Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 113

At the break of dawn the next day, Suho set off for Euljiro. Thanks to Rio, he now knew the kind of foes that he would have to face in the Glacier Dungeon. It was time to prepare accordingly.

Hundreds of archers, huh… Naturally, he couldn’t assume that this information was absolutely accurate. There was the possibility of more hidden ice elves, significantly increasing their ranks.

In any case, it just so happened that Suho now had a benefactor who was eager to do anything to support his survival.

“Guild master has lots of money. I buy items for Suho.”

The benefactor in question was none other than Rio. He had come to Korea on a business trip with the purpose of scouting Suho, and he was equipped with a corporate card provided by the Asura Guild. He was willing to swipe as many times as needed to cover the debts incurred in the fight with Thomas and win Suho’s favor in the process.

However, Beru was not so easily won. The shadow ant fiercely growled as he seized Rio’s collar, “This is the natural price you must pay for your transgression! Don’t consider this some favor to us. Such trifles can never erase the sin of endangering our Young Monarch—”

Rio coughed abruptly. “Hard words. Make it easy.”

“Hmph. We’ll make good use of it.” Beru quickly snatched the credit card and presented it to Suho.

Clink, clank! Clang! Screech!

Upon arriving at Euljiro, they were greeted by a cacophony of sound.

There was a famous saying about the district: In Euljiro, you can buy anything but humans. The special zone was like an ultimate emporium, where one could find anything they might need. It was bustling with numerous specialized shops that carried extensive ranges of professional equipment. It had always been that way to an extent, but it had become even more famous after the Great Cataclysm.

The moment Suho and his group emerged from a narrow alley, a vast and breathtaking spectacle unfolded before their eyes.

—Euljiro Blacksmith

—Wholesale Hunter Survival Kits

—Specialized Shield Processing

—We Sharpen Swords and Axes

—Plate Armor Manufacturing

—Casting and Refining Blunt Weapons

A dazzling array of signs lined the street. The area had adapted to suit the needs of the tumultuous present and was full of shops catering to hunters.

Displays of supplies gleamed in the windows before them. No hunter could look upon the sight without having their breath taken away.

Ah!Is this South Korea’s Hunter Mall? Rio was no different. India also had such shops, but this was a new place with new and different weapons. Moreover, the sight of so many weapon shops densely clustered in one area was quite exotic.

“Suho! Here is fantastic! An item shop! A blacksmith!” he cried excitedly.

Regardless of nationality or rank, hunters naturally became crazy about gear. Ordinary hunters, unable to level up like Suho, had no clear method to improve their strength. As their magical power was a fixed value, the only effort they could make was to enhance their physical strength. They needed rigorous training through exercise or sports to condition their bodies, or they could build combat experience, though that would only refine their skills.

But there was one surefire method to circumvent all those hardships and grow stronger: items. Stronger weapons and more robust armor were highly sought-after. A simple upgrade to slightly better equipment increased a hunter’s strength in turn. Thus, most hunters’ obsession with gear was entirely reasonable.

***

“Tsk. You just got here?” A middle-aged man was leaning against the wall in front of Euljiro blacksmith with his arms crossed, waiting for Suho. He frowned upon seeing their group. “You’ve got some nerve, kid, asking me to come shop with you.”

Suho was flabbergasted. “Hey, I never asked you to come with me. All I wanted was your item recommendations, but you insisted on coming in person.”

“One should always check out the goods in person when they choose a weapon. What if I just texted you some info, and you ended up getting conned? Do you want rumor to spread that the Fiend Guild’s guild master makes the wrong calls?”

“Ah, come on. Do you think I’m the type to get swindled?”

Once Rio recognized the man Suho was talking to, he trembled as if he’d been jolted by lightning. Good heavens!I knew I recognized him from somewhere. It’s S-rank Hunter Lim Taegyu!He knows Suho? Rio had come on this trip already well-versed in information about South Korean hunters. He naturally knew of someone as prominent as Lim Taegyu.

I see now that the Scavenger Guild isn’t my only competition, Rio thought. Of course, the major Korean guilds would also be after Suho. He looked at Suho anxiously, trying to gauge his thoughts, then asked in Korean, “S-Suho… You joining Fiend Guild?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay!” Rio’s face brightened once again. But it was too soon for him to be completely at ease.

“Who’s this guy? A new friend?” asked Taegyu.

“Yes. He’s a hunter from the Asura Guild.”

“Ah, a hunter from India.”

At that moment, Taegyu’s indifferent gaze collided with Rio’s eyes. The Indian hunter quickly caught on. He realized that the S-rank hunter felt some attachment toward Suho.

This won’t do.I need to contact the guild master and ask to increase the limit on the corporate card. If he didn’t step up his game now, he might lose Suho right before his very eyes. Moreover, a conversation that further justified his anxiety was unfolding right in front of him.

“Anyway, I really appreciate you coming in person,” Suho said. “I know you’re busy, and yet you made time for me.”

“If you knew my time was precious, why did you ignore all my calls?”

“I’m really sorry about that. I’ve been getting so many guild invitations lately, I haven’t been looking at each one.”

“Well, it’s fine. You’ve been gathering experience to start your own guild anyway, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I have my sources. This is a small industry, after all.” Taegyu shifted the conversation hesitantly.

The Fiend Guild was in a dire state after the Lee Minsung incident. Not only had their image plummeted overnight, but they were also facing financial difficulties. Taegyu had emptied his own savings account to provide compensation to the families of the hunters who had died. Despite doing all he could, it wasn’t easy to recover an image that had fallen so far.

That’s why I have to recruit this guy at any cost. With the loss of so many of his hunters and an urgent need for new manpower, it was a given that he was after a competent individual like Suho. But it seemed impossible to recruit someone intent on establishing his own guild. Moreover…

After a moment of contemplation, Taegyu looked at Suho intently. “Anyway, what are you planning to buy today?”

“A bow. You’re our country’s expert on bows, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.”

“A bow?!” Rio was utterly taken aback. This is madness!Countering hundreds of ice elves with a bow and arrows?His strategy is terribly flawed! He had assumed Suho was there to buy armor and shields.

Rio frantically tried to intervene. “Suho! Lots of ice elves! Use full plate mail, and tower shield!”

“Ice elves?” Taegyu’s eyebrows twitched. His expression turned grave as he glared at Suho. “Wait, you’re not thinking of entering the Glacier Dungeon, are you?”

“Oh? You know about the Glacier Dungeon?”

“Who exactly do you think I am? Do you think I wouldn’t know something like that?” The S-rank hunter sighed deeply and gritted his teeth. Even if things had taken a turn for the worse, the Fiend Guild had still been one of South Korea’s top guilds until recently. As guild master, he naturally had access to such information.

“Wait a minute,” he continued. “Don’t tell me the reason Thomas Andre came yesterday was…” Suho had just given him only a tidbit of information, but Taegyu was sharp enough to deduce a lot from it. Recently, there had been industry rumors that the Scavenger Guild was targeting the Glacier Dungeon. He looked at Suho seriously. “Are you and Thomas Andre close?”

“No. I just met him yesterday.”

“What in the world… Anyway, don’t even think about joining the Scavenger Guild. They’re a bunch of know-nothing idiots.”

“I’m not joining them. It just happens that I’ll be entering the dungeon with them this one time.”

“Well, that’s a relief to hear. But why are you buying a bow if you’re going to the Glacier Dungeon? If you’re against hundreds of archers, you’ll obviously need some sturdy armor, won’t you?”

“Yes! Armor! Shield! Get a tower shield!” Rio joined in, trying to sway Suho’s decision.

But Suho’s mind was already made up. He already had sufficient defense. Even without a shield, there were plenty of ways to block arrows. And above all…

Obviously, I’m going with offense over defense. He preferred attacking first rather than just standing and blocking others’ attacks.

Unaware of Suho’s resolve, Taegyu and Rio followed him into the bow store. They continued their nagging.

“Why a bow of all things? You’re originally a swordsman. It’s not like the Scavenger Guild doesn’t have its own archers.”

“Yes! Suho always using two swords. Like Asura!”

“Look, Suho. You seem to be under a serious misconception, but a bow is not an easy weapon to handle. You know that, right?” As Korea’s top archer, Taegyu couldn’t tolerate a novice taking the bow lightly. “Video games are so misleading these days. Few roles require as much strength as needed to be an archer. The most powerful bows are large and heavy, and even just pulling back the bowstring is— Huh?”

Suddenly, the guild master’s endless nagging came to an abrupt halt. Suho had just picked up the largest and heaviest bow in the store.

[Strength: 115]

Twang!

Despite the bow’s size, Suho was effortlessly pulling the bowstring, which was made from the tendons of a magic beast.

The two other hunters were speechless.

“Can you tell me if this is a good— Why are you staring at me like that?”

As their eyes met, Taegyu coughed awkwardly, his face betraying his embarrassment. “You’ve got quite the strength. But weren’t you a C-rank in terms of mana quantity? Are you sure about that?” As he recalled the battles he had seen Suho in, he looked at the younger hunter skeptically. “Have you been re-evaluated since then? Anyway, even if you were, let’s say, a B-rank… Do you even have any archery skills?”

“I don’t.”

“What? Without archery skills, your mana will be gone after only a few shots.”

Realizing just how much of a novice hunter Suho was, Taegyu slapped his forehead in exasperation. Without archery skills, forcibly concentrating mana to create arrows would be terribly inefficient. Each arrow would waste mana. A novice hunter’s arrows would consume three to ten times more mana than what was typical for average archer hunters.

Suho merely shrugged. “Well, there’s always a way to…” At that instant, his face turned grim. He could sense a massive mana wave spreading in the distance.

A moment later, the other hunters in the store widened their eyes and turned in the same direction. They felt an immense energy coming from far beyond.

“It’s a dungeon break!”

“It’s nearby!”

Without anyone needing to raise the alarm, urgent voices erupted from all around Euljiro. But there was no need to worry. This district held perhaps the highest concentration of hunters in South Korea.

“First come, first served!”

The hunters promptly put down the items they were about to buy and began running toward the source of the dungeon break.

Amid the commotion, Taegyu stared at Suho with a puzzled expression.

Was it my imagination…? When everyone turned their heads to the source of the energy wave, it seemed that Suho was already looking in that direction.

It seems like he was the fastest of them all. Perhaps he was even faster than Taegyu himself.