Solo Leveling Chapter 40:
I Alone Level-up: Chapter 40
- “Are you sure?”
“I’ll be waiting with the phone in hand . Contact me immediately if something happens . ”
- “Understood, chief . ”
Ahn Sangmin ended the call, then realized he was hungry .
growl
‘Argh, I was too focused on all of this . . ’
It was already long past lunchtime, but Ahn Sangmin had not eaten, having waited for Sung Jinwoo . He did not know when Yoo Jinho’s team would arrive, so he had not left the spot . Having some free time now, Ahn Sangmin looked around for a place to eat, then settled on a convenience store .
‘Not that I’m trying to save any money…’
Though no one said anything, he felt weird going into a restaurant alone . So, he decided to just get a cup ramen at the convenience store .
He poured the hot water and waited 3 minutes, then was about to dig in when his phone rang .
ring ring
“Dammit! Who the hell? I’m trying to eat here!”
Looking at the phone, it was a familiar name .
[My Right Arm]
‘Hyun Gicheol, you son of a…’
Ahn Sangmin answered with an annoyed voice,
“Did you really miss my voice that much?”
- “Chief, that’s not it…”
“Then what is it, if you’ve called me for no reason, you’re eating cup ramen for a week . ”
- “That’s not it, chief! The two just came out!”
Ahn Sangmin, who was about to eat his first bite, froze like a still image of a video .
“What?”
- “Like I said, Yoo Jinho and Sung Jinwoo just came out! Their team’s all preparing to move out!”
He checked his ears . There was nothing wrong with them . He quickly checked the time .
“It’s only been thirty minutes . Are they giving up on the Raid?”
- “No… The Gate is closing . ”
How the hell?!
No matter how low the difficulty of a given C-rank Dungeon was, no one could solo clear it in just 30 minutes .
“Check again! Are you sure the Gate is closing?!”
- “Yes, I’m sure . Do you want me to send you a video?”
“ . . . No, it’s okay . ”
Ahn Sangmin hung up and stared blankly into the distance .
They cleared a C-rank Dungeon that would take an A-rank Hunter 2 hours to clear in just 30 minutes .
‘Above B-rank my ass…’
Even if he took an objective look at the information so far,
“Above… A-rank…”
This was an unimaginably good fortune .
“Hyungnim, do you have somewhere else to go after this?”
“Hmm? No, why?”
“I’ve never seen you hunt this fast before . ”
Yoo Jinho was astonished . He had always known Jinwoo was strong, but today, he seemed stronger than ever .
Well of course .
Jinwoo swallowed a laughter .
‘The magic beasts today were werewolves~’
|
Wolf Slayer |
|
All stats increased by 40% against beast type monsters . A title given to a hunter experienced in slaying wolves . |
The buff of his title worked against the werewolves . On top of all of the level-ups he had gone through, if the title buff was applied, no C-rank magic beasts could stand against him .
“Whimper!”
“Whiiimper!”
“Yelp!”
Thanks to that, Yoo Jinho had to go from corpse to corpse without stopping, collecting magic cores . If he had 10 more hands, it wouldn’t have been enough . Jinwoo had to spend 5 healing potions on him because of this . The young man even had his hunger satiated by the healing potion, so he didn’t even stop to eat .
‘Well, that’s that . . . ’
Jinwoo raised his head . He felt a presence of someone watching him from somewhere .
‘I don’t sense any magic power, so it’s probably not a Hunter . ’
He looked around but didn’t see anyone suspicious . Of course, if he wanted, he could find the man with effort . But not detecting any killing or hostile intent from the man, Jinwoo decided it was not worth the time .
“ . . . ”
It could just be nothing .
As if reading his mind, the presence disappeared .
“Hyungnim, what is it?”
“ . . . It’s nothing . Let’s go . ”
They had no time to waste . Jinwoo took one last look around the area then got in the passenger seat .
At the second Gate, he did not feel anyone watching him, both before he entered the Gate and after he left it .
‘Was I being too cautious?’
Thankfully, it appeared that it was nothing after all .
Yoo Jinho approached him and bowed his head,
“Sorry, hyungnim, this is it for today . The other Gates are too far . ”
“Nothing to be sorry about . ”
It would be a while before the sunset, but because of the two men’s efforts, all the Gates in the area had been closed, so they would have to call it a day .
“You’ve worked hard . ”
“Oh, the one who worked hard is the Raid leader . ”
“I’ll see you tomorrow”
“Thank you, you’ve worked hard . ”
After bidding the other Hunters goodbye, Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho got in the car .
“I’ll drive you home, hyungnim . ”
Before he knew it, Yoo Jinho had become a faithful driver . The image of him holding the handle was rather fitting . Jinwoo blatantly stared at the young man .
‘To think that the young master of a rich household would become a chauffeur, just so he can become a Guildmaster…’
Stepping on the gas with a smile, Yoo Jinho suddenly realized Jinwoo was staring at him .
“Hmm? Is there something on my face, hyungnim?”
“ . . . No, it’s nothing . ”
Jinwoo pretended to not have stared and took out his phone as a distraction .
‘4:46…’
It was too early to go home . Thankfully, there was something he had to do .
‘It was around here, right?’
“Jinho,”
“Yes, hyungnim . ”
Yoo Jinho skillfully turned the handle around a curve while answering .
“Let’s go to Mirae Mall . ”
“Mirae Mall?”
Yoo Jinho was surprised .
“Yes . ”
“Well it is right ahead… You know, you’ve been acting weird all day, hyungnim . Are you sure everything’s alright?”
“ . . . You know, you’ve been getting rather talkative these days . ”
And with that, Yoo Jinho’s face became fixed on the road .
“I will take you there with the speed of light, hyungnim . Hold onto your belt!”
Changing his attitude in a flash, Yoo Jinho drove the car without braking . They soon arrived at Mirae Mall .
screech-
The car stopped at their destination . As a mall at the heart of Seoul, Mirae Mall was quite a spectacle . Jinwoo got out of the car, and Yoo Jinho followed . The young man closed the door and walked up to Jinwoo’s side .
“Hyungnim, someday, our Guild should use a building like this for our headquarters . ”
Yoo Jinho looked up and down at the mall and made a half-serious joke . But no one replied . Noticing something was off, Yoo Jinho quickly turned toward where Jinwoo was .
“What?”
Jinwoo had disappeared .
“Hyungnim?”
No matter where he looked, Jinwoo was gone .
“Hyungniiiim?”
|
As the boss was defeated, the Dungeon will return to its normal interior . |
‘Two more levels from the mall’s Instant Dungeon . ’
Jinwoo’s footsteps on the way home were light with joy . It was the first key he had seen in a while from a Random Box, usable in Mirae Mall . He had wondered when he would go and clear it, and today, the opportunity presented itself .
“Hyungniiiim?”
Remembering Yoo Jinho call after his disappeared self, Jinwoo stifled a laughter .
ring ring
Jinwoo started to answer his phone out of habit, but stopped when he realized it was a number he had never seen before .
‘Who?’
When he was in highschool, he was busy taking care of his little sister in the place of their mother . After graduating, he had started work as a Hunter . Because of this, Jinwoo did not know that many people .
‘There shouldn’t be anyone I don’t know calling me…’
After a brief pause, Jinwoo picked up .
“Hello . ”
- “Hello, is this Sung Jinwoo-ssi?”
A clear and well-spoken male’s voice .
Jinwoo immediately hung up .
‘In my experience, 99% of these calls are telemarketing or loan sharks . ’
He was about to put the phone away when it rang again .
ring ring
It was the same number .
‘Hmm? Was it not telemarketing?’
Valuing quantity over quality, telemarketing calls usually did not call again after one attempt . They knew that it’d be a waste of time .
‘Then this person might really have a reason…’
This time, he properly answered the call .
“Yes, this is Sung Jinwoo . ”
- “Ah, I had the right number . I thought I had the wrong one when you just hung up now, haha . ”
“ . . . ”
Jinwoo considered for about 2 seconds whether to explain that he had thought the clear and well-spoken voice belonged to a telemarketer .
‘Feels like apologizing for it might sound more rude…’
Soon, the business employee, or rather, the man who sounded like a business employee introduced himself .
- “Ah, I apologize . I have not introduced myself . I am Ahn Sangmin of the Baekho Guild . ”
Jinwoo stopped walking .
‘The Baekho Guild is calling me?’
No matter how he thought about it, the Baekho Guild would not have a reason to call him . Only possible relation he had with them was the fact that they were the Guild who helped out the Association during the Double Dungeon incident .
‘But I don’t think they’re calling me about that day after all this time . ’
Curiosity was a feeling that invited impatience . Before Ahn Sangmin could continue, Jinwoo asked,
“Why is the Baekho Guild calling me?”
- “It’s a little hard to explain over the phone, could we come to see you and explain?”
Instead of telling him to come over, they were offering to come to him . Jinwoo had no reason to refuse . He would have some free time anyways the day after tomorrow .
‘Jinho said he had some event at home?’
Yoo Jinho had explained that there was a big event that required the attendance of the entire family and apologized for not being able to Raid on Thursday .
‘A big event…’
Imagining a chaebol’s family gathering, Jinwoo imagined a party held in some luxurious banquet hall at a top hotel, like in the dramas . Anyways, he would be free that day .
“I’ll have some free time on Thursday . ”
- “That’s er… Are you free right now?”
Right now?
Jinwoo checked the time . It was 8 o’ clock .
“It’s almost eight . ”
- “We’re waiting nearby . We just need a moment of your time . ”
“Nearby?”
- “It’s a french cafe . ”
Ahn Sangmin told him the location . It was a familiar place . After all, it was the place he had met with Yoo Jinho . Jinwoo’s eyes became sharp .
‘He knows where I live . ’