Solo Leveling Chapter 65:
I Alone Level-up: Chapter 65
On the drive home .
zooom-
The face of the van’s driver was clouded with disappointment .
‘Sigh…’
Was it because the extraction target’s abilities were far greater than his own? Unfortunately, Jinwoo had failed in the Shadow Extraction of the ice elf boss .
‘Shame, but what can I do…’
Surely, the opportunity to take down another high-level boss would come again someday . The important thing was that when that opportunity came again, he would be strong enough to not fail .
Level-up .
It was something he was quite good at .
Still, the Raid wasn’t all for naught . He took his left hand off of the steering wheel; an elegant, curved dagger appeared in it .
|
Baruka’s Tanto [1] |
|
Rarity: A Type: Dagger Attack Power +110 Agility +10 It is the tanto wielded by the great warrior, Baruka . A magical enchantment makes both the dagger and the wielder more agile . |
Jinwoo had not left the Dungeon empty-handed . While one of the twin daggers wielded by the boss was destroyed by Knight Killer, he had claimed the unbroken one as his own .
‘Baruka’s Tanto . ’
It had the highest attack power out of all the daggers he had found so far; on top of that, it even had an effect of increasing his agility . It was obviously better than the C-rank Casaka’s Poisoned Fang, and even the B-rank Knight Killer, bought with gold, could not compare to it . An A-rank dagger! It was the perfect weapon to replace Casaka’s Poisoned Fang, which was gradually losing its effectiveness in battle .
‘The grip doesn’t feel bad either . ’
While he was going over the events of the Red Gate, the van had arrived in front of Han Songyi’s house .
screech .
The student, who was silent throughout the entire ride, bowed her head to Jinwoo,
“Then, take care . ”
“Okay . ”
Watching the girl walk back to her house with sunken shoulders, Jinwoo felt like he had accomplished his mission .
‘Things got a little complicated, but the original goal was to convince Han Songyi . ’
It looked like the girl would not be continuing as a Hunter anymore . Well, anyone whose first ever Dungeon was a Red Gate would do the same . Jinwoo was about to drive away in satisfaction when the passenger door opened .
‘ . . . ?’
He turned to see Han Songyi holding the door open .
‘What’s wrong with her?’
His curiosity only lasted for a brief moment . The girl deeply bowed her head again,
“Thank you for today, oppa . ”
Now that he thought about it, her title for him had changed from “ahjussi” to “oppa” .
“Oh, yeah, no problem . ”
“So…”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow- I mean, few hours from now . ”
Few hours from now?
Before he could ask her what she meant, Han Songyi ran inside . After she disappeared into her home, Jinwoo realized,
‘Oh right . ’
It was already dawn, but the Raids with Yoo Jinho would resume today . As Han Songyi was still part of their raiding party, they would see each other again .
‘That’s what she meant . ’
Oh shit… If Han Songyi completely retired from anything related to Hunters, Yoo Jinho’s team would’ve lost a team member, and it would’ve delayed their plans . Thankfully, it looked like the girl would at least finish the remaining Raids .
‘Thank **** . . . ’
With the Shadow Soldiers, the clearing speed of the C-rank Dungeons would rise a level higher . Jinwoo was confident he could complete the remaining Raids in a record time . He was also looking forward to Yoo Jinho’s reaction when the young man saw the Shadow Soldiers .
‘That man, Yoon Gijoong, his reactions were top notch . ’
Jinwoo grinned widely while turning the steering wheel .
Few hours later .
“Yawn-”
Jinwoo arrived at the lobby of his apartment while yawning . When he opened his eyes after a brief nap, it was already the promised time .
“Good morning, hyungnim!”
A familiar voice filled with energy greeted him . Yoo Jinho was already waiting for him .
“I took the car . How’d you get here?”
Jinwoo had borrowed the workhorse of their raiding party, “Bongo”, for last night’s events . The van was parked nearby .
“A taxi, hyungnim . ”
“Ah, taxi . ”
Jinwoo had hoped to flip their positions for once and go pick up the young man .
“It’s okay, hyungnim . I’m the one receiving your help . I should be the one accommodating you . ”
Yoo Jinho spoke while chortling . After a one day break, their morning exchanges had resumed as normal .
“Huh?”
Yoo Jinho discovered something . Jinwoo was holding something cylindrical in his hand . The young man asked curiously,
“Hyungnim, what’s that?”
“What, this?”
Jinwoo smiled widely,
“I’m going to use it in the Dungeon today . ”
Holy… Yoo Jinho’s stomach fluttered .
‘Is it a weapon to be used in the Dungeon?’
Hyungnim always showed off something crazy in Dungeons . Just what kind of a terrifying weapon was he holding now? Yoo Jinho already began to feel anxious .
gulp
Yoo Jinho gathered his courage then raised his head,
“Hyungnim, let us go . ”
“Hold on . ”
Jinwoo put up a hand, then took out his phone .
“We’ll be picking up someone on the way . ”
“Huh? Who?”
Jinwoo ignored him and spoke into the phone,
“Yeah, Songyi, it’s me . We’ll pick you up and take you to the Gate . ”
Songyi… That Songyi? When Jinwoo hung up, Yoo Jinho asked,
“Hyungnim, is the person we’re picking up our team’s highschool student?”
Jinwoo nodded . Since she lived really closed to his house, he felt like it would be efficient to just pick her up before leaving the area . However, as he had done in the past, Yoo Jinho completely misread Jinwoo’s intents .
Han Songyi .
A cute-looking girl with short hair falling just below her ears .
‘If hyungnim knows her number and talked to her with such familiarity… Is their relationship like… that?’
As he had always known, hyungnim was an amazing man .
‘Especially when I watch him go to work on giant magic beasts with a single dagger…’
The young man was sure his hyungnim had no interest, but it made sense that the female student would fall for his hyungnim . Yoo Jinho nodded to himself . If that was the case, there was something he had to clear up,
“Hyungnim, so should I be addressing Ms . Han Songyi as “missus” from now on?” [2]
What the **** .
Was what Jinwoo’s eyes were saying . Even Yoo Jinho, who was terrible at taking hints, was able to read as much from the man’s expression .
“Er… Were you two not dating?”
“She’s just my little sister’s friend . ”
“Oh . Oooooh . ”
So that’s what it was . Yoo Jinho finally understood the situation . To think that he accidentally almost called her his sister-in-law . The young man’s face turned red with embarrassment .
Soon, Hang Songyi came down from her apartment . Compared to their previous meetings, the girl appeared to have paid a little more attention to her looks this time . Yoo Jinho smiled,
‘She’s just like a teenager who wants to show off before her friend’s oppa . ’
Yoo Jinho was about to act like a leader and compliment the girl’s clothes when Jinwoo greeted her first,
“Did you get some sleep?”
Yoo Jinho’s face froze .
‘ . . . ’
Han Songyi smiled and shook her head,
“I couldn’t sleep a wink . ”
“You must be tired, get some shut-eye in the car . ”
At the pair’s conversation, Yoo Jinho’s mind became more and more chaotic .
‘Huh? Huuuuuh?’
Han Songyi asked Jinwoo a question,
“Oppa, did you get any sleep?”
“Just a quick nap . It was already 4AM when I got home . ”
“Right…”
Couldn’t sleep? Must be tired? 4AM? Yoo Jinho’s confusion turned to horror . Jinwoo was heading toward the Bongo and turned around,
“Yoo Jinho, are you coming?”
“Err… Hyungnim?”
“ . . . ?”
“That’s er… Ms . Han Songyi is underage, hyungnim . ”
What the **** .
“So?”
“ . . . Nevermind, hyungnim . ”
As expected, hyungnim was the manliest of men . Yoo Jinho was in awe of Jinwoo’s personality that gave no thoughts to society’s rules .
‘He’s truly not a normal man . ’
Yoo Jinho berated himself for judging his hyungnim with laws of ordinary people . [3]
At the same hour .
Baekho Guild’s Meeting Room .
“-And that’s pretty much all I saw . ”
Park Heejin finished recounting the events of the Red Gate . Before she began, Baek Yoonho had asked if she needed some rest out of concern, but the woman insisted that they complete the investigation . She explained that she was relatively comfortable(?) in there .
“ . . . ”
“ . . . ”
The two upper management members who conducted the interview, Guildmaster Baek Yoonho and Chief Ahn Sangmin, were at a loss for words . The one who was in charge of the training, Hyun Gicheol, was sent to the Association to argue about the incident . As such, only three people were gathered in the meeting room . Ahn Sangmin broke the silence,
“Was all that really true?”
“You can contact Go Myunghwan and Yoon Gijoong . They’ll tell you the same story . ”
The two C-rankers had returned to their homes, stating that they wanted to see their families . Park Heejin could confidently say that their statements would not differ from hers .
‘All I did was explain what I experienced in person . ’
How the forest that man disappeared off to rang with screams of ice bears, or how that man was doing push-ups while everyone else was sleeping . She didn’t dare to include any hearsay from the other teammates, only what she had seen with her own two eyes .
“Huh…”
Ahn Sangmin made a strange noise with his mouth . Knocking out an A-rank Hunter in one hit . Freely using spatial magic . Wielding dozens of summons . Each one of them alone would be an unbelievable thing . And the man in question had done it all . But the most shocking fact was,
“So he solo cleared a high-level Dungeon . ”
Baek Yoonho uttered after a long period of silence . It was because he was an S-ranker that he was able to say,
“That is an incredible feat . ”
Although the man had fought with summons, those summons were not comrades but Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s skill . It was the same as solo clearing the Dungeon .
“No matter how high one’s rank is, it is difficult for a Hunter to solo clear a high-level Dungeon . ”
A Red Gate on top of that .
What if he himself was there? Could he solo clear a B-rank Red Gate? It was possible for Hunter Sung Jinwoo, who wielded not one or two but dozens of summons . Ahn Sangmin spoke with amazement,
“With this, it is clear that he’s an Awakened Being with special powers . ”
Baek Yoonho agreed,
“Among Hunters, those that can use summoning are rare . And to think that he’s a Hunter that can wield multiple summons…”
Having worked as an S-rank Hunter, Baek Yoonho had met and conversed with many different Hunters . Not one of them ever spoke of a Hunter wielding that many summons .
“An Awakened Being with a special power in a different dimension than the average special power…”
Baek Yoonho was amazed . Ahn Sangmin thought of something and asked,
“If you had to put a value on Sung Jinwoo-ssi’s abilities, how much do you think he’s worth right now?”
“ . . . ”
Baek Yoonho could not easily reply . But one thing was for sure, regardless of what the value of Sung Jinwoo was right now, it would multiply explosively once the man underwent the retest . They had to act before that happened . Baekho had just lost an A-rank Hunter and multiple B-rank Hunters . If they were not able to obtain the power known as Sung Jinwoo, their losses from this incident would be too great .
“I trust you, Chief Ahn . ”
Baek Yoonho sent a look of faith towards the man . Ahn Sangmin replied with a determined expression . Suddenly, the two men turned toward Park Heejin . The woman was raising a hand .
“Do you have something to ask?”
Succeeding in grabbing the two men’s attentions, Park Heejin lowered her hand,
“Please allow me to help . ”
“With what?”
“Raid Lead- I mean, Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim’s recruitment . ”
Baek Yoonho and Ahn Sangmin exchanged glances . The Recruitment Specialist Ahn Sangmin tilted his head,
“Why would Hunter Park Heejin-nim be…?”
“Of the members of our Guild, I’m the one who spent the most time with Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim . I believe I can be of great assistance . ”
6 hours outside of the Gate . Nearly a week inside . Baek Yoonho and Ahn Sangmin thought Park Heejin’s words made sense . On top of that, the woman was a beauty . Her appearance wouldn't exactly be a hindrance in their efforts to obtain Sung Jinwoo . Realizing her suggestion was moving the minds of the Guildmaster and the chief, Park Heejin continued,
“But I have one condition . ”
Baek Yoonho asked,
“What is it?”
“Once Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim enters Baekho, please be sure to place me in his raiding party . ”
Translator’s Notes:
[1]: “Baruka’s Tanto”: Tanto was covered before; it is a word for a japanese dagger/knife . Baruka (바루카): “ba” + “ru” + “ka” . Translating the “r” or “l” sound from east asian languages often is shortened to remove the vowel sound, but in this case, I kept the “ru” as it was . If it was “르” (reu) instead of “루” (roo), I might’ve shortened it to Balka .
[2]: “missus” (형수님): I chose not to do the usual and put this in korean . I don’t think it’s a word that’ll come up that much throughout the story . The korean word here means “wife of older brother” . More commonly used in actual blood relative situations, but jokingly/friendly used by non-related people as well to their hyung’s wife/girlfriend .
[3]: What the **** .