Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 111

“…Phew. So, this is the country of Hunter Sung Suho.”

Ryo Singh’s face was riddled with complexity as he stepped out of the airport.

Ryo Singh, the raid leader of the Asura Guild.

He was an Indian B-rank hunter who had fought alongside Suho against the Scavenger Guild in Egypt.

Though he had come to Korea to meet Suho, his situation was far from favorable.

“To think I’d end up being demoted.”

The weight of the word “demotion” pressed heavily on him.

Not long ago, he ventured into an Egyptian dungeon to build his track record, only to return utterly defeated, barely escaping with his life.

The guild master of the Asura Guild held him entirely accountable for the failure.

In the process, Ryo Singh reported every detail of what he had experienced.

The unexpectedly perilous difficulty of the pyramid dungeon.

The Scavenger Guild’s tyranny as they monopolized the site.

…Particularly, Ryo Singh repeatedly emphasized the story of Hunter Sung Suho from Korea, who had saved them during their crisis.

He had no other choice.

For Ryo Singh, his connection with Suho was practically the only achievement he could claim from the pyramid.

“Guild Master, he was like the incarnation of Asura himself, an immensely powerful hunter. Without him, that pyramid would have been our grave.”

“The incarnation of Asura? Was that hunter truly that strong? Tell me more.”

As the guild master showed interest in Suho, Ryo Singh passionately spoke about him.

After listening to the story, the guild master stroked his chin with intrigue and nodded.

“Hmm. He certainly seems extraordinary. The fact that you forged a connection with such a hunter is undoubtedly a good thing for the guild. The gesture of gifting him dungeon items to build rapport was a wise choice as well.”

“Th-Thank you, Guild Master!”

“Good. With that in mind, I will assign you a special mission. Ryo Singh! Head to Korea immediately and recruit Hunter Sung Suho.”

“Excuse me? Are you saying I should personally act as the scout?”

“Who else should go but someone who already has a relationship with him? Go to Korea, find out how much his current guild is paying him, and negotiate a suitable offer to bring him on board.”

“…!”

“Oh, and don’t even think of returning until you’ve secured his recruitment.”

The guild master’s final words made Ryo Singh realize the truth.

Though officially framed as a recruitment mission, it was in fact the guild master’s last act of consideration for him.

Still, he couldn’t hold back from asking outright.

“T-Then, what will happen to my position as raid leader in the meantime…?”

“That’s not for you to concern yourself with.”

…He was dismissed.

Ryo Singh had no choice but to accept the reality.

He had tried to build a track record to aim for higher positions, but now he had even lost his role as raid leader.

“…But it’s not over yet.”

Despite the situation, Ryo Singh hadn’t given up hope.

His last remaining chance.

Sung Suho.

“If I can just recruit him, the guild master will recognize me again!”

Having witnessed Suho’s combat skills firsthand, Ryo Singh was certain.

The image of him wielding dual blades, slaughtering enemies, was the very embodiment of the incarnation of Asura.

No one fit the Asura Guild more perfectly than him.

If Suho were to join and achieve great feats for the guild…

“If I recruit him, I’ll rise alongside him.”

Ryo Singh was confident.

Before coming here, he had prepared thoroughly to persuade Suho.

“This must be the ‘Exit.’”

Ryo Singh’s gaze as he read the Korean sign fluently was sharp.

“Only a week! That’s all it took for me to master Korean perfectly.”

Before the Cataclysm, he had been a renowned scholar in India. Learning a new foreign language to a conversational level was hardly a challenge.

“Yes, I can do it! This isn’t a demotion but a new opportunity.”

This was a good thing for Sung Suho as well.

Surely, even he would want to step out of this small country and into the broader world!

Ding.

As soon as he turned on his phone outside the airport, messages from the guild began pouring in as if they had been waiting.

– Ryo Singh, we’ve obtained Hunter Sung Suho’s contact information. Reach out to him through this.

“Hmph. Already? As expected, they’re quick.”

Pride flickered across Ryo Singh’s face.

Indeed, the Asura Guild’s intelligence network was the best in India.

Finding information on a foreign hunter was a simple task.

But then…

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

“Huh?”

The flood of urgent messages that followed made his eyes widen in disbelief.

“W-What is this!”

– URGENT! Information on ‘Sung Suho’ has leaked to the Scavenger Guild.

– URGENT! Thomas Andre is flying to Korea on his private jet.

– URGENT! Thomas Andre has arrived in Korea!

– URGENT! The Korean Hunter Association failed to detain Thomas Andre at the airport.

– URGENT! Currently coordinating with the Korean Association to track Thomas Andre’s movements.

– URGENT! It’s confirmed that Thomas Andre is heading to Sung Suho.

“This… This is a disaster!”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Ryo Singh’s face turned pale.

Recently, the Scavenger Guild had been in a state of panic after their members in Egypt failed to return.

Upon investigation, they discovered that those members had entered the pyramid and vanished along with it.

At that point, the incident might have been left unsolved…

“To think information leaked from our side! Those Scavenger bastards again!”

The Scavenger Guild was notoriously terrible at intelligence gathering.

Ironically, this was because their guild master, Thomas Andre, was close friends with Norma Selner, a famous clairvoyant.

With a prophetic ally by his side, the guild had grown complacent, avoiding the hard work of gathering intelligence themselves.

When they truly needed information, they would resort to seizing it from other guilds in this manner.

Now that things had reached this point, the situation was spiraling out of control.

Given Thomas Andre’s usual temperament, it was unthinkable that he would let anyone involved in the death of his guild members go unpunished.

“Hunter Sung Suho is in danger!”

Ryo Singh urgently tried to contact Suho.

* * *

A while later.

Ryo Singh arrived in the area where Suho was located and was shocked.

“What in the world happened here?!”

Had a storm swept through?

Or perhaps an earthquake had struck only this area?

The shattered and broken pavement.

Asphalt torn to shreds and crushed like spiderwebs.

Everything in sight was half-destroyed, leaving Ryo Singh speechless.

And judging from the circumstances, there was only one person who could have caused such destruction.

“Thomas Andre! He’s already been here to find Sung Suho!”

Ryo Singh calmed his pounding heart and carefully examined the surrounding traces.

Even though he had started from the bottom of the Asura Guild and risen to raid leader in just two years, he was a specialist.

With his keen eye, honed through years of experience, he could deduce what kind of battle had taken place here from even the smallest traces.

‘Fwoosh!’

“I see it!”

Ryo Singh’s eyes widened as the illusion of imaginary figures clashing appeared before him.

First, one thing was clear.

“Thomas Andre stood here and unleashed a mana field!”

Ryo Singh clearly visualized it.

Thomas Andre, a massive silhouette, standing at the center and deploying an overwhelming mana field.

And second.

“The opponent stood here and… withstood that mana field…?”

Wait.

Something was off.

“H-Hold on.”

As he analyzed the scene, Ryo Singh felt chills run down his spine.

“Someone endured that? Thomas’s mana field?”

He rubbed his eyes and checked again—it was unmistakable.

The person who faced Thomas Andre’s mana field had withstood its immense pressure with ease.

In fact, it seemed like they had even engaged Thomas Andre in a contest of strength within the mana field.

The traces on the half-destroyed ground made it clear.

But the outcome of that clash…

“No way.”

Ryo Singh was stunned.

“Is this even possible? To go toe-to-toe with Thomas Andre, the strongest weapon of humanity? How could this be…?”

There were no signs of other skills being used. It appeared to be purely a clash of raw strength.

Even so, it was unthinkable.

No, actually…

“It makes sense!”

As if struck by lightning, Ryo Singh trembled on the spot, realizing a profound truth.

“Of course! Back then, he was holding back to avoid collapsing the pyramid!”

Looking back, Suho had nonchalantly headed off to hunt the enormous centipede beast that had invaded the pyramid.

Ryo Singh distinctly remembered trying to stop him, warning him of the danger.

“So, he really had the confidence to hunt that centipede! Incredible!”

Realizing the full truth, Ryo Singh was no longer lamenting his demotion.

Information is power.

Unintentionally, he now possessed high-level intel that no one else did—Sung Suho was on the level of a “Goliath.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I must recruit Hunter Sung Suho, no matter what!”

Resolving himself firmly, Ryo Singh finally caught sight of Sung Suho.

But seeing how perfectly unharmed Suho was, even after clashing with Thomas Andre, Ryo Singh was once again floored.

“Ryo Singh?”

“Hunter Sung Suho! Namaste!”

Ryo Singh realized this was his moment to showcase his flawlessly mastered Korean skills.

Now was the time for his eloquence to shine.

‘First, I’ll apologize! Then, I’ll offer to protect him from Thomas Andre and propose the recruitment!’

A flawless scenario.

With the utmost sincerity, Ryo Singh began apologizing to Suho.

“Sung Suho! I’m sorry! Thomas Andre—it’s my fault. Are you okay?”

“Uh?”

“Thomas scary! Join us? Asura good!”

“What… are you even saying?”

[Master, this seems to be a new form of voice phishing.]

“Asura good! Join!”

“….”

Suho was left utterly speechless.

“Do I really need to move…?”

Thomas Andre wasn’t the only foreigner who had come looking for him today. This was already the second one, and both were completely out of their minds.

“At this point, my personal information must be public property.”

How had they even gotten his phone number?

How did they know his address?

Come to think of it, even the Black Tortoise Guild, barely recognized domestically, had found their way to his home recently. What couldn’t others do?

But while Suho felt exasperated, for Ryo Singh, this moment was the most serious of his life.

He desperately explained everything to Suho.

“I told guild master. Sung Suho strong hunter. We friends!”

…Though it hardly needed summarizing, it was the best explanation he could give.

[What?! Did you just call him your friend?!]

Beru, who had already been holding back his fury, erupted in anger and burst out from the shadows.

[How dare you shamelessly come here after betraying the young lord?! You wretch—I ought to dismember you limb from limb for this treachery…!]

However…

“What does it mean? I don’t know difficult words. Simple, simple.”

[…What?]

As Ryo Singh tilted his head in confusion, Beru’s killing intent wavered.

Beru reluctantly chose his words.

[Treason. Dismember…?]

“Huh?”

“Too hard. Simple, simple.”

[Rip your arms and legs off and tear your head…?]

“Huh?”

“Even simpler, simpler.”

[…]

This guy really doesn’t speak Korean well, does he?

Beru eventually growled directly into his face, clearly enunciating his words.

[You are. A bad. Human.]

“Right! I’m very bad! Namaste!”

[Kiieeeek!]

Ryo Singh clasped his hands together and bowed deeply, his eyes filled with sincerity, driving Beru to a frenzy as he turned to Suho.

[Young lord! May I chew this fool’s brain out?]

“Before that.”

For some reason, Suho smiled warmly as he looked at Ryo Singh.

“Ryo Singh. Thomas Andre came here to kill me. You knew that, right?”

“I know. I’m very sorry.”

“Just with words?”

“…Huh?”

“Are you only sorry with words?”

Suho’s smile widened.