Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 267

The keel of a ship was its foundation—the central backbone running from bow to stern, supporting the entire structure.

The keel’s size decided the size of the ship itself. Any other part of a ship could be repaired after taking some damage, but if a keel was broken, it couldn’t be repaired or replaced. A ship with a shattered keel was doomed, unfit for the sea. Because it was the base on which the whole ship was built, replacing it required dismantling the entire vessel.

“In that sense, the material used for a keel determines the ship’s defensive capabilities,” a shadow dwarf said, chatting about the importance of the structure.

The message was clear.

“So you want to use this entire Elvenwood for the keel?” Suho asked.

“Yes!” the dwarves responded in unison, their eyes already gleaming with excitement.

If there had been only one Elvenwood, they might have had to share it. But Suho could bring back more, which changed things.

“There is no need to cut up such precious wood!”

“As I said before, the size of the keel is the size of the ship!”

“And the toughness of the keel decides the toughness of the ship!”

“If we use an entire Elvenwood as the keel, we won’t need to divide anything. We’ll create a massive, unrivaled vessel!”

Just the thought sent chills of excitement through the dwarves.

A ship with a keel made of the sacred tree of the elves, a keel that would extend its branches, devour nearby weeds, and grow continuously—no material could have been greater.

After hearing their rather desperate appeal, Suho agreed without hesitation.

“All right. Then use this one for the keel of Esil’s ship.”

“Hahaha!”

“Hmph...”

The dwarves on Esil’s ship roared in triumph, while those who had missed out looked chagrined.

Of course, it was only natural for the ruler’s ship to take priority, but that didn’t make it any easier to lose access to such prime material right in front of their eyes.

“May our raft use the next one, then?”

“Nonsense! Our raft is the largest! The more existing material a raft has, the larger a keel it can build upon, and the faster construction will proceed!”

“You’ve got a point,” Suho said. “The largest rafts will get the Elvenwoods first.”

As his decision was finalized, the shadow dwarves became frantic.

“Th-there is no time to waste!”

“You lazy demons! Hurry up! We need to gather as many materials as possible before the next Elvenwood arrives.”

With Suho establishing a clear order of priority, fierce competition broke out.

“The completeness of a ship will have a huge impact on its speed!” a dwarf shouted.

Finding the World Tree in this dark, expansive sea was as difficult as finding a needle in a desert. And no matter how colossal the tree was, the Sea of the Afterlife was a realm far more vast and unfathomable than any desert. If they wanted to find it quickly, they needed to collect as many weeds as possible—even at the risk of their lives.

“Demons! Put your lives on the line! You would like it if our raft found the World Tree first, wouldn’t you?”

“That means you would get to eat more leaves than anyone else, and sooner than anyone else, too! Those leaves make you stronger!”

This was the perfect motivator.

The flames of competition also flared in the demons, who had only been rowing passively until now. The more leaves they consumed, the stronger they would become.

Previously, they had drifted aimlessly, collecting weeds at a similar pace. But now, securing a keel and finishing a ship meant growing stronger than the other demons—and at an exponential speed.

“L-let’s do this!”

“That’s it! Go on, demons!”

“Hurry up!”

The rafts surged forward. This newfound sense of urgency was a welcome change, at least for Suho and Esil.

“By the way, Esil, can you take a look at this?”

While they watched the rafts scatter, Suho approached Esil and handed her an object. He hadn’t visited the Sea of the Afterlife to deliver just a single Elvenwood.

“Master, this is...”

Esil’s expression grew grave. He had handed her a Stone of the Outer Gods, one of the very stones that had resided in Fores’ eye sockets.

After defeating the high elves and the spirits, Suho had felt something odd the moment he touched the stone.

“This one feels strangely different from the Stardust and Star Fragments I found so far,” he explained.

Stardust was a magic amplifier, created in demon factories using mad blood poison. Star Fragments were a more refined version of Stardust, crystallized into gem form. They were called “Stones of the Outer Gods” now, but in the past, they had simply been considered mana enhancers.

However, Suho now knew the truth—mana enhancement had only been a side effect. The real function of these stones was something else entirely.

“These do not enhance. They are ‘receivers.’”

“They also make communication possible. That is the true purpose of the Stones of the Outer Gods.”

Greed had once been a high priest of the Church of the Outer Gods. Iron had been a priest as well, though lower ranking. Now on Suho’s side as shadow soldiers, they had revealed everything they knew about their former faith.

“The Stones of the Outer Gods are a sort of medium.”

“They inject a human’s body with mana from the Outer Universes. They do not enhance mana. They simply receive mana from outside.”

“If the vessel cannot handle that mana and breaks, the result is death.”

“That is why humans who overdosed on Stardust early on ended up dead.”

Of course, not even Greed or Iron knew everything about the Church of the Outer Gods.

The organization had been shrouded in secrecy. Strangely, the churches had sprung up worldwide at almost the exact same time.

There was no evangelism or spreading of their faith, and the individual branches did not contact each other or cooperate. There was no need for that in the first place—they had the Stones of the Outer Gods.

“The Church of the Outer Gods uses the Stones of the Outer Gods to communicate with the Outer Universes.”

“That is why the humans do not need to exchange any information, except in very special cases.”

“Special cases?” Suho had asked.

“To share research about the stones. Only then do they speak.”

The Stones of the Outer Gods were the church’s most important goal, and at the same time, a tool.

Through significant study and sacrifice, their research improved. They refined the stones from Stardust to Star Fragments, and eventually to the Stones of the Outer Gods.

As a result, the efficiency and purity of the stones had improved drastically over time. As mana enhancers, they became more and more effective. The research had first been spearheaded by the demons, leading to the birth of their so-called “demon factories.”

The churches diligently shared their research with other branches, refining their methods until they created a stone capable not just of receiving but also of transmitting.

“At last, the stones reached the point where information could be sent both ways.”

It had been a true breakthrough.

“Before that point, the believers of the church were only able to accept commands passively from the Outer Gods as they came through the dimensional rift. But from then on, Earth could send information to the Outer Universes.”

“That is what the Church of the Outer Gods refers to as ‘prayer’ or a ‘rite.’”

That was the moment the Church of the Outer Gods had truly become a religion.

However, their gods were not benevolent. They were invaders, beings that sought to destroy Earth.

Suho knew this all too well thanks to Greed and Iron. That was why, when he examined the Stones of the Outer Gods embedded in the heads of the high elves, he realized something was different.

“This stone... It wasn’t made with demon blood,” Esil said.

“I knew it,” Suho muttered.

His suspicions had been confirmed.

“No wonder. When we rescued the surviving humans, I searched every inch of the high elves’ village, but there were no traces of demons anywhere.”

He had even found three hidden gates and searched them thoroughly, but to no avail. After scouring the entire area, no demon factory had been found.

“Stones of the Outer Gods with no demons involved...” Esil said, holding the stone in her hand.

It could only mean one thing.

“So there’s a way to make these without demon blood,” she murmured.

The research that began with mad blood poison had achieved a result, and one that far exceeded any before.

“I think they’ve found a new substitute for demon blood. And that means...”

“Someone else is being sacrificed,” Suho said.

His expression turned cold as he nodded.

“Esil, find the World Tree as quickly as you can. You must become stronger as fast as possible.”

“I will.”

She had successfully become the Monarch, but that had only been possible because of Suho’s help.

This did not mean she was unworthy of the title. Rather, it had a positive meaning.

Esil was the Monarch of Gluttony. If eating the leaves of the World Tree had given her this power, what would happen if she ate more?

If she became even stronger than she was now, she would be able to use Hell’s Army and gather the demons scattered through the dimensions. It would allow her to summon every demon in every factory that the Church of the Outer Gods had hidden away. With a single move, she could expose each branch, each secret location, and every piece of information about their network.

“Let’s keep going, all right? You search for the World Tree here, and I’ll handle Nidhogg.”

With those final words, Suho left the Sea of the Afterlife. The first step toward weakening that monstrous six-headed snake was identical to the quest that Sillad had given him.

[Quest: A Favor for the Monarch of Frost]

[Make Sirka, the ice elf and Sillad’s successor, the next Monarch.

Sirka’s vessel is not yet strong enough to contain the primordial darkness.

Protect her and guide her growth until she can inherit its power.]

Sillad’s quest was a plea to protect Sirka from the many spirits and Elvenwoods that threatened her. However, there was something the deceased Monarch had failed to consider.

Beru squinted at Suho, eyeing him warily.

“Kiek? Why are you looking at me like that, Young Monarch?”

Seeing the pure evil—or clueless innocence, for once—on Beru’s face, Suho smiled back. He was positively beaming.

[Sillad realizes that something isn’t quite right.]

But it was already too late for the Monarch’s realizations. Unfortunately for Sillad, Suho had learned there was only one way for a young and weak successor to grow.

“Time for tough training,” Suho declared.

Beru tilted his head in confusion, and the hunter added, “If she is a successor to a Monarch, she should at least be stronger than an ant larva, right?”

“Huh?” Sirka asked.

She wasn’t sure what Suho meant, but she suddenly had a very bad feeling. That look in the hunter’s eyes was all too familiar—it was the same expression Haein wore whenever she put them through grueling training.

Sirka loved Haein like a mother, but she absolutely did not like that look. And the resemblance between them was uncanny.

“Let’s go,” Suho said.

“Wh-where?”

“We’ll search out every Elvenwood in existence.”

Before Sirka could even process the words, Suho grabbed her and dragged her forward, marching toward the nearest elven village.

[Skill: “Breath of Destruction” has activated.]

The high elves were in for a rather destructive greeting.

***

Meanwhile in Russia, Yuri Orloff was swirling a glass of wine on one of the top floors of a high-rise building, gazing down at the city streets below, when an unexpected guest appeared before him.

“Someone destroyed one of my gardens.”

The prime minister of Russia did not seem surprised by the individual’s sudden appearance. Instead, his expression darkened as he listened intently, his eyes growing concerned.

“What?” he asked. “You mean something happened to a Terrarium?”