Solo Leveling - Chapter 85

Chapter 85

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 85

An E-rank Hunter volunteered to go into an A-rank Dungeon?!

It indeed stirred a commotion amongst the Hunters .

“The high-level magic beasts are waiting in there!”

“Sung-ssi, what are you thinking?!”

“You’re still young, don’t throw away your life for some money!”

The members of the mining team swarmed him, trying to change his mind .  Team Leader Bae explained to Son Gihoon,

“Oh no, that fellow just started working here . He must’ve raised his hand without knowing anything . ”

“What is his rank?”

“That’s…”

The team leader glanced at Jinwoo and whispered,

“He’s an E-ranker . His rank is too low, why don’t you take someone else? Taking that fellow is too dangerous . ”

Son Gihoon’s expression became serious .

‘That man… is an E-ranker?’

The man who had met his eyes earlier .  Certainly, the A-ranker did not detect any strong magic power coming from him .  But what was it? The man had . . . an unexplainable and dangerous aura about him .

‘He didn’t feel like an E-ranker . ’

In any glance, he did not look like the lowest-ranking Hunter .  Of course, Son Gihoon didn’t think that Team Leader Bae was lying, but he could not shake his instinct .

‘Still, the porter’s rank doesn’t matter . ’

All the porter had to do was carry the baggage .  If the porter placed at the rear of the raiding party was in danger, the Raid would’ve already failed .  If it got to a situation where an A-ranker’s life was in danger, what did it matter if the porter was C-rank or E-rank? They’ll all die just the same .  However, Son Gihoon could not think beyond that . The time was running out . He looked at Jinwoo and spoke,

“No, we’ll take that man . ”

“Is it too heavy?”

Son Gihoon asked .  Jinwoo shook his head,

“I’m alright . ”

The bag on the E-ranker’s back contained the raiding party’s clothes, weapons and defensive gears .  The size was quite large, but to Jinwoo, it did not feel heavy at all . It was the power of his Strength stat .

‘He doesn’t look like he’s struggling . ’

Son Gihoon looked over Jinwoo’s expression then turned towards the Gate .  Jinwoo also turned his head . In front of them, a Gate as large as yesterday’s floated in the air .

‘Wait, is this one bigger?’

However, they said the magic power seeping out today’s Gate was smaller than yesterday’s .  Since the Raid’s difficulty was determined by the magic power and not the size of the Gate, the secondary raiding party was deployed here .

‘Huh… the magic power coming out is pitiful compared to yesterday’s . ’

In front of the Gate, Jinwoo was assured .  It seemed that the Association’s measurements were not off .

But what was this feeling? Just like in front of the Red Gate, the E-rank Hunter felt a strange sense of dread .

‘ . . . I’m just imagining it, right?’

Son Gihoon gave the order,

“Let us go . ”

The members of the raiding party that had been waiting near the Gate all started to move as one .  One by one, the Hunters entered the Dungeon .

‘ . . . ’

Watching them, Jinwoo followed behind .

The insides were rather plain .  Having entered with his nerves on edge, Jinwoo relaxed once he came across a tunnel far smaller than yesterday’s .

‘Phew-’

Thankfully, they were not transported to another world .  Well, the composition of the party might be able to clear a Red Gate .

11 A-rankers and 6 B-rankers .

Like Team Leader Bae said, in any other Guild, this party would have never been the secondary raiding party .  Jinwoo smiled,

‘I’m not even part of the raiding party, let’s relax . ’

Yesterday and today .  In a way, he was just here to play around .  Only difference today was that he would be able to witness more things .  There was no need to be on edge . With that in mind, his heart relaxed a bit .

“Don’t be so nervous . ”

From his side, a female Healer-class Hunter struck up a conversation .  She looked like she was in her late 20s? It seemed that she had noticed his hardened expression and wanted to cheer him up a bit .

“Gihoon oppa, I mean, the Raid Leader and everyone here are experienced Hunters . Well, except for me . ”

A brightly smiling Healer .  From the start, there was nothing like fear in Jinwoo’s heart, but at her carefree expression, his sharpened nerves emptied from his heart like someone popped a balloon with a needle .  Jinwoo held back a laughter and nodded,

“Ah, okay . ”

As if satisfied by her work, the Healer put on a proud expression .

Meanwhile, having confirmed that there were no magic beasts near the entrance, a signal was given to move forward .

“Let’s move . ”

Jinwoo and the Healer matched the pace of the raiding party and walked slowly .  Because they were taking care of their surroundings, the movement of the party was slow .

“If it’s heavy, could I help out a bit?”

The Healer asked after glancing at the baggage Jinwoo was carrying .  Without a word, he held out a water tank in his left hand . The woman took it and immediately faltered at its weight .

“Ahhh!!!”

Jinwoo quickly grabbed the water tank from the Healer who was about to lose her balance .  The entire party halted and stared at the Healer .

“I’m sorry . I’m sorry . ”

The Healer bowed her head left and right .  Of course, she did not offer to help again .  Instead, she glared at him every once in a while .  Jinwoo swallowed a laughter and feigned ignorance . It’s been a long time since he felt like laughing in a Dungeon .

‘It’s dangerous to get distracted . ’

Especially in his recent Raids .  When he thought back on the difficulty of the Demon Castle, he shuddered .  However, today was different . It felt nice to tag along as a nobody in a Raid like this .

Suddenly, Jinwoo stopped .  Noticing what the E-ranker noticed a beat later than he did, the raiding party also stopped .

“Here they come!”

Before even Son Gihoon finished giving the order, the entire party got into defensive positions .  It was in a blink of an eye . Jinwoo was amazed,

‘So this is the Raid of high-ranking Hunters…’

It was in a completely different level than the raiding parties he had seen in the past .  Even the naive-looking female Healer also was in a utmost ready stance, a clear light coming from her hands .

‘Looks like I won’t have a chance to step up . ’

Jinwoo rid himself of the worry and at the same time was disappointed .

Anyways, the magic beasts arrived .

Beast? Dog?

Son Gihoon’s eyes narrowed .

da da da da da da da da

A group of magic beasts that looked like hyenas ran towards the group .  Each of them was a size of a midsize car . Son Gihoon tilted his head,

‘Dungeon Jackals?’

As they neared, he became sure .  They were Dungeon Jackals . Son Gihoon relaxed his tensed form that held out a shield .  The man slammed his shield down on a Dungeon Jackal that leaped toward his neck .

whimper!

“The hell?”

“Dungeon Jackals?”

The members of the party that had been maintaining a tense stance also relaxed and tilted their heads .  Soon, the cry of Dungeon Jackals filled the cave .

whimper!

yelp!

whimp-

The magic beasts were routed in no time .  The dozen or so jackals were quickly turned to corpses .  The Hunters dusted off their hands in confusion .

“What was that?”

“I didn’t even have time to finish casting my spell . ”

“Why would Dungeon Jackals come out of an A-rank Dungeon?”

“Right?”

“Did the Association fuck up again?”

Their voices were raised .  It was a cardinal rule in Dungeons not to raise your voice .  The appearance of the Dungeon Jackals were shocking enough to make the Hunters forget that rule .

“Hmm…”

Son Gihoon looked over the jackals’ corpses and scratched his temple .

‘Why would magic beasts from a C-rank Dungeon come out here?’

The Tanker looked around in disbelief .  Everyone had similar expressions . Except one man .

Jinwoo was looking at the corpses of the jackals with an uneasy expression .

‘They’re not normal jackals . ’

His eyes narrowed .  He looked over the traces of matted furs around the jackals’ necks .  It was evidence that they were tied up somewhere .

‘That means there’s something else here that raised these things…’

Magic beasts with intelligence .  Jinwoo recalled the White Walkers from the Red Gate .  No matter what race they belonged to, magic beasts with intelligence were a difficult enemy .

‘That feeling I had… might be right after all . ’

It was not a good omen .

“What are you looking at so seriously?”

The female Healer came up to him and stared blankly at the corpse .

“Shh!”

Jinwoo held up a finger .

step step

step step

He heard footsteps coming this way from deeper into the cave .

‘The real thing is coming . ’

Jinwoo got up .  Meanwhile, the other Hunters also realized something was wrong .

“Oh my god…”

“P-prepare for battle!”

Son Gihoon squeezed out an order .  Finally, from the darkness of the cave, the real enemy appeared .  The eyes of the Hunters widened .

“High orcs?”

“Of all the magic beasts, why high orcs?!”

The high orc warriors that looked battle-hardened were standing in a formation .  There was 22 of them . Even if it was just normal high orcs, 22 of them would’ve been a difficult enemy .  But these were high orc warriors .

“Something… something went wrong . ”

Someone uttered .  To think that the low-level magic beasts would be followed by high-level magic beasts that were known for their strength among the high-level magic beasts .

Clack! Clack!

The long spears of the high orcs pointed towards the Hunters .

‘The Hunters and the high orcs are about evenly matched . ’

Jinwoo evacuated to a corner .  He planned to quietly observe the situation and look for the timing where he had to step up .  The female Healer mistook his intentions,

“Stay there and hide so you don’t get hurt!”

For some reason… that was a bit infuriating .  Jinwoo closed his eyes and took deep breaths to try and calm his anger .  

Soon, the battle began .

“Kuaaaaaah!”

At the approaching high orcs, Son Gihoon used a wide area taunting skill .  However, the high orcs were not so easily provoked . Soon, the Fighter-class Hunters and the high orcs clashed .

slash!

stab!

crack!

Blood spilled everywhere, followed by screams .

“Euaaaak!”

The completed spells of the Mage-class Hunters fell upon the high orcs .

Bang! Boom!

The high orcs struck by ‘Arrow of Light’ lost their heads .  However, the spells did not shoot out repeatedly . While the magic’s effects were strong, it had a drawback of having casting times .

“Ahhhhh!”

The high orcs were starting to win the melee .

“Heal! Heal!”

“H-hurry!”

The number of injured increased, and the Healers became busy .

“H-healer-nim!”

The female Healer was also running left and right .

“I’m on my way! I’m on my way!”

She knelt down next to a Hunter that had lost an arm and uttered incantations .

wooooong-

With a bright light, the Hunter’s arm began to regenerate .  It was the power of healing afforded by an A-rank Healer’s powers .  But while she was focused on her patient, a large shadow fell over her .  The Healer raised her head . A high orc that she had thought was dead was standing over her with an axe in hand .

“Ah…”

The Healer’s face turned white .  Unfortunately, there were no allies nearby .  When the orc raised its axe, instead of running away, the Healer covered her patient with her body .

“No!”

She held her head down, waiting for the blow to come .  However, no matter how long she waited, she did not feel any pain .  In a moment where a single second felt like a minute, the Healer raised her head slightly .  An incredible sight was before her .

“Ku . . . Kwek…”

The high orc was floating in the air, flailing its limbs .

“What…?”

What was happening? The Healer opened her eyes wide .

Suddenly,

cruuuunch

The high orc’s head separated from its body, pulling up its spine with it .  It was an incredible display of power .

thud

‘ . . . ?’

Looking at the high orc’s body that collapsed to the ground, the Healer looked completely dumbfounded .

“Huh…?”

The high orc’s head was still floating in the air .

‘ . . . Bleh, I got blood on me . ’

Jinwoo scrunched his face and threw the high orc’s head .

SMACK!

Another high orc was struck by his comrade’s head and fell to the ground .  Its neck twisted in a grotesque way, it was not going to be getting up anytime soon .

‘Two down . ’

Jinwoo turned his gaze .  He was currently in ‘Stealth’ .  Neither the high orcs nor the Hunters could see him in this state .

The man had worried about stepping up and getting scolded by the Hunters, but then found a solution in his ‘Stealth’ skill .  With this, he would be able to do whatever he wanted . The corners of his mouth rose .

‘Shall I get started?’

In that moment,

“Uwaaah!”

He saw the Raid Leader, Son Gihoon, fighting with three high orcs at once .

Jinwoo’s legs moved with incredible speed .

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