Solo Leveling - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 26

-1 . Deal- [0]

Yoo Jinho was stunned .

“Hyungnim, I didn’t even finish . ”

“I don’t think I have to listen to the rest to get the jist of what you’re asking . ”

Jinwoo cut him off firmly .  It wasn’t that he didn’t like Yoo Jinho .  He was a weird one, but he was energetic and genuine .  The young man was different than the image of the ultra rich heirs he saw in the media .  However, Jinwoo had no intention of playing Hunter with a rich boy, who probably thought of the Dungeon as a playground .

“Well, if that was all you wanted to ask, I’m leaving . ”

“H-hyungnim!”

Yoo Jinho frantically tried to stop Jinwoo .

“Hyungnim! Just 20 times, no just accompany me 19 times!”

“To where? Dungeons?”

“Yes! I’ll of course make sure you are compensated properly . ”

Yoo Jinho was practically begging .  Jinwoo tilted his head . There were two reasons people became Hunters: Money or Duty .  Yoo Jinho didn’t seem like he fit either ideals . The young heir had no need for money from Dungeons, and if it was sense of duty that carried him there, he would not have asked for someone else to do all the job for him .  

Perhaps he was looking for a bigger sense of thrill than an extreme sport? It would not be strange that a child from a rich family, having every need taken care of and having provided every protection there is, would become tired of a safe, boring life .

‘I suppose there are all kinds of people in this world . ’

This was Jinwoo’s opinion of the young man until now .  But compared to what Jinwoo had previously thought, he saw a strange light of determination behind Yoo Jinho’s eyes .

‘Does he have some other purpose?’

Instead of the “proper compensation” the young man was offering, what caught Jinwoo’s interest was the specific number of 19 Raids .  His mind began to run the calculations .

‘Wait… If the last Dungeon was his first Raid, and now he needs nineteen more…’

This punk couldn’t be thinking of…

Jinwoo reached a conclusion, dumbfounded .

“Are you thinking of going for a Guildmaster License?”

“Yes, hyungnim!”

It was good thing he had not ordered coffee .  He would’ve surely done a spit take while drinking it .

“You’re going to become a Guildmaster . You . ”

“Well, it’s complicated, hyungnim . . . ”

Yoo Jinho’s face reddened even more than before .

“Please hear me out, hyungnim . ”

“ . . . ”

Wondering what he would do, Jinwoo lost to his curiosity and sat back down .

“Alright, let’s hear it . ”

After all, the 1 hour that he allotted had not passed yet .  He could afford to at least listen to the young man’s story .  Yoo Jinho followed suit and sat down across from him again .

“As you said, I want to obtain the Guildmaster License . ”

It wasn’t exactly hard for a Hunter to obtain a Guildmaster License .  It just required the Hunter to obtain the experience of 20 Raids . After meeting that requirement, the Hunter just had to take a simple written test, and they will be awarded the license .  Of course, nobody would want to join a no name Hunter’s Guild, and if they could not maintain the minimum number of members required for a Guild, the Guild would be disbanded .

Yoo Jinho continued,

“It hasn’t been revealed to the public yet, but the truth is, my father wants to make a Guild . ”

“Yoojin Construction wants to make a Guild?”

“Yes . ”

Yoojin Construction was one of the top construction companies of South Korea .  Despite their name, their activities were not limited to just construction . The company was known for having a finger in many areas of business, and recently, they had even begun engaging in Hunter-related businesses, making a lot of money .

‘And such a company wants its own Guild?’

Seeing Jinwoo’s interest, Yoo Jinho continued excitedly,

“Father wants to gather strong Hunters and grow a large Guild, and through the Guild, he wants to conduct all sorts of Hunter-related businesses . ”

If a company wanted to conduct Hunter-related business, the cooperation of a Guild was crucial .  After all, it required the provision from a large Guild to obtain magic cores, magic beast corpses, mana crystals and other treasures from B-rank or A-rank Gates .

“So he wants to cut out the middleman in that process . ”

“You’ve hit the mark, hyungnim!”

With their power, it would be no problem for Yoojin Construction to make a Guild .

The problem would be who would manage that Guild .

“Currently, father wants to employee an S-rank Hunter as the Guildmaster, and make my older brother the Deputy Guildmaster to operate the Guild as a branch of the business… But…”

Jinwoo caught the hint of what Yoo Jinho was saying .  The father’s current plan had a small flaw . The Guildmaster’s powers in the Guild was absolute .  If a friction arose between the company and the Hunter they employed, it would result in the destruction of their plan .  In that line of thought, there was another option: to make someone who would never betray the company the Guildmaster .

For example, the son of the chairman .

And Chairman Yoo Myunghan had Yoo Jinho as his son .

“ . . . Compared to my brother, my influence or achievements aren’t enough to become the Guildmaster . It was his idea to move the company in the direction of Hunter-related businesses, and that direction already resulted in massive profits for the company . ”

At the young age of 31, Yoo Jinho’s older brother had already become an accomplished businessman .  Compared to him, the younger brother was just a 22-year old college student, putting aside the fact that he was a D-rank Awakened Being .

It was clear that the chairman intended to leave the business of the Guild to his firstborn .  While the older brother could not become a Guildmaster as a non-Hunter, he had already showed great results in the realm of Hunter-related business .  They would take the gamble against the risk of the employed Hunter’s loyalty .

“And you want to convince your father to make you the Guildmaster?”

“Yes, that is right, hyungnim . ”

Now Jinwoo realized why Yoo Jinho had clung to him with great desperation .  If the young man just employed a high ranking Hunter and obtained the Guildmaster License, it would be no different than buying the license .  But what if he went with low ranking Hunters like himself and completed 20 Raids?

This might just move his father’s heart .

Yoo Jinho had to show that he could lead the other Hunters .  This was his gamble . Once he became the Guildmaster, he could place an S-rank Hunter as the Deputy Guildmaster and gather other skilled Hunters .  As long as one of the leaders of the Guild was skilled, it would be good enough for the other Hunters .

For all this to happen, he needed the 20 Raids .  Specifically with low ranking Hunters .

“Hyungnim, please! I beg you for your help!”

Yoo Jinho bowed his head deeply .  If it wasn’t for Jinwoo, he would’ve lost his life twice on his first Raid .  Once from the spider, and second from Hwang Dongseok . He needed a reliable ally .

‘I can put my trust in hyungnim . ’

To Yoo Jinho, Jinwoo was a man of absolute fairness .  He was someone who would coldly kill his enemies without blinking, yet would not needlessly threaten the lives of the weak .  A patron of effort who would not forcibly take something that wasn’t earned .

The E-ranker Sung Jinwoo was the perfect candidate for his plans .

But Sung Jinwoo did not need Yoo Jinho .  So he asked,

“What’s in it for me?”

Yoo Jinho raised his head and gladly took out a manilla envelope he had prepared .  Inside it was the blueprint for a building . He handed it to Jinwoo .

“It’s the building we’ll be building for the Guild Office . Estimated value is about 30 billion won . ”

Although the Association did its best, the possibility of a Dungeon Break always existed in this country .  As such, the areas where large Guilds maintained their headquarters had their land values rise explosively .  One’s life was the most valuable asset, after all . Even the presence of a small Guild nearby would increase their safety, and if it was a large Guild instead?

“If I become the Guildmaster, we’ll use it for exactly one year until the Guild becomes stabilized . Then, I’ll turn over the deed to hyungnim . Of course, we’ll notarize the agreement so the company won’t be able to back out in any way . ”

A 30 billion won building for just 19 C-rank Raids…

Jinwoo smiled,

“Are you saying the price of you becoming Guildmaster is worth that much?”

“That is correct, hyungnim . ”

On that day in the C-rank Dungeon, Yoo Jinho learned that anything could happen in a Raid .  Going in with a weak Hunter could result in his death . On the other hand, if he employed a famous Hunter, his father would not be convinced in any capacity .  But Jinwoo was different, he was an E-rank Hunter who took down a C-rank boss and multiple C-rank Hunters alone, without any major injuries .

‘Hyungnim is at the very least a B-rank… maybe even greater . ’

With his help, going through 19 C-rank Raids would be a breeze .  If he could become a Guildmaster, 30 billion would be nothing . All that was left was Jinwoo’s answer .

‘I don’t think he’ll refuse such an offer . ’

Yoo Jinho carefully tried to read Jinwoo’s expression .

‘What should I do?’

Jinwoo had fallen into contemplation .

30 billion won .

It was a massive amount .

If winning the lottery meant one and a half billion won, he would have to win the lottery 20 times to obtain such an amount .  On top of that, the building’s value would only rise with the presence of a Guild operating out of it . The ordinary Hunter would immediately grab the papers and sign the offer .

But Jinwoo was not an ordinary Hunter .

“Only One, No Second (唯一無二) . ” [1]

He was the only Hunter capable of growth .

As long as he continued his quests and level-ups, he would someday reach S-rank, no, higher than that .

‘If I become an S-rank Hunter, 30 billion is nothing . ’

Just the contract fees for S-rank Hunters were in the tens of billions .  No celebrity or sports stars could compare to the worth of these S-rank Hunters .  This was a world where the number of S-rank Hunters signified the influence and power of a country .  As such, the treatment of S-rankers surpassed imagination .

So in this moment, the most important thing to Jinwoo was not money, but progress .  And to grow his powers, being alone was the best .

‘I have to minimize the unknown factors . ’

Hunting together would decrease his experience points, and it would also be difficult to act under the gaze of others .  Even in the last Dungeon, he had to ensure Yoo Jinho’s silence to make sure nothing bothersome happened to him . It would also be a headache to match his schedule to his teammates’ .  No matter how he looked at it, the negatives were too much .

‘I can always earn more money . ’

Regrettable, but Jinwoo decided to refuse the offer .

‘Wait . ’

Suddenly, he thought of a way to earn money and ensure growth at the same time .

‘If I can do that…’

He raised his head and found Yoo Jinho’s nervous eyes looking at him .

Jinwoo slowly opened his mouth,

“I have one condition . ”

Yoo Jinho’s face immediately filled with happiness,

“Anything! Just let me know, hyungnim!”

Jinwoo wondered if he would still smile after hearing the condition .  He held back his own smile .

“Just you and me . Only the two of us will enter the Dungeon . ”

“Huh?”

Yoo Jinho became surprised .

“H-hyungnim, forgive me if I got it wrong… But are you saying that just you and I would clear a C-rank Dungeon?”

“You’ve got it . ”

Yoo Jinho’s face turned as pale as snow .

Translator’s Notes:

[0]: the part numbering: I got confused too, but the part numbers reset after the last chapter .  I wasn’t sure if it was signifying an end of a volume (seemed like too many chapters for 1 volume, though) .  To be honest, the part numbering kinda disappears eventually in the novels . I wonder if the author just forgot about it or stopped doing it .

[1]: “Only one, no second” (유일무이): I had previously translated this as “to be unique” .  The meaning is same, but I felt like the impact of the phrase was better in the direct translation .

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