[2] Solo Leveling

Chapter 201

Jin-Woo had a bit of history with the monsters called Ice Elves.

Didn't he encounter these creatures when he stumbled into a Red Gate for the first time in his life? How rueful did he feel back then, after seeing the boss mob 'Baruka' slipping out of his hands while leaving only a dagger behind?

Just remembering that event brought back all the bad emotions he felt then after failing to extract that monster's shadow.

'And here I was, having just barely forgotten about it....'

Naturally, his strength while gripping this creature's wrist and neck increased.

Wuduk!

[Keok!]

In any case, why was a high-ranking monster that should have been confined to a dungeon roaming freely around here?

Jin-Woo got here by switching his position with his Shadow Soldier. Next up, he used 'Ruler's Authority' to keep his balance and float in the air about 7 or 8 stories high. While gripping the monster tightly, he asked this mysterious Ice Elf a question.

"What the hell are you?"

Seeing those pointy ears, or the long whitish hair, or even its pair of silvery eyes, this thing seemed to be a White Phantom alright, but then again, he could also sense the trace of an unfathomably lengthy passage of time from this creature, too.

Not only that....

[Kuwuaaahk!]

The monster gritted its teeth and shook off Jin-Woo's hands.

'....!!'

What an incredible physical strength!

Even before he had the chance to get surprised from the monster slipping out of his grasp, Jin-Woo picked up on this chilling aura coagulating around the creature's mouth.

Inexplicably, the image of Demon King Baran shooting lightning out of its mouth overlapped with this b*stard. By sheer instinct, Jin-Woo tilted his torso away.

Kawahh-!!

The bitterly cold air shot out from the monster's mouth, sped past Jin-Woo's original position, and poured out into the air behind him.

After confirming the scary amount of magical energy being poured out by the monster with his two eyes, Jin-Woo quickly retreated an adequate-enough distance away.

'.....'

He lightly dusted the particles of ice clinging onto his shoulder and stared intently at the Ice Elf – no, the Sovereign of Frost.

That thing was no ordinary monster. His ultra-sharp senses were warning him that this thing was much stronger than any monster he had faced off against so far.

Jin-Woo wasn't the only one getting surprised, though.

[But, how can you....??]

The Sovereign hurriedly looked at Jin-Woo's shadow and, after confirming the number of soldiers hiding in there, couldn't hide the fact that it was feeling deeply surprised right now.

[You have managed to amass that many soldiers, so why haven't you contacted us already?]

When Jin-Woo made no effort to reply, the Sovereign began looking into his eyes. And then, a pained gasp leaked out from the creature's mouth.

[So, that's how it was.... You're the variable he talked about, aren't you?]

What was this fool talking about?

Jin-Woo was getting rather curious about the meaning behind this monster's constant babbling, but too bad, he didn't have enough leeway to hold a cordial Q&A session with this creature.