Chapter 22

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 21

The chandelier shone brightly.

Expensive wines were set on the table.

Deputy Manager Im Myung-sung was once again drunk in the VIP room.

Usually, the room would be filled with boisterous laughter and intimate physical contact, but today, the atmosphere was different.

Crash!

“Ah!”

The sound of the shattered glass made the lady entertaining him scream in surprise.

“Oh dear, why is my dear brother in such a bad mood today~?”

A moment later, the madam entered the room with an elegant smile and sat next to him.

At the same time, she signaled for the other staff to leave.

The ladies quickly slipped out of the room.

The room instantly became silent.

Clink.

The madam poured wine into a new glass while subtly observing Im Myung-sung.

He had been staring at his phone with a scowl since earlier.

‘What’s going on?’

The madam glanced at the screen he was looking at.

‘Comments?’

The madam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

- So, who is the hunter that wiped out the Hyenas?

- Yeah, they say he went into Gwanak Mountain alone and saved everyone.

- Wow, who could it be?

- Info: He wore a mask, so even the survivors didn’t see his face.

- No, what a show-off. Why hide after doing something good?

- Of course, there are rumors that the Hyenas are backed by the Death Guild, so he had to hide his identity.

- Yeah, whoever it is, just don’t get caught. You’ll be retaliated by Death. Haha.

The internet was still buzzing with discussions about the Gwanak Mountain incident.

People were speculating about the identity of the hunter who had solved the incident alone, but there was a severe lack of evidence.

- But who could it be?

- At least, he must be at least an A-rank hunter, right?

- Not necessarily. With good skills, a B-rank is possible.

- With good skills, even a C-rank or D-rank is possible.

- Even a D-rank? Haha.

- Write your novel in your diary.

Thousands, even tens of thousands of comments were all curious about the hunter's identity.

While there were many silly comments and jokes, the overall sentiment boiled down to one word.

- Hero.

As the Hyenas' malicious deeds were gradually revealed, their image became more and more demonic.

Conversely, the hunter who had wiped them out alone was gaining nationwide popularity.

“What? They still haven’t found out his identity?”

Suddenly.

The madam’s casual remark made Im Myung-sung’s expression crumple.

Grind.

Im Myung-sung gritted his teeth and glared at the madam.

“Who are you mocking?”

“Oh, not at all. I’m just worried. How incompetent must your informants be if they can’t even get a hint from the comments?”

Grind.

“Your teeth will chip. Anyway, didn’t you tell your informants to find the survivors? What did they say?”

“... They say he used dual swords.”

“Used dual swords?”

“He summoned monsters.”

“Summoned? Oh my.”

The madam covered her mouth in surprise at Im Myung-sung’s response.

“What a surprise. Is there a summoner hunter who can do this?”

“No.”

“No?”

“A summoner killing that Broki? Impossible.”

Im Myung-sung, who had seen the massive Hyena Broki himself, was certain.

“Clearly, the summoning skill was used to confuse. It could be an illusion skill, or maybe it wasn’t just one person. There might have been a summoner hiding behind the scenes. No, I’m sure of it.”

No matter how much he thought about it, this was not something a single person could have done.

In any case, there was one significant fact.

Broki was killed with dual swords.

“With that logic, just holding dual swords would be enough.”

“Exactly. That’s why there’s no information.”

“Come on~ This is boring.”

The madam, looking disappointed, picked up a wine glass from the table and drank it in one go.

‘I thought it was something big because of all the commotion, but it was just a case of jealousy. How childish.’

But she understood.

Im Myung-sung had always been a winner in life.

A golden spoon in his youth.

A K-pop star in his youth.

And when the Great Cataclysm hit, he immediately awakened as an A-rank hunter.

A smooth road all the way.

At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the entire universe revolved around Im Myung-sung.

‘But then, his driver suddenly became an S-rank hunter.’

And it happened right when Im Myung-sung had just awakened and the whole world was congratulating him.

That very evening, his long-time friend and driver, Lim Tae-gyu, suddenly became an S-rank.

At that moment, Im Myung-sung...

was blinded by jealousy.

The hierarchy that seemed unchangeable was suddenly overturned.

‘...But, it’s a good thing, in a way.’

There’s no one easier to handle than someone with a complex.

The madam smiled and poured more wine into Im Myung-sung’s glass.

“Don’t worry too much. He’ll be caught eventually. For now, let’s talk about business, shall we?”

“Hmm.”

Im Myung-sung’s expression calmed down.

“Stardust.”

The madam asked with an incredibly alluring smile.

“There were some defective products in the latest batch, right?”

“... There are no defective products. The people who took them were defective.”

“Defective people? How defective do you have to be to die from a mana amplifier? Who would use something so scary?”

Despite her words, the madam didn’t look scared at all.

And neither did Im Myung-sung.

“How many people died?”

“Hmm. About 30, according to what I heard? Strangely, only low-rank hunters died. Are the people really defective?”

“Only low-rank hunters died... So, stardust is ultimately affected by one’s mana constitution. Hmm.”

Im Myung-sung, who showed no emotion at the deaths, focused on the effects of the prototype.

“So, when is the next batch coming?”

But the madam pushed further.

“Anyway, the people who didn’t die are eagerly waiting for the next batch.”

“Soon.”

Im Myung-sung, with a sly smile, gave the madam a cold look.

“I’ll hurry the demons along.”

* * *

At that moment, Suho was facing an important decision.

[You must choose one of the two random boxes.]

[Blessed Random Box]

Provides the ‘player’ with the item they desire.

[Cursed Random Box]

Provides the ‘player’ with the item they need.

[Which one will you choose?]

“Desire and need? What kind of wordplay is this?”

[These two choices of the hidden reward may seem like wordplay, but there is a clear difference.]

Berg, who was watching from the side, provided additional explanation.

[‘Desire’ might turn out to be something you don’t need. Conversely, ‘need’ might turn out to be something you don’t want.]

“So, the Cursed Random Box, then.”

[That’s right. For example, in a situation where you need a powerful weapon, you might get a terrible bomb that could destroy everything around you, including yourself...!]

“Would that happen? This is a system passed down from my father; it wouldn’t put me in danger as a quest reward.”

[Hehe. That’s true.]

Suho didn’t need to think any further.

“The Cursed Random Box.”

[Oh! That’s bold!]

“I’m still low-level, so I don’t know exactly what I want. But I need a lot of things.”

Without knowing what items existed beyond the system, the possibilities were too vague.

Suho grinned and chose the reward.

“Besides, my father has always known what I need better than I do.”

[This reward is given by the system, not by your lord...]

“That’s the same thing.”

Suho replied and spread his hand.

A small box appeared on his palm.

A monochrome box tied with a ribbon.

He opened the box carefully.

Ding!

[You have obtained the item: Volcan’s Horn.]

At that moment, the box disappeared, and a sword appeared in Suho’s hand.

“What is this?”

[Item: Volcan’s Horn]

Acquisition Difficulty: ??

Type: Sword

Attack Power +40

A sword made from the horn of the greedy demon Volcan.

Infused with Volcan’s power, it deals more damage.

-Effect ‘Destructive Desire’: Increases physical damage by [30%].

-Effect ‘Demon Feaster’: Volcan’s power grows stronger the more demon souls it consumes.

[Demon Souls Consumed: 0]

As Suho read the item description, his eyes grew wider.

“A growth item!”

[Kyow!]

The ‘30% increase in physical damage’ must mean that the value increases as you hunt more demons!

Moreover, the base attack power was 10 higher than Rakkan’s Fang!

-Cough. But I have the ‘Weakling Contempt’ and ‘Critical Strike’ effects, so in the end, I might be a bit more...

Rakkan’s Fang muttered something from the side, but no one was paying attention.

“Amazing! It’s exactly what I needed.”

Suho smiled contentedly and lifted Volcan’s Horn with one hand.

Whoosh-!

Swinging it around, the sound of the wind cutting through was very intimidating.

The sword was a bit heavy, though.

Suho immediately invested all the ability points he received from the daily quest reward into strength, making it much easier to handle.

“I really like it. Now I just need some demons.”

But he hadn’t heard of any dungeons with demon-type monsters recently.

‘They were probably all wiped out a long time ago.’

Maybe he should search the internet.

Suho took out the key to the Shadow Dungeon.

Swish!

[You have exited the Shadow Dungeon.]

But when he stepped outside, he saw that he had five missed calls on his phone.

The caller was Professor Lim.

“Why the professor?”

Curious, Suho called him back.

And he received an unexpected offer from Professor Lim.

-Suho, do you want to do a part-time job?

“Suddenly?”

-Yeah. A few collectors who were supposed to come suddenly went missing.

* * *

“Thank you so much for coming, Suho! You saved me!”

Professor Lim was so grateful that he almost bowed to Suho when he arrived on time.

“Honestly, this kind of thing rarely happens, but today, several people went missing at the same time.”

“Should I sign a contract?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

Professor Lim clenched his fists, thinking about the hunters who had suddenly gone missing.

“They must be somewhere, drinking and passed out.”

Professor Lim’s anger was justified.

Since collectors and miners usually worked in teams, the entire team would be fined for contract violations in such cases.

But now, there was no need to worry.

Because Suho was here!

Professor Lim placed his hands on Suho’s shoulders and said seriously.

“Suho, you have to do the work of a hundred today. I’m counting on you.”

What he was counting on was Suho’s summoning skill.

Last time, during the mining operation, Suho’s summons had performed exceptionally well.

“I’ll pay you double the usual rate since it’s so sudden.”

[Pay?]

Berg, who suddenly appeared, stared at Professor Lim with wide eyes.

Professor Lim, startled, quickly corrected himself.

“I, I will give it. No, I will offer it.”

[Right. Since you’ve invited such a distinguished guest to this humble place, maintain that attitude.]

Or else I’ll eat your head whole... Berg glared at Professor Lim with that expression.

Meanwhile, Suho subtly turned his head to look at the dungeon they would enter today.

[Seoul Station Field]

※ Hazardous Area

The entrance to the subway station, where blue mist slowly rose.

The Seoul Station Field had been abandoned for a year because it was too deep and complex.

Seeing it, Suho had a thought.

The Cursed Random Box that promised to give him what he needed.

And the Volcan’s Horn that came out of it.

Was the reason this demon-consuming sword ended up in his hands because he needed ‘dual swords’?

Or was it because he would soon face ‘demons’?

“Professor, so what are we hunting here today?”

Suho asked with a grin.