Only I Level Up: Ragnarok - Episode 1
Only I Level Up: Ragnarok Episode 1
“Do you like ants that much??”
Korea University Art Museum.
Lim Do-gyun, a teaching assistant in the painting department, looked bored after seeing Su-ho's painting..
Pictures of ants were crowded on one wall of the exhibition hall..
All kinds of sketches, including oil paintings and watercolors..
There were many different types, and the appearances of the drawn ants also varied greatly..
Assistant Professor Lim attached the name tag he brought below..
[Korea University Painting Department Project Exhibition]
[3Grade Seong Su-ho]
“If you just collected the ants you drew since freshman year, it would fill a truckload. If this was going to be the case, shouldn’t I have gone to entomology instead of art school??”
“I thought so, but there was no separate ant department..”
“I only like ants, not insects.?”
“yes. Strangely enough, I have liked ants ever since I was young. When I came across a swarm of ants, I walked carefully so as not to accidentally step on them.…….”
“Have you liked it since you were young? The taste is really the same.”
Assistant Professor Lim smiled and continued to look at Suho’s paintings..
Then it stands tall.
“This ant looks a little different?”
In front of it was a drawing of a humanoid ant blazing with black energy..
“hmm. The movement is dynamic and good. I even drew a demonic beast?”
“What about the demonic beast? I'm just an ant that appeared in my dreams when I was young..”
“Puha. You are amazing too. How much do you love ants that you even dream about them? Someday when I was young?”
“Before the cataclysm.”
cataclysm.
2It was a term referring to the apocalyptic crisis that suddenly came to Earth a year ago..
Unidentified gates that have appeared all over the Earth.
And the terrible demonic beasts that poured out from within invaded the Earth..
But fortunately, a very small number of humans awakened this ability at the right time, and humanity was able to barely overcome the crisis..
That was only 2 years ago.
At the time, Suho was just 20 years old and a freshman..
However, the time when Suho had the 'ant dream' was long before that, when he was in middle school and high school..
“Anyway, you are a really special species too..”
Assistant Professor Lim laughed and looked at Suho's drawing again carefully..
“But you drew it really well. It looks like it will jump out of the picture and bite at any moment. Ah, did this go too far? That's how vivid your picture is..”
Suho laughed to himself at those words..
‘It has to be that way.’
I'm not just saying this, the ants in the picture were my nightmare itself..
When I was a teenager, it was a monster that would often come out of my dreams and rush towards me to kill me..
‘……Looking back, it was a really terrible dream..’
Suho remembered that dream..
[Your level has risen!]
[Your level has risen!]
In that dream, Suho had to fight for his life with monsters without even knowing what was going on..
The armored knights and ants that endlessly blocked his path, and later even the giant dragons.
When you kill those monsters, you level up like in the game..
Then, if you die, it resets right away..
I had to go back to the beginning and restart everything from level 1..
The only way to get out of that dream was to somehow survive and reach the final boss room..
After fighting and fighting without stopping, I finally arrived at the final boss, and to my surprise, the final boss's face was…….
‘He took after his father.’
eat.
Suho smiled bitterly, saying that it was just a dream from his adolescence..
But after some time, I stopped having that dream again..
‘That's probably... … Was it around that time?.’
Yes, to be exact, the summer of my first year of high school..
Ever since my parents disappeared.
……Suho’s peaceful daily life collapsed..
* * *
Around that time.
An unusual sign was happening in the corner of the museum building..
“I left it here?”
“Yes, senior. The teaching assistant said he put it all in here..”
It's good.
Painting students opened the warehouse door to take care of the exhibits..
And my eyes widened when I found 'it' inside..
“uh?”
Crackling! crackling!
A pitch-black hole floating on the wall.
“Ahh! It's a gate.?!”
“Report it quickly!”
Students who are scared and step back.
They took out their cell phones with trembling hands to report it right away, but a fourth-year senior urgently stopped them..
“Calm down! Just by looking at it, the gate is closed.!”
“Ah, I see. The blue mist hasn't flown out yet..”
“okay. There's still a long way to go before the dungeon break occurs..”
“under. I was really fed up.”
The students, who belatedly realized the situation, breathed a sigh of relief..
Dungeon Break was a term used to refer to the phenomenon of demonic beasts pouring out of the gate..
However, just because the gate was created, the dungeon break did not occur immediately..
Before that, the 'blue fog' flowed out from inside the gate and polluted the surrounding area, and only then could the gate open and the demons come out..
“So, it's still safe. Hehehe.”
“Seo, senior. Why are you smiling so nervously? Still, it's still dangerous, so let's report it quickly.?”
“You idiots. Haven't you even heard that rumor? It is said that if you drink the blue mist, you can become an awakened person.?”
“ah!”
The juniors’ ears perked up at the senior’s words..
The identity of the blue fog has not yet been clearly revealed..
However, at some point, there was a rumor that was secretly spreading on the Internet like an urban legend..
The rumor was that the fog was actually vaporized magic power, and that drinking it could instantly awaken magic power in even ordinary people..
“That's not just a rumor?”
“It's not like it turned out to be a rumor..”
“Umm.”
“Hehehe. So, let's check it out this time. Do you know anything? Will there even be an S-class hunter among us??”
“……!”
The juniors' eyes suddenly changed at the senior's secret voice..
The astronomical amount of money earned by S-class hunters came to mind..
Since the corpses of demonic beasts and ores from dungeons have come into the spotlight as new materials, the profession of hunters, who can sweep up all those goods, has become a symbol of wealth and fame..
But it's only been two years since the cataclysm occurred..
It has not yet been clearly revealed how to awaken magical power..
“Besides, you guys know that Assistant Professor Lim is also an E-class awakened.?”
“I heard it. You always complain that you can't make money as an E-class hunter. That's why you work as a teaching assistant during the semester..”
“Tsk tsk. You're saying something you don't know. That's a lie, man. I don't know how much the instructor earns just by entering the dungeon as a mining team member, not a raid team member.?”
“How much do you earn?.”
The senior spoke in a whisper as if revealing a great secret, and immediately the juniors' eyes widened..
“yes? You earn that much?”
“Even though it's E grade?”
“Yeah, man. Even if you're lucky enough to become a low-level hunter, that's it, right? Are you still going to blow this great opportunity? huh?”
“Wow, Hunter is the best as expected. No, you are earning so much, why are you still working at the school??”
“What do you mean by earning money in dungeons and spending a lot of money on art? If you work in a teaching assistant's office, you will have many opportunities for exhibitions..”
“It's really awesome.”
E-class income was much more persuasive than S-class awakening, which is much rarer than winning the lottery..
With continued persuasion from their seniors, the juniors eventually quietly put down their hands holding their cell phones..
“Well, hmm. They say it's safe for a while even if the blue fog flows out…….”
“Well, then shall we wait a little bit? Just wait a minute?”
“You idiots. It finally makes sense now. Anyway, it's just one shot in life. If you take just one sip and report it as soon as the fog appears, there will be no danger..”
And after some time.
Finally, blue fog began to seep out from the gate..
* * *
Thump thump!
Suddenly the building shook.
‘huh?’
Suho, who was in the exhibition hall, raised his head..
‘what? Is it an earthquake??’
something was strange.
It feels like the space itself is shaking.
However, only Suho felt something strange. No one in the exhibition hall noticed anything about this..
It was then.
plod.
“Ugh.”
A student was walking shakily into the exhibition hall..
At that moment, Assistant Professor Lim, who was near the entrance, approached him and spoke to him..
“Youngcheol, why did you come so late when I asked you to go to the warehouse?…….”
“I, I, definitely tried to stop you.”
“……Youngcheol?”
“Seo, senior, keep.”
“Youngcheol Park?”
“Smoke.”
creepy.
‘something is wrong.’
Assistant Professor Lim's expression hardened as he checked Youngcheol's condition up close..
Pupils tremble, unable to figure out what to do.
A mouth that keeps muttering incomprehensible words.
“Park Young-cheol? What is that in your mouth??”
As Assistant Professor Lim asked, Youngcheol finally realized his condition..
Shaaaaa.
Before he knew it, blue smoke was seeping out of his mouth and nose..
“Uh, if you do this, it won't work. Ughhh.”
Yeongcheol was embarrassed and covered his mouth with his hand..
But the more I tried, the more smoke leaked out between my fingers..
and.
Grumbling!
Blue smoke engulfed Yeongcheol's body along with the intense heat..
“Assistant!”
At that moment, Suho came running from behind and grabbed Assistant Professor Lim's body..
“Ouch! hot, hot……!”
“……!”
Assistant Professor Lim took a step back and widened his eyes..
Yeongcheol’s body was enveloped in blue smoke and began to burn..
“Wow!!”
“Hey, what is that?!”
Students nearby witnessed the terrible scene and screamed in horror..
But that was then.
Weeeeeeenn-!
At that moment, a creepy siren sound rang out from the school speakers..
[It's an emergency!]
The students started screaming at the sound that came out of nowhere..
[A gate has occurred on campus!]
“……?!”
“Well, it's a gate.?”
[The currently identified location of the gate is the art museum building.……!]
“Fuck! It's here!”
“Wow!”
“Wow!!”
Confusion increased..
Students become thoughtful and start running around.
I saw a person burn to death right in front of my eyes, and the horror was indescribable..
There was just one problem with getting out..
As it happens, the place where Yeongcheol's body was burning was in the middle of the entrance to the exhibition hall..
To get out, you had to pass by the corpse..
Grumbling!
One student who was running ahead of us was startled by the intense heat and faltered..
‘Where is the other exit?…….’
I urgently looked around, but there was no way it was there..
There is only one exit.
While the students were scared and confused.
[That's it…….]
Something unbelievable happened.
“uh?”
“Me, that person?”
Yeongcheol's body, which had been reduced to a lump of charcoal, was rising again..
Encroached upon by blue smoke.
“Now, wait a minute. That can't be right?”
Assistant Professor Lim’s eyes widened at that sight..
“It's a beast! Get away from there right now!”
Assistant Professor Lim’s urgent cry.
[Wow!]
But it's already too late.
The demon of blue smoke, using Yeongcheol's body as a wick, swung his arm like a whip..
Kwakwang-!
“Ouch!”
The students' bodies were lying on the floor, vomiting blood..
And as the blue smoke clung to their clothes, their bodies also began to burn hotly..
“Ouch! fire! fire!”
“Wow!!”
Students scattered in confusion.
There were desperate screams..
“oh my god. It was a real mist burn.…….”
Assistant Professor Lim quickly took out his cell phone..
Mist Burn was not something that an E-level person could handle on his own..
Suho urgently asked Assistant Professor Lim, who was sending a request for support..
“Mist bun? What kind of demon is this??”
“If you get hit by that guy…….”
Assistant Professor Lim chewed his lips..
“We turn into the same guy.”
[Wow!]
At that moment, the corpses of students who had been attacked by Mist Burn were standing up again, burning blue smoke..
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