Solo Leveling- Ragnarok

Chapter 183:

When exactly did Sung Il-Hwan regain his memories of his previous life? Beru did not know, but one thing was certain.

[The monarch's memory transcends time.]

Suho also knew what Beru was trying to say. 'The Cup of Reincarnation.'

[God's instrument that turns back time, the Cup of Reincarnation, does not have any effect on the consciousness of higher beings such as rulers and monarchs.]

Beru recalled an old memory, just a few decades ago, in a time when all wars were over and peace came to Earth. It was that moment where Woo Jin-Chul, who lost his memory of his previous life and lived as an ordinary police officer, suddenly regained all his memories in an instant. Looking back, the reason was very simple. The reunion with Sung Jin-Woo. That 's all...

But in fact, it was by no means normal.

Who is Sung Jin-Woo? The King of Death, the great Shadow Monarch who slew all other Monarchs and brought entire planes to his feet. How much significance can an event that is directly related to such a great and noble higher being have in a person's life? Can we dare to dismiss the meeting as ordinary?

[...Mister Sung Il-Hwan was my liege's father who had lived with him for most of his life, and he has had at one point the ability of directly accepting the ruler's power into his body.]

For example, a son with the power of a monarch and a father with the power of a ruler. It's been decades since the two of them lived together in the same house.

Yoo Jin-Ho was able to regain all his memories just by touching the key to the Shadow Dungeon. '...Given the opportunity, it's not strange to see his memories come back.'

At Beru's words, Suho nodded in agreement. Anyway, the bottom line is that his grandfather suddenly left somewhere with the memories of his previous life.

'But where did you go? For what?' Several questions floated around in Suho's head. He decided to focus on the most important part for now.

'The Itarim.' To what extent is Itarim involved in his grandfather's disappearance? Is his Grandpa all right now? 'Let's just focus on that.' Perhaps there is a chance that his grandfather is in a similar situation as his mother, so it was urgent to find anything as soon as possible.

Suho asked the branch manager Min Dae-Seok, who was talking with Park Kyung-Hye and Sung Jin-Ah. "So who was the last person to see my grandfather?"

Today, Suho's grandmother, Park Kyung-Hye, came here hurriedly after receiving a call from an Association employee. Until then, the Association had rejected Sung Il-Hwan's disappearance, but today they are finally convinced that he is missing.

"That... I'm not sure yet." The one who answered Suho's question was a new female employee who brought Park Kyung-Hye here. The female employee's eyes glanced at the branch manager, Min Dae-Seok, and then opened her mouth.

"There were people who saw Sung Il-Hwan at a place other than a fishing spot."

"A different place? Where is it?"

"Near the merchant Association..."

"What?!" At those words, branch manager Min Dae-Seok turned to the female employee with a visibly embarrassed expression. Then, in a low voice, he quietly threatened her. "Why would he be at the merchant Association? Can you be sure he went there and it isn't some baseless lie? Can you take responsibility for that?"

"?Oh no! I only heard that they saw him walking in that direction, too! Even the branch manager knows. People don't fish here these days."

"Of course. Yes...hmm." Sensing the eyes of Suho's family, Min Dae-Seok suddenly cleared his throat and shut his mouth. However, since it had already been heard by Suho, there was no turning back.

"The merchant Association..."

?Woosh!

Min Dae-Seok held his breath. Slowly turning his head, he could see Suho's aura was gradually becoming more and more brutal like when he first invaded this place. Suho asked while fiddling with the Stardust necklace he had ripped off Min Dae-Seok's neck earlier. "I think you said the merchants Association had given you this necklace, Right?" The words began to shorten again.

'No, does this man have anger issues or something!?' Min Dae-Seok really wanted to cry at Suho's pressure, which seemed to explode at any moment.

"Answer."

"Yes, yes! The Merchants Association is just a gathering of people who do business in Yangpyeong. It's like that in every town!"

"More."

"Yes! In fact, there is a separate Yangpyeong merchant Association! The Merchants Association we talked about is actually more of a private Association created by hunters active in Yangpyeong! Stardust necklaces are also made and distributed there!"

In response to Suho's question, Min Dae-Seok reflexively began to tell the truth.

At those words, Suho felt something odd. "Why do hunters create merchant Associations instead of guilds? and what for?"

There is probably no one here who doesn't know that going into a dungeon once can bring more money than spending time on such useless things. Of course, there were cases where businesses were conducted at the guild level, but that was only an incidental area.

"That, that..." Seeing Suho's cool eyes, Min Dae-Seok didn't know what to do and rolled his eyes here and there. Then, the images of the other employees trying to avoid his gaze, and the Stardust necklaces hanging around their necks...

Suho intuitively realized. 'Something is going on here.'

Crack!

At that moment, the corner of branch manager Min Dae-Seok's desk was crushed in Suho's hand. Beru whispered like a demon into Suho's ear.

[Should I just kill him? I will eat his brain and read his memory.]

Did he hear that whisper? Or did Beru's 'sincerity' work? The moment his desk was smashed, branch manager Min Dae-Seok was startled and finally opened his mouth.

"Bla– it's a black market!... Hick!" It was Min Dae-Seok who spoke recklessly and suddenly covered his mouth.

"...Black market?" Suho's eyes grew even more frightening, on the contrary, Min Dae-Seok's complexion turned pale and he hurriedly began to make excuses.

"Yeah, that's it. To be clear, I have nothing to do with it. I only heard that they were still preparing, so I, to be exact—"

"What is a black market?" When Sung Jin-Ah, who was listening to the story, asked, Min Dae-Seok sighed deeply and explained.

"That... Non-awakened people have no idea about it, of course. The black market is a direct transaction market only used by hunters."

"So a normal market?"

"Yes. To be precise, it is a place where direct transactions or auctions for tax evasion take place." Tax evasion. It was Sung Jin-Ah who understood what he said. Even for hunters with superhuman abilities, taxes were a scary law. In particular, the tax rate applied to hunters who are classified as extremely high-income earners is a whopping 50%.

Basically they take exactly half of the money earned by fighting the demons at the risk of their lives and extort it from the country. Of course, the money is used to rebuild the citizens who have been damaged by the dungeon or the destroyed city. And the organization that manages and supervises the exact use of the tax was the Hunter Association.

"But why is the Association turning a blind eye to the black market for tax evasion?"

"?Oh no! This was going on before I came here, so I was against it at first–!"

Crack!

At that moment, Min Dae-Seok's desk began to be crushed like tofu in front of his eyes, gradually, slowly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Ah..." Min Dae-Seok, who witnessed the scene, caught his breath in the feeling that sooner or later he would end up like that too. But he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Standing up from her seat, Suho looked at all the Association employees in the office with a cold gaze. At that gaze, just like Min Dae-Seok, the staff who were wearing Stardust necklaces shivered with pale faces. The legal issues against them will be resolved later by Woo Jin-Chul, the president of the Association.

Suho asked.

"So where is the Merchants Association?"

* * *

Yangpyeong is wide. Its size is almost as wide as Jeju Island. However, if there is a little difference from Jeju Island, is that there are many development restrictions in Yangpyeong, such as water source protection areas and nature conservation areas. As the situation was, Yangpyeong was made up of mountains, forests, and valleys on all sides, and there were countless fishing spots. However, since the mountain is so rough, it was also an area where missing people like Sung Il-Hwan frequently appeared.

"...It is very foggy."

[Yangpyeong is a humid area. It is because there are many dams.]

During Suho's self-talk, Quay appeared and began to talk about what he knew. Listening to that explanation, Suho was walking on a land covered in water and fog.

[Little lord, now I understand.]

Beru noticed the identity of the sense of incongruity he felt when he first set foot in Yangpyeong.

[It seems that the Blue Mist has melted into this water mist.]

"Could there be a dungeon hidden inside?"

[Yes. Since the Blue Mist didn't flow more than the water mist itself, I think the Association didn't notice it until now.]

Quay, a former villain and Vice-Guildmaster of the Reaper Guild, recognized the value of this place at a glance.

[If I knew about this place, I too would have also wanted to create a black market.]

A place where even the existence of the gate can be hidden. It meant, in other words, a place where anything could be hidden.

"Quay, hit your head."

[Yes.]

?Boink!

Unlike someone who wasn't a former villain, it was Quay who deeply sympathized with the psychology of criminals.

"I'm starting to feel it." Suho stopped walking. The magical power of the gate, which had been faintly felt as it melted into the water mist, began to grow thicker and thicker.

"Is this whole area a field type dungeon?" Esil, who was walking by Suho's side, looked around with her eyes shining. Then she finally found something. "It's a demonic totem."

"Do you know what it is for?"

"For protection barriers. It informs you when non-demons approach."

"Anything other than demons?" At those words, Suho smiled softly. "Then I'll just have to become a demon." Suho took out the 'Item: Crow Mask' from his inventory and hid his face. A badge worn by demons working at the Stardust Factory. But, of course, it was impossible to deceive the barriers of the demons with this alone.

"Esil."

"Yes."

[Equip 'Item: Horn of Vulcan'.]

If you pretend now, you pretend till the end. Esil immediately transformed to her spiritual body and attached herself to Vulcan's horns in Suho's head. From the crow mask to the demon's horns. Suho's appearance has turned into that of a demon.

[This should be enough to fool the barrier.]

Hearing Esil's whisper, Suho proudly passed through. At that moment, the view changed, and the image of the black market that the branch manager had talked about unfolded in front of Suho.