The goblin pondered for a second, then he stood up from the chair, speaking in the same serious tone. "I can directly show you."
"What?" Noah asked, his brows still furrowed. The goblin didn't respond. Instead, he casually flicked his fingers in front of Noah's eyes.
Flick.
The flick calmly rang out in Noah's ear, his vision blinding.
Before Noah's black eyes, the sterile office room vanished in a blinding flash. And in the next moment, he was standing atop a high-rise building.
'What the.' He staggered lightly, trying to steady himself even as the wind brushed past him. The wind carried a hint of iron and ash, clearly different from any regular smell you get from such a height.
"At least give me a warning next time," Noah muttered, letting out a shaky breath, his heart still pounding in his chest.
Beside him, the goblin stood, calm and collected as usual. His green eyes glinted behind his glasses, a hand tucked casually into his pocket as he gazed at the distance with a faint smile. His suit fluttered against the wind.
"So? What do you think?" the goblin asked, staring at the sky.
Noah didn't answer but looked at the sky where the goblin was gazing. And then he saw it, his eyes widening at the sight.
'This… It looks much more terrifying to see than those still pictures…' Noah took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
In front of his eyes, Noah saw the deep, swirling mass of gray clouds. Stretching as far as the eyes could see, the swirling mass of gray clouds was like a giant black hole, the space around it twisting and flashing with deep purple lightning.
With a deep breath, Noah turned his eyes to the ground.
Beneath the twisting and writhing gray sky, the land wasn't any better.
From his place, Noah could see countless monsters, each different but ferocious. Some looked like orcs, others like ice elves, and even giants. The army of monsters stretched far into the horizon, the ground and landscape twisted beyond belief.
Noah instantly realized where this place was. "Is this the battlefield of Rulers and Monarchs?" Noah asked, his gaze uplifting as the sky tore apart.
"You guessed it right." Answered the goblin, staring at the swirling gray clouds as 'they' emerged through them.
Beings clad in silver armor, each with wings behind them, flew through the sky like angels.
The Rulers' army had emerged, and it didn't take time for the war to escalate. The war between the protectors born from light and the destroyers emerging from darkness.
"Why are you showing me this?" Noah asked, the winds picking up from his back. "This doesn't seem any different from the canon Solo Leveling." He spoke, his gaze calm but cautious.
"Because of that." The goblin pointed at the sky above him.
Noah raised his brows, his eyes scanning the gray sky, searching for any difference besides the army of silver warriors.
"What are you talking abou—" But before Noah could finish, his eyes caught a glimpse of a dark cloud, a figure as massive as a ship.
SWOOSH
The wind howled, booming loudly as the enormous figure of a shadow dragon flew above him, breaking the sound barrier like nothing.
'A shadow dragon? No, it's a wyvern!' Noah staggered again, the howling wind brushing past him. But he stood his ground, his gaze never leaving the shadow wyvern, which was flying at a terrifying speed, the large body of its enormous being directly crashing into the army of monsters.
"Ashborn?" Noah muttered, gazing at the place where the wyvern landed. Noah narrowed his eyes, it had to be it, after all who can control shadow creatures aside from him…
The wyvern, a proud creature of the sky, lowered its head to the ground respectfully, as if announcing the presence of a king. And then Noah saw it.
A figure clad in pitch-black armor, exuding a powerful aura. The Shadow Monarch had announced his presence, and with a single tap of his foot, the shadow beneath his feet stretched into a large pool of endless dark ocean.
Figures decked in the same deep purple armor and aura as menacing as death, rose up from the endless dark ocean. The shadow army had also announced their presence on the battlefield.
But that wasn't what surprised Noah—it was the one leading the shadow army. Instead of the one who leads the army of shadows with his commanding presence, Noah saw a very familiar face.
"Wait… that's not Ashborn. Why is Sung Jin-Woo there?" Noah's eyes widened, a deep frown on his forehead.
"Hey, what is the meaning of this?" Noah asked, his eyes narrowed on the goblin beside him. "I don't understand. Why is Jin-Woo here and not Ashborn? Isn't this the war between Rulers and Monarchs? Then why is Sung here when Ashborn is supposed to be fighting instead?"
The goblin turned his gaze, explaining calmly. "Because this place is Solo Leveling's Earth. And Ashborn has already passed his powers to Jin-Woo."
Noah blinked, his mind processing the information. "Then what the hell happened here?" Noah sighed, his head hurting. "Alright, now spill the beans already. I need to have a full grasp of this thing."
The goblin nodded. "You know how the canon story of Solo Leveling went, right?" the goblin said. "It's the same, just some slight changes."
"And what changes are they?" Noah asked in annoyance, staring at the brutal war unfolding before his eyes.
"As you know, in the canon, the Monarchs had descended to Earth by directly taking over their vessels. Of course, except for Antares—he had to wait because his vessel wasn't capable of holding his full power."
"The Monarchs at that time were hunting the Rulers' vessels—the national rank hunters. And in some conflict, after finding Ashborn's vessel, Sung Jin-Woo, they also decided to hunt him. Which led to their demise."
The goblin explained. "Because of Ashborn passing his powers to Jin-Woo at the last second of his death and being reborn as the new Shadow Monarch, Sung killed all three who had come to hunt him: the Beast Monarch, the Frost Monarch, and the Plague Monarch."
"But this altered universe's story is slightly different."
Noah focused his attention on the goblin.
"This time, no Monarchs came to Earth. They waited for the Earth to fully soak up the necessary amount of mana for their full descent." The goblin paused, taking a second to breath. Before speaking again.
"They all planned that when the mana reached full density for their arrival, all of them would descend onto Earth with the full force of their armies." the goblin finished.
Noah's eyes widened, but quickly a frown appeared. "And what about Ashborn? If the monarchs planned to wait. Then how did Ashborn passed his powers to Sung?" Noah asked, his black eyes staring at the goblin.
The goblin smirk. "Smart one aren't you? Usually the other people in your place would be too dumbfounded to think with their brains." The goblin praised, before continuing.
"It's not a grand scheme or anything, in fact it is similar to how it played out in the canon."
"Kandieru or also known as the Architect, had offered to help Ashborn find a suitable vessel for him. It was the same in this universe's story too." Shrugged the goblin casually
The frown on Noah's forehead didn't ceased, instead it only grew deeper, as his brain process this information. "This is a mess. " Noah ran his hand through his hair, before sighing and turning his eyes to the battlefield.
"first of all. What the fuck were those damn Rulers were doing?" Noah asked, his eyes dark. "And the second of all, why the fuck you wanna send me there?"
The goblin laughed, not saying anything. Just laughing. "kekeke… You will find the answers after being reborn." The goblin turned his green eyes at Noah, a crooked grin on his face.
"Also, one more key piece of information," the goblin smirk. "Every Monarch is a lot stronger in this universe."
Noah wanted to slap the goblin in front of him, but he controlled himself. "Fuck you." Noah said, his eyes twitching.
The goblin didn't respond, just smiled at Noah. And then, like the same way he had flicked his fingers, he again raised his hand in front of Noah and flicked it calmly.
"You will be reborn as an ant on Jeju Island. Just after the third failed attempt of the Jeju Island raid."
Noah's eyes widened again, but this time all the calmness was gone, replaced by horror. He wanted to reach out to give the damn goblin a punch, but his vision flashed.
"You son of gob-"
Noah wanted to punch him, but at last, he wasn't fast enough before the darkness claimed him.
"Haah~" The goblin let out a sigh, a big smile on his face. "I love my fucking Job."
...
Authors note.
Yeah, it's AU. Also, the first 10 chapters will be a bit of info dump. So, don't expect immediate action. That's all.