Ruler | Solo Leveling

Chapter 3

A hospital?

Jinwoo opened his eyes, staring at a bright white ceiling. The unpleasant smell of disinfectant wafted into his nose.

There was a comfortable heat that wrapped around him, surrounding him in it's embrace. It buried itself under his blanket, as if encouraging him to snuggle closer.

What's this thing?

His hand moved slowly under the bedsheets, trying to get a feel for the soft object reclining on top of him.

Your eyes fluttered open as you felt a hand slowly stroke you. Sleepily peering through your lashes, you spot the arm of your friend. You smiled happily as his gentle thumbs brushed against your hair.

"Uh...?" Jinwoo blushed as you hugged his body tightly to your chest.

"Have you regained consciousness?" A voice interrupted, causing you to startle, quietly scampering away to stand at the edge of the bed.

Surprised by the sudden voice, Jinwoo turned to see a man wearing a black suit walk towards him.

"I'm Woo Jincheol, Chief of the Monitoring Department at the Hunters Association." He flashed his badge. "And I'm sure you know of her, our Vice-Chairman." He gestured at you, sighing.

"How did I end up here?" Jinwoo asked.

"That's the thing." Jincheol replied. "With the help of the White Tiger Guild, our surveillance department arrived at the scene only to find..."

"To find...?"

"Nothing. No traces of the double dungeon or any monsters, only the Hunter Sung Jinwoo lying unconscious in our Vice-Chairman's arms."

"What?" Jinwoo looked up in disbelief. "What happened to the stone angel, and statues and..."

"That's right, we couldn't believe it either." Jincheol glanced at you. "Since our witness mentioned you were stabbed through the chest, only to miraculously heal moments later."

He held up a magical measuring device, gently placing it below Jinwoo's hand.

"That's why... we believe there is a possibility you have undergone a second awakening."

A second awakening!

You stared, feeling surprised at the revelation. Reawakenings were extremely rare, and as far as you knew, the number of hunters that underwent one could be counted on two hands.

Could another fragment have taken interest in Jinwoo? But didn't all of them already have a vessel...?

All three people gazed at the magical measuring device in anticipation, waiting for the results. Would Jinwoo become S-rank? SS-rank?

"..."

An innocent power level of '10' blinked repeatedly on the screen. He was still barely stronger than the average human.

Looks like we were all worked up over nothing...

»»————-

"Hey Vice-Chairman, can you see... this?" Jinwoo frowned at the message floating nonchalantly in front of his face.

[Daily Quest - Become Powerful]

[Push-Ups 0/100]

[Sit-Ups 0/100]

[Running 0/10 km]

"Hm?" You turn, looking away from your phone to stare at him with confusion. As far as you could tell, there was nothing there. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"