Solo Leveling- Ragnarok

Chapter 53:

Humanoids.

Goblins.

The names that refer to them are indeed diverse.

A mean dwarf goblin.

A wild hunter orc.

A vicious giant ogre.

The world of Sura consisted of all kinds of magical monsters that competed with each other.

It was a world of humanoids that has been around ever since.

And... The lowest in the world...

GOBLIN

The weakest of the weakest that always had to fight fiercely to survive at the bottom of the pyramid, a gutter-like depth.

The reason why the King of the Monstrous Humanoids was born from those weak goblins started with a very small whim.

Cruel Crocodile Humanoid (Croco).

Croco 'Ammut', who reigned at the top of the ecosystem of humanoids, was interested in seeing a baby goblin he encountered by chance one day.

"Hey, look at this rascal? I like the look in its eyes."

"Krrrk!"

The little one was a baby goblin who was born weak from birth.

That's why it was a poisonous species that survived by biting off the eyes and ears of its kind more viciously than anyone else.

The baby goblin, who struggled to survive even after being covered in blood, was never discouraged even in front of Croco, the strongest humanoid.

Even though its body was already trembling under the weight of fear, its eyes were staring at Ammut with the strong desire to eat him.

That very look caused a small whim in Ammut's heart.

The smallest and weakest goblin tried to survive a fierce battle.

What would happen if he would mentor that shitty fellow himself?

How strong can it become?

'... This is going to be fun.'

Ammut eventually decided to take the baby goblin without killing it.

"From now on, I will call you Tarnak."

"Krrrk?"

"I will train your wretched body to become like Croco's. Hang in there as much as you can."

Ammut picked up the trembling little goblin with one hand and took it to his habitat. He even gave him a name.

From that day on...

"Krrrk...!"

Ammut raised Tarnak and he received training to become stronger.

The training was so harsh that he almost died countless times, but Ammut never intended to let go of his new toy, Tarnak.

'If he dies, then that's it.'

In the first place, it was just an experiment that started with a small whim.

Not starting with the idea of ??success, Ammut pushed Tarnak mercilessly.

Time had passed like that.

Tarnak, who was forced in such an experimentation under the guise of training without knowing why, became stronger little by little.

Finally...

"Krrrk!"

Born as a goblin, he single-handedly succeeded in defeating an orc, a higher-level individual, for the first time.

That day, Tarnak asked Ammut what the power he was learning was.

"What is this?"

Ammut also contemplated the name for the first time that day.

It was a technique that strengthened the goblin's wretched body like Croco...

"Spiritual Body Manifestation."

Ammut made up the name on the spot with his characteristic cruel grin.

"What you are learning is the Spiritual Body Manifestation."

Spiritual body...!

Tarnak remembered the name in his mind.

Even after that, Tarnak continued to be tortured in the name of 'Spiritual Body Manifestation'.

Gradually he became stronger— strong enough to defeat Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres single-handedly.

More time passed after that.

Eventually, Tarnak became stronger than his mentor, Ammut.

The monarch, who was the King of the Monstrous Humanoid at the time, was killed.

Tarnak was chosen as the vessel of the King of the Monstrous Humanoid and as the 'Monarch of Iron Body'. Darkness dwelled in his body.

For the war against the Rulers, he was a brilliant light that lasted for eons of time.

* * *

"... In the end, goblins were just goblins. They were bound to meet a stronger opponent and die. No matter how much he struggled, Tarnak was still one of those common humanoids."

Ammut clicked his tongue self-deprecatingly, thinking of his disciple who died.

At the same time, he looked at Suho, who had listened to his boring stories so far.

Suho had become as small as a goblin.

Just like when Tarnak was first discovered by Ammut.

Sigh.

Suddenly, the corner of Ammut's twitched and his sharp teeth glistened.

"Then, 'he' appeared in front of me."

"Who?"

"The great spellcaster Kandiaru."

Ammut remembered his first meeting with him.

By the time the news of Tarnak's death in the War of the Outer Gods reached Ammut, who was then living in seclusion, a shaman from the Hwan tribe appeared in front of him.

He came up with an interesting proposal.

-Tarnak's mentor, Ammut, would you like to study Spiritual Body Manifestation with me?

-W-What do you mean?

-I will make the best place to train Spiritual Body Manifestation with my magic and I'll keep putting usable test subjects in it. How is it?

Kandiaru's proposal was quite interesting to Ammut.

With the confidence in creating a strong monarch by himself, Ammut captured and trained several goblins, however, all results were unsuccessful.

Unlike Tarnak, the other goblins could not stand the intense training and died soon after.

It was a huge disappointment to Ammut.

If it would continue to happen, he would eventually come to the conclusion that Tarnak was unique, and that the Spiritual Body Manifestation technique he developed was not great.

It was very embarrassing.

Kandiaru dug more into that.

-Wouldn't you like to confirm it? If it was your Spiritual Body Manifestation technique that was special, or was it Tarnak?

-You don't have to deliberately provoke me like that. I like your suggestion, too. Even if I wanted to, the time I have is gradually running out.

Ammut was dying at that time.

Old age.

Even the strongest humanoid Croco could not do anything with his given lifespan.

However, Kandiaru smiled sinisterly as if there was no problem at all.

-I'll take care of that, too.

With an insidious smile, he said something trivial about lifespan.

-I'm currently researching about eternal life.

In the end, Ammut took Kandiaru's hand.

He soon regretted that decision.

Flash!

Ammut's eyes turned red with anger.

"Kandiaru sealed me in this damn tomb. Eternal life? Tsk. What a scam!"

Ammut's rage shook the pyramid.

Of course, Kandiaru didn't lie.

As per their agreement, Ammut did not die in the end. He transcended lifespan and was able to live forever.

However, it was only within the pyramid.

[It seems that this crocodile has become the same as the mummies here.]

Beru whispered into Suho's ear.

Ammut's rage died down and he suddenly began to chuckle.

"Ha ha ha! Right. The bandage wrapped around their decaying corpses is the pyramid to me!"

[Has he gone crazy?]

"You got it spot on! I'm already out of my mind! I became senile because my time of death was long past!"

[Is that something to brag about?]

"I remember the mission given to me clearly though! I was imprisoned here by a contract with Kandiaru to study Spiritual Body Manifestation forever, but I ended up fighting against the challengers who came to learn that very technique from me! Ha ha ha!"

[Young Master.]

Beru spoke to Suho.

[Are you really trying to get training from that senile crocodile?]

"What can I do? It's a quest."

Suho realized the meaning of the writing Kandiaru had engraved in the pyramid.

'Let there be light in the future of the challenger.'

-Great Spellcaster Kandiaru

'He said a challenger, so he meant to try it if one wanted to learn Spiritual Body Manifestation.'

It's fun.

Suho quietly flashed a smile and looked at the message that appeared in front of him.

['Daily Quest: Spiritual Body Manifestation Training' has arrived.] (Unchecked)

Looking at the quest, it didn't seem to be harmful to himself.

'Besides, since it's a daily quest, it must mean that they would give me a reward every time I train.'

Either way, it's a win-win situation for Suho.

"Okay, I will learn that Spiritual Body Manifestation technique."

Ammut smiled broadly at Suho's words.

"You made the right choice. I was going to kill you if you refused my offer, but you saved me a lot of trouble!"

"..."

Gasp.

That was Esil, who was next to Suho.

Esil, a demon noble, was facing Ammut's energy more sensitively than Suho.

Even though he was senile, the mighty energy that radiated from him as the strongest humanoid, was no joke.

If he showed his will to live on a whim, they would end up like the Scavenger Guild members who were lying around miserably.

Ammut jumped up and gave a command to Suho.

"Ha ha ha! Alright! Let's start training right away! From now on, your name is Tartar!"

"My name is Sung Suho..."

"Come on, Tartar! Let's start training right away!"

"No, it's Sung Suho..."

"My second disciple Tartar! From now on, I will strengthen your wretched body like Croco!"

Ammut roared loudly, ignoring Suho's answer.

He seemed very happy to find someone he could use after a long time.

"Khehehe. It would be better to make a firm resolution in the future because my training is very harsh and dangerous. So far, countless humanoids could not withstand my training and died."

Gulp.

Suho swallowed hard.

[The King of Beasts, Fang Monarch, listens to Ammut.]

Even the Fang Monarch, Rakan, showed interest.

Spiritual Body Manifestation was such a great training that it raised a weak baby goblin into becoming the King of the Monstrous Humanoids and the Monarch of Iron Body.

"Tartar, from now on you will...!"

"Check."

Suho checked the message and Ammut explained the grueling training.

"100 push-ups! 100 sit-ups! 100 squats! Run 10km! You do this every day!"

"... Uhm?"

Ring!

The contents of the daily quest unfolded before Suho's eyes.

[Daily Quest: Spiritual Body Manifestation Training]

100 Push-ups: Incomplete (0/100)

100 Sit-ups: Incomplete (0/100)

100 Squats: Incomplete (0/100)

Run 10km: Incomplete (0/10)

※However, you must carry Ammut on your back.

"However! You must carry me on your back. Ha ha ha!"

"...!"

Suho's eyes widened at that nonsense.

"Get started! Let me see how you hold out!"

Swoosh!

Ammut's enormous body became more and more transparent and floated into the air.

"Spiritualization?!"

Esil recognized that and opened her mouth.

A force then unfolded above Suho's head.

...!

"Keugh?!"

Tremendous gravitational field pressed down on Suho's entire body.

He had to use all his strength to avoid being weighed down by that terrible weight.

[Haha! That's pretty good! If this is the case, I can add a little more weight!]

Swook!

"Ha ha ha...!"

Ammut's weight increased on top of Suho.

Suho's muscle fibers were torn, and blood vessels began to burst out.

"S-Suho!"

[Young Master...!]

Esil and Beru quickly stepped back to avoid the gravitational field looking at Suho with worried expressions.

[Haha! What are you doing?! Will you do push-ups only if you can no longer stand up?!]

Hearing Ammut's ridicule, Suho gritted his teeth and managed to lie down.

When he lay on his stomach, he felt as if his body would be crushed by the enormous gravitational field.

"Ack! R-Ruler's Power!"

Swoosh!

Suho barely used his invisible hand to support himself.

'This is why everyone else died!'

He began the push-ups of hell.

[One! Two! Two! Two!]

"Why are only counting up to two?!"

[Wrong posture!]

'Is this a gym?'