Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 347

The behemoth, pinned forcibly to the ground, thrashed its massive body. It was a humiliating thing for the king of the Primeval Beastwood to experience, but no matter how much it struggled, rising again was impossible. The pressure was immense, as if an enormous invisible hand were pressing its entire body down.

Ruler’s Authority.

Rakan immediately recognized the power Suho had unleashed, yet this was something far beyond the version he once knew. Until now, Suho had used Ruler’s Authority as a skill, but this felt different.

“That’s... not a skill,” Rakan muttered. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

It was almost as if Suho had become a true Ruler himself, as if he were using a real power he had been born with.

Rakan swallowed hard and asked Suho again, “Who... are you?”

There was a deep wariness in his voice. If Suho’s vessel was this vast, this unmeasurable, difficult to fathom even after receiving the darkness of the King of Dragons—then could he really be satisfied with a single primordial darkness?

A Monarch cannot take more than two.

It was simply not possible. Yet facing Suho now, Rakan realized that perhaps he was wrong.

If that is the case, then Suho, or rather, this being in Suho’s form, might also be aiming for the primordial darkness that Gray is seeking to inherit.

Rakan was so taken aback by Suho’s energy that he began to suspect the worst. When Suho spoke, however, the suffocating tension vanished in an instant.

“Gray, you’ve been busy. You look even more amazing than I last remember.”

Gray barked happily in response. Suho reached out and patted his head. Gray wagged his tail, nuzzling into Suho’s hand with a content expression.

Just then, a mysterious blessing traveled through Suho’s palm, descending onto Gray’s head. It took the form of a pale light—or rather, a pale white shadow. Gray gave a puzzled little whimper, his eyes fluttering with surprise. All the exhaustion and accumulated wounds he had suffered from pushing past his limits melted away like snow. Suddenly, all his energy was back, and new strength began welling up inside him. It was almost as if he had leveled up.

Rakan was greatly confused.

“He’s... surpassed a threshold!”

Even Rakan could see it. Something tremendous was shifting within Gray. It was unbelievable.

“How can such growth be possible? He has not even received the primordial darkness yet...!”

“He leveled up,” Suho answered calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Gray’s been giving me half of his experience points all this time. The system bound him to me in that way to help accelerate my growth.”

That was the role the system had assigned to him—to offer half the gains from every hunt to Suho. It wasn’t a small sacrifice. Yet Suho had never once thought of Gray as a mere “pet.” Gray was a comrade.

Suho reflected on the past. Looking back, Gray had been the very first to fight alongside him. These days he had many allies, but Gray had been the first to lend him strength. Of course, Beru had been with him before that, but Beru didn’t fight with Suho, only giving encouragement and advice.

Suho gently patted Gray, now wrapped in the white shadow, and said softly, “Thank you for everything. This is me just returning what belonged to you in the first place.”

The Pale Shadow returned all the experience Gray had ever offered Suho back to him. This meant Gray had instantly become twice as strong.

“Take it. With plenty of interest added,” Suho said.

In fact, more than just interest.

Gray roared.

“I don’t believe it...!” Rakan marveled.

Gray’s energy had changed. With his roar, a potent, violent energy exploded outward.

Suho smiled, satisfied. “Up to now, you’ve been lending me your strength. This time, let’s try it the other way around.”

Divine Possession had been the means by which Gray’s soul entered Suho’s body to lend strength in battle. That had only been possible because Suho served as shaman to the fallen Monarchs. Now, he no longer needed it. A dead Monarch, one who wished to take up the mantle, and the primordial darkness were all gathered together in the same place. Suho wanted Gray as a companion, not as a shaman.

“Go, Gray. Hunt the behemoth and prove yourself,” Suho said.

A sharp grin tugged at Gray’s lips in response. Then he turned to face the behemoth, still pressed flat against the ground. His eyes turned fierce, and he let out a thunderous roar. The hunt had begun.

The instant Gray launched toward the behemoth, the crushing pressure pinning it down vanished. With that, the behemoth sprang up as well, charging to meet Gray head-on like a coiled spring unleashed. The two collided, but this time, the creature was too slow. The attacks, which felt so rapid before, now seemed sluggish as Gray watched. He swatted aside the beast’s muscled arm with a forepaw, then lunged straight for its throat.

The behemoth, however, was also a predator. Rather than evade, it twisted and brought down its other arm, slamming it at Gray with full force. The situation mirrored their earlier clash, but the response was different. Rather than being knocked away by the blow, Gray turned his head and sank his fangs into the arm itself. Going for the sinew and for the artery was the correct way to hunt, as Rakan, the previous Monarch, had taught him.

Gray no longer bit down blindly. He now had the eyes and instincts of a predator capable of delivering lethal wounds, as well as powerful fangs that pierced skin, flesh, and even blood vessels. A sickening crunch rang out.

[Skill: “Fatal Strike” has been activated.]

Gray’s fangs tore ruthlessly through the behemoth’s tendons. The wound burst open wide, blood gushing forth in torrents. The behemoth howled in agony.

Just moments ago, Gray had fought defensively against a much stronger opponent. Now that he was with Suho, the dynamic had shifted. He was the strong opponent preying on the weak. Gray let out a roar.

[Gray used the skill: “Scorn of the Weak.”]

[Effect: “Fear” has been activated.]

[The target’s stats are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]

Gray’s roar sent a visible jolt through the behemoth. Spinning in midair, Gray dove again, fangs hurtling toward the behemoth’s eyes. With a brutal snap, the behemoth’s eyes burst. Screaming in agony, the creature flailed wildly.

It was a struggle merely to defend. The behemoth quickly realized how helpless it was. With Suho’s blessing, Gray thus became a true King of Beasts. The behemoth collapsed, and the battle ended.

However, at the same time, it was a new beginning. Starting with the behemoth, every predator in the Primeval Beastwood soon fell beneath Gray’s fangs. There was no point in hiding in the shadows anymore. Suho’s Pale Shadow now illuminated every corner where darkness once provided cover.

Gray howled skyward as he trampled over his foes, as any wolf would. A true ruler of the Primeval Beastwood had been born.

“This should be enough to prove his worth, wouldn’t you say, Nidhogg?” Suho asked. He gazed up at the clear sky above the Primeval Beastwood and grinned.

Then, from somewhere unseen, Nidhogg’s answer came—with an action rather than words. The Primeval Beastwood, encircling Gray, began to dissolve. Everything within it melted away into the primordial darkness, flowing straight into Gray. Gray devoured the vast energy without hesitation, utterly confident, as if this was how it was always meant to be.

“So the time has finally come for me to relinquish my throne.”

Rakan gave a relieved nod. He had been wary at first, but thankfully Suho had shown no interest in claiming the primordial darkness meant for Gray. As always, he had simply served as a priest—guiding Gray through the succession ceremony. Rakan flashed his fangs at Gray in a wide, satisfied grin.

“But with this, the Fang Clan is no more. Gray, I leave you with a new name.”

Ding!

[The King of Beasts and the Monarch of the Hunt is born.]

The Monarch of the Hunt was a fierce beast who pursued his quarry with relentless ferocity, no matter their strength. The scrawny wolf pup who had once nearly been killed by a hyena had grown up, and now stood tall as the undisputed apex of the Primeval Beastwood. Rakan had witnessed every step of that journey.

“This is all thanks to you, Shaman—that is to say, Suho.”

The former monarch’s form began to fade, growing more transparent as he turned toward Suho. The primordial darkness swirled around Gray. As it funneled into Gray’s body, Rakan caught sight of Suho’s eyes, watching unwaveringly from the heart of the wood.

Rakan gave a faint, solemn smile, his eyes gleaming.

“Thanks for everything, Child of Shadow.”

“Thank you, Rakan. What happens to you now?”

“I return to nothingness.”

“Will I ever see you again?”

It was a question Suho had often wondered about. In the process of helping multiple Monarchs to succeed their powers, he had noticed that the dead never appeared again. He knew they returned to the void now that a new Monarch was born, but he was curious about how that worked. Until now, there had been no way to find out. Today, Suho had a rare chance—a brief moment during the succession to speak with Rakan before he vanished entirely.

Rakan murmured with a look of surprise, “See me again? Could it be that you have grown fond of me? Even though I once bared my fangs at your father?”

“Well, the more cards I have in my hand, the better,” Suho said.

Rakan chuckled as his form grew even fainter. Then, in a more serious tone, he answered, “A dead Monarch returns to nothingness. That is always the case. Nothing has changed.”

As for the exact process, however, no one but a Monarch who had actually experienced death would be able to explain it. After all, who else could describe what came after death? That was why Rakan could offer a more specific answer.

“To be more exact, when a Monarch dies, he is swallowed by the primordial darkness he held within him. That is what it means to return to nothing.”

His now translucent hand absentmindedly stroked Gray’s head, the young beast still immersed in absorbing the primordial darkness.

“But that changes when the next Monarch is born. Just as Ashborn, the previous Monarch of Shadows, handed over all his power to your father and became one with him, I, too, am merging with the primordial darkness inside Gray.”

“You’re combining?” Suho asked.

“Yes. You could call it synchronization. The only thing that changes is who is in charge. Ashborn disappeared, and your father took his place as the Monarch of Shadows. But Ashborn still watches over him from within, likely cheering him on. Does that answer your question?”

As Suho nodded, Rakan gave one last snicker, then disappeared completely. He had become one with Gray through the primordial darkness. Gray was now the Monarch of the Hunt. His eyes now bore a depth and gravity that hadn’t been there before, much like Rakan’s. The imposing presence Suho had once felt when he first met Rakan now radiated from Gray.

Suho and Gray left Nidhogg together. Outside, Sirka, Beru, and Ammut were waiting for them.

“Young Monarch!” Beru screeched, flying over in tears and clutching Suho.

Behind him, Ammut crossed his arms and gave a nod. “So a new Monarch has been born. But what about you?”

He tilted his head as he looked at Suho. Just like he could sense with Gray, the primordial darkness was within Suho as well. Still, Suho wasn’t a monarch. Not yet.

“Oh. I delayed my response for a bit,” Suho said.

[Calculating promotion points...]

“I’ll wait until I’ve earned more promotion points,” he continued.

The Pale Shadow at his feet rippled, as if urging him to respond.

“I’ve got a long list to get through. Let’s take them one by one.”

He immediately announced his next task.

“First up, the Apostle of Domination.”

With that, Suho instantly transported himself to where Arsha was holding the Apostle.