Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 264

Sillad had already acknowledged Suho as a shaman. He had even granted his blessing, allowing Suho to use Blistering Blizzard.

But as he had just admitted, his acceptance back then wasn’t because of Suho himself—it was because of Suho’s mother, Haein.

Now things were different. With a sudden ding, the change became clear.

[You have recruited “Successor of the Extreme Cold” as a companion.]

Sillad had truly acknowledged Suho as a shaman of a dead Monarch. He now fully believed he could entrust his successor to the hunter.

But it wasn’t just Sillad placing his trust in Suho.

“Suho! Did you see that? I did it!”

Sirka, the future Monarch clad in Spirit Mail, smiled triumphantly as she looked back at him. All the while, explosions and wails filled the air.

[Spirit has been defeated.]

[Spirit has been defeated.]

[Spirit has been defeated.]

[...]

The spirits, who had clung to their Elvenwoods for so long and treated the elves as livestock, no longer saw Sirka as an easy meal. Instead, she had turned into a tyrannical ruler who could overwhelm them with her newfound power.

Suho’s teachings had flipped the tables entirely, and the results were astonishing.

[50% of experience points earned by the companion: “Sirka” will be transferred to the player.]

Is this what the word “companion” signifies? So it’s not different from Gray, Suho mused.

While Gray was classified as a “pet” rather than a “companion,” the difference was only a semantic one. The leveling system applied the same principle to Sirka as well. Having seen and experienced enough, Suho now fully understood how this worked.

The term “experience points” was a convenient shorthand, but the more accurate term would be “nutrients”—nutrients intended for the World Tree. These nutrients leaked out of magic beasts or spirits upon their deaths, and the leveling system absorbed the nutrients and granted them to Suho. The method bore a striking resemblance to how the weeds in the Sea of Afterlife grew by stealing the World Tree’s nutrients.

Now, Gray and Sirka had become capable of transferring some of the nutrients from the living creatures they killed to Suho. This was what it meant to be a “companion” in the eyes of the system. In more familiar terms, they were members of a party that shared experience points.

However, there was an exception among the party—Esil. Though she had volunteered to become Suho’s subordinate, she didn’t share experience points with him. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Of course, she offered something far more extraordinary.

[Spirit has been defeated.]

[Spirit has been defeated.]

[Spirit has been defeated.]

[...]

[“Blessing of Gluttony” increases gained experience points.]

[Level up!]

The Blessing of Gluttony, which multiplied experience points by three times, remained active even in Esil’s absence.

This was due to the demon race’s unique traits. Demons had evolved from the weeds that stole nutrients in the Sea of the Afterlife. Over time, these trivial weeds transformed into Residents of the Rift and eventually into demons. As the Monarch of these creatures, Esil did not simply offer up nutrients but increased the rate of absorption.

Even if they’re all “companions,” I guess each race has different characteristics. Gray was capable of Divine Possession.

Even now, the wolf was hunting spirits ahead of them. It seemed that the ability had a positive effect on his growth as well.

The new situation was a true win-win relationship, a genuine collaboration between party companions.

This raised a question in Suho’s mind: If Sillad’s Aegis and Blistering Blizzard were intended for his mother, what had changed now? What was Sirka like now that she was a companion?

At that moment, the area around them fell silent.

The spirits that had been swirling around Sirka had all frozen solid, trapped mid-motion as they fled from her. The sight of the beings frozen in chaotic disarray was almost pitiful.

Sirka began shoving her spear into the jagged hunks of ice as if to ensure they were truly dead. Remarkably, the ice clung to the tip of her trident, accumulating and reshaping the weapon. It had become something so crude and unwieldy it seemed more fitting to call it a “Hammer of the Ice Tree.”

“Hup!”

Sirka hoisted the enormous ice hammer onto her shoulder.

Her pose made Suho chuckle. It looked more like she was riding inside the giant suit of armor than wearing it.

It was hard for him to ignore the expression on the elf’s face. She held her head up and posed proudly as if she was waiting for praise.

She’s an even better learner than I expected. I guess being a Monarch’s successor makes a difference.

“Ahem!”

Sirka cleared her throat, hiking up her shoulders.

Sillad seemed to be repressing a smile as he warned her sternly, “You still have a long way to go. Right now, you can only dominate the spirits you touch...”

“Grandfather.”

“Wh-what?”

Sillad flinched. For the first time, Sirka was addressing him directly, face-to-face. Until now, their communication had been limited to her prayers.

She took the opportunity to confidently ask, “It’s true, isn’t it? You’re my grandfather, right?”

The bold look in her eyes left Sillad at a loss for words.

“I only saw my father once when I was very little,” Sirka continued. “Before he left for the battlefield, he told me that I had the blood of the Monarch of Frost in me... That I was the Monarch’s granddaughter.”

Sillad still did not respond. Sirka watched his face as he avoided her gaze.

“My father told me I needed to grow up as quickly as possible so I could protect the village. He told me to become a guardian.”

Though she had been very young at the time, she remembered it clearly.

“That was the first and last thing my father ever said to me.”

She recalled his resolute eyes as he said the words. His tone lacked even a shred of warmth. At the time, she hadn’t understood it, but now she had grown enough to recognize that chill.

Finally, Sillad spoke, his voice heavy.

“Do not hold it against your father. To me, he was nothing more than a tool for war. It was just as I was taught to be.”

He sighed, and a cold mist escaped his lips.

“We were all born to fight on the battlefield until our dying breath. That was the sole purpose of our existence as elves—”

“Wrong,” Sirka interrupted.

“What...?”

“I said you are wrong.”

Her defiant response made Sillad turn his head to look at her. His eyes went wide.

“Cha Cha never taught us that,” she said.

At this moment, Sirka did not have the look of an ice elf at all.

“She told us not to run around too much since we would get hurt if we fell. She told us to sleep under blankets and to dress warmly because of the cold.”

She smiled as she recalled Haein’s endless nagging. Her kind voice echoed in the elf’s memories.

“She taught us to fight when necessary but to enjoy life at other times.”

Her smile became broader and warmer.

“And do you know what she told me? She said that I look beautiful when I smile.”

For a moment, Sillad said nothing.

“What do you think, Grandfather?” Sirka asked.

After a long pause, the Monarch replied, “Yes, it is a nice smile.”

“Then that means you think I’m beautiful, right?”

She grinned widely, satisfied with his reluctant answer.

Meanwhile, Sillad’s expression twisted awkwardly. He had never said such words or even imagined himself saying them.

But as he looked at his granddaughter standing confidently before him, his composure finally crumbled. Perhaps he could take it no longer, or maybe the time that had been given to him was up.

The blizzard swirled, and Sillad turned his back, retreating into the snowstorm. His quiet voice flowed on the cold wind.

“Thank you... for growing into such a fine adult.”

With those parting words, Suho and Sirka’s consciousnesses began to flow back to reality.

Suho could hear Sillad’s voice in his ear.

“Prepare for battle. The moment you leave, the Elvenwood and everything in the forest will turn against you.”

“I already figured as much,” Suho responded. “How about giving me a useful blessing or skill to balance things out?

Even in this moment, he was trying to negotiate.

Sillad scoffed.

“Aren’t you funny? You haven’t responded to my request yet.”

“That quest, you mean? All right. I accept!”

“Then the contract is sealed. Take good care of my granddaughter.”

As Sillad’s presence faded, Sirka waved enthusiastically, her expression still bright.

“Grandfather! Catch you later! I’ll pray to you!”

“Well... I won’t stop you.”

***

The frozen time began to flow again.

“Young elf!”

“We will give you an opportunity.”

“Become one with us!”

In an instant, Suho and Sirka’s surroundings shifted.

Haein’s determined face came into view nearby. An overwhelming number of high elves, tree branches, and spirits were surging from all directions, closing in on them.

But there was no room for panic anymore. Without hesitation, they sprang into action, ready to counterattack the entire forest.

“Spirit Mail!” Sirka shouted.

She drove her trident into the ground, and a cascade of icicles burst from it, forming an icy armor that enveloped her body.

Ahead of her, Suho stepped forward.

[Blessing: “Blistering Blizzard” has been activated.]

Winter descended upon Elvenwood.

“Th-this can’t be...!”

“How has a dead Monarch’s power arrived in this land?”

The high elves’ faces contorted in shock and disbelief. They could never have imagined that the Monarch of Frost, long dead after losing the war, could still exert influence in this world.

As soon as Suho had accepted Sillad’s quest, he had taught the hunter how to use his blessing just as he had taught it to Sirka.

[A “Bond Skill’ has been formed due to your connection with the “Successor of the Extreme Cold.”]

Suho’s lips curved into a smirk as he examined his newly acquired skill.

“Soldiers without wings, arise!” he shouted.

All at once, scores of soldiers rose from his shadow. Turning to them, he activated his new skill.

“Spirit Armament!”

[Skill: Spirit Armament - Level 1]

[Required Mana: 1 per second.

You may offer spirits as a sacrifice to temporarily enhance shadow soldiers.

The type and quantity of offered spirits determines the soldiers’ attributes and the level of enhancement.]

The shadow soldiers roared. They began to swell and grow as each spirit Sirka defeated was absorbed into their forms, imbuing them with new power.