Chapter 229: Chapter 228

Woo Jinchul, was revered as a national hero in South Korea.

So the shock that the S-rank Hunters felt upon learning the secret the Association President was hiding was immeasurable. The Association, which should have remained neutral, was being supported by a private company behind the scenes!

But as soon as Suho saw Yoo Jinho who appeared after opening the door, he could vaguely understand the reason. Woo Jinchul. The Association President, a longtime friend and colleague of his father, Sung Jinwoo, was someone who lived with all the memories of the bygone timeline that had now been forgotten. What was the first thing that came to his mind when the Upheaval occurred in this world?

'...That my father is not here.'

That's right. The first emotion he felt was an endless sense of anxiety. Because Sung Jinwoo, who protected the Earth with his strength and noble sacrifice, was suddenly missing in this world.

* * *

A world without Sung Jinwoo! Could there be anything more unsettling and ominous? This was a very real anxiety that only Woo Jinchul, who had personally experienced all the calamities of the past era, could feel. If Sung Jinwoo wasn't here, who would protect this world in his stead?

'No one.' Woo Jinchul could say with certainty.

There was no one who could replace Sung Jinwoo. Therefore...

'Believe.' He just had to believe that Hunter Sung Jinwoo would definitely return!

'Then, for the time being, let me do what I can.'

So he started doing what he was most confident and familiar with; Creating an association. But there was a problem here too...

'This time, there's no Go Gunhee.' Unfortunately, Association President Go Gunhee, who created the Korean Hunter Association in the previous world, had already passed away from old age. Go Gunhee, the chairman of a large corporation, had poured his vast fortune into establishing the Korean Hunter Association in the previous world.

Government support?

Other investors?

He could use his own money; why would he need those?

If there were no investors, there would be no external pressure.

If there was no support from a specific political party, it would be possible to remain neutral.

And Go Gunhee was someone who could do that from the beginning. The Korean Hunter Association, born without any help from anyone, was established solely for Association President Go Gunhee, by Association President Go Gunhee. But even in that position, he did not use all that power to rule or control the Hunters. There was no need for that in the first place.

Personal greed?

Desire for fame?

Those were things that only nouveau riche needed. Go Gunhee was already the head of a large corporation who had attained all the wealth and fame with his own power when he was young, so he desired nothing. The only thing he earnestly wished for was...

'To fight alongside the young people to protect the world.'

That was the association of Go Gunhee, which existed solely for that upright and noble sense of mission.

'...But I am not Chairman Go Gunhee.' Woo Jinchul knew his shortcomings. He didn't have the capital or power like Chairman Go Gunhee.

Police chief?

Superintendent General?

With such mediocre influence, he would only be swayed by the government. So he desperately racked his brains to compensate for his shortcomings, and eventually, he was able to find an alternative. The answer was always close by.

'Yoo Jinho.'

That's right. Yoo Jinho, the only colleague and subordinate of Sung Jinwoo from the previous era. In this timeline, he was even married to Sung Jinwoo's younger sister and was family. Woo Jinchul had become acquainted with Yoo Jinho early on through Sung Jinwoo in this world. They weren't very close, but they had shared a few drinks together with Sung Jinwoo. And...

'Yoo Jinho of Ahjin Soft' He was the CEO of Ahjin Soft, Korea's most famous game company and the creator of the world's first virtual reality game. With enormous financial resources.

'Yes. Let's get investment from him. This way, there won't be any problems even if Hunter Sung Jinwoo returns.' ...This was the reason why Woo Jinchul approached CEO Yoo Jinho for personal investment while creating the Association.

Although he didn't have the memories of the past era at that time, the 'project' that Woo Jinchul presented was enough to persuade Yoo Jinho, who had transformed into a thorough businessman. No, rather, his eyes gleamed with interest at the proposal.

"This works out well. I'll invest 10 times the amount you requested. I have more money than I know what to do with anyway."

"...?"

At this point, Woo Jinchul, who made the proposal, was curious. Yoo Jinho didn't know Sung Jinwoo's true identity and didn't have the memories of the past era, so what on earth made him so trusting?

"It's not about trust. It's to protect our company." But Yoo Jinho's answer was completely different.

"The power of Hunters is growing even at this moment. I hear that in some weaker countries, they reign like kings. In such a situation, how long can laws and public authority protect us?" Yoo Jinho's voice was heavy.

"So I was thinking of gathering trustworthy Hunters and forming some like a Guild when the opportunity arises. But it's only natural for an association that unites all Hunters in Korea to be created first." And he smiled meaningfully as he unfolded the 'project proposal' that Woo Jinchul had handed him.

"In that sense, this 'virtual reality training project for Hunters' you proposed seems to be very beneficial to our company. However, let's increase the scale a bit."

"...?"

"I think it would be good to release this as a game to the public as well, not just for Hunters."

"You mean to non-awakened people?"

"Yes. I want to give our company's users the experience of becoming Hunters themselves and running around dungeons, hunting magical beasts, at least in the game. We are fundamentally a game company, after all."

Woo Jinchul pondered the unexpected words for a moment.

"...You mean you'll disclose all the information provided by the Association to the public as well. But if this fact becomes known to the public later, we could be criticized."

"I'll take responsibility and defend you then. That's what I earn money for. The 10 times investment amount includes all those risks."

"..." Woo Jinchul was quite impressed.

He was working under wrong assumptions. The man sitting in front of him was no longer the immature young master who just followed behind Sung Jinwoo. Unlike the past era when he was born as just a second son of a conglomerate owner and didn't know the ways of the world, Yoo Jinho of this era had grown up and become a proper adult, no, a giant. And although he didn't seem to realize it himself, his grown-up appearance was like...

'Chairman Myunghan Yoo, ranked No. 1 in the business world'

That's right. Unknowingly, Yoo Jinho was following the same path as his father. A thorough businessman who abandoned all the privileges and advantages of being from a rich family and grew Ahjin Soft, which he established, from scratch, into a leading large corporation. That was the Yoo Jinho of the present era. And he emphasized the first thing Woo Jinchul had said to him.

"And don't forget our contract. You promised that you will use all the power of the Association to find my missing brother and sister-in-law once the Association stabilizes."

"Of course. That is my top priority above all else."

Shake.

Woo Jinchul and Yoo Jinho's eyes met as they firmly shook hands after making all the agreements. Thus, the Hunter Association of Korea, with Woo Jinchul as its president, secured enormous financial resources, just like during Go Gunhee's time. And from then on, it was able to maintain strict neutrality without being pressured by any external forces.

No, it wasn't neutrality. The Association was originally created for Woo Jinchul's very personal purpose.

World peace?

Citizens' safety?

Checking the villains?

Those trivial reasons were all secondary. From the beginning, Woo Jinchul's purpose for creating the Association was one thing.

'Help Hunter Sung Jinwoo!'

That's right. The Hunter Association of Korea would belong exclusively to Sung Jinwoon as soon as he returned, and Woo Jinchul had made the best preparations he could for that purpose. To unite the Hunters of Korea, no... All the people of the world.

'That way, everyone in the world can move as one, centered around Hunter Sung Jinwoo.'

...It wasn't like that in the past era. Various countries and Hunters didn't believe in or acknowledge Sung Jinwoo's power for their own reasons. All that scoffed at his strong warning to flee were completely destroyed and annihilated by the Dragon Emperor's army. And because Woo Jinchul clearly remembered that tragedy...

'This time!' He would prepare thoroughly. He didn't even dare to dream that this would help Sung Jinwoo's battle in any way. He just hoped that they wouldn't hold Sung Jinwoo back. To achieve that they at least had to unite and at least listen to him and run away properly!

...And just like that. Ahjin Soft's enormous investment funds flowed in. And in return, using the information on Hunters and the detailed mapping data of numerous dungeons provided by the Association, The "Solo Leveling" was born. A simulation training project for Hunters and a virtual reality game that perfectly simulated real dungeons.

"The game is finally complete."

With the game completed and Yoo Jinho's memories of the past era restored, there was no longer any need to hide his relationship with the Association. And there was no longer any need to vaguely wait for Sung Jinwoo to return to Earth. Although he was still lacking, there was his son, who was steadily growing, inheriting his power.

'Yes. We have Suho.' Therefore, shouldn't the adults clear away the cumbersome things that blocked the path he wanted to take?

"We are starting to recruit Hunters to participate in the closed beta test." Yoo Jinho declared to the S-rank Hunters gathered in the gymnasium with a confident smile.

"However, only those who agree with Suho's conquest of North Korea."

Smirk.

Yoo Jinho's face as he winked at Suho resembled someone. Someone who seemed blunt and extremely cold when working, but was actually a huge softie... Like 'Chairman Myunghan Yoo.' And the impact of those words was enormous.

"C-CEO Yoo! Is the Solo Leveling game really complete?"

The S-rank Hunters gathered here were all representatives of large guilds, and they had been paying attention to the 'Solo Leveling' game that Ahjin Soft was developing for a long time. Wasn't the situation that the Black Tortoise Guild messed up because they bothered Suho and ended up being targeted by Yoo Jinho, related to that very project? But precisely because of that, the Black Tortoise Guild didn't know the more specific details about the Solo Leveling game. Suho suddenly remembered what he had heard from Yoo Jinho's employee.

"Yes. If that game does well, the Hunter guilds that helped will gain a lot of good publicity. I can't say more than this; it's confidential, so please ask the CEO directly."

Promotional effect and money. It would increase the brand value for Hunter guilds, and in return, the game company would gain realism that could excite the players. That was why Ahjin Soft was trying to collaborate even with the high value Hunters.

'...So that confidential thing was the simulation training.' Suho nodded.

At that time, he couldn't ask about the game in detail because he was busy restoring Yoo Jinho's memories. But even if he had known, he wouldn't have been interested. He could only gain experience points and level up through actual combat. However, unlike Suho, ordinary Hunters couldn't help but feel differently about the value of Yoo Jinho's virtual reality game.

– Is it really possible to do simulation training in virtual reality? What's the synchronization rate?

– Oh my god. So we can gain real-life experience against magical beasts without worrying about getting hurt or dying?

– If it's virtual reality, our weapons won't be damaged no matter how much we train. We can even practice various strategies against the same boss monster!"

The S-rank Hunters' faces were filled with anticipation and excitement at the news that the game was complete. Unlike the Black Tortoise, the guilds that already had a close cooperative relationship with Ahjin Soft knew about the simulation But they never imagined that a project of that scale would already be completed.

CEO Yoo Jinho confidently answered their barrage of questions.

"We've prepared more than you can imagine."

"CEO, please let us..." Suddenly, Hyeonmoo Gang was raising both hands in favor of Suho's conquest of North Korea.