Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 296

“What in the world...?”

Meanwhile, the hunters of South Korea’s Hunters Association were wandering through North Korea, taking down groups of magic beasts.

As the trees were revealed, Jinchul was witnessing the shocking scene as well. Despite his confusion, he stayed calm and radioed the association headquarters to find out what was going on. When he learned that this phenomenon was occurring all over the world, he simply nodded with a thoroughly businesslike demeanor.

“Hmm. Seems like we’ve got more to clean up.”

Behind Jinchul’s black sunglasses, his hawk-like gaze swept over the barren wasteland stretching before him. It was as if this entire land had transformed into a field-type dungeon in an instant. The blue mist that had loomed in the skies remained as dense as ever, and from a distance, the cries of rampaging beasts and howling spirits echoed across the land. The sudden appearance of the towering trees meant he might have to reconsider and adjust all their plans thus far.

“They’re along the paths we’ve already traveled. Did they just suddenly appear? Or did we actually fail to notice them before?” asked Jongin as he walked over, his attention drawn to the trees rising high into the sky. It was surprising, yes, but not something to panic over. After all, their job remained unchanged.

Flames flickered to life in his palm, burning a vivid red. Gripping the fire tightly, he adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses and flashed a sharp grin.

“I would suggest we go back the way we came and burn them all,” he muttered.

“Hmm,” Jinchul murmured in response, considering the idea.

They had already been systematically clearing out every beast in their path. Doubling back just to burn the trees wouldn’t be the most efficient course of action, especially because these mysterious trees weren’t only growing behind them. There were just as many—if not more—looming ahead, in the northern direction they were already traveling. In terms of efficiency, it would make more sense to continue forward, burning the trees and defeating the magic beasts along the way.

However, Jinchul’s eyes were fixed beyond the trees, on the distant north. It seemed that something there was bothering him greatly.

“Is it just me, or are there more trees in Russia than there are here?” he asked.

“Hmm. You’re right,” Jongin replied, nodding after checking the horizon over the Russian border.

Beyond the thick blue mist, towering trees sprawled across Russian territory like an eerie, surreal painting of a forest. Jinchul couldn’t shake the odd feeling that these strange trees might have originated in Russia.

But it can’t be.

He narrowed his eyes, glaring toward the north. “Russia, huh... That just so happens to be Yuri Orloff’s country.”

“Yuri Orloff? You mean the prime minister they elected two years ago?”

“Yes. Conveniently, he’s also an S-rank barrier specialist,” Jinchul said as a guess began to form in his mind.

Jongin eyed Jinchul, unsure of what he was implying. The chairman’s eyes gleamed thoughtfully behind his shades, and Jongin felt a nervous gulp rise in his throat.

It’s that look again.

Jinchul wore this look from time to time. He was almost wistful, as though he was lost in some far-off thought while planning meticulously for the future. It was quite rude to think so, but at times like this, the chairman made for quite a chilling sight. Sometimes Jongin got the distinct impression that Jinchul was seeing something beyond their reality, something ordinary people could not.

He looked at me like that when he first suggested I join the association...

“Will you fight with me for this country, for justice, and for this world?”

Jinchul had worn that same look two years ago, when he had politely held out his business card to an awakened Jongin. Overwhelmed by the sheer conviction in those eyes, Jongin had no choice but to accept.

From that moment on, Jongin became one of the greatest S-rank hunters representing the Korean Hunter Association and earned the rather embarrassing moniker “The Ultimate Soldier.” He had cringed when he had first heard the childish nickname, especially considering his age at the time. Still, he had thrown himself fully into his duty to serve his country, determined to live up to the title.

Two years had passed in that way. Looking back on Jinchul’s actions—actions that Jongin had seen up close—an absurd thought sometimes crept into his mind.

Could Mr. Woo have known I would awaken as an S-rank?

It was a completely ridiculous idea, but at the same time, he had the feeling that Jinchul might actually have been capable of it.

“Mr. Woo, are you thinking Orloff was hiding those trees behind his barrier all this time?” Jongin asked.

“It’s a strong possibility.”

“But the scale would be far too large for that. I know that not all S-ranks are built the same, but there’s a limit to how powerful someone can be. I, for one, could never burn that many trees at once.”

“Perhaps he had help. Orloff’s abilities are optimized for receiving outside assistance. As long as he has enough mana, he can conceal an entire city in a barrier.”

Jongin found himself puzzled by Jinchul’s confidence. Not much was publicly known about Yuri Orloff, the new prime minister of Russia. This was partly due to Russia’s inhospitable state after the Great Cataclysm, but ever since Orloff was elected, Russia had become far more closed off than before.

“Do you have spies there I don’t know about?” Jongin asked.

“No. But I do know what kind of person Orloff used to be,” Jinchul replied.

“Used to be?”

Jongin cocked his head, wondering about the strange wording. There was even less information available about the prime minister’s background than about Russia’s current state.

“Have you met Orloff before?” Jongin asked.

“Well, no. Not directly. But I do know one thing... No matter how much time passes, a person’s nature rarely changes. A kind person will remain kind with age, and a wicked one... will remain wicked.” Jinchul adjusted his sunglasses, a small smirk playing at his lips. “Sometimes this turns out to be a biased way to think, but in this instance, I trust that bias.”

“In polite society, we just call that being an old man stuck in his ways.”

“Haha! Is that so?”

Jongin’s teasing remark drew a chuckle from Jinchul. Truthfully, the chairman didn’t care if it was considered old-fashioned—he had walked through two lifetimes now, and his biases were the result of countless data points.

“Mr. Woo, we have someone on the radio,” a secretary called out. “It’s Paradise Shadow.”

“Ah! Nice timing,” Jinchul replied, happily taking the radio from the secretary as if he had been expecting the message.

But the voice over the radio wasn’t Haseul’s—it was Suho’s. Jinchul listened as the young man carefully detailed everything that had happened so far. Then he nodded thoughtfully.

“I see. So that’s how it is... Thank you for sharing.”

Suho had filled him in on the Apostle of Paradise’s death, the destruction of Álfheimr, the Elvenwoods, the high elves, and the followers of the Itarim.

And Russia as well...

Jinchul’s mind was working quickly now, piecing all the information together. With the new data Suho had provided, he had a clearer picture of the situation.

After organizing his thoughts, he spoke gravely into the radio. “Mr. Sung, it seems to me that the death of the Apostle of Paradise will have more far-reaching consequences than we might have thought.”

“I agree,” Suho replied, matching his serious tone.

Jinchul was right. Even now, the death of the apostle was wreaking havoc across the world. He had hidden gardens all over the planet, and once the anti-detection magic shielding them faded after his death, the entire world had entered a state of shock. The internet commentary reflected it.

—What the hell is that?

—Where did those trees come from?!

All at once, colossal trees had erupted from the ground across the globe, towering high enough to pierce the heavens. Even just one of these trees would have been overwhelming, but now that there were so many all over the world, there was global chaos.

If that weren’t enough, the swarm of surveillance drones from China and satellite imagery from the U.S. broadcast these scenes, ensuring that every person on Earth saw the same thing at the same time. The world was thrown into confusion overnight.

—What in the world are those?

—Where did those trees suddenly come from?

—Is this some kind of new dungeon break?

—Wait, don’t tell me... Are gates forming underground now?

—Oh my god, that would be a nightmare!

—If gates appear beneath us, hunters won’t be able to stop them!

It was a completely unexpected situation, and it was no surprise that people were panicked.

Of course, this wasn’t a new gate or dungeon break, and these massive trees hadn’t just suddenly grown out of the ground. They had simply appeared, looking as though they had been there all along. Their massive scale and sudden presence left the world in confusion.

And it wasn’t just the trees themselves. The news announced that below them, there was strange vegetation, magic beasts, spirits, and even entire cities of villains. All of it had been hiding in plain sight until now. This only escalated the confusion, further bewildering both those outside the barriers and those hiding within.

No one had planned for this reveal. Naturally, fierce battles broke out between those inside and those outside the barriers. It wasn’t just in North Korea, Russia, and China, but everywhere. The Apostle of Paradise had been busy, and there were other gardens—other hidden strongholds—in multiple countries.

“It doesn’t matter how people are taking this,” Jinchul said. He had experienced the moments preceding the end of the world, and he didn’t see the sudden appearance of the Elvenwoods as a real threat. They weren’t Monarchs or Rulers, just trees. Dealing with things like this was what hunters were for.

Therefore, he wasn’t bothered by the global panic caused by the sudden appearance of the Elvenwoods. The news was mostly worthless to him. There was something else that truly concerned him.

“The problem is that the other followers of the Itarim will have learned by now that the Apostle of Paradise is dead,” Suho said over the radio.

“Yes. That is for certain.”

“They are sure to react in one way or another. This could mean an outright war.”

“It seems more than likely.”

The more Jinchul spoke, the more impressed he became with how well Suho understood the key points. He was only in his early twenties. Compared to Jinchul, who had lived two lives, the hunter on the other end of the radio was still so young.

However, age was not important. Jinchul already knew of someone who had single-handedly saved the world at that age.

“Speaking of which, Mr. Sung...”

“Yes?”

As he listened to the voice over the radio, Jinchul was reminded once again that Suho was Jinwoo’s son. Because they weren’t speaking in person, he couldn’t help but feel that he was speaking to Jinwoo himself. The odd feeling made him very curious about what Jinwoo’s son would do next.

“What is your plan now?” Jinchul asked. “What you do from this point forward will determine our next course of action.”

He was of the same opinion as Suho: Every follower of the Itarim in the world had surely noticed that one of their kind had just been slain. Suho was right—there would be a response of some sort, possibly even a war.

Just like back then...

Jinchul felt a tightness in his chest as he thought of that disaster long ago. The end of the world always came without warning. Even though he had spent years preparing for such a scenario, he couldn’t shake his unease.

This time, Sung Jinwoo wasn’t here. This was partly the reason he had even bigger expectations regarding Suho.

“Why don’t you join us for now? We’ll be there soon,” Suho said.

Just then, in the distance, massive trees collapsed in succession like falling dominoes.

“Hah...”

Watching the spectacle unfold, Jinchul laughed. Then a thought struck him, and a plan began to unfold.

Still holding the radio to his ear, he said, “Mr. Sung, would you be interested in taking a little trip to Russia?”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“Of course it is. As far as the association is concerned, it will never have happened.”

Just then, a voice piped up in the background—Haseul’s voice.

“So we’re secret friends?”

Jinchul immediately rubbed his brow and replied, “No, nothing like that. I prefer the word ‘spy.’”