Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

“W-What’s wrong with him?“

“What the hell is Vulcan doing?“

The sudden atmosphere puzzled the young demons.

Then the old demons born before the War of Outer Gods clicked their tongues.

“What? You don‘t know the greedy Vulcan?“

“Young people these days!“

“If Vulcan was still alive, do you think we would have done nothing but pickaxe?“

“Tsk tsk. We must have been eaten right away, and not even a piece of bone would be left!“

“…?“

For the younger ones who were even more puzzled, the old demons started scrambling to open their mouths.

It was a terrible and terrifying past.

… Demons were broadly classified into two.

Demons with intelligence and demons without intelligence.

Demons with intelligence did not regard demons without intelligence as their kind, but treated them as insignificant creatures.

And…

“Vulcan was just a nameless creature a long time ago!“

He was just a small creature that crawled servilely at the very bottom of the demon realm, licking the blood and flesh left on the floor after other demons had finished hunting.

“Like a worm wriggling by instinct.“

Vulcan‘s position in the demon realm was just that.

However, the demon realm is a hell of a place where fierce fighting between ghosts is common.

A truly strong demon could be said to be a demon that somehow endured and survived to the end, not a person with strong power or mana power.

“… In that sense, Vulcan was a truly strong demon.“

Although Vulcan was born weak and lowly, he crawled flat on the ground during the day and hid in the ground at night to avoid being preyed on by the strong.

Then, by picking up food waste, blood and flesh of demons that other demons ate and spilled, he gradually grew stronger in a place where no one knew.

Then one day.

It was extremely coincidental that Vulcan, who had been hiding endlessly from the strong, found ‘it‘.

‘Ehh…?‘

Unfortunately, Vulcan at the time did not have the intelligence to recognize ‘its’ identity.

But even without intelligence, his instincts made the most correct decisions.

Vulcan clung to ‘it’ and snapped a small branch, breaking it.

He devoured the leaves hanging from its branches.

That moment.

Swoosh!

‘… Huh?!‘

A change occurred in Vulcan‘s body.

Vulcan‘s body, struggling with extreme pain, began to grow.

At the same time, intelligence bloomed in his empty head.

He then recognized the identity of what was in front of him.

[World Tree]

“… What Vulcan found was a world tree that was branching out into the demon realm.“

The lowly devil who happened to pick up and eat the leaves of the World Tree at such a chance got the name ‘Vulcan‘.

He began to hunt down and eat the strong demons that had looked down on him.

‘Haaaa!‘

There was no demon that could block Vulcan, who had the hard branches of the World Tree as a weapon.

Vulcan chewed and swallowed the flesh and blood of the demons defeated by him.

“The moment we encountered Vulcan, we were forced to choose.“

Either become Vulcan‘s prey, or lie flat in front of him and volunteer to become his subordinate.

Vulcan was eventually able to become a demon noble and the ruler of a region.

Was it because of his deformed growth?

For some reason, even after becoming a demon noble, Vulcan still lacked the ability to speak.

A minimum intelligence was created, but that was it.

He was still only a predator who lived by pursuing his instincts, and even the method of creating ‘bloodstone‘, the symbol of demonic nobility, was not that great to him.

Even if he couldn‘t make bloodstone, it was enough to chew and swallow the whole demons he hunted anyway.

Besides, it was much more delicious and enjoyable to Vulcan.

“So even after becoming a demon noble, Vulcan reigned as a predator who constantly ate low-level demons.“

[The Greedy Volcan]

The demons called him by that name in fear.

“Until he was killed by the Shadow Monarch during the War of Outer Gods.“

“…“

The young demons swallowed hard at the old stories told by the old demons.

They knew how devastating it was for a low-level demon to reach demonic nobility on their own.

“Wait, how much did he eat…“

To do so, it was impossible even if Suho ate all the demons that filled the Colosseum.

At that moment, in the center of the Colosseum…

Mooooo…!

Blag!

A huge demon with Vulcan‘s Horn was fighting a bloody battle with the Minotaurs.

Seeing that with their eyes, the old demons nodded their heads with confidence.

“His appearance is a little different, but it‘s certain.“

“That‘s Vulcan‘s horn.“

“It‘s Vulcan‘s energy.“

“If that‘s not Vulcan resurrected, then it‘s from Vulcan‘s blood line…“

Whichever of the two is true, it was a shocking situation.

* * *

On the other hand, Suho couldn‘t help but fight at the sounds coming from here and there.

“What did they say? I‘m Vulcan‘s son?“

[Congratulations. The secret of your birth has been revealed.]

“Don‘t play around. What kind of guy was Vulcan to get such reactions?“

[He was just a fat pig with a good appetite.]

“That doesn‘t seem like me at all?“

[I think I stimulated something in Vulcan while eating bloodstone in this place.]

Vulcan was a demon noble who had never eaten bloodstone in his life.

That kind of guy (even if it was through his horn) suddenly tasted bloodstone like that, so suddenly the energy he had before life suddenly exploded.

It was sprouting after rain fell on dry ground.

[Now, the stench unique to Vulcan is leaking from your horns.]

“Stink? I don‘t smell anything though?“

[That‘s because it‘s a smell that only demons can smell. But before that…!]

Infamous Scans

“I know!“

At Esil‘s warning, Suho immediately stopped talking and turned around.

Then, grabbing the horns of the Minotaur that was attacking from behind like a mad bull, he slammed his fist down.

Bang!

“Mooooo!“

The Minotaur against him was tough indeed.

It took Suho‘s blows with his bare body, and at the same time returned Suho‘s violent punches.

Blag-!

A huge shock wave, like a bomb exploded on Suho‘s body.

But…

[‘Skill: Endurance‘ reduces damage.]

“I‘m pretty tough too.“

Suho also continued to swing his fist while receiving the attack with his bare body.

“Moooo!“

[S-Such a futile battle…]

Esil was fed up.

Such a fighting method of giving up defense and only attacking each other like that was a vulgar method that demon nobles could not dare to imagine.

No, there was only one noble like that.

Vulcan.

Bang!

“Mooo…“

In the end, the winner and the loser of that ignorant fight were decided.

Another giant monster lost its power and collapsed due to Suho‘s ruthless violence.

“That one’s toughness is amazing.“

Suho was sincerely impressed.

The five minotaurs he had defeated were still undead, wriggling on the floor gasping for air.

Even after the winner was decided, the demons were stunned and unable to even shout.

“Oh my God…“

“He single-handedly defeated five Minotaurs…“

“As expected, Vulcan‘s son…“

However, only one person, the chief jailer, was different.

“… Keuh.“

The warden‘s eyes were shining with greed as he looked at Suho.

‘What a windfall. Vulcan‘s flesh and blood!‘

Slurp.

His mouth kept watering.

That was natural, because it was none other than Vulcan.

A symbolic existence that showed how a low-level demon can become a noble!

He was curious.

‘How strong can I become if I eat him?‘

An enormous appetite surged up.

The warden quickly scanned the Colosseum.

‘He hasn‘t come yet!‘

Despite that uproar, the tyrant still hadn‘t appeared at the Colosseum.

That was all thanks to the one-horned man ending the battle too quickly.

Realizing that fact, the warden‘s expression flashed with urgency.

‘What if I eat that guy first before the tyrant king arrives?‘

‘Maybe I‘ll become stronger than the tyrant king.‘

The moment he thought of such an outrageous thought, a tremendous sense of shudder penetrated his entire body, from head to toe.

‘Stronger than the tyrant king? I can? Will I become the ruler of this place?‘

The demon‘s heart, full of desire, began to pound like thunder.

Wouldn‘t it be a great disrespect for a demon to ignore this desire?

Poof!

“Oh!“

“C-Chief Warden?!“

Suddenly, when the jailer jumped into the arena, the eyes of the demon guards nearby widened.

None of them dared to stop his sudden action because he was a demon of the highest rank in that place where the tyrant king was absent.

When Suho saw the warden running after him, his eyes flashed.

“Great.“

[Don‘t be careless! He‘s a guy with much higher mana power than you!]

“Mana power isn‘t everything.“

Also…

‘It‘s much more efficient to catch the captain first than go for them all at once.‘

Suho quickly prepared for battle.

However, the guard was never a hard-headed man, even if he was driven impulsively by desire.

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

‘Don’t let your guard down.‘

After all, the one-horned man was the one who single-handedly knocked out five of those tough ones.

Also, Vulcan‘s son couldn‘t be more vigilant.

The warden stretched out both hands and shouted at the minotaurs.

“Rise again, madmen!“

[Eh?! How dare you say that first!]

Beru, who was hiding in the shadows, was very angry.

Light-blooded poison had already spread from the jailer‘s hand and was poisoning the fallen Minotaurs.

“Moooooo!“

The Minotaurs writhe in great pain and rise again.

Their bodies were terribly hot.

The blood in their veins was boiling.

It was practically a death sentence to use light-blooded poison on those who were already exhausted and dying.

If the poison had been used from the beginning, the Minotaurs would not have even fought to save their lives.

But it was different now.

“Moooo!“

The Minotaurs took all that pain and anger and directed it to Suho.

[The Cultivated Minotaur is contaminated with madness.]

[The Cultivated Minotaur is contaminated with madness.]

[The Cultivated Minotaur is contaminated with madness.]

…

The warden gave orders to them with the most evil laugh.

“Great! Kill him! Tear that bastard limb from limb, even if it means at the expense of your lives!“

“Moooo!“

“Hahaha! Blood and flesh of Vulcan! I will eat all of your blood, flesh, and bone fragments!“

The warden rushed to eat Suho‘s heart with the mad-blooded Minotaurs.

“Vulcan‘s power is mine…!“

It was then.

Bzzzzt-

As if answering the warden‘s words, the horn of Suho- No, the horn of Vulcan vibrated and began to emit a strange cry.

Ring![An urgent quest has occurred.]

‘Urgent Quest?‘

A quest window suddenly opened in front of Suho‘s eyes.[Emergency Quest: Vulcan‘s Greed]

A powerful thirst for power awakened the demonic spirit that slumbered within Vulcan‘s horn.

Awakening from a long slumber, ‘Voracious Vulcan‘ is feeling extreme hunger.

Feed Vulcan his fill of demon souls and earn special rewards.

[To be continued…]