Chapter 40

I'm Leveling Up Alone: Ragnarok Chapter 39

For a while, chaos ensued.

Doctor Min Byung-gu suddenly fainted and then woke up, only to undergo an awakening.

As a result, Min Byung-gu had to measure his own mana in front of everyone.

And the much-anticipated test results were...

[C-Rank]

"Wow! C-Rank!"

"Amazing!"

"Congratulations on your awakening, Mr. Min!"

The association staff showered Min Byung-gu with congratulations.

"Moreover, he's a healer!"

Being a healer was a very good profession, as it allowed one to earn a lot of money safely without directly engaging in combat.

However, Min Byung-gu, the person concerned, didn't care about such things.

He was already over 60 years old.

At his age, he sought stability rather than thrilling challenges.

He had no intention of entering dungeons and fighting monsters just because he had awakened.

He planned to leave the dungeons to the younger generation and focus more on his main job.

'Good. Now that I can handle mana, I can accelerate my research on stardust.'

Min Byung-gu moved his hands around, manipulating his mana, and smiled contentedly.

* * *

"...So that's what happened."

Meanwhile, Suho was outside, listening to Ber explain the situation and nodding his head.

Then a question came to mind.

"But how did you make that doctor awaken? Did you return the power you had absorbed?"

[No, it's impossible to return the power. It has already been fully assimilated into my body.]

"Then how?"

[To put it simply, I bestowed a 'blessing' upon him.]

Blessing.

Ultimately, the way Ber made Min Byung-gu awaken was by mimicking the method the Fang Lord used to bestow a blessing on Suho.

[Originally, such a thing would require very strict conditions. The recipient must have the 'qualifications' to accept the power, as in the case of the Fang Lord.]

But Min Byung-gu had more than enough qualifications.

The blessing Ber bestowed upon him was originally his to begin with.

After hearing the explanation, Suho smacked his lips.

"Hmm. What a shame."

[What's a shame?]

"I was wondering if I could receive a healer skill from you, but if that's the method, I don't have the qualifications."

[Kyeeek?!]

Ber jumped up and prostrated himself, claiming that it was extremely disrespectful to even imagine such a thing.

[How could I, a mere ant, bestow a blessing upon a young lord? The very thought is disrespectful. Oh, oh.]

A blessing was usually a favor bestowed by a much higher being upon a lower one.

However, since Suho and Ber were in the opposite hierarchy, it was not a situation where qualifications could even be discussed.

Well, his curiosity was satisfied...

"Shall we go back in?"

Suho looked back at the re-measurement room where Min Byung-gu was.

Due to the sudden awakening of Min Byung-gu, a commotion had broken out, and Suho had stepped outside during his re-measurement.

Especially, he had stopped registering his most important skill information in the association's database.

'Things like Storm Slash and Endurance skills haven't even been mentioned yet...'

If this continued, the only skill registered in the association's database for Suho would be the summoning skill.

That would make him a summoner by default.

Even at C-Rank, summoners were still unpopular in dungeons, so he needed to register more skill information.

Of course, there were hunters who kept their skill information secret from the association, but they were mostly criminals doing shady things.

While Suho was outside, an unwelcome visitor had come to see Min Byung-gu.

"I refuse."

'Hmm?'

Thanks to his heightened sensory stats, Suho overheard the conversation inside the re-measurement room and paused.

"I clearly state that I will not reconsider Mr. Kim's proposal."

"Mr. Min, do you really have to be so decisive? If you could just reconsider it positively once more..."

"My stardust research is entirely for the public good. There is no reason for me to collaborate with a large guild that pursues private interests."

[Young Lord, the atmosphere seems strange...]

"Shh."

Suho covered Ber's mouth.

"Don't interrupt the conversation of such adults."

[I see. I was wrong...]

"Let's listen quietly."

[Ah!]

Ber's eyes widened, and he covered his own mouth with both hands, only his antennae twitching.

Listening further, it seemed that the person Min Byung-gu called 'Mr. Kim' was a hunter from the Messenger Guild.

"Mr. Min, I know that stardust has been made illegal. Why wouldn't I? But if we continue to research together, can't we eventually develop legal stardust?"

"I can't understand why you want to develop stardust so much."

"Of course, it's to protect the world's peace. The stronger the hunters become, the more the citizens can sleep soundly."

'The Messenger Guild wants stardust?'

Suho's eyes narrowed.

"Ber."

[According to Broki's memory, the Messenger Guild was a major client of the Hyena Guild.]

Ber immediately answered, sensing what Suho was about to ask, but he whispered directly into Suho's mind to avoid being overheard by Mr. Kim.

[And this Mr. Kim seems to have been the main liaison with the Hyena Guild.]

"Very convenient explanation, indeed."

[Of course, I am just an ant.]

Suho nodded and extended his senses to gauge Mr. Kim's level.

'Probably B-Rank.'

Compared to himself, a C-Rank, Mr. Kim's mana was at least twice as much.

Of course, strength couldn't be judged solely by the amount of mana. Especially for Suho, his highest stat was actually strength, not mana.

As Suho was gauging his opponent, Ber sensed his intentions and tried to stop him.

[Young Lord, you can't. The opponent is a large guild. If you antagonize a large guild with your current strength, it will be very troublesome.]

Ber was right.

He had worked hard to level up and even raised his rank, but if he ended up opposing a large guild like the Messenger Guild, his future hunter activities could become very inconvenient.

At that moment, Min Byung-gu issued a dismissal to Mr. Kim.

"I have nothing more to discuss with Mr. Kim. It's still business hours, so please leave now."

Mr. Kim, unwilling to leave empty-handed, finally played his trump card.

"Beast King Crow."

'Hmm?'

[Ah?]

Suho and Ber looked at each other in surprise.

Mr. Kim had just said something completely unexpected.

"Mr. Min, you must have seen the news about Beast King Crow, right?"

Min Byung-gu frowned, not understanding what Mr. Kim was getting at.

"Of course, I've seen the news, but..."

"Crow is a demon."

"Pardon?"

'What?'

[Ah?]

A question mark appeared in the eyes of the two people and the ant.

According to the information we obtained from the Messenger Guild, Crow's symbol, the crow mask, is a demon's item. The demons in the Factory all wear that mask."

It was all true.

Except for the part that Crow wasn't a demon.

"What does that mean? It means that the power of 'Beast King' in the current Magic Field has fallen into the hands of the demons. With that power, the demons have become even stronger, and we humans need to strengthen ourselves by any means necessary to counter them."

'Umm... How did the conversation turn this way?'

Suho had a puzzled expression.

It seemed to make some sense, but it was also completely off.

"So, Mr. Min! Please join us! You are a necessary presence for our Messenger Guild. We can offer you any amount of money..."

"I refuse."

Min Byung-gu had continued his stardust research for the public good, not for money.

While his current income wasn't abundant, it was enough to live comfortably with his wife, and that was sufficient.

No amount of money could sway him.

As Min Byung-gu's firm refusal continued, Mr. Kim sighed.

Then, a chilling voice came from Mr. Kim, who had been flattering Min Byung-gu all along.

"Your wife is a middle school teacher, isn't she?"

"!"

Min Byung-gu doubted his ears.

Looking at Mr. Kim again, he saw a sinister smile on his face.

At that moment, Min Byung-gu's expression hardened.

"What are you saying...?"

"By the way, I heard your wife called in sick today. Did you know?"

"!"

Min Byung-gu's face turned pale.

"Y-You don't mean...?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

The more Mr. Kim spoke, the more sinister his smile became.

He chuckled and showed his phone.

In the photo, a middle-aged woman was tied up.

"We don't hesitate to use any means to achieve our goals."

The woman was none other than Min Byung-gu's wife.

'This... What is this...?'

Min Byung-gu felt like a nightmare was starting all over again.

His head was buzzing, and his sense of reality was fading.

What was this guy saying?

Kidnapping?

Even though the Messenger Guild was powerful, were they really this ruthless?

"Can you feel our sincerity now? It would be better if you cooperated willingly..."

At that moment,

Shiver!

Mr. Kim suddenly turned around, sensing something behind him.

But it was too late.

Bang!

"?!?"

A huge fist, like a cannonball, burst through the door behind Mr. Kim.

Skill: Strong Punch.

A black fist, charged with dark energy, slammed into Mr. Kim like a truck.

Crash!

"Kuh?!"

As if hit by a truck, Mr. Kim tumbled to the ground and quickly got up, shouting.

"Who, who is it?!"

Wobble.

But the shock was too great, and his legs wobbled.

"To withstand that? B-Rank is different, indeed."

At that moment, a low voice came from behind the door, which had been punched through.

Crack! Snap!

Tearing the door off the wall, Suho slowly walked into the re-measurement room.

But his appearance...

"What, what?!"

Mr. Kim's eyes widened in shock.

"How did a demon get here?!"

Crow mask.

There stood a man with a crow mask covering his face.