Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

“Anyway, Uncle.“

Suho looked at Yoo Jinho with a rather serious expression.

“Thank you so much, but I don‘t think I can join your guild.“

“What? Why?“

Since Suho‘s words were completely unexpected, Yoo Jinho looked like he couldn’t grasp it.

“You hate it because it seems like nepotism? Didn‘t you hear the Hyeonmu Guild earlier? You are the only talent that can be recruited among the heroes of yesterday‘s incident. It‘s not like they‘ll put you in as a guild leader anyway, and no one will think of it as nepotism.“

“It‘s not like that.“

“Then what is it?“

“I’m thinking of setting it up myself.“

“What?“

Yoo Jinho put on a blank expression for a moment.

“… By yourself? You mean a guild?“

“Yes.“

“…“

The bewilderment was only momentary.

Yoo Jinho soon shut his mouth and snapped his fingers while in deep thought.

The Suho he knew was never the type to talk nonsense about things like that.

There must be a reason why he insisted on rejecting his offer.

After organizing his thoughts, Yoo Jinho looked into Suho‘s eyes in a calm tone and said.

“Of course, establishing a guild is possible even for C-Class hunters as long as they meet the qualifications. However, if that happens, there will be a lot of inconvenient and unfavorable things.“

“I know.“

“You may be beaten by large guilds.“

“It doesn‘t matter.“

“… I‘m curious as to why you‘re doing this. It would be much more comfortable and stable if you entered a good guild like everyone else, so why would you want to take the hard road?“

“It gets in the way.“

“…?“

The more questions and answers they went on, the more Yoo Jinho felt like he was sinking into a labyrinth.

But he was used to that kind of conversation.

It felt rather nostalgic.

‘Well, he’s Sung Jinwoo’s son for a reason.‘

Suho‘s appearance reminded him of his missing brother-in-law’s face.

Yoo Jinho smiled and asked Suho again.

“What kind of hindrance do you mean by entering a guild?“

“Level up.“

His expression hardened at the answer that came out of Suho‘s mouth.

“It interferes with leveling up.“

“… What? What are you…“

That moment.

Swook-

The black shadow that rose up again from Suho‘s feet asked Suho.

[Young Master, have you finally decided?]

“Yes. My uncle is the most trustworthy person in the world.“

With Suho‘s affirmation, Beru smiled.

[That… I know of very well.]

Yoo Jinho had a puzzled look on his face.

Even though years have passed, that expression is still the same as before, so Beru‘s smile deepens even more.

The reason Beru came to Earth was because of Sung Jinwoo‘s order to remove the seal on Suho.

To put the order more specifically, it was to restore the ‘power and memory‘ that had been sealed from Suho so that he could protect Earth himself.

Aside from that, Sung Jinwoo added a few more requests to Beru, who was leaving for Earth.

-I‘ll leave the rest to your discretion…

Since he didn‘t know exactly what was going on Earth then, an order was entrusted to Beru with all decisions and choices to be made after arriving there.

There was one more thing.

-And… ‘That guy‘ will definitely be a great source of strength to Suho in many ways.

Sigh.

Beru recognized at once who the ‘that guy‘ Sung Jinwoo was talking about.

Compared to now, he was the number 1 henchman who had been following Sung Jinwoo since he was extremely weak.

A colleague who never betrayed him even when his life was threatened by enemies because of Sung Jinwoo.

[Young Master, please use the key.]

Suddenly, Suho had a key in his hand.

“Suho…? What is that key?“

Instead of answering Yoo Jinho‘s question, Suho simply held the key in the palm of his hand.

Clack.

Swoosh!

“…?!“

The light emitted from the key colored Yoo Jinho‘s vision white.

[Use ‘Item: Shadow Dungeon Key‘.]

That moment.

A voice struck Yoo Jinho‘s brain like a thunderbolt.

-Were you usually so quiet?

‘… Huh?‘

Instinctively realizing that it might be his own voice, Yoo Jinho looked around quickly in amazement.

But it wasn‘t.

There was nothing.

Not even the appearance of Suho, who had been talking with him until now, nor the soft sofa he was sitting on.

Suddenly everything was gone.

All he could see was a blinding white void.

In the middle of it, Yoo Jinho stood alone.

At that moment, another strong hallucination echoed in his brain.

-You said you were E-Class, right? I will protect you. Stay right next to me.

-… Alright, thank you for saying that.

‘Ah!‘

He felt like his head was about to explode.

Yoo Jinho clenches his teeth and grabs his head with both hands from the tremendous headache.

From the depths of his head, memories like a kaleidoscope began to unfold like a panorama.

However, the sight was very unfamiliar.

His youthful self was having a friendly conversation with someone.

-Just 20 times! No, just go with 19!

-There is one condition.

-Tell me anything!

-You and I, just the two of us.

-What?

But the other person‘s face…

‘I-It’s my brother-in-law! Sung Jinwoo!‘

That made him even more appalled.

‘Have I ever had a conversation like this with him? E-Class? He disappeared before the cataclysm… ‘

No matter how much he looked back, he could never remember having a conversation like that.

It didn‘t even fit the timing in the first place.

But… Why?

-Jinho, what do you think of me?

-To me, you are more like an older brother than my biological older brother.

Again.

Hot tears were flowing from his eyes.

-If you think of me as your brother, then I will think of you as my younger brother.

-Can I give you a hug?

-H-Hey! You drunkard!

-No! I‘m more sober now than ever!

-Ha, such a weird guy.

‘W-What the hell is this! What the hell is this memory?!‘

Yoo Jinho trembled with an unknown longing and cried out.

Those were memories that never existed in the first place.

‘It doesn‘t make sense!‘

‘What is this memory all about?’

His self in that memory was entering the dungeon following Sung Jinwoo.

He was watching Sung Jinwoo from behind as he hunted the monsters.

Countless times.

Again and again.

-Jinwoo! Let‘s go together!

That wondrous sight…

He was watching him from the closest place than anyone else.

It was his greatest pride that such a great person considered him as a younger brother.

So he made an eternal promise.

No matter what, he will always follow his older brother, Jinwoo.

Just in time, Sung Jinwoo in his memory was opening his mouth with a faint smile.

As always, with a voice about to start a battle.

-Arise.

It was then.

“Arise.“

Yoo Jinho, who was struggling in the world of emptiness, heard Suho‘s voice in his ears.

“… Oh God!“

Yoo Jinho, who suddenly returned to reality, opened his eyes.

Suho was still sitting in front of him.

Numerous shadow soldiers with black steam blazing stood around Suho.

It was similar to the appearance of Sung Jinwoo in his memory— an all-too-familiar sight.

“Haa…“

A sigh escaped Yoo Jinho‘s mouth.

Everything was just forgotten.

Everything.

* * *

“… What was that… Ha.“

Even after his memory returned, Yoo Jinho shed tears for a long time.

It had to be.

Two lives.

Two memories.

At the center of it all was the presence of Sung Jinwoo, who had always been by his side.

‘Brother… Even though I forgot everything, you came to visit me first. It wasn‘t even a coincidence that we first met when we were freshmen…‘

[Tsk. Stop crying. Did you get too old?]

“Huhuhu…“

[Stop!]

Beru clicked his tongue at the sight of middle-aged Yoo Jinho weeping nonstop.

Beru told him what had happened.

Yoo Jinho shed more tears, and finally calmed down.

“… Sniff.“

He suddenly felt embarrassed.

Come to think of it, Suho had been drinking coffee in front of him all along.

“I think I know the situation well now.“

“…“

“You mean you‘re going to get into trouble if the outer monsters find out that the son of the Shadow Monarch lives on Earth?“

“… Yes.“

“I see. I definitely understand.“

It sounded like an adult worn out while doing business.

Yoo Jinho‘s eyes were extremely serious as he nodded his head and thought back at what he had understood.

Suho answered by putting the coffee cup down on the table.

“That‘s why I want to remain as invisible as possible until I grow strong enough to not become my father‘s weakness.“

“Then I guess you‘ll have to hide your identity until you reach S-Class, at least. In the past, your father also started being really active when he became S-Class.“

Yoo Jinho nodded as he recalled that time.

“… No, in fact, even S-Class is not enough.“

Yoo Jinho burst into a sigh as he recalled the last image of the forgotten world.

Even the S-Class hunters were no match to beings called monarchs.

However, fear rose from the fact that ‘Outer Gods‘ appearing were beings of a much higher rank than those mighty monarchs.

“Whoa. It was almost close to the apocalypse back then, but this time it‘s really no joke.“

[Still, Outer Gods could not come to Earth directly. It‘s thanks to the Shadow Monarch guarding the front line tightly.]

“That‘s fortunate, but there‘s a possibility that the apostles of Outer Gods first hid on Earth. That‘s why Suho has to level up while hiding his identity as much as possible.“

“To be precise, I just need to hide that I am the son of the Shadow Monarch.“

“I understand that, too. You mean it doesn’t matter if they knew you as a normal person named Sung Suho. Hmm. It’s an information disruption…“

Yoo Jinho nodded his head several times at Suho‘s words and pondered on those.

“Alright! Then, create a guild separate from our company! Instead, I will help you with all the legal problems and other trivial matters.“

“Oh, thank you.“

“But.“

Yoo Jinho‘s expression suddenly became serious.

“Even if I help with everything else, there is one problem I can never help you with. You will have to overcome this on your own.“

With that expression, Suho‘s eyes also became serious.

“What is that?“

“Ha.“

Yoo Jinho‘s eyes suddenly became dim as he spoke.

He said the same thing once, a long, long time ago.

As the memory of that day came to mind, Yoo Jinho calmly continued, swallowing the tears welling up again.

“When you first create a guild, you will need at least three hunters. President, Vice President, Employee.“

“Ah.“

There’s a problem.

[To be continued…]