Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 29

There was a minor (maybe?) incident for a moment, but then the aftermath proceeded swiftly.

The Hunter Association realized that the guardians were not demons and promptly received guidance from the guardians to arrive at the factory.

“……But where are the demons?”

When they arrived at the factory, there were only traces of battle and no signs of demons.

As the hunters looked at the guardian suspiciously, the guardian looked awkward.

“Well, yeah. Did they all run away?”

[Growl.]

Although Verga was openly trimming his fur next to them, no one suspected him.

They just thought he was the size of a stuffed doll.

“Well, we did come too quickly. We responded immediately after receiving the report.”

[Growl.]

Although Verga was openly licking his paw next to them, no one suspected him.

It seemed that he was just a bit bloated, but he was always like that.

“Still, we secured the scene, so that’s fortunate.”

In fact, this was a significant achievement.

They found the factory where stardust was being produced for the first time.

Moreover, they exposed the shocking fact that people were sacrificing their lives during the manufacturing process.

“Thank you very much.”

After a while, the Hunter Association called together all the hunters present at the scene, including the guardians and Assistant Lim, and expressed their gratitude.

“Thanks to your report, we will be able to prevent many crimes in the future. From now on, our Association and the police hunters will do our best to investigate.”

Then they added one more thing.

“And you will receive a reward for this incident.”

It turned out that there was a reward for those who reported the crime.

“Well, that’s good. I should buy meat for those poor guys with this money.”

Thinking of the extraterrestrial beings that they had trapped in the shadow dungeon, the last descendants of the fang clan, or the surviving demon nobles, the guardian nodded his head.

To Suho, they were nothing more than hungry refugees.

English translation:

When he opened his eyes, he was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Ugh.”

“Team leader, are you okay?”

Team leader Han Jae-hyuk struggled to sit up in bed.

White walls and the smell of disinfectant.

He was in a hospital.

Han Jae-hyuk looked at his subordinate with a bewildered expression.

“Why am I here?”

“Don’t you remember? You fainted, sir.”

“Fainted?”

“Yes. You were knocked out with one punch.”

“Oh.”

Finally, he remembered what had happened.

“That damn crow!”

Han Jae-hyuk jumped up from the bed and shouted.

“What happened to that devil?!”

“He wasn’t a devil, sir.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The hunter we went to find was that person.”

“….?”

The subordinate explained everything that had happened while he was unconscious.

Then Han Jae-hyuk’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“What? What did you just say?”

“What do you mean?”

“A summoner? Who’s a summoner?”

“You don’t know? The hunter who knocked you out with one punch, sir.”

“What?”

It seemed like there had been a misunderstanding.

Han Jae-hyuk’s face looked dumbfounded.

“I was knocked out by a summoner? Me, Han Jae-hyuk?”

“Yes, sir. So please don’t let your guard down and use your skills more aggressively next time.”

“I did use my skills!”

“What do you mean?”

“I used my skills!”

At this point, even the subordinate looked confused.

“But why did you faint? You’re a C-rank tanker, sir.”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

“Then you really used your skills and still got knocked out with one punch? Does that make sense? He was an E-rank hunter.”

“E-rank? Are you kidding me?”

Team leader Han Jaehyuk glared at his subordinate with a fierce expression.

But the subordinate just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Why would I joke after spending a lot of money on a meal? I checked his hunter license, and he was really an E-rank. What was his name? Seong Sooho?”

“Seong Sooho?”

When he heard that name, Han Jaehyuk’s mind flashed with a face.

Coincidentally, it was the name of the rookie E-rank hunter whom he had directly measured the magic power of just a while ago.

‘No way.’

“That’s right. That person.”

“…!”

“I’m not making this up. You were with me at the time, team leader. Seong Sooho, the E-rank hero from the Korean dungeon where we directly measured his magic power, is the one who made you pass out.”

“R-really? He was a college student at the time? How on earth?”

Han Jaehyuk’s expression showed disbelief.

But the subordinate replied with a groan.

“It must have been a measurement error. Otherwise, how could a hunter who only has an E-rank take down the team leader who even used a skill with his bare fist? I expect him to be at least a C-rank.”

“No, even if you say that, who would have made me pass out…?”

“Anyway, I apologized on his behalf. I told him to come back and get re-measured at the association later. That’s it for the briefing while you were unconscious.”

“….”

“I’ll be leaving now.”

“….”

His wounded pride did not return.

Han Jaehyuk, who had passed on all the work to his subordinates and slept soundly, murmured dejectedly as he watched his subordinate leave immediately after finishing his work.

“These young people these days…”

And then he suddenly remembered the moment he had passed out.

“E-rank was a measurement error?”

Well, that’s okay.

It happens sometimes, though not often.

But there was still one question lingering in his mind.

“He was definitely a summoner…”

Given the fact that there was also a large summon creature like a hyena right next to him, he was certain that he was a summoner.

But how?

“How did he have such power? Could that strength be some kind of variation of summoning skill?”

Hmm.

Team leader Han Jae-hyuk stroked his chin and recalled the appearance of Sung Soo-ho he had seen at the hospital.

“A fairly decent-looking ordinary college student.
He had a tall stature and a moderately toned physique.
But that was it.
At first glance, he didn’t seem like a hunter with great power.
‘…Well, I’ll find out someday.’
But he had a memory that suddenly came to mind.
The day they measured Sung Soo-ho’s magical power, the customary greeting he gave as he parted ways with him.
-Then, Mr. Sung Soo-ho, I look forward to your good deeds in the future.
Just like that day, a warm smile came to the corners of Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk’s mouth.
“…This is really something to look forward to.”
He was really looking forward to what kind of hunter he would become.
And then, the Assassins Guild.
Vice President Lee Min-seong was furious to the tip of his head.
“What?! Why did the factory, which was working fine, suddenly disappear?”
“Well, that… the Association received a report from the hunters…”
Pfft!
“Click!”
Lee Min-seong kicked the belly of the man who was making excuses in front of him and then trampled his body against the wall, shouting like a whale.
“So what? What’s the association? Do these bastards think I’m a pushover? If they took the money, they should have brought the goods properly no matter what!”
“Oh, my! Vice President! We’re really victims too! The devils in the factory disappeared overnight without a trace?”
The A-rank hunter’s violent footsteps were too terrible to be called a simple outlet of anger.
If the man being trampled on wasn’t a hunter, his heart would have stopped with the first blow.
After venting like that for a while, Lee Min-seong finally fainted, and he slapped his cheek and grabbed him by the collar to wake him up.
“Haa. So what happened to all the devils?”
“Coo. That, that… um, they say the hunters who happened to be passing by found the location of the factory and fought the demons, rescuing survivors.”
The employee hurriedly vomited out everything he knew.
Lee Min-seong’s eyes narrowed as he heard all the information.
“By chance, hunters passing by found the location of the factory?”
“Yes. I heard they fought demons and rescued survivors.”

“Do you think that makes sense?”

“Well, um…”

“Tsk.”

Min-seong’s anger, who had grabbed the man’s collar, started to boil again.

“Just a C-class healer and ten demons from the leader attack squad? And the leader is only C-class, and the other nine are D-class and E-class gatherers, just a bunch of low-level hunters?”

“Well, I also…”

“So what?”

“I also don’t think it makes sense!”

The man closed his eyes tightly in response to Min-seong’s liveliness and shouted.

Only then did Min-seong release his collar.

Then, he straightened his collar as if asking when he had gotten angry, and asked in a soft voice.

“So what do you think? You need to come up with a better opinion this time if you want to survive.”

“Well, I think maybe the association was just fooling around.”

“Hmm?”

“As you know, the association guys have been chasing the source of stardust. But somehow, they found the location of the factory this time.”

“So?”

“But if they openly investigate stardust, which is still not illegal, guilds that handle stardust like us will be constrained. So…”

“So they put up some weaklings as scarecrows and pretended to move after receiving the report?”

“Yes! That’s exactly it!”

“Okay. That makes sense.”

Min-seong nodded as if convinced.

“Okay. I’ve seen those demons in person too. They were guys that couldn’t be dealt with at the level of mere low-level hunters.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So?”

“What?”

“Of course, there must be a plan, right?”

Min-seong’s terrible aura spread towards the man again.

“O-of course! There is more than one factory. The Seoul Station field was convenient for delivery because of the subway line, but if you look around, demons have hidden stardust factories everywhere.”

“Everywhere? Anyway, it’s really hell Joseon. Why are there so many demons?”

Finally, Min-seong laughed satisfactorily.

But his eyes looking at the man were not laughing at all.

“Let me say this again, I only helped you guys because of stardust, you know that, right?”

“Well, of course… We’re always grateful to you, Vice President.”

“Then do your job. If I saved a drowning dog, shouldn’t I repay the favor?”

“Growl!”

As soon as he spoke, hair began to sprout from the man’s face and he transformed into a werewolf.

The man was none other than a thug from the Hyena Guild, who was being chased by the organization.

However, he had nowhere to go now and had become a faithful dog to Lim Min-sung, the vice-president he had been dealing with.

But his true intentions were different.

“Darn it, this is bad. The power of blood will completely disappear in a few days.”

The ability of the Hyena Guild members, who turned into werewolves after drinking the blood of the Fang tribe, only lasted for ten days.

If they didn’t regularly drink blood every ten days, they would not only lose their beast transformation skills, but also become ordinary people.

If Lim Min-sung found out about this, he would undoubtedly turn on them mercilessly.

“Before that, we have to do something. We have to find that wolf cub that disappeared in Mt. Gwanak or find a trace of another lord like him.”

It was a dreamlike situation.

Lim Min-sung, who was facing the werewolf, and the werewolf himself were each pondering their own goals.

At that time, Suho…

came into the butcher shop with the reward money he received.

“Hello, welcome~”

The butcher, who was in the middle of processing meat, greeted Suho with a friendly smile.

“What kind of meat would you like?”

“A whole pig… Can you even sell it that way?”

“….?!”

“No, make it two.”