Chapter 11: [TS] I only level up alone -Episode 10

Hwang Dong-seok’s matter was concluded with this, for now.

The Hunter Association will probably say something, but I’ll just make up some excuse.

Rumble, rumble.

The dungeon began to shake.

It’s about time to leave the dungeon.

‘But what about her?’

Jinwoo’s gaze turned to Jinho.

Jinho, who was frozen stiff to a pitiful degree, startled when our eyes met and lowered her gaze.

Jinho feels like the only friend I have in my life, so I have no intention of harming her.

Should I make her keep quiet?

‘Oh, wait a minute.’

Now that I think about it, there was no need to make her keep quiet.

I’m not even trying to hide my power, and besides, it won’t be long until it’s revealed that I’m an S-rank anyway.

Still, it would be better to reveal it to Jinho first.

Just as Jinwoo was about to open her mouth, looking at Jinho, Jinho quickly ran over, knelt down, and bowed her head.

“Unnie, please spare my life!”

“……”

As expected, this is the Jinho I know.

****

Upon closer inspection, Jinho’s face was pale and her body was trembling.

Indeed, eight people had their necks snapped and died instantly right before her eyes; I suppose I’d be the same.

One of the most powerful weapons in dealing with people is this emotion called ‘fear’.

Jinwoo had no intention of harming Jinho, so she replied with the brightest smile she could muster.

“Don’t worry.”

Then Jinho lifted her head and met my eyes.

“W-what do you mean…?”

Instead of answering, Jinwoo brought up a new topic.

“Do you happen to know that a new S-rank appeared recently?”

She asked if Jinho knew about the newly emerged S-rank, and Jinho shook her head, replying that she didn’t.

“I see. You don’t know.”

Gasp!

It sounded like Jinho’s heart just sank.

I was watching, wondering why.

“If you s-spare me, I’ll try my best to find out!”

This girl…

Do I look like someone who would kill just because you don’t know something?

“I don’t need it.”

Jinho’s face grew paler and paler after hearing Jinwoo’s cold voice.

“S-sorry!”

She’s always had a strange side to her, ever since I’ve known her.

“What I mean is, you don’t need to find out.”

“Y-yes, yes…?”

“Because that S-rank is me.”

“Oh. R-right, …what?”

Why is she so surprised?

I told the surprised Jinho once again.

“That newly emerged S-rank Hunter is me.”

“Gasp! Then the reason you came here…?”

Jinho had completely misunderstood, but Jinwoo decided to just let it be.

‘The truth is, I came here to save you.’

****

A Hunter Association investigation team member arrived at the scene.

The procedure when a death occurred during a raid was simple.

You just had to inform the Association of the situation and undergo an investigation.

The investigator this time was a strict-looking older woman.

“And your names?”

“Sung Jinwoo.”

“I am Yoo Jinho.”

Accidents where Hunters died in dungeons were commonplace, so it was more of a formality.

It was just for the record.

Unless there was something suspicious.

“…But all the C-rank Hunters were wiped out, and only one D-rank and one E-rank managed to get out?”

The investigator asked, fiddling with her glasses.

Her eyes narrowed.

‘Usually, the victims of a raid are mostly the weakest Hunters on the team…’

As she meticulously examined the two, she noticed something and raised her voice.

“Oh my!”

Her eyes sparkled as she approached.

“Isn’t this ‘Callion,’ the longsword newly released by Maya Corp? Oh, and this is a Royal Series shield crafted by Master Gredos?”

Yoo Jinho’s face lit up.

“You certainly know your weapons!”

“Oh, no, not really. I just glance at the new item lists. Hahahaha!”

The longsword cost 700 million won. The shield cost 500 million won.

These were high-priced armaments made with magic crystals worth hundreds of millions and expensive materials, powerful equipment that could elevate a D-rank Hunter to C-rank or higher.

The situation inside the dungeon automatically formed in her mind.

‘With equipment like this…’

It seemed plausible for a D-rank Hunter to take down the boss alone in a situation where C-rank Hunters were wiped out.

‘And the E-rank Hunter must have hidden somewhere and barely escaped with her life.’

In reality, it was exactly the opposite.

At any rate, she reached a conclusion.

The possibility that someone with the financial means to purchase such equipment would betray their comrades for just a few magic crystals was slim.

Furthermore, an E-rank Hunter alone couldn’t have possibly dealt with several C-rank Hunters, so the deaths of Hwang Dong-seok and the other seven could only be considered an accident.

“Understood.”

The investigator closed her notepad with a satisfied expression.

“The investigation is concluded, so you may leave now. You must have had a difficult day, but thank you for your diligent cooperation with the investigation.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Jinwoo bowed on behalf of the two.

The investigator’s car departed the scene as quickly as it had arrived.

“You worked hard too, Unnie.”

Jinho, who spoke with a bright smile, was a world apart from how she was earlier.

She must have been truly terrified earlier.

“You worked hard too.”

“What did I do? Unnie did everything. Oh, right! Here are your magic crystals, Unnie.”

Jinho politely handed over the bag with both hands.

The bag she received was filled with magic crystals.

The highest price for magic crystals from a C-rank Gate was ten million won.

Even the smallest ones commanded several million won.

“Why the magic crystals suddenly?”

However, Jinwoo, curious why Jinho suddenly handed her the magic crystals, asked.

“You saved me, Unnie. If it weren’t for you, something terrible would have happened to me in there.”

She gave an awkward eye-smile, saying that just thinking about it was scary.

Since she put it that way, Jinwoo had no choice but to quietly sling the bag full of magic crystals Jinho offered onto her back.

****

After clearing the C-rank Gate, she immediately sold the magic crystals.

After selling the magic crystals, her bank account balance increased from 800,000 won to 180,300,000 won.

Selling the unexpectedly acquired magic crystals resulted in a whopping 180,300,000 won.

Even if she subtracted the original 800,000 won, 100 million won still remained.

Jinwoo, who had suddenly become rich, felt no particular emotion.

She was already wealthy anyway, so what?

However, in this world, she wasn’t rich, so every bit of money was precious.

‘So this is why people mine magic crystals.’

And currently, I am in front of the Hunter Association building.