Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 341

The former UFC openweight champion known as the Demon of the Ring, Thomas Andre, was a man who’d secured his title as humanity’s strongest man. He’d done it by raw, muscular strength alone, even in the days when there had been no such thing as mana or magic beasts on Earth. Now, the entirety of that violent history was being unleashed upon the massive monster before him.

The sheer force of the attacks overwhelmed the Apostle, whose massive, insectoid body was sent flying, finally landing in a heap beneath the gaze of the Statue of Liberty. A deafening shockwave slammed through New York City, blowing out the windows of nearby buildings. Spray from the harbor blasted into the air, scattering like shrapnel around the two giant combatants.

At the center of it all, Thomas Andre did not stop throwing punches for even a second. On the contrary, he grabbed the creature by the head, dragged it from the water, and unleashed blow after devastating blow.

“H-how can this be?”

The Apostle of Domination could not hide his confusion.

“This power... No! It can’t be!”

As violence and pain poured down upon it, the collective intelligence of the Apostle fought desperately to understand what was happening, with little success. The huge body flailed, struggling with all its might to mount a counterattack. It was no use. A thunderous kick from Thomas bent the butterfly’s back at a ninety-degree angle, sending it hurtling upward.

“Capture!” Thomas shouted.

He reached out, and a tremendous gravitational force erupted. The instant the creature tried to escape into the sky with a desperate flap of its wings, it was pulled back toward him, helpless against the sheer power dragging it down like metal filings to a magnet. Now looking down from above, Thomas stared at the monster as it crashed once again into the water.

“Where do you think you’re going? I pulled the great Kamish out of the sky, I’ll have you know.”

He grinned fiercely, then slammed his clasped fists down on the Apostle’s head just as it tried to rise.

“Such power... How?”

The confusion seemed greater than the pain.

“Why do you seem so surprised?” Thomas asked.

“How could someone like you possibly contain the primordial darkness?”

“Ah. So that’s what you’ve been wondering, huh?”

Thomas broke into a grin, gathering an enormous concentration of mana in his fist.

Smash.

That blow pierced straight through the creature’s torso.

The Apostle let out a grunt of agony. Cracks began to spread across its massive form. It resembled a butterfly, but blown up to this scale, it looked less like a bug and more like an armored crustacean. Every single joint and surface of the body was covered with something that resembled metallic, glossy armor. That armor, however, had just been pierced. It had no defense against a force like this.

When the giant’s fist pulled out from the body, golden divine power erupted like a geyser from the wound in all directions. The energy showered the streets of Manhattan. Terrified civilians scattered, doing everything they could to avoid touching it.

“Urgh... How... did you...?”

The Apostle groaned, writhing in pain, but still couldn’t shake his confusion. This was a mere human being. How could such a being hold the primordial darkness? The Apostle could feel it inside him, clear as day.

Thomas responded with a relaxed smile.

“The Tower of Tribulation.”

“What...?”

“I was the first to log in. Fastest in the world, in fact.”

To the Apostle, the words were nonsense, but Thomas wasn’t going to explain himself for the sake of this creature. He was proud. He had been the very first human to access the game.

“I started before anyone else. That meant I had an edge over everyone when it came to leveling up. I was far more advanced in the story than anybody. And at the end of that story... I encountered the King of Giants.”

Even if it had all been an illusion within the game crafted by the Monarch of Tribulation and Harmakan, the trial was real enough to prove his worth.

***

Just a few minutes earlier, Thomas had still been inside his gaming capsule. His soul had been inhabiting his avatar inside the Tower of Tribulation, reliving the life of Sung Jinwoo. There had been so many levels gained and so many dungeons.

Then, the first job change came. All players around the world received unique classes based on the accomplishments and experiences carved into their souls. Along with those classes came special skills suited to them, and just like the others, Thomas had completed his first job change. His title was Titan.

Perhaps due to the experiences from his past life, the job he received was that of an armored tanker. His primary skill was Giant’s Armor. However, that alone wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to be as strong as before, or even stronger. So he gathered more currency and bought rune stones. He continued to follow in Jinwoo’s footsteps, letting the Tower of Tribulation guide his path.

At the end of that path, the King of Giants was waiting.

[Legia, King of Giants, Monarch of the Beginning]

Deep inside a dungeon, he’d discovered this being bound in chains. The moment he laid eyes on Legia, Thomas spoke with equal parts surprise and excitement.

“How beautiful...”

He was genuinely impressed by the sight of Legia bound there, sealed away by force. The black chains connected to the dungeon walls were wrapped around him in layers—not merely binding, but piercing through his body and anchoring into the very ground. It was a gruesome sight. If this was punishment, one could only wonder what kind of grave sin had warranted such torment. Despite all that, however, the power that squirmed within the Monarch was not to be taken lightly.

“Hahaha!”

Legia, with his entire body bound save for his face, erupted in thunderous laughter as he gazed down at the tiny human who’d come to him.

“This must be a joke! You wretched Rulers, look who has come to me first!”

As Legia laughed, Thomas came to a stop—not too close, but not too far either. He gazed up at the Monarch.

“These chains... Break them and release me,” Legia requested. “I know what the Rulers are planning. We must inform the other Monarchs—”

His words suddenly cut off. The joy that had filled his eyes turned icy and still.

“You... are not the one I know.”

Thomas and Legia’s eyes met. Thomas’ heart pounded in his chest. This was exactly what he’d always wanted—a powerful, gigantic opponent, a being who made his pulse race.

“The Rulers and Monarchs alike are surely after you. In your current state, you cannot fight them all. If you wish to oppose them, you will need support.”

Legia couldn’t quite grasp the emotion that flashed in Thomas’ eyes. He merely said what he wished to say. He was still under the impression that the man before him was Sung Jinwoo, and he sought to use him to accomplish his own goals.

“Release me. I will aid you.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Thomas asked.

“I will ensure that you can.”

Legia uttered a spell.

[Legia activates “Oath of Trust (transaction).”]

[Upon acceptance, neither the activator nor the recipient will be able to lie to each other.]

[Accept the “Oath of Trust (transaction)?”] (Y/N)

The King of Giants...

The system informed Thomas that Legia was indeed a Monarch. In an instant, Thomas made his decision.

“All right. You have a deal.”

[The “Oath of Trust (transaction)” is complete.]

[Participants of the oath, by mutual consent, cannot lie to each other until the contract is ended.]

Legia wasted no time and spoke again.

“Release me now. I will aid you.”

Thomas looked up at the bound Legia with a grin, and under the terms of their unbreakable pact, he revealed his own objective with complete sincerity.

“I will release you from those chains right now. In return, you will fight me.”

“What... do you mean by this?”

Legia’s eyes filled with confusion. Thomas gazed up at the colossal Monarch, easily several dozen times larger than himself, and burned with determination more intense than ever before.

“I’ve always wanted to go head-to-head with a Monarch. The last time I did, the Monarch crushed me.”

Thomas remembered the day he had stood against the Monarch of Fangs in the old world, the sheer pressure he’d felt, and the dizzying moment when a being unimaginably more powerful sank its teeth into him. He’d been completely helpless, like prey before a predator.

That day, he realized something. He had hardly ever fought someone who could truly overpower him. He was used to fighting the weak, but he simply hadn’t had the opportunity to fight anyone stronger than he was. That was why Jinwoo had meant so much to him.

“I’ll break your chains now. That way, it will be a fair fight.”

The word “fair” made Legia’s eyes widen. What was this lowly human saying? He couldn’t begin to guess the man’s true intentions. Yet there was not a trace of falsehood in Thomas’ voice. In fact, an arrogant smile played at the corners of his lips.

“But first, you must swear to me that you will fight with all you have. Like you mean to kill me. That’s my condition.”

At those words, Legia’s expression twisted from shock to rage. It was unthinkably rude. A human dared to set such conditions! He may have been bound in chains, but he didn’t deserve the mockery of a trifling creature like Thomas.

“You have no idea what you are asking,” Legia growled, his body erupting with malicious energy.

It sent a treacherous chill racing through Thomas, but he didn’t stop.

Unfazed, Thomas strode forward and began slicing through the chains, one after another. Each time a chain snapped, the air itself quivered. The moment the final shackle was severed, Thomas saw the giant’s fist crashing down toward him, the full weight of Legia’s fury and power behind it. In the next instant, his vision went black.

[You have died.]

[Try again?]

Everything went dark. It was an instant death. For just a brief moment, Thomas’ soul, bound by the magic of the Tower of Tribulation, caught a glimpse of the Sea of the Afterlife. But then, the Tower immediately reeled his soul back into his avatar. It was only a fleeting experience, yet it left behind a vivid feeling that he had touched death. From that brush, his soul grew—if only by a sliver.

This was how the system worked. It applied to every player without exception. Death was only momentary, but the process allowed the player’s soul to absorb a minuscule amount of nutrients from the Sea of the Afterlife. As it happened, the location they visited was close to the World Tree, conquered by Suho and his forces. A wandering soul’s “coincidental” encounter with the World Tree in the Sea of the Afterlife was what people referred to as a reawakening.

Thomas’ avatar came back to life and opened his eyes. To him, it felt like a literal blink of an eye, but he was before Legia again, seemingly unharmed. In most games, NPCs didn’t remember a player’s death. The story simply continued as if nothing had happened. However, this NPC was a Monarch. This was different.

“What? I was sure I killed you...”

Legia looked puzzled by the fact that the human he’d just killed off had returned and was standing there without a scratch on him. Thomas clenched his fists.

“I rushed it. Let’s go again. You promised, didn’t you? We fight until I die.”

This time, Thomas made the first move. There was a resounding crack.

[You died.]

Again, he met death.

And again.

And again.

[You died.]

[You died.]

[...]

The cycle of death and resurrection repeated endlessly, more times than he could count.

“Good. Again, Legia!”