Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 79

Hyunmu Guild, Second Management Division.

“Hmm… Where have I seen him? I know I’ve seen him somewhere….”

Manager Lee Youngho of the Hyunmu Guild was deep in thought, watching the large-scale disaster footage captured by a drone.

In the paused footage, three hunters were caught ascending towards the beehive with black wings spread wide.

Two of them were the well-known Im Taegyu and Baek Miho, so he recognized them immediately. The problem was the third hunter.

There was still no known information about the identity of this third hunter.

“It seems like the White Tiger Guild and Reaper Guild are controlling the flow of information.”

“Yes. Even when reporters reached out, they’ve been completely silent in response.”

“So that means….”

“Exactly.”

Manager Lee Youngho and his subordinate exchanged knowing nods.

“It means they haven’t managed to recruit this hunter yet.”

“I think so, too. If he was already one of theirs, there’d be no reason to keep it hidden. They’d be promoting him to advertise their guild instead.”

“Of course. A wing buff is rare.”

As far as anyone knew, neither Im Taegyu nor Baek Miho had a skill that granted them wings.

This meant the third hunter must have cast the buff, and a hunter with the ability to grant flight to others was incredibly valuable, regardless of rank.

In fact, the lower his rank, the better.

The lower his cost, the better his value for money.

“We have to recruit him before any other guilds do, especially the White Tiger Guild.”

White Tiger Guild was famous for only recruiting hunters with beastification skills, but healers and buffing hunters were exceptions.

Especially since this hunter had wing abilities, there was a high chance it was an application of the beastification skill.

In many ways, it was clear that the White Tiger Guild would be interested.

“Get a contract ready for him right now. In the meantime, I’ll dig up his identity.”

“And what about the fee?”

“Why ask? Leave the contract price blank for now. If he’s a rookie who recently awakened, we’ll lowball him as much as we can.”

“Hehe, understood. But how are you going to find out his identity?”

“With my brain.”

Manager Lee Youngho pressed his fingers against his forehead as if using a psychic power, his eyes sharp.

“Did you know? Before the Cataclysm, I was a hairdresser. I remembered the faces and names of every customer I ever had.”

“…Here we go again.”

His subordinate sighed and shook his head as he returned to his seat, all too familiar with this story.

But Lee Youngho had confidence in his eye for detail.

“I’m sure I’ve seen him. I’m certain this face is somewhere in my memory. What am I missing…?”

A panorama of hunter faces flashed through his mind.

‘It’s not someone I met directly. If it were, I’d have remembered right away. Did I see his face on HunterNet or the news? …Aha!’

He finally figured it out.

“I remember!”

Manager Lee Youngho suddenly shot up from his seat, eyes bulging.

“It was that guy! That E-rank summoner who dared mock us!”

“Huh? An E-rank hunter?”

His subordinate, who was printing out the contract, looked at him in confusion.

“Yeah! Haha! That’s exactly it! It was barely a month ago—how could I forget?”

The subordinate still looked puzzled by Manager Lee Youngho’s confident declaration.

“Sir, are you sure? If he’s really E-rank, even if his skill’s impressive, how could he make three people fly? Wouldn’t he run out of mana mid-flight and drop everyone?”

“That’s for you to find out. Do whatever it takes to dig up all his personal information! Other guilds are probably on the hunt too, so hurry!”

“Looks like another late night.”

—

Meanwhile, the White Tiger Guild was also in a frenzy because of Suho.

“Vice President, other guilds keep asking about that hunter’s identity. What should we do?”

“Deny everything. Say we don’t know.”

“That’s… complicated. His face has already been widely publicized… They’re even going around Seoul, questioning every C-rank hunter we gathered, asking if they’ve seen that face before.”

“Just hold on until we recruit him first.”

Baek Miho, the vice president, had been clutching her phone anxiously.

But no matter how many times she tried calling Suho, he didn’t pick up.

– Are you asleep? As soon as you see this message….

She even sent a text, but there was no reply, no matter how long she waited.

“Surely, he didn’t give me a fake number?”

If he had, someone else would have picked up by now.

“Or… no, he didn’t block me, did he?”

No, that couldn’t be!

That was too ridiculous.

“Right. There’s no reason he’d block me. We fought together as comrades, didn’t we? I even gave him a piggyback ride… Wait! Could it be that Im Taegyu’s already scooped him up?”

Thinking of Im Taegyu, Baek Miho’s expression twitched.

If anyone was a comrade from that battle, Im Taegyu was too.

The Reaper Guild had fallen into ruins because of this incident; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were financially destroyed.

The compensation and reparations for the casualties alone must have been astronomical.

‘But they won’t go under completely. Im Taegyu himself is an S-rank hunter, after all.’

A hunter’s true power comes from their strength, not money.

Even if every hunter left the Reaper Guild, as long as Im Taegyu remained, he could rebuild or even start a new guild.

In this situation, there was no way Im Taegyu would let go of an exceptional talent like Sung Suho.

“…Vice President?”

The White Tiger Guild’s HR manager found Baek Miho’s mutterings and anxious expression strange.

“Is this Sung Suho really that remarkable? I mean, sure, a wing buff is rare, but isn’t he just C-rank?”

“He’s not just C-rank.”

Baek Miho replied firmly.

“The hunter rank and wing buff don’t matter. Hunter Sung Suho….”

The other guilds didn’t know anything.

They were only interested in Suho because of his wing buff.

Or because he was the only recruitable hunter among the three who resolved the incident.

They couldn’t recruit Im Taegyu or herself, so they planned to use Suho as a promotional asset for their guild.

But Baek Miho was different.

She had witnessed Suho’s battle up close.

In the fierce battleground that set her blood afire.

“He’s… someone we can’t let anyone else have.”

—

[13 Missed Calls]

“So many calls?”

Having barely escaped from the Shadow Dungeon after his grueling daily quest, Suho checked his phone and raised an eyebrow.

Half of them were from Baek Miho and Im Taegyu, whose numbers he had received, and the rest were from unknown numbers.

[Khehehe! Magnificent! The Young Lord’s popularity is causing the heavens and earth to tremble!]

“Calm down. It’s not that serious.”

While Beru whirled around in joyful laughter, Quay skillfully opened a computer and showed Suho the news on the internet.

[Master, look at this. It seems your face has appeared in various media outlets.]

“Hm, looks like it.”

The internet was buzzing, fueled by the disaster caused by Lee Minseong.

Of course, there had been news about Suho before, but back then, he was only known as Beast King Crow because he wore a crow mask.

This time, however, things were different.

With the famous Baek Miho and Im Taegyu at his side, Suho’s face had been widely exposed.

Quay, watching Suho’s reaction, quickly bowed in apology.

[I am deeply sorry! It seems you encountered difficulties because of my actions!]

[Kieeek! Raise your head, criminal! And die!]

Thunk.

Beru seized the chance to decapitate Quay, but Quay’s head promptly reattached as Suho’s mana drained.

Quay paid Beru no mind, focusing only on Suho.

[Apologies… Were you trying to keep your identity hidden?]

“Not really.”

[Ahem. Right now, the Young Lord is quietly gathering his strength. This is in case the apostles of the Outer Gods are lurking on Earth.]

Beside him, Beru spoke with a mysterious glint in his eye.

[Even as we speak, our king is waging a fierce war against foreign powers in distant space. The gates that opened on Earth are their attempt to strike at our rear.]

Beru gave Quay a grand lecture on the hidden truths of the world.

Quay nodded, taking the solemn lesson from his senior seriously.

Having been influenced by the queen bee’s modifications, he instinctively understood certain truths about the monarchs.

[So those pesky bugs we see around here… are they apostles of the Outer Gods too?]

[No, those are actual bugs.]

[Oh, I see.]

In fact, ever since they left the Shadow Dungeon, both Beru and Quay had sensed something off.

Today, there were unfamiliar presences near Suho’s house.

[Young Lord, it seems we have pests hovering around outside the house.]

“Hmm.”

Suho opened the window slightly to observe the surroundings.

He could sense the presence of people with mana watching him from different corners of the alley.

A cold glint flashed in Suho’s eyes.

“They’re hunters.”

[They seem to be from different places, given how they’re keeping an eye on each other.]

[Master, I recognize some of them. They appear to be scouts from guilds seeking to recruit you.]

“They found my information this quickly?”

Suho was a bit surprised.

It had only been a day since the incident was resolved, yet they had already tracked down his residence.

[That’s what they do. With your face publicized, they probably combed through HunterNet and the association’s records all night.]

Whoosh.

Just then, the sound of wind came from outside the window.

Since Suho hadn’t stepped outside, someone had sent up a drone with a camera attached.

Soon, others followed suit, each releasing their own drones in competition.

They were all trying to confirm if Suho was inside through the window.

“Seriously? Even drones?”

Suho frowned.

“Do hunters not have any privacy?”

[Since the Cataclysm, minor laws are often disregarded under the guise of a global emergency.]

[Kieeek! Shall I take care of them immediately?]

“Don’t.”

Suho grabbed Beru’s antennae, stopping him from rushing outside.

Beru dangled from Suho’s hand, pouting.

[If you attract too much attention, the apostles of the Outer Gods may learn of your existence.]

“If those apostles truly exist, they already know. Besides, as long as it’s not revealed that I’m the Shadow Monarch’s son, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

[Well, that’s true, but…]

Still, Suho had no intention of letting them go unscathed.

‘Ruler’s Authority.’

As Suho extended his hand, an invisible force crushed all the drones flying toward him mid-air.

Crunch!

Boom!

“W-what the…!”

“What just happened?!”

The scouts hidden in the alley shouted in shock as their drones exploded one after another.

[These bugs won’t retreat this easily. You should give them a real lesson.]

Just then.

Buzz—

Suho’s phone vibrated.

“Who now… Hmm?”

Suho glanced at his phone in annoyance, only for his eyes to widen.

[Uncle]

“Uncle?”

It was his uncle.

His father’s only sister’s husband, Yoo Jinho, was calling him.

Yoo Jinho had been a caring guardian for Suho ever since his parents disappeared.

“…He must’ve seen the news.”

Suho’s face showed a trace of discomfort.

He was already bracing himself for the inevitable fuss.