A Side Character's Mission ↠ Solo Leveling

Chapter 37: Pretender

'I have ignored my phone since I entered the demon castle.' Jin-Woo thought as he scrolled his thumb on his phone. He spent few days in the S-rank dungeon, fighting the monsters and even managed to obtain an item that could awaken his mother from the 'Eternal Sleep' disease. 

'There's tons of missed calls? Oh well, if it's urgent, they will call me again.'

As he read the news, there was a headline of netizens being shock of a flying monster spotted in the middle of Seoul and an incoming call.

"Hello?"

"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, this is Hunter Association, Go Gu Hee speaking."

"Chief? What happened?"

"You probably already knew this already."

"What news are you talking about?"

"Have you not seen the news?"

'Ah, they are talking about Kaisel. The news sure spread fast.' Kaisen was the boss's pet he obtained in the demon castle.

"I'm sorry about that. I'll be more careful."

"Huh?"

"Ah... What is this about? I came back from a palace that's hard to contact."

"You really haven't heard about it. Is it fine for me to visit you personally?"

"No, I will come to you."

...

"We will go to Jeju Island and exterminate the ants. But to do that, we will need Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's help." Gu Hee explained the plan Goto Ryuji had proposed in his office. "Recovering Jeju Island is every citizen's wish. Would you help us?"

There were tons of highest-grade monsters, so Jin-Woo would normally go to level up. He hesitated for a bit before sensing a mana wave that disrupt his thought. 

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"Not really... but it seems that nearby hunters are fighting." Gu Hee laughed lightly. "Your intuition is good to feel that from this distance. Right now, S rank hunters should be warming up in the gym. Are you talking about that?"

"S rank hunters?" Jin-Woo repeated in surprise.

"Yes, since there are only 4 days left until the raid. Goto Ryuji and other S rank hunters are there."

"Goto Ryuji..? Could it be..?"

"Even if you are not a hunter, you should have heard about Japan's most powerful hunter."

"Ah, that Goto Ryuji, yes."

"Would you also like to go to the gym?"

...

The two of them walked on the second floor of the building. It was too big to be a gym and certainly not designed for a normal human being or any low ranked hunter to use. There were the S rank hunters Gu Hee had told earlier standing on the side of the first floor, watching at two people brawling on the court. 

Jin-Woo noticed a young man leaning on the second-floor railing, watching the brawl unfolding nearby while nibbling a chocolate bar. He looked familiar. 

But it was impossible, right?

Jin-Woo rubbed his eye and blinked. 

"Seung-Eun?"

The young man turned to look at him, his eyes brightening immediately.

"Jin-Woo hyung!! You're back! I really miss you!"

"Wait... what are you doing here?" He was dumb founded. 

A low ranked hunter wouldn't be able to stand the strong mana wave emitted by the people below.

Gu-Hee looked at the interaction of the young men and began to scrutinize silently. He remembered the advise Goto Ryuji gave to him. But without any invitation, Seung-eun already appeared in the gym and watched others silently. The person was unapproachable. It was a total opposite of the person in front of them. Gu-Hee did not want to offend him so he could only let him do whatever he wanted, not like he could.

It wasn't like he had caused any trouble before... Gu Hee tried to convince himself. It was others who came provoking. 

There was also the guild leader of Hunters Guild nearby, Choi Jong-In that was about to greet them politely.

"Hyung! You don't miss me at all?"

Jin-Woo regained back his composure. "It has only been few days."

"Even so, few days feel like an eternity for me." Seung-Eun wiped his fake tears with a handkerchief, like a maiden who just discovered that her husband had live well without her. 

The shamelessness not only baffled Go Gu Hee but also Choi Jong In, who was wary of the new S rank hunter. Jong In didn't even bother try inviting him into his guild, knowing he wasn't someone so simple.

Jin-Woo ruffled the blonde haired man with a slight smile. "Okay. Stop being dramatic."

And then, the smile disappeared from his face.

"You got 'Awakened'?"

Seung-Eun looked away and hesitated to open his mouth.

Jin-Woo pursed his lips.

"Since when?"

The chairman wasn't surprised to see him here.

Was he the last person to know?

He felt like he was missing a lot of things.

The person in front of him, he still had the same appearance from when they first met each other, he had only grown a little bit taller. He was familiar, but at the same time Jin-Woo felt like he didn't know him enough. 

"Is it recently?"

'The red gate, the disappearance of Hwang Dong-Su...'

The small clues seemed to add up and point at one direction.

He wasn't sure whether it was joy or disappointment.

Jin-Woo leaned down near the boy's ear and whispered,

"Seung-Eun, are you a 'Player'?" 

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A/n: I just realised that the chapter 31-36 order got messed up. Blame Wattpad. I tried to fix it but couldn't㋛︎

Also, I just ended my first year of college.