Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 82

“Pr-president…”

Yoo Jinho’s piercing gaze was fixed on him.

As the name of the affiliated guild was clearly uttered from his lips, Lee Youngho’s face grew increasingly pale.

“No matter how chaotic things may be, laws exist to be followed, don’t they? Just like the recent Reaper Guild incident, it seems like hunters these days are living above the law.”

“Th-that can’t be true! Absolutely not, President!”

“If that’s not the case, then what is it? Is it just the Hyunmu Guild acting like this? Spying with drones, you say?”

“Th-that’s…”

Lee Youngho couldn’t find a place to rest his eyes.

Because this morning, it was none other than himself who had personally handed over the drone to his subordinate.

Drones these days are incredibly advanced.

Equipped with ultra-high-resolution wide-angle cameras, recording functions, and vastly improved flight capabilities and control systems. They’ve advanced to the point where, with intentional zooming, you could even spot a single strand of hair inside a house through a window.

With such superior performance, laws safeguarding privacy had naturally become stricter.

But those laws had seen significant changes since the Cataclysm.

Even in the recent Lee Minseong incident, weren’t countless broadcasting station drones floating in the sky for live coverage?

When faced with natural disasters like dungeon breaks, hunters used any means necessary—drones or otherwise—to hunt monsters.

However, no matter how lawless the world had become, spying on an ordinary citizen’s home without permission was still unacceptable.

“Manager Lee Youngho, it seems the Hyunmu Guild doesn’t align with our company. Please leave now, and there’s no need to await our response.”

“Wh-what? President! Please reconsider…!”

“When you see one flaw, you can infer many. If the Hyunmu Guild’s reputation suffers even slightly after our game’s release, it will significantly impact our sales.”

“……!”

Manager Lee Youngho, faced with the possibility of all his hard work being nullified in an instant, lowered his head desperately, as if receiving a death sentence.

“Pr-president! I deeply apologize. This is largely due to my failure in managing my subordinates. My excessive desire to recruit a talent like Hunter Sung Suho might have gone too far. In return, I will personally take responsibility and offer Hunter Sung Suho terms beyond the industry’s best!”

At the mention of Suho’s name, Yoo Jinho’s gaze shifted to Suho beside him.

“Suho, they’re offering the best conditions in the industry. Have you received offers from other guilds?”

But that wasn’t even a question.

Before Suho could answer, Yoo Jinho continued speaking.

“Whatever it is, don’t sign anything. I can’t bear to see you being sold off for mere pennies, even if they’re industry-best pennies. If it comes to that, I’ll start a guild for you myself.”

“Huh? A Hunter guild?”

Suho looked puzzled at the unexpected proposal.

“Yeah. If companies can own professional baseball or soccer teams, why not a Hunter guild?”

Yoo Jinho was serious.

Though it might have sounded impulsive, the idea had already come up in previous planning meetings.

As Yoo Jinho turned his gaze to the hunters from the Hyunmu Guild standing behind him, his expression turned cold once again, as if nothing had happened.

“Are you still here?”

“Pr-president, please reconsider just once more…”

Manager Lee Youngho pleaded desperately, clinging to any last strand of hope.

But Yoo Jinho’s decision wasn’t driven by a mere personal grudge against their persistence in pestering Suho.

“You must have heard my explanation earlier. The ‘Solo Leveling’ game is an immensely critical project.”

It was a thorough business decision.

“This means there can’t be even the slightest controversy surrounding the hunters featured in the game. In that sense, the behavior of the Hyunmu Guild is precarious. Please leave.”

“…”

A cold blade of words lodged itself into their hearts.

Manager Lee Youngho realized there was no longer any way to sway him.

All he could do was leave Ajin Soft with the hunters he had brought, dragging his feet in defeat.

And grind his teeth, wondering how to punish the subordinate he had sent to Suho’s house earlier.

—

Yoo Jinho escorted Suho into the president’s office.

“Alright, Suho. Now that the nuisances are gone, why don’t you tell me how things have been lately?”

A secretary brought coffee as they sat face to face.

“How’s life as a Hunter? Is it tough?”

“I’m managing.”

“Managing, you say? I saw the news—it looks like you’re living way too dangerously. You’re just a C-rank, but somehow you’re constantly stuck between S-rank and A-rank threats.”

Despite Suho’s calm response, Yoo Jinho clicked his tongue and looked at him with pity.

To Yoo Jinho, Suho was a source of bittersweet affection.

The boy, Sung Suho, whom Yoo Jinho had watched grow up, had been a remarkable kid raised with a good character under a strict father and a loving mother.

He never even rebelled during his teenage years, an age where such behavior was common.

Of course, his father was an extraordinarily strict man.

A police officer, and a legendary detective who single-handedly subdued entire gangs with sheer strength.

“And yet, how did it come to this…”

Looking at Suho, whose face strongly resembled his father’s, Yoo Jinho felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Years ago, disaster struck the seemingly perfect life of Suho.

His parents went missing.

At first, no one could believe it.

They were such a close couple that it wasn’t unusual for them to spontaneously travel together.

But as days turned into weeks, their absence became undeniable.

From that moment on, Yoo Jinho used every connection and resource he had to search for them.

But no matter how hard he searched, not a trace of them was found.

Eventually, Yoo Jinho resolved to take responsibility for Suho himself. He was the one who recognized Suho’s artistic talent and encouraged him to prepare for an art college entrance exam.

‘I never imagined he’d end up at Korea University.’

Whether it was thanks to his immersion in art or the world-shattering disaster of the Cataclysm that overshadowed his parents’ disappearance, Suho fortunately grew up without harboring any darkness in his heart.

“How’s aunt?”

“Your aunt… she’s still busy searching for your parents,” Yoo Jinho replied hesitantly, pulled back from his thoughts by Suho’s sudden question.

“Ah.”

At that, Suho’s expression hardened as well.

It was natural. To Suho, they were his parents, but to his aunt, Sung Jinah, they were her brother and sister-in-law who had gone missing.

A close relative vanishing overnight—there was no way Sung Jinah would just sit still and wait. At first, she trusted the police and waited patiently, but recently, she had even hired private investigators and hunters to scour every corner of the world.

“Hmm.”

Yoo Jinho noticed something unusual. Suho’s reaction seemed a bit different from usual when his parents were brought up. His eyes narrowed.

“What’s with that expression? Did you find something out?”

“N-no, nothing like that. It’s just… I was wondering if it might be better to focus more on looking for my mother than my father.”

“…Your mother instead of your father?”

“Yes. Somehow, I can’t bring myself to worry too much about my father, no matter where he might be.”

“You’ve got a point there. We’ve already considered the possibility that the two might have disappeared separately. Don’t worry too much—we’re even looking into whether they might have been caught up in a dungeon break.”

“A dungeon break?”

“Yes. While their disappearance happened before the Cataclysm, some experts have suggested that occasional gates might have already been opening sporadically on Earth even before the Cataclysm. We’re investigating that angle too, so don’t worry too much.”

Suho nodded at that explanation.

‘Father is one thing, but the possibility that my mother got caught in a dungeon is quite high.’

Suho recalled something Beru had told him.

‘Now that I think about it, Mother was already aware of Father’s true identity, wasn’t she? And people who awakened during the Forgotten Time often awakened again now. That means…’

Awakening was ultimately a matter of talent.

If someone had a high affinity for mana, they would eventually awaken, regardless of when it happened.

‘And if Mother was once an S-rank Hunter, she must have regained that power.’

An S-rank Hunter could survive anywhere on Earth, no matter the conditions. But if it wasn’t Earth, then the story changed.

‘Eventually, I’ll need to investigate the dimensional rift.’

Tap.

“Anyway, Suho.”

Yoo Jinho abruptly placed his coffee cup down on the table with a decisive thud, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

“About what I said earlier—I meant it. I’ll create a guild for you, so don’t bother joining some troublesome one.”

“What? Uncle, wasn’t that just something you said in the heat of the moment?”

“Sure, it might have been a bit of an emotional statement, but we’ve been thinking about establishing a Hunter guild for a while now. This might be the perfect chance.”

Yoo Jinho pulled out a file and placed it in front of Suho.

[Hunter Guild Establishment Proposal]

“You see this? It’s still in the preliminary planning stages, but I’ll make sure it kicks off right away.”

“Oh, so you were serious.”

The proposal was impressively thick, showing a significant amount of preparation had already been done.

“Of course, since your rank is too low, I can’t make you the guild leader, but I’ll assign you the best senior hunters to help you out.”

Yoo Jinho’s expression was brimming with pride, almost as if to say, “Aren’t you glad to have such a rich uncle?”

And then suddenly—

[There’s no need for such people.]

“…!”

From Suho’s shadow, Beru abruptly emerged, glaring at Yoo Jinho.

[The Little Monarch has me.]

“I-is that…!”

Yoo Jinho’s eyes widened as he leaped out of his seat at the sight of Beru.

Seeing his exaggerated reaction, Beru’s gaze turned sharp.

[You… could it be that you remember—]

“Pfft! Suho, you’ve done it again!”

[Huh?]

Yoo Jinho burst into laughter, pointing at Beru as he addressed Suho.

“You kept drawing ants all the time, and now you’ve actually summoned one! Is this some kind of ant-summoning skill? Hahaha!”

[…He only drew ants?]

Now it was Beru’s turn to look at Suho with wide eyes before suddenly rushing over and clinging to Suho’s head, tears streaming down his face.

[Little Monarch! You missed me so much that you drew me all this time?]

“Well… let’s just say it was an unconscious instinct.”

Creating a game or drawing ants—it all seemed to come from the same place. Embarrassed, Suho forcibly pried Beru off and stuffed him back into his shadow.