NOVPUB
Chapter 110
“Ahem.” With a sheepish expression, Thomas Andre cleared his throat and sat down opposite Suho. Jinho and Andre’s secretary, Laura, also took their seats beside them.
“I apologize. This entire situation is Thomas’ fault. We humbly ask for your leniency.” Laura spoke on the old man’s behalf as he said nothing more and ignored them. She apologized to both Suho and Jinho. Given that Yoo Jinho was the Scavenger Guild’s major shareholder, she had no choice but to earnestly beseech the CEO’s forgiveness. “Stop fooling around and apologize, Thomas.”
Andre coughed awkwardly. “But I’m a Scavenger. Doing this just for a little cash is...”
“You should know that our shares will drastically plummet if Mr. Yoo decides to pull out, and your value will go with them.”
“Ahem. I guess I was a bit excessive, Mr. Yoo.” At Laura’s words, Thomas awkwardly adjusted his posture to sit up straight. Still looking sheepish, he did not forget to add another comment. “Hahaha. Let’s just laugh this off as a misunderstanding due to my weak Korean.”
“For someone claiming to be poor at Korean, your pronunciation is exceptional. I’d believe you were Korean yourself,” Jinho responded.
“That’s because I’m quite the fan of K-dramas. I’ve been watching a lot of revenge stories lately, so my language might be a bit extreme.”
“Thomas. Just apologize, nothing else.” Laura sighed and shook her head disapprovingly as the old man tried to deflect with a joke. Despite her frustration, she couldn’t help but check Jinho’s reaction.
It was her first time in the country, but even she knew about his company’s clout. Ahjinsoft... They’re a global corporation leading the world’s virtual reality gaming industry. Though the hunter and gaming industries appeared unrelated on the surface, most large companies inevitably intertwined in one way or another.
The fact that Ahjinsoft was developing a game called “Solo Leveling” that featured hunters was a prized piece of insider information among corporate circles. While the public was gradually learning about it, few knew that Jinho’s company had started planning the project from the moment of the Great Cataclysm itself. This was evident in the way he had been steadily acquiring the stocks of major guilds worldwide. It was as if he had anticipated that their stock prices would simultaneously skyrocket the moment a game featuring real hunters was released.
Mr. Yoo is truly formidable, Laura thought. He’s creating his own market and acquiring all related stocks before it even emerges to the public. It’s a feat not just anyone can accomplish.
Thomas was all brute strength, but his secretary was one of the few who truly understood the depth of Jinho’s character. Therefore, she had to do her best when dealing with him.
Thanks to her intervention, the situation at hand was being resolved. Jinho heaved a sigh of relief. “I see, that will do for now. But what brings you to Korea, Mr. Andre? And why are you after Suho?”
“Ahem. I will explain that myself.” Sensing the mood was lightening up a bit, Thomas smirked and looked at the young hunter. “Sung Suho, we need your help.”
“What? Where is this coming from?” Suho looked genuinely incredulous as he stared back. It seemed like he wanted to kill me, but now he wants my help? Is his brain just one big muscle, too? Or maybe he’s just gone senile... But Suho was in no position to be angry, as he had his own guilty conscience.
“At first, I thought I could just coerce you into coming along with me, but I never dreamt it would be this difficult. Anyway, my apologies. Sorry.”
Suho continued to stare back at him.
“Come on. Let it go, son. I’m not even fussing about you killing our guild members.”
At that, Suho momentarily flinched and almost lost his composure. However, he maintained a brazen face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“What are you saying? Suho has lived his entire life in Korea. How could someone who has never left the country be accused of killing Scavenger Guild members?” Jinho said.
“Good job! Keep pressing!” Beru was enthusiastically cheering the CEO on from the shadows.
“That’s a great question. I’d also like to know.” As if he had expected this response, Thomas leaned back into his chair with a smug smile. “Of course, there’s no evidence of it. No witnesses either. Everything vanished, from the bodies of our missing guild members to the pyramid they recklessly ventured into.”
“Mr. Yoo, please disregard these claims. We really have nothing to offer as evidence,” Laura added, pushing her glasses up as she spoke. “However, there were strange reports submitted by the Asura Guild hunters who survived that pyramid. They claimed to have connected with a Korean hunter named Sung Suho.”
“I knew it was them! Young Monarch, I shall rip their tongues out!” Beru puffed himself up, rising from the shadow.
Suho calmly continued the conversation, lightly pressing down on the ant with his foot. “Whoever they are, it seems like a case of mistaken identity.”
“Of course, that could be the case. We don’t particularly care either way. The missing guild members were always troublemakers,” Laura responded.
“Yeah. I don’t care who bashed those idiots’ brains in. Of course, back in my prime, I wouldn’t have let anyone get away with touching what belonged to me.” Thomas narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. However, he didn’t recklessly emit a murderous aura like before. Instead, he put on a somewhat bitter expression and, with a sigh-laden voice, murmured, “There’s something much more important at hand now, you see.”
Thomas suddenly looked into Suho’s eyes and spoke seriously. “That’s why I need your help.”
“What exactly do you want me to help with? I’m just a C-rank hunter.” By now, even Suho was curious. What could an S-rank hunter from the United States possibly want from me?
“Whether you’re C-rank or E-rank, it doesn’t matter. Norma Selner’s predictions have never been wrong.”
“Norma Selner? Are you saying that the prophet made a prediction about Suho?” Jinho was the first to react. Being the only one among them with memories of a past life, he knew better than anyone the significance of Norma’s prophecies.
“Yeah. The old lady specifically mentioned Sung Suho of South Korea. She said that this is the only guy who can help me.” 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Suddenly singled out, Suho asked again, “What kind of help are you talking about?”
“I don’t know that myself. The old lady’s prophecy only went so far. But she insisted I pass this message to you. The Glacier Dungeon—perhaps you might find a clue about your mother there.”
Hearing something they could never have imagined, both Suho and Jinho widened their eyes in shock. Even Beru, who was eavesdropping from below, couldn’t help but be astonished. “Kieeeeek! A clue about Lady Haein! This is a miracle, Young Monarch! A miracle!”
Be quiet for a moment! Let me think. Suddenly, Suho’s mind was completely jumbled.
Does this make any sense? A sudden guest had come from a foreign place, completely uninvited, and had brought up the whereabouts of his mother, who had disappeared years ago.
Jinho looked at Suho in desperation. “S-Suho! If it’s Norma Selner’s prophecy, it’s trustworthy! You might not know, but she—”
“I am aware of it too! My master previously mentioned that the old soothsayer even accurately predicted the Shadow Army and the Monarchs War! I haven’t the foggiest idea what the Glacier Dungeon is, but this is absolutely a matter you must attend to!”
While Beru was fervently ranting in the shadows, Laura was also earnestly persuading Suho with a serious face. “I can vouch for Norma Selner. I heard her in person as well. Although she didn’t provide more details, she assured us that there will be some benefit for Suho if he helps us.”
“I’ll consider it.” Suho, trying to calm his suddenly cluttered mind, barely managed to speak.
Thomas burst into a hearty laugh. “Consider it done, right? Good choice. I was sure you would accept.”
“Thomas, he meant he would think about it. Maybe you should study Korean a bit more.”
“It’s basically the same thing!” Thomas, interpreting Suho’s response as he saw fit, continued to laugh boisterously.
***
“You’ll go, won’t you, Young Monarch?”
After Thomas returned to the hotel, Suho came back home to find Beru impatiently pacing back and forth.
“Even if Lady Haein is under the master’s protection, she’s ultimately just a human. Just thinking about the hardships she might be facing at this very moment... It worries me to no end... Ahhh!” Beru, climbing onto Suho’s shoulder and clinging to his shirt, began to weep bitterly.
Suho had said he’d think about it, but he had actually already made up his mind. “Of course, I’ll go.”
This was the first clue he had received about his mother, who had been missing for years. Even if the prophecy turned out to be false, he had to check for himself. The reason he hesitated to respond immediately was due to another concern.
“It’s just the Glacier Dungeon... We have no information about it at all.” He didn’t know where the dungeon was, but it was challenging even for an S-rank hunter. He couldn’t just dive headfirst into such a place without any information.
If there’s a clue about my mother there, I have all the more reason to be cautious. After witnessing Andre’s temperament today, Suho knew that he’d likely be kidnapped on the spot and taken to the U.S. the moment he agreed.
That guy’s clearly senile. He came to ask for my help, but ended up attacking me right away... I need to think this through. It wouldn’t be surprising if the old man showed up at his house tomorrow morning to carry him off. Suho’s priority was to gather as much information as possible about the Glacier Dungeon before that could happen.
The other problem was that even Thomas himself had very little information about the place. The Scavenger Guild, despite being a major organization, wasn’t known for its intelligence capabilities. This was because they had the famous seer, Ms. Norma Selner, right beside their guild master. They relied on her predictions, so their ability to actively gather and compile information had gradually declined.
That was why Suho asked his uncle to collect as much information as possible about the Glacier Dungeon after they had dispatched the old man back to his hotel. Suho also started to track down information himself using Hunter Net and whatever else he could.
“If there’s a clue about my mother there, I can’t afford to make any mistakes. I need to be fully prepared before going...”
Just as he was saying this, Suho’s phone rang. “My phone never gets a break, huh...” Since becoming a hunter, the one suffering the most was perhaps his phone.
“An unknown number?” He gave a puzzled look at the phone number displayed on the screen. For a second he suspected it was spam, but considering it could be a call from Thomas or Laura, he decided to answer it anyway.
The voice on the other end was someone he hadn’t expected at all. “Sung Suho! I am come here! Me, Rio Singh!”
“Rio... Who was that again?” Suho covered the phone with his hand as he looked at Beru.
