Solo Leveling SI-Devour Ch.3

Chapter 3

GOH-GUN HEE

With the raid on Jeju Island clear in sight, the association wasted no time in contacting the ‘Ghoul’, who responded to their request, and now, after a few weeks of back and forth, the elusive Hunter sat in front of him.

He was different from his expectations. He had a young and sharp face with iconic white hair. He was thin and seemed entirely harmless at first glance, but that was all a ruse.

Even now, as the ‘freelance’ hunter smiled at him, Goh-Gun-Hee could feel the power emanating from him. A power that was no less than the one emanating from his second in command, Joo-Winchul.

“So, you don’t even want me to be a part of the Jeju Island raid, and just need me as a backup of sorts,” he asked, for clarification after he had informed him of their intentions for him.

“Yes,” he replied, already aware of the unorthodox nature of the request.

“In many ways, that is rather humiliating,” the foreign hunter cut in, and indeed it was. But he still had his reservations about involving a foreign Hunter in an issue of such national pride.

“Well, be that as it may, this our proposal. We will need you to whittle down the number of A-ranked gates, and the money from them will be divided between the association and yourself equally,” and at that, the Hunter in question shook his head.

“No, I don’t think that percentage will work. Given that I will be doing all the work, I will take ninety percent of the proceeds,” and that surprised him.

“The Association will give you teams that will help you,” and again the white haired boy shook his head.

“I work alone. I have no need of teams,” and that meant that the Hunter infront of him was confident enough to claim that he could solo an A-ranked dungeon, a feat which could be matched by even a few S-ranked Hunters.

“Is that so?” he asked, as he leaned forward on the table and looked him in the eye.

“Then perhaps you would be willing to go to undergo an assessment just to assure...” and again the Hunter shook his head.

“Assessments are generally useless for Hunters like us, so no, I disagree,” and it seemed to him that they were at an impasse.

“Well, then, how are we to entrust you with such a heavy burden if we have no measure of your strength?” and even his past clients had been rather tight-lipped about his prowess.

“That is a you problem....” he replied leaning back in his chair, and that seemed to be a problem.

“Then I have a proposition,” the Chief Inspector of the Hunters Association cut in from the side, as they both turned to face him.

“And what is that?” asked the ‘Ghoul’

“A demonstration...”

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And in the end, they were able to reach a consensus, as both parties found themselves satisfied. Given his secretive nature, only him and Joo-Winchul stood outside an A-ranked gate as they prepared themselves to accompany the foreign Hunter into the dungeon.

And it had been years since Goh-Gun Hee had stepped into a dungeon, and now, standing outside one made his heart ache.

“Will you be fine, Chairman?” he questioned, concern lacing his tone, as he nodded.

“Yes, I will be just fine,” and the Hunter in question wore no elaborate armor, nor did he have any weapon on himself, making him rather intrigued about his powers.

“Are you ready, Hunter Ken?” and that was his name, a rather mundane and ordinary name for a man as elusive as he was.

“Yes, but it's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain?” his request had been strange in a way.

“The Money will be wired to your account soon after, but here is the answer to your other request,” and apart from a rather substantial chunk of money, he had asked them for all the details about the lives of ten people in Korea.

Ten. And he had wondered why a foreigner would have such an interest in ten different Koreans, but Woo Jinchul had been the first to see through his request.

That the Ghoul was not interested in ten people, but one or at most two people. He had asked about ten to hide his true intentions, and in the end, they had compiled the list, which was too varied to give them an inkling about just what the Hunter in front of them was looking for.

“From what we could gather, there is no hunter by the name of Sung Jin Woo currently operating within Korea. Neither do we have a hunter named Sung Il Hwan in our database,” and those were the only two names that had given them no answer.

The others included a former female athlete, a gymnast, a healer working for the association, and a few of the members of the Jeju Island raid party.

And even as he sifted through the file in front of them, his expression gave nothing away, as he passed it to an assistant of his.

And at that, he began to crack his fingers and neck, as Goh Gun Hee saw his eyes change color, the white in them turned a pitch black, and the red in them turned even redder. The aura emanating from him changed, transforming from the calm and composed waves of energy to a destructive and devastating flood.

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And the initial portion of the Dungeon seemed easy enough, as Goh Gun Hee found himself impressed by the foreigner’s strength and prowess. He moved quickly, like a lightning bolt, killing enemies left and right with not a single wasted.

“Well, the it is time for the boss room,” and they entered through the gates, both him and Joo Winchul and immediately he could tell that this was no ordinary boss.

“Ok, I need to warn you guys that you are not to intervene...” but before he could say anything more, Goh Gun Hee’s eyes widened as he screamed.

“Look out!” he tried to warn the Hunter, while suddenly a massive boulder tore through half of his body as the Dungeon Boss, jumped up from one part of the cave.

“Shit!” his second in command cursed, as he prepared himself for battle as the enemy boss raised another boulder, and aimed it at them.

“Watch out Chairman!” and yet despite being the target of his attack Goh Gun Hee found himself too calm and composed, and as the beast spun and unleashed the boulder at them.

The giant rock raced towards them, and Joo Winchul made to attack it, when suddenly four red tail-like structures, emerged infront of them, blocking the boulder as Goh-Gun Hee felt his heart begin to race.

“What the...” Winchul gasped, as the Hunter that had just been killed infront of them rose back up, the aura emanating from him wild and full of rage, as the Hunter Ken rose back up, his body reforming infront of their eyes, as four tentacle-like structures erupted out of his back.

“Don’t you know that you should not intervene when people are talking?” he snarled, and he saw those tentacles gleam red as he spun and threw the boulder back at the dungeon boss, forcing  it to defend itself, as it crossed its arms infront of itself.

It was a beast time monster, one shaped like a giant ape, with thin, long arms and legs, optimal for throwing things.

“I am going to slaughter you!” and at that, Hunter Ken jumped, rushing towards the beast, who threw another boulder at him, yet he did not stop as those tentacles moved forward and formed a sort of cone, and tore through the boulder without stopping.

BOOM! BOOM!

The monster tried to jump away, yet before it could do anything, it was nailed to the wall, as those tentacles stretched forward, and tore into his arms and legs, nailing the monster to the wall, as Hunter Ken stood infront of the monster who was screaming and wailing as it tried to free itself from his tentacles.

“What the hell!” Joo Winchul gasped, as he saw him casually walk up to the monster, as the tentacles holding down the monster’s arms were pulled out.

“What is he doing?” Joo Winchul asked, as Goh Gun Hee smiled and shook his head.

“He is challenging the monster,” and it was a thing that even he would hesitate to do even in his prime, yet this Hunter was somehow even better than him in his prime.

And so, they watched as the monster screamed at Hunter Ken and launched a punch at him, and Hunter ken did not move letting himself take the hit.

BANG!

The entire dungeon shook from the force of the attack, yet the Hunter in question did not budge, as he simply turned his head to the side and spat out a tooth.

“My turn,” he heard the whisper, as the hunter coiled back his hand, and the tentacle like appendage coming out of his back, wrapped itself around his arm and he could feel the power coming off of him, and the fear of the monster as he coiled back his hand and let go.

“Take this......”

BOOOOM!

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The dungeon took less than a few hours to clear, which was insane given that the Hunter infront of him had just soloed an A-ranked dungeon. This made it more credible that the person standing infront of him might just be the fifth National Grade Hunter, a survivor of the battle against the infamous Kamish.

“I believe you are satisfied now,” he asked, his mood rather irksome as Goh Gun Hee nodded.

“Yes, I believe we are,” and now he could see why foreign nations were so beholden to him. Even within the S-ranks, there were tiers, and he was amongst the most powerful S-ranked Hunters he had ever seen.

“I don’t think that I need to reiterate what will happen if either of you tries to spread out information regarding my abilities,” and they had no reason to, and there was no one here who could force his hand.

“Your secret will be safe with us,” and that seemed to take the edge out of his voice, as the Hunter turned around.

“You can contact my people with the details, I will going now,” and with that he jumped away. And as he vanished into the distance, Joo Winchul took down his glasses and and asked.

“What did we just witness?”

“The power of a National Grade Hunter....”

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Back in the hotel room, Ken had reserved for himself. He stood behind his friend Chris, who sat behind half a dozen screens scouring through Korea’s databases, as the file with the ten names he had asked for sat in front of them.

“It’s real. The documents they gave you are real,” and immediately, he felt a headache coming on as he began to shake his head.

“There is no hunter in Korea by the name of Sung Jin Woo, or Son Il Kwan,” and he sighed as he plopped down on the bed, thinking of the implications of this.

“We are so fucked....”

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