Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 300

Under normal circumstances, such a feat would not have been possible by any means. Establishing an association that unified all of a nation’s hunters—it required navigating an incredibly complex web of political and economic hurdles. It wasn’t something a mere police chief could accomplish.

The only reason it had been possible before was that Go Gunhee, the previous association’s chairman, had been a corporate giant in his own right. But perhaps he had pursued too moderate an approach. Back then, it had taken far too long to establish the association, and in that time, countless innocent lives were lost to unchecked villains.

Jinchul remembered all of it, which was why he had chosen a far more aggressive and relentless approach this time. Of course, there were more reasons. He had already seen a world teetering on the brink of annihilation, and he had witnessed disasters beyond human comprehension. He bore the weight of those memories, so he was in no position to be choosy about his methods.

Mr. Sung, as a hunter, does not exist in this world. How can I possibly fill the void he left behind?

That thought alone was enough to make the responsibility crushing. After the Great Cataclysm, Jinchul could no longer sleep without the aid of medication. How could he possibly close his eyes and lie in bed when it felt as if the Monarchs could descend from the sky at any moment?

It is impossible for anyone to replace him. What, then, can I do?

He had racked his brain, searching desperately. He thought about what Jinwoo would want, what kind of world should exist for him to return to.

Then the answer came to him at last.

When he returns, I must ensure nothing holds him back. That’s the best I can do. At the very least, I must not be an obstacle.

To make that happen, Jinchul needed absolute control over the hunters. This time, the association needed to have more authority than even the previous Hunters Association led by the S-rank Go Gunhee.

But Woo Jinchul was only A-rank. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to command future S-rank hunters and make them follow the association’s orders.

Then I’ll force it through. By any means necessary, he thought, throwing open door after door.

“Wh-who’s there?”

“W-wait, Woo Jinchul?”

And so day after day, Korea’s most influential political and economic figures found themselves confronted by an uninvited guest.

Yet Jinchul was nothing if not fair. He made sure to visit everyone, meeting with both ruling and opposition politicians alike. The side they were on didn’t matter—there was always a similar proportion of corrupt figures on both sides. As long as he visited them in the right order, the balance was always maintained. This also helped to minimize any political chaos.

Doors were kicked open without warning.

“Good evening. My name is Woo Jinchul.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Woo Jinchul.”

Every politician who saw him reacted the same way—squeezing their eyes shut as if accepting the inevitable.

“Hello. You already know who I am, don’t you?”

Soon the rumors had spread far and wide, passing through the networks of those who had engaged in corruption alongside one another. The warnings did nothing to help the politicians. There was little they could do about it.

“I see you’ve recently tripled your personal security detail,” Jinchul said. “You must have heard I was coming, then.”

“W-well...”

“I wonder who told you. Who was it?”

There was nothing to be done. All they could do was swallow dryly, their faces drained of color.

No amount of security could stop a visit from Jinchul. Even those who had spent fortunes hiring awakened individuals as bodyguards were helpless. This was unsurprising, as hunter rankings had yet to be properly established. No one knew whether their hired guards were C-rank or B-rank, not even the hunters themselves. Even if they had dozens or hundreds of such guards, they would be no match for Jinchul.

And if by some rare chance an A-rank was among them, it wouldn’t have made a difference. An A-rank rookie who had just awakened would not even know how to use their powers. Comparing such a person to Jinchul would be an insult. Besides, he had been head of the Surveillance Division of the Hunters Association in the past life, spending years dealing with hunters just like them.

“Guh...!”

Without a sound, Jinchul appeared behind one such bodyguard and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him to the floor. Raising an eyebrow, he murmured in mild surprise, “Hmm? This one isn’t so bad. How did you find such a valuable assassin-type hunter?”

“H-how did you...?”

The awakened guard, stunned by the unexpected turn of events, could only gape. The hawk-like eyes behind those black lenses had seen right through his concealment skill.

Seeing the man’s stunned expression, Jinchul said calmly, “There’s no need to be so disappointed. I recently acquired a new danger detection skill, so half-baked sneak attacks don’t work on me anymore. By the way, Minister, is this all you’ve prepared?”

“We’ll cooperate with the association.”

“Good choice. Now was that so difficult to say? You could have just told me when we spoke over the phone.”

“I’m sorry...”

“I understand, of course. If you had become the association president, you could have wielded its immense power for political gain. It’s certainly a tempting prospect. But let me make one thing clear... I have no interest in politics.”

Even as he threatened the politicians to their faces, Jinchul made his stance known. Hunters lived in the world of hunters, and politicians lived in politics. That separation was the mission of the Hunters Association—or rather, of Gunhee—to make the world a better place.

“There’s only one thing I want—for hunters to be able to focus solely on their duties.”

“Hunters...”

The word slipped from the lips of the assassin-type individual who had failed to ambush him.

Jinchul glanced down at him, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Speaking of which, I will be taking this man with me. His skills are wasted as a politician’s bodyguard. This is not a request, by the way.”

“Do as you please.”

Jinchul exited the office, dragging the bodyguard along.

Left behind, the politician let out a long, weary sigh. The rumors were true. There had been whispers that Jinchul would “kidnap” any useful awakened individuals he found among the security staff operated by the politicians he visited. The fact that such an unhinged man was founding an association to hunt down “villains” was beyond absurd.

With a dramatic aligning of opinions between political parties, the Hunters Association was swiftly established, and Jinchul became its first chairman. The process had been shockingly fast and highly unconventional.

Thanks to that, South Korea became the first country to emerge from the Great Cataclysm’s chaos and return to stability. Hunters from around the world flocked there to learn from Korea’s newly established systems and hunter laws.

Jinchul’s association became adept at capturing the villains who became intoxicated by mana and wreaked havoc, dealing with them in a highly organized manner. They even created a special prison for villains. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

As the association grew stronger, it became possible to prevent unnecessary conflicts between guilds. Moreover, they could immediately respond to any new gates, keeping citizens safe and allowing them to resume their daily lives.

Naturally, this earned Jinchul immense public support—but it also made him enemies. Because he had been so bold when founding the association, there were more than a few who held grudges against him, particularly among the individuals whose every secret and act of corruption now lay in his hands. They funneled enormous sums of money into hiring assassins to take him down, but one attempt succeeded.

“Mayor, good evening.”

“Wh-why are you here?!”

“Oh dear, you seem surprised. As it happens, I recently acquired a skill that grants me immunity to most poisons.”

“Y-you—”

“Arrest him.”

Any politician who tried to murder Jinchul was arrested at his command.

The world was still a lawless place. The Hunters Association had only just been founded, and assassination attempts were still a common occurrence. But bizarrely enough, not a single attempt ever worked on Jinchul.

Just how many skills does he have...?! some thought.

For those who opposed him, it was maddening. There was no way to take the chairman down. Rumors began to circulate that Woo Jinchul possessed over a hundred skills—and disturbingly, those rumors appeared to be becoming less and less exaggerated. No one knew the reason, nor the method—all they knew was that the association had been established very quickly.

The world was still in the early days of the Great Cataclysm, and people didn’t know about rune stones just yet. Moreover, the number of rune stones in the world was still incredibly small. Even when someone was lucky enough to obtain one, they had no idea that holding and breaking the stone was the key to acquiring a new skill.

Those who instinctively realized the precious value of a stone opted not to destroy it, choosing to keep it somewhere safe instead. They didn’t know how to use it anyway. The only people who ever unwittingly unlocked the stones’ true potential were those who, by sheer accident, shattered one with a sword while hunting a magic beast.

But this golden age won’t last much longer, Jinchul had reminded himself. People weren’t fools. It was only a matter of time before every hunter understood the true value of the stones.

Jinchul capitalized on the short period of chaos, gathering as many rune stones as he could to place himself ahead of everyone. As he did so, the number of skills available to him increased.

He still remained an A-rank hunter, however, and he was familiar with his own limits. He could not grow endlessly through battle.

But I must become stronger than anyone alive.

To fill the gap left by Jinwoo, he had to strengthen himself by any means necessary. At the very least, no human could surpass him. His solution was clear: seizing a monopoly over rune stones.

If I can’t increase my mana capacity, then I’ll increase the variety and number of skills I possess instead.

Given two A-rank hunters, the one with more skills would be the more powerful. That was precisely why rune stones, in the past timeline, had demanded an astronomical price in transactions between hunters.

While the world did not yet recognize the value of the rune stones, Jinchul had transformed himself into a unique A-rank hunter who possessed the greatest number of skills in the world.

Of course, only a handful of people within the association were aware of this. Among them, the one who knew Jinchul’s true power best was Choi Jongin, the S-rank mage hunter who had been with him since the association’s founding. He was also the only one who understood the terrible cost.

Now Suho, too, could see the consequences with his own eyes. Jinchul was only A-rank. He was a vessel of limited capacity, recklessly overfilled with too many skills—and he was dying.

In Jinchul’s current state, even the highest-ranked healer would be powerless to help him. This was no injury he faced—his vessel was breaking apart.