Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

There was a thud as a heavy pile of documents hit the desk. “Now, these are all documents that you’ll need in order to establish a guild,” Jinho said.

“There’s quite a few…” Suho smiled incredulously as he stared at the huge pile of paper in front of him.

Jinho grinned, perhaps having anticipated this reaction. He picked up the topmost packet. “Of course, there are a lot. The guild that you’re establishing will basically be a major one right from the get-go.”

“Because of the Scavenger Guild?”

“Yes. The Scavenger Guild has already started selling Echo Forest Spring Water in earnest, and half of their profits will be listed as that of your guild. Of course, there is a lot of documentation.”

Suho nodded. TheEcho Forest Spring Water… The effectiveness of the antidotal potion that he’d acquired from the ice elves in the Glacier Dungeon had been proven by various tests performed by the Scavenger Guild. Suho knew the effects, of course, after having seen the item information. But in order to sell the stuff to other hunters for money, such verification processes were necessary, if slightly cumbersome.

After the Scavenger Guild had confirmed the potion’s value, they had immediately launched their potion-selling business. The world was already responding enthusiastically to this, though it was actually a natural outcome. A hunter with anti-poison skills was required when hunting magic beasts that used poison. Not everyone had such a hunter as a companion, however. In such situations, it was a necessary hassle to battle with a gas mask on. The only other option was to visit an association healer to have the poison removed from their system afterward. But with the new antidote, this system that had ruled until now would be replaced.

Suho’s contract with the Scavenger Guild would net him half of all the profits gained from the sales of Echo Forest Spring Water. As a rule, however, such astronomical contracts were only supposed to be established between guilds, not individuals.

“In other words, the moment your guild comes into existence, it will be a close affiliate of a supermassive guild in the States. We at Ahjinsoft must maintain that relationship, serving as the mediator and overseeing the process, which means a three-way contract is also required—”

“Right. So where do I start signing?” Suho didn’t pay much attention to the lawyer’s explanation, since he knew all the particulars already. He picked up his pen. Thanks to his uncle, all the complicated contracts and paperwork had been taken care of—all he needed to do now was sign all of these documents himself, and his guild would officially exist.

Jinho was eagerly watching his nephew sign the documents, for he was about to ask him a crucial question. “More importantly… The most important part of becoming a guild master has yet to be done.”

“And what would that be?” Suho asked, growing grave. His uncle was the closest companion of his father and retained all of the memories of their past life. What could such a person regard as the most important?

“Did you decide on a guild name?” Jinho asked.

“Oh.” That’s what you meant to ask? A little disappointed, Suho shrugged. He had been so busy lately that he hadn’t considered the matter once. But in any case, if this entire pile were to be dealt with, he would have to write down the guild’s name at the very top of each page. “Hmm… How about the Soloing Guild?”

“W-wait!”

Suho was puzzled. His uncle seemed aghast, his expression very convoluted.

Yoo Jinho wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. My goodness.He really is Jinwoo’s son, he thought. He was reminded of a nostalgic memory. Jinwoo had also tried to name a guild in a similar, offhand manner before.

“What? Does it sound weird?” Suho asked.

“Why… do you want to choose that name?”

“No special reason. I just like to do things alone. And I have no intention of bringing anyone into the guild, either.”

“You’re right, but you don’t actually fight alone, technically speaking. You have your shadow soldiers.”

“Hmm…”

“And that name is completely corny! Your guild will become more and more famous down the line, and more people will hear about it!”

Jinho did seem to have a point. His persuasive argument was as logical as it was desperate, and Suho nodded. Perhaps he would operate this guild for the rest of his life—it was only right to name it in a way that could reflect who he was.

That’s why I chose that name, though. If it’s not good enough, then I guess it can’t be helped.Hmm… Something that reflects who I am… After some thought, Suho asked again, “How about the Woojin Guild, then?”

“Woojin?” Jinho repeated the word and his eyes widened. “Your father’s name in a different order?”

“Yes, but it has another meaning as well.”

“What is that?”

“The Chinese character for ‘woo’ means ‘outer space,’ and ‘jin’ means ‘to go forward’.” Suho recalled his goal—what he had to do in the future and what he wanted to accomplish. The guild would grow with him toward that goal, and he wanted to name it likewise. “With the two characters combined, it means ‘venture out into space’.”

His uncle fell silent at this.

“I am going to go there no matter what,” Suho continued. “That’s where my father is.”

And so, the Woojin Guild came into being.

***

After establishing his guild, Suho got to work in earnest, clearing dungeons.

Now that he was a guild master, he realized that his new position changed a lot of things. Surprisingly, the fact that he was only a C-rank hunter didn’t really matter. Such things were only important when recruiting guild members. When selecting dungeons, all that was necessary was funds, and nothing else—and as it happened, Suho was now rich.

“You have a billion won to start with. Please use that money to choose the dungeons with the highest rank.”

“O-okay. I-I mean, yes, Guild Master!”

Dogyoon, who’d come out of the Shadow Dungeon for the first time in a very long while, was having trouble processing the fact that Suho was now rich. But it was only making money that was the hard part, not spending it.

“And next month, the Scavenger Guild will be sending us far more than we received this month. Please take that into account and make some reservations in advance as well.”

“Yes, sir!” Dogyoon replied with gusto.

Suho noticed that Dogyoon’s movements were different from before. He’s fast…

That change became even more apparent when he was taken along to a dungeon.

“Oh, gosh! Wh-why am I here, anyway?”

Dogyoon’s role was that of a porter, running from magic beast body to magic beast body killed by Suho and his shadow soldiers and collecting the mana stones. Such a task could actually be handled after the dungeon was completely cleared—Dogyoon didn’t have to be the one to do it at all. There were the shadow soldiers to handle it as well. Suho had brought him for a reason, however.

“Wow. He’s so nimble.” Suho was amazed. Ammut had forced Dogyoon to do nothing but run. As a result, his lower body had been trained to maximum efficiency, and he was running with ease from the intermediate magic beasts lunging at him. His mana is still E-rank, but his strength has spiked.I think he could even deal with D-rank magic beasts or above by himself.

Just because Dogyoon could run faster didn’t mean his attack power had improved, of course. But what would happen if he was given a good weapon to fight with?A bow, for instance, Suho thought. Hunter bows always used mana arrows, so no matter how good a bow was, in an E-rank hunter’s hands its attack power would be abysmal. Would he even be able to shoot a single proper arrow?

But what if it doesn’t use mana arrows? Suho wondered and handed Dogyoon a bow. “Take this.”

“Huh? I mean, yes, Guild Master.” Dogyoon took the bow and looked puzzled. “What do I do with this? I don’t have enough mana to fire—”

“I know. Just try and pull the bowstring back.”

Dogyoon didn’t understand, but he did as he was told.

As he drew the bowstring back, Suho commanded, “Mino, Shape Transformation.”

Lim Dogyoon gaped in shock. The shadow minotaur who’d been battling alongside Suho suddenly rushed over to him and turned into a single black arrow.

[Mino - Level 5 - Shape Transformation - Arrow]

“Y-yikes!” Dogyoon yelped as Mino bellowed. “Wh-what is this? This is kind of scary.” His hands trembled at the sight of the dark, rippling, and rather ominous arrow notched in the bow. He turned to look at Suho. “S-Suho… I mean, Guild Master? Wh-what happens if I shoot?”

“What do you think? The arrow will fly, of course.”

“Y-yes—”

“Now, fire.”

Suho pressed Dogyoon, and he shut his eyes, pointing the arrow at the scary-looking magic beasts in the distance. The moment he let go, a dark streak blasted a huge hole in a magic beast, which produced a bellowing sound.

“Eeeek!” The look on Dogyoon’s face was a sight to behold. “B-but how—”

“How do you think?” Suho said, grinning. “You know what this means? It means you are now a proud combatant of the Woojin Guild.”

“Guild Master…” Dogyoon’s eyes seemed to become subdued. He was an E-rank hunter—the weakest of all hunters, someone who was fit only to pick up items. That was who he was.

I am… weak, he reminded himself. In fact, he had always been that way. And that is why… I’ve always been running. He ran from the frightening magic beasts, as well as from his mother, who had tried to kill him after she had been transformed into a mist burn.

I also ran from my father, who had to kill her. Dogyoon still dreamed of that day when he fell asleep. In the dream, his father was always killing the magic beast that had been his mother without any qualms, while Dogyoon would watch.

“Ahhhh!”

“D-Dogyoon…!”

In the dream, would then run from his father, overcome with terror. And he always ran, without end, until that dream came to an end. His goal had been to escape his father.

Perhapsthat’s when all of this began.My entire life has been about running away. Dogyoon had learned a running skill after awakening, but perhaps that had been the natural result of a natural reason. It’s because I am weak. Even as a hunter, Dogyoon was only E-rank. He was nowhere as strong as his S-rank father, even now.

Dogyoon stared down at his hands, which had just killed an extremely powerful magic beast. They were starting to shake from the excitement. He wasn’t about to let himself be fooled—this power was not his own, but just a temporary capacity that Suho had lent him. Still, it seemed that this one experience was enough to give him a newfound courage.

“Suho…” Dogyoon said, turning with a grave look in his eye. He readied himself to spill an important secret that he had hidden thus far. “My father is actually…”

“Lim Taegyu, the guild master of the Fiend Guild? I know.”

“Lim Tae— What? H-how did you…”

Suho seemed puzzled at Dogyoon’s reaction. “How else? You two look way too alike. If I failed to see the resemblance, I probably don’t deserve to be a Fine Arts graduate of Hanguk University. In any case, if you’re finally telling me that, it seems you’ve worked up some courage.”

“What?”

Suho put a hand on the confused Dogyoon’s shoulder, giving him an expectant smile. His eyes glittered. “Now, then. Can you contact your father for me?”

“Wh-what? Contact him?”

“He keeps on asking me to return the weapon he lent me.” Suho chuckled.

“Huh…?”

Lim Taegyu had lent Suho an A-rank weapon before he entered the Glacier Dungeon. However, the replica of the Fiend’s Bow was now gone—Sirka, the ice elf who had gone with his mother, had taken it. Even if Suho had become rich overnight, all he had was a billion won, and no matter how well the Echo Forest Spring Water sold, it had only been a few days since sales had begun. He didn’t yet have the money to pay for that expensive A-rank bow.

“So make up with your father already,” Suho said. “Could you also ask him to give me some high-ranked dungeons, if possible…?”

Dogyoon stared at Suho, and as he was met with a cheerful grin, the emotion drained out of his face rather quickly.

***

“Cha Cha!” Elsewhere, Sirka was pointing her replica bow toward the sky, calling out urgently to Cha Haein.

Haein was staring forward with a heavy look in her eyes. “Don’t tell me…” she murmured. Beyond the gray snow, she had noticed a vast shadow.

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