, but he suddenly grew serious. And it was well that he should, since the world had been extremely interested in healers when they first appeared after the Great Cataclysm.

It was incredible that a skill could heal. Healing abilities far surpassed the capabilities of modern medicine, and it excited everyone. But sadly, healers were not all-powerful. Skillful healers could cure even fatal wounds, but it was only a select few who could manage such a thing. And no matter how skilled a healer was, they had their limits, even if they were S-rank.

“But to heal everything? This is basically a drug that grants eternal youth. Well, maybe not the ‘eternal’ part.”

“Eternal life is heavily overrated, Young Monarch. By dying, one can become a shadow soldier—”

“In any case, we need as many of these as we can get. What are the other ingredients, though?” Suho immediately checked the recipe.

[Life-Giving Elixir]

[Ingredients:

Purified Blood of the Demon King (0/1)

Fragment of the World Tree (0/1)

Echo Forest Spring Water (1/1)]

“Purified Blood of the Demon King? Fragment of the World Tree?” Suho looked flabbergasted. It seemed that the spring water was the easiest ingredient on the list. He had no idea where to find the “World Tree,” and “Demon King” had to be a reference to the King of Demons. “I thought the King of Demons died long ago. Where am I supposed to find his blood?”

“Eureka! I have been visited by an idea,” Beru cried, a wicked expression in his glinting eyes. “Turn Esil into the King of Demons, and then drain her blood.”

“Ah, that should do it,” Suho said, nodding along to his evil plan. Esil was the only demon noble alive, and the only candidate to become the Demon King. It was unclear if she had what it took to become a Monarch, but it was true that she had the most potential.

That only left one more ingredient. “I guess I’ll be able to make this Life-Giving Elixir if I find the World Tree.”

Even as he spoke, the shadow soldiers were filling empty potion bottles with spring water, as he had commanded. He couldn’t dally here forever, so he needed to hurry.

While Suho was thus occupied, Sirka was beside him, looking around in amazement as she felt the energy of the Monarch of Frost emanating from the spring.

Suddenly, her eyes lost focus. It looked very much like what happened to ice elves who were possessed by the spirits of the Echo Forest. She began to walk toward the spring as if some entity was controlling her.

Suho called out to her, “What are you doing, Sirka? If you get wet, you’ll only be colder afterward—”

But it was too late. Her foot splashed into the steaming water, and suddenly, a blinding flash of light erupted from her body.