Solo Leveling - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 10

Panicking, Jinwoo tried to get a grasp of the situation; suddenly, he heard the sound of sand shifting .

ssssssss

The sand on the ground next to him was sinking into the ground .

“Uh, uh oh!”

Using all his strength, Jinwoo struggled to not be sucked into the whirlpool .  As the sunken area became wider, Jinwoo barely escaped the sinkhole using his two hands .

“Pant, pant, pant”

As he sat panting, he looked down into the newly created depression on the ground .  The sand at the lowest point of the hole was boiling strangely . Jinwoo shuddered as he realized a single misstep would’ve resulted in him falling down into that hole .

“Wait…”

His eyes narrowed .

“It’s not boiling . ”

Taking a closer look, he realized something big was wriggling beneath the sand at the bottom of the depression .  Jinwoo stood up instinctively . Something did not feel right .

Confirming his suspicions, a pillar of sand shot up from the hole as he was walking backwards .

Shaaaah!

Sounding like a waterfall, the sand fell all around him, revealing what had appeared from the hole .  Jinwoo’s eyes widened .

“A-a bug?”

A giant centipede had risen out of the sand .

Screeeech!

The fully revealed form of the monster stood taller than a 5-story building .

Jinwoo gulped .

‘This is impossible…’

And like so, it was an impossibly large existence .  He had never heard of a centipede of this size before .  But it wasn’t just the size of the centipede that shocked Jinwoo .

“Why… why is there a name floating above that thing’s head?”

Was he dreaming?

He closed his eyes and opened them again .  Nothing had changed . The centipede’s name floated above its head in red letters .  Like a video game monster .

‘Poison-fanged Giant Sand Centipede[1]’

Alongside its uncanny and dangerous looking figure, it had a name that screamed at him to run .  Especially the “poison-fanged” part . Two fangs the size of a child caught Jinwoo’s eye . It was very clear from its name what would happen if he was pierced by them .

Jinwoo saw the centipede’s mouth open and close repeatedly without rest .

“Looks like it’s hungry . ”

At that time, a sound rang through his head .

ring~

‘You’re kidding, right…?’

But the second the remaining time decreased to 3 Hours 59 Min 59 Sec, the centipede started moving across the sand as if it was waiting .

sliiiiiide

“Wait, what?!”

Jinwoo quickly turned and started running .

Tripping, he fell and rolled on the ground and quickly shook the sand off his head .  His eyes widened looking at the sight before him . There were more pillars of sand appearing in front of him .

shaaaah

shaaaaaaah

Before he realized it, seven centipede heads had risen from the ground and were staring down at him .

Screech!

Screeeeech!

Jinwoo’s face paled as he heard their terrifying shrieks .

“Shit…”

Exactly 4 hours later, he reappeared in the hospital room .

collapse-

Lying on the floor of his room, he coughed in agony .

*cough* *cough* *spit* *spit*

The inside of his mouth was dry .  His eyes stung from the sand . Jinwoo sprawled out on the ground, moaning .  He did not have the strength to even move a finger .

“Hah… hah… what… was… that…?”

A new message appeared before the panting Jinwoo .

ring~

His brows furrowed .

Penalty Quest?

Did he do something to deserve punishment?

Searching his memories, he remembered the [Daily Quest] that he half-heartedly gave up on .

‘It can’t be…’

He recalled the part of the quest that talked about receiving a penalty if he did not complete it .

“Hah… hah… you mean… that wasn’t . . . a hallucination . . . ?”

Indeed .

It was not a hallucination .

Nor a dream .

There was no need to check by pinching his cheeks .  The pain of running until his breath ran out; the pain of being scratched by the centipede’s legs; he felt them all even right now .

It was all real .  He had almost met his death back there .

“This… is… too… much… hah… hah…”

To think that something like a penalty would throw him into the jaws of death .  At the same time, a foreboding dread washed over him . If what just happened now was due to the daily quest, it meant that all of this was not over yet .

As if on cue, the electronic sound rang .

ring~

Startled at first, he relaxed as he realized it was not another quest .

‘Reward…?’

The word “reward” briefly caught his attention .  Unfortunately, Jinwoo lacked the strength to care about anything at the moment .  It was a testament to how tough the Penalty Quest had been .

‘Reward or whatever… I just want to rest for now…’

And with that, he fell into a deep slumber .

“Oh no! Why is he on the ground?!”

Next morning, his assigned nurse was greeted with a shocking scene when she entered the room .  The patient was lying on the floor, and there was sand scattered about the ground . Even the patient’s clothes were filled with sand .  The nurse threw the treatment chart onto the bed and pressed the call button .

“Someone come help!”

Soon, Dr . Joo Chiui arrived .

“What’s the ma- why is Mr . Sung on the ground?!”

“I’m not sure! He was fine until last night! I found him like this just now . . . ”

“Let’s first get him on to the bed .  One . Two!”

The two put Jinwoo onto the bed .  In the rough movement, the medical chart that was thrown on the bed made a small papercut on the back of Jinwoo’s hand, but no one noticed .

“Now, let’s check him . ”

Joo Chiui went over Jinwoo’s condition, but found no abnormalities .

“What’s this? He’s just sleeping . ”

He sighed in relief .  The Hunter Association had requested special care for this patient .  He had been nervous in fear that something had happened to him .

“Let’s just let him rest .  He seems to be in deep sleep . ”

After he spoke, Joo Chiui began to leave when he noticed the sand in the room .

“Er… Looks like we should clean-up this room a little .  Ms . Yura, I’ll leave it to you . ”

“Understood, doctor . ”

As the doctor left the room, nurse Choi Yura also relaxed in relief .  It was a good thing nothing bad had happened . After all, there were no doctors or nurses who wished ill upon their patients .  The hospital she worked at was specially dedicated to the treatment of Hunters . Having seen the unfortunate end of many Hunters before, she did not want to see yet another Hunter be hurt under her care .

“Phew-”

Calmed down, she began to figure out how to clean the room when she noticed something on the ground .  It was a drop of blood .

“Oh my . ”

The drop of blood had fallen from the patient’s hand that stretched out from the bed over the ground .  Surprised, she looked for a wound on Jinwoo’s hand and held it in inspection . Turning over to the back of his hand,

“ . . . This is…?”

She saw traces of fresh blood, but no scar .  Wiping away the blood, the hand was completely clean .

‘Did… did his cut heal in an instant?’

With concern, Yura looked over to Jinwoo’s face .

He appeared to be sleeping without a care in the world .

-7 . Daily Quest-

ring~

[The Daily Quest has arrived . ]

Jinwoo’s eyes shot open .  Sitting straight up from the bed, the first thing Jinwoo did was to check the time; it was a little past 4:30 in the afternoon .  There was roughly 7 hours and 30 minutes of breathing room until midnight .

‘Good . ’

He opened the message box .

ring~

“Same thing?” He uttered reflexively .  No, perhaps this was a good thing . Compared to a possibly difficult quest, this was much better .  Even if it strained his body, it was at least something that could be completed with time .

He went on the floor and began the push-ups .

“One . ”

He couldn’t afford to be dragged to some strange place and be forced to run from death again .

“Two . ”

He got lucky last night .  He didn’t feel like he would get lucky again .

“Three . ”

He paused to look up at the quest creen; the numbers were rising accordingly with each push-up .

ring~

ring~

As if testing the System, he performed a half-hearted push-up, going only part way down, but it did not register on the screen .  He understood why his weak attempts last night did nothing .

‘Sigh… really?’

Although exasperated, he did not let-up the strength in his arms .  50 push-ups remaining . After that would be sit-ups .

Then squats . . .

Then running… . . .

3 hours later .

“Pant, pant, pant, pant,”

Having run a lap around the area outside, Jinwoo bowed over huffing .  His heart felt like it was about to explode, but he knew he could not stop here .

‘If I think about the effort up until now…’

He entered the hospital gates and completed the last stretch of his run .

ring~

It was finally over .

“Pant… pant…”

He fell to his knees .  His lungs were on fire .  His forehead and back were soaked .

“Pant… pant…”

Sweating profusely, he attempted to control his breathing when a familiar message arrived .

ring~

He almost wanted to forget about it like yesterday but changed his mind .  He wanted to confirm just what this damn reward was .

“Yes . ”

ring~

‘Why is there so many?’

Was his first thought after looking at the reward screen .  But after thinking about it, he noticed some useful rewards and rewards he was curious about .

Feeling like he was about to pass out any moment from now, the first reward caught his eyes .  Having experienced the penalty involved in failure, he knew there was a good chance that its rewards were just as real .  

‘It couldn’t hurt .  Probably won’t throw me in the Penalty Zone after offering me a reward . ’

“Accept . ”

Translator’s Notes:

[1]: “Poison-fanged Giant Sand Centipede”: The name translation is almost word for word literal .

Note : Please download the sponsor's game to support us!