Monarch of Luminescence || Solo-Leveling

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟼

"Hyung...? Uh,, Chang-min? Are you okay?" Jinwoo looked to his left, noticing a slightly shorter male next to him was drifting into his thoughts. 

To summarise the current situation, the Hunter's Association had contacted both of them to be joining a D-rank portal raid. Jinwoo wore a simple grey t-shirt under a hooded jacket and black pants, while Chang-min had a white hoodie on and navy blue jeans. Walking to the assigned destination, they chatted before the black-haired male detected something was off.

"Wha- hm?" He snapped back to his senses and looked at the black-haired male beside him, who was relentlessly calling out to him. "Oh I'm alright, I was just... reminiscing."

"Oh? What about?"

"When we first received the system message... Everything happened so quickly... We accepted it without thinking twice since we were both on the brink of death, but what exactly is the System? It hurts my brain to think of a logical explanation other than 'God' told us to be avatars in a game." Chang-min leaned forward, tapping his chin with his finger.

"Well, I've definitely thought of that once or twice, but what can you do? It sure doesn't seem like we can get rid of this player status. Since such a sweet deal has been presented to me, I might as well make the most of it." Jinwoo chuckled before dragging himself back to another topic. "Anywho, your bad overthinking habits are showing, Hyung."

"Haah, you're probably right. Though, better safe than sorry. Lately... I can't help but draw dots between the system and the-"

"Hwan? Hwan Chang-min, is that you?"

"Oh, Mr Song! I'm glad to see you doing well."

"Haha, you haven't been looking too bad either, Hwan. Who's the guy beside you?"

"You don't recognize him? Well, it's reasonable since he's undergone such a change. He's even taller than me now!"

His jaw dropped open when he realized. "No way... Sung?" (bro is flabbergasted)

"Bingo." Jinwoo took off his hood to provide evidence.

"Wow, Sung. I barely recognized you! There's no trace of your old boyish self, you've changed so much in a few months! What happened to you?" He exclaimed in awe, while Hwan huffed up proudly. "Ah, I probably shouldn't have asked. Wait... but, wasn't your leg cut off?"

"Well,.." Sung started sweating, wondering how he should lie out of this.

Chang-min smiled at the younger and spoke. "I healed it back."

"Haha, that's right! We still have our reliable healer here." Fortunately, he wasn't suspicious at all since he's seen what the healer could do. "Thanks to you, I still have my arm. I don't know how I could ever repay you!"

A smile surfaced, and he waved his hand in dismissal. "I have only done would I should have. Don't think too much about it, Mr Song."

"I see you're still as well-mannered as ever. Anyway, I'm so glad the both of you are okay!" He patted them both on the shoulder with a dad laugh.

"Did you get a call from the association, too? Were you on your way there?" Jinwoo questioned in curiosity out of the blue.

"Oh, yeah. Perhaps you both...?"

"That's right. Let's head over to the spot now, we wouldn't want them to be waiting, right?" Hwan grinned and started walking.

-

Under the street's cherry blossoms, a few figures were seen in the distance.

"People have already started to gather." Just after seeing who they were, Song Chiyul started bitterly laughing. "Haha, today must be a special day. All the members from that day are here."

"Hwan... and Jinwoo?" A certain orange-haired girl called out to them.

"Ah, Joohee and... Mr Kim Sangshik." Jinwoo called out people who left a deep impression on him that day. While sweating, a look of guilt furrowed Kim Sangshik's brow as he never met his eyes.

"Jinwoo... Is that really you? You've changed so much, I didn't even recognize you..." The said orange-haired girl started tearing up as she placed her hands on her mouth in disbelief.

A soft smile struck Jinwoo's face as he apologized. "Sorry, I'm a bit late."

"How come only you got a big makeover? I haven't changed an inch." Hwan mumbled his complaints, crossing his arm.

"Your hair grew." He pointed out.

"...Besides that..."

"I like how you are now, Hyung." He smiled. It's that damned smile, Hwan thought.

"A-ah. Is that so..."

Joohee chuckled at their interaction. "You both are still the same as ever. I'm relieved."

"What, are we on a movie set? What's with this long reunion-type chit-chat?" Three men stepped out of a black van parked close to them. They were in handcuffs and dressed in orange prison outfits.

Another man gracefully exited the van with a command. "Shut up, you fools. This isn't a picnic." His tone changed into a threatening one.

The prisoner who spoke not too long ago sneered at him and winked at Joohee. "I look forward to working with you today."

"What's going on...?" Song Chiyul had the same question as all of them.

Hwan stared at the new arrivals, and attempted to make sense of the situation."What are prisoners doing here... 'Working with us'...?"

A dainty woman with a suit, glasses, and a bob cut ran up to the four of them, holding a clipboard in her arms. She seemed to be from the Hunter Association. "I'm sorry we're late," she spoke. "Mr. Sung Jinwoo, Mr. Hwan Chang-min, and Mr. Song Chiyul, you're the hunters that were called on duty, correct? I'll run you through the procedures first."

"Hang on, what is exactly going on here?" Song Chiyul asked.

"Ah, are you talking about them? They're the 'probational prisoners' that will be accompanying you on your raid today."

"What?! Are you telling us to go on a raid with a bunch of criminals right now?!"

"Please calm down... Although they're criminals, they used to be hunters..." She explained hastily, "They became 'probational prisoners' in order to reduce their sentence, so they won't be causing any trouble. I hope you understand the circumstances, sir. We don't have a choice. The hunger of hunters in this district has drastically declined. Ah, also, Mr. Kang Taeshik from the association's surveillance team is a hunter, and he has agreed to participate in today's raid." She nudged her glasses upwards.
"There's no need to worry. The prisoners over there are only C-rank, and Mr Kang is B-rank."

"Hmm, I don't have a good feeling about this," Hwan spoke up.

"Neither do I. Joohee, please consider dropping out of this raid."

She looked at Jinwoo, confused. "Huh? What about you, then?"

"I'm going."

"Then I'm going too," she confidently said.

"Yes, yes. How romantic~"

"Shush, Hwan." Jinwoo elbowed him, in an 'I can't believe you just said that' attitude.

Song Chiyul smiled at the interaction, then looked towards the deep sea blue portal. 

"Well. I guess we're all going together then.

To the dungeon."