Solo Leveling: Ragnarok – 1



Episode 1

“Do you like ants that much?”

Korea University Art Museum.

Lim Do-gyun a teaching assistant in the painting department looked bored after seeing Su-ho’s painting.

Pictures of ants were crowded on one wall of the exhibition hall.

All kinds of sketches including oil and watercolor paintings.

There were many different types and the appearances of the ants depicted were also very different.

Assistant Professor Lim attached the name tag he brought below.

[Korea University Painting Department Project Exhibition]

[3rd grade Seong Su-ho]

“If you just collected the ants you drew since freshman year it would fill a truck. If this was going to be the case shouldn’t you have gone to entomology instead of art school?”

“I thought about it but there was no separate ant department.”

“You only like ants not insects?”

“yes. Strangely enough I have liked ants ever since I was young. When I came across a swarm of ants I walked around carefully so as not to accidentally step on them…”

“You liked it since you were young? “Your tastes are so consistent.”

Assistant Professor Lim chuckled and continued looking at Suho’s paintings.

Then it stands tall.

“This ant looks a little different?”

In front of it was a drawing of a humanoid ant blazing with black energy.

“hmm. The movement is dynamic and good. “Did you draw a demonic beast?”

“What about the demonic beast? “It’s just an ant that appeared in my dreams when I was young.”

“Puh-ha. You are amazing too. How much do you love ants that you even dream about them? “When were you young?”

“Before the cataclysm.”

Cataclysm.

It was a term referring to the apocalyptic crisis that suddenly struck the Earth two years ago.

Unidentified gates appear all over the Earth.

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And the terrible demonic beasts that poured out from within invaded the Earth.

However fortunately only a small number of humans awakened this ability at the right time and humanity was able to barely overcome the crisis.

That was only two years ago.

At the time Suho was just a 20-year-old freshman.

However the time when Suho had the ‘ant dream’ was long before that when he was in middle school and high school.

“Anyway you’re a really special species.”

Assistant Professor Lim laughed and looked at Suho’s drawing again carefully.

“But you drew it really well. It looks like it will jump out of the picture and bite at any moment. Oh is this too much? “I think your paintings are that vivid.”

Suho laughed inwardly at those words.

‘It has to be that way.’

I’m not just saying this the ants in the picture were my nightmare itself.

When I was a teenager it was a monster that would often come out of my dreams and rush towards me to kill me.

‘…Looking back it was a really terrible dream.’

Suho remembered that dream.

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

In that dream Suho had to fight for his life with monsters without even knowing what was going on.

The armored knights and ants that blocked his path endlessly and later even the giant dragons.

When you kill those monsters you level up like in a game.

Then if you die it resets immediately.

I had to go back to the beginning and restart everything from level 1.

The only way to get out of that dream was to somehow survive and reach the final boss’s room.

After fighting and fighting without stopping I finally arrived at the final boss and to my absurd surprise the face of the final boss was…

‘He took after his father.’

Eat.

Suho smiled bitterly saying that it was just a dream he had during his adolescence.

But after some time I stopped having that dream again.

‘I guess… it was around that time.’

Yes the summer of my first year of high school to be exact.

Ever since my parents went missing.

…Suho’s peaceful daily life collapsed.

* * *

Around that time.

An unusual sign was occurring in the corner of the museum building.

“You left it here?”

“Yes senior. “The teaching assistant said he put it all in here.”

Sigh.

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Painting department students opened the warehouse door to take care of the exhibits.

And my eyes widened as I discovered the ‘thing’ inside.

“uh?”

Crackling! Crackling!

A pitch-black hole floating in the wall.

“Ugh! “It’s a gate right?!”

“Report it quickly!”

Students are scared and step back.

They took out their cell phones with trembling hands to start reporting right away but a fourth-year senior urgently stopped them.

“Calm down! Just by looking at it the gate is closed!”

“Oh I see. “The blue mist hasn’t flown out yet.”

“okay. “There is still a long way to go before the dungeon break occurs.”

“under. “I was really chilled.”

The students who belatedly realized the situation breathed a sigh of relief.

Dungeon Break was a term used to refer to the phenomenon of demonic beasts pouring out of the gate.

However the dungeon break did not occur immediately after the gate was created.

Before that the ‘blue fog’ flowed out from inside the gate and polluted the surrounding area and only then could the gate open and the demonic beasts come out.

“So it’s still safe. “Hehe.”

“Senior Seo. Why are you smiling so nervously? “It’s still dangerous so let’s report it quickly right?”

“You idiots. Haven’t you even heard that rumor? “You mean you can become an awakened person by drinking the blue mist?”

“ah!”

The juniors’ ears perked up at the senior’s words.

The identity of the blue fog has not yet been clearly revealed.

However at some point there was a rumor that was secretly spreading on the Internet like an urban legend.

The rumor was that the fog was actually vaporized magic power and that drinking it could instantly awaken magic power in even ordinary people.

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

“It’s not like it turned out to be a rumor.”

“Hmm.”

“Hehe. So let’s check it out this time. Do you know anything? “Maybe there will be an S-class hunter among us?”

“…!”

The juniors’ eyes suddenly changed at the senior’s secret voice.

The astronomical amount of money earned by S-class hunters came to mind.

Since the corpses of demonic beasts and ores from dungeons have come into the spotlight as new materials the profession of hunter who can sweep up all those goods has become a symbol of wealth and fame.

However it has only been two years since the cataclysm occurred.

It has not yet been clearly revealed how to awaken magical power.

“Besides you guys know that Assistant Professor Lim is also an E-class awakened right?”

“I heard it. You always complain that you can’t make money as an E-class hunter. That’s why you work as a teaching assistant during the semester.”

“Tsk tsk. You’re saying something you don’t know. That’s a lie man. Don’t you know how much the assistant earns just by entering the dungeon as a mining team member rather than a raid member?”

“How much do you earn?”

The senior spoke in a whisper as if revealing a great secret and immediately the juniors’ eyes widened.

“yes? “You earn that much?”

“Even though it’s E-level?”

“Yeah man. Even if you’re lucky enough to become a low-level hunter that’s it right? Are you still going to miss this great opportunity? huh?”

“Wow Hunter is the best. “Why are you still working at the school if you’re earning so much?”

“You’re saying you’re going to make money in the dungeon and spend a lot of money on art. “If you work in the teaching assistant’s office you will have many opportunities for exhibitions.”

“It’s really awesome.”

E-class income was much more persuasive than S-class awakening which was much rarer than winning the lottery.

With the senior’s continued persuasion the juniors eventually quietly put down their hands holding their cell phones.

“Well hmm. They say it’s safe for a while even if the blue fog flows out…”

“Then shall we wait a moment? “Really wait a minute?”

“You bastards. It finally makes sense now. Anyway it’s just one life. “If you just take a sip and report it as soon as the fog comes out there won’t be any danger.”

And after some time.

Finally blue fog began to seep out from the gate.

* * *

Boom!

Suddenly the building shook.

‘huh?’

Suho who was in the exhibition hall raised his head.

‘what? ‘Is it an earthquake?’

Something was strange.

It feels like the space itself is shaking.

However only Suho felt something strange. No one in the exhibition hall noticed anything about this.

It was then.

Trudging.

“Ugh.”

A student was walking shakily into the exhibition hall.

At that moment Assistant Professor Lim who was near the entrance approached him and spoke to him.

“Youngcheol I asked you to go to the warehouse so why did you come so late…”

“I definitely tried to stop you.”

“…Youngcheol?”

“Senior Seo keeps saying this.”

“Park Young-cheol?”

“Smoke.”

Creepy.

‘Something is wrong.’

Assistant Professor Lim’s expression hardened as he checked Youngcheol’s condition up close.

Pupils quivering unable to figure out what to do.

A mouth that keeps muttering incomprehensible words.

“Park Young-cheol? “What’s that in your mouth?”

As Assistant Professor Lim asked Youngcheol finally realized his condition.

Shaaaaaaa.

Before he knew it blue smoke was seeping out of his mouth and nose.

“Oh it shouldn’t be like this. “Keuuuuuu.”

Youngcheol was embarrassed and covered his mouth with his hand.

But the more he did the more smoke leaked out between his fingers.

and.

Grumble!

Along with the intense heat blue smoke engulfed Yeongcheol’s body.

“Teacher!”

At that moment Suho came running from behind and grabbed Assistant Professor Lim’s body.

“Kwaauk! Hot hot…!”

“…!”

Assistant Professor Lim who took a step back widened his eyes.

Yeongcheol’s body was enveloped in blue smoke and began to burn.

“Aaaah!”

“What is that!”

Students nearby witnessed the terrible scene and screamed in horror.

But that was then.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeow

At that moment a creepy siren sound rang out from the school speakers.

[This is an emergency!]

The students began to shout at the sound that came out of nowhere.

[A gate has occurred on campus!]

“…?!”

“A crab gate?”

[The location of the gate currently identified is the art museum building…!]

“Fuck! “It’s here!”

“Ugh!”

“Aaaah!”

Confusion increased.

The students become contemplative and begin to run.

The horror of seeing a person burn to death right in front of my eyes was indescribable.

However there was one problem with getting out.

As it happens the place where Yeongcheol’s body was burning was in the middle of the exhibition hall entrance.

To get out you had to pass by the corpse.

Grumble!

One student who was running ahead of him was startled by the intense heat and hesitated.

‘Is there another exit….’

I quickly looked around but there was no way it was there.

There is only one exit.

While the students were scared and confused.

[Guhuhhh….]

Something unbelievable happened.

“uh?”

“That guy?”

Yeongcheol’s body which had been reduced to a lump of charcoal was rising again.

Encroached upon by blue smoke.

“Now wait a minute. “Is that really possible?”

At that sight Assistant Professor Lim’s eyes widened.

“It’s a demonic beast! “Get away from there right away!”

Assistant Professor Lim’s urgent cry.

[Kaaaa!]

But it was already too late.

The demon of blue smoke using Yeongcheol’s body as a wick swung his arm like a whip.

Kwakwang-!

“Ahh!”

The students’ bodies rolled around on the floor vomiting blood.

And as the blue smoke clung to their clothes their bodies also began to burn hotly.

“Ugh! fire! fire!”

“Aaaah!”

The students dispersed in confusion.

There were desperate screams.

“oh my god. It was really a mist burn….”

Assistant Professor Lim hastily took out his cell phone.

Mist Burn was not something that an E-class person could handle alone.

Suho urgently asked Assistant Professor Lim who was sending a request for support.

“Mist bun? “What kind of demon beast is this?”

“If you get hit by that guy….”

Assistant Professor Lim chewed his lips.

“We turn into the same people.”

[Big!]

At that moment the corpses of students who had been attacked by Mist Burn were standing up again burning blue smoke.