Solo Leveling - Chapter 40

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~’

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?”

‘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 . ’

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