The Ascension : A New Beginning (Solo Leveling x Tower of God) [ON A HIATUS]

Chapter 29 : Familiar Faces

For a few minutes, Sam and Len stood still, a confused expression etched on their faces. When they finally came across their team leader, he was standing close to what appeared to be a chibi alligator. From their body language, it was clear that they knew each other. And at first, it appeared as if they were having a normal conversation.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for that to change.

“Hey, foxy.” Sam spoke after a while.

“... What?”

“Did you know about this?”

“Know about what?”

“That bossman had another pet before you? And an alligator at that?”

“What do you mean another- I. Am. Not. His. Pet! And I don’t think the alligator is one either!”

“Oh, really?” Sam chuckled. “Then how do you explain this?” He pointed in front of him.

…

"Get off me you stupid alligator!!" Jinwoo was trying to pry off Rak, who had chomped on his head and wasn't letting go. His damaged mask had already come off, revealing the irritated expression on his face. "We meet for the first time in two years and this is what you do?!"

"Whmmphh? Ff mmp rnf gn mmff rn ttrtl?" (Why? So you can run off again you runaway turtle?) Rak, naturally, didn't let go.

“It’s only temporary you idiot!!” Surprisingly enough, Jinwoo seemed to have understood what Rak was trying to say. “I plan to rejoin them after some time! Now get off me before I blast you away!” Accentuating his point, Jinwoo pointed his palm directly at his face.

“Wmmph hppmj sthjprr ttrtll…” (Hmph. Try it, stupid turtle…)

Unfortunately for Rak, Jinwoo was more than willing to try.

…

“Now this really is strange.” Len muttered to himself, looking at the sight of Jinwoo slapping awake the mini-alligator who was lying on the ground, knocked out cold. "This is the first time I've seen the boss so… Emotionally expressive."

"Well, this is the first time I've seen his face so I can't really comment on that." Sam shrugged. “Then again, if an alligator were to suddenly bite my head, I’d be very ‘Emotionally expressive’ as well.”

“... Good point.” Len nodded. On noticing Jinwoo signalling for them, he nudged Sam. “Looks like the boss wants to say something. Let’s go.”

“At this point, I’m sure we all want our answers.” Sam muttered.

____________________

“Ah, there you are- wait. For how long have you two been together? And what happened? Both of you look as if you just came back from a war.”  Zeiros was searching for one of his teammates when, as luck would have it, he came across both of them.

“Only a few minutes ago.” Eleonora replied while Ryong kept silent. “We had a bit of conflict with some of the other regulars. And don’t worry… It’s nothing serious.”

“Well, if you say so.” Zeiros shrugged it off. “Anyway, I came across the Beastkin from Nocturne’s group a few hours ago and convinced him to form a temporary alliance. So that'll be our next-"

"Wait." Ryong interrupted him. "Why do you think we'll need to form an alliance?"

"I assume both of you have already met your fair share of those golems while on your way here?" Zeiros asked them, to which they nodded in confirmation. "Well, let's just say there are some especially powerful ones guarding the path to the central part of the Labyrinth. But if we have someone like Nocturne on our side…" He chuckled.