Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 28

“Hold on.”

Suho had a sudden revelation. All his recent tribulations were connected: The Gwanaksan Field, the Hyena Guild, and the Seoul Station Field. They all shared one common denominator.

“They all originated a year ago, ” Suho muttered.

“Ah! Now that you mention it, outer universe scums may have been infiltrating Earth for the past year!”

“It dates back to last year... So, how about we go in reverse? We might find something if we start investigating dungeons, gates, and guilds that appeared a year ago.”

New demons would help enhance Vulcan’s Horn, and any discoveries or traces of outer universes would also be valuable. It’s a win-win, Suho thought.

“Oh! The Young Monarch is truly exceptional indeed! Hehe. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was teaching you addition and subtraction...”

Suho ignored Beru’s flattery and decided to focus on something that had just crossed his mind. “That’s it!”

The most talked-about place in South Korea from a year ago sprang back into his mind—the site of a horrific incident.

“Magok.”

***

“It keeps getting worse and worse...” Han Jaehyuk couldn’t help but be astounded as he delved deeper into the investigation reports of the Hyena Guild’s headquarters following its destruction. Mountains of paperwork surrounded his desk at the Hunter Association’s surveillance department. It seems that a complete report on the Hyena Guild’s wrongdoings would require several hundred pages at least.

Criminal charges had been forwarded to the hunters in the police force, while the Hunter Association focused its investigations on matters that fell outside the jurisdiction of law enforcement.

One prime example was Stardust. Strictly speaking, the mana enhancer wasn’t classified as an illegal drug, and its use wasn’t prohibited. But that didn’t mean the unknown substance could be left uninvestigated. The Hunter Association had been continuously probing into the production of Stardust and the parties responsible for its production.

They finally managed a breakthrough when hunters discovered a strong lead from the Hyena Guild’s headquarters—a ledger detailing how much Stardust the Hyena Guild bought and the time of purchase. It also contained records of the buyers the thugs had sold it to.

The evidence was damning—it was clear that the Hyena Guild was one of the main distributors of Stardust. The association’s investigators felt like their hard work was finally paying off as the promising new trail could eventually lead to the discovery of Stardust’s manufacturers.

“Who knew that people went into debt to buy Stardust?” the team leader realized.

“It’s a risky investment for sure. Stardust helps low-ranked hunters raid higher-ranked dungeons. They could potentially pay off their debts quickly if it worked out.”

“But it seems they kept coming back to the Hyena Guild with the money they made for more Stardust...”

“In the end, the house always wins.”

Evidence was one thing, questioning was another. The majority of the hunters listed in the ledger were marked down for being “missing” for the past year. It was likely that they became feed for Broki, who had been pulling the guild’s strings from the depths of their dungeon.

But the most peculiar detail of the investigation was the names of the missing marked with red lines. This group included a considerable number of non-hunter civilians who were in debt.

“Who are these people? Something seems off, doesn’t it?” Jaehyuk suggested.

“Sir, take a look here!” One of his team members presented him with a document. “If you look here, the dates reporting large purchases of Stardust for the Hyena Guild coincide with the dates these individuals were reported missing. It’s a perfect match.”

“That’s true...”

“What do you think the connection is?”

“Hm...” Jaehyuk mused, “could they have exchanged people for Stardust?”

“People and Stardust?”

The team leader flipped the pages of the ledger back to the beginning. Eventually, he discovered an important fact and his eyes widened. “I’m certain. The ledger clearly shows the quantities the Hyena Guild bought but it doesn’t have any records of how much they paid. It means that they didn’t pay any money.”

“So, they didn’t pay with money... If they did exchange people for Stardust, why?”

“Let’s find out right now. The Hyena Guild didn’t produce the Stardust themselves, so the ones who made it...”

As Jaehyuk and his team began to delve deeper, an urgent phone call came through to the surveillance department.

“Sir! We’ve received a report!”

“Can it wait? I’m busy with something right now...”

“Someone has found a Stardust factory...”

“Put me on the line, right now!”

***

The emergency described in the report was already under control when Han Jaehyuk and his team arrived at the Seoul Station Field. freeweb .co m

“What on earth happened here?” Jaehyuk asked.

The surviving captives from the factory and the hunters who had rescued them were sitting in a corner, exhausted.

“It’s a long story...” the assault team captain said, and began to explain everything that had happened.

“A factory for producing Stardust was down there? Come again? Demons?”

The explanation was helping him slowly put together the evidence from the ongoing case he had been investigating, but he didn’t have the time to sit down and ponder calmly.

“You’re joking? A guy is fighting the demons down there on his own?” Jaehyuk asked in disbelief.

“Yes, He said he was going to buy us time to escape and told us to go first... Ohh! Please, hurry inside and help him!”

Dogyoon had been pacing nervously for some time worrying about Suho’s safety. It was clear that he had struggled to defeat the first demon they encountered, and the thought of him up against another nine had tortured the teaching assistant.

Suho assured us not to worry, but I’m sure the bravery was an act to put our minds at ease. That fool...! He was willing to sacrifice himself for us just like the Hanguk University dungeon!

Having heard all their explanations, Jaehyuk’s stern eyes turned toward the dungeon as he gripped his weapon. “Understood. We will go in right away.”

His weapons were in fact two enormous steel shields, each capable of covering half of his body. As he held them in his hands, a transparent aura enveloped his entire body.

Iron Wall Defense?! Dogyoon recognized, albeit belatedly, who Han Jaehyuk was. He was a well-known C-rank tank with exceptional skills that had attracted offers from several renowned guilds. The part-time collector also finally noticed that the hunters standing behind him seemed equally impressive. Thank goodness! Suho is saved!

Han Jaehyuk, looking as dependable as ever, led the association hunters into Seoul Station. But before he descended, he suddenly turned around at the entrance and asked, “Oh, by the way, what rank is the hunter down there?”

“Um. Well...” The assault team captain hesitated for a moment, then said with a somewhat awkward expression, “He’s an E-rank collector.”

“What?”

The captain felt like their judgment was unfair. The hunters from the association looked at him as if he had left a newborn child down there on its own.

***

“We should look into Magok once we get back.”

Having finished all his tasks, Suho left the factory. But he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret as he made his way back to the surface. The source of his regret was Broki.

“It’s a shame I used him like this considering all the trouble I went through extracting this powerful beast as my shadow soldier.”

An extracted shadow soldier lasted roughly about a day. Once that time passed, the extraction would be automatically released, returning the shadow to nothingness. He rued his choice to use him against the lesser demons since there was no knowing when he could obtain another magic beast of his level.

“Shall we take a quick spin around first? There are still plenty of lizards nearby,” Beru suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.”

While they were at it, they decided to thoroughly sweep the dungeon for everything they could find.

“Broki.”

Roar!

The hyena lost his ability to speak when he became a shadow soldier. However, his intelligence remained intact, so there was no need for lengthy explanations.

“Bring them all to me,” Suho ordered.

Broki had an excellent sense of smell, and he used it diligently to hunt and kill all the lizards hiding throughout the field dungeon. He then brought their corpses to his summoner, neatly arranging them in front of him. Suho’s level was so high that he wasn’t able to gain much experience from the lizards anymore, but every little bit counted for something else.

“Money is money.”

“We have so many lizards... I think a bite wouldn’t make a difference...”

“You have a big bite for an insect...”

“Insects must also eat,” Beru playfully snapped, tilting his head at Suho’s joke.

Suho, busy hunting lizards with Broki, was now wearing his crow mask again. He had used it as a disguise earlier pretending to be a demon youngster. But this time, he was using it for a different purpose as the item came with a small perk.

[Item: Crow Mask

Acquisition Difficulty: E

Type: Junk

A mysterious mask used by demons.

When worn in dark places, it brightens your field of view.

You can store it in your inventory or sell it at the store.]

They are better than night vision goggles. He was able to identify objects in the dark thanks to his increased sensory stat, but the crow mask made his night vision more clear and focused.

Recognizing the masks’ benefits, Suho made sure to bring all the masks he could find inside the factory. But unfortunately, the choice would come back to bite him.

“It’s a demon!”

“Huh?” Suho blurted.

“What?” Beru cried.

The association’s hunters had found Suho wearing a crow mask. The information they gathered from the escaped hunters specifically mentioned the crow masks the demons wore. To make matters worse, the gigantic and sinister-looking Broki was standing right next to Suho.

“Attack!”

“No, wait...” Before Suho could say anything, the hunters launched a sudden assault aimed directly a him

Ding!

[A quest has arrived.]

Ding!

[Emergency Quest: Defeat the Enemy!

There are hostile entities nearby with murderous...]

Their violent intent triggered an emergency quest.

“No, this isn’t right. Reject, reject.”

Just as Suho was urgently rejecting the quest and about to unmask himself...

“I’ll take care of this!” Han Jaehyuk suddenly leaped forward and swung his shield toward Suho, while the other hunters immediately rushed to attack Broki.

“Wait a minute, let me explain...” Suho pleaded.

“Iron Wall Defense!” Jaehyuk shouted, sending a transparent shield aura rushing toward Suho like a massive barrier.

“Young Monarch!” Beru called frantically.

Suho withdrew the hand poised to remove the mask and clenched it with determination. First, I need to subdue them.

In an instant, a black aura enveloped his fist, and he forcefully drove it through the transparent shield pressing down on him with a powerful blow. Fortunately, a single punch was all he needed.

[Strength: 45]

Suho’s attack sent the team leader and his shields flying backward with his body bent at a 90-degree angle. He crashed into a wall in the distance and hung from it, unable to move.

“Seriously?” Suho was also surprised by his strike that his pose remained frozen on the spot.

The eyes of association hunters who witnessed the scene widened in astonishment.

“Did the team leader just...”

“What was that...?”

Crash!

The concrete wall Jaehyuk had been embedded into crumbled down with a crashing noise. His eyes had rolled back from the blow, a clear sign that he immediately fainted.

“Humans, huh? Well, you have been investing all your stats in strength.” Beru smirked in a completely unsurprised manner at the outcome.

Suho removed the crow mask, revealing an awkward expression. “Why don’t we talk this out?”

The hunters readily nodded their heads.