Solo Leveling - Chapter 65

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 .

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 god . . . ’

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 fuck .

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 fuck .

“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 fuck .

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