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Solo Leveling Novel Chapter 12 Average 5 / 5 out of 1
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Summary
Since Jin-Woo was feeling thirsty anyway, he took the Thermos lid to drink the water. But, his head never stopped tilting in the meantime.
Gulp, gulp.
The water slid down his throat and refreshed him quite nicely.
“Hyung-nim, did you enjoy it?”
Before he had noticed it, the honorific had changed to ‘hyung-nim’, too.
“Mm…. Yeah, it’s refreshing.”
Jin-Woo spoke his earnest opinion and handed the lid over to Yu Jin-Ho.
“And, the things you saw in here….”
Even before Jin-Woo could finish his sentence, Yu Jin-Ho quickly cut in, as if to say that there’s nothing to worry about.
“Of course! I won’t say anything to anyone and take this secret with me to my grave.”
“No, hang on. No need to take it to your grave….”
“But, of course, I will. It’ll be a promise between hyung-nim and I, after all.”
“Well, in that case….. Okay. If you say so.”
“You don’t have to worry about a thing, hyung-nim.”
It wasn’t as if anyone would believe the claim that a rank E solo’ed the boss of a rank C Gate anyway. Still, the kid was saying he’d voluntarily keep his mouth shut, and that would certainly make his life a bit easier.
‘I thought he didn’t know how to take a hint, but he’s pretty quick on the uptake on things like this, eh?’
“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me, hyung-nim?”
“….No, not particularly.”
Well, that sounded a bit suspect, there. Jin-Woo studied the overly-polite mannerism of Yu Jin-Ho and inwardly questioned his motives, before coming to a conclusion of his own.
‘Well, yeah. From Yu Jin-Ho’s perspective, I did save his life and all.’
Wasn’t it the most obvious thing in the world that you’d become really courteous and humble towards a person who saved your life?
When looked at that way, his attitude made more sense. The reality of the situation was slightly different from that, though.
Rumble….
The dungeon shook around for a bit again before its tremors stopped. That tremor was the reminder that the Gate would close in a little while.
The tremors would progressively get worse as time went by, and just before the Gate closed, it’d morph into a full-blown earthquake.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
Jin-Woo began walking towards the entrance.
Before they reached it, though, there was a sudden flash of light, and the rocks blocking up the entrance collapsed.
Boom!
Afterwards, Hwang Dong-Seok and his goons rushed into the boss room. As soon as spotting the dead spider behind Jin-Woo, their expressions became dumbfounded.
“What the hell?! It’s really dead?!”
“Did those two hunt it?”
“That spider must’ve been nothing much, even with that big body and all.”
“Well, if a rank D and a rank E managed to kill it, then….”
“Hwang hyung, what should we do now?”
Hwang Dong-Seok scratched his chin while gazing at Jin-Woo and Yu Jin-Ho.
With the spider dead, the Gate would soon close. It’d be too late to start mining the mana stones now. They hadn’t even finished getting ready, yet the remaining time was now less than a hour.
It was time for the ‘plan b’. So, he loudly called out to Yu Jin-Ho.
“Yu Jin-Ho!!”
Yu Jin-Ho flinched and took a step back. His face was full of nervous tension.
An oily smile floated up on Hwang Dong-Seok’s face.
“I thought your gear looked real eye-catching, so we did a background check on ya, and it turns out that you’re a son of a real bigshot. The son of the Yujin Construction’s owner, Yu Myung-Han, no less.”
“S-so what?”
“We’ll give you a chance. I’ve got some stuff to discuss with your old man, you see. However, it’d get real troublesome for us if the matters of this place get out. So, if you wish to live, you better become our accomplice.”
“An accomplice?”
Hwang Dong-Seok pointed at Jin-Woo with his chin.
Being on the receiving end of that disgusting stare, Jin-Woo’s forehead creased for a second.
“Kill Seong Jin-Woo.”
“What?!”
Yu Jin-Ho freaked out. And Hwang Dong-Seok chuckled as if he found that expression rather funny.
The thing was, he used his phone to do an online search and found out that Yu Jin-Ho’s father was the owner of the top construction company in the country. Seeing that, a sinister scheme formed in his head.
He’d film the scene of Yu Jin-Ho killing Seong Jin-Woo and then, under the pretext of keeping his mouth shut, blackmail Yu Myung-Han.
‘The known wealth of Yu Myung-Han is supposedly around 10 trillion Won, wasn’t it? (TL: Almost $9 billion)
He might be able to reel in several times more money than mining these mana stones if he played his cards right.
“That’s the only way you’ll leave this place alive. As long as you kill Seong Jin-Woo with your own hands, we’ll let you live. If not, we kill both of you.”
Hwang Dong-Seok’s eyes became very hostile right away.
“What are you hesitating for? No one will know what happens inside a dungeon, anyway. Wait, could it be that you’re scared of a rank E, even though you’re a rank D?”
Yu Jin-Ho turned his head to his side. Jin-Woo shrugged his shoulders as his answer. He was implying that Yu Jin-Ho should do whatever he felt like.
With a determined expression, Yu Jin-Ho unsheathed the sword on his hips.
‘Finally, he made up his mind, huh.’
A smile formed on Hwang Dong-Seok’s mouth. Unfortunately for him, his expectation was not met. Still holding that sword, Yu Jin-Ho stood alongside Jin-Woo.
“Ho-oh? So, you wanna team up with that guy and fight us, is that right?”
Hwang Dong-Seok muttered softly. A scion of a well-to-do family got lucky and killed a rank C boss, and it looked like his ego had become bloated somewhat as a result.
Joh Gyu-Hwan whispered from the side.
“Hyung, what should we do now?”
Hwang Dong-Seok lowered his voice so both Jin-Woo and Yu Jin-Ho wouldn’t be able to hear him.
“For now, take care of Seong Jin-Woo first. We gotta hold onto that potential moneybag. Our losses today are pretty substantial after all.”
“Okay, will do.”
Joh Guy-Hwan’s hands began emitting bright light next.
Seeing this, Jin-Woo’s eyes narrowed to a slit.
‘In the end, they want to have a go, huh.’
This would be his very first time fighting against other Hunters. However, he wasn’t planning to go easy on these b*stards that have aimed for his life several times already.
…But then, this happened.
Tti-ring.
There was that mechanical beep again.
[An Emergency Quest has been generated.]
‘An Emergency Quest?!’
Jin-Woo raised his head.
He didn’t even say anything about wanting to look at the contents, yet the quest window spread out before his eyes without his consent.
Now that was a first.
[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]
There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards the ‘Player’. Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, a corresponding penalty will be given.
The number of enemies left to kill: 8
The number of killed enemies: 0
Jin-Woo’s eyes opened wider.
‘In order to complete the quest, Hwang Dong-Seok and his teammates must all die?!’
It was then, a beam of light flashed right before his eyes. The light beams left Joh Gyu-Hwan’s hands and flew straight at Jin-Woo.
Boom!!
Flung away by the explosion, Jin-Woo’s figure flew at a frightening speed and slammed into the cave wall.
Slam!!
A portion of the wall collapsed and fell on top of Jin-Woo.
Tumble…
“Hyung-nim!!”
Yu Jin-Ho froze on the spot from surprise.
“Don’t sweat over the dead guy and why don’t you come over here?”
Hwang Dong-Seok beckoned with his fingers.
Yu Jin-Ho stared at the spot where Jin-Woo was. Just like what Hwang Dong-Seok had implied, Jin-Woo wasn’t moving an inch as he remained buried under the debris.
“You…. you murderers….”
Tears pooled around Yu Jin-Ho’s eyes.
Hwang Dong-Seok and his dongsaengs simply giggled at the label of ‘murderers’ thrown at their way. Well, that was the truth, to begin with, anyway. Just how many died by their hands inside many other dungeons?
While they were looking at Yu Jin-Ho and continued to smile, Jin-Woo was under the pile of rubble, doubting his own eyes at the moment.
The contents of the quest were slowly changing, that was why.
[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]
There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards the ‘&*@##’. Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, #$%^%$#$%^!&*#$%^$.
The number of enemies left to kill: 8
The number of killed enemies: 0
A few words suddenly became illegible, before changing their shapes.
[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]
There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards you. Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, your heart will cease functioning.
The number of enemies left to kill: 8
The number of killed enemies: 0
What a clear-cut threat that was.
If he didn’t finish the quest as intended, ‘it’ would kill him, instead.
‘Kill if I don’t want to be killed, is that it?’
The contents were pretty shocking, but Jin-Woo’s fluster didn’t remain for long.
No, his flustered mind rapidly morphed into one of relief. Even he found it hard to believe, but that was the truth.
There was this fear that always lingered in his mind, starting from the day these quests popped up in front of his eyes alongside Stat values and such.
‘What would happen to me if this mysterious phenomenon suddenly stopped’?
What if all these things only happened as a coincidence, and they could end at any given moment?
Such fear always accompanied him.
However, through this Emergency Quest, the truth became clear.
Things happening to him were not a coincidence nor were they some weird goodwill from someone. If the quest was generated by something holding some form of goodwill, then it should’ve just said “Overcome this danger”, and not threaten him to kill him as a penalty.
The System had a clear purpose.
It was either ‘Make Seong Jin-Woo strong’ or ‘Need a strong Seong Jin-Woo’.
‘And, depending on the situation, me who could kill other Hunters at the drop of a hat, even….’
He could glean such intentions from the System now. Jin-Woo felt reassured by that revelation.
‘What a relief that….’
….That, it was not a coincidence.
….That, it definitely had a goal.
Whenever he found himself in danger, he yearned to be stronger. He so dearly wished to stop living the life where it was no different from dangling precariously on the edge of a cliff.
But, on that fateful day, during the most dangerous moments of his life, his opportunity came.
The goal of this System and Jin-Woo’s wishes lined up perfectly.
‘The System is using me, and I’m using the System.’
That was all there was to it.
As long as there was an end goal, a purpose, this phenomenon would never suddenly vanish from his eyes.
Jin-Woo slowly got up from the rubble.
[HP: 1360/2600]
As expected of a magic spell shot by a rank C Hunter; it was only a single hit, yet his HP had almost halved. There was no more room left to take it easy now.
Intense malice filled up Jin-Woo’s eyes.
He began walking towards Hwang Dong-Seok.
“What the heck?”
Hwang Dong-Seok and his goons had been surrounding the scared Yu Jin-Ho, so they ended up discovering Jin-Woo rather belatedly.
“What’s going on here? He’s still alive.”
“But, Gyu-Hwan hyung looks like a dead fish, though?”
“What an embarrassment this is. He’s a measly rank E, you know.”
Hwang Dong-Seok scratched his chin.
“Hey, Gyu-Hwan-ah, why didn’t you finish him properly the first time?”
Joh Gyu-Hwan’s face reddened somewhat.
“Yeah…. I should’ve.”
But, this wasn’t right.
He really did pour his all with that shot.
He had spent over a third of his overall magical energy, yet how could this kid stand back up? Could the attack not connect properly? But then, there wouldn’t have been such a loud explosion if that was the case.
Lots of questions formed in his head, but there was no time to ask them.
Because, Jin-Woo opened his mouth first.
“Since you’re playing around with people’s lives….”
The eyes of Hwang Dong-Seok’s group were now fixed to Jin-Woo. He came to a stop in front of them.
Yu Jin-Ho flinched in surprise, but the reactions of other Hunters were rather subdued. Some of them even began smirking in derision.
Jin-Woo spoke with a dry voice.
“…You’ve all sufficiently resolved yourselves, right?”
Hwang Dong-Seok let off a snort after hearing that.
“What the hell is this fool even saying?”
“Hyung-nim, let me handle this kid.”
A Hunter with tiny little eyes approached Jin-Woo and placed his arms around the latter’s neck.
“It looks like you Mister hasn’t really figured the situation out yet, but the thing is…. Eh?”
The expression of the tiny eyes became weirder and weirder as he strengthened his arms.
‘….What the hell? Why can’t I pull him down?’
He tried to perform a headlock with his physical strength, but no matter how hard he pulled, Jin-Woo’s upper body showed no sign of budging.
Wasn’t this b*stard supposed to be only a rank E?!
Cold sweat formed on the forehead of the tiny eyes.
‘How could he be this strong….”
It happened then.
Slice.
The head of the tiny eyes fell to the ground.
Thud.
“J-Joon-Tae!!”
Hwang Dong-Seok’s eyes trembled like an earthquake.
“Wha-what the hell?!”
“That knife, just when did he?!”
“Where did he get that?!”
Hwang Dong-Seok and his goons quickly took several steps back and yanked their weapons out. Jin-Woo’s hand was already holding the ‘Poison Fang of Kasaka’.
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade.
Tti-ring.
[The number of enemies left to kill: 7]
[The number of killed enemies: 1]
‘Seven left.’
Jin-Woo swept his gaze at Hwang Dong-Seok and his group like a predator eyeing his prey.
Hwang Dong-Seok swallowed his saliva. He was already pretty surprised by the dagger appearing in that man’s hands, but more importantly, Park Joon-Tae’s death shook him to the core rather greatly.
‘How did an E-rank Hunter kill a D rank in one hit?!’
He had no idea what kind of a trick the other guy used, but from now on, underestimating his opponent was definitely forbidden. No, he had to be very meticulous here. Hwang Dong-Seok gave a signal with his eyes to his side.
‘Gyu-Hwan-ah, hit him one more time.’
Joh Gyu-Hwan lightly nodded his head.
This time, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again!
Joh Gyu-Hwan told himself such as lights began gathering in his hands again. But, even before the arrows of light could leave his fingertips, Jin-Woo appeared right in front of Joh Gyu-Hwan first.
“Uh? Huh?!”
Joh Gyu-Hwan’s jaw hit the floor.
The light in Jin-Woo’s eyes gleamed coldly.
‘You first, the magic-type Hunter who possesses strong firepower but a weak body.’
Jin-Woo had finished his calculations already.
The dagger stabbed straight through Joh Gyu-Hwan’s neck.
Stab!
“Keo-heok!!”
Joh Gyu-Hwan tried to cover the hole in his neck and collapsed to the floor.
Plop.
“Kill him!!”
“Uwaaahhh!!”
With that as a signal, the Hunters around him rushed towards Jin-Woo at once. Jin-Woo raised all his senses to the maximum and calmly focused on the movements of his enemies.
All sounds disappeared and time slowed down. The Agility Stat and its 38 points had begun displaying its worth. He then blocked or evaded swords, spears and arrows being thrust at him from the very short distance.
The eyes of the Hunters became incredibly large.
‘H-how can an E rank move like this?!’
‘Too fast!!’
‘I can’t hit him at all!’
The complexions of the Hunters became ashen.
Indeed, speed was a subjective thing. To their eyes, Jin-Woo’s movement was absurdly fast. Meanwhile, Jin-Woo waded in among the Hunters and calmly cut into their vital spots, one at the time.
[‘Effect: Paralysis’ has been activated.]
[‘Effect: Bleeding’ has been activated.]
[‘Effect: Paralysis’ has been activated.]
The special effects of the Poison Fang of Kasaka continued to activate and the Hunters all fell into a quagmire of confusion.
“I-I can’t move my body!! Uwaah?!”
“Magic?! Was that magic?!!”
“You son of a b*tch!!”
[‘Effect: Bleeding’ has been activated.]
[‘Effect: Paralysis’ has been activated.]
[‘Effect: Paralysis’ has been activated.]
“Keok!!”
“Wha-what the hell is this guy’s real identity?!”
“Uwaaahk!!”
Screams resounded out without a break from here and there. Five Hunters surrounding Jin-Woo all crumpled down to the floor in no time at all.
Plop.
Plop.
Tti-ring.
[The number of enemies left to kill: 1]
[The number of killed enemies: 7]
Jin-Woo shifted his gaze over to the last remaining survivor.
And that was none other the big bearded man, Hwang Dong-Seok. He discarded his shield as an expression of determination formed on his face.
He then loudly roared out.
“Uuuhhhhhhhaaaa!!”
Hwang Dong-Seok the kicked the ground and rushed forward.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!!!
His mind raced as he ran forward. He was a Tanker, and was considered one of the top even within the C rank.
His opponent most likely was a damage dealer.
Although that man seemed to be very agile, judged from his quick movements, there was no way he’d possess enough power to penetrate past Hwang Dong-Seok’s ‘Reinforcement’ skill.
‘You can’t fatally wound me with a measly little dagger!’
The one to be crushed when they collide would be Seong Jin-Woo, instead!
Their distance closed up in the blink of an eye, and Hwang Dong-Seok tackled with his shoulder.
“Reinforcement!!”
But then, his entire world seemed to spin around, and before he realised how, he was staring at the ceiling of the dungeon.
SLAM!!
His brain shook hard and a strong impact force was transmitted into his entire body.
He wanted to get up, but his body didn’t listen to his commands. Hwang Dong-Seok tried very hard, but eventually gave up and lay sprawled on the ground.
“Cough!!”
He coughed out a mouthful of blood.
‘Did he… Did he throw me down to the floor?!’
Did Hwang Dong-Seok really lose in the contest of strength?
In a battle of physical strength?!
“How can a measly rank E….”
He was now so sure that something had gone terribly awry somewhere.
Five rank Cs and three rank Ds were knocked down in the blink of an eye. There was no way this b*stard was a rank E.
Jin-Woo stood next to Hwang Dong-Seok.
The bearded man couldn’t even properly move his body. His fate was quite obvious now.
If this was a sports match or a spar, then this battle would’ve ended right here. Too bad for the bearded man, though, Jin-Woo wasn’t planning to stop there.
“W-wait a minute.”
Hwang Dong-Seok raised his hand first.
“Le-let me go! If you, you want m-money, I’ll give it to ya. As long as you spare me….”
“Three times.”
Jin-Woo’s voice remained cold.
“Aren’t you a bit shameless, asking to be spared by someone you tried to kill three times already?”
First, by blocking the exit of the boss room.
Second, ordering Yu Jin-Ho to kill him.
And finally, Joh Gyu-Hwan’s magic.
Hwang Dong-Seok tried to kill Jin-Woo these three times – even after excluding the battle just now.
‘Give and take’.
When he returned alive from the underground temple, Jin-Woo resolved himself to return as much as he had received.
….Whether it was kindness or hostility.
He’d repay the acts of ill intents with an equal amount of malice. There would be no room for negotiation.
Realising that begging for his life wouldn’t work, Hwang Dong-Seok’s eyes shot wide open and foam bubbled around his mouth.
“You, you!! You think you’ll be okay after you laid your hands on me like this?! Do you have any idea who my younger brother is…..”
Shatter!
Hwang Dong-Seok could no longer continue with his words after his neck was broken.
“Keok.”
The whites of the bearded man’s eyes were showing now.
Tti-ring.
[The number of enemies left to kill: 0]
[The number of killed enemies: 8]
Finally, this quest had come to an end.
“Whew-woo….”
Jin-Woo spat out a long sigh containing a myriad of emotions and lifted his hand away from Hwang Dong-Seok’s head.
His gaze then stopped on his hands.
He might have one-sidedly bulldozed past his opponents, but for someone who had fought to the death against eight other people, his hands remained remarkably steady.
‘Is it okay to be like this?’
Jin-Woo placed his hand on his chest and felt for his beating heart.
Thump, thump, thump….
His heart was beating as calmly as if he had been taking a stroll.
‘What if…..’
For the first time ever, he began to think that, seeing the System wasn’t the only change taking place within him after he returned alive from the underground temple.
However, his musings had to be kept brief. Soon, the familiar beep entered his head.
Tti-ring.
[You have completed ‘Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies’.]
[Completion rewards are now available.]
[Would you like to confirm the rewards?] (Y/N)
He was half-expecting this to happen, and sure enough, he now had received rewards. Jin-Woo didn’t even hesitate and chose ‘yes’.
‘Confirm.’
Tti-ring.
[The following rewards are available.]
Reward 1. Full recovery of the current physical condition
Reward 2. Ten additional Stat points
Reward 3. Skill: ‘Intimidation’
‘Not only ten points, but even a skill, too?’
Jin-Woo’s eyes widened from the huge amount of available rewards. All those Stat points were one thing, but this new skill stole away almost all of his attention.
‘If I didn’t possess the Dash skill when fighting that spider…..’
The only reason why he managed to hunt the boss down was because of ‘Dash’. There was no need to mention how important a skill was during a battle. It was not for nothing that a Rune stone, with which a person could learn a brand new skill, cost several hundreds of millions of Won.
Jin-Woo immediately checked this skill called ‘Intimidation’ out.
‘Show me the third reward.’
Tti-ring.
[Skill: Intimidation Lv. 1]
Active skill.
Mana required to activate: 100.
Can render a designated target in a state of fear for one minute by using your powerful aura. Multiple targets can be selected.
Effect ‘Fear’: All Stats -50%
Although it was only active for a short time, it was still a rare skill that could decrease the opponent’s Stats by a substantial amount.
Of course, exactly like other effects, if the opponent’s resistance was high enough it would fail to activate. But, if it did work, then Jin-Woo thought that taking care of his enemies, regardless of who it was, would become as easy as pie.
And since it could be used against multiple opponents, the scope of this skill’s usefulness seemed limitless, too.
‘It’s really good, isn’t it?’
The rewards were just as good as the potential penalty was as bad.
‘Hang on a sec…. Now that I think about it, it’s not like that, is it?’
After all, his life was at stake here. And, was that all?
Jin-Woo took a look around him.
He frowned deeply after taking in the gruesome sight.
He had witnessed enough deaths of other Hunters, but even then, he’d never really get used to looking at the corpses of other people.
This was what this quest asked of him, though. But, for a quest that asked for many lives as its completion requirement, the rewards handed out felt rather cheap and not quite enough.
Well, even if it weren’t for the quest, he’d still have to fight against Hwang Dong-Seok and his crew in the end, but still.
‘And they say, a man’s greed knows no bounds….’
Jin-Woo shook his head wryly.
It was then, the cave shook around once more.
RUMBLE…..
The tremor had become stronger than before. It was now the time to get out of the dungeon. But, before he could do that, there was something else he needed to take care of first.
And that happened to be Yu Jin-Ho. Jin-Woo’s gaze drifted toward him.
Yu Jin-Ho had been pitifully frozen solid in his spot until then, and flinched rather grandly before hurriedly lowering his gaze to the ground.
‘Now, what should I do with this kid….?’
Of course, he wasn’t thinking of harming Yu Jin-Ho. There was no need to, nor was there a reason to do so, either.
However, if the events of this place got leaked out to the rest of the world, then there was a good chance that his life would become inconvenienced in a variety of ways.
‘So, I guess I should make sure he doesn’t talk, huh.’
Just as he thought that course of action would be for the best, Yu Jin-Ho rapidly ran towards him, knelt down, and bowed his head.
“Hyung-nim, please spare me!!”
“….”
Suddenly, Jin-Woo felt that the following conversation should unfold a lot more smoothly than his initial expectation.
***
Yu Jin-Ho was shaking like a wet dog. His complexion was pale, as well. Well, eight people died in the blink of an eye right in front of his face, so that was par for the course, really.
One of the most important tools in dealing with people was this – the ‘fear’. So, Jin-Woo decided to use this situation to his advantage.
“Why should I?”
“Hiiick!!”
Jin-Woo thought that he heard the sound of Yu Jin-Ho’s heart falling to the floor just now.
His guilty conscience that asked, “Was that too much?” only lasted for a second, though.
“If, if you want money, I can speak to my father, and….”
“Who do you think I am?!”
Jin-Woo’s expression crumpled unpleasantly.
Sure, he did grow up impoverished, but that didn’t mean he was corrupt enough to hold a person’s life hostage and extort money that way.
Wouldn’t he be no different from Hwang Dong-Seok if he did that?
“I-I’m truly sorry.”
If it weren’t for Yu Jin-Ho’s current state being absolutely terrified, Jin-Woo would have smacked the back of the kid’s head or something by now. He was holding back only because it looked like Yu Jin-Ho might keel over from a heart attack if he really did that.
Confirming how displeased Jin-Woo’s expression was, Yu Jin-Ho nervously swallowed some dried saliva.
‘Now that I think about it, even back when Hwang Dong-Seok offered him money….. Could he have abandoned all material desires and now only walks the path of bloodshed and murder?!’
Jin-Woo’s image inside Yu Jin-Ho’s head was being solidified in an even weirder direction.
However, it was too early to draw a conclusion yet.
‘If that was the case, then why did hyung-nim extract those magic crystals?’
Not too long ago, Jin-Woo personally went and extracted all those magic stones, even going so far to dig through the spider’s entrails.
Sure, it was used in a variety of ways, such as a source of high-density energy, as a raw material in manufacturing magic tools, etc. – but, to a Hunter, a magic crystal was simply another word for ‘money’.
Yu Jin-Ho’s mind spun at a quicker pace.
‘So, that’s how it was!’
Those crystals were the ‘prize of blood’.
They were the deserved prize he earned through staining his hands with blood, and that was why he didn’t mind digging through the stomach of a dead monster.
He’d not show a hint of mercy to those enemies who tried to harm him, but he was also the practitioner of the way of the blood. Meaning, he did not want anything to do with the monetary gain that he hadn’t earned with his own hands.
‘And I tried to buy his benevolence with money, so of course, he’d get p*ssed off at me….’
In that case, what Yu Jin-Ho needed here wasn’t ‘father’s money’, but the ‘deserved profit’ that could be earned if he managed to walk out of here alive.
When he sneaked a glance, Jin-Woo’s expression was still distorted somewhat. Yu Jin-Ho quickly continued on with his words.
“Hyung-nim, if you spare me, then I’ll hand over all the profit earned in this dungeon to you.”
“Mm?”
As expected, Jin-Woo immediately displayed his interest.
“Please, think about it, hyung-nim. If you monopolise the profit meant for ten people after nine others are killed, others would definitely start questioning you.”
From Yu Jin-Ho’s perspective, Jin-Woo was, without a doubt, a fake registrant. Not only that, a highly-skilled fake registrant who enjoyed murdering people!
Obviously, he’d not want the attention of other folks landing on him.
“So what?”
“On the flip side, if we both walk out of here alive, then according to the contract, all the magic crystals from this dungeon belongs to me. Even if all the other teammates had died, since you don’t get a share in the first place, no one would suspect you.”
Of course, there’s was no way that Yu Jin-Ho would be suspected of foul play here. Well, his father owned one of the country’s top-ranked companies, after all.
The potential profit he’d earn from selling off the magic crystals would be like a pocket change to him.
“This money is something hyung-nim totally deserves. I mean, this is your deserved reward for saving me and getting rid of Hwang Dong-Seok and his lackeys, wouldn’t you agree?”
< Chapter 12 > Fin.
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