Chapter 80

Alone Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 79

Black Tortoise Guild's Second Management Department.

"Hmm... Where have I seen it? I definitely saw it somewhere..."

Manager Lee Young-ho of the Black Tortoise Guild had been deep in thought ever since he saw the large-scale disaster footage captured by a drone.

In the paused video, three hunters were captured soaring towards a beehive, their black wings spread.

Two of them were the famous Lim Tae-gyu and Baek Mi-ho, so they were easily recognizable, but the problem was the third one.

The identity of this third hunter was still unknown.

"It seems that the White Tiger Guild and the Four Gods Guild are controlling the information."

"Yes. They are thoroughly maintaining silence even in response to journalists' requests."

"That means... ultimately..."

"Yes."

At that moment, Manager Lee Young-ho and his subordinate nodded at each other with a look of certainty.

"That means they haven't managed to recruit this hunter yet."

"I think so too. If he was already one of theirs, there would be no reason to hide him. They would use him for guild publicity instead."

"Of course. The wing buff is rare, after all."

As far as they knew, Lim Tae-gyu and Baek Mi-ho didn't have any skills that gave them wings.

So, the conclusion was that this third hunter must have given them the buff, and a hunter who could grant flight to others had immense strategic value, regardless of their rank.

No, the lower the rank, the better.

The lower the price, the better the value.

"We need to recruit this useful guy before any other guild does. Especially, we can't let the White Tiger Guild get him."

The White Tiger Guild was known for only recruiting hunters with the Beast Transformation skill, but healers and buff hunters were exceptions.

Especially this hunter, with the wing ability, might even be an application of the Beast Transformation skill.

In many ways, it was a situation where the White Tiger Guild would naturally be interested.

"First, you should prepare a contract. I'll try to figure out his identity in the meantime."

"What about the price?"

"Are you kidding me? Leave the contract fee blank for now. If he's a newbie who just awakened, we should try to lowball him."

"Hehe. Understood. But how will you find out his identity?"

"With my brain."

Manager Lee Young-ho pressed his forehead with his fingertips as if using a superpower, his eyes gleaming.

"Did you know? Before the Great Cataclysm, I was a barber. And I remembered the faces and names of every customer who ever came to me."

"...Here we go again."

The subordinate shook his head and returned to his desk, tired of hearing the same story.

But Lee Young-ho believed in his keen eye.

"I definitely saw him. He's definitely in my memory. What am I missing...?"

In his mind, the faces of countless hunters began to unfold like a panorama.

'It's not someone I met in person. If it were, I would have remembered it already. Then, did I see him on HunterNet or the news? ...Ah!'

Finally, he figured it out.

"Ah, I remember!"

Suddenly, Manager Lee Young-ho jumped up from his seat with bloodshot eyes.

"It's that guy! The E-rank summoner who dared to defy us!"

"Huh? An E-rank hunter?"

At Manager Lee Young-ho's words, the subordinate, who was printing the contract, tilted his head in confusion.

"Yeah, man! Hahaha! Of course, it's me! It's only been a month, how could I forget!"

Despite Manager Lee Young-ho's confident words, the subordinate still looked bewildered.

"Manager, are you sure? If he's really E-rank, how could he make three people fly? They would run out of mana and fall, right?"

"That's for you to find out. Use any means necessary to dig up all the information on this guy! Other guilds are probably on high alert, so do it as quickly as possible!"

"Looks like I'll be working overtime again."

* * *

Meanwhile, the White Tiger Guild was also struggling with the issue.

"Vice President, other guilds keep demanding to know the identity of 'that hunter.' What should we do?"

"Just keep denying it."

"That's a bit... awkward. His face is already widely known... They are going around to each of the C-rank hunters we gathered in the Seoul area to see if anyone has seen his face."

"Try to hold out as long as possible. Until we recruit him first."

For a while, Baek Mi-ho had been holding her phone anxiously.

But no matter how many times she called Seo Su-ho, he wouldn't answer.

- Are you sleeping? Please see this message...

She had already sent a text, but there was no response.

"Could he have given me the wrong number?"

No, if that were the case, someone else would have answered.

"Or... could he have blocked me?"

No, that couldn't be!

That made even less sense.

"Right. There's no reason for him to block me. We fought together as comrades... and I even carried him? Wait! Could Lim Tae-gyu have already taken him?"

At the thought of Lim Tae-guo, Baek Mi-ho's eyes trembled.

Lim Tae-guo was also a comrade they had fought with.

The Four Gods Guild had already fallen into a terrible abyss due to this incident, and financially, it could be said that they were completely ruined.

The compensation for the casualties alone would have been astronomical.

'But they won't really go bankrupt. Lim Tae-guo is an S-rank hunter, after all.'

A hunter's true power comes from their combat ability, not money.

Even if all the hunters in the Four Gods Guild left, as long as Lim Tae-guo, an S-rank hunter, was there, they could rise again.

Whether they rebuilt the guild or started a new one.

In such a situation, Lim Tae-guo would not want to lose Seo Su-ho, a talented individual.

"...Vice President?"

The personnel manager of the White Tiger Guild found Baek Mi-ho's anxious muttering unfamiliar.

"Is this Seo Su-ho such an important person? He's just a C-rank hunter with a rare wing buff, right?"

"He's not just a C-rank hunter."

Baek Mi-ho said firmly.

"The hunter's rank and the wing buff don't matter. Seo Su-ho is... different."

Other guilds didn't know anything.

They were probably interested in Su-ho because of the wing buff.

Or because he was the only one among the three who ended the disaster that could be recruited.

Since they couldn't recruit Lim Tae-guo or herself, they wanted to bring the remaining one to use for guild publicity.

But Baek Mi-ho was different.

She had watched Su-ho's battles up close.

In the intense battlefield that made her blood boil.

"He... cannot be taken by anyone."

* * *

[13 Missed Calls]

"What's with so many calls?"

After completing a difficult daily quest and barely escaping the Shadow Dungeon, Su-ho checked his phone and looked puzzled.

Half of the calls were from Baek Mi-ho and Lim Tae-guo, whose numbers he had received recently, and the other half were from unknown numbers.

[Kehehe! Truly impressive! The Young Lord's popularity is sky-high!]

"Calm down. It's not that serious."

While Falbulch Berg spun around, laughing with joy, Quai skillfully turned on the computer and showed Su-ho the internet news.

[Master, please look at this. It seems your face has been widely spread across various media.]

"Hmm. That's true."

The internet was burning hot due to the disaster caused by Im Myung-sung.

Of course, there had been many news articles about Su-ho before, but most of them referred to him as the Beast King Crow because he wore a crow mask.

However, this time was different.

Unfortunately, he was next to the famous Baek Mi-ho and Lim Tae-guo, so his face was also widely recognized.

Quai, who was observing Su-ho's reaction, quickly bowed and apologized.

[I have committed a grave sin! It seems my actions have caused you trouble!]

[Kyaaeek! The sinner, raise your head! And die!]

Thud.

Berg, seeing his chance, cut Quai's neck, but it quickly reattached, draining Su-ho's mana.

Quai ignored Berg and only watched Su-ho.

[Forgive me... Were you trying to hide your identity?]

"No, not really."

[Kehm. The Young Lord is currently quietly building his strength. This is because there might be apostles of the Outer Gods secretly active on Earth.]

Berg, standing beside him, opened his eyes meaningfully and spoke.

[At this very moment, our King is waging a fierce war against the Outer Gods in the distant universe. The opening of the gate on Earth was their attempt to target our rear.]

Berg gave a long speech to the newcomer Quai about the truth happening behind the scenes of the world.

Quai nodded and listened seriously, having already gained some understanding of the truth about the Overlords after being remodeled by the Queen Bee.

[...I see. Then, are the moths flying around here also apostles of the Outer Gods?]

[No, those are real moths.]

[I see.]

In fact, since leaving the Shadow Dungeon, there had been entities that disturbed the senses of Berg and Quai.

Today, there were unfamiliar presences around Su-ho's house.

[Young Lord, there are moths fluttering around outside the house.]

"Hmm."

Su-ho slightly opened the window and observed the situation outside.

People with magical power were watching from various alleys.

A cold light appeared in Su-ho's eyes.

"They're hunters."

[From the way they subtly guard each other, they seem to have come from different places.]

[Master, I recognize a few faces among them. They seem to be scouts from guilds trying to recruit you.]

"Did they find out my information so quickly?"

Su-ho was a bit surprised.

It had only been a day since the incident was resolved, and they had already found out his residence and come looking for him.

[That's what they do. Once your face is known, they probably searched through HunterNet and guild information all night.]

Whoosh.

At that moment, a sound of wind came from outside the window.

When Su-ho didn't come out, someone launched a drone with a camera.

Then, others started to bring out their drones, competing to see who could get a better view.

They seemed to be trying to confirm if Su-ho was inside the house by looking through the window.

"Great. Drones too?"

Su-ho frowned.

"Do hunters have no respect for privacy?"

[Since the Great Cataclysm, the world has been in a state of emergency, so minor laws are often ignored.]

[Kyaaeek! I will deal with them immediately!]

"Stop."

Su-ho held back Berg's antennae as he tried to rush out.

Berg, hanging from Su-ho's hand, complained.

[If you attract too much attention, there's a risk that the existence of the Young Lord will be exposed to the Outer Gods.]

"If the apostles of the Outer Gods really exist, they probably already know. Besides, as long as it's not revealed that I'm the son of the Shadow Overlord, it's fine, right?"

[Of course, that's true...]

Su-ho didn't plan to just let them be.

'Overlord's Authority.'

As Su-ho extended his hand, an invisible force crushed the drones flying towards the house.

Crack!

Boom!

"What, what is this!"

"What's happening all of a sudden!"

As their drones exploded one after another, the scouts hiding in the alleys were taken aback.

[These moths won't back down easily. You should show them a lesson.]

At that moment,

Vroom.

Su-ho's phone vibrated.

"Who is it... Hmm?"

Su-ho's eyes widened as he checked his phone with a frustrated expression.

[Uncle]

"Uncle?"

Su-ho's uncle.

That is, the husband of his father's only younger sister, 'Yoo Jin-ho,' was calling.

Yoo Jin-ho was a grateful adult who had been taking care of Su-ho since his parents went missing.

"...He must have seen the news."

A troubled look appeared on Su-ho's face.

He was already worried about how much of a fuss his uncle would make.