Solo Leveling (Vol 1)

The Dual Dungeon

The passageway went on and on forever.

In front, Mister Song and other strong Hunters had taken the lead. Song had summoned a small flame on top of his palm to illuminate the way forward.

Mister Kim asked him as he walked alongside Song.

"We've walked really far, haven't we? Shouldn't we consider the time we need to escape from here as well?"

"How long have we been walking?"

Kim looked at his wristwatch.

"Around.... forty minutes."

"A Gate shuts down completely one hour after the boss is killed, so we have a window of twenty minutes left or so."

"If we can't see the boss in the next twenty minutes, I suggest that we should just give up."

"I guess so."

Song nodded his head for a while, before pointing to his back with his thumb.

"Mister Kim? It's dark out in front, so why don't you position yourself behind me?"

Kim stared at Song's flames for a second or two, before he wordlessly pulled out his smartphone and switched on the screen.

And then, the passageway got illuminated rather brightly.

Song alternated his gaze between his flame and the smartphone before he too wordlessly began searching for his own phone.

The very back of the group was the spot reserved for Seong Jin-Woo, who was injured pretty badly not too long ago, and Yi Ju-Hui, who didn't possess any combat skills whatsoever.

Jin-Woo scratched the back of his neck.

"Pardon me, I... I'm really sorry."

"About what?"

"About, you know, dragging you here against your wishes."

"I'm fine with it, so you don't need to mind me."

Jin-Woo cautiously studied Ju-Hui's expression. She definitely did not look fine at all.

Jin-Woo tilted his head this way and that while trying to read her mood better, before he asked her again, even more, cautious than before.

"Are you... really fine?"

That prompted Ju-Hui to shift her gaze toward him.

"Of course, I'm not. Are you of a sane mind?! If you were stabbed a couple of inches higher, you'd have a hole in your heart by now! And, what about those injuries on your arms and legs? I worked so hard to heal you somehow, yet you wish to throw yourself into yet another dungeon?? Plus, you don't even know where we're going, too!"

She spoke so quickly that Jin-Woo felt like his mind was getting numb from hearing her.

However, she was right about everything.

If it weren't for the presence of the outstanding Healer ranked B, Yi Ju-Hui, Jin-Woo wouldn't have been able to carry on living unaffected, never mind working as a Hunter. It was a small wonder why such high-ranked and hard-to-find Healers were valued so greatly within the halls of the Association.

'Wait, now that I think about it, I owe Miss Ju-Hui a lot, don't I?'

Ju-Hui was a Healer-type Hunter, the rarest of the rare breeds.

Not only that, she was a genius ranked at 'B' as well.

The Association always asked her to heal the injured Hunters whenever a Gate opened up. And whenever Jin-Woo participated in a raid, he'd almost always end up sitting down next to her.

"Are you in pain? Please hold on for a little while longer."

"Haven't I seen you before....? By any chance, are you the person from the last time?"

"You're injured again?"

"It's like, we're running into each other quite often nowadays, isn't it?"

"You said that your name is Mister Jin-Woo? Well, that... Is it going to be alright?"

"Maybe, Uhm, this life of a Hunter doesn't really suit you...."

"....You're here again."

"Show me your arm. No, not that one. Use bandages on that arm. I meant the other one with the bone fracture."

At the moment, it was way past the point of Jin-Woo feeling grateful for everything she had done, and firmly into the territory of him being apologetic for inconveniencing her.

When Jin-Woo looked dispirited, Ju-Hui also felt a bit bad about scolding him just now and her attitude softened up considerably.

"You're really sorry?"

"Yes, I am."

Ju-Hui fell into deep contemplation for a bit, before she began gazing at him from the corner of her eyes, and her lips slowly arched up.

"If you're really sorry, then... how about you buy me dinner sometime?"

Now that was a totally unexpected offer.

Jin-Woo looked at her with an expression of surprise and found a teasing smile etched on her face like a teenage girl.

'A teen girl, huh.....'

The truth was, Ju-Hui was still a young girl who had barely entered her twenties.

Didn't she say that she'd be twenty-one next year?

If her long hair was replaced with something shorter, and her current attire was swapped out for a school uniform, she'd completely look like a high school senior.

His wandering mind pictured the image of Ju-Hui in a school uniform and his face reddened up somewhat.

When Jin-Woo hesitated with his answer, Ju-Hui's cheeks began puffing up like a balloon.

"What the... You don't want to buy me dinner?"

It happened, right then.

Suddenly, it became quite hectic out in front.

"We found it!!"