Solo Leveling - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 62

The Shadow Soldiers quickly closed the gap!

However, the ferocious movements of the ice bears were far faster than the Shadow Soldiers .

Boom!

Crack!

A single swipe of the bear’s claw obliterated a Shadow Soldier .  If it was a human in that pitch black armor and not a shadow, it would’ve been a gruesome sight .

‘Hmm…’

Jinwoo furrowed his brows .

‘As I thought, was it too much?’

Whether it was strength or size, it unfortunately looked like it was too much for Shadow Soldiers to face the ice bears .

But suddenly, something surprising happened .

‘What the!’

Jinwoo’s eyes widened .

The body of the Shadow Soldier that was destroyed by an ice bear turned to black smoke before it fully hit the ground .

shooooo-

The black smoke gathered at some distance away, then reformed into its original shape .

‘Oh shit!’

Jinwoo’s face lit up .

Undead .

He had forgotten about the true nature of these shadows and was now reminded .

Realizing its attack had no effect, the ice bear panicked and roared .

Roooaaaar!

While the Shadow Infantry kept the ice bears busy, the Shadow Mages had finished their casting .

Flaaaare-!

Bang!

Kaboom!

The fireballs released from the mages’ hands exploded here and there .  While the Shadow Infantry caught by the explosion regenerated immediately, the ice bears caught on fire and thrashed about .

“Kuwaaaah!”

“Kuwuuh!”

The Shadow Infantry continued their attacks, swinging and stabbing their swords at the burning bears .

slash!

stab!

At first, the ice bears looked like they had the advantage, but they were slowly being pushed back by the combined attack of the infantry and the mages .

‘Whoa…’

Jinwoo watched the battle with great interest .

The infantry’s fast regeneration .

The mage’s powerful firepower .

The might of Shadow Soldiers exceeded his expectations .  The ice bears were soon overwhelmed and were pushed all the way back to the caves .  It seemed like the battle was over-

ROOOOAAAAR!

With a roar that shook the eardrums, something giant appeared from the cave .

“That’s…”

Jinwoo’s eyes widened .  It was an ice bear a head taller than the rest and also much wider .

ROAR!

At a single swipe of its claw, many Shadow Soldiers were swept away .

BOOM!

Craaaaack!

Even their quick regeneration speed could not keep up .

Crack!

Smash!

“Looks like the alpha made his appearance…”

Of course, he had expected that a den of bears would have an alpha bear .  But the thing’s size and power surpassed his expectations .

ROOOOAR!

The giant ice bear slapped away the Shadow Soldiers and ran toward Jinwoo .  Suddenly, a message appeared,

ring~

What?

He checked his mana in panic .  Just as the System said, his mana was at zero .

With his mana gone, the Shadow Soldiers no longer regenerated after being destroyed .  Instead, they turned into shadow and returned to Jinwoo’s shadow . Jinwoo realized that it was his mana that allowed the soldiers to regenerate .

‘That goddamn mana…’

He found yet another reason to raise his intelligence stat .  Jinwoo scratched the side of his head . The appearance of the alpha had completely turned the tide of the battle .  However, Jinwoo still had a trump card up his sleeve .

‘If their boss came out, I should send mine out as well . ’

With his arms crossed, Jinwoo called for the one who was worthy to be called the Shadow Soldier’s boss .

“Ygritte!”

A single shadow slid out from Jinwoo’s shadow .  From the shadow rose a knight wearing a helmet adorned with a plumage .  Jinwoo raised a chin at the alpha . Ygritte bowed his head to Jinwoo then shot forth towards the giant ice bear .

step, step, step, step!

Ygritte dodged the alpha’s swipe and slid between the ice bear’s legs .  While in motion, he quickly took out the daggers at his side and cut the tendons of the beast’s legs .

“Kuwwaaah!”

This was only the beginning .

Unsheathing his long sword, Ygritte skillfully dodged the torrent of attacks from the alpha while carving it up like a sculpture .

Tendons, claws, paws, legs .  Bit by bit, the alpha’s flesh was being cut off like being worked by a butcher .  

“Huh…”

Jinwoo watched Ygritte’s flowing, artlike movements with great admiration .

The head was the last to go .

Slash!

The giant ice bear’s head was cleanly separated from its body .  Before it could hit the ground, Ygritte snatched it from the air .  The knight approached Jinwoo then knelt before the Hunter .

drop

Ygritte placed the bear’s head in front of Jinwoo feet, as if offering a trophy to his king .  Jinwoo stared at the knight and gulped,

‘If he used his sword from the start back then, could I have defeated him?’

The remaining ice bears were thrown into chaos after losing their leader and were quickly routed by the soldiers .  The battle was over . The results greatly satisfied Jinwoo .

The soldiers had leveled up here and there .  Since the Shadow Soldiers themselves were Jinwoo’s skill, the Hunter had also gained 3 levels .  And above all else,

“Arise . ”

He had earned new friends .

ROOOAR-!

Including the alpha, Jinwoo had selected several ice bears .  From their shadows, a large black mass rose .

‘I expected a bear wearing an armor…’

The reality was a little different .

The ‘Shadow Beasts’[1] that arose maintained some semblance to a bear but at the same time had a form that seemed to shift between solid and gas .  A black steam continuously spewed from their figures .

‘The visuals are a bit lacking, but still, it’s those ice bears’ shadows . ’

Their strength and capacity for destruction .  He would surely have a use for it . Suddenly,

rooooar

Jinwoo’s ears perked up at a cry sounding from a distance .  It was not just one or two .

‘Looks like there are more dens in the area . ’

It was getting a little late in the day .  He’ll check it out tomorrow .

A bright smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face .

“Uwaaaaak!”

“Kuk!”

His teammates were screaming left and right .  Kim Cheol’s eyes were wide open .

‘There is no way!’

That he, Kim Cheol, would fail like this! He was someone would become Baekho’s elite .  He had even received special training for that goal . And now, he was going to fail?! The A-ranker could not accept it .

Their party had endured the cold and hunger and fought with yetis .  After that were the ice giants . They had lost two of their members but managed to prevail against them too .  The Raid appeared to be going smooth .

But .

But!!!

The moment they had triumphed over the ice giants, the White Walkers ambushed them from all directions, as if they had been waiting .  Those bastards had been watching their party, waiting for their stamina to hit rock bottom . What followed was a massacre . The Hunters fell, one after another, in an instant .

“L-leader!”

A fallen Hunter stretched a bloodied hand toward Kim Cheol .  Kim Cheol stepped backwards . A White Walker appeared out of nowhere and slit the throat of the Hunter on the ground .  While the man gurgled and choked on his own blood, the White Walker raised his head towards Kim Cheol . The A-ranker screamed,

“U-uwaaaah!”

He turned around and ran into the forest .  The forest had ice bears? Those bears were nothing compared to the yetis, ice giants and the White Walkers .  Kim Cheol ran with all of his might . Watching his figure disappear into the distance, the White Walkers raised their bows and took aim .  But before they could fire, a White Walker raised his hand and stopped them . It was an ice elf with hair flowing down to his waist . The other White Walkers lowered their bows .

‘ . . . ’

The long hair pointed and gestured to follow Kim Cheol .  One by one, the other White Walkers disappeared from sight .

Kim Cheol leaped through a bush .

“pant, pant, pant . ”

His lungs felt like they were on fire .  The image of the White Walkers that smiled while slaughtering his teammates was still fresh on his mind .  The man looked down at his hands . The frostbitten hands were losing their sense of touch . His toes had long since lost all feeling .  He could not fight properly in his current condition .

‘This damn cold… No, if we just didn’t starve for the past few days, we would’ve won . ’

To the bitter end, Kim Cheol could not acknowledge his failure .  While muttering to himself, Kim Cheol raised his head .

‘Anyways, how deep am I into the forest?’

He looked around .  The smell of blood poked at his nose from somewhere .  The man followed the smell . It was close . Moving through the trees, he came upon a clearing and could not believe his eyes .

‘How is this possible?’

In front of the caves were over 20 ice bear corpses .  He had wondered why he hadn’t come across a single bear!

“What the?”

He studied the corpses .  All the corpses had traces of being cut with something .  Some of them also had traces of being burned . Sung Jinwoo and his party flashed across Kim Cheol’s head .

“It can’t be . . . those bastards did this?”

No .  Kim Cheol shook his head .  The wounds on the corpses of the ice bears were made with a sword .  To his knowledge, Sung Jinwoo’s party did not have a sword user .

‘The two E-rankers didn’t even have a weapon . ’

There was no way they had survived here .  Then there was only one other conclusion,

‘The White Walkers are also here!’

His heart sank .  He had thought that he managed to get away from those elves .  To think that he had wandered into another group of them . With a great fear in his heart, Kim Cheol held his breath and turned back to the direction he had come from .

Further .  Faster .

He wanted to get out of the White Walker’s territory .

At the same time .

“Wuwaaaaang!’

An ice bear fell with a death rattle .  The Shadow Soldiers swarmed its body and made sure it was dead .

“Alright . ”

Jinwoo was in a different bear den .  It’s been five days since they had entered the Gate .  He had gone through three different bear dens since then .

‘Looks like I’ve taken care of every bear in this forest . ’

Thanks to that, both he and his army’s levels had risen quite a bit .  At first, it required two soldiers just to hold back an ice bear . Now, a single soldier was capable of winning one on one against the beast .  Jinwoo was satisfied . As the abilities of his soldiers rose, he started assigning them different roles . His current limit was 30 shadows . 28 of them would be assigned to combat, while 2 of them would be assigned to the collection of magic cores and meat .  Now that he didn’t have to lift a finger to fight or collect drops, life became incredibly convenient for the Hunter .

‘I don’t sense any more magic beasts . ’

It seemed that he had cleared the entire forest .

Then .

‘Is it time to go for the boss?’

There was still about a month to go, at worst several months, until the Dungeon Break .  He had no intention of waiting for that to happen .

‘Gotta kill that arrogant elf too . ’

A mere magic beast that taunted a Hunter .  Its arrogant smile still annoyed Jinwoo .

Kim Cheol’s nose detected the smell of cooking meat from somewhere .

sniff sniff

The man’s sense of smell had become sensitive due to his hunger .  After entering the Gate, all he had to eat for the past few days was a single rabbit .  His mouth watered at the smell of food .

gulp

The White Walkers might be eating somewhere .

‘But if there’s only few of them…’

He was confident he could take care of them and steal the food .  It was a misguided confidence born out of hunger .

‘Let’s check it out . ’

Kim Cheol did his best to quiet his footsteps and carefully approached where the smell was coming from .  Finally, he came upon a clearing where Jinwoo’s team was . Kim Cheol’s eyes widened .

‘What?’

The smell of meat was coming from their campfire .

‘How are they still alive?’

However, he did not see one of the E-rank Hunters .

‘Pft . He took the lead with such confidence . Must’ve died first . ’

That much was obvious .  But what wasn’t obvious was the scene in front of him .  How to… analyze all this? Something was weird .

‘Wait, their clothes…?’

Warm clothes, blankets, tents and other equipment entered his eye .  They were clearly prepared for the environment .

‘How the hell?’

While flustered, Kim Cheol’s gaze became affixed on something .

It was a piece of bread next to the meat .  There was no way they had found or made bread here .  It must’ve been prepared beforehand . His confusion quickly turned to anger .

‘These fuckers…’

grind

Kim Cheol grinded his teeth .  These fuckers had all of this with them and walked away on their own .

‘If my hands weren’t frozen, no, if only I wasn’t hungry, I could’ve easily taken care of those ice elves . ’

Thinking about how they greedily hoarded something that should’ve been shared with the Raid team, Kim Cheol could not help it any more .  He leaped out into the clearing .

“You bastards!”

Park Heejin jumped in surprise and stood up .

“Kim Cheol? How are you here?”

To be honest, it was hard to say that he was a welcoming sight .  It was because the man’s eyes were filled with murderous intent . Kim Cheol did not hide his hostility .

“Our party failed in clearing the Dungeon because we lacked proper equipment and food . Then how the hell are you sitting here with those equipment and food?”

“That’s…”

Park Heejin could not answer .  She feared that bringing up Jinwoo would turn Kim Cheol’s wrath towards Jinwoo .  She did not want to turn in the savior of her life .

‘From the start, I didn’t like the way that man looked at Sung Jinwoo . ’

Park Heejin closed her mouth .  Seeing her defy his will, Kim Cheol’s rage increased .

“I don’t consider every one of you an accomplice . Who hid all this? I’ll spare the rest of you . ”

The veins in his neck bulged .

“WHICH ONE OF YOU HOARDED ALL OF THIS AND ENDANGERED THE LIVES OF YOUR COMRADES?!!!”

His shouting echoed loudly throughout the forest .  Kim Cheol realized he would have to up the ante .

“I’m going to count to three . If no one speaks up, I’ll consider all of you equally guilty . ”

Han Songyi tugged at Park Heejin’s sleeves .

“U-unni…”

Park Heejin hugged Han Songyi .  Go Myunghwan and Yoon Gijoong also gulped while sweating .  Kim Cheol was an A-ranker . Even if they combined their powers, they could not hope to win against him .  Still, not one of them betrayed Jinwoo .

“One . ”

Kim Cheol unsheathe the sword at his side .

schiing-

“Two . ”

The Hunters still held their silence .

Mere low-level Hunters dare to disobey him? Kim Cheol’s anger flared .

‘How dare you look down on me…’

His eyes turned red with murderous intent .

First would be this woman .  The one who betrayed his team and decided to join the weaklings .  Park Heejin will be the first to die .

‘Yes . She must’ve been hiding something . That’s why she left my team . ’

That was the only reason he could think of .  Kim Cheol stepped up to Park Heejin and finished his countdown .

“Three . ”

Park Heejin closed her eyes .

Suddenly .

“Four . ”

Bam!

Something struck Kim Cheol on the back of the head, and the man fell face forward onto the ground and slid forward for a few feet .

All the Hunters’ eyes opened wide .

“Raid Leader!”

Jinwoo had struck with such a force that his fist was still smoking .

He spoke, appalled,

“Who’s the fucker that really endangered the lives of his comrades?”

Translator’s Notes:

[1]: “Shadow Beast” (그림자 마수병): Lit . “Shadow Magic Beast Soldier” .  I’ve removed “magic” to distinguish them from magic beasts . The reason was because in the context, “magic beast” was clearly referring to the shadow’s bear-like bestial form, but in the general story, “magic beast” refers to any otherworldly entities found in Dungeons .  I wanted to avoid the confusion . Also took out the word “soldier” because it felt redundant in most context cases .

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