Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 186

“……”

“……”

A strange mood lingered in the Black Market’s gambling den.

The once-thrilling atmosphere of watching humans pitted against each other in vicious fights was gone.

Now, the demons in the VIP room couldn’t care less about the match. All attention was on the newly appeared demon noble—“Vulcan.”

‘My god. Vulcan is still alive.’

‘A real demon noble…’

‘If I can just learn how to make bloodstones, I could become a noble too…’

Countless glances were being thrown at Vulcan—no, Suho.

Within them, raw and unfiltered desire was clearly visible.

This primal, greedy craving for power was as instinctive to demons as hunger.

Yet even amidst this icy, tension-filled atmosphere, Suho remained relaxed, calmly watching the underground match unfold.

He looked like a lion sunbathing in the middle of a jungle.

To the demons, it was the very image of dignity—a true demon noble.

[Are you sure this is okay?]

‘What is?’

[I mean, is it really worth taking this risk?]

Esil had been worried sick for a while now.

[Don’t forget. Our house was wiped out because of a rebellion by the low-ranking demons. They may be distracted by the bloodstone now, but they could gang up and devour you at any moment.]

‘Exactly. That’s what I’ve been wondering for a while now…’

Still watching the arena with lazy eyes, Suho asked Esil,

‘In a hierarchy-driven world like the demon realm, how did low-ranking demons manage to wipe out your noble house?’

[It was purely a matter of numbers…]

‘You sure about that? You really think that was possible?’

[…What are you trying to say?]

Esil was visibly irritated.

Suho’s words made it sound like she was being blamed—How weak must the House of Radir have been to get wiped out by these low-rank trash?

But Suho wasn’t done.

‘I’ve gotten a lot stronger compared to before, right? And with that strength, I’ve realized something…’

Suho’s gaze swept over the surrounding demons. The moment his eyes passed over them, they flinched.

‘…No matter how many of these guys come at me, I don’t think I could lose.’

His eyes turned cold.

Like a lion surveying a pasture filled with hundreds of sheep.

[Are you saying… Itarim? That they were behind the low-rank demons from the start?]

‘Doesn’t that make more sense than a bunch of low-rank demons devouring nobles?’

Suho was nearly certain.

Even during the incident with the Blood-crazed Demon, it had been clear. Demons were the perfect race to become slaves of the Itarim.

Their souls were corrupted with mana, making them immune to the powers of shadow authority.

To the Itarim, there was no better species to pit against the Shadow Army.

[…That… does make sense.]

Esil had no choice but to nod at Suho’s persuasive reasoning.

‘Alright then.’

Suho grinned meaningfully and opened his inventory.

‘Let’s strip them clean.’

Tap.

“I’ll bet on that human.”

Roto, surprised by the sudden gesture, took the pouch of Starlight Powder Suho handed him and was stunned by its weight.

“Lord Vulcan, surely you don’t intend to wager all of this in one round?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Technically no… but if the stakes get too high, the other guests would need to consent…”

Suho’s gaze slowly swept across the other demons.

And without a word, they all began nodding enthusiastically.

“I-I agree.”

“Ahem. That kind of wager is hardly an issue… really.”

As expected of a society built on hierarchy—ever since witnessing Suho use a bloodstone, even the way the demons spoke had changed.

Roto gave a bitter smile at the sight.

This… isn’t good.

With the fall of all the nobles, the demon realm had become a so-called equal society.

Not quite “democracy,” as humans would call it.

But a place where everyone could equally devour or be devoured.

The weak were torn apart, and even the strong would be bled dry if they showed the slightest vulnerability.

In this hellish chaos, demons had scrambled to create new structures and rules.

And the Black Market was one of the most prominent of those new orders.

…And now a long-dead demon noble suddenly shows up?

Just when a new order had finally begun to settle in, the old hierarchy had returned.

But there was nothing they could do.

They had already seen him create a bloodstone with their own eyes.

And he had even left open the possibility of teaching them how to make it.

Psychologically and practically, the power dynamic has become absolute.

This made proper gambling impossible.

And Roto’s unease was immediately proven right.

“…Ahem. Then I’ll bet on the same human as Lord Vulcan.”

“That human looks stronger to me, too.”

“Same here…”

Demons began piling their bets on Suho’s chosen fighter.

Not one dared place a bet against him.

The match was effectively void.

Roto pressed his aching temple and let out a sigh.

“Esteemed guests, if everyone places their bet on the same side, we cannot begin the match.”

But his words fell on deaf ears.

“Well, I also think that human is going to win.”

“Indeed.”

“Besides, how could we possibly question the judgment of Lord Vulcan, a demon noble?”

“……”

Watching the shameless demons shrug as if nothing was wrong, Roto gritted his teeth inwardly.

Then—

“Tsk. How boring.”

Suho, who had been calmly observing everything from behind, suddenly clicked his tongue.

Then, with a faint smile tugging at his lips, he muttered quietly,

“Hm. This might actually get interesting.”

And then—

A shocking declaration came from his mouth without warning.

“To the one who wins the most Starlight Powder from me in this place, I will teach the method of creating bloodstones.”

……?!

In that instant—

The demons, previously frozen stiff, were overtaken by utter shock.

Followed immediately by an eruption of overwhelming greed.

“W-Was that for real?!”

“N-Not that I doubt Lord Vulcan’s word, of course, but…!”

“W-Wait! Everyone! Please, calm down…!”

Roto struggled to restore order in the chaos, but the mood had already spiraled into madness.

Even Roto himself was tempted—Vulcan’s offer was far too enticing.

“Now this is getting interesting.”

Seemingly pleased with the heated tension, Suho opened his inventory.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

“……!”

“……?!”

An enormous wager.

Suho stacked several heavy pouches of Starlight Powder on the table and said with a meaningful smile,

“Then let the game begin.”

Ooooooooh—!

…Thus began the gamble of a demon’s lifetime.

* * *

What does it take to win a bet here?

Sheer luck?

A massive amount of money?

Keen insight?

‘No.’

The truth was, the demons believed they could beat Vulcan.

The underground arena.

This place wasn’t merely for watching humans fight each other.

The demons here were only the VIPs.

The real guests—or rather, the real prey—were the human customers.

Wooooooooh—!

Surrounding the lower arena beneath the VIP room were bleachers packed with Hunters visiting the Black Market, placing bets on the outcomes.

Win rate: officially, 50-50.

One wins, the other loses—an extremely straightforward bet.

But that was only on the surface.

What kind of place was a gambling den, really?

It was a trap designed to lure people into thinking they could win, only to slowly bleed them dry by manipulating that illusion.

That’s the core mechanism of a casino.

‘The match can be rigged at any time.’

The moment Vulcan made his bombshell announcement, Roto had to fight hard to suppress the smirk crawling up his lips.

And then, he secretly issued instructions to the attendants below the arena.

‘Use Blood Frenzy Toxin.’

Nod.

Watching the demon attendants silently acknowledge the order, Roto cast a sly smile in Vulcan’s direction.

This was exactly why they had dug out the floor to build the underground arena.

Thanks to the distance between the VIP room and the arena, demons could manipulate the matches without detection.

‘Not even a demon noble could detect Blood Frenzy Toxin from this far away.’

After instructing the attendants to rig the match discreetly, Roto approached Vulcan’s side with a friendly smile and sat down.

Suho looked over at him with interest.

“You’re not thinking of joining the game yourself, are you?”

“Yes. It’s rare for something like this to happen, but let’s be honest—what demon wouldn’t covet the bloodstone? Oh, don’t worry. Even if I manage this place, the humans participating in the arena change every round.”

“In other words, no way to rig the match?”

“Exactly.”

Grinning, Roto added his own bet to the table.

He tried to keep his composure, but his eyes were burning with uncontainable ambition.

“I will be the one to learn the bloodstone technique.”

“Well, I admire your honesty.”

Suho chuckled and turned his gaze back to the arena, muttering to himself,

“Yeah, this too is entertainment.”

And then—

[The Queen of Insects, the Plague Monarch, licks her lips at the scent of Blood Frenzy Toxin.]

‘Knew it. They used Blood Frenzy Toxin.’

Hearing Querehsha’s timely message, Suho smirked and responded inwardly.

‘Querehsha, detoxify it.’

Immediately—

[Detoxifying debuff: Blood Frenzy Toxin.]

The poison was purged from the Hunter who had been drugged by the demon attendants.

‘Beru.’

[Did you call, Young Lord?]

‘Let’s do it too.’

[Kihehe.]

With a meaningful glint in his eyes, Ber slipped silently into the underground arena.

And—

Ber hid within the shadow of the Hunter Suho had bet on.

Quite conveniently…

This Hunter happened to be the same one who had gone broke earlier—the one who used the [Beastification] skill.

[Beru uses skill: Ruthless Command.]

[Skill: Ruthless Command increases the target’s stats by 50%.]

[As a side effect of Ruthless Command, the target is afflicted with the Curse of Madness.]

“…Grrrrrgh.”

The Hunter’s eyes began to cloud over with insanity.

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