Ruler | Solo Leveling

Chapter 5

You were locked up in your office, sleepily staring at the television that played the popular drama everyone had been raving about. Lee Minsung was the lead actor, and you admit he did deserve some of the praise the media gave him.

But the kind and humble personality you'd thought he had came crumbling down the moment you had first met him.

"Stupid showoff..." You muttered, angrily glaring at the actor's heartfelt profession of love that would have made an earlier version of you blush. It was a wonder how modest he acted for the public despite his arrogant personality - you had to experience that first hand when you attempted to recruit him into the Association.

"Vice-Chairman? Are you there?"

Crap! Hurriedly powering off the television, you dash towards the door, inconspicuously drawing aside the curtain to see who had decided to visit. "Jinchul?

"Vice-Chairman." He replied, cautiously glancing over your shoulder to spot the disastrous state of your office. "There's been an interesting development."

"What do you mean?"

"Weeks ago, in a dungeon raid, eight people were killed in action." He said, handing a report to you. "The survivors were E and D-ranked."

"But isn't that a common occurrence?" You asked, turning away disinterested. "If that's all..."

"No. They cleared the dungeon. Moreover, one of the hunters was Sung Jinwoo."

You frowned. He must have joined a raid by himself, against your wishes. But at least it confirmed your suspicions that he'd recently grown stronger.

"So you suspect he's a false ranker?" You ask carefully, looking up at your companion. "Did you want to get him retested?"

He shook his head.

"That's not why I came." Jinchul replied. "Amongst the dead was hunter Hwang Dongsuk."

"Who's that?" You ask, confused. You've never heard of him, but his last name did seem familiar....

Wait. Your eyes widened, finally connecting the pieces. "He's related to S-ranked hunter Hwang Dongsu?"

"But isn't-" You stopped dead in your tracks, fearful eyes flickering to your colleague. "Isn't Hwang Dongsu still in America?"

"Not anymore," Jinchul said quietly. "He boarded an airplane minutes ago, currently headed for Seoul."

The room fell silent.

Hwang Dongsu was infamous amongst the S-ranks for being sadistic and cruel. Dealing with him had been a huge headache for the Association, especially since you couldn't exactly investigate an S-ranked hunter.

You'd never admit it, but it had been a huge relief when he was eventually poached by the United States' Scavenger Guild.

Thomas Andre had been a good choice to reign him in. You thought. Dongsu doesn't respect anything but pure, unadulterated power. But that also means he wouldn't hesitate to kill weaker hunters indiscriminately...

"...Does he think the two surviving hunters set a trap and killed his brother?"

Jinchul nodded.

"What are we doing here then?!" You shouted, feeling the beginnings of panic start settling in. "Contact the Scavenger's Guild and ask Thomas to step in!"

"They know."

"Huh?" You furrowed your brows, dread slowly settling into the bottom of your stomach.