Solo Leveling- Ragnarok - Chapter 293 - 291

Rex was an ordinary salaryman, resigned to a dull life of monotony in a towering megacity. But his world shatters when he’s conscripted by Nexum Dynamics, a ruthless megacorporation, and thrust into a brutal war for a barren, alien world. The planet holds unimaginable riches, but it’s also swarming with the Krhyssari, an insectoid race that dominates the surface with their hive-mind precision and relentless aggression. Amid the carnage, Rex had an extraordinary encounter with Cleo, an ancient AI, a survivor of a long-extinct civilization. Cleo isn’t just an artificial intelligence; she’s a consciousness imbued with memories of her people’s interstellar empire and equipped with advanced bio-nanotechnology. Offering Rex a new purpose and unmatched power, she transforms his fragile human body into a hybrid of living metal and flesh, making him the ultimate weapon. But Cleo is more than a tool of war. As she journeys alongside Rex, her cold, logical algorithms evolve, shaped by his humanity. Together, they form a bond that transcends the boundaries of man and machine, discovering love in the midst of chaos. As Rex and Cleo fight for survival, they uncover a shared ambition, to rise as intergalactic overlords, uniting or conquering the galaxy.

The century long war had just ended and humanity had managed to get their hands on alien technology, sending them years ahead in terms of technological advancement, fulfilling their hope of finding life outside their planet and their desire to dominate these extra-terrestrial existences. The effects of their technological advancement alone wasn’t capable of giving this result.The appearance of mutations which granted supernatural powers among humans was another boon giving them the chance to act out their darkest desires.Their joy took a dark turn when it was revealed that they were nothing more than livestock to the mysterious race, Xillthars, who cultivated them to that level. Like fattening livestock.Shortly before this dark turn of times was a forbidden creature, Kieran who had been born into the lowest levels of a society created by the greed of humans. To him, life had always been hard, but things got worse after the arrival of the Xillthars as he found himself on a trail of shocking discoveries about himself and the world around him.

Broken-hearted and drunk, Yoshida, a 26-years old salaryman, stumbled upon a runaway-from-home high-schooler on his way back from the bar.

“Hey, you. JK.”*

“What the heck are you doing out here. Go home already.”

“Uncle, let me stay at your place for the night.”

“You can do ‘that’ to me if you let me stay.”

“If you meant that as a joke, it’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking. It’s fine by me.”

“Then allow me to tell you that I have no interest in brats.”

“Hmm?”

“Then, just let me stay.”

Notes:

[*] JK is slang for Joushikousei (high school girl)