Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

If someone on the streets of South Korea were to be stopped and asked who Baek Yoonho was, the responses would be widely varied indeed. He was an S-rank hunter, the guild master of the White Tiger Guild, and the greatest beast transformation hunter in South Korea.

But if they were asked again, this time about “what kind of person” Yoonho was, the answers would be surprisingly uniform. He was heroic. The owner of a large guild, an S-rank hunter—there were plenty of hunters all over the world who could be described in such terms. But none of them were as serious about the safety of the citizens or willing to put in as much effort as Baek Yoonho was.

Hunters were motivated by money, and all of them became rich through hunting. Such utilitarianism was by no means a bad thing in today’s capitalist world, of course. But it was also natural that when a guild, despite the way the world was, was willing to give up on completely reasonable profits and do everything it could to save the citizens it loved, it would receive praise from the people.

The recent villain escape was a good example. This was a case that all hunters had mostly abandoned since it wasn’t worth the time investment. Only the White Tiger Guild had gotten involved, throwing everything they had at it. It was this that made people respect Baek Yoonho, and that was why he was a proud South Korean hero that everyone was thankful for.

However, Yoonho hadn’t been like this from the start. When he had first awakened as a hunter, the ability he awakened had been none other than that of turning into a magic beast. This skill allowed him to gain wild energy by transforming his body to be reminiscent of the beasts. In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, people had not looked upon him or his skill with much fondness. It wasn’t only Yoonho—any hunter who had the same skill was shunned in the same way. The reason was logical and natural—it was frightening that they could transform into the very magic beasts that poured out of the gates.

—Who knows when they’ll suddenly turn into real magic beasts?

—First there were the gates. Are people going to turn into beasts now?

—What if they suddenly turn and eat us?

—Shouldn’t we execute them before that happens?

Countless concerns regarding the beast transformation hunters had ravaged the internet at the time. This continued until the Hunters Association came into being and Woo Jinchul began to show public support for such hunters.

Even with Jinchul’s guarantees, however, people continued to be worried about these hunters. The problem was that even the beast transformation hunters themselves had such doubts. Who knew if they would suddenly lose their minds and turn into full magic beasts? Nobody could make guarantees against such a thing. That was why they were always ashamed of their ability, always on edge, just in case they lost their sanity.

Yoonho was no different. He had such a massive body, after all, and his face was so fierce that he looked ready to kill magic beasts with a single swipe of his hand at the slightest provocation. His looks were what had made people always fear him.

There was someone who had given him courage, however.

“Yoonho.”

Before the Great Cataclysm, Yoonho had been a firefighter all his life. When he looked up, he noticed his most respected senior, Captain Sung Ilhwan, smiling down warmly at him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, Captain.”

Yoonho looked up into Ilhwan’s eyes. The hand on his shoulder was hard, covered with old calluses. The captain was a veteran in his field, perhaps comparable to a great commander. He was a monumental firefighter who was always reliable and extremely capable in the event of a disaster.

Ilhwan looked down at Yoonho and gave advice in his usual calm, trust-inspiring voice.

“It doesn’t matter if you awakened or gained an ability. Nothing changes.Nomatter what people may say, you are still a firefighter—my junior serviceman, Baek Yoonho. So do as you alwayshave done…”

Sung Ilhwan smiled, his face covered with patches of dark soot.

“Save people.”

The words were like a jolt of lightning to Yoonho’s system. Frankly, anybody could say such words, but the person speaking was Captain Sung Ilhwan—a man who had struggled for decades, putting his life on the line for the same purpose each time. Those words had come from the lips of the man who had carried out the very same advice himself, and Yoonho had watched him from close proximity. No further clarification was needed between them.

“You’re a firefighter.”

The captain grinned, and Yoonho finally gave a confident smile.

That was the beginning of a new South Korean hero—the S-rank hunter Baek Yoonho. He immediately went to the most famous guild in South Korea, the Fiend Guild, where he began to tear magic beasts apart using his skills at the forefront of every battle. Even his companions were afraid of his terrifying prowess.

But it doesn’t matter. Yoonho didn’t care. If he had time to worry about what others thought of him, it was better to kill at least one more magic beast. That meant that he would be doing what was best for the people.

I save people. That is all. That was the most important lesson he had learned over the decades while serving under Sung Ilhwan.

That had only been two years ago. It had only taken a year for Yoonho to earn himself a reputation, and he soon established his own guild under his own name. It was not for the sake of making money, however—in fact, he was after the opposite. The values of the guild master of the Fiend Guild, which had chased profits like every other hunter guild, collided with Yoonho’s. Therefore, he gathered all the beast transformation hunters in the country still struggling with the prejudices leveled against them. He founded the White Tiger Guild, and with that, he began to save citizens in earnest.

And there was one reason as to why he had gone so far.

“You’re a firefighter.”

The heavy last words that Sung Ilhwan had said to him were still engraved deep in his heart.

***

Yoonho was sobbing loudly. “And so… Hic! Captain Sung Ilhwan… Hic! He told me to become— Oh, god!”

“Okay, I get it. Please, don’t…”

“Father, stop crying. The guild members are watching. And blow your nose, would you?”

Yoonho did as he was told. He had been immersed in telling his old stories, but he took the tissue Miho handed him and blew hard into it. The tears didn’t stop flowing from his eyes, however.

Miho sighed quietly and handed him an entire roll of toilet paper. Then she turned to Suho with a genuine look of apology. “I’m sorry, Suho. My father has gotten sentimental in his old age.”

“Yes, well… I understand.” Suho looked a little confused. The way Yoonho had roared like an animal and come at him with a barrage of attacks seemed heavily at odds with the bawling man in front of him with liquid flowing out of his eyes and nostrils.

On the other hand, Suho was somewhat surprised. What an interesting coincidence.Who knew my grandfather knew Baek Yoonho? He knew that his grandfather, Sung Ilhwan, had been a firefighter all his life before he eventually retired. Naturally, he didn’t know all of his grandfather’s old companions. He had no idea that the famous guild leader had once been his grandfather’s subordinate.

From Suho’s perspective, it was just an interesting fact, and nothing more. But to Yoonho, this matter was of far greater importance. The man blew his nose again and cleared his throat awkwardly. “S-Suho?” He strutted over clumsily. His tone had changed—he was now extremely cautious, like he was dealing with some object made of fragile glass. “Ahem… It seems there was a slight misunderstanding between us. The grandson of Captain Sung Ilhwan couldn’t possibly have fallen into bad ways. Of course not.”

Yoonho knew better than anyone what a great man Captain Sung was. In fact, a few words from him had been enough to launch the guild master himself on a lifelong quest to save people. His grandson could not possibly choose the wrong path, he thought. I must have been mistaken earlier.That’s for sure.

Yoonho turned a pleading gaze toward Suho and said, “Speaking of which, this would be too trivial a matter for you to never mention to your grandfather, don’t you—”

“Oh! Come to think of it, I haven’t called my grandfather in ages!” Suho exclaimed.

“What! N-no! Hold it! Please, hold that thought…”

Yoonho balked as Suho pulled out his phone. No matter how surprised he was, however, he didn’t try to take the phone by force. In fact, he broke out into a sweat and hovered around the young hunter, careful not to touch a hair on his body.

Suho gave a mischievous smile and lowered the phone. Yoonho was deathly pale as he heaved a sigh, and Suho’s grin broadened.

In any case, this is good, Suho thought. Now the great Baek Yoonho owes me. The more strong companions he had, the better it would be when it came to fighting the followers of Itarim. He had made friends with Thomas Andre recently, but he was usually only active in the United States, and thus it was hard to expect help from him in an emergency.

Suho considered how best to utilize Yoonho—disrespectful as that might have sounded—and finally came to a decision. “Mr. Baek, I won’t call my grandfather, so please relax.”

“Y-yeah? Hahaha! I knew you wouldn’t! You’re a generous young man, just like him!”

“But I have a request.”

“Huh? A request?” Yoonho, who had seemed greatly relieved, suddenly looked anxious.

Suho’s conditions were surprisingly reasonable, however. “Can you find Hwang Dongsoo for me? He still hasn’t appeared, so that probably means we have to go looking for him ourselves.”

“Hwang Dongsoo…?” Yoonho’s bumbling look vanished, replaced by a cold expression. “Why are you after him?”

“Does a bounty hunter need a reason to hunt villains?” Suho said, holding out his association bounty hunter license.

“I see,” Yoonho said, nodding as he looked at it. He still seemed somewhat bothered. “Leave it to us. We were going to find him anyway. But I do have a question for you.” The guild master’s eyes were suddenly full of doubt again, just like before Ilhwan’s name was mentioned. If Suho was going after Dongsoo, it meant he was confident he could deal with an S-rank hunter. If that was the case, why was he remaining an ostensible C-rank hunter, hiding his power?

“Will you kill Hwang Dongsoo yourself if he is found?” Yoonho asked directly.

Suho cocked his head, seemingly puzzled. “Uh, no? I’d be happy if you killed him, of course. It’s only right that an S-rank villain be dealt with by S-rank hunters.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant,” Yoonho said, casting his doubts aside. But Suho’s next words made his eyes go wide again.

“But if you do kill him, please hang on to his body.”

“Huh? Why do you need his body?”

“Oh, I just want to take a look at it. It won’t take long.”

Uh, Captain… What kind of grandson do you have here? The guild master realized he should probably give the old man a call.

—My Beloved Grandson♥

He stared at the picture on the captain’s profile in silence. Ilhwan was enjoying a peaceful life of retirement, and his profile was filled with love for his grandson. It only confused Yoonho more.

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