Ch 5

solo leveling: ragnarok Chapter 05

Suho looked at Ber with a bewildered expression.

“You greeted me so nostalgically, and yet you couldn’t come back?”

“To be honest, the journey to Earth was very long and treacherous. Many enemies blocked my way, but I managed to overcome them all and come here. However, I did not anticipate that I would run out of power to go back…”

Ber made an embarrassing excuse.

“…”

Suho stared at Ber in silence for a moment.

Ber seemed much smaller and weaker than when he had appeared grandly at the art museum, claiming that he was a great and powerful being.

“It’s like looking at a stuffed doll.”

Suho picked up Ber with one hand.

“Huh?”

Mini Ber dangled limply from Suho’s hand.

It felt like the prize from a toy vending machine.

Ber continued to chatter while hanging from Suho’s hand.

“I don’t know if your memory has returned, but the Shadow Lord is the one and only successor of the great and omnipotent ruler, as your father mentioned.”

“The Shadow Lord? Who is that?”

“Seong Jin-woo. Your father mentioned him.”

“Our father?”

“Yes!”

Suho suddenly doubted his ears.

“Talking about our father who left home?”

“He didn’t leave home. He went to space.”

“…?”

Suddenly, the scale of the situation seemed astronomical to Suho.

Not knowing how to react, Ber suddenly spread his arms with a solemn expression.

“Let me explain simply.”

Swoosh!

“In space, a great war is currently raging.”

Shadow energy emanated from Ber’s hand, creating an illusion.

The illusion of a countless number of soldiers, each the size of a fingernail, and an army of monsters attacking them in even greater numbers.

And at the center of it all, there was one man emitting an especially strong energy.

Of course, with only fingernail-sized figures.

[Your great father, Seong Jin-woo, is commanding this war right now.]

As he spoke, Ver pointed to the enemies blocked by “Seong Jin-woo’s” hands.

“And these guys are the dogs of ‘Itarim,’ who came to swallow our world whole.”

“Itarim?”

“Itarim are gods from outer space far away from Earth.”

Ver continued to speak with a solemn expression, describing how wicked and persistent the Itarim were. Though most of his words were curses, the fact remained that they had come to invade Earth.

“So, the monsters that poured out of the Gate two years ago were because of Itarim, right?”

As Su-ho listened to the explanation, a strange feeling came over him.

Both of Su-ho’s parents were missing. They had disappeared a long time ago, and the police had found no clues. It was as if they had vanished from the face of the earth, and Su-ho had half given up hope of ever finding them.

But now he was suddenly in space?

It was a hard fact to believe, but then again, the existence of talking stuffed animals, or even ants, was unrealistic from the beginning in a world where monsters existed in dungeons.

There was nothing more surprising than adding space to the mix.

Su-ho suddenly asked, “What about my mother? Did she go to space too?”

“Huh? No?” Ver looked perplexed. “What? No?”

“Then where did my mother go? She disappeared on the same day as my father, so I thought she’d be with him…?”

“What? Your mother is missing too?” Ver jumped up belatedly, stunned. “When? Where?”

“I don’t know,” Su-ho said, letting out a sigh.

Beru, who had flown from outer space where a war with Itarim was taking place to Earth, had a really rough journey.

The enemies were not easy to deal with as they had watched their commander alone, leaving the battlefield.

After breaking through their enormous troops and barely arriving at Earth, Beru was shocked to hear that Cha Hae-in, the wife of Sung Jin-woo, was missing.

“Kkieak! I have to find Hae-in right away!”

“Do you know where she might be?”

“These guys are bound to be behind this! Itarim! The apostles of Itarim on Earth must have set a wicked trap for Hae-in!”

As the Mother of Protection, Cha Hae-in was always safe under the protection of the Shadow Monarch.

But if something had happened to her, there must have been a force equal to the power of the Shadow Monarch at play.

Although Beru was panicked, the Mother of Protection was not overly concerned about her daughter’s safety.

Of course, she had been worried when Hae-in had gone missing, but now that she had learned about her father’s true identity, the shock was so great that her mother no longer seemed like an ordinary human.

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen my mother flustered before.”

It was surprising that she had married Sung Jin-woo despite knowing her father’s true identity from the beginning.

“No, that’s because taking care of children is so difficult…”

From the side, Berga muttered something, but Suho couldn’t hear it.

Anyway, Suho’s mother, Cha Hae-In, whom he remembers, was a strong and stable person who was always calm.

Perhaps because of that, Suho couldn’t imagine his mother being in danger by someone, though it might be just a vague belief.

But aside from that, it was fortunate that he found a clue about his missing parents who were trapped in the maze.

“Berg, what should I do to find my mother?”

In response to Suho’s question, Berg shouted loudly while hanging on Suho’s hand.

[Of course, you need to become as strong as possible!]

“Become stronger?”

[Yes! The Lord cannot come to Earth for a while due to the war. In the end, there is no one but the Sovereign who can save Hae-In-nim, but the Sovereign now is so weak that he cannot even beat a caterpillar!]

“A caterpillar…”

Suho was a little hurt.

Anyway, Berg got rid of all the shadow illusions he had created in the air and flew up to the sky, escaping from Suho’s hand. Then, pointing to Suho’s feet, he said,

[So let’s level up.]

Ding!

“A quest has arrived.

At that moment, a message window appeared before the guardian.

[Quest: Trial of the Shadow]

Guardian, you are the son of the great Shadow Lord.

However, at this moment, all of your innate talents have been sealed.

To bear that great power, you must prove your own qualification.

Enter the Shadow Dungeon and prove yourself.

“Shadow Dungeon?”

The quest window unfolded before him.

Upon seeing it, the key to the ‘Shadow Dungeon’ that Beruga had given him in his dream came to mind.

[The Shadow Dungeon is the ‘Domain of Rest’ given to Lord Baron. It is a land of the dead where no one can set foot without the owner’s permission. Please open your ‘inventory.’]

When the guardian concentrated his mind on the words, a translucent window appeared before him.

[Inventory]

Key to the Shadow Dungeon (unconfirmed)

“Do I even have an inventory? This is really like a game.”

He was amazed.

As if the dream from his adolescence was a tutorial, now all the features of a real game had been added.

The guardian reached out and took out the key.

Then an information window appeared above the key.

[Item: Key to the Shadow Dungeon]

Acquisition difficulty: ??

Type: Key

This is a key that can be used to move to the Shadow Dungeon.

It can be used on the Guardian’s shadow.

“I can use it on my shadow?”

Following the explanation, the guardian’s gaze went down to his feet.

He knelt down and lightly held the key over his shadow.

Shoop!

Surprisingly, the key went into his shadow.

Beruga’s eyes widened.

[Now, go in and take all the power that should have belonged to Lord Baron.]

“Wait a minute.”

Suho pulled out the key and quickly changed into his own clothes, tying his shoelaces tightly after taking off the loose patient gown and slippers.

As Suho looked down at his shadow again, a determined light shone in his eyes.

“Alright. Shall we go?”

[“Kkiaek! Let’s go! I’ll assist you by your side! Of course, I’m out of energy, but still!”]

He didn’t expect much.

Suho pushed the key back into the shadow.

Click.

[“Would you like to enter the Shadow Dungeon?”] (Y/N)

“…I will enter.”

Shuwaahh-!

At the same time as his answer, Suho’s shadow spread out in all directions and began to swallow up everything in sight – the walls, the ceiling, and even the entire hospital building.

[“You have entered the Shadow Dungeon.”]

Before he knew it, Suho had arrived in a black-and-white world covered in shadow.

“Where is this?”

A silent, stillness where all signs of life were missing. A dense forest, colored in black and white, was waiting for Suho.

No, it was a ruined city that had turned into a forest.

The high-rise buildings were covered with moss and vines.

Suho suddenly remembered a book he had read when he was young.

“It was probably called… Earth Without Humans?”

The book was a documentary about the effects of the Earth’s midnight phenomenon. In summary, it explained that cities left unattended for a long time would eventually collapse and become a forest, with grass and trees growing everywhere.

Just like this place.

“It feels like a field contaminated with magic.”

In the quiet surroundings, Berva, who had followed Suho, flew up and saluted.

“Welcome to the Shadow Dungeon!”

“Is this the Shadow Dungeon?”

As Suho looked around, he felt a strange familiarity.

It felt like he had entered an old horror movie.

“…But why does it feel so familiar?”

As everyone does, Suho vividly remembered the memories of his infancy it is possible

However, the emotions and atmosphere that I felt at that time remained deep in my heart even after becoming an adult.

To some, this black and white world may feel very ominous, but to Suho, it felt as warm as his mother’s embrace.

Then, suddenly,

Snap!

“Live?!”

Suho’s sensory stat sent a warning.

Whoosh!

At that moment, an axe flew from behind him.

[Hick! The trial has begun! Dodge!]

Hearing Berg’s urgent shout, Suho immediately turned his body.

And then he kicked!

Puff!

“Kkup!”

The monster was hit by Suho’s kick and rolled on the ground.

There was a name tag floating above its head, just like Berg’s.

[Goblin Scout]

“Hehehe!”

It was an ugly monster with green skin that was about one meter tall.

“Scout?”

As soon as Suho confirmed its name, he became alert.

“If it’s a scout, there might be other monsters nearby!”

Suho had already fought many battles in his dream when he was in his teens.

The survival instinct engraved in his body at that time moved Suho’s body.

“I have to kill it before calling for other allies!”

Wham!

Before the monster could get up, Suho threw himself at it.

[Kkiyaak! It’s dangerous to fight with bare hands! Goblins are weak and cowardly, but now the Lord is weaker!]

“I know!”

Crack!

Receiving Berg’s warning, Suho struck the back of the goblin scout’s hand, causing the axe it held to fall from its grip.

[Kyaah! Well done! Very well done!]

Berg applauded vigorously, flying above him.

“Man, he’s noisy.”

Thud!

[You have acquired the item: Imp’s Stone Axe.]

As soon as Suho gripped the axe handle, he swung it.

Thunk!

[Crack!]

[You have defeated the goblin scout.]

Suho swiftly cut off the goblin’s neck. But he had no time to catch his breath.

Sssk!

He heard a chilling sound of wind behind his back.

“I knew there was a comrade after all!”

An arrow flew through the air, splitting the wind!

Instinctively, Suho reached out his hand.

“The power of the master!”

Snap!

At that moment, a transparent hand reached out from Suho’s hand and caught the flying arrow.

“What power is this!”

Beru was amazed, looking at the arrow stuck in mid-air.

“Indeed, our Lord has finally awakened the power of a newborn baby!”

Beru thought of Suho’s childhood when he walked through the air as a newborn baby.