Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

When Thomas Andre took in the energy from the being from the Outer Universes, his memories of his previous life returned to him. They left him confused. There was another version of him in his memories. Recollections that should not exist mixed with the present reality, filling his head with disorder.

He had no idea where his previous life had gone, but he’d already been through too many strange things to question it too much. There was something else that bothered him more.

Damn it!Damn it!

Through all the mental turmoil, one emotion stuck with him—indignation.

I’m about to losemy mind, damn it!

He had realized what was behind the nightmare that had tormented him for so long. It had grown from the seed of one of his previous memories—that of being thrashed by Sung Jinwoo.

Why was that moment all I retained of that damn memory? That fact was what exasperated him the most, but in a sense, his frustration was only natural. He was regarded as the United States’—no, as humanity’s—greatest hunter. Of course, it was his first memory of being whipped within an inch of his life. The mental shock had simply been indescribable.

The worse the memory, the more clearly it imprinted itself on one’s mind. His conflict with Min Byunggu had been the same. But we reconciled, in a way, after that! Thomas protested to himself. We got along fine!In fact, we even joined sides!

For whatever reason, his sense of grievance did not change. If he’d recalled just a little more of that past, that nightmare would not have had such a hold over him. Not that he could complain to anyone about that now, of all times. It was his burden to carry, and at least he would no longer have the nightmares—that was a relief. He had also learned why he’d consistently believed himself to be weak. The problem that had hung over his head all his life had essentially vanished overnight.

So this is why that old woman sent me here.I knew it. As they say in Korean, “Listen to your elders, and you might be surprised with a rice cake.” There are always kernels of wisdom to be gained by paying attention to Norma Selner’s words. It had been on her advice that he’d studied Korean—and so diligently, in fact, that he was even familiar with Korean proverbs.

I see now why she told me to study the language.Sung Suho is Sung Jinwoo’s son. Now that he knew the background of it all, he could see that Suho resembled his father to a tee. He was now also of a similar age to the Jinwoo that had beaten Thomas to a pulp. Damn it, that reminds me of that nightmare again.

“This is not good.” Thomas frowned after Suho and Beru told him what had befallen Earth. “So the enemy is stronger than before, but Sung Jinwoo is somewhere else? Does this mean Earth will finally be destroyed?” There was something he could be sure of, having been sucked into the war between the Rulers and the Monarchs once before. “That war is nothing humans can hope to do anything about,” he remarked.

“You seem to have a very objective assessment of your race,” Beru said, standing on Suho’s shoulder and nodding arrogantly. “Only National Level Hunters can fight against the followers of Itarim.”

“Yes, I can see that now. Or at the very least…” Thomas suddenly turned to Haein, who stood with the ice elves. “S-rank hunters with powerful items might stand a chance.”

Ever since Thomas had witnessed her fighting with the Demon King’s Longsword, a list of things he needed to do once he returned to his guild began to form in his mind. And it was a long list. “I’ll have to start work on weapons development as soon as I get back…”

Now that he had his memories back, Thomas could recall the span of over ten years that followed the Great Cataclysm in his previous life. This time, it had only been two years since the Cataclysm and the emergence of hunters, but things were different. Humanity’s knowledge and scientific capabilities were better than last time, but hunter technology lagged far behind. There were many reasons for this, but the biggest one was a lack of materials research. As with other forms of research after the Cataclysm, the study of the ores and magic beast bodies found in the dungeons was only in its infant stages. It would take at least five years before it caught up to the levels of the previous timeline.

But I have knowledge from the future—that is, the past.I can use it to speed up development many times over. And that wasn’t all. He could also apply his knowledge to aid hunters’ progress in various respects, such as proposing more varied raid strategies and efficient training methods. With his memories of his past life, Thomas felt like he was starting life over from the beginning.

“If I teach them to increase the density of their mana, development will speed up considerably… Huh?” As Rio Singh walked past, Thomas suddenly took notice of him—or rather, the sword in his hand, which seemed to be of very high quality. He waved down the Indian hunter. “You. What’s that sword you’re holding? Did Sung Jinwoo— I mean, Suho, give you an item, too?”

“What? Oh, you mean this?” Rio replied in fluent English as he held up his sword, puzzled. “I bought this at the Hunter Mall.”

“What? You bought it, with money?” Surprised, Thomas snatched the weapon away and studied it closely. He hadn’t been wrong about the quality. “Wh-what in the world? Why is it so high quality? This is almost at the level of past technology—” He felt a chill. Something wasn’t right. “Where did you say you bought it? Not even the U.S. can process dungeon ores with this much finesse.”

“India has great capabilities compared to other countries, too, but we’re not this good,” Rio said.

“So where—”

“South Korea.”

Thomas’ eyes widened. Rio, on the other hand, felt rather pleased. It appeared that his great eye for items had just been acknowledged by Thomas Andre. He congratulated himself on his impulsiveness—or rather, initiative and drive—in snapping the sword up as soon as he saw it.

He continued confidently, “I bought it at a weapon store in South Korea, one that Suho took me to.” Since Thomas, an S-rank hunter, had shown interest, it proved that the sword had value. Rio formulated the next steps in his head. I could bulk-purchase weapons from South Korea and send them to the guild.I’ll be in the guild master’s good graces again when I provide them with high-quality gear.

But Thomas had no interest in Rio’s plotting for a promotion. He turned to Suho gravely. “Strange. It doesn’t make sense for such technology to be available only two years after the Great Cataclysm. There must be someone besides me in South Korea who has their memories of their past life intact!”

“In Korea?” Suho said, stiffening. If whoever it is recovered their memories without a Shadow Key, then they must have something to do with the Itarim, he thought.

“Yes. And I’m willing to bet their memories were intact the whole time.” The situation was dire. With or without prior knowledge, this level of technology would take at least two years to hit the market. That meant this sword was possibly in development from the onset of the Cataclysm, which in turn indicated that the followers of the Itarim were already active in the shadows of South Korea.

“Suho?” Haein, who’d been with the ice elves, had overheard the conversation and walked over. “I have a feeling… I might know who they are.”

“What? They’re someone you know?”

“You know this person? But how?”

Both Suho and Thomas turned to her immediately, shocked. It seemed impossible. Haein had been stuck in the Glacier Dungeon since even before the Great Cataclysm, so Suho wondered how she knew about recent events in Korea.

She gave an oddly amused smile at the two men, who had similar looks on their faces. “Hmm… I’m sure you met him a few times when you were little, Suho.”

“What? Who did I meet?”

“Do you remember the man who we told you was your father’s friend and boss?”

“His boss?” Suho said, puzzled. All he remembered was that his father had been a policeman, which meant his boss had to be a policeman as well.

“Oh, perhaps you were too young.” Haein nodded, as if she understood his reaction. Most sons did not remember people from their father’s workplace. But to her husband, that man had been somewhat special. “I wonder how he’s doing now?” she said, lapsing into thought as she recalled his face.

***

Ever since the Great Cataclysm, North and South Korea had essentially been reunited, but it hadn’t been a pretty process. In North Korea, dungeon breaks had spawned left and right as soon as the Great Cataclysm occurred, pouring out magic beasts. The North Korean government was unable to stop the massive bloodshed, and in the end, imploded on itself.

There had been no lack of hunters in North Korea, however. Plenty of North Korean citizens had awakened with special abilities. If it had been an ordinary country, the hunters probably would have organized as others had done to stop the dungeon breaks and kill off the magic beasts. But the hunters of North Korea staged a coup as soon as they realized their newfound powers. All sorts of ideological protests that had been repressed broke out, centered around those who suddenly found themselves with superhuman abilities. In the end, the hunters became rebels and took down the government. With that, the Great Cataclysm brought about the destruction of order and all governance within the country.

At that point, North Korea was basically done for. Even the hunters who had been responsible for the coup started fighting among themselves, eventually scattering and going their separate ways. These hunters were then defeated by the magic beasts they encountered, and for the most part, were wiped out. This came as no shock since it was already a tall order to fight the beasts even if the hunters had worked together.

Given this situation, the dungeon breaks in North Korea had spread in all directions, unrestrained. The consequences were felt in Manchuria, situated above it, and South Korea below. That was why the Korean Hunters Association, based in the south, had come out to North Korea to provide support. The bigger the field-type dungeons in the north became, the greater the damage would be in South Korea.

“Phew… There seems to be no end to the creatures.”

The chairman of the Korean Hunters Association was in the thick of battle, killing off the magic beasts with the association hunters in tow. It had been fight after fight, stretching on for months now.

“Mr. Woo.” A middle-aged hunter walked up to the chairman. His name was Choi Jongin, a magic user who used fire as his main element. Jongin was the first S-rank hunter who the chairman had brought on board as soon as he’d founded the organization. “Everyone’s tired. Why don’t we stop for a break before we continue on?”

“Yes. Let’s do that.” The chairman removed the sunglasses he’d been wearing through the battle, a wry smile on his face. They revealed a pair of intense eyes, like that of a bird of prey. He glared quietly at the North Korean soil, which had been reduced to a field full of monsters, and wiped the beast blood from his lenses. A particular person came to mind, and he let out a low sigh. “I could really use him right now. Where is he when we need him?”

Thinking of Sung Junwoo, Woo Jinchul, the chairman and founder of the Korean Hunters Association, muttered, “Wherever you are… please come back safe.” I will have everything ready for your return,Mr. Sung.

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