Chapter 81

“Suho, you heartless brat! How long has it been?!”

“You saw me last month, Uncle.”

“Hahaha! Did I?”

Yoo Jinho burst into hearty laughter as he swept Suho into a hug, looking utterly delighted to see him.

The hunters, suddenly left standing around like so much furniture, could only stare in shock.

'Uncle?!'

Hearing Suho call him Uncle was surprising enough, but what truly threw them was the complete change in Yoo Jinho's demeanor.

'CEO Yoo Jinho has a side like this?'

Who was Yoo Jinho, after all?

He was a legendary figure who had walked away from his conglomerate family to build Ahjin Soft, one of Korea's leading companies, from nothing. He was a meticulous, coldheaded businessman who commanded his employees' complete trust and loyalty.

Yet his customary cool expression had vanished. In its place was a warm, doting uncle, chatting affectionately with Suho.

“You little rascal. You got into art school, so why couldn't you just paint and stay safe? Why take up dangerous physical work? Let me look at you. Are you really all right? Should I call a healer I know?”

Jinho scrutinized Suho from head to toe, but at some point, his concern gave way to fascination as he began poking Suho's muscles.

“Wow, look how solid you've gotten! Your muscles feel like tires. Did you awaken as a tank?”

“It's probably more because I've been working out way too hard lately.”

Suho looked a little sad as he answered. Beneath his shadow, an absolutely merciless gym owner named Ammut was always lying in wait.

“Uncle, what kind of game are you making that has all these hunters coming here?”

“You know FIFA, right?”

“The soccer game? Sure.”

These days, soccer games let people physically move around and play soccer in virtual reality.

“We've been making something similar for the past two years—a virtual reality game featuring hunters. The systems are almost finished, and now it's time to create the characters.”

“Oh, I see.”

Suho finally understood why hunter guilds were coming all the way to a game company and bending over backward to please them.

“Once this game launches, users will get to experience being actual hunters. They'll become real hunters in virtual reality, clearing dungeons and hunting magic beasts.”

The real hunters those characters were modeled on would inevitably gain worldwide recognition.

“That sounds really fun. Anyone who hasn't awakened would want to try it.”

“It'll be a massive hit once it's out. Of course, we still have a long way to go before it's finished.”

Suho was genuinely impressed. It had only been two years since the Cataclysm began. Ahjin Soft clearly hadn't become the top game company by chance.

“So what's the game called?”

Sensing Suho's genuine curiosity, Jinho grinned and answered.

“Solo Leveling.”

“... Solo Leveling?”

Suho's expression grew a little awkward when he heard the title.

“Yep. It's a single-player game. And leveling up is essential if we want players to experience as many different hunter ranks and types as possible.”

Jinho, meanwhile, looked thoroughly pleased with the title he'd come up with.

“Of course, you might wonder what's so special about leveling up in a game. There are countless games like that, right? In the end, this is what matters: how excited can the characters in the game make us?”

As Jinho chattered excitedly, even clenching a fist for emphasis, the chauffeur who had brought Suho here let out a quiet sigh.

'Here he goes again.'

This was, in fact, the real Yoo Jinho. To the outside world, he wore the face of a meticulous businessman, but the moment games came up, his eyes lit up and he became a chattering teenage boy.

“But Solo Leveling is different. We're going to feature real, active hunters as characters.”

Anyone could make an ordinary game about leveling up. But adding that one element of realism could give players a thrilling sense of anticipation. That was precisely why Ahjin Soft was willing to pay hunters' exorbitant fees to collaborate with them.

The funding required was truly immense. It was a colossal project no other game company could even dare attempt.

Suho glanced at the Hyunmoo Guild hunters standing awkwardly behind them. He had wondered why they were fully armed. Apparently, they wanted to impress Jinho with their appearance.

'... This feels strange.'

What a coincidence. For something purely coincidental, didn't the game's title fit his current situation remarkably well?

[Hmm. Hmmm...]

Someone had been watching Jinho intently from within the shadows for a while now.

[... Perhaps it is not a coincidence.]

Beru whispered in a voice only Suho could hear.

'It might not be a coincidence?'

[Indeed. In the now-forgotten timeline, this human, Yoo Jinho, was a lackey who trailed after our king more closely than anyone. If those memories remain in his subconscious...]

A Monarch's memories transcended time. The Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo, exerted a powerful influence on the world simply by existing.

And as Beru had said, of all humans, Jinho had witnessed Jinwoo's battles at his side more often than anyone. Every moment he had seen back then must surely have been among the most intense, exhilarating memories in the entire universe.

And...

[This human wore that very same expression back then.]

Jinho continued his passionate explanation of the game he wanted to make, wearing the same awestruck, excited expression he had worn while watching Jinwoo's astounding battles. It was as though every scene in the game was already vividly etched into his mind.

[How fascinating. It certainly does not seem that his memories have returned... Yet he is trying to express them through a game.]

“Oh! I've been talking too much. Haha. Anyway, that's the sort of game it is, Suho.”

Coming to his senses after his torrent of chatter, Jinho gave a hearty laugh.

“Come on, let's go inside and talk.”

“S-sir! We haven't finished our discussion—!”

As Jinho nudged Suho toward his office, the hunters called urgently after him.

“Oh.”

Only then realizing he had forgotten the hunters, Jinho stopped in his tracks and turned around.

The bright smile he had been directing at Suho vanished the instant he turned toward them. His face hardened, and he regarded them with an icy gaze.

“I have an important engagement, so perhaps you should be on your way. I'll review your proposal thoroughly and contact you at a later date.”

“Ah...”

The dismissal was so firm that it left no room for argument. The hunters could only fall silent.

But there was one exception: Section Chief Lee Youngho of the Hyunmoo Guild. His eyes had been gleaming ever since he recognized the young man who had called Jinho Uncle.

'It's Sung Suho! To think I'd find him here!'

Youngho had tracked down Suho's home address and sent a subordinate there early that morning. However sought-after the recruit might be, there was no reason for him to personally approach a mere C-rank hunter.

For the guild's publicity, securing a collaboration with Ahjin Soft was a far bigger prize than some C-rank hunter.

But the meeting with CEO Yoo Jinho that he had worked so hard to arrange had suddenly been postponed. Then, just a little while ago, his subordinate had even called to report that he'd lost Suho.

'I thought nothing was going right today, but this was a sign from above to settle everything in one stroke!'

Realizing immediately that Suho was Jinho's “important engagement,” Youngho decided to focus his efforts on Suho rather than Jinho.

“Hahaha! Hunter Sung Suho! What a surprise to meet you here! We must be destined to cross paths.”

“Hmm?”

When Youngho suddenly addressed Suho so warmly, Jinho stopped again and turned to look at him.

“Suho, do you know this gentleman?”

Before Suho could answer, Youngho hastily cut in and handed him a business card.

“Haha. Of course, sir. We're about to become very close indeed. Hunter Sung Suho, I'm Section Chief Lee Youngho of the Hyunmoo Guild. We'll offer you the best terms in the industry. How would you like to sign with us?”

“... The best in the industry? For our Suho?”

Something twitched. It was Jinho, rather than Suho, who reacted to the offer. Youngho caught the fleeting twitch at the corner of Jinho's mouth and inwardly cheered.

'It worked! I knew this was the way to win him over! Hehe. I'm just that good, aren't I?'

Some people really were destined for success. Who could have imagined that the great CEO Yoo Jinho was related to Sung Suho?

And the timing was perfect, too—he had come to Ahjin Soft at exactly the right moment for the three of them to meet.

'Hehe. Today's my lucky day. Even the best terms in the industry won't amount to much for a C-rank hunter. If I think of it as the cost of getting close to CEO Yoo Jinho, it's a bargain.'

Smiling brightly, Youngho strode right up to Suho and emphasized his point in a confidential tone.

“Hunter Sung Suho, I hear you only awakened recently. The truth is, we at Hyunmoo rarely recruit inexperienced rookie hunters. But your skills are simply so ex-cep-tion-al...”

Even as he enthusiastically pitched the guild to Suho, all of Youngho's attention was focused on the changes in Jinho's expression. That was how much he had riding on this collaboration.

'Publicity is war.'

For a hunter guild to grow, it ultimately needed plenty of skilled hunters in its ranks—or hunters who wanted to join. Ironically, the most important factor in achieving that was how well the guild promoted its image not to hunters, but to ordinary people.

The public revered hunters, but feared them as well. To ordinary people, hunters were little different from magic beasts who could harm them whenever they chose. Hadn't the villain Lee Minsung just turned that fear into reality?

But no hunter wanted people treating them like a “monster.” They wanted recognition and respect. Hunters made a great deal of money, and once people had money, the next thing they sought was prestige.

'... That's why this collaboration is so important.'

If the Hyunmoo Guild's hunters appeared in the game, how much more familiar would they become to the public? Once that fame spread worldwide, requests to clear dungeons would surely come pouring in from overseas, too.

'And my promotion and salary would follow... Hehe.'

But as Youngho basked in dreams that thrilled him just to imagine, he failed to notice one thing: Suho looked distinctly unimpressed as he held the Hyunmoo Guild's business card.

“Hyunmoo Guild...”

“Haha. Yes, that's our guild's name. With the best terms in the industry, what is there to think about? Just give me a moment, and I'll have an employee bring the contract right over. Oh, and we don't usually offer signing bonuses to C-rank hunters, but we'll make a special exception...”

Youngho kept talking without pause, determined not to give Suho a chance to consider anything else.

That was when it happened.

“Oh.”

The word slipped from Suho's lips.

“I was wondering where I'd heard that name. You're the guild that spied on my home with a drone this morning.”

“Oh dear. Haha. Did my employee really go that far? He must have gotten a little overenthusiastic. I'll be sure to reprimand him—”

“Who did what with a drone?”

Youngho stopped dead, frozen in place by the cold voice that came from beside him.

“Section Chief Lee Youngho of the Hyunmoo Guild. I believe you owe me an explanation.”