Chapter 82

“S-sir...”

Yoo Jinho was glaring at him with icy fury. Hearing him pronounce the name of his guild so distinctly made Lee Youngho grow paler by the second.

“Even in times like these, laws exist to be obeyed, don’t they? Between this and the recent Reaper Guild incident, it seems hunters these days think they’re above the law.”

“O-of course not! Absolutely not, sir!”

“Then what is it? Is it just the Hyunmoo Guild? Where exactly were you spying with that drone?”

“W-well...”

Section Chief Lee Youngho didn’t know where to look. After all, he was the one who had personally put that drone in his subordinate’s hands this morning.

Drones these days were remarkably capable. Beyond their ultra-high-resolution wide-angle cameras and audio recording functions, their flight capabilities and controls had improved enormously. With enough zoom, they could now peer through a window and pick out a single fallen hair in any corner of a home.

Naturally, such advanced capabilities came with an extensive framework of privacy regulations. But the situation surrounding those laws had changed considerably since the Cataclysm.

During the recent Lee Minsung incident alone, countless broadcasting drones had filled the sky to provide live coverage. When faced with something like a dungeon break—a disaster on the scale of a natural catastrophe—hunters used any means available to hunt magic beasts, drones included.

Even in a world like this, however, spying on an ordinary citizen’s home without permission was unacceptable.

“Section Chief Lee Youngho, I’m afraid the Hyunmoo Guild isn’t a good fit for our company. Please leave. There’s no need to wait for us to contact you.”

“What? Sir! Please, reconsider that, at least...!”

“One thing tells you everything you need to know. If the Hyunmoo Guild’s reputation suffers even slightly by the time our game launches, it could seriously hurt sales.”

“...!”

With all his hard work threatening to go up in smoke in a single day, Section Chief Lee Youngho hastily bowed his head, looking as though he had just been sentenced to death.

“S-sir! Allow me to apologize on their behalf. This is largely my fault for failing to manage my subordinates. I think our eagerness to recruit someone as talented as Hunter Sung Suho got the better of us. To make up for it, I’ll personally guarantee him the best terms in the industry—no, better than that!”

At the mention of Suho’s name, Jinho turned to his nephew beside him.

“Suho, he says they’ll offer the best terms in the industry. Have any other guilds made you offers?”

But it hadn’t really been a question. Before Suho could answer, Jinho continued.

“Whatever they offer, don’t sign anything. Best in the industry or not, I won’t stand by and watch you get sold off for pocket change. I’d rather set up a guild for you myself.”

“What? A hunter guild?”

Suho looked puzzled by the unexpected offer.

“Yes. Companies sponsor professional baseball teams and establish soccer teams. Why shouldn’t we start a hunter guild?”

Jinho meant it. Though he had spoken on impulse, it was also one of the proposals already raised at a planning department meeting.

As he finished, he turned toward the Hyunmoo Guild hunters standing behind them.

“Are you all still here?”

His expression turned cold again, as though his earlier warmth had never existed.

“S-sir, if you would please reconsider just one more time...”

Section Chief Lee Youngho pleaded desperately, as though clutching at his last lifeline.

But Jinho’s decision wasn’t merely driven by the personal grievance that they had bothered Suho.

“You’ve heard my explanation, haven’t you? Solo Leveling is an extremely important project.”

This was strictly business.

“That means there cannot be even the slightest hint of scandal surrounding the hunters who appear in it. In that respect, the Hyunmoo Guild’s conduct is rather concerning. Please leave.”

“...”

It felt like an icy dagger had flown into his chest.

Section Chief Lee Youngho realized that nothing he said would make a difference now. All he could do was trudge out of Ahjin Soft with the hunters he had brought along—and grind his teeth as he contemplated how to kill the subordinate he had sent to Suho’s home that day.

* * *

Jinho brought Suho into his office.

“Now then, Suho. With those nuisances gone, how about we relax and catch up?”

A secretary brought coffee as the two sat facing each other.

“How’s life as a hunter? It must be hard.”

“It’s manageable.”

“Manageable, my foot. From what I saw on the news, you’re taking far too many risks. You’re only C-rank, so how did you end up pushing yourself so hard alongside S-rank and A-rank hunters?”

Despite Suho’s composed answer, Jinho clicked his tongue and regarded him with sympathy.

Suho... held a particularly tender place in his heart.

Jinho had watched Sung Suho grow up from childhood, and he was proud of the fine young man the boy had become under his strict father and affectionate mother. He hadn’t even gone through the usual teenage rebellion or gotten into trouble once.

Of course, his father was the strictest man in the world. A police officer by profession, he was a legend in the violent crimes division who had beaten even the most fearsome gangsters into submission.

‘How did things end up like this...?’

Looking at Suho’s face, so much like his father’s, left a particularly bitter taste in Jinho’s mouth.

A few years ago, misfortune had suddenly struck Suho’s life after he had grown up comfortably, wanting for nothing.

His parents had disappeared.

At first, no one could accept it. The couple had always been exceptionally close and sometimes went on spontaneous trips together.

But one day passed, then two. Weeks went by, and they still hadn’t returned.

That was when Jinho began pouring money into the search and calling on every connection he had. Yet no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find the slightest trace of them.

Afterward, he resolved to take responsibility for Suho in their place. He was, in fact, the one who had recognized Suho’s artistic talent and encouraged him to prepare for art school entrance exams.

‘Though I never imagined he’d make it into Hankuk University.’

Perhaps it was thanks to how deeply he had immersed himself in painting. Or perhaps it was because the Cataclysm—a disaster far more incomprehensible than his parents’ disappearance—had engulfed the world soon afterward.

Thankfully, Suho had grown up well without straying down a darker path.

“Is Aunt doing well?”

“Ahem. Your aunt...”

Lost in thought, Jinho couldn’t help being flustered by Suho’s sudden question.

“... Well, she’s still busy searching for your parents.”

“Oh.”

Suho’s expression stiffened too.

It was only natural, really. They were Suho’s parents, but to his aunt, Sung Jinah, they were her older brother and his wife.

Jinah wasn’t the sort to sit quietly and wait after her immediate family vanished overnight. At first, she had trusted the police and waited, but these days she was hiring private investigators and even hunters to scour the entire world.

“Hmm.”

But what was this?

Noticing that Suho’s reaction to the mention of his parents was a little different from usual, Jinho’s eyes widened.

“What’s that look? Have you found something out?”

“N-no. Nothing like that. Um... I was just wondering if you could focus more on finding Mom than Dad.”

“... Your mother rather than your father?”

“Yes. Dad isn’t really someone we need to worry too much about, wherever he is.”

“That’s true. We’ve been searching with the possibility that they disappeared separately in mind from the start, so don’t worry too much. Lately, we’ve also been looking into whether they might have gotten caught in a dungeon break.”

“A dungeon break?”

“Yes. Of course, they disappeared before the Cataclysm, but experts say Gates may actually have been opening intermittently on Earth even before then. We’re investigating that possibility too, so don’t worry too much.”

At that, Suho could only nod.

‘Dad aside, there’s a very real chance Mom disappeared after getting caught up in a dungeon.’

He recalled something Beru had once told him.

‘Come to think of it, he said Mom had known Dad’s true identity for a long time. And the people who awakened in the forgotten timeline became hunters again in this one.’

Awakening was ultimately a matter of innate talent. If someone had a high enough affinity for mana, they would eventually awaken, no matter when it happened.

‘And he said Mom used to be an S-rank hunter, so she must have regained that power eventually.’

An S-rank hunter could survive even if stranded alone anywhere on Earth. But if she wasn’t on Earth, that was another matter.

‘In the end, I need to investigate the gaps between dimensions.’

CLACK.

“Anyway, Suho.”

Perhaps trying to dispel the increasingly gloomy mood, Jinho set his coffee cup down audibly on the table and got straight to the point.

“I meant what I said earlier. I’ll set up a guild for you, so don’t go joining some unsuitable guild and making trouble for yourself.”

“What? Uncle, weren’t you just saying that in the heat of the moment?”

“I was a little worked up, but the company was already planning to start developing a hunter guild of its own.”

Jinho took out a folder and held it out to Suho.

[Business Proposal for Establishing a Hunter Guild]

“See? We haven’t taken the first step yet, but now that it’s come up, I should tell them to get started right away.”

“Oh, you really were serious.”

The hefty business proposal suggested the preparations were quite detailed.

“Of course, your rank is too low for me to make you guildmaster, but I’ll assign experienced hunters to work exclusively with you and help you out.”

As Jinho proudly displayed the folder, his expression practically radiated the words, ‘Aren’t you glad you’ve got a rich uncle?’

But just then, something abruptly popped out.

[We have no need for the likes of them.]

“...!”

Beru had suddenly emerged from Suho’s shadow and was glaring at Jinho.

[The Young Monarch has me.]

“Th-this is...!”

At the sight of Beru, Jinho’s eyes went wide and he sprang to his feet. Beru narrowed his eyes at the vehement reaction.

[You... Could your memories have...]

“Pwahaha! Suho, you finally did it!”

[Hmm?]

Pointing at Beru, Jinho burst out laughing as he turned to Suho.

“You spent all that time drawing nothing but ants, and now you’ve finally got a skill that summons one! Hahaha!”

[... You drew nothing but ants?!]

This time it was Beru whose eyes widened as he whipped around toward Suho. Then he threw himself at Suho’s head, clinging tightly to it as tears of emotion poured from his eyes.

[Young Monarch! Have you missed your humble servant so terribly all this time?!]

“No, well... Let’s just call this another instinct etched into my subconscious...”

Wasn’t subconsciously creating a game much the same as drawing pictures of ants?

Feeling rather embarrassed, Suho forcibly peeled Beru off and stuffed him back into his shadow.