Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 114

An archer must possess a sensitivity to their surroundings unmatched by any other profession.

Sensing the opponent’s presence and predicting their next move—this was the very foundation of their skills. Even the direction of the wind had to be accounted for when releasing the bowstring.

In that regard, Im Taegyu took immense pride in his own senses.

He firmly believed that his ability to detect presences was the best in the world.

That was why this situation left him baffled.

‘Better senses than mine?’

Impossible.

No matter how skilled he knew Suho to be, this was beyond reason.

‘…It must be my imagination.’

But it wasn’t just his imagination.

Suho had indeed sensed it faster than anyone else here, and he had a reason for that.

[A new Emergency Quest has arrived.]

The quest had appeared right before his eyes.

[Emergency Quest: Swamp Zone]
A dungeon break has occurred near the player.
Eliminate the swamp zone’s beasts that are contaminating the city and claim your reward.

‘Beasts from the swamp zone, huh.’

It seemed the creatures emerging from the break were beast-type monsters.

Suho calmly assessed the quest, his instincts already fully attuned.

He had become a predator, a hunter sensing prey in the wild.

[‘Title: Wolf Slayer’ buff has been activated.]

Unconsciously, the effect of the title triggered on its own. The scent of beasts, mingled with the mana waves of the dungeon break, filled the air around them.

“Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Where else? A dungeon break just occurred.”

“Didn’t you see how many people already rushed over? They’ll handle it just fine.”

Despite Suho’s determined words, Im Taegyu simply shrugged.

Given the commotion, most of the hunters shopping around Euljiro had likely already rushed to the scene.

Even though dungeon breaks were catastrophic events, with the number of hunters on-site, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

Besides, there was an unspoken rule of etiquette among hunters.

“You probably don’t know yet, but for S-rank hunters like me, it’s good manners to stay out of playground-level fights. And we didn’t even bring weapons with us—hey, wait, are you actually going?”

By the time he realized it, Suho had already grabbed a bow and dashed outside.

Flustered, Im Taegyu chased after him, shouting.

“Hey, that bow you’re holding is worth more than you think!”

“It’s fine! I’ll pay for it!”

At that moment, Ryo Singh pulled out a corporate card and cheerfully added.

“I’ll cover it!”

After quickly paying for the bow Suho had taken, Ryo Singh sprinted after him. Im Taegyu watched the scene unfold, dumbfounded.

“You’re his sugar daddy? No, his sponsor?!”

“It’s fine! Our guild master is rich! Suho is Asura’s bestie!”

“Seriously? If India poaches him, it’ll be a disaster.”

Grumbling with a sour expression, Im Taegyu followed after them. Recently, there had been several cases of promising Korean hunters being poached by other countries for massive sums of money.

From a long-term perspective, this weakened the nation’s defense capabilities—

“Wait for me, you brats!”

Im Taegyu shook off his grumpy thoughts and caught up to Suho in a flash. He reluctantly extended his hand toward the bow in Suho’s grasp.

“You won’t get many shots off with your mana anyway. Just hand it over. I’ll show you what a real archer can—hey, what are you doing?”

Im Taegyu had no idea how many times his nagging had been cut off today.

Suho, standing outside the store, had suddenly aimed his bow at the sky.

That was the direction where the dungeon break was sensed, but with the buildings in the way, there was nothing visible.

With a puzzled look, Im Taegyu questioned Suho.

“You can’t even see anything from here. What are you—”

It was then.

Suho’s eyes gleamed as he aimed at unseen enemies.

“Rise, Quay.”

‘Swoosh!’

From Suho’s shadow, a sharp spear formed from black energy shot forth.

[Quay Lv.3]
Form Transformation—Arrow

“…!”

Im Taegyu’s eyes widened in astonishment.

‘A mana arrow?! No, something’s off!’

Something was definitely wrong. Terribly wrong.

When Suho created the arrow, there had been no sense of mana compression during the process.

‘Creating arrows without consuming mana? That’s impossible!’

As he reeled from the revelation, Quay’s gaze briefly brushed past Im Taegyu’s face.

[…]

Im Taegyu.

Once a friend, their relationship now tinged with love and hate. But it was all in the past, and Quay, as if it didn’t matter, turned its gaze forward again.

Suho grasped Quay, now transformed into a shadow arrow, and nocked it on the bowstring.

‘Twang!’

His shoulders and arms, brimming with muscle, exuded a menacing energy.

“Quay.”

[Yes, Master.]

“Fly and pierce through.”

[As you command.]

‘Whoosh!’

The moment Suho released the string, Quay became a streak of black lightning, shooting into the sky.

Toward the unseen enemies beyond.

‘ ‘ ‘

About 30 minutes earlier.

Near Suho’s home, an ominous calamity was unfolding.

“…Ha. This little rascal.”

Thomas Andre, who had returned to Suho’s house in just a day, wore a grim smile.

Suho wasn’t home.

Even when he extended his senses, Suho’s presence couldn’t be detected anywhere nearby.

“This pathetic brat! Did he seriously run away, even with his mother’s life on the line?!”

‘Rumble!’

The ground trembled as though it might collapse under his fury.

But his secretary, Laura, remained unbothered, casually surveying the surroundings.

She was already accustomed to the tantrums of the so-called strongest man alive.

‘He’s gotten crankier with age.’

Laura swiftly intervened to calm him down.

“Thomas, I don’t think he ran away. Look, there’s a note here.”

“Hmm?”

Only then did Thomas notice a small note attached to the door and squint his eyes.

-Gone out for a bit.

“Out? Not ran away?”

Thomas’s imposing demeanor weakened instantly upon reading the note.

“Ah, I see. Now that I think about it, I only gave my business card to CEO Yoo yesterday and didn’t leave my contact information with Hunter Sung Suho. That must be why he left the note.”

“Ah, so that’s what happened. But where did he go?”

“I’ll find out right away.”

Despite Thomas Andre’s sudden demand, Laura remained unfazed and turned her gaze behind her.

“You there, Team Leader Han Jaehyuk, correct?”

“…Yes.”

A large man awkwardly stepped out from behind the alley, revealing himself. He was Han Jaehyuk, a team leader from the Hunter Association.

“Do you happen to know where Hunter Sung Suho went?”

“…Yes. We’ve already confirmed it.”

“Impressive. I’ve heard a lot about how capable Korea’s Hunter Association is.”

“Thank… you.”

“No need for thanks. I’m just stating the facts.”

Even with Thomas Andre’s seemingly positive remark, Han Jaehyuk couldn’t relax.

‘It feels like I’m handling a ticking time bomb.’

Since Thomas Andre had arrived in Korea the day before, Hunter Association staff had been tailing him relentlessly.

Thomas Andre was a walking natural disaster.

No one could predict what chaos he might unleash in Korea, so they couldn’t afford to take their eyes off him for even a second.

Even yesterday, when he unexpectedly clashed with Suho in this very area, they had been observing from a distance.

Fortunately, Thomas hadn’t appeared to go all-out, so they had only watched. But they had been ready to intervene all at once if necessary, nerves on edge the entire time.

‘Why did this have to happen while the Association President was away…’

Han Jaehyuk sighed, cursing the timing as the president was currently out on a humanitarian mission to North Korea.

It had only been two years since the Great Cataclysm.

Despite the Association’s best efforts, Hunter-related laws were still underdeveloped, riddled with loopholes.

Experts estimated that it would take at least five more years to establish a proper legal framework.

The procedural delays in enacting new laws meant that thugs like Thomas Andre, with his raw strength, could easily disregard minor rules.

And they couldn’t exactly charge him with crimes or throw him in prison.

Frankly, humanity was just grateful that someone like him wasn’t walking the path of a villain and was instead quietly (well, relatively) working as a Hunter.

“So, Mr. Han. Where did that brat run off to after standing me up?”

“…He’s currently in Euljiro.”

Since Thomas Andre didn’t seem to bear any hostility toward Suho, Han Jaehyuk answered obediently.

“Euljiro? What kind of place is that?”

“Euljiro is a special area that sells Hunter-specific equipment.”

“Oh, a weapon shop? That cheeky little guy.”

Thomas’s mood brightened instantly, and he smirked.

If Suho went to buy weapons first thing in the morning, what could that possibly mean?

Laura also nodded in agreement.

“It seems he made up his mind overnight. To join us.”

“Laura, get us a cab.”

“…?”

“Do you think that rookie has any sense for good weapons? Obviously, I’ll have to pick something out for him.”

‘Ah, as expected…’

Han Jaehyuk felt a headache coming on.

The strongest man alive was about to appear in a heavily populated Hunter district.

With an exhausted expression, he sighed deeply and suggested.

“Why don’t you ride with us instead? We’ve prepared a large vehicle.”

“Sure. Lead the way.”

As if he had been expecting this, Thomas Andre strode forward confidently.

With a mischievous grin on his face, he followed Han Jaehyuk to the car.

‘What a tyrant.’

Little did Han Jaehyuk know that everything Thomas Andre had shown thus far was merely playful banter.

As Thomas Andre rode in the Association-prepared car toward Euljiro…

‘Thud!’

“…!”
“…!”

An enormous wave of energy suddenly erupted in the heart of Euljiro.

“Dungeon break!”

The Hunter Association staff instinctively shifted into combat readiness.

Among them, only one person remained calm.

“What’s this? Did they prepare an event for me?”

Thomas Andre looked amused as he stepped out of the car, his excitement palpable.

As soon as he opened the car door, chaos greeted him.

Euljiro was already in pandemonium.

Han Jaehyuk quickly assessed the situation and gave orders.

“Emergency! A swamp zone has appeared in the city center! The beasts are…”

‘Kiaaaaah!’

Before he could finish, monstrous beasts from the swamp zone surged forth, attacking them.

That was when it happened.

“Enhance.”

With a smirk, Thomas Andre swung his massive fist, smashing a beast’s torso.

‘Boom!’

The beast’s body, now missing half of its torso, flew far into the distance.

“…!”

The Association Hunters watched in stunned silence, their eyes wide with shock.

“Oops. Did I hit too hard?”

Thomas scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Hunters from all over Euljiro hurried out to engage the beasts in a full-scale battle.

“Have I mentioned this before?”

With a grin, Thomas leisurely turned to Han Jaehyuk.

“I’ve never let anyone who stands in my way live.”

As he spoke, his fierce gaze locked onto the largest beast among them.

“Is that the boss? A giant snake living in the swamp…”

At the center of the swamp, a massive snake as thick as a log coiled tightly.

Its menacing fangs dripped with blue venom, a chilling sight.

Thomas grinned wickedly.

“Good. Listen up! That thing is mine! Anyone who dares take my prey will…”

Before he could finish, a black arrow shot down from the sky like a thunderbolt, piercing the boss beast.

‘Kiaaaaah!’

“Who’s the cocky brat that dared?!”

Thomas roared furiously, his prey stolen right before his eyes.