Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 340

“My actions... The points I have acquired... A higher class?”

Suho, staring at the stream of system messages, suddenly turned his head to the side. There, a number of tiny fire spirits still lingered, trembling with rage as they watched him.

“Augh! No!”

“We’ll see about this!”

“How dare you!”

What good would their anger do? The fight was already over. Still, Suho hadn’t had enough.

“What is it? What about all this has you so displeased?” Antares asked.

Suho smacked his lips as he eyed them. A strange look had crossed Antares’ face, but despite his words, a faint glimmer of anticipation flickered in his eyes.

Suho spoke with complete confidence. “System. Hold on. Pause the calculation.”

He didn’t know if a conversation with the system was even possible, but he wanted the entire process to stop. Suho still hadn’t broken out of his spirit transfer state.

“I still have more promotion points to acquire.”

“Oh?”

At that, the corners of Antares’ lips stretched into a wide grin.

Even though Antares himself had just declared the trial over, Suho was eager for more. He had heard from various sources how his father had undergone his own job change. Jinwoo had skipped over the first job change entirely and jumped straight to his second during his quest. Had he followed the predetermined path provided by the system, he would have first become a necromancer. From there, he’d have had to accumulate more experience, eventually earning the title of Monarch of Shadows, but only after the next job change quest.

He hadn’t done any of that. Through sheer grit and unrelenting resolve, he amassed enough promotion points to complete both advancements at once. Suho had also endured no less than four terrible Trials of the King of Dragons to get to where he was now. But he wasn’t finished just yet.

My actions. Everything I’ve done so far. If all of that experience adds up to make advancing to a higher class possible... I can still do more.

A conclusion formed clearly in Suho’s mind, his eyes burning with resolute energy. Perhaps the system sensed this, as the endless cascade of chimes came to an abrupt stop. Silence followed.

With a satisfied smile, Suho bared his teeth at the remaining fire spirits.

“Just as I thought. This isn’t enough. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve wiped out every last one of you.”

The spirits flared with hostile energy.

“Wipe us out? You dare utter such disrespectful words?”

“Do you really believe this vessel is the only main body we’ve created?”

“Destroying us will accomplish nothing!”

“We are all one! We cannot die!”

“We always have another body to inhabit!”

“That’s why we’ve accounted for every possible variable, and created many vessels in preparation!”

“How kind of you,” Suho said. “Isn’t that too important a secret to spill so casually?”

“Secret? Heh.”

“We are past secrets now.

“You’ve already stolen our memories. There’s no point in hiding anything now.”

“Besides, it has already begun.”

“What has?” Suho asked.

His question was met with mocking laughter from the spirits.

“While you were locked in here...”

“What do you think was happening out there, on the other side of the planet?”

“The other side of the planet?” Suho asked, and they answered with knowing smiles.

“Quantity over quality.”

“This vessel focused on quality. But over there, we’ve focused on numbers.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”

Suho’s expression darkened with meaning.

“System,” he called again. “You said you’d analyze my actions to determine a suitable job. If you’re going to study me, do it thoroughly.”

He grinned at the system, which was still tallying the promotion points he had acquired.

“I’m doing this to inherit the primordial darkness, but I can cut off Nidhogg’s head at any point if I want. Remember that.”

That was what it meant to conquer the World Tree. He had established his base right at the roots. That way, he could hunt Nidhogg whenever he felt like it. Of course, even if he did just that and cut off the creature’s head, the resulting primordial darkness would be useless unless there was someone to inherit it.

Still, there was another way to approach the situation. If he found a vessel capable of handling that power, he could pass it along. If the vessel wasn’t yet good enough, he could simply beat it and temper it until it was. After all, Kandiaru had created the leveling system for that very reason, hadn’t he? It had been all about training the humans into vessels strong enough to hold a Monarch.

The system chimed.

[...is born.]

Suho read the next message, then smiled.

“System, add this to the record. I think I just completed another vessel.”

***

In the United States, under the calm surface of New York Harbor, something long-undetected finally stirred. At that peaceful moment, the Statue of Liberty silently watched over the city.

Suddenly, a massive tremor began deep underwater. At first, it was just a gentle ripple. Tourists assumed it was nothing more than a passing ship. But soon the ripples became waves, and the surface began to churn as if boiling. Then, all at once, the sea of New York Harbor suddenly exploded, splitting apart.

What emerged from its depths was something no one could have imagined. First came a pair of enormous antennae. Then, two enormous pairs of wings unfolded into the sky. It was a butterfly, so colossal that even the Statue of Liberty looked small in comparison. Its wings, interwoven with gold and black, gleamed like a thousand suns reflected at once. Each beat of its wings sent a fierce wind crashing into the city.

“What is that...?”

“Oh my god...”

Civilians on the street stared up at the sky in terror. Thousands of tiny lights flickered along the butterfly’s abdomen, each one watching different parts of the city like living eyes. This was no ordinary monster. Its very presence was a declaration. The conquest had begun. This was the vessel of unparalleled scale the Apostle of Domination had prepared far below the ocean, hidden where no one would ever think to look.

The colossal butterfly stretched its wings wide, filling the New York skyline. The power radiating from it was overwhelming, like a divine being had descended from another dimension. The blindingly bright wings bore patterns that constantly shifted, seemingly alive. A golden dust shimmered from its wings, floating gently down to settle over the city. In no time at all, New York was coated in a glowing, golden haze.

Then, from high above, a powerful, divine voice echoed throughout the city.

“I proclaim this!”

“This land shall be a gift to my god!”

“Bless me, O Lord!”

“Evacuate! Everyone, get inside now!”

The Hunter Association’s emergency alert rang across the city, but the citizens seemed glued to the spot, transfixed by the sight. The colossal butterfly slowly circled above, as if studying the world below. Then, its antennae quivered, as though sending out a signal. And at that moment, wherever the golden dust had fallen, tiny flames began to spark like kindling catching fire.

Soon, another change took place above New York. The sky began to twist, and space itself tore open like fabric. From those rifts, tens of thousands of small butterflies poured out—the offspring of the gigantic butterfly, or perhaps its clones. Hunters who were called to help filtered onto the scene, but their expressions turned grim as they looked skyward. Their instincts told them this was no ordinary dungeon break. It was an invasion.

“I am the Apostle of Domination!”

“And for the great Itarim...”

“I shall claim this land!”

The Apostle of Domination no longer chose to hide. This was the moment he publicly revealed his existence to the entire world. As the golden dust settled over the city, everything it touched began to decay. Cars rusted, asphalt grew soft and watery, and the glass windows of buildings clouded with a hazy film. It was as if the materials of this world were surrendering to the power of the other dimension.

“Please... Spare us...!”

A woman on the street fell to her knees and cried out to the sky.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The hunters had been deployed, but the numbers they faced were overwhelming. Still, the real problem wasn’t the number of enemies. It was that colossal monster, the butterfly so enormous it was hard to take in all at once without turning one’s head. How was anyone supposed to fight something so absurdly massive?

It shattered all common sense the hunters possessed. Some despaired, curling up in their cars. Others used their phones to send a final parting message to their loved ones. Some even turned on their cameras with trembling hands, hoping to capture the last moments of their lives. All of them, soaked in fear and hopelessness, were watched from above as the butterfly’s antennae twitched, scanning them.

The thousands of eyes gleaming along its abdomen blinked in unreadable patterns, as if communicating among themselves. It seemed to be confirming the territory it would soon conquer.

“Let the domination begin.”

What followed was pure chaos—a day that would later come to be known as the Second Great Cataclysm. Screams of terror and despair echoed through the city. However, at the very heart of this chaos and horror, on the upper floors of a high-rise building, a man slowly opened his eyes. His game capsule hissed open, and he stepped out. It was Thomas Andre.

For a moment, he listened closely to the screams and explosions outside. When he turned his eyes to the window, he caught sight of the colossal butterfly monster attacking the city. The image was so surreal it could have been ripped straight from a Hollywood movie.

“Heh. It’s not so different out here, is it?”

But as he watched the scene unfold, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. The divine power of the Outer Gods, rippling and golden, poured through the glass window. Squinting slightly against the glare, Thomas extended his hand to the side.

“Laura? My shades, please.”

The secretary, who had been waiting quietly nearby, stepped forward and placed the sunglasses in his hand. Though the world outside was unraveling, Thomas slid on the sunglasses without the slightest trace of panic.

“Shall I prepare the helicopter?” Laura asked.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Brushing off her suggestion, Thomas began walking at a leisurely pace—not toward the elevator, but toward the window, where the colossal monster was in plain view. The closer he got, the better he could see the situation outside. Chaos reigned in the streets. People were scrambling to get to safety. Vehicles crashed into one another. Streetlamps, struck down by the butterfly’s wings, lay scattered and broken across the asphalt.

With a crash, Thomas leapt straight through the window toward the devastation. His massive body cut through the wind, plummeting toward the ground at high speed as gravity took him. His long, snow-white hair streamed behind him like a lion’s mane. His sandaled feet landed on the pavement with a thunderous impact, cracking the road beneath him and forming a crater. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

At that moment, the butterfly twitched. It had sensed him immediately.

A hulking old man in a Hawaiian shirt was walking toward it, one step at a time. The relaxed gait contrasted the instinctive danger the butterfly detected from him. This man was a threat. The butterfly instantly reacted.

From above, its massive foot came crashing down on Thomas’ head, like it was trying to stamp out an ant. Thomas grinned and raised his fist. He spoke a single word.

“Gigantification.”

With that one word, an unmatched surge of power exploded from his body. With a sound like the very fabric of space and time being torn apart, his form began to expand rapidly. He had always been called “Goliath.” Now, he was the very embodiment of that name.

Thomas swung his transformed fist and clashed directly with the butterfly’s attack. The shockwave from the impact spread outward like the blast of a nuclear bomb. The windows of nearby buildings blew out, cars flipped like toys, and people were swept off their feet by the hurricane-force wind. In the center of it all, Thomas smiled like a mischievous child and opened his other palm.

“Oh, no, you don’t. Don’t want to waste that.”

Like he was safeguarding a precious treasure, he grabbed hold of the erupting wave of energy with one hand. With that, the mana that had been about to spread in all directions was sucked into his hand. Astonishingly, those who had been lifted into the sky by the gusts were set back down gently, safe and unhurt. It was almost as if Thomas had seized control of gravity itself.

Gathering that colossal energy into one hand, he once again hurled a punch at the giant butterfly. This time, the shock was even greater. The Apostle of Domination was thrown violently backward, crashing into the Hudson River and sending up a towering column of water. A monstrous scream erupted from its mouth—almost human, yet layered with the overlapping voices of thousands crying out at once. The Apostle of Domination was, after all, a collective.

By now, Thomas had grown large enough to look down on the massive creature.

“The Apostle of Domination, huh... I like that name.”

His eyes had changed into something no longer human.

“I’ll be using that name from now on.”

The boom of his voice shook the whole of New York like thunder.

[The King of Giants and the Monarch of Domination.]

They were the eyes of a Monarch.