- “Are you sure?”

    “I’ll be waiting with the phone in hand . Contact me immediately if something happens . ”

    - “Understood, chief . ”

    Ahn Sangmin ended the call, then realized he was hungry .

    growl

    ‘Argh, I was too focused on all of this . . ’

    It was already long past lunchtime, but Ahn Sangmin had not eaten, having waited for Sung Jinwoo . He did not know when Yoo Jinho’s team would arrive, so he had not left the spot . Having some free time now, Ahn Sangmin looked around for a place to eat, then settled on a convenience store .

    ‘Not that I’m trying to save any money…’

    Though no one said anything, he felt weird going into a restaurant alone . So, he decided to just get a cup ramen at the convenience store .

    He poured the hot water and waited 3 minutes, then was about to dig in when his phone rang .

    ring ring

    “Dammit! Who the hell? I’m trying to eat here!”

    Looking at the phone, it was a familiar name .

    [My Right Arm]

    ‘Hyun Gicheol, you son of a…’

    Ahn Sangmin answered with an annoyed voice,

    “Did you really miss my voice that much?”

    - “Chief, that’s not it…”

    “Then what is it, if you’ve called me for no reason, you’re eating cup ramen for a week . ”

    - “That’s not it, chief! The two just came out!”

    Ahn Sangmin, who was about to eat his first bite, froze like a still image of a video .

    “What?”

    - “Like I said, Yoo Jinho and Sung Jinwoo just came out! Their team’s all preparing to move out!”

    He checked his ears . There was nothing wrong with them . He quickly checked the time .

    “It’s only been thirty minutes . Are they giving up on the Raid?”

    - “No… The Gate is closing . ”

    How the hell?!

    No matter how low the difficulty of a given C-rank Dungeon was, no one could solo clear it in just 30 minutes .

    “Check again! Are you sure the Gate is closing?!”

    - “Yes, I’m sure . Do you want me to send you a video?”

    “ . . . No, it’s okay . ”

    Ahn Sangmin hung up and stared blankly into the distance .

    They cleared a C-rank Dungeon that would take an A-rank Hunter 2 hours to clear in just 30 minutes .

    ‘Above B-rank my ass…’

    Even if he took an objective look at the information so far,

    “Above… A-rank…”

    This was an unimaginably good fortune .

    “Hyungnim, do you have somewhere else to go after this?”

    “Hmm? No, why?”

    “I’ve never seen you hunt this fast before . ”

    Yoo Jinho was astonished . He had always known Jinwoo was strong, but today, he seemed stronger than ever .

    Well of course .

    Jinwoo swallowed a laughter .

    ‘The magic beasts today were werewolves~’

    Wolf Slayer

    All stats increased by 40% against beast type monsters .

    A title given to a hunter experienced in slaying wolves .

    The buff of his title worked against the werewolves . On top of all of the level-ups he had gone through, if the title buff was applied, no C-rank magic beasts could stand against him .

    “Whimper!”

    “Whiiimper!”

    “Yelp!”

    Thanks to that, Yoo Jinho had to go from corpse to corpse without stopping, collecting magic cores . If he had 10 more hands, it wouldn’t have been enough . Jinwoo had to spend 5 healing potions on him because of this . The young man even had his hunger satiated by the healing potion, so he didn’t even stop to eat .

    ‘Well, that’s that . . . ’

    Jinwoo raised his head . He felt a presence of someone watching him from somewhere .

    ‘I don’t sense any magic power, so it’s probably not a Hunter . ’

    He looked around but didn’t see anyone suspicious . Of course, if he wanted, he could find the man with effort . But not detecting any killing or hostile intent from the man, Jinwoo decided it was not worth the time .

    “ . . . ”

    It could just be nothing .

    As if reading his mind, the presence disappeared .

    “Hyungnim, what is it?”

    “ . . . It’s nothing . Let’s go . ”

    They had no time to waste . Jinwoo took one last look around the area then got in the passenger seat .

    At the second Gate, he did not feel anyone watching him, both before he entered the Gate and after he left it .

    ‘Was I being too cautious?’

    Thankfully, it appeared that it was nothing after all .

    Yoo Jinho approached him and bowed his head,

    “Sorry, hyungnim, this is it for today . The other Gates are too far . ”

    “Nothing to be sorry about . ”

    It would be a while before the sunset, but because of the two men’s efforts, all the Gates in the area had been closed, so they would have to call it a day .

    “You’ve worked hard . ”

    “Oh, the one who worked hard is the Raid leader . ”

    “I’ll see you tomorrow”

    “Thank you, you’ve worked hard . ”

    After bidding the other Hunters goodbye, Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho got in the car .

    “I’ll drive you home, hyungnim . ”

    Before he knew it, Yoo Jinho had become a faithful driver . The image of him holding the handle was rather fitting . Jinwoo blatantly stared at the young man .

    ‘To think that the young master of a rich household would become a chauffeur, just so he can become a Guildmaster…’

    Stepping on the gas with a smile, Yoo Jinho suddenly realized Jinwoo was staring at him .

    “Hmm? Is there something on my face, hyungnim?”

    “ . . . No, it’s nothing . ”

    Jinwoo pretended to not have stared and took out his phone as a distraction .

    ‘4:46…’

    It was too early to go home . Thankfully, there was something he had to do .

    ‘It was around here, right?’

    “Jinho,”

    “Yes, hyungnim . ”

    Yoo Jinho skillfully turned the handle around a curve while answering .

    “Let’s go to Mirae Mall . ”

    “Mirae Mall?”

    Yoo Jinho was surprised .

    “Yes . ”

    “Well it is right ahead… You know, you’ve been acting weird all day, hyungnim . Are you sure everything’s alright?”

    “ . . . You know, you’ve been getting rather talkative these days . ”

    And with that, Yoo Jinho’s face became fixed on the road .

    “I will take you there with the speed of light, hyungnim . Hold onto your belt!”

    Changing his attitude in a flash, Yoo Jinho drove the car without braking . They soon arrived at Mirae Mall .

    screech-

    The car stopped at their destination . As a mall at the heart of Seoul, Mirae Mall was quite a spectacle . Jinwoo got out of the car, and Yoo Jinho followed . The young man closed the door and walked up to Jinwoo’s side .

    “Hyungnim, someday, our Guild should use a building like this for our headquarters . ”

    Yoo Jinho looked up and down at the mall and made a half-serious joke . But no one replied . Noticing something was off, Yoo Jinho quickly turned toward where Jinwoo was .

    “What?”

    Jinwoo had disappeared .

    “Hyungnim?”

    No matter where he looked, Jinwoo was gone .

    “Hyungniiiim?”

    As the boss was defeated, the Dungeon will return to its normal interior .

    ‘Two more levels from the mall’s Instant Dungeon . ’

    Jinwoo’s footsteps on the way home were light with joy . It was the first key he had seen in a while from a Random Box, usable in Mirae Mall . He had wondered when he would go and clear it, and today, the opportunity presented itself .

    “Hyungniiiim?”

    Remembering Yoo Jinho call after his disappeared self, Jinwoo stifled a laughter .

    ring ring

    Jinwoo started to answer his phone out of habit, but stopped when he realized it was a number he had never seen before .

    ‘Who?’

    When he was in highschool, he was busy taking care of his little sister in the place of their mother . After graduating, he had started work as a Hunter . Because of this, Jinwoo did not know that many people .

    ‘There shouldn’t be anyone I don’t know calling me…’

    After a brief pause, Jinwoo picked up .

    “Hello . ”

    - “Hello, is this Sung Jinwoo-ssi?”

    A clear and well-spoken male’s voice .

    Jinwoo immediately hung up .

    ‘In my experience, 99% of these calls are telemarketing or loan sharks . ’

    He was about to put the phone away when it rang again .

    ring ring

    It was the same number .

    ‘Hmm? Was it not telemarketing?’

    Valuing quantity over quality, telemarketing calls usually did not call again after one attempt . They knew that it’d be a waste of time .

    ‘Then this person might really have a reason…’

    This time, he properly answered the call .

    “Yes, this is Sung Jinwoo . ”

    - “Ah, I had the right number . I thought I had the wrong one when you just hung up now, haha . ”

    “ . . . ”

    Jinwoo considered for about 2 seconds whether to explain that he had thought the clear and well-spoken voice belonged to a telemarketer .

    ‘Feels like apologizing for it might sound more rude…’

    Soon, the business employee, or rather, the man who sounded like a business employee introduced himself .

    - “Ah, I apologize . I have not introduced myself . I am Ahn Sangmin of the Baekho Guild . ”

    Jinwoo stopped walking .

    ‘The Baekho Guild is calling me?’

    No matter how he thought about it, the Baekho Guild would not have a reason to call him . Only possible relation he had with them was the fact that they were the Guild who helped out the Association during the Double Dungeon incident .

    ‘But I don’t think they’re calling me about that day after all this time . ’

    Curiosity was a feeling that invited impatience . Before Ahn Sangmin could continue, Jinwoo asked,

    “Why is the Baekho Guild calling me?”

    - “It’s a little hard to explain over the phone, could we come to see you and explain?”

    Instead of telling him to come over, they were offering to come to him . Jinwoo had no reason to refuse . He would have some free time anyways the day after tomorrow .

    ‘Jinho said he had some event at home?’

    Yoo Jinho had explained that there was a big event that required the attendance of the entire family and apologized for not being able to Raid on Thursday .

    ‘A big event…’

    Imagining a chaebol’s family gathering, Jinwoo imagined a party held in some luxurious banquet hall at a top hotel, like in the dramas . Anyways, he would be free that day .

    “I’ll have some free time on Thursday . ”

    - “That’s er… Are you free right now?”

    Right now?

    Jinwoo checked the time . It was 8 o’ clock .

    “It’s almost eight . ”

    - “We’re waiting nearby . We just need a moment of your time . ”

    “Nearby?”

    - “It’s a french cafe . ”

    Ahn Sangmin told him the location . It was a familiar place . After all, it was the place he had met with Yoo Jinho . Jinwoo’s eyes became sharp .

    ‘He knows where I live . ’

    Sponsored Content

    I Alone Level-up: Chapter 40.

    .

    - “Are you sure?”.

    “I’ll be waiting with the phone in hand . Contact me immediately if something happens . ”.

    - “Understood, chief . ”.

    .

    Ahn Sangmin ended the call, then realized he was hungry . .

    .

    growl.

    .

    ‘Argh, I was too focused on all of this ’.

    .

    It was already long past lunchtime, but Ahn Sangmin had not eaten, having waited for Sung Jinwoo . He did not know when Yoo Jinho’s team would arrive, so he had not left the spot . Having some free time now, Ahn Sangmin looked around for a place to eat, then settled on a convenience store . .

    .

    ‘Not that I’m trying to save any money…’.

    .

    Though no one said anything, he felt weird going into a restaurant alone . So, he decided to just get a cup ramen at the convenience store . .

    .

    He poured the hot water and waited 3 minutes, then was about to dig in when his phone rang . .

    .

    ring ring.

    .

    “Dammit! Who the hell? I’m trying to eat here!”.

    .

    Looking at the phone, it was a familiar name . .

    .

    [My Right Arm].

    .

    ‘Hyun Gicheol, you son of a…’.

    .

    Ahn Sangmin answered with an annoyed voice,.

    .

    “Did you really miss my voice that much?”.

    - “Chief, that’s not it…”.

    “Then what is it, if you’ve called me for no reason, you’re eating cup ramen for a week . ”.

    - “That’s not it, chief! The two just came out!”.

    .

    Ahn Sangmin, who was about to eat his first bite, froze like a still image of a video . .

    .

    “What?”.

    - “Like I said, Yoo Jinho and Sung Jinwoo just came out! Their team’s all preparing to move out!”.

    .

    He checked his ears . There was nothing wrong with them . He quickly checked the time . .

    .

    “It’s only been thirty minutes . Are they giving up on the Raid?”.

    - “No… The Gate is closing . ”.

    .

    How the hell?!.

    .

    No matter how low the difficulty of a given C-rank Dungeon was, no one could solo clear it in just 30 minutes . .

    .

    “Check again! Are you sure the Gate is closing?!”.

    - “Yes, I’m sure . Do you want me to send you a video?”.

    “ . No, it’s okay . ”.

    .

    Ahn Sangmin hung up and stared blankly into the distance . .

    .

    They cleared a C-rank Dungeon that would take an A-rank Hunter 2 hours to clear in just 30 minutes . .

    .

    ‘Above B-rank my ass…’.

    .

    Even if he took an objective look at the information so far,.

    .

    “Above… A-rank…”.

    .

    This was an unimaginably good fortune . .

    .

    .

    .

    “Hyungnim, do you have somewhere else to go after this?”.

    .

    “Hmm? No, why?”.

    .

    “I’ve never seen you hunt this fast before . ”.

    .

    Yoo Jinho was astonished . He had always known Jinwoo was strong, but today, he seemed stronger than ever . .

    .

    Well of course . .

    .

    Jinwoo swallowed a laughter . .

    .

    ‘The magic beasts today were werewolves~’.

    .

    Wolf Slayer.

    All stats increased by 40% against beast type monsters . .

    A title given to a hunter experienced in slaying wolves . .

    .

    The buff of his title worked against the werewolves . On top of all of the level-ups he had gone through, if the title buff was applied, no C-rank magic beasts could stand against him . .

    .

    “Whimper!”.

    “Whiiimper!”.

    “Yelp!”.

    .

    Thanks to that, Yoo Jinho had to go from corpse to corpse without stopping, collecting magic cores . If he had 10 more hands, it wouldn’t have been enough . Jinwoo had to spend 5 healing potions on him because of this . The young man even had his hunger satiated by the healing potion, so he didn’t even stop to eat . .

    .

    ‘Well, that’s that . ’.

    .

    Jinwoo raised his head . He felt a presence of someone watching him from somewhere . .

    .

    ‘I don’t sense any magic power, so it’s probably not a Hunter . ’.

    .

    He looked around but didn’t see anyone suspicious . Of course, if he wanted, he could find the man with effort . But not detecting any killing or hostile intent from the man, Jinwoo decided it was not worth the time . .

    .

    “ . ”.

    .

    It could just be nothing . .

    .

    As if reading his mind, the presence disappeared . .

    .

    “Hyungnim, what is it?”.

    .

    “ . It’s nothing . Let’s go . ”.

    .

    They had no time to waste . Jinwoo took one last look around the area then got in the passenger seat . .

    .

    .

    .

    At the second Gate, he did not feel anyone watching him, both before he entered the Gate and after he left it . .

    .

    ‘Was I being too cautious?’.

    .

    Thankfully, it appeared that it was nothing after all . .

    .

    Yoo Jinho approached him and bowed his head,.

    .

    “Sorry, hyungnim, this is it for today . The other Gates are too far . ”.

    .

    “Nothing to be sorry about . ”.

    .

    It would be a while before the sunset, but because of the two men’s efforts, all the Gates in the area had been closed, so they would have to call it a day . .

    .

    “You’ve worked hard . ”.

    “Oh, the one who worked hard is the Raid leader . ”.

    “I’ll see you tomorrow”.

    “Thank you, you’ve worked hard . ”.

    .

    After bidding the other Hunters goodbye, Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho got in the car . .

    .

    “I’ll drive you home, hyungnim . ”.

    .

    Before he knew it, Yoo Jinho had become a faithful driver . The image of him holding the handle was rather fitting . Jinwoo blatantly stared at the young man . .

    .

    ‘To think that the young master of a rich household would become a chauffeur, just so he can become a Guildmaster…’.

    .

    Stepping on the gas with a smile, Yoo Jinho suddenly realized Jinwoo was staring at him . .

    .

    “Hmm? Is there something on my face, hyungnim?”.

    .

    “ . No, it’s nothing . ”.

    .

    Jinwoo pretended to not have stared and took out his phone as a distraction . .

    .

    ‘4:46…’.

    .

    It was too early to go home . Thankfully, there was something he had to do . .

    .

    ‘It was around here, right?’.

    .

    “Jinho,”.

    .

    “Yes, hyungnim . ”.

    .

    Yoo Jinho skillfully turned the handle around a curve while answering . .

    .

    “Let’s go to Mirae Mall . ”.

    .

    “Mirae Mall?”.

    .

    Yoo Jinho was surprised . .

    .

    “Yes . ”.

    .

    “Well it is right ahead… You know, you’ve been acting weird all day, hyungnim . Are you sure everything’s alright?”.

    .

    “ . You know, you’ve been getting rather talkative these days . ”.

    .

    And with that, Yoo Jinho’s face became fixed on the road . .

    .

    “I will take you there with the speed of light, hyungnim . Hold onto your belt!”.

    .

    Changing his attitude in a flash, Yoo Jinho drove the car without braking . They soon arrived at Mirae Mall . .

    .

    screech-.

    .

    The car stopped at their destination . As a mall at the heart of Seoul, Mirae Mall was quite a spectacle . Jinwoo got out of the car, and Yoo Jinho followed . The young man closed the door and walked up to Jinwoo’s side . .

    .

    “Hyungnim, someday, our Guild should use a building like this for our headquarters . ”.

    .

    Yoo Jinho looked up and down at the mall and made a half-serious joke . But no one replied . Noticing something was off, Yoo Jinho quickly turned toward where Jinwoo was . .

    .

    “What?”.

    .

    Jinwoo had disappeared . .

    .

    “Hyungnim?”.

    .

    No matter where he looked, Jinwoo was gone . .

    .

    “Hyungniiiim?”.

    .

    .

    .

    As the boss was defeated, the Dungeon will return to its normal interior . .

    .

    ‘Two more levels from the mall’s Instant Dungeon . ’.

    .

    Jinwoo’s footsteps on the way home were light with joy . It was the first key he had seen in a while from a Random Box, usable in Mirae Mall . He had wondered when he would go and clear it, and today, the opportunity presented itself . .

    .

    “Hyungniiiim?”.

    .

    Remembering Yoo Jinho call after his disappeared self, Jinwoo stifled a laughter . .

    .

    ring ring.

    .

    Jinwoo started to answer his phone out of habit, but stopped when he realized it was a number he had never seen before . .

    .

    ‘Who?’.

    .

    When he was in highschool, he was busy taking care of his little sister in the place of their mother . After graduating, he had started work as a Hunter . Because of this, Jinwoo did not know that many people . .

    .

    ‘There shouldn’t be anyone I don’t know calling me…’.

    .

    After a brief pause, Jinwoo picked up . .

    .

    “Hello . ”.

    .

    - “Hello, is this Sung Jinwoo-ssi?”.

    .

    A clear and well-spoken male’s voice . .

    .

    Jinwoo immediately hung up . .

    .

    ‘In my experience, 99% of these calls are telemarketing or loan sharks . ’.

    .

    He was about to put the phone away when it rang again . .

    .

    ring ring.

    .

    It was the same number . .

    .

    ‘Hmm? Was it not telemarketing?’.

    .

    Valuing quantity over quality, telemarketing calls usually did not call again after one attempt . They knew that it’d be a waste of time . .

    .

    ‘Then this person might really have a reason…’.

    .

    This time, he properly answered the call . .

    .

    “Yes, this is Sung Jinwoo . ”.

    .

    - “Ah, I had the right number . I thought I had the wrong one when you just hung up now, haha . ”.

    .

    “ . ”.

    .

    Jinwoo considered for about 2 seconds whether to explain that he had thought the clear and well-spoken voice belonged to a telemarketer . .

    .

    ‘Feels like apologizing for it might sound more rude…’.

    .

    Soon, the business employee, or rather, the man who sounded like a business employee introduced himself . .

    .

    - “Ah, I apologize . I have not introduced myself . I am Ahn Sangmin of the Baekho Guild . ”.

    .

    Jinwoo stopped walking . .

    .

    ‘The Baekho Guild is calling me?’.

    .

    No matter how he thought about it, the Baekho Guild would not have a reason to call him . Only possible relation he had with them was the fact that they were the Guild who helped out the Association during the Double Dungeon incident . .

    .

    ‘But I don’t think they’re calling me about that day after all this time . ’.

    .

    Curiosity was a feeling that invited impatience . Before Ahn Sangmin could continue, Jinwoo asked,.

    .

    “Why is the Baekho Guild calling me?”.

    .

    - “It’s a little hard to explain over the phone, could we come to see you and explain?”.

    .

    Instead of telling him to come over, they were offering to come to him . Jinwoo had no reason to refuse . He would have some free time anyways the day after tomorrow . .

    .

    ‘Jinho said he had some event at home?’.

    .

    Yoo Jinho had explained that there was a big event that required the attendance of the entire family and apologized for not being able to Raid on Thursday . .

    .

    ‘A big event…’.

    .

    Imagining a chaebol’s family gathering, Jinwoo imagined a party held in some luxurious banquet hall at a top hotel, like in the dramas . Anyways, he would be free that day . .

    .

    “I’ll have some free time on Thursday . ”.

    .

    - “That’s er… Are you free right now?”.

    .

    Right now?.

    .

    Jinwoo checked the time . It was 8 o’ clock . .

    .

    “It’s almost eight . ”.

    .

    - “We’re waiting nearby . We just need a moment of your time . ”.

    .

    “Nearby?”.

    .

    - “It’s a french cafe . ”.

    .

    Ahn Sangmin told him the location . It was a familiar place . After all, it was the place he had met with Yoo Jinho . Jinwoo’s eyes became sharp . .

    .

    ‘He knows where I live . ’.