Solo Leveling

Chapter 40

- “Are you sure?”

“I’ll be waiting with the phone in hand. Contact me immediately if something happens.”

- “Understood, chief.”

Ahn Sangmin ended the call, then realized he was hungry.

growl

‘Argh, I was too focused on all of this..’

It was already long past lunchtime, but Ahn Sangmin had not eaten, having waited for Sung Jinwoo. He did not know when Yoo Jinho’s team would arrive, so he had not left the spot. Having some free time now, Ahn Sangmin looked around for a place to eat, then settled on a convenience store.

‘Not that I’m trying to save any money…’

Though no one said anything, he felt weird going into a restaurant alone. So, he decided to just get a cup ramen at the convenience store.

He poured the hot water and waited 3 minutes, then was about to dig in when his phone rang.

ring ring

“Dammit! Who the hell? I’m trying to eat here!”

Looking at the phone, it was a familiar name.

[My Right Arm]

‘Hyun Gicheol, you son of a…’

Ahn Sangmin answered with an annoyed voice,

“Did you really miss my voice that much?”

- “Chief, that’s not it…”

“Then what is it, if you’ve called me for no reason, you’re eating cup ramen for a week.”

- “That’s not it, chief! The two just came out!”

Ahn Sangmin, who was about to eat his first bite, froze like a still image of a video.

“What?”

- “Like I said, Yoo Jinho and Sung Jinwoo just came out! Their team’s all preparing to move out!”

He checked his ears. There was nothing wrong with them. He quickly checked the time.

“It’s only been thirty minutes. Are they giving up on the Raid?”

- “No… The Gate is closing.”

How the hell?!

No matter how low the difficulty of a given C-rank Dungeon was, no one could solo clear it in just 30 minutes.

“Check again! Are you sure the Gate is closing?!”

- “Yes, I’m sure. Do you want me to send you a video?”

“...No, it’s okay.”

Ahn Sangmin hung up and stared blankly into the distance.

They cleared a C-rank Dungeon that would take an A-rank Hunter 2 hours to clear in just 30 minutes.

‘Above B-rank my ass…’

Even if he took an objective look at the information so far,

“Above… A-rank…”

This was an unimaginably good fortune.

“Hyungnim, do you have somewhere else to go after this?”

“Hmm? No, why?”

“I’ve never seen you hunt this fast before.”

Yoo Jinho was astonished. He had always known Jinwoo was strong, but today, he seemed stronger than ever.

Well of course.

Jinwoo swallowed a laughter.

‘The magic beasts today were werewolves~’

Wolf Slayer

All stats increased by 40% against beast type monsters.

A title given to a hunter experienced in slaying wolves.

The buff of his title worked against the werewolves. On top of all of the level-ups he had gone through, if the title buff was applied, no C-rank magic beasts could stand against him.

“Whimper!”

“Whiiimper!”

“Yelp!”

Thanks to that, Yoo Jinho had to go from corpse to corpse without stopping, collecting magic cores. If he had 10 more hands, it wouldn’t have been enough. Jinwoo had to spend 5 healing potions on him because of this. The young man even had his hunger satiated by the healing potion, so he didn’t even stop to eat.

‘Well, that’s that...’

Jinwoo raised his head. He felt a presence of someone watching him from somewhere.

‘I don’t sense any magic power, so it’s probably not a Hunter.’

He looked around but didn’t see anyone suspicious. Of course, if he wanted, he could find the man with effort. But not detecting any killing or hostile intent from the man, Jinwoo decided it was not worth the time.

“...”

It could just be nothing.

As if reading his mind, the presence disappeared.

“Hyungnim, what is it?”

“...It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

They had no time to waste. Jinwoo took one last look around the area then got in the passenger seat.

At the second Gate, he did not feel anyone watching him, both before he entered the Gate and after he left it.

‘Was I being too cautious?’

Thankfully, it appeared that it was nothing after all.

Yoo Jinho approached him and bowed his head,

“Sorry, hyungnim, this is it for today. The other Gates are too far.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.”

It would be a while before sunset, but because of the two men’s efforts, all the Gates in the area had been closed, so they would have to call it a day.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Oh, the one who worked hard is the Raid leader.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Thank you, you’ve worked hard.”

After bidding the other Hunters goodbye, Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho got in the car.

“I’ll drive you home, hyungnim.”

Before he knew it, Yoo Jinho had become a faithful driver. The image of him holding the handle was rather fitting. Jinwoo blatantly stared at the young man.

‘To think that the young master of a rich household would become a chauffeur, just so he can become a Guildmaster…’

Stepping on the gas with a smile, Yoo Jinho suddenly realized Jinwoo was staring at him.

“Hmm? Is there something on my face, hyungnim?”

“...No, it’s nothing.”

Jinwoo pretended to not have stared and took out his phone as a distraction.

‘4:46…’

It was too early to go home. Thankfully, there was something he had to do.

‘It was around here, right?’

“Jinho,”

“Yes, hyungnim.”

Yoo Jinho skillfully turned the handle around a curve while answering.

“Let’s go to Mirae Mall.”

“Mirae Mall?”

Yoo Jinho was surprised.

“Yes.”

“Well it is right ahead… You know, you’ve been acting weird all day, hyungnim. Are you sure everything’s alright?”

“...You know, you’ve been getting rather talkative these days.”

And with that, Yoo Jinho’s face became fixed on the road.

“I will take you there with the speed of light, hyungnim. Hold onto your belt!”

Changing his attitude in a flash, Yoo Jinho drove the car without braking. They soon arrived at Mirae Mall.

screech-

The car stopped at their destination. As a mall at the heart of Seoul, Mirae Mall was quite a spectacle. Jinwoo got out of the car, and Yoo Jinho followed. The young man closed the door and walked up to Jinwoo’s side.

“Hyungnim, someday, our Guild should use a building like this for our headquarters.”

Yoo Jinho looked up and down at the mall and made a half-serious joke. But no one replied. Noticing something was off, Yoo Jinho quickly turned toward where Jinwoo was.

“What?”

Jinwoo had disappeared.

“Hyungnim?”

No matter where he looked, Jinwoo was gone.

“Hyungniiiim?”

As the boss was defeated, the Dungeon will return to its normal interior.

‘Two more levels from the mall’s Instant Dungeon.’

Jinwoo’s footsteps on the way home were light with joy. It was the first key he had seen in a while from a Random Box, usable in Mirae Mall. He had wondered when he would go and clear it, and today, the opportunity presented itself.

“Hyungniiiim?”

Remembering Yoo Jinho call after his disappeared self, Jinwoo stifled a laughter.

ring ring

Jinwoo started to answer his phone out of habit, but stopped when he realized it was a number he had never seen before.

‘Who?’

When he was in highschool, he was busy taking care of his little sister in the place of their mother. After graduating, he had started work as a Hunter. Because of this, Jinwoo did not know that many people.

‘There shouldn’t be anyone I don’t know calling me…’

After a brief pause, Jinwoo picked up.

“Hello.”

- “Hello, is this Sung Jinwoo-ssi?”

A clear and well-spoken male’s voice.

Jinwoo immediately hung up.

‘In my experience, 99% of these calls are telemarketing or loan sharks.’

He was about to put the phone away when it rang again.

ring ring

It was the same number.

‘Hmm? Was it not telemarketing?’

Valuing quantity over quality, telemarketing calls usually did not call again after one attempt. They knew that it’d be a waste of time.

‘Then this person might really have a reason…’

This time, he properly answered the call.

“Yes, this is Sung Jinwoo.”

- “Ah, I had the right number. I thought I had the wrong one when you just hung up now, haha.”

“...”

Jinwoo considered for about 2 seconds whether to explain that he had thought the clear and well-spoken voice belonged to a telemarketer.

‘Feels like apologizing for it might sound more rude…’

Soon, the business employee, or rather, the man who sounded like a business employee introduced himself.

- “Ah, I apologize. I have not introduced myself. I am Ahn Sangmin of the Baekho Guild.”

Jinwoo stopped walking.

‘The Baekho Guild is calling me?’

No matter how he thought about it, the Baekho Guild would not have a reason to call him. Only possible relation he had with them was the fact that they were the Guild who helped out the Association during the Double Dungeon incident.

‘But I don’t think they’re calling me about that day after all this time.’

Curiosity was a feeling that invited impatience. Before Ahn Sangmin could continue, Jinwoo asked,

“Why is the Baekho Guild calling me?”

- “It’s a little hard to explain over the phone, could we come to see you and explain?”

Instead of telling him to come over, they were offering to come to him. Jinwoo had no reason to refuse. He would have some free time anyways the day after tomorrow.

‘Jinho said he had some event at home?’

Yoo Jinho had explained that there was a big event that required the attendance of the entire family and apologized for not being able to Raid on Thursday.

‘A big event…’

Imagining a chaebol’s family gathering, Jinwoo imagined a party held in some luxurious banquet hall at a top hotel, like in the dramas. Anyways, he would be free that day.

“I’ll have some free time on Thursday.”

- “That’s er… Are you free right now?”

Right now?

Jinwoo checked the time. It was 8 o’ clock.

“It’s almost eight.”

- “We’re waiting nearby. We just need a moment of your time.”

“Nearby?”

- “It’s a french cafe.”

Ahn Sangmin told him the location. It was a familiar place. After all, it was the place he had met with Yoo Jinho. Jinwoo’s eyes became sharp.

‘He knows where I live.’